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(CNN) -- Charges of rebellion will be leveled against many of those arrested during martial law in the southern Philippines -- declared in the aftermath of last month's massacre of 57 civilians, the nation's justice secretary said.
Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera made the statement Saturday as the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo defended the martial law declaration, CNN affiliate ABS-CBN reported. Some lawmakers have challenged the legality of the declaration, which allows authorities to make arrests without a warrant.
Martial law went into effect Friday night in the province of Maguindanao to impose peace following the politically motivated massacre, said army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. He added that Congress would have to approve any extension beyond 60 days.
Police and military reports of armed men massing in Maguindanao would lead to charges of rebellion, Devanadera said, according to ABS-CBN.
Signs indicated that "violence was imminent," said Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, operations chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the affiliate reported.
The armed men were supporters of the politically powerful Ampatuan family, which has been implicated in the massacre, Pangilinan said.
At least six members of the Ampatuan family have been arrested, including Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., according to ABS-CBN. Ampatuan, whose father is governor of Maguindanao, has been accused of directing the killings and has been charged with 25 counts of murder.
One of the massacre victims implicated members of the Ampatuan family before she died, the affiliate reported.
Over the weekend, authorities raided at least one warehouse and ranch belonging to the family. They confiscated firearms, ammunition and vehicles, Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, deputy of operations for the eastern Mindinao command, told CNN.
The military was looking at arresting at least 100 people tied to the massacre, ABS-CBN reported. The Philippine military is investigating its own forces in connection with the case as well, Brawner said.
Asked why martial law was imposed 12 days after the killings, Cabangbang said authorities "were trying to build a case, a tight case" against suspects.
"But it is taking long to build a case, so I think the government gave us a free hand in arresting those who are suspects, and allowed us to search, even without warrant. So we really need this declaration of state of martial law."
The president was to submit a written report to Congress on Sunday evening, justifying her declaration of martial law, the Department of Justice said, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.
Political debate had flared over how soon Congress needed to convene after the declaration of martial law, as required by the Constitution.
The House of Representatives and the Senate might jointly convene on Tuesday to discuss the president's report, House Speaker Prospero Nograles said Sunday, according to the Philippine News Agency.
Violence in the run-up to elections is not uncommon in the country. The Maguindanao massacre, however, is the worst politically motivated violence in recent Philippine history, according to state media.
The victims included the wife and sister of political candidate Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu, who had sent the women to file paperwork allowing him to run for governor of Maguindanao. He said he had received threats from allies of Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., the father of the accused mayor, saying he would be kidnapped if he filed the papers himself.
Ampatuan Sr. has been taken into custody in the massacre, but was hospitalized after taking ill.
Witnesses and local officials say the killings were an attempt to block Mangudadatu from challenging the younger Ampatuan -- a longtime ally of the Philippine president and a known warlord -- in the May gubernatorial election.
A dozen journalists who had accompanied the women were also killed in the massacre.
Group: Philippines most dangerous country for journalists
Suspicion fell on Ampatuan after a government construction vehicle was found at the hastily dug mass grave that held the bodies of the massacre victims.
Maguindanao is part of an autonomous region in predominantly Muslim Mindanao, which was set up in the 1990s to quell armed uprisings by people | [
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] | NEW: Charges of rebellion will be leveled against many of those arrested during martial law .
Legality of martial law declaration, allowing arrests without warrants, is challenged .
Searchers make arrests, recover arms from a clan implicated in massacre .
Martial law follows killings of 57 last week in Maguindanao province . |
(CNN) -- Charges of rebellion will be leveled against many of those arrested during martial law in the southern Philippines -- declared in the aftermath of last month's massacre of 57 civilians, the nation's justice secretary said. Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera made the statement Saturday as the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo defended the martial law declaration, CNN affiliate ABS-CBN reported. Some lawmakers have challenged the legality of the declaration, which allows authorities to make arrests without a warrant. Martial law went into effect Friday night in the province of Maguindanao to impose peace following the politically motivated massacre, said army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. He added that Congress would have to approve any extension beyond 60 days. Police and military reports of armed men massing in Maguindanao would lead to charges of rebellion, Devanadera said, according to ABS-CBN. Signs indicated that "violence was imminent," said Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, operations chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the affiliate reported. The armed men were supporters of the politically powerful Ampatuan family, which has been implicated in the massacre, Pangilinan said. At least six members of the Ampatuan family have been arrested, including Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., according to ABS-CBN. Ampatuan, whose father is governor of Maguindanao, has been accused of directing the killings and has been charged with 25 counts of murder. One of the massacre victims implicated members of the Ampatuan family before she died, the affiliate reported. Over the weekend, authorities raided at least one warehouse and ranch belonging to the family. They confiscated firearms, ammunition and vehicles, Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, deputy of operations for the eastern Mindinao command, told CNN. The military was looking at arresting at least 100 people tied to the massacre, ABS-CBN reported. The Philippine military is investigating its own forces in connection with the case as well, Brawner said. Asked why martial law was imposed 12 days after the killings, Cabangbang said authorities "were trying to build a case, a tight case" against suspects. "But it is taking long to build a case, so I think the government gave us a free hand in arresting those who are suspects, and allowed us to search, even without warrant. So we really need this declaration of state of martial law." The president was to submit a written report to Congress on Sunday evening, justifying her declaration of martial law, the Department of Justice said, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency. Political debate had flared over how soon Congress needed to convene after the declaration of martial law, as required by the Constitution. The House of Representatives and the Senate might jointly convene on Tuesday to discuss the president's report, House Speaker Prospero Nograles said Sunday, according to the Philippine News Agency. Violence in the run-up to elections is not uncommon in the country. The Maguindanao massacre, however, is the worst politically motivated violence in recent Philippine history, according to state media. The victims included the wife and sister of political candidate Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu, who had sent the women to file paperwork allowing him to run for governor of Maguindanao. He said he had received threats from allies of Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., the father of the accused mayor, saying he would be kidnapped if he filed the papers himself. Ampatuan Sr. has been taken into custody in the massacre, but was hospitalized after taking ill. Witnesses and local officials say the killings were an attempt to block Mangudadatu from challenging the younger Ampatuan -- a longtime ally of the Philippine president and a known warlord -- in the May gubernatorial election. A dozen journalists who had accompanied the women were also killed in the massacre. Group: Philippines most dangerous country for journalists Suspicion fell on Ampatuan after a government construction vehicle was found at the hastily dug mass grave that held the bodies of the massacre victims. Maguindanao is part of an autonomous region in predominantly Muslim Mindanao, which was set up in the 1990s to quell armed uprisings by people | [
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] | NEW: Charges of rebellion will be leveled against many of those arrested during martial law .
Legality of martial law declaration, allowing arrests without warrants, is challenged .
Searchers make arrests, recover arms from a clan implicated in massacre .
Martial law follows killings of 57 last week in Maguindanao province . |
(CNN) -- Chastity Bono, gay-rights activist and child of performer Cher and the late entertainer and politician Sonny Bono, is in the early stages of transitioning from a female to a male and will be known as Chaz, his spokesman said Thursday. Activist Chastity Bono is transitioning from female to male and will be known as Chaz. "Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity," Howard Bragman said in a written statement. "He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago." Someone's decision to transition does not necessarily mean they are undergoing gender reassignment surgery, and in many cases they do not, said Mara Keisling, executive director of the Washington-based National Center for Transgender Equality. "The whole media fixation on surgery is kind of misplaced," she said. "Almost no transgender people ever have surgery. We don't have any idea how many do." iReport.com: Do you have a transgender story? An estimated one-quarter to one-half percent of the American population is transsexual, however, Keisling said. "It's sort of a general term that encompasses both or either a social transition or a medical transition." Keisling said she was unaware of the specifics in Bono's case, but speaking generally, a transition means that he will now want to be "known, seen, viewed" as a male. "The actual details depend on his needs and wants and his doctor's needs and wants," she said. Bragman asked that the media "respect Chaz's privacy during this long process, as he will not be doing any interviews at this time." Now 40, Bono as a little girl made regular appearances on her parents' show, "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour." As an adult, he has been a longtime gay-rights advocate and been closely associated with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. See more photos from Chastity Bono's life » Bono's father, Sonny Bono, was a U.S. representative from California when he was killed in a skiing accident in January 1998. | [
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Bono is longtime gay-rights activist .
"Transitioning" is either social or medical transition, how person wants to be viewed . |
(CNN) -- Chechen rebel leader Dokku Umarov claimed that he personally gave orders to attack the Moscow subway this week, according to a Chechen rebel Web site.
Kavkaz Center, a Web site that regularly carries messages from the rebels, released a video in which Umarov said he was behind the Monday attacks.
The attacks were revenge for what Umarov called a "massacre conducted by the Russian occupants against the poorest residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia," the Web site says.
According to the site, the video was taped the same day as the attacks.
The incident Umarov referred to is a February special operation by Russian forces, after which there were accusations of Russians killing innocent civilians.
In the video, Umarov said the victims were simply gathering garlic to make a living.
According to Russian officials, at least four civilians were killed during the special operation near the Ingushetian village of Arshty on February 11. After investigating the incident, the officials admitted that it was "the season to collect wild garlic" and civilians may have been doing just that despite requests for "evacuation" from the area.
The president of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Evkurov expressed condolences to relatives of the deceased and provided material support in the amount of 50 thousand rubles (about $1,700) for each family.
The president noted that during the raid 18 militants were also killed.
The attacks in Moscow, in which two female suicide bombers killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 60 others, were legitimate retribution for what happened in Chechnya, Umarov said in the video. He also promised "new acts of vengeance" in Russia.
Russians will no longer be able to simply observe the battles in the Caucasus, Umarov said.
"Therefore, the war will come to your streets, and you will feel it for yourselves and with your own lives," he said in the video.
Monday's blasts tore through the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations in central Moscow -- the female bombers detonating their explosives about 40 minutes apart, starting just before 8 a.m. (12 a.m. ET).
On Tuesday, Russian police released photographs of the two women suspected of carrying out the attacks.
Special services were also seeking three suspected accomplices of the bombers, Russian state TV reported, citing Moscow police spokesman Viktor Biryukov.
They were hunting for a 30-year-old man from the Northern Caucasus who was seen on security cameras wearing dark clothes and a black baseball cap, and two women, aged 22 and 45, both ethnic Slavs, who allegedly assisted the man, state TV reported.
"Our preliminary assessment is that this act of terror was committed by a terrorist group from the North Caucasus region," said Alexander Bortnikov of the Federal Security Service, in reference to the investigation at one of the blast sites.
The current round of the Russia-Chechnya conflict dates back nearly 20 years, with Chechens having laid claim to land in the Caucasus Mountains region. Thousands have been killed and 500,000 Chechen people have been displaced by the fighting.
Chechnya is located in the North Caucasus region of Russia between the Black and Caspian seas. | [
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] | Chechen rebel leader claims he ordered attack on Moscow subway .
39 people died in Monday's attack at Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations in city center .
Two female bombers detonated their explosives about 40 minutes apart .
The current round of the Russia-Chechnya conflict dates back nearly 20 years . |
(CNN) -- Chelsea have qualified for the last 16 of the European Champions League after two Didier Drogba goals helped them to a 3-0 Group E victory over Valencia at Stamford Bridge.
The English Premier League side needed a victory to guarantee their place in the knockout stage and they got the perfect start when Drogba scored in the third minute -- Chelsea's fastest ever Champions League goal.
Midfielder Ramires doubled their advantage midway through the half after capitalizing on some hesitant Valencia defending.
Real Madrid to topple Barcelona in 'El Clasico' clash?
And Drogba sealed the victory 14 minutes from time when sliding the ball home from Juan Mata's slide-rule pass.
The result also means Chelsea top the group with 11 points after Bayer Leverkusen -- who had already qualified -- were held to a 1-1 draw by Genk in Belgium.
Jelle Vossen put the home side ahead in the first half with a superb volley, but Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok leveled for the Bundesliga side 11 minutes from time.
Leverkusen go through as group runners-up on 10 points, with third-placed Valencia going into the Europa League and Genk eliminated from Europe.
There was late drama in Group F, where Marseille came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Dortmund, a result that saw them go through to the last 16 in second place behind already-qualified Arsenal.
Poland midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski put the home side ahead from close range in the 23rd minute and Mats Hummels doubled Dortmund's advantage nine minutes later from the penalty spot, after captain Sebastian Kehl received a nasty kick in the face from defender Stephane Mbia.
But Marseille gave themselves hope on the stroke of half-time when Loic Remy headed home Morgan Amalfitano's right-wing cross.
The score stayed that way until five minutes from the end when Andre Ayew powerfully headed home Amalfitano's corner.
And a sensational comeback was completed just two minutes later when substitute Mathieu Valbuena skipped past a couple of challenges before curling home a delightful winner.
Marseille's victory was bad news for Olympiakos, who beat a depleted Arsenal side 3-1 in Piraeus.
Rafik Djebbour put the hosts ahead from a tight angle after a defensive mix-up and David Fuster made it 2-0 when goalkeeper Vito Mannone's headed clearance fell to his feet -- and he found the net from outside the area.
Yossi Benayoun pulled a goal back early in the second half with a fine strike from just inside the area but Olympiakos secured the win when Francois Modesto scored from close range after Olof Mellberg's header had come back off the post.
Despite the win, Marseille's comeback means Olympiakos (9 points) have to settle for the Europa League.
Arsenal finish top on 11 points with Marseille just a point behind and German champions Dortmund out of Europe on just four points.
Surprise packages APOEL Nicosia had already qualified from Group G, but they ended the group with a defeat as Shakhtar Donetsk claimed a 2-0 away victory.
The Ukrainian side had already been eliminated, but they inflicted a first defeat on the Cypriot side courtesy of goals from Luiz Adriano and Yevhen Seleznyov.
Porto needed to beat Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg at home to qualify alongside APOEL, but the visitors defended solidly to secure a 0-0 draw.
It meant APOEL and Zenit both qualified with nine points, with the Cypriot side top virtue of a better head-to-head record. Porto (eight points) have to settle for the Europa League.
Barcelona and AC Milan had already qualified from Group H, but they enjoyed contrasting fortunes on Tuesday.
Defending champions Barca thumped BATE Borisov 4-0 at the Nou Camp despite coach Pep Guardiola resting a host of key players ahead of 'El Clasico' against Real Madrid on Saturday.
Real Madrid to topple Barcelona in 'El Clasico' clash?
It may have been an unfamiliar line-up, but the style of football was completely familiar as Barca scored at will against the Belarussians.
Sergi Roberto opened the scoring in the 35th minute from the edge of the | [
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Didier Drogba scores twice as the Premier League side qualify as Group E winners .
Marseille score two late goals to win 3-2 at Dortmund and qualify from Group F .
Zenit St Petersburg draw 0-0 in Porto to secure their qualification from Group G . |
(CNN) -- Chelsea have warned a group of supporters they are slowing the progress of the English Premier League outfit after they opted not to return the freehold to the club's Stamford Bridge stadium.
The ground, in the west of the English capital, was sold to a fans' organization called the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) in 1997 to protect it from falling into the hands of developers if the club ran into financial trouble.
But only 61.5% of CPO's shareholders voted to sell the freehold back to the club -- less than the 75% needed to authorize the move.
Explainer: Chelsea's bid to leave Stamford Bridge
Chelsea, who are currently third in the Premier League, are keen to explore the possibility of building a new ground with a bigger capacity than Stamford Bridge, which currently holds only 42,000 supporters.
In a letter to CPO, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said that a new ground could help the club raise an extra $56 million of revenue each season but that the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge was necessary to help pay for it.
But many fans were not happy at the club's plans to move away from the site and Chelsea fell short of the vote required.
The club are owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich but limited space around their ground means expansion is difficult. Two of the club's rivals, Manchester United and Arsenal, have stadiums that hold 76,000 and 60,000 respectively.
A statement on the Chelsea's official website read: "Chelsea FC is naturally disappointed with the result. A large number of fans supported our proposals but it was always going to be difficult when we had to have a 75 per cent majority of voting shareholders accepting them.
"We approached this process with transparency and the will to do what is best for Chelsea Football Club and while we will remain as ambitious as ever, this decision could slow down our progress."
Buck added: "Obviously we are disappointed but we recognise and we respect totally that the shareholders of Chelsea Pitch Owners have spoken.
"We will meet with Mr Abramovich (Chelsea's Russian owner) and the rest of the board and we will decide what action, if any, we will take going forward.
'"I don't view this as an us and against you, we against they situation. We are all Chelsea fans and I can only hope that on Saturday we can get together and support this club and beat Arsenal." | [
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A group of the club's fans who own the freehold opt against handing it back .
The 'Chelsea Pitch Owners' have owned the freehold since 1997 .
Club says they are losing $56 million of revenue a year due to limited capacity . |
(CNN) -- Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has defended Fernando Torres after the striker missed an open goal during the club's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.
Villas-Boas, 33, saw his team fall 3-0 behind in the first half at Old Trafford, through goals from Chris Smalling, Nani and Wayne Rooney, before Spain international Torres clawed one back for Chelsea with his first goal of the season early in the second half.
But former Liverpool forward Torres spurned a golden opportunity after 83 minutes, as he fired wide from close range having rounded United goalkeeper David de Gea.
Despite his error, Villas-Boas stood by Torres, 27, and pointed to England international Rooney's second-half penalty miss as proof that even the best strikers can be unlucky.
"Two of the best world strikers missed crazy opportunities," the former Porto coach told a post-match press conference.
"It happened to Fernando, but it also happened to Rooney. It's nothing dramatic, sometimes these balls go in. I think luck didn't fall on our side."
Former Atletico Madrid star Torres has struggled for form since joining Chelsea from English Premier League rivals Liverpool in January, with his goal on Sunday only his second for the London outfit and his first since a 4-1 win over West Ham in April.
If Torres had converted his late opportunity the score would have stood at 3-2, and Villas-Boas was left to wonder what might have been.
"I think 3-2, in that period of the game, could have given us the mental edge ... It would leave us completely exposed at the back, but we would take the risk trying to get the draw."
Chelsea had numerous attempts at goal during an open match, with Brazil midfielder Ramires also guilty of spurning a good opportunity while the score was only 1-0.
"We are pretty happy with how the team reacted to such a negative impact at half time, when the team was playing well. We cannot say the team was playing awful and that 3-0 at half time was a fair result."
Villas-Boas also bemoaned the officiating in the match, claiming English champions United scored their opening two goals from offside positions.
"It didn't fall our way in every kind of the word, not only in terms of goalscoring opportunities but in terms of refereeing decisions or the linesman's decisions ...They influenced the game, it's 2-0 instead of 0-0."
The defeat was Chelsea's first under Villas-Boas and the four-time English title winners have collected 10 points from their first five matches.
Their next Premier League fixtures will see them entertain newly-promoted Swansea City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. | [
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The Spain striker missed an open goal during Chelsea's 3-2 defeat .
Torres scored only his second Chelsea goal in the second half of the loss . |
(CNN) -- Chelsea moved a step closer to breaking Manchester United's stranglehold on the English Premier League title with a controversial 1-0 victory at home to Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night.
Nicolas Anelka headed the only goal against his former club just before halftime to put the London side four points clear of three-time defending champions United with four matches to play.
Third-placed Arsenal can leapfrog United into second place with victory over London rivals Tottenham on Wednesday and be three points adrift of Chelsea.
Bolton, just five points above the relegation zone, were angry after not being awarded a penalty in each half for alleged handball by Didier Drogba and John Terry -- but were lucky not to concede more goals as Chelsea dominated late in the match.
"They weren't claims for a penalty," Bolton boss Owen Coyle told match broadcaster ESPN. "They were stonewall penalties. I knew it at the time.
"Didier Drogba is a world-class player, but looking at this replay he could be a world-class volleyball player.
"I've asked the linesman about [the Terry incident] after the game but he's said it hit his shoulder. He needs to take another look at that."
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti chose not to comment on the incidents.
"It is not my job to judge the work of the officials," the Italian said. "It is a difficult job, sometimes they make the right decisions, sometimes they make bad decisions.
"We have to maintain this level. We are doing well, we are very focused and in a very good position, but we have a very difficult game on Saturday against Tottenham and we have to do our best to win that game."
Chelsea were less impressive in the first half, and it took until the 43rd minute before France striker Anelka broke the deadlock with a close-range header from Drogba's left-wing cross for his first goal since January.
Bolton striker Kevin Davies had told reporters before the match that his former teammate Anelka was unhappy playing with Drogba, but the duo combined well to end Wanderers' stubborn resistance.
The recalled Salomon Kalou should have made it 2-0 in the 54th minute but goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen blocked the Ivory Coast forward's shot with his legs.
Davies was booked for a crude tackle on Jon Obi Mikel in the 77th minute, and Frank Lampard hit the post soon after with a fierce low shot after a clever dummy by Kalou's replacement Joe Cole.
England midfielder Cole gave Chelsea fresh impetus, with Michael Ballack heading his cross tamely at Jaaskelainen.
Terry drove a shot just wide from a corner but soon after was beaten in the air at the other end by Bolton substitute Johan Elmander -- however, the Swede's header went wide.
Cole should have doubled the lead in injury-time, but somehow stumbled over Yuri Zhirkov's low cross when it seemed easier to score.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan moved into the final of the Italian Cup with a 1-0 victory away to Fiorentina on Tuesday night, winning 2-0 on aggregate.
Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o scored the only goal in the 57th minute to keep Jose Mourinho's team in the hunt for three trophies this season.
The Champions League semifinalists, who drew 2-2 with Fiorentina at the weekend, will face either new Serie A leaders Roma or Udinese in the title match.
Also on Tuesday, Cagliari sacked coach Massimiliano Allegri after the Sardinian team's slump to 12th in the Italian top flight following a haul of just two points from nine matches.
Allegri was voted Serie A coach of the year by his peers for guiding Cagliari to ninth place last season, but became the 16th to be dismissed this campaign. | [
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] | English Premier League leaders Chelsea move four points clear of Manchester United .
Striker Nicolas Anelka scores winner just before halftime against his former club .
Struggling Bolton angry not to be awarded a penalty for handball in each half .
Inter Milan earn place in final of Italian Cup with 2-0 aggregate win over Fiorentina . |
(CNN) -- Chelsea struck a major blow in the English Premier League title race with a controversial 2-1 victory over champions Manchester United on Saturday that put the London club two points clear at the top of the table with five matches to play.
Carlo Ancelotti's team traveled to Old Trafford to face a side reeling from the loss of injured England star Wayne Rooney following the midweek European Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich.
The Italian coach opted to leave his own key forward Didier Drogba on the substitutes' bench, but the Ivory Coast international scored a decisive goal with 11 minutes to play despite being clearly offside.
United boss Alex Ferguson was left fuming at the decision.
"What I can't understand is the linesman's directly in front of it. He has no-one near him and he gets it wrong," the Scot told Sky Sports. "A game of that magnitude, you really need quality officials and we didn't get them today. It was a poor, poor performance.
"Five games left, they're two points ahead and four goals better than us -- they're in the driving seat. Chelsea are favorites now, there's no question. I'm certain we'll respond but we could win the next five games and not win it."
United hit back with a late bundled goal from young substitute Federico Macheda, which television replays showed came off the Italian's arm, but Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov could not convert a chance to equalize in time added on.
Chelsea, who had scored 12 goals in the two previous matches and did not have to play in midweek following last month's Champions League exit against Inter Milan, started the game in dominant form.
Man of the match Florent Malouda set up the opening goal in the 20th minute, with the France winger surging past Darren Fletcher into the penalty area and providing a low cross that England midfielder Joe Cole cheekily backheeled past goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar.
Both teams had penalty claims turned down before halftime, and Berbatov missed United's first real chance with a header after an hour.
Drogba replaced Nicolas Anelka in the 69th minute, and 10 minutes later he had the ball in the net after collecting a pass from fellow substitute Salomon Kalou despite being further forward than United's last two defenders.
United pulled a goal back with nine minutes to play as substitute Nani broke down the left and his cross rebounded off goalkeeper Petr Cech, onto Macheda and into the Chelsea net, with visiting captain John Terry appealing in vain for handball.
Berbatov, who started on his own up front in place of Rooney, then tamely volleyed Gary Neville's cross into the arms of Cech as Chelsea held on for a deserved victory.
Third-placed Arsenal kept their title hopes alive with a last-gasp 1-0 victory at 10-man Wolverhampton which left Arsene Wenger's team three points behind London rivals Chelsea.
Wolves had captain Karl Henry sent off for a foul on Tomas Rosicky in the 66th minute, but Arsenal could not take advantage until deep into injury-time when substitute striker Nicklas Bendtner headed in Bacary Sagna's cross.
Manchester City moved up to fourth place above Tottenham with a 6-1 thrashing of Burnley in Saturday's late match that left their near neighbors deep in relegation trouble.
Roberto Mancini's team were 4-0 up after 20 minutes, and led 6-0 before an hour had been played as Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice along with goals from fellow strikers Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez.
Patrick Vieira and Vincent Kompany were also on target before Steven Fletcher's 71st-minute consolation for the home side.
Tottenham's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League took a big blow with a 3-1 defeat at Sunderland, for whom the London club's former striker Darren Bent scored twice -- the first after only 36 seconds and the second from the penalty spot.
England World Cup hopeful Bent also had two spot-kicks saved by Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes as he took his tally to 23 for the season.
Sunderland also had a goal disallowed as Steve Bruce's team consolidated | [
"Who was Man. United's replacement?",
"What was the final score?",
"Which league was the match played in?",
"Where did Chelsea move?",
"Who did they defeat?",
"Who had the second half goal?"
] | [
[
"Chelsea"
],
[
"2-1"
],
[
"English Premier"
],
[
"two points clear at the top of the table"
],
[
"Manchester United"
],
[
"Didier Drogba"
]
] | Chelsea move two points clear at the top of the English Premier League with vital victory .
London club defeat champions Manchester United in controversial match .
Didier Drogba's second-half goal put Chelsea 2-0 up but substitute striker was offside .
United hit back with goal by replacement Federico Macheda, who seemed to use his arm . |
(CNN) -- Cheri Morgan spent about half-an-hour in line at a Houston-area gas station on Thursday before evacuating the city. iReporter Cheri Morgan says drivers were panicking Thursday at a Houston, Texas, gas station. "Everyone was driving crazy and they really need some kind of traffic flow at the gas stations. It's wild," she said. "Everybody's rushing and panicking. I could have stayed, but I thought it was best to just get out of there." Morgan said it took her about five hours to make the 200 mile drive to San Antonio -- a trip that normally only takes about three hours. Ike is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas, which is home to many of the country's oil refineries. That's led to a scramble at gas stations as people try to fill up before the storm hits. iReport.com: Are you in Ike's path? People were filling up their cars and their gas cans at a Sam's Club in College Station, Texas, iReporter Kyle Norton told CNN.com. "The lines were a tad ridiculous," the 30-year-old banker said. Norton said his 2002 Dodge Ram pickup was on empty, so he had no choice but to wait in line for an hour. Despite the long lines, Norton said gas was about $3.49, which is pretty normal for the area. He said a friend had to go to four different stations before he could find one that still had regular unleaded. iReporter Jeremy "Clete" Terrell said the lines also were long at the Costco in Alpharetta, Georgia. "I was getting gas and realized that everybody else was too," he said. iReporter Curtis McNeely said a Kangaroo Express station in Evansville, Indiana, imposed a 10 gallon limit. "It's causing paranoia more than anything," he said adding that people are returning to the gas station to fill up multiple times. A spokeswoman for the company that runs the Kangaroo Express chain says it's imposed a limit at its 1,660 stores because gas supplies are tight. Several stations in Ocala, Florida, were limiting sales if they still had gas to sell, iReporter Christine Bailey said. Canadian Ian McIntosh said gas prices jumped 57 cents per gallon overnight in Milton, Ontario. "This stuff's in the tanks, it's just sitting in the gas stations, they're using this as a windfall event," the retired teacher said. McIntosh said he heard prices were going up on the news, so he and his wife got gas last night -- along with many other residents of the Toronto suburb. "A gas station that would normally have three or four cars -- you had 15 cars and you had to line up to get to the pumps," he said. Rumors that gas would jump to $6 a gallon caused a panic in Sylva, North Carolina. iReport.com: Police called in at mountain gas station Lines were a half-mile long Thursday night at the stations that stayed open, and police were called in to maintain order, iReporter April Brendle said. "Supposedly there was a fight at one station," she said. | [
"What was reported as Hurricane Ike approached?",
"Where in North Carolina is most at risk?",
"What did police have to do?",
"What happened to gas prices in Canada?"
] | [
[
"a scramble at gas stations"
],
[
"Sylva,"
],
[
"maintain order,"
],
[
"jumped 57 cents per gallon overnight in Milton, Ontario."
]
] | Long gas lines reported as Hurricane Ike approaches .
Gas prices jumped overnight in Canada .
Police had to restore order at North Carolina gas stations .
Are you in Ike's path? Send photos, videos . |
(CNN) -- Cheryl Bradshaw shivered under a big brown coat as she made her way through a line of people waiting along an icy road in Wilmington, Ohio. She was among about 5,000 residents who accepted food from the nonprofit Feed the Children. The nonprofit Feed the Children delivers boxes of food and other items to families Thursday in Wilmington, Ohio. "A lot of this people in this town ... it's day to day, dollar to dollar," Bradshaw said of the town of about 12,000 between Cincinnati and Columbus. Wilmington is still reeling from news that delivery giant DHL would close its hub there. About 3,000 of the 8,000 people who faced layoffs lived in or around Wilmington. One in three families in Wilmington had someone employed at DHL, according to an economic task force created by Mayor David Raizk. A crowd gathered Thursday as 12 loaded semitrailers cautiously parked on slippery roads. Each family got two boxes. One had 25 pounds of canned food and vegetables. Another contained 10 pounds of personal care items. Watch as townspeople describe tough times » Bradshaw said she appreciated the help. She got laid off in December from ABX Air, a Wilmington-based air cargo services company that worked with DHL. "We are raising two grandkids, and we only have one income, so it's a big, big blessing," she said. Tony Sellars, the nonprofit's director of communications, said, "This is the largest distribution we have had in such a small town." Sellars said the organization is monitoring layoff conditions in various cities and identifying critical locations where it can be of assistance. "We have been around since 1979, and this is unprecedented in terms of need," Sellars said. "In Wilmington, the residents are proud and confused; they are resilient and trying to solve their problems on their own, but they don't know where to turn." Feed the Children distributed the food and other items in conjunction with partners that include Avon Products and the local Sugartree Ministry Center. Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed the Children, urged communities to reach out to one another. "If we are going to solve the problem, it's not going to be the government; it's going to be churches and charities and colleges, literally everyone working together," Jones said. "We are not the total answer, but we are part of the answer, and hopefully when people see us doing what we are doing, they will join in to help." Ohio is facing one of the highest jobless rates in the country -- 7.8 percent in December. The nation's unemployment rate is 7.6 percent. DHL's decision to close its hub in Wilmington has had a ripple effect. Sharon Testa, 48, who owns the Mediterranean Restaurant in downtown, has lived in Wilmington for 20 years. "Our business opened two years ago because we had a lot of international people coming in to work for DHL or companies affiliated with them," Testa said. "Everyone is concerned. We don't want our city to shrivel up; people who still have jobs are trying to come in to keep the business running." Helen Keech, 50, who works at the Arby's near where DHL was located, said that the restaurant used to open early for the DHL employees. She said there were many businesses in that building, including ABX and DHL, and now that there are less employees, things will change. "It's gonna be a ghost town I can tell you that," Keech said. CNN's Amy Sahba contributed to this report. | [
"Where did DHL close it's delivery?",
"Who is distributing food to people in town?",
"What closed in Wilmington?",
"What town is left reeling?",
"What may Wilmington turn into?",
"How many people accepted food from nonprofit Feed the Children?",
"How many in town accept food from Feed the Children?",
"What fear do residents in Wilmington have?",
"Who is giving food to the needy?"
] | [
[
"Wilmington"
],
[
"Feed the Children."
],
[
"DHL"
],
[
"Wilmington"
],
[
"ghost town"
],
[
"about 5,000"
],
[
"5,000"
],
[
"DHL would close its hub there. About 3,000 of the 8,000 people who faced layoffs lived in or around"
],
[
"Feed the Children."
]
] | Closing of delivery giant DHL leaves Ohio town of Wilmington reeling .
About 5,000 in town of 12,000 accept food from nonprofit Feed the Children .
Official: "This is the largest distribution we have had in such a small town"
Resident says she fears loss of jobs will turn Wilmington into a "ghost town" |
(CNN) -- Cheryl Morse was 19 years old when she hitchhiked more than 700 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Bethel, New York. She was determined to make it to the Woodstock music festival. An estimated 400,000 people attended the Woodstock music festival in Bethel, New York, in August 1969. Although Morse, now 59, no longer recalls details such as how long it took to get there or what food, if any, she ate, she still vividly remembers the music. When Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young opened their set with "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," she said the energy in the crowd was intoxicating. And she can still picture folk musicians Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez performing in the rain Friday night. "It was like being totally shut off from the rest of the world for three days, with nonstop music by world-class musicians playing their hearts out ... for our party," she said. Forty years later, the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair remains a major cultural touchstone. Held in Bethel on August 15, 16 and 17, 1969, the music festival welcomed some of the biggest musicians of the era and legions of fans from across the United States. Despite the concert's size -- an estimated 400,000 people attended the festival -- it seems the idea of Woodstock is bigger than the actual event was. It is remembered as a peace- and love-filled celebration, an out-of-this-world experience fueled by rock 'n' roll music and copious drugs. See Woodstock 40 years ago, and what the site looks like today » Like many others, it wasn't until Morse left the festival grounds and re-entered the outside world that she began to realize Woodstock's impact. She stopped at a local market on her way out of town and saw news coverage of the festival on television. "Until [then], I had not thought about the outside world at all," Morse said. "That was when I slowly began to comprehend the impact the gathering was having on the country." Woodstock, Morse explained, "came at a pivotal point in history," when the Vietnam War and subsequent anti-war movement were in full swing. The festival, a massive event that was largely peaceful and free of riots, was considered exceptional for the time. Years later, Morse realized that Woodstock "would never be forgotten," she said. "It took you 10 years to realize you were part of history," said Lenny Eisenberg, who made the journey to Bethel to see Jimi Hendrix perform. "At the time, it was just another great show." Part of the concert's lasting power was fueled by the Oscar-winning documentary "Woodstock," which also led to a blurred perception of the festival, Eisenberg said. "I have some distorted ideas of what happened," he said. Still, Eisenberg recalls Hendrix's performance that famously closed the festival on Monday morning. The aspiring photographer saved one of the three rolls of film he brought with him to document the guitarist's set. The wait was worth it, he said. Eisenberg captured several shots of Hendrix, including one of the guitarist with his middle finger in the air, seconds after he flashed a peace sign to the audience. iReport.com: See Eisenberg's photos "It's really hard to pin down a best memory," said Thomas Burke, who was 19 years old when he went to Woodstock. "The whole place was a memory." Burke still has his Woodstock tickets along with the check his mother wrote for them. His memories from the event are fond, but fuzzy. "I remember some of the acts, but not the order or where I was when they played," he said. He recalls seeing Richie Havens and Jefferson Airplane, and can't forget Hendrix's legendary performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner." "Woodstock marked a big turning point in my life," said Burke, who was drafted into the Army | [
"What number of years did it take to realize you were part of history?",
"What do some say of the memories?",
"When did woodstock take place",
"What year is Woodstock celebrating?",
"who distorted the memories of the event?",
"What Lenny Eisenberg said?",
"how many years celebrates Woodstock?"
] | [
[
"10"
],
[
"\"It's really hard to pin down a best memory,\""
],
[
"August 1969."
],
[
"Forty"
],
[
"Eisenberg"
],
[
"\"It took you 10 years to realize you were part of history,\""
],
[
"Forty"
]
] | As Woodstock celebrates 40 years, the music festival still looms large .
Memories of the event are distorted by media coverage, movies, some say .
"It took 10 years to realize you were part of history," said Lenny Eisenberg .
iReport.com: Were you at Woodstock? Share your memories, photos . |
(CNN) -- Chevy Chase didn't look like Gerald Ford and didn't sound like Gerald Ford. But in the mid-1970s, when "Saturday Night Live" first went on the air, Chase -- then a writer and cast member of the show -- made his impression of the president, rife with pratfalls and slapstick, the talk of the country.
He also made the president a butt of jokes, which was intentional, Chase told CNN in an interview.
"[Ford] was a sweet man, a terrific man -- [we] became good friends after, but ... he just tripped over things a lot," he said. "It's not that I can imitate him so much that I can do a lot of physical comedy and I just made it, I just went after him. And ... obviously my leanings were Democratic and I wanted [Jimmy] Carter in and I wanted [Ford] out, and I figured look, we're reaching millions of people every weekend, why not do it."
Over the years, "Saturday Night Live's" political satires have become a mainstay of the show, sometimes to startling effect. Watch Chase talk about "SNL's" impact »
Al Franken -- now the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota -- and his then writing partner, Tom Davis, wrote a wicked takeoff of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's book, "The Final Days," which included Dan Aykroyd as a bitter Richard Nixon and John Belushi as a toadying Henry Kissinger. In the mid-'80s, a sketch starring Phil Hartman as Ronald Reagan showed the president, often lampooned as forgetful, with a razor-sharp command of the Iran-Contra situation, cutting deals in Arabic and barking orders at his staff.
More recently, Dana Carvey's malaprop-laden impression of George H.W. Bush, Hartman's puppy-dog Bill Clinton, Will Ferrell's George W. Bush and Tina Fey's Sarah Palin have embedded themselves in the culture.
Though Chase believes the show leans left, and Fey's Palin is an attempt to hurt the Republicans, Marc Liepis, NBC Universal senior director of late night publicity, had no comment.
Certainly, "SNL" -- which began as one of the old '60s counterculture's first forays into network TV -- has also mocked Democrats. Indeed, sketches about the Democratic debates in the spring, one of which portrayed the media as fawning over Barack Obama, gave Hillary Clinton ammunition in her pursuit of the nomination. The writer of that sketch, Jim Downey, has been described as leaning conservative, though he was quoted in a March New York Times article as calling himself a registered Democrat.
In the same article, "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels said, "We don't lay down for anybody."
Chase talked about his Ford impression and the political impact of "Saturday Night Live" with CNN's Alina Cho. The following is an edited version of that interview.
CNN: Let's go back to '76.
Chevy Chase: It was Gerald Ford that was president but hadn't been elected and was running again and I just ...
CNN: Some people say he was an accidental president and you made him accident prone.
Chase: Actually, he was accident prone and he was a sweet man, a terrific man, became good friends later, and a relatively good athlete in college too ... but he just tripped over things a lot. ... You know, after a while, you just start writing the jokes and start doing it.
So it's not that I can imitate him so much that I can do a lot of physical comedy, and I just made it, I just went after him. And I certainly, obviously my leanings were Democratic and I wanted Carter in and I wanted [Ford] out and I figured look, we're reaching millions of people every weekend, why not do it.
CNN: You mean to tell me in the back of your mind you were thinking, hey I want Carter ...
Chase: Oh, yeah. | [
"What show leans liberal, according to Chase?",
"What show is Lorne Michaels associated with?",
"Who said SNL doesn't lay down for anybody?",
"What is Chevy Chase famous for?",
"Who mocked President Ford?",
"Who did Chase mock deliberately?",
"Which president was mocked?",
"Who said SNL leans liberal?"
] | [
[
"\"Saturday Night Live\""
],
[
"\"Saturday Night Live\""
],
[
"\"SNL\" creator Lorne Michaels"
],
[
"Gerald Ford."
],
[
"Chase"
],
[
"Gerald Ford"
],
[
"Gerald Ford"
],
[
"Chase"
]
] | Chevy Chase says mockery of President Ford was deliberate .
Chase says show leans liberal, but "whole thing ... is get the laugh"
"SNL" creator Lorne Michaels: "We don't lay down for anybody" |
(CNN) -- Children from a polygamist sect who one mother says are "hurting very badly" in state custody are likely to be returned to their parents, a CNN legal analyst says. FLDS member Margaret Jessop says her children "feel betrayed by adults." A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday that the state had no right to remove hundreds of children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints' ranch in Eldorado on April 3, based on the suspicion that a few were being sexually abused. A sect mother who has four children in state custody said the matter has not been fully resolved because an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court is possible. "I'm very grateful, but I'd like to see the children in my arms before I rejoice greatly," Margaret Jessop said on CNN's "Larry King Live." Watch Jessop react to the ruling » But a permanent reunion of families is likely, said Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst. "Based on this ruling I think it's clear that if it stands, all these kids are going back with their mothers," Toobin said on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°." Jessop and other FLDS parents said they had been permitted visits with their children in foster care. Zavenda Young said two of her children were sent to Waco, Texas, and two to Hockley, 148 miles away. "They're in Boys and Girls Country in Hockley. And it's just a -- it's an institution," she told host Larry King. Their father, Edson Jessop, said the experience has been rough on the children. "You can see it's a lot of stress on them," he said. "Every time we leave, they go through that trauma again. It's enough to rip your heart out." "They feel betrayed by adults, and they're hurting very badly," Margaret Jessop added. The Texas Child Protective Services Department's Web site says the agency has been "coordinating with many professional service and government agencies to ensure the safety, health and comfort of the children and women in Eldorado." A statement from the agency Thursday said it's working out a response to the court ruling. "Child Protective Services has one duty -- to protect children," the statement said. "When we see evidence that children have been sexually abused and remain at risk of further abuse, we will act. ... We will work with the office of the attorney general to determine the state's next step in this case." | [
"What did the mother say?",
"What did Toobin say?",
"What is the agency going to do next?",
"What did the children suffer from?",
"What will the mother do?"
] | [
[
"are \"hurting very badly\" in state custody"
],
[
"kids are going back with their mothers,\""
],
[
"working out a response"
],
[
"sexually abused"
],
[
"appeal to the Texas Supreme Court"
]
] | More than 400 children likely to return to families, CNN's Jeffrey Toobin says .
Mother says she'll wait until children are with her before she rejoices over ruling .
Parents say children have suffered from separation .
Agency that took children says it's considering next move . |
(CNN) -- Children were among the victims of a plane crash that killed as many as 17 people Sunday in Butte, Montana, according to authorities in Oroville, California, where the aircraft stopped for fuel. Martha Guidoni said this photo was taken after she and her husband saw the plane "nosedive" in Butte, Montana. The single-engine plane stopped at the Oroville airport at about 11 a.m. PT, refueled and departed about half an hour later, Police Chief Kirk Trostle said. "There were some adults and children on board," he told reporters Sunday evening, adding the passengers got out briefly to stretch while the pilot refueled the plane. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said based on preliminary reports, 17 people died in the crash. The Pilatus PC-12 was headed to Bozeman, Montana, but rerouted to Butte instead and crashed 500 feet short of the runway at Butte's Bert Mooney Airport, Fergus said. The flight plan originated in Redlands, California, according to flight-tracking site FBOweb.com. Stops were made in Vacaville, California, then Oroville, before the plane headed for Montana. Preliminary information indicates the pilot did not declare an emergency aboard the plane before the crash, Fergus said. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigation team to the scene, Kristi Dunks, an aerosafety investigator with the agency, told reporters in Butte on Sunday evening. Dunks said the plane crashed at the Holy Cross Cemetery, located just south of the airport's Runway 3. She said there were no survivors, though she wouldn't confirm the number of people on board the plane. No one on the ground was injured, Sheriff John Walsh said. Eric Teitelman, Oroville's director of community development and public works, said the small airport has no control tower but because it has a "wide-open runway" and a self-service fuel system, it is a frequent stop for private aircraft. Teitelman said at least one person -- an aircraft owner doing servicing work -- was at the airport Sunday when the Pilatus stopped for refueling. The aircraft owner "met the pilot, saw the children running around," Teitelman said. The plane, manufactured in 2001, was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing in Enterprise, Oregon, according to the FAA. Martha Guidoni told CNN she and her husband witnessed the plane crash. She photographed one of the first images of the scene, which showed the cemetery in the foreground of a huge blaze. See a map of Butte, Montana » "We were just taking a ride, and all of a sudden, we watched this plane just take a nosedive," she told CNN. "We drove into the cemetery to see if there was any way my husband could help someone, and we were too late. There was nothing to help." Her husband, Steve Guidoni, who went to the scene of the crash, said the plane "went into the ground" and caught a tree on fire. Watch footage from scene and hear witness recount what he saw » "I looked ... to see if I could see anybody I could pull out or anything, but there wasn't anything there, I couldn't see anything," he told CNN. "Some luggage [was] strewn around. ... [There were] some plane parts." | [
"What type of engine did the plane have?",
"Where was the plane crash?",
"What did the witness say the plane did?",
"What is the name of the witness who saw the plane nosedive?",
"Where did the plane leave from?",
"What area did the crash happen in?"
] | [
[
"single-engine"
],
[
"Butte, Montana,"
],
[
"\"went into the ground\" and caught a tree on fire."
],
[
"Martha Guidoni"
],
[
"Redlands, California,"
],
[
"Butte, Montana,"
]
] | Children among those killed in crash in Butte, Montana, authorities say .
Witness says she watched plane "just take a nosedive"
Single-engine aircraft crashed about 500 feet short of runway, FAA says .
FAA: Plane left California; originally supposed to land in Bozeman, Montana . |
(CNN) -- Chile's Supreme Court has ruled that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori can be extradited to Peru on five corruption and two human rights abuse charges.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has denied all allegations, calling them politically motivated.
Alberto Chaigneau, a court judge, made the announcement about the order on Chilean TV on Friday.
Gabriel Zaliasnek, Fujimori's defense attorney, later said that the "decision of the Supreme Court should be respected and will be respected."
It is not known when the extradition will take place. But the wheels for extradition were set in motion a couple of months ago.
A Chilean prosecutor in June recommended that Fujimori be extradited to Peru to face the charges.
He was then placed under house arrest in his home in the suburbs of the Chilean capital, Santiago while awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.
Before moving to Chile, Fujimori had fled Peru for Japan, where he holds dual citizenship, as his decade-long presidency neared its end in 2000.
Japan refused to honor Peru's request to return him for trial, saying its nationals should be subject to Japanese law and pointing out the two countries have no extradition treaty.
He attempted to resign from the presidency by fax from Japan, but Peru's congress refused to accept it, instead declaring him morally unfit to govern.
He arrived in Chile in 2005, in what some saw as a possible attempt to return to Peru and seek office there in 2006. He was under house arrest for six months in Chile, but authorities lifted the restriction last year on the condition he not leave the country.
Peru has alleged Fujimori ordered death-squad killings and participated in various acts of government corruption. He has denied all the allegations, calling them politically motivated. E-mail to a friend | [
"Who has denied allegations, saying they're politically motivated",
"Who is ccused of ordering death squad killings, corruption?",
"what is fujimori accused of",
"who must be extradited",
"what is he accused of",
"what has he said",
"who is being extradited"
] | [
[
"Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori"
],
[
"Fujimori"
],
[
"five corruption and two human rights abuse charges."
],
[
"Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori"
],
[
"five corruption and two human rights abuse charges."
],
[
"\"decision of the Supreme Court should be respected and will be respected.\""
],
[
"Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori"
]
] | Ex-Peru leader must be extradited to face human rights charges at home .
Fujimori accused of ordering death squad killings, corruption .
Fujimori has denied allegations, saying they're politically motivated . |
(CNN) -- Chilean inspectors stumbled upon hundreds of exotic animals from Peru destined for illegal trade while conducting what they thought was going to be a routine inspection of a fishing boat, the government said Tuesday. A family of Scarlet macaws in Costa Rica in June 2008 at a zoo aimed at conserving the species. The Chilean boat, the Rosa Isabel, was carrying macaws, toucans, parrots, turtles, squirrels and crocodiles, most of them protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which prohibits the sale of these species, the government said in a statement. In all, officials counted more than 400 exotic animals from Peru, the statement said. The incident began before dawn, when inspectors from Chile's Maritime Administration boarded the boat and found the live cargo stuffed inside dozens of cardboard boxes lined with chicken wire and with holes cut on the sides for ventilation. The animals were handed over to the Farm and Cattle Service of Arica, Chile's northernmost city, for return to Peru, the minister of agriculture said Monday in a statement. The captain of the ship, Moises Segundo Diaz Verdugo, a Chilean national, faces a possible fine of between $188,000 and $940,000, to be determined by an Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) court. Under an agreement between SAG and the National Institute of Natural Resources of the Republic of Peru, signed in 2007, the animals will be returned to Peru, SAG said. The national director of SAG, Francisco Bahamonde, credited coordination among various state bodies with impeding the illegal entry of protected species and products that can transmit pests or illnesses and said they would "redouble" their efforts. Chile busts trade in exotic animals from Peru | [
"Where will the animals be sent?",
"What is protecting the endangered animals?",
"How many animals were found?",
"What animals were included?",
"What were found from Peru?",
"What types of animals were found?",
"How many exotic animals in Peru were found?"
] | [
[
"Peru,"
],
[
"Convention on International Trade in"
],
[
"more than 400"
],
[
"macaws, toucans, parrots, turtles, squirrels and crocodiles,"
],
[
"hundreds of exotic animals"
],
[
"exotic"
],
[
"more than 400"
]
] | More than 400 exotic animals from Peru were found .
The animals include macaws, toucans, parrots, turtles, squirrels, crocodiles .
Most of the animals are protected under international pact on endangered species .
The wildlife will be returned to Peru . |
(CNN) -- China has developed a vaccine for swine flu and is set to become the first country in the world to begin mass inoculations, but there are concerns over possible side effects, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. A swine flu vaccine has been approved in China and inoculations could begin in the next few weeks. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told CNN, "We have to be ready for the fact that there might be adverse effects." "No matter what vaccine you're looking at, sometimes there are extremely rare side effects. We don't even know what those are yet, but they will show up in one in every two or 10 million vaccinated." Inoculations could begin in the next few weeks, according to the South China Morning Post, before celebrations begin on October 1 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. The vaccine, PANFLU.1, was developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd and is suitable for people aged three to 60. Sinovac says the single-shot vaccine has been approved by China's National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products and has obtained the Certificate for the Release of Biological Products. It says more than five million doses will be ready by the end of September. The South China Morning Post reports Health Minister Chen Zhu as saying that some 200,000 people taking part in the anniversary celebrations will be the first to receive the vaccine. Others considered to be high priority are students aged five to 19, those with medical conditions, especially chronic respiratory and coronary diseases, and pregnant women. The inoculation program will also target medical staff and key workers, including police officers, soldiers and quarantine officials. Chen said on Tuesday that there have so far been 5592 recorded cases of H1N1 in China's 31 inland provinces, but no one has yet died from the illness. "Due to the rising number of cases, especially since late August, we have indeed started seeing some serious cases," he said. The Post reported that there are plans to vaccinate 65 million people before the end of the year and that Chen admitted the amount of available vaccine was not nearly enough to inoculate the country's population of 1.3 billion people. The Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) last week approved two factories to produce the vaccine -- Sinovac, based in Beijing, and Hualan Biological Engineering, based in Henan -- according to the Post. But it reports the SFDA has announced that "more qualified enterprises which could produce swine flu vaccines" would be licensed by the end of September. Hartl said that in Europe, several drug firms are set to submit clinical trial data in the next few weeks, with GlaxoSmithKline likely to be among the first. Weidong Yin, CEO of Sinovac, said last week, "With the support of the Ministry of Health, State SFDA, and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Sinovac was able to successfully and rapidly complete the clinical trials and registration process for the H1N1 vaccine." | [
"What age group is the vaccine suitable for?",
"How many recorded cases of H1N1 in China?",
"Which country has approved a swine-flu vaccine?",
"What has China approved?",
"How many recorded cases are there of H1N1 in China?",
"What company has developed the vaccine?",
"What place is most affected by the swine flu?"
] | [
[
"people aged three to 60."
],
[
"5592"
],
[
"China"
],
[
"to begin mass inoculations,"
],
[
"5592"
],
[
"Sinovac Biotech Ltd"
],
[
"China"
]
] | China has approved a swine-flu vaccine and is set to begin inoculations .
Sinovac Biotech has developed the vaccine, suitable for those aged three to 60 .
There have been 5592 recorded cases of H1N1 in China's 31 inland provinces . |
(CNN) -- China has suspended exports of the Aqua Dots toys contaminated with a chemical that can convert to a powerful "date rape" drug, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Saturday. The toys have caused some children who swallowed the craft toys to vomit and lose consciousness.
China suspended exports of the Aqua Dots toys that contain a chemical that converts into a "date rape" drug.
The agency said that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has ordered an investigation by quality control agencies and will release results as soon as they are available.
The AQSIQ did not reveal the name of the toys' producer, Xinhua said.
U.S. safety officials voluntarily recalled about 4.2 million of the Chinese-made toys Wednesday.
Scientists have found the highly popular holiday toy contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB (gamma-hydroxy butyrate), Scott Wolfson, a spokesman with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), told CNN.
"Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression or have seizures," a CPSC statement warned.
The arts-and-craft beads, which have been selling since April at major U.S. retail stores under the name "Aqua Dots," have also been distributed in Australia under the name "Bindeez Beads."
The Bindeez toys were recalled Tuesday by Melbourne-based Moose Enterprise Pty. Ltd. after three children in Australia swallowed large quantities of the beads and were hospitalized.
"I was so frightened because I thought she wasn't going to make it," Heather Lehane told CNN affiliate Network 7 of her 10-year-old daughter, Charlotte, who was hospitalized in Australia after ingesting some of the beads.
In the United States, the Washington-based safety commission said it has in recent days received two reports detailing the severe effects of the digested beads, which are part of a craft kit aimed at kids 4 years and older.
The CPSC said a boy nearly 2 years old "swallowed several dozen beads. He became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a comatose state for a period of time."
The commission said the toddler was hospitalized and has since "fully recovered."
The second incident involved a child who vomited, fell into a coma and was hospitalized for five days. It was not immediately clear whether the child had made a full recovery.
Toronto-based toy distributor Spin Master Ltd. stopped shipping the Aqua Dots toys and asked retailers to pull them off their shelves, where they were previously sold for $17 to $30.
Anyone with Aqua Dots at home should return the product to the company, CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said.
The toy had been named toy of the year in Australia and recently crested Wal-Mart's list of top 12 Christmas toys.
Wal-Mart on Thursday listed the toys on its Web site as "out of stock online" and had removed them from their top toy list as well.
This latest recall is part of a larger batch of recalls of Chinese-made toys that have swept across the country.
Last month alone, U.S. government safety officials and retailers voluntarily recalled at least 69,000 Chinese-made toys over concerns of excessive amounts of lead paint, which can cause hazardous lead poisoning. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Janine Brady, Jason Carroll, Laura Dolan, Julie O'Neill and Leslie Wiggins contributed to this report. | [
"Who ordered an investigation?",
"What could happen to children who swallow the beads?",
"WHat happens to children who swallow beads?",
"what are sold as Bindeez beads in Australia and Aqua dots in united states?",
"which is the cause of research in China?",
"what was the count ofchildren were in trouble for beads",
"In which countrys where the beads sold",
"In which country were children hospitalized?",
"What did China order?",
"What are aqua dots called in australia?",
"what is the name of the comapanh who sells the beads",
"what can happen if beads are swallowed by children?",
"Who can have seizures?",
"which country orders an investigation by quality control agencies?",
"Who orders investigation by quality control agencies?",
"What toys were dangerous?",
"What country were three children hospitalized in after swallowing large quantities of beads?",
"What can happen to children who swallow beads?",
"are toxic beads that children swallow?"
] | [
[
"the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ)"
],
[
"vomit and lose consciousness."
],
[
"vomit and lose consciousness."
],
[
"\"date rape\" drug."
],
[
"Aqua Dots toys that contain a chemical that converts into a \"date rape\" drug."
],
[
"three"
],
[
"U.S."
],
[
"Australia"
],
[
"an investigation by quality control agencies"
],
[
"under the name \"Bindeez Beads.\""
],
[
"Melbourne-based Moose Enterprise Pty. Ltd."
],
[
"vomit and lose consciousness."
],
[
"swallow the beads"
],
[
"China"
],
[
"General Administration of"
],
[
"Aqua Dots"
],
[
"Australia"
],
[
"vomit and lose consciousness."
],
[
"Aqua Dots"
]
] | State-run news agency: China orders an investigation by quality control agencies .
Children who swallow the beads can become comatose or have seizures .
Toys are sold as Aqua Dots in the U.S., as Bindeez Beads in Australia .
Three children were hospitalized in Australia after swallowing large quantities . |
(CNN) -- China is continuing to speak out against a multibillion-dollar U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, with the Chinese foreign minister telling U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday that the Obama administration should reconsider the deal.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with Clinton in New York, where the United Nations General Assembly is in session, according to a senior State Department official who spoke on background.
Yang "was making very serious representations to Secretary Clinton, asked the Obama administration to reconsider this decision and indicated that it would harm the trust and confidence that was established between the two sides," the official said.
Chinese officials "have indicated that they're going to suspend or to cancel or postpone a series of ... military-to-military engagements," the official said.
Clinton "responded very clearly" that the United States has a strategic interest in stability in the region, and that the Taiwan Relations Act "provides for a strong rationale for the provision of defensive capabilities and weapons to Taiwan as part of a larger context to preserve that peace and stability," the official said.
Clinton also told Yang that the United States supports improved relations between mainland China and Taiwan.
The $5.3 billion arms package includes upgrades to Taiwan's F-16 fighter fleet, a five-year extension of F-16 pilot training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and spare parts for the upkeep of three different planes currently in use by the Taiwanese, according to the State Department. The deal is part of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.
China voiced strong opposition to the deal when it was announced last week, with the state-run Xinhua news agency quoting China's vice foreign minister, Zhang Zhijun, as saying, "The wrongdoing by the U.S. side will inevitably undermine bilateral relations as well as exchanges and cooperation in military and security areas."
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province. Taiwan began as the remnant of the government that ruled over mainland China, until a Communist uprising proved victorious in 1949.
The Taiwan Strait separates the mainland from the island.
In 1979, the United States carried out its "one China" policy by switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. But the Taiwan Relations Act obligates the United States to help defend the island if needed. The United States also is Taiwan's main arms supplier.
Beijing broke off military contacts with Washington last year to protest another arms sale to Taiwan. The sale included more than $6 billion in Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and communications equipment, which Taiwan said it needed for self-defense. | [
"Who met with Clinton in New York?",
"where did they meet",
"What will be updated with the package?",
"who met with secretary of state clinton",
"how much was the package",
"who calls on the U.S. to reconsider an arms sale to a country called Taiwan",
"who meets with the Secretary of State in New York",
"Who voiced strong opposition to the deal?",
"what did china do to the deal when it was announced last week"
] | [
[
"Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi"
],
[
"New York,"
],
[
"Taiwan's F-16 fighter fleet, a five-year extension of F-16 pilot training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and spare parts for the upkeep of three different planes currently in use by the Taiwanese,"
],
[
"Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi"
],
[
"$5.3 billion"
],
[
"China"
],
[
"Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi"
],
[
"China"
],
[
"voiced strong opposition"
]
] | Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi meets with Secretary of State Clinton in New York .
Yang calls on the U.S. to reconsider an arms sale to Taiwan .
The $5.3 billion package includes upgrades to Taiwan's F-16 fighers .
China voiced strong opposition to the deal when it was announced last week . |
(CNN) -- China plans to put laboratories in space, collect samples from the moon and prepare to build space stations over the next five years, according to an ambitious plan released this week aimed at putting the country on the global map for space exploration.
China also plans to launch manned-vessels and freighters into space during the coming half-decade, according to a government white paper. The country's eventual goal in the longer term is a manned lunar landing.
"With economic progress, also comes the need for scientific development and exploration," said Jiao Weixin, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Beijing University. "By investing in space exploration, China wants to contribute and be a major player in the world on more than one level."
The Chinese plans announced this week come as the United States has been scaling back its ambitions and funding for space exploration.
Since 2003, China has made major breakthroughs in its space program, including becoming the third country after Russia and the United States to put a human in space. It successfully completed a spacewalk in 2008.
In November, the successful automated docking and return of an unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou-8, paved the way for the creation of China's future space laboratory. The spaceship blasted off from a launch facility in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, one month after the first space laboratory module Tiangong-1 was launched into space.
China says its military-run space program will be used for peaceful purposes. But its activities have set off controversy in the past, like when it shot down one of its dead satellites in 2007, for example. That move alarmed some officials in the United States and other countries and raised concerns about the militarization of the space race.
Some experts say a critical gap in Chinese-U.S. space relations is the absence of regularized talks on space security, which took place between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War.
"In this regard, the Obama administration has made overtures at the military-to-military level," Clay Moltz, an professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., said in an e-mail response. "The ball is now in China's court to respond. How it responds may say a lot about its true intentions in space."
Two more space docking missions are planned for 2012, with at least one of them manned. But despite the progress, some experts say China still has a long way to go in developing its space technology.
"China is still catching up to countries that began their space programs in the 1960s," said Jiao. "It may be impressive to see what China has done in the past decade, but there is still a long way to go."
The paper also says China will develop technology to monitor space debris, study black holes and develop small satellites for environmental and disaster monitoring and forecasting. | [
"What is China's eventual goal?",
"What other countries have put a human in space?",
"what does china want",
"What country wants to launch space laboratories?",
"what is the eventual goal"
] | [
[
"a manned lunar landing."
],
[
"Russia and the United States"
],
[
"to contribute and be a major player in the world on more than one level.\""
],
[
"China"
],
[
"a manned lunar landing."
]
] | China's ambitious new plan comes as the U.S. scales back its own space ambitions .
China wants to launch space laboratories and collect samples from the moon .
Its eventual goal is to carry out a manned lunar landing .
China is the third country after the U.S. and Russia to put a human in space . |
(CNN) -- China's Olympic adventure may be over, but new age chanteuse Sa Dingding is one global export that in many ways echoes the Beijing Olympic fantasy of "One World. One Dream." Sa Dingding's music should find a home on the iPods of millions of chill-out world music fans. Born to a Mongolian mother and Han Chinese father, she sings in Mandarin, Tibetan, Sanskrit, and the rare dialect of Lagu, while fusing chill-out beats and floaty instrumentation played on zither, horse head fiddle and bamboo flute. Already hugely popular in China, she has been finding similar success farther afield: Her first album sold 2 million copies in Southeast Asia, and she has appeared on MTV. Earlier this year she won a BBC Radio 3 World Music Award as well as performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Her linguistic skills and musicianship were honed from a young age. Born in Inner Mongolia in 1983, she spent three years until the age of 6 with her grandmother, living a nomadic life in northern China, where her imagination and creativity were allowed to roam free. "We actually lived in a small city between grassland and the big city. In spring time, we move to the grassland. And in winter time, we moved back to the city,"she told CNN's Talk Asia. "The whole memory of my childhood is in one word: Play. I just played everywhere on the grassland. And there a lot of interesting things happened which affected the ... life of mine." Later she became a student of Buddhism and yoga as well as becoming a multi-instrumentalist, releasing her first album at the age of 18. Melding different musical cultures and ethnic influences, notably Tibetan, has also caused a certain amount of discussion, especially on her own position toward the status of Tibet within China. "From a musician's point of view, Tibetan culture and its music cannot be seen as an isolated subject... lots and lots of other ethnicities have added their colors on the Tibetan culture. So I see the Tibetan culture nowadays as an integral part of the greater Chinese culture," she said. Aiming to avoid controversy, organizers of the Glastonbury festival dropped her from this year's lineup. "I don't quite understand the reason behind [it]. To me, art and music really belong to the whole world and they shouldn't be limited by boundaries. So I really hope that I could join Glastonbury next year," she said. Until then further explorations in language and music beckon, and there have been recent collaborations with house music DJ Paul Oakenfold and French chill-out duo Deep Forest in Europe. "It's very amazing because when I had to return to China, they drove me to the airport and told me: 'Life is full of miracles. When you first arrived here, these three songs didn't exist. But now you're leaving, and we have three wonderful new songs.'" | [
"Where is Mongolia?",
"What is the musician's ethnicity?",
"Where did they sell the most albums?",
"Who said it was too controversial?",
"What kind of music do they make?"
] | [
[
"northern China,"
],
[
"Chinese"
],
[
"Southeast Asia,"
],
[
"organizers of the Glastonbury festival"
],
[
"Melding different musical cultures and ethnic influences, notably Tibetan,"
]
] | Half-Mongolian, half-Chinese musician mixes ethnic influences with chill-out beats .
First album sold over 2 million copies in South East Asia .
Deemed too controversial by Glastonbury Festival and dropped from line-up . |
(CNN) -- China's economy is booming and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's visit there this week highlights the U.A.E.'s ambitions to join in on this growth. CNN's John Defterios (JD) sits down with Shaukat Aziz (SA), former Prime Minister to Pakistan to talk about the emerging relationship. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Aziz is an expert in global banking who worked in the Middle East for a number of years as an official for Citigroup. He was an influential player in the process of creating a free trade agreement between Pakistan and China, after visiting the country in 2005. Shaukat Aziz talks about the growing ties between China and the Middle East, and gives us inside knowledge on doing business in China. (SA): I think the two economies are complementary. China is a global economy which is growing rapidly. It has one of the highest growth rates in the world, and it is expanding its footprint all over the world. Dubai and the U.A.E. is clearly a hub for South Asia, the Middle East, and the whole region. They are a trading center, they are a financial center, and they don't compete directly with China, in fact both economies will compliment each other. I think the U.A.E. Prime Minister's trip will help to further reinforce this and get the two countries closer together, in trade, in financial flows, in linking capital markets and many other initiatives. (JD): Trade has been growing 30 to 40 percent over the last four years. But can it move beyond hard Chinese goods going into the Gulf? (SA): Of course it can. I think the nature of Dubai is such that it has now become the clearing house for goods from all over the world. And buyers go to Dubai and look for the best product at the best price. So, if China, being a large country, can bring its products to Dubai, it will help both countries. May I also say that I see China evolving as an exporter of capital, not just goods because China is running huge surpluses. Their reserves are at an all time high. So they are looking for investments too, and you see now a trend in Chinese companies to buy companies overseas. A trend in Chinese companies to invest overseas because they want, once they go global, they want production facilities all over the world. So the design and the research and development will be done in China, the components will come from China, but the manufacturing could move across the world. This trend is already started and I think this will all go well for both countries. (JD): Lets take it a step further. Do you see Chinese investment funds or Sovereign Funds and U.A.E. sovereign funds going out together to acquire companies in the near future? (SA): Sure, there have been situations where both have participated in different companies. (JD): But separately. (SA): Separately, but I think they could join too. But the real issue on sovereign funds is being represented in certain quarters as if this is something which is unhelpful to the global economy. In my view, in an era of globalization we must open up our markets for investments and let anybody come along in line with the rules of that country. May I say that the sovereignty of any country is a very robust concept. And if a foreign sovereign fund or investor comes along and buys a bank in a particular country, the countries sovereignty is never jeopardized. But, if you have good regulators and good policies, because even in a deregulated environment, regulation is necessary. Deregulation does not mean abdication by the government, so if your regulatory regime is sound, you don't have to worry. Sovereign funds have demonstrated that they have helped promote economic activity, help save certain companies, banks as a case in point. And it's a win-win for both sides. So I think this question of their role is over stated. (JD): Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah went to visit China when he | [
"What does Aziz see?",
"What does Aziz believe?",
"Who talks with John Defterios",
"What do Middle Eastern and Chinese economies have in common?"
] | [
[
"growing ties between China and the Middle East,"
],
[
"two economies are complementary."
],
[
"Shaukat Aziz"
],
[
"trading center,"
]
] | Shaukat Aziz, former Pakistani Prime Minister talks with John Defterios .
Aziz sees compatibility between Middle Eastern and Chinese economies .
Chinese surpluses may allow exporting of capital for overseas manufacturing .
Aziz believes regulated foreign investment does not put sovereignty at risk . |
(CNN) -- China's figure skating pair of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo capped an emotional comeback to the Winter Olympics on Monday by capturing the pairs figure skating gold.
By winning the event, Shen and Zhao captured their country's first gold medal in figure skating and fulfilled a quest that had previously eluded them. The husband-and-wife team had retired from Olympic competition, but was coaxed back by the hope of claiming gold.
China made it a 1-2 finish in pairs skating after Pan Qing and Tong Jian claimed silver, according to the Vancouver Olympics Web site. Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy claimed third place and the bronze medal in the event.
Elsewhere at the Olympics, South Korea's Mo Tae-Bum captured the gold medal in the men's 500-meter speed skating event. Japan's Keiichiro Nagashima and Joji Kato captured silver and bronze, respectively.
In figure skating, China's Shen and Zhao had retired in 2007 after capturing three world championships and two Olympic bronze medalists, making them the most decorated figure skaters in their country's history.
Shen and Zhao were also newlyweds after Zhao proposed to Shen on the ice following a stunning 2007 World Championship performance in Tokyo.
Headlining the popular Stars on Ice tour in the United States, retirement seemed like a natural step for Zhao and Shen. But after just two years away, they declared they would return for the Vancouver Olympics, presumably to capture the gold medal that eluded them.
CNN memories: What was it like to train with Olympic champs?
Zhao and Shen kicked off their comeback fittingly by winning the Cup of China last season. They won all three of their events and set a new world record at the Grand Prix Final.
The pair, formerly ranked number one in the world, opened the Vancouver Olympic figure skating competitions by performing first of the 20 competing pairs. Their draw was considered bad luck, especially because Shen and Zhao currently rank 29th in the world after being away from competition.
Zhao and Shen delivered a near flawless performance in the short program on Sunday, what many skating analysts called their strongest program ever.
"We wanted the program to show all that we have, and we made it," Zhao told the Xinhua news agency in Vancouver following the short program on Sunday. "It's the best gift for the Valentine's Day," Shen added.
CNN's Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report. | [
"who won gold in mens 500 meter speed skating?",
"Who claimed the gold for figure skating pairs?",
"Who won gold for South Korea?",
"Where is the husband-wife team from?",
"How long were the team gone from competition?",
"what medals did japan claim?",
"who claimed figure skating pairs gold?",
"Who won gold in men's 500-meter speed skating?"
] | [
[
"Mo Tae-Bum"
],
[
"Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo"
],
[
"Mo Tae-Bum"
],
[
"China's"
],
[
"two years"
],
[
"silver and bronze,"
],
[
"Zhao Hongbo"
],
[
"South Korea's Mo Tae-Bum"
]
] | China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo claim figure skating pairs gold .
Husband-wife team had returned to competition after two-year absence .
South Korea's Mo Tae-Bum wins gold in men's 500-meter speed skating .
Japan claims silver and bronze in men's 500-meter speed skating . |
(CNN) -- China's giant pandas are believed to be safe after Monday's earthquake, but concern is growing over how they will get their next meals. The giant pandas' primary food source is bamboo. Authorities confirmed Tuesday that captive animals in two of China's major panda reserves were alive, according to Xinhua, China's official news agency. The Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center in southwest Sichuan province is home to about 86 giant pandas, who were reported safe Tuesday. Staff and critters at neighboring Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center were also reported safe, according to a spokesperson for the Atlanta Zoo, which has two pandas on loan from the wildlife reserve. Concern arose in the international wildlife community over damage to the animals' habitat, as authorities continued assessing the scope of damage in the Sichuan province. The mountainous, densely wooded region is the natural habitat for most of the 1,200 giant pandas living in the wild, making it an obvious location for research bases like Wolong and Chengdu. Giant pandas roam the forest in "open cages" that are meant to provide them with a safe, natural environment that will prepare them for release. With the safety of the pandas confirmed, the animals' caregivers are left to determine how resources like food and medical supplies will reach the bases, which contain breeding facilities and triage centers. Bamboo, the pandas' primary source of food, is a major agricultural product in the region, but whether it can be supplied to the pandas despite infrastructure damage is open to question. "Wolong is hard to access under normal conditions, so the heavy road damage makes it even harder," said Kerry Zobor, spokesperson for the World Wildlife Fund. Zobor said WWF had confirmed the safety of staff based in Beijing, but had not received word on the conditions in Wolong. She said the WWF was also concerned about members who had been touring the country when the earthquake struck. So far, the group has not been located. Scientists in the United States are hopeful that Chinese researchers will adapt to the situation facing them. David Wildt with the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park in Washington says that scientists in Wolong have overcome threats to the giant panda population before. In the late 1990s, the captive giant panda population was in decline, with more animals dying than were born, Wildt said. Thanks to a collaborative effort with American scientists, the Wolong staff was able to reverse the trend. "Our Chinese colleagues are very perceptive when it comes to addressing problems," said Wildt, who has visited Wolong many times as part of the Smithsonian's affiliation with the research base. "Because of their efforts, the population is on the rise today." Wildt said that Chinese scientists have also addressed the issue of alternative food sources before. "Artificial diets in the form of protein biscuits have been created for giant pandas. They're not a complete substitute, but they meet the needs of a basic high-fiber diet," said Wildt, who has worked with two pandas that the Smithsonian has on loan from Wolong. "Right now, we're mostly concerned about the staff. If the staff is fine, then the animals will be fine," Wildt said. | [
"Where are they keeping the giant pandas?",
"What were the growing concerns about?",
"Report: Chinese authorities confirm that captive giant pandas are safe",
"Scientist: Alternative foods exist in the event of depleted bamboo stocks",
"What do the authorities confirm are safe?",
"What do pandas eat?",
"What type of food exists in event of depleted bamboo stocks?",
"Who confirmed that the giant pandas are safe?"
] | [
[
"southwest Sichuan province"
],
[
"how they will get their next meals."
],
[
"after Monday's earthquake,"
],
[
"protein biscuits"
],
[
"giant pandas"
],
[
"primary food source is bamboo."
],
[
"\"Artificial diets in the form of protein biscuits"
],
[
"Authorities"
]
] | Report: Chinese authorities confirm that captive giant pandas are safe .
Concerns grow over road accessibility to the reserves .
Scientist: Alternative foods exist in the event of depleted bamboo stocks . |
(CNN) -- China's space program has really taken off in the last six years. Back to Earth: Yang Liwei faces the cameras on returning to Earth in 2003. In 2003 Yang Liwei became a national hero when he became the first Chinese man in space, followed five years later by Zhai Zhigang who became the first "taikonaut" to make a spacewalk. "The moment I stepped out of the hatch and entered space, the sensation of completely becoming one with space was a feeling I had never felt before on Earth," Zhai told CNN. "I deliberately looked into outer space, looking past my toes and deep into outer space. The differing brightness and distances of the celestial bodies really brought out the deepness of outer space. The vast , boundless expanse of outer space stirred my soul." View the photo gallery to learn more about the history of China's space program. From out of this world moments to their place in Chinese history, these two pioneering spacemen tell CNN's John Vause about their missions, how they had prepared for the worst should things go wrong and if China and other nations with the moon in their sights are creating a new international space race. | [
"What are the names of the Chinese taikonauts?",
"What was the first Chinese man in space?",
"First nationality has their first man in space?",
"What Chinese \"taikonauts\" talk to CNN?",
"First Chinese to conduct what kind of walk?",
"What are the names of the Chinese \"taikonauts?\"",
"Which news network did they talk to?"
] | [
[
"Yang Liwei"
],
[
"In 2003 Yang Liwei became a national hero when he became the"
],
[
"China's"
],
[
"Zhai Zhigang"
],
[
"spacewalk."
],
[
"Zhai Zhigang"
],
[
"CNN."
]
] | Chinese "taikonauts" Yang Liwei and Zhai Zhigang talk to CNN .
First Chinese man in space and first Chinese to conduct a spacewalk, respectively .
Talk about their historic moments to international space race . |
(CNN) -- Chinese authorities were explicit: Tear down the nation's first sex-themed amusement park before it gets going full steam. Visitors catch a glimpse of Love Land, billed as China's first-ever sex theme park, in southwest China. Love Land had not opened its doors yet, but authorities in the city of Chongqing -- a sprawling metropolis on the banks of the Yangtze River -- got all hot and bothered over the park's plans to display naked human sculptures, giant replica genitals and a photo gallery on the history of sex, the state-run China Daily reported. Lu Xiaoqing, park manager, told the newspaper he got the idea for building Love Land after a visit to a sex park in Jeju, a popular destination in South Korea. Love Land would include sex-technique workshops and sex education to help adults "enjoy a harmonious sex life," Lu said. "Sex is a taboo subject in China, but people really need to have more access to information about it," he told the newspaper. "We are building the park for the good of the public." Whatever Lu's intentions, the newspaper said Chinese officials saw it another way: "vulgar, ill-minded and misleading." The park was to open in October but was demolished over the weekend -- thongs, replicas of derrieres and all. Reactions posted on the Internet were varied, according to the China Daily. Some thought sex was best left behind closed doors, while others argued that a real need for sex education existed in China. "Sex is a matter of privacy. It is not for publicity," said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor at Beijing University. The officials in Chongquing apparently agreed. | [
"What kind of workshops?",
"What were reactions posted on the internet?",
"What were the reactions?",
"What was Love Land to display?",
"What was the park to include?",
"Who want to display giant replica genitals?"
] | [
[
"sex-technique"
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[
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[
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],
[
"naked human sculptures, giant replica genitals and a photo gallery on the history of sex,"
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[
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[
"Love Land"
]
] | Love Land was to display giant replica genitals and photo gallery on history of sex .
The park was to include sex-technique workshops and sex education .
Reactions posted on the Internet were varied, according to the China Daily . |
(CNN) -- Chinese language media often refer to Jay Chou as the "small heavenly king," but the Taiwan born pop idol is more down-to-earth than the many accolades he receives suggest. At 29, Jay Chou is already a household name in many Asian countries. "I think I tend to believe in myself. I don't know....maybe I was born to believe in myself rather than in others. That's why I like to complete my work on my own," the solo singer-songwriter and actor told CNN's Talk Asia. The 29-year-old has ridden his wave of inner belief to become one of Asia's biggest pop stars, and fostered an image of being something of an anti-hero, neither boastful nor too brash. His music mixes ballads with urban R&B beats, while he has also taken a march on Asian cinema, writing his own screenplays, directing and appearing in a number of hit films. Music remains his first love, having found success despite being naturally shy. He released his first album in 2000, and eight years and seven albums later he still believes he has plenty of material for songs left in him, breaking from the usual Mando- and Canto-pop themes of boy-meets-girl. In the past his lyrics have ventured into more considered and darker territory with a song about an abusive father and have taken on a variety of themes and genres. "I think my music is quite different from the Western rap music culture. You won't find bad language in my music. I have this sense of responsibility to add an educational element in my music. That's why I would never write anything about suicide or whatever, because I think we all need the courage to deal with our lives," he said. Chou was brought up by his mother, a school teacher in Linkou in Taiwan. His parents divorced while he was at a young age. He began playing the piano as a 3-year-old, continuing to practice daily throughout his school days where despite being a diligent pupil he was academically average. While a so-so student he developed a way to express himself by focusing on playing the piano, and from it developed a self-reliant streak. "I think my confidence belongs to the stage or when I'm standing in front of the screen. I'm like two different people on-stage and off-stage," he told CNN's Talk Asia. Chou's career was given a boost when he was spotted by Taiwanese entertainer Jacky Wu while backstage before a TV talent contest. Wu liked what he saw and introduced Chou to the music industry, at first as a songwriter for others. "I never aimed to be a pop icon or whatever. My first album was actually a collection of songs that I wrote for other people. They didn't want them, so I made the album myself. The only aim I had was to be a singer-songwriter, not an idol," said Chou. Despite modest beginnings then he has reached idol status in many Asian countries, having appeared in front of crowds of tens of thousands of people across Asia and on the silver screen to millions. His huge exposure also ensures he's the sources of constant speculation from the media about his private life. "I think showbiz in Taiwan, or even in the Chinese-speaking region, is quite different from showbiz in the U.S. The more low-profile and tight-lipped you are, the more the paparazzi runs after you. And I happen to belong in this category," he said. | [
"When did his career begin?",
"What pop star still lives with his mom?",
"Who turned to acting and directing?",
"What has the pop star tried his hand at recently?",
"When did the career begin?",
"Where did his career begin?"
] | [
[
"2000,"
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[
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[
"Jay Chou"
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[
"screenplays, directing and appearing"
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[
"2000,"
],
[
"Taiwan"
]
] | Multi-million album selling Taiwanese pop idol still lives with his mother .
Has turned hand to acting and directing recently working with Chow Yun-Fat .
Career began when spotted at a talent competition . |
(CNN) -- Chris Helmbrecht is a 37-year-old German who lived in New York and Spain before moving to Moscow nearly six years ago. He runs an advertising agency and also writes Moscow Blog, a lifestyle blog about the city. Chris Helmbrecht: "Not many places have as much energy as Moscow." CNN: You've traveled around a lot -- what makes Moscow unique? Chris Helmbrecht: Not many places have so much energy and so many things going on. It can be very nerve wracking and exhausting, but on the other hand it's very exciting. New York is one of those places, Tokyo too, but there are only a handful of cities in the world that have that kind of energy. CNN: You used to be a DJ -- what's your opinion of Moscow's nightlife? CH: For some people the nightlife is the best in the world, but for me it's very commercial and posh. You can sum it up in one sentence, which is a general thing about Moscow: people here live "Sex and the City." They just want to go out and spend money and pretend they're rich and successful and live this dream. I recently had a conversation with the club editor of Timeout Moscow and I asked her if she thought the clubs were suffering right now with the economy. She said that in the modern "New Russian" culture people would rather sell their Mercedes than not go out and spend anywhere between $4,000 and $6,000 on a table in a club and admit that they're not rich anymore. Moscow is dominated by posh parties, but it's no different at a subculture place like a techno club -- you're always judged by the labels you wear, the car you drive and the music you identify yourself with. CNN: Where do you like to go in the city? CH: Novodevichy Monastery is a really beautiful old monastery. Stalin demolished a lot of churches and monasteries but this one was spared. There's a pond below it that you can walk around, and all the Russian Orthodox popes are buried in he cemetery. It's a very nice place. Another place is would be Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills), where you can look out over Moscow. It's pretty industrial looking but it has good views. I also enjoy the center of Moscow. I like hanging out on the roof bar of a hotel, having a drink, looking out over Red Square. It makes you feel like you're away from the noise of the city. What makes Moscow special to you? Let us know. CNN: What do Muscovites do at the weekend? CH: It depends on the time of year, but in the summer they take every opportunity to get out of the city. Everyone has a little weekend house called a "dacha" and every Friday night after work people leave the city. From 4pm in the afternoon to 10pm at night you have long traffic jams on all the roads out of the city. People will spend three or four hours in traffic jams just to travel 60km -- and on the way back on Sunday and Monday mornings it's the same. Some "dachas" are really basic wooden houses and some are palaces but every family has one, or even two or three. People go out to the woods or lakes and they have barbeques, they drink and they do some gardening. They value this "dacha" life so much that they're willing to spend 6 hours in traffic to spend 1 ½ days in the woods. CNN: So is Moscow is deserted in the summertime? CH: Moscow is very quiet in the summertime -- it's my favorite time. You can already notice that there are less people in the clubs and less people in the streets at the weekend. Towards the end of June, Moscow is really empty. You really notice it from the middle of July until September, when it's school vacations. CNN: Has Moscow change a lot since you moved there? CH | [
"What is his age?",
"When do Muscovites love to get out of the city?",
"How many years old is Helmbrecht?",
"Who loves to get out of the city?",
"What can make it exciting?",
"Where does Helmbrecht live?"
] | [
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"in the summer"
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[
"37-year-old"
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[
"Muscovites"
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[
"energy"
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[
"Moscow"
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] | Chris Helmbrecht is a 37-year-old German who now lives in Moscow .
He says Moscow's energy makes it exciting, but it can be exhausting .
Muscovites love to get out of the city at the weekend, says Chris .
"Moscow is renewing itself. In 10 years you won't recognize it," he says . |
(CNN) -- Chris Rock is best known for two things: being funny and being crass. "If you're the president you only have two jobs: peace and money," Chris Rock said. "This is what people come to see. I'm just doing my show," the comedian said with a laugh. He's also known for his political commentary, but there's one person he's having a lot of trouble making fun of -- president-elect Barack Obama. This is apparent in his new DVD "Kill the Messenger," which combines three shows from his international tour: New York; London, England; and Johannesburg, South Africa. "It was a tour nobody wanted to do... because the general perception is that comedy doesn't translate," Rock said. But thanks to the Internet, the world is a lot smaller than it was even 10 years ago. And people are digging the same jokes, he said, including ones about John McCain and Sarah Palin. As the DVD readies for release on January 20, CNN talked with Rock about his lack of Obama jokes, Inauguration Day and why racism will never die. The following is an edited version of that interview: CNN: I watched the special last night, and I noticed that you did a lot of jokes about John McCain -- his age, his war hero story -- but not so many about Barack Obama. Is it harder to make fun of Obama? Chris Rock: He's just one of those guys, you know, like Will Smith. There's no Will Smith jokes. There's no Brad Pitt jokes. You know, what are you going to say? "Ooh, you used to have sex with Jennifer Anniston. Now you have sex with Angelina Jolie. You're such a loser." What do you say? "Ooh, your movies are big. You make $20 million." There's nothing to say about Brad Pitt. CNN: Why is Obama like that? Rock: It's like "Ooh, you're young and virile and you've got a beautiful wife and kids. You're the first African-American president." You know, what do you say? CNN: As time goes on do you think it will get easier? Rock: Of course, as time goes on. At some point he's going to -- there's always slip-ups. No one can survive that level of scrutiny without occasionally making it easy for a comedian. CNN: Let's talk about the inauguration. Are you going? Rock: No, I have to go to Sundance [Film Festival]. I've got a movie premiering at Sundance. So I have to go to the whitest place in America -- Utah. CNN: What's it going to be like for you on Inauguration Day? Rock: It'll be a cool day. It's weird. I've never watched an inauguration. I've never watched anyone get sworn in. You know, it's like Election Day and then you look up and somebody else is the president two months later. It was never like, "I can't wait till tomorrow. Oh my god! They're going to swear in Jimmy Carter!" CNN: Are you going to watch this one, though? Rock: I'll put it this way -- like any business is going to be getting done while this guy is getting sworn in. Like I'm going to be in a meeting. Everything is going to stop for however long it takes. Hope they get to it -- hope it's not like I gotta listen to three different versions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" or something. I hope it's not like Rosa Parks' funeral, where everybody f***ing speaks. CNN: What are you hoping Barack Obama does for this country? What do you think is his most important task? Rock: You know, if you're the president you only have two jobs: peace and money. That's | [
"When is the \"Kill the Messenger\" DVD to be released?",
"When is the \"Kill the Messenger\" DVD going to be released?",
"What will Chris Rock release January 20?",
"Who is releasing a DVD?",
"Which people are exempt from jokes?"
] | [
[
"January 20,"
],
[
"January 20,"
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[
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[
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],
[
"Brad Pitt"
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] | Comedian Chris Rock to release "Kill the Messenger" DVD January 20 .
There are no Barack Obama jokes, Rock says, just like there are no Brad Pitt jokes .
Rock: Playing for international crowds not that different than playing in U.S.
"Stand-up comedy always plays such a back seat to music," Rock says . |
(CNN) -- Christie's is the world's leading art business with global auction sales in 2007 that totalled $6.3 billion, marking the highest total in company and in art auction history.
A Christie's employee holds the painting 'La Surprise' at Christie's auction house in London on July 4, 2008.
Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for unique artworks as well as international glamour.
Christie's offers over 600 sales annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photographs, collectibles, wine, cars and more. Prices range from $200 to over $80 million.
Christie's has 85 offices in 43 countries and 14 salerooms around the world including London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Hong Kong.
Most recently, Christie's has expanded initiatives in emerging markets such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Dubai, Mumbai and Russia.
Christie's also offers its clients worldwide access to its sales through its real-time online bidding service Christie's LIVE. | [
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]
] | Christie's global auction sales in 2007 totalled $6.3 billion .
Christie's was founded in 1766 by James Christie .
Sales categories include fine arts, jewelry, photography, collectibles, wine, cars . |
(CNN) -- Christina Cimino was logging onto Twitter on Thursday morning when something happened that she found deeply unsettling. iReporter David Seaman says Twitter needs a competitor so users don't panic when it goes down. "I got some weird error message, and I'm like, 'What's going on!?" the 24-year-old said. That error message was the scourge of online social networkers worldwide on Thursday as cyber-attacks shut down Twitter and caused sustained glitches in other social-media sites like Facebook and the blogging site LiveJournal. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote the sites were the victims of what "appears to be a single, massively coordinated attack." And a pro-Georgian blogger, whose accounts on Facebook and Twitter reportedly were the targets of the denial-of-service attack, told CNN the online strike was timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia conflict. What may prove more lasting about the day social networking suffered its first major blackout is the degree to which people cared. Near-panic erupted in some corners of the Internet as people lost cherished links to their online friends, family members and news feeds. Watch CNN iReporters talk about the attack Part of the panic relates to the sheer popularity of the sites. Twitter saw a more than 1,300 percent jump in unique visitors between February 2008 and February 2009, according to Nielsen NetView. The site, which lets users post messages of 140 characters or less, had more than 44 million worldwide users in June, according to comScore. More than 120 million users log onto Facebook at least one time each day, the site says. To be sure, not all Facebook and Twitter users freaked out because of the attacks. Some people even reveled in the mayhem. Blog: Could the attacks be our fault? But for people like Cimino, who said she "felt naked" without access to Twitter, the attacks were a serious reality check -- a chance to evaluate just how dependent they'd become. "You know how you pat your pockets for your cell phone and your keys? Well it's that same kind of phantom [limb] with Twitter," she said. "It's like, 'I can't update! I can't update!' It's just one of those bugs that gets in you." She added: "I was pretty upset, actually. It feels like a lifeline for me ... Pretty much everyone knows almost every detail of my life by what I'm doing on Twitter." It's not worth analyzing whether these online connections are good or bad because the reality is that Twitter and Facebook are now an important part of our lives, said Marc Cooper, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. "For many people, and not just young people, the Web is not just media, it's actually a place where they conduct their lives or a portion of their lives," he said. "So the panic [Thursday] morning is only reflective of that. This is not just a hobby or an amusement or another accoutrement, it's actually deeply woven into their lives and is integral to their social interaction. So when it's cut off, it's a problem." Others saw Twitter's existence as the problem and relished the chance to make fun of a Web site that has become so omnipresent in news cycles. "Horrors!!! People will have to communicate face to face!" one user commented on CNN's SciTech blog. Another commenter said, "Turn off your computers and read a book or get outside and discover there is more to life than cyberspace. The Internet has become nothing more than the new cocaine." Now that Twitter is back online, the No. 1 conversation thread on the site is called "whentwitterwasdown," where users discuss what they did without their real-time Twitter updates. Some people are mocking the blackout. A user named PaulWilks, for instance, wrote, "I took | [
"What social media sites went down in the article?",
"What were the sites victims of?",
"Who were the victims of cyber-attacks?",
"What were the social networks victims of?",
"What day did the sites go down?",
"When did Twitter and Facebook go down?",
"When did the sites go down?",
"What did one Twitter user say she felt?"
] | [
[
"Twitter"
],
[
"\"appears to be a single, massively coordinated attack.\""
],
[
"Facebook and Twitter"
],
[
"a single, massively coordinated attack.\""
],
[
"Thursday"
],
[
"Thursday"
],
[
"Thursday"
],
[
"naked\""
]
] | Some Twitter and Facebook users panicked as the sites went down Thursday .
Several online social networks were the victims of cyber-attacks .
One Twitter user says she felt "naked" without her micro-blog .
Another says he felt "jittery" during the time Twitter was down . |
(CNN) -- Christine Beatty, chief of staff for former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, pleaded guilty Monday to charges stemming from their text-messaging sex scandal case and will serve four months in jail, according to the Wayne County prosecutor's office.
Under a plea deal, Christine Beatty, shown in August at an arraignment in Detroit, will serve five years probation.
Beatty pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice, according to Maria Miller, the prosecutor's spokeswoman. Charges of perjury and misconduct against Beatty will be dropped as part of the plea arrangement, she said.
Beatty agreed to a plea arrangement under which she will serve five years probation -- the first 120 days to be served in jail -- and pay a $100,000 fine, "based on [Beatty's] ability to pay," Miller said.
Beatty will begin serving her jail sentence on January 5, when she will be formally sentenced, Miller said.
Kym L. Worthy, prosecuting attorney for Wayne County, released a statement saying she is "very pleased that this defendant admitted her guilt."
"We live in an age where greed and protecting one's secrets is glorified and accepted," Worthy said. "Now the city of Detroit, the region and the state of Michigan can truly begin to move forward when this ugly chapter in Detroit's history is put to rest."
In September, Kilpatrick resigned as mayor and pleaded guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges stemming from his efforts to cover up his relationship with Beatty.
Like Beatty, Kilpatrick was sentenced to five years probation with the first four months to be served in jail. He is serving that sentence in the Wayne County jail.
At the time of his sentencing in October, the judge in the case called Kilpatrick "arrogant and defiant," particularly for a televised speech that aired hours after Kilpatrick entered his pleas.
"That night, the community expected to hear a message of humility, remorse and apology," Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner said at Kilpatrick's sentencing. "Instead, we heard an arrogant and defiant man who accused the governor, among others, for his downfall."
In addition to his jail and probation sentence, Kilpatrick must also pay the city of Detroit $1 million in restitution, and forfeit any future pension.
Initially, Kilpatrick was accused of blocking a criminal investigation into his office and firing a police deputy to cover up an affair with Beatty, then his chief of staff.
When that deputy, Gary Brown, filed a whistle-blower suit, Kilpatrick and Beatty denied under oath that an affair had taken place between them.
Text messages that contradicted Kilpatrick's and Beatty's denials of an affair were made public in January by the Detroit Free Press, and county prosecutor Worthy charged Kilpatrick and Beatty with multiple counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.
The most serious charges would have carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison upon conviction.
Beatty resigned her post after the text messages were made public.
Kilpatrick initially refused to resign after the scandal broke, and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm called a hearing on whether she should remove him from office at the request of the Detroit City Council. Granholm adjourned those hearings after Kilpatrick pleaded guilty and resigned in September. | [
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"What was the fine amount?"
] | [
[
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[
"four"
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[
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[
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] | Christine Beatty pleads guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice .
Chief of staff for former Detroit, Michigan, mayor will serve four months in jail .
She gets probation, $100,000 fine; perjury, misconduct charges to be dropped .
Charges stemmed from text-messaging sex scandal involving mayor . |
(CNN) -- Christine Levinson went to the United Nations on Monday to ask questions about her husband, Bob, a former FBI agent who vanished in Iran last year.
Christine Levinson has sought help from Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Levinson flew to New York with three of her seven children in hopes of meeting the one man she hoped could really get things moving -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is at the United Nations for a speech he is scheduled to deliver Tuesday afternoon.
Ahmadinejad declined to meet with her.
"I'm disappointed," she says.
Levinson did meet, however, with the Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"He said he would do whatever he could to help me," she told CNN.
Levinson went to the United Nations with her children -- Susan, 31, Sarah, 28, and Douglas, 14. Her husband disappeared in March 2007 while on a business trip to the Iranian island of Kish.
Bob Levinson is a retired FBI agent from Coral Springs, Florida. After leaving the agency, his wife says, he worked as a security consultant specializing in cigarette smuggling.
Over the last year and half, Levinson says she has done everything she can to draw attention to her husband's disappearance.
She has given interviews, met with U.S. State Department officials, set up a Web site -- www.helpboblevinson.com -- and staged a rally. She even has offered a $5,000 reward, aimed primarily at Iranians who might have information about her husband.
Has it yielded any tips?
"No," Christine Levinson says. "Nothing."
Last year, she traveled to Iran to try to retrace her husband's steps. Back then, Iranian officials told her they would investigate and report back to her.
She says she hasn't heard a word.
"They told me when they have some information, they will let me know and in the meantime will continue to search for Bob," Levinson told CNN.
She has denied that her husband was doing business for the US government when he went missing -- she says she didn't believe so because he's a private citizen. And the State Department and FBI have denied he was working for government.
The State Department has demanded Iran free Levinson -- if it is holding him.
Levinson says her husband suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.
She insists she is confident her husband is all right because "I haven't heard anything bad."
At times, she listens to his voicemail message, just to hear his voice.
"I still firmly believe he is alive," she says. "Every day, I tell my children to take things one day at a time.
"I just want him to know I'm still looking for him. I'll never stop looking for him." | [
"Who has done everything to draw attention to Levinson?",
"How much is the reward?",
"Who said everything has been done to draw attention to the case?",
"When did he disappear?",
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"What has his wife done?",
"Does the FBI make any comments on this person?",
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] | [
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] | Former FBI agent Bob Levinson disappeared in Iran in March 2007 .
His wife says she has done everything to draw attention to Levinson's disappearance .
A $5,000 reward has been offered, but no tips have come in . |
(CNN) -- Christopher Lloyd picked through the charred remnants of his Montecito, California, home Monday morning, resigning himself to the fact it cannot be rebuilt.
Christopher Lloyd's $11 million home in Montecito, California, was destroyed by the "Tea Fire."
The "Back to the Future" and "Taxi" star showed ABC's "Good Morning America" what remained of his $11 million home in the exclusive celebrity neighborhood northwest of Los Angeles.
"Boy, look at that," Lloyd said as he approached the rubble. "All this happens in a couple of minutes."
Lloyd's home was among dozens of homes lost in wildfires in Southern California.
The "Tea Fire" which started at the privately owned Tea Garden Estate, about a mile north of Santa Barbara's Westmont College, ripped through an area that Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas, Rob Lowe and other celebrities call home.
Lloyd told "Good Morning America" that it was "just sort of sinking in" that his home was gone for good.
"It's amazing, its just gone," Lloyd told "Good Morning America." "Rebuilding would be -- it's too much. You can't rebuild that."
The home's windows were blown out, entire sections demolished, and piles of concrete, ashy trees and shrubbery were scattered across the property.
"You watch TV, you see these kinds of incidents happening here and there, but you look with a kind of detachment because it's happening ... elsewhere," he told "Good Morning America." "But suddenly to be in the midst of it -- it's a very different awareness."
Lloyd joked that he had been planning on organizing and storing memorabilia from the home, but never got around to it.
"Kind of don't have to worry about that now," he said. | [
"Who said that rebuilding would be too much?",
"What was the value of Lloyd's home?",
"Whose home was destroyed?",
"Whose home was among those destroyed by wildfire?",
"Having home destroyed brings a different awareness according to who?",
"Who has their home destroyed by wildfire?",
"Whose home was one of the dozens destroyed by California wildfires?",
"How many homes were destroyed?"
] | [
[
"Christopher"
],
[
"$11 million"
],
[
"Christopher"
],
[
"Christopher Lloyd's"
],
[
"Christopher"
],
[
"Christopher"
],
[
"Christopher Lloyd's"
],
[
"dozens"
]
] | Christopher Lloyd's home one of dozens destroyed by California wildfires .
Lloyd: "Rebuilding would be -- it's too much. You can't rebuild that"
Lloyd: Having home destroyed brings "different awareness" than watching on TV . |
(CNN) -- Churches can stop a shooter or anyone else intent on harming church members with the proper security measures in place, an expert on protecting places of worship said Monday. Police say the attacker walked into First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, on Sunday and began firing. "A church is not helpless when they have a plan, and properly trained security," said Jeff Hawkins, the executive director of the Christian Security Network. First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois, had a security plan in place when a gunman walked into services Sunday morning and killed Pastor Fred Winters, said Tim Lawson, another pastor at the church. Lawson told CNN he was not prepared to disclose details of his church's security plan on Monday. But Maryville police Chief Rich Schardam said Winters was keenly aware of the security issues, had sought out police advice and had identified police and medical personnel in the congregation who could help in an emergency. "They did have plans on what to do," Schardam said Monday. Schardam said neither of the men who subdued the gunman had a law enforcement background. "Those parishioners were just real-life heroes," Pastor Lawson said. See how gunman killed Illinois pastor » Schardam said the suspect in Sunday's shooting, 27-year-old Terry J. Sedlacek, had no known relationship to the church or Winters, and random attacks are impossible to anticipate. Hawkins called the Illinois killing "tragic," but he said in the year or so since the Christian Security Network has been actively training churches, numerous other tragedies have been averted. "These incidents aren't going to make the news," said Hawkins. "But they are happening everywhere, big city or small town." Hundreds of church leaders have told him about all kinds of attacks they have recently faced, from arsons and burglaries to assaults on members and church leaders. In the first two months of 2009, churches have described more than 140 acts of violence to the Network, he said. In one incident, congregants noticed a person dressed inappropriately for the weather and acting odd. The man was taken outside and questioned. Under his coat, he had two machetes strapped to his back. "He said that he had been hearing the devil speaking to him, telling him to cut the pastor's head off," Hawkins said. "There was no struggle, and everything was calm. The man was removed." Hawkins combined his professional security background with his experience working in a Christian ministry in founding Christian Security Network last year, not long after a gunman killed two people and wounded seven in a Knoxville, Tennessee, church. The shooter attacked children who were performing a musical in front of the congregation. Violent crime in churches is not tracked, Hawkins said. "The church is really behind in secular world in terms of planning," he said. Browse a U.S. map of other recent church shootings » It's essential that a church must balance having a security presence while still keeping a house of worship open to everyone, he said. "Some churches choose armed guards, some have a much more subtle security presence where you wouldn't even know it's there." A church should have five security plans in place to deal with evacuation, long-term shelter, medical emergencies, lost or missing children and violent confrontations, he said. "Every church is different so you need something that is going to work for that particular church's culture and size," he said. "And I think now, especially after September 11, people want to feel secure. They want to know if they bring their family somewhere, it's going to be a safe environment. "Everyone should approach this realistically and not say, 'This couldn't happen here in church,' because we see it happen all the time." Dale Annis, founder of Church Security Services, a consulting company that advises houses of worship on security strategies, told CNN in November that his business has been growing for five years | [
"What did the police say about the attack?",
"What does security planning do?",
"When was the pastor gunned down?",
"What averted numerous tragedies?",
"Who was attacked?",
"In what state did the shooting take place?",
"Who was killed?"
] | [
[
"the attacker walked into First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, on Sunday and began firing."
],
[
"deal with evacuation, long-term shelter, medical emergencies, lost or missing children and violent confrontations,"
],
[
"Sunday"
],
[
"the Christian Security Network has been actively training churches,"
],
[
"children"
],
[
"Illinois,"
],
[
"Pastor Fred Winters,"
]
] | NEW: Slain pastor discussed security plans with police, chief says .
NEW: Attack on Illinois pastor appeared to be random, police chief says .
Pastor gunned down at Illinois church on Sunday .
Numerous tragedies averted by security planning, one expert says . |
(CNN) -- Classes resumed last Thursday at the University of Kansas at Lawrence, and by Monday 47 students had swine flu, a college official said. The CDC recommends someone sick with the virus remain out of class for 24 hours after fever has abated on its own. Although that's less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the 27,000-member student body, and no one has died or been hospitalized, the school has moved into action. "The sanitizer's out," said Todd Cohen, director of university relations. The university sent e-mails to faculty members asking them to create contingency plans so that sick students are not required to go to class, and to commuter students and their parents warning them that the students may have to be isolated if they fall ill. That same message has gone to students in dormitories. Arrangements are being made to isolate anyone who's sick in their rooms by moving out their roommates and dropping off meals, Cohen said. None of the school's cases of swine flu -- also called H1N1 -- has proven fatal or resulted in a hospitalization, he said, and none of the reported cases has been confirmed. Public health officials are simply assuming that anyone with flu symptoms has swine flu, because it's the only form of the virus in circulation, he said. The school's health center can do little for those who show up for help. "They're basically told to go home and rest and get better," Cohen said. Vaccines are unlikely to help much this year. Supplies are not expected until late October, and require some five weeks from the first inoculation -- two are required -- before they become effective. "By then, it's December and the semester is almost over," he said. So public health officials are focusing on more basic medical efforts. Students already overloaded with information at the start of the semester are being urged to sneeze into their sleeves, wash their hands frequently and stay home if they get sick, Cohen said. "It really comes down to them taking personal action," he said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends someone sick with the virus remain out of class for 24 hours after fever has abated on its own. Firm figures on just how many people have the illness are tough to come by. Doctors are not required to report it to state or federal health officials, said Maggie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. "We've stopped accepting tests from county health departments," she said. Instead, the department is focusing on a surveillance system that will test only those sites deemed representative. Otherwise, Thompson said, the state's laboratories would become overwhelmed. "There are just too many numbers." The state stopped counting laboratory-confirmed cases at 324: "But that is just a fraction of what we think is going on," she said. "There could be as many as 10,000 cases in Kansas already." KU students are not the only ones catching swine flu, Thompson said: "If you called any university of this size around the country it's probably going to be about the same." At Auburn University in Alabama, 10 cases have been reported among the 24,000 students who started classes last Monday, a spokeswoman said. "So far, everybody seems to be recovering," said Deedie Dowdle. The school's emergency management team was meeting this week to decide how to handle larger-scale absences, she said. "I'm getting lots of reports of outbreaks in the Southeast Conference," said Dr. James Turner, president of the American College Health Association. "I'm anticipating several thousand cases among college students this fall." Among the preparations are plans for mass vaccinations, he said. But with school just beginning, much remains unknown, he said. "We are just kind of hunkering down right now waiting to see where this goes." Turner is also executive director for student health at the University of Virginia, where classes are slated | [
"How many cases of swine flu are at the University of Kansas?",
"How many cases of swine flu have been found at U of Kansas at Lawrence?",
"What number of cases are there?"
] | [
[
"47"
],
[
"47"
],
[
"324:"
]
] | Five days into new year, U. of Kansas at Lawrence has 47 cases of swine flu .
No one has died or been hospitalized because of the illness .
Last week, the CDC released tips for school administrators to follow .
Universities and colleges across the country are bracing for swine flu spike . |
(CNN) -- Claudio Marchisio's late double gave Juventus a 2-0 win over reigning champions AC Milan Sunday to go back to the top of the Serie A standings.
The game in Turin looked set to end in a draw until Marchisio scored three minutes from time then added a late second to seal three points which put Juve ahead of Udinese on goal scored.
Defeat continued Milan's poor start to the campaign and they lanquish in 15th, two places and a point ahead of arch-rivals Inter.
Juventus created a number of openings to break the deadlock but with the clock counting down made the breakthrough.
Marchisio went for a one-two with Mirko Vucinic but in trying to intercept Milan's Daniele Bonera only succeeded in slamming the ball onto Marchisio's foot and into the net.
In injury time, Marchisio beat Christian Abbiati with a long range strike which the goalkeeper should have saved.
Earlier, Udinese kept pace with a 2-0 win over Bologna as Mehdi Benatia gave them the lead on 29 minutes.
Captain Antonio Di Natale scored the second from the penalty spot after Pablo Armero had been fouled.
Napoli are a point behind in third following a fine 3-0 win at 10-man Inter Saturday.
Meanwhile in the German Bundesliga Sunday, coach Huub Stevens made a winning start for Schalke as they won 2-1 at Hamburg.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar opened the scoring after 13 minutes only for Mladen Petric to level seven minutes before the break.
Dutch ace Huntelaar grabbed the winner with 17 minutes left.
In the other match played, Werder Bremen failed in their bid to join Bayern Munich at the top of the table as they were beaten 3-2 by Hanover.
Mohammed Abdellaoue scored a hat-trick for Hanover, who held on despite a late Claudio Pizarro goal for Bremen. | [
"Who scored the goals?",
"Who scored two late goals?",
"Who won the match?",
"Who is the Schalke coach?",
"Who is Huub Stevens?",
"Who did Juventus play?"
] | [
[
"Marchisio"
],
[
"Marchisio's"
],
[
"Juventus"
],
[
"Huub Stevens"
],
[
"coach"
],
[
"AC Milan"
]
] | Juventus top of Serie A after 2-0 win over champions AC Milan .
Claudio Marchisio scored two late goals to give Juve a crucial win .
Udinese are second on goals scored after beating Bologna 2-0 .
Huub Stevens makes winning start as Schalke coach in Bundesliga . |
(CNN) -- Claudio Ranieri's Roma side are through to the final of the Italian Cup, despite losing 1-0 to Udinese in the second leg of their semifinal on Wednesday.
Serie A leaders Roma will now face Inter Milan at their own Olympic stadium next month in a battle of the leading two teams in the table -- after going through 2-1 on aggregate.
Remarkably it will be the fifth time in six seasons that the teams are meeting in the final, with each winning two finals apiece prior to May's showpiece.
The only goal came with nine minutes remaining when Alexis Sanchez fired a shot through goalkeeper Julio Sergio's legs from an acute angle.
That gave Roma some nervy moments as the clock ran down. Marco Cassetti was sent off for a second bookable offence, meaning the visitors played the last six minutes with just 10 men.
And they were lucky not to concede again when Gokhan Inler's fierce drive from long range struck the post.
Serie A champions Inter secured their place in the final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Fiorentina last week.
Meanwhile, in the English Premier League, Aston Villa boosted their hopes of reaching the fourth Champions League place with a 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Hull.
Gabriel Agbonlahor put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute, taking advantage of some poor Hull defending.
And Villa secured their win when James Milner netted a 75th-minute penalty after the England midfielder had been fouled in the area by George Boateng.
Villa are up to sixth place, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham although they have played a game more, while remain third bottom of the table, three points behind fourth bottom West Ham United. | [
"How many times has Roma faced Milan?",
"What are Roma through to?",
"Who did they lose to in the second leg of the semifinal?",
"Who did they lose to in the second leg of their semifinal?",
"Where is the Italian Cup being held?",
"Who made it through to the final of the Italian Cup?",
"Who will Roma now face?"
] | [
[
"fifth"
],
[
"to the final of the Italian Cup,"
],
[
"Udinese"
],
[
"Udinese"
],
[
"Milan"
],
[
"Ranieri's Roma side"
],
[
"Inter Milan"
]
] | Claudio Ranieri's Roma side are through to the final of the Italian Cup .
They are through despite losing 1-0 to Udinese in the second leg of their semifinal .
Roma will now face Inter Milan in the final for the fifth time in the last six seasons . |
(CNN) -- Cleanup efforts unfolded Monday in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, after torrential monsoon rain over the weekend killed dozens, cut power to 15 million and broke a 32-year record. Pakistanis push a stranded auto-rickshaw along a flooded street in Karachi on Sunday. Officials combed the city looking for bodies. The health department confirmed 32 deaths and said it received reports of more. "Most of them are either from drowning or they were deaths when the walls or roofs of their houses collapses," said Dr. A.D. Sajnani of the health department. "The entire city is disrupted," said Muhammad Aly Balagamwala, a Karachi businessman. "Most places lost power for 28 to 30 hours, and some are still without power. The rain flooded offices. We lost water. Everything is shut down." Many residents took to the streets to protest the massive power outage in the southern city. They threw rocks at the offices of the power company and burned tires. "I guess there comes a point you just snap and you can't take it anymore," Balagamwala said. "To the credit of the government, a lot of cleanup work has been done since last night." The rain began Friday night, and by Sunday the city had received almost 9 inches (22.9 cm), the most since 1977, said Mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal. Storm drains overflowed, water-logging streets and alleyways. Monsoon rains sweep across the subcontinent from June to September. While they bring much-needed relief to often-parched farmlands, they also leave a trail of landslides, home collapses and floods that sometimes claim dozens of lives. | [
"When was the last time there was this much rainfall?",
"How much rainfall did Karachi have?",
"When was the last time the city had as much rain?",
"What caused most deaths?",
"Which city received 9 inches of rain?",
"Deaths were mostly from what causes?",
"How much rain did Karachi have?",
"How many inches are there in 22.9 cms?"
] | [
[
"1977,"
],
[
"9 inches (22.9 cm),"
],
[
"1977,"
],
[
"when the walls or roofs of their houses collapses,\""
],
[
"Karachi,"
],
[
"when the walls or roofs of their houses collapses,\""
],
[
"almost 9 inches (22.9 cm),"
],
[
"almost 9"
]
] | By Sunday, Karachi had received almost 9 inches (22.9 cm) of rain, mayor says .
Last time city received as much rainfall was in 1977, mayor adds .
Deaths mostly from drowning, wall or roof collapses, health department official says . |
(CNN) -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been suspended indefinitely by the National Football League, days after he pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol, the NFL said. Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth on Tuesday pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter. Stallworth, 28, pleaded guilty in a Florida court Tuesday to DUI manslaughter charges in the March death of construction worker Mario Reyes. Under terms of a plea agreement, he will serve 30 days. Prosecutors said he began serving his sentence immediately. "The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Stallworth in a letter Thursday, the league said. Excerpts from the letter were posted on the NFL Web site. "While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL." Stallworth's suspension is effective immediately, the league said. Goodell wrote in the letter that "in due course" the league would contact his attorney to schedule a meeting with him, after which a final determination would be made on discipline. Stallworth was driving his black Bentley GT east on the MacArthur Causeway, which connects Miami, Florida, to the South Beach area of Miami Beach, when he struck Reyes on the morning of March 14, according to prosecutors. He had been drinking at a Miami Beach club, according to court documents. His blood alcohol level was 0.126 percent, prosecutors said; Florida's legal limit is 0.08. Reyes, 59, reportedly was heading to a bus stop after work when he was struck. Court documents said he suffered "critical head, chest and abdominal injuries" and died at a hospital. When police arrived at the scene, Stallworth told them he was the driver of the car and admitted striking Reyes. During Tuesday's hearing, Stallworth offered his "deepest condolences to the Reyes family." "Though I cannot bring back Mr. Reyes or ease his family's pain, I can and will honor his memory by committing my time, my resources and my voice by educating this community about the dangers of drunk driving," he said. Stallworth could have served up to 15 years in prison. But State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle noted in a statement that he cooperated with authorities and had no previous criminal record or traffic violations. Reyes' family supported the plea agreement, she said. Stallworth's attorney, Chris Lyons, on Tuesday told CNN sister network HLN that Stallworth had reached an "amicable" financial settlement with Reyes' family but would not disclose the amount. He said the length of Stallworth's jail term "had nothing to do with Donte Stallworth being a celebrity, a professional football player or money." Stallworth has shown "genuine remorse" and accepted responsibility for his actions, Lyons said. Goodell wrote Stallworth that there is "ample evidence to warrant significant discipline" under both the NFL's personal conduct and substance abuse policies. "There is no reasonable dispute that your continued eligibility for participation at this time would undermine the integrity of and public confidence in the league," the letter said. "Everyone associated with the league derives tremendous benefits from participating in our game and from the extraordinary support we receive from the public," Goodell wrote. "With these benefits comes, among other things, the responsibility to conduct ourselves in a lawful and responsible way, with no entitlement to or expectation of favorable treatment." Goodell notified NFL clubs earlier this year that there would be increased emphasis on addressing driving under the influence and other misconduct, the league said. It noted the NFL offers a "safe rides" program used by most clubs to provide players and other employees with alternative transportation if they have been drinking. Under terms of Stallworth's plea agreement, he will face two years of house arrest upon his release. He is also required to donate $2,500 | [
"who is the Cleveland Browns wide receiver?",
"How many days is Stallworth serving in jail?",
"What charge did Stallworth plead guilty to?",
"who is the NFL comissioner?",
"What is the legal limit for blood alcohol in Florida?",
"how many days in jail have to serve Stallworth?",
"Who is the NFL Commissioner?",
"What did Stallworth plead guilty to?"
] | [
[
"Donte Stallworth"
],
[
"30"
],
[
"killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol,"
],
[
"Roger Goodell"
],
[
"0.08."
],
[
"30"
],
[
"Roger Goodell"
],
[
"killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol,"
]
] | NEW: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calls Stallworth's action "inexcusable"
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Tuesday pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter .
Stallworth serving 30 days in jail, has reached settlement with victim's family .
NFL player's blood alcohol level was 0.126; Florida's legal limit is 0.08 . |
(CNN) -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was charged in Florida on Wednesday with killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office said.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been charged with DUI manslaughter
Authorities charged Stallworth, 28, with DUI manslaughter in the death of Mario Reyes, spokesman Ed Griffith said.
Stallworth is expected to surrender in court Thursday, Griffith said. The charge is a bondable offense, and bail is expected to be set at $200,000.
If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
According to Griffith, Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after last month's accident was measured at 0.126 percent, higher than the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Stallworth was drinking at a Miami Beach, Florida, club early March 14, court documents say. He later left the club and went to a Miami residence for about 45 minutes before leaving in his black Bentley GT at 7:07 a.m.
He was driving east on the MacArthur Causeway, which connects Miami to the South Beach area of Miami Beach, when he struck Reyes, prosecutors said. Reyes, a construction worker, was crossing the eastbound lanes of the causeway. CNN affiliate WSVN reported that he was heading to a bus stop after leaving work.
Reyes, 59, was struck by the right front and fender of the car and suffered critical head, chest and abdominal injuries, according to an affidavit. He died a short time later at a hospital. Read the affidavit (PDF)
Stallworth told the arriving officer, "I hit the man lying in the road," the affidavit said. He said he had time to honk his horn and flash his headlights to alert Reyes, according to the documents. Police smelled alcohol on his breath, the documents said, and Stallworth provided a blood sample at the scene.
Stallworth released a statement four days after the incident saying he and his family were "grief-stricken."
"My thoughts and prayers are with the Reyes family during this incredibly difficult time," he said.
Among the expected conditions of Stallworth's bail are that he consume no alcohol or drugs, submit to random drug and alcohol testing, abide by a curfew between midnight and 6 a.m., surrender his passport and not drive, according to an agreement setting conditions of his release. He will be allowed to reside in Ohio and Florida as needed, but he must notify authorities 24 hours in advance when traveling.
Stallworth and his attorney have been cooperating with authorities, Officer Deborah Doty, spokeswoman for Miami Beach police, said Wednesday.
Stallworth, a former University of Tennessee player, has also played professionally for the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles.
CNN's Rich Phillips contributed to this report | [
"What is the bail amount?",
"How long is a sentence for driving over the influence?",
"whose blood-alcohol level was 0.126?",
"What is the sentence?",
"who is expected to surrender in court?",
"What is used by the police to test blood alcohol levels?",
"What was the blood alcohol level?",
"WHat is the bail",
"how many years of imprisonment would stallworth face?"
] | [
[
"$200,000."
],
[
"15 years in prison."
],
[
"Donte Stallworth"
],
[
"DUI manslaughter"
],
[
"Stallworth"
],
[
"sample"
],
[
"0.126 percent,"
],
[
"$200,000."
],
[
"15"
]
] | NFL player is expected to surrender in court Thursday; bail expected to be $200,000.
Donte Stallworth's blood-alcohol level was 0.126 percent; state's legal limit is 0.08 .
If convicted, Stallworth could face up to 15 years in prison. |
(CNN) -- 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 weren'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 doesn'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 can'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 doesn't think it's the total sum.
"Jessica Simpson is covered a lot but she doesn'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 hasn't shown it yet.
"Aniston hasn'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. " | [
"Who took the No. 2 spot?",
"the movie \"Bounty Hunter\" received a poor what?"
] | [
[
"\"The Bounty Hunter\""
],
[
"reviews,"
]
] | 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 . |
(CNN) -- Climate protesters demonstrating against Donald Trump's plans for a sports resort broke into a Scottish airport Tuesday, setting up a small golf course and scaling the roof of a terminal building.
Climate protesters broke into Aberdeen Airport in the early hours of Tuesday to demonstrate against plans for expansion.
Flights at Aberdeen airport were returning to normal by midday after the activists breached the security fence overnight, the airport authority said.
Nine members of Plane Stupid, which campaigns against airport expansion and aviation-related climate change, entered the airport grounds at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday (9:15 p.m. Monday ET), the group said. A spokesman for the airport called the protest "dangerous and highly irresponsible."
By mid-morning, the seven members on the ground had been arrested, but the two protesters remained on the roof, group spokesman Leo Mullay told CNN.
He explained that the group is against plans to expand the one-runway airport for the American millionaire's planned golf resort in the region.
"It's going to cause a huge increase in emissions," Mullay said. "There's simply no capacity within our carbon budget for more flying."
Trump's plans call for a golf resort to be built on 1,400 acres along Scotland's northeast coast, just north of Aberdeen, according to the resort's Web site. Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, is to feature two championship-caliber golf courses and a five-star luxury hotel.
Trump's resort is in the planning stages, project director Neil Hobday told CNN. But he rejected the idea that the airport is expanding because of the Trump resort.
"The runway issue has been going on long before we got here," Hobday told CNN. It's "nothing to do with us. They were going to lengthen the runway whether we were here or not."
The protest caused a backlog of flights at the airport, a major gateway for Scotland and one of Europe's busiest heliports, airport officials said.
Outbound flights resumed just after 9 a.m. (4 a.m. ET), but there remained some delays and cancellations, according to the airport's Web site.
"Despite the runway being open and available for use, the earlier protest is likely to cause some knock-on disruption during the course of the day and passengers are being asked to check the status of their flight," an airport statement said. | [
"Who is planning for a 1,400-acre golf resort along Scotland's NE coast?",
"What airport is being mentioned?",
"What did the protest cause at the airport?",
"What do activists claim about Aberdeen?",
"What caused a backlog of flights at the airport?",
"Who is Trump's project director?",
"What did activists claim would have t expand?",
"Who plans a golf resort on a 1,400 acre site on Scotland's coast?",
"What did the protests at the airport cause?",
"Where does Trump plan a golf resort?"
] | [
[
"Donald Trump's"
],
[
"Aberdeen"
],
[
"backlog of flights"
],
[
"demonstrate against plans for expansion."
],
[
"protest"
],
[
"Neil Hobday"
],
[
"one-runway airport"
],
[
"Donald Trump's"
],
[
"backlog of flights"
],
[
"on 1,400 acres along Scotland's northeast coast,"
]
] | Protest caused a backlog of flights at the airport, a major gateway for Scotland .
Donald Trump plans a golf resort on a 1,400-acre site alongside Scotland's NE coast .
Activists claim that the airport in nearby Aberdeen will have to expand as a result .
Trump project director: Runway issue was ongoing long before we got here . |
(CNN) -- Clouds of black smoke from burning plastic hang over the sites of Nigeria's vast dumps, as tiny figures pick their way through slicks of oily water, past cracked PC monitors and television screens. Toxins from dumped electronics in developing countries has been seen as a growing problem. But it isn't just a cut from broken glass these mainly young scavengers are risking. Much of the discarded electronic kit contains tiny -- but valuable -- quantities of aluminum, copper, cadmium and other minerals, all of which can be sold on, if they can be recovered. However they also contain highly toxic materials, which have been linked to reproductive problems and cancers. "People living and working on and around the dump sites, many of whom are children, are exposed to a cocktail of dangerous chemicals that can cause severe damage to health, including cancer, damage to the nervous system and to brain development in children," Kim Schoppink, Toxics Campaigner at Greenpeace, told CNN. "The open burning creates even more hazardous chemicals among which are cancerous dioxins." No studies have been done on the extent of the chemical pollution of such sites in Nigeria, but in 2008 a Greenpeace report on similar dumps in nearby Ghana confirmed that high levels of lead, phthalates and dioxins were present in soils and the water of a nearby lagoon. A Chinese academic report published in "Environmental Health Perspectives" in 2007 confirmed that children living in the same area had higher levels of toxic metals in their blood than other children living nearby. There is increasing evidence that this new health and environment problem is arriving in shipping containers from Western countries. Nigeria is one of the principal global destinations for "e-waste" -- the catch-all term for discarded consumer electronics. Some of this may have been legitimately handed in to be recycled in an EU or U.S. city, but lax enforcement, vague legislation and a lack of political will has meant that it instead passes through a network of traders keen to profit from developing countries' hunger for hi-tech and a burgeoning second hand market. According to the United Nations Environment Program around 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste are generated worldwide each year. In 2008 a Greenpeace study, "Not in My Backyard", found that in Europe only 25 percent of the e-waste was recycled safely. In the U.S. it is only 20 percent and in developing countries it is less than one percent. Extrapolating out from these figures the report concluded that a massive 80 percent of e-waste generated worldwide is not properly recycled. Some is burnt in Western incinerators or buried in landfill sites. But much is exported to developing countries including India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ghana. When it arrives, a further percentage may be repaired and sold on to populations desperate for affordable technology. But anything beyond the skills of local traders will end up dumped. It's a profitable business, and is already attracting the attention of organized crime. A report issued by the United Nations in July said that the criminal gangs behind much of the drug trade in West Africa were becoming involved with e-waste trading. The volume of material on the move is staggering. In 2005, more than 500 containers full of e-waste entered Nigerian ports every month, according to the Basel Action Network, a U.S. NGO campaigning on issues surrounding toxic waste. Each one contains 10 to 15 tons of e-waste, totaling 60,000 to 90,000 tons per year. These figures are likely to have increased in recent years. There seems little doubt that much of this waste is finding its way to Africa from Western countries. The Basel Action Network and Dutch NGO Danwatch have traced equipment from Europe to Nigerian dumps and earlier this year Greenpeace placed a radio tracking device in a broken TV handed in for safe recycling in the UK, but followed it to a Nigerian market. "Greenpeace is disappointed especially by U.S. and EU authorities," said Schoppink. "It is toxic waste from the U.S. and EU countries that is causing serious environmental and health problems | [
"What was involved in e-waste trading according to UN report in July?",
"What is creating health and environment problems?",
"What kind of problems is exporting electronic problems for recycling creating?",
"What does the study from Greenpeace suggest?",
"What percentage of people recycled safely?"
] | [
[
"criminal gangs"
],
[
"Toxins from dumped electronics"
],
[
"cancers."
],
[
"found that in Europe only 25 percent of the e-waste was recycled safely. In the U.S. it is only 20 percent and in developing countries it is less than one percent."
],
[
"25 percent"
]
] | Export of electronic products for recycling creating health and environment problems .
Developed nations that export e-waste criticized by many for lack of responsibility .
Study from Greenpeace suggest only around 20 percent recycled safely .
Organized crime involved in e-waste trading according to UN report in July . |
(CNN) -- Coca Cola was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886. Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola. It was put on sale at the nearby Jacobs' Pharmacy for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink. An international organization, The Coca-Cola Company's first soda fountain sales to Canada and Mexico were recorded in 1897. Its first international bottler -- in Panama -- was established in 1906. The company entered China in 1927 and its 100th country -- Sierra Leone -- in 1957. Today, The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company with the most extensive distribution system in the world, operating in more than 200 countries across the world. The company currently has over 400 different brands under its control, and is one of the most recognizable names in the commercial world. The Coca-Cola Company, including the bottling entities it owns, employs approximately 71,000 people. More than 58,000 of those employees work for the company outside of the U.S. They are the largest private-sector employer across all of Africa. And in South Africa, for every one job created by the Coca-Cola system, 16 jobs are created in the informal retail sector. The company was placed in the top 25 places to work by Essence magazine and was named Wal-Mart's International Supplier of the Year in 2006. E-mail to a friend | [
"Where was Coca-Cola invented?",
"Coke is the largest what company in the world?",
"Coca-Cola has operations in over how many countries?",
"What number of employees does Coca-Cola employ?",
"What was invented in 1886?",
"Who invented Coca-Cola?",
"Where was it invented?",
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"The company has operations in over 200 countries, employs 55,000 people",
"Today it is the largest beverage company in the world"
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[
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[
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[
"Atlanta, Georgia,"
],
[
"in more than 200 countries across the world."
],
[
"Coca-Cola"
],
[
"Coca-Cola"
]
] | Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886, by a U.S. pharmacist .
Today it is the largest beverage company in the world .
The company has operations in over 200 countries, employs 55,000 people . |
(CNN) -- Coffee shops in the Dutch city of Maastricht have banned foreign tourists, except those from Germany and Belgium, from entering their premises from Saturday, according to the local association of coffee shops.
Coffee shops in the Netherlands are places where customers can legally buy and consume cannabis.
"We have put in place a 'neighbouring country' criteria," Marc Josemans, president of the Society of United Coffeeshops and owner of the Easy Going coffee shop, told CNN.
"This is a form of self-regulation. It is not a law, there will be no judge, this was just the only choice we had."
The move comes after Maastricht's city council decided that something had to be done about the 2.2 million visitors that come to the city every year, according to Josemans.
"The visitors put a lot of pressure on the city when they come here and make it very busy on our narrow streets. So the city said that something had to be done about the traffic and nuisance," he said.
"But the biggest nuisance isn't the number of coffee shops or the clients, but the illegal drug runners that can be quite aggressive and start fights and rob the tourists."
All visitors to Maastricht's coffee shops -- some 6,000 a day, almost three-quarters of whom are foreign, according to Josemans -- already have to show their passports and their information is then kept for 48 hours.
Now only those with a Dutch, German or Belgian passport will be allowed in.
"A number of people will leave disappointed, and we are not very proud of refusing entry to visitors who have come to our shops for the last 28 years and never caused a problem," said Josemans, who has himself used cannabis for 35 years.
"The question now will be if they instead buy from the illegal drug runners here or if they buy illegally in their own countries."
Nobody from Maastricht city council was available for comment Saturday.
A spokeswoman for Maastricht police told CNN that the police were not a party to the ban and that it is not illegal for foreign tourists to enter the city's coffee shops.
The spokeswoman, who is not named in line with department policy, said police would not carry out any identity checks to enforce the ban. "We will just go about our normal business and carry out our duties where needed," she said.
At spokeswoman at the tourist office for Maastricht, which lies near the Belgian border, said it was not aware of the new rules.
The Society of United Coffeeshops decided on the ban in July but it only came into effect October 1.
The organization is also working on a plan to move seven of the city's 14 coffee shops to the outskirts, where foreign tourists can then go and buy hash and marijuana, Josemans said.
"But the first relocation won't happen until June 2013, so we had to put this ban in place now, and we could then change it again once we've completed the relocation.
"At these new sites, the parking (areas) will have direct access to the coffee shops, so the drug runners can't approach the clients as they walk to the coffee shop."
Josemans also says the Dutch government wants the coffee shops to operate on a smaller scale and is planning to impose a nationwide ban on anyone who doesn't hold a Dutch passport buying cannabis.
"They want to put this 'weed pass' in place from January 1 next year, but we are strongly against this."
A press release on the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice website from May this year says coffee shops will become private clubs where only adult Dutch citizens can become members.
"The Cabinet expects that closure of coffee shops to foreign drugs tourists will ensure that they no longer travel to the Netherlands to purchase and consume cannabis. After all, many of them can use the illegal markets available in their immediate surroundings," the press release says.
The statement does not give a date for the | [
"What city authorities say they need to cut numbers?",
"What is Maastricht city trying to cut back on?",
"What visitors cross the border to use cannabis?",
"Who needs to cut visitor numbers?",
"Which tourists are allowed?",
"What tourists will be allowed in certain shops?",
"What two tourists are the only ones that will be allowed into the shops?"
] | [
[
"Maastricht"
],
[
"foreign tourists,"
],
[
"foreign tourists,"
],
[
"Society of United Coffeeshops"
],
[
"those from"
],
[
"Germany and Belgium,"
],
[
"those from"
]
] | Maastricht city authorities say they need to cut visitor numbers .
Many visitors cross the border to use cannabis in the city's coffee shops .
Now only Belgian and German tourists will be allowed in to such shops . |
(CNN) -- Colin Powell stirred up the Republican Party's very public internal debate about the direction of the party and asserted it's losing because it doesn't appeal to moderates like him. The Republican Party is losing "men, woman, white, blacks and Hispanics," says Colin Powell. Two Republican leaders questioned Powell's GOP credentials. Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Powell should leave the party. Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he thought he already had. Powell says he's still very much a Republican and said the party would be better off to include more moderates like him. "The Republican Party is losing north, south, east, west; men, woman, white, blacks and Hispanics," Powell said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." "I think the Republican Party has to take a hard look at itself and decide: What kind of party are we?" As it has squabbled within the family, the party has wandered. Most analysts say it will get back on the right track when its next leaders emerge. Is Powell emerging as a voice of the moderates in the party? "A spokesman is good," said Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst. "A candidate would be better." Watch what CNN's Bill Schneider has to say about the debate » The Republicans' family argument started shortly after the Democrats won the White House and added to their control of Congress. Conservatives blame moderates for the losses, saying the party didn't present a contrast with Democrats and the only way for it to be successful is to lean harder to the right. Limbaugh and Cheney emerged from the leadership vacuum -- Limbaugh from his legions of listeners and Cheney in his emergent role as the sole defender of the Bush White House. Powell provoked Limbaugh when he suggested the GOP's future was in peril if it went in the Limbaugh's direction. Limbaugh responded that Powell is part of the "stale, the old, the worn-out GOP that never won anything." Powell says the right has alienated undecided and independent voters and the only way for the GOP to return to power is to expand its narrow base. The former Pentagon commander of the 1991 Persian Gulf war has for the most part stayed out of politics since resigning as President's Bush's secretary of state in Bush's first term. Among Republicans, Powell, Cheney and Limbaugh are equally revered with favorability ratings in the 60s, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. But among all voters questioned, Powell has a favorability rate of 70 percent compared to 30 percent for Limbaugh. A poll a week ago found that Cheney had a favorability rate of 37 percent. "Colin Powell is not the guy you want to pick a fight with," Schneider said. "He's more popular than Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh combined. Between the two polls, Limbaugh's unfavorable rating among all respondents was 53 percent and Cheney's 55 percent. Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge, another moderate, sided with Powell in an interview with with CNN's John King on "State of the Union" on Sunday. The former Pennsylvania governor said the different wings of the party need to listen to each other and differences of opinions need to be less divisive. "Rush Limbaugh has an audience of 20 million people. A lot of people listen daily to him and live by every word. But words mean things and how you use words is very important," Ridge said. "It does get the base all fired up and he's got a strong following," Ridge continued. "But personally, if he would listen to me and I doubt if he would, the notion is express yourself but let's respect others opinions and let's not be divisive." Ridge, who ruled out a Senate bid earlier this month, also called for an end to personal attacks. "Let's lead our party based on some principles that have been very much a part of who we | [
"what Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said?",
"Which talk show hosts should leave GOP?",
"What did Powell say about GOP?",
"Who is the former Vice President?",
"Who is losing north, south, east and west?"
] | [
[
"Powell should leave the party."
],
[
"Rush Limbaugh"
],
[
"future was in peril if it went in the Limbaugh's direction."
],
[
"Dick Cheney"
],
[
"\"The Republican Party"
]
] | Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Powell should leave GOP .
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he thought he already had .
GOP "losing north, south, east, west," says Powell .
Karl Rove says he would choose Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell . |
(CNN) -- Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania woman indicted for allegedly conspiring to support terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country, attempted to commit suicide in 2005, according to a police report filed at the time.
LaRose, who authorities say called herself "Jihad Jane," was depressed about the death of her father, the report from Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, Police Officer Michael Devlin said.
LaRose told Devlin she swallowed as many as 10 pills of cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant. The pills were mixed with alcohol.
"Colleen was highly intoxicated and having difficulty maintaining her balance," Devlin wrote. I "questioned LaRose about harming herself, at which point she stated she does not want to die."
Devlin was dispatched to check on LaRose in response to a 911 call made by LaRose's sister in Texas, who was worried LaRose might try to kill herself.
LaRose was arrested on the terrorism charges in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 15, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office said Tuesday. She is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
She will be arraigned at 10:30 a.m. March 18 in Philadelphia, the Justice Department said.
Among other things, LaRose has also been charged with making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft.
If convicted, she faces a possible life prison sentence and a $1 million fine.
Last year, LaRose agreed to kill a resident of Sweden, an indictment says, and a U.S. government official familiar with the case identified the target as Lars Vilks, a cartoonist who outraged some with a drawing of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.
LaRose worked with at least five co-conspirators, the indictment says. Authorities did not identify them, but police in Ireland took into custody seven people in arrests Tuesday that the U.S. official said were directly related to the plot involving LaRose.
Read the indictment (PDF)
Authorities in Ireland said the seven people they arrested also were plotting to commit a murder abroad. Irish media reports, citing unnamed police sources, identified their target as Vilks.
A person from Pennsburg who knew LaRose said she "didn't have the smarts or brains" to pull off the alleged plot.
"Not without someone telling her what to do, maybe even brainwashing her," said the person, who asked not to be identified for privacy reasons.
It appears that LaRose was not well known in her neighborhood in Pennsburg, which is about an hour north of Philadelphia. One neighbor reacted to the news by saying, "It scares the hell out of me."
Meanwhile, LaRose's former boyfriend, Kurt Gorman, told CNN on Wednesday that the circumstances surrounding her arrest are "just crazy ... really crazy."
Gorman said that when he lived with LaRose, she spent most of her time at home and frequently used a personal computer.
"I think she just used it to play games mostly," he said. "I really didn't pay much attention."
The alleged terrorist conspiracy began in June 2008, when LaRose posted a comment on YouTube under the username JihadJane saying she was "desperate to do something somehow to help" Muslims, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
From December 2008 to October 2009, LaRose engaged in electronic communication with five alleged co-conspirators about their shared desires to wage jihad and become martyrs, according to the indictment.
LaRose and the alleged co-conspirators, according to a Justice Department statement, used the Internet to develop plans that "included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad."
According to the U.S. government official familiar with the case, LaRose raised money for the cause and recruited people to join it. The official also said she was in contact with committed jihadists in South Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The official declined to link her to any specific terrorist organizations.
'Jihad Jane,' American who lived on | [
"What is Colleen LaRose accused of?",
"Who was accused of conspiracy?",
"What was Colleen LaRose accused of?",
"What did her ex-boyfriend say?",
"When did this happen?"
] | [
[
"conspiring to support terrorists"
],
[
"LaRose,"
],
[
"and kill a person in a foreign country,"
],
[
"the circumstances surrounding"
],
[
"2005,"
]
] | Colleen LaRose, accused of conspiracy, was depressed about father's death, police say .
Last year, LaRose agreed to kill a resident of Sweden, indictment says .
She went to Europe in 2009 "in an effort to complete her task," Justice Department says .
LaRose's former boyfriend says circumstances surrounding her arrest are "really crazy" |
(CNN) -- College football is in a real institutional identity crisis. The range of reactions to the Penn State scandal, from Penn State University itself to the NCAA to the American people, tells us that we don't know what college football is or what it should be.
Penn State University is confused. Mostly, it has reacted strongly and rightly, but it has not cleaned house. Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier and others are gone, but should Mike McQueary stay, and were there others on the Penn State coaching staff who were aware of Jerry Sandusky's alleged actions? And many other questions remain: Why weren't police immediately involved? How did this stay covered up for so long?
The NCAA's response has been little better. NCAA President Mark Emmert released a statement last week, saying, "The NCAA will defer in the immediate term to law enforcement officials since this situation involved alleged crimes. ... To be clear, civil and criminal law will always take precedence over Association rules." While perhaps technically correct, the victims, as well as the college football community, deserve more of a response than this.
The American people are outraged, and rightfully so. It looks like the work of a monster (who still says he is not guilty) destroyed the lives of innocent children. He has forever tarnished the reputation of former and future Penn State students, athletes and coaches. This is the worst scandal in the history of college football. For it not to receive the worst punishment would be unjust.
The college football "death penalty" (the NCAA's punishment that bans a school from participating in a sport for at least a year) has been given to only one football program, ever: Southern Methodist University in the 1987-88 season for numerous NCAA violations involving paying athletes under the table.
SMU's actions pale in comparison with what occurred at Penn State. But under NCAA rules, the criminal actions of a few men are not necessarily NCAA rules violations. The NCAA decides where criminal laws overlap with its rules. And so, from a legal standpoint, it's possible that the Penn State football program will escape with less of a punishment than SMU.
How the NCAA answers these questions may affect the future of college football. As is the case with so many recent college sports scandals, the events at Penn State call into question the effects of big money on the inside workings of college sports. Penn State football is a business -- an enormously profitable one, raking in more than $70 million a year. Joe Paterno's salary alone was about $1 million annually. Penn State profits immensely from the success of its football program on the backs of unpaid amateur athletes. In many of these scandals, the players, often innocent and unprotected, are hurt the most, while the insulated, tight-lipped higher-ups of college boards and athletic programs fall back on their salaries and pensions.
I say this as a longtime fan and admirer of college football, not an opportunistic critic. There are many big-money programs that are scandal free, like the University of Texas, the largest college football revenue generator in the country. Many big programs can navigate ethically because of their moral compasses. Similarly, many coaches and players never have ethical issues, and they should be applauded. But I'm concerned about where the sport is headed.
If college football is truly the amateur athletics wing of educational institutions, then these multimillion-dollar programs should be transparent and accountable. A student's athletic performance should be tied to his academic achievement; tighter age and eligibility restrictions should be implemented.
In another fitting example, Yale quarterback Patrick Witt recently chose to play this Saturday in the Harvard-Yale game rather than attend his Rhodes scholarship interview, which happens to fall on the same day. Witt is free to choose of his liking, but he will forfeit the chance to win a Rhodes scholarship this year. The NCAA has remained silent about this, a clear opportunity to support or help a real student-athlete.
Or college football can go the other way. If | [
"What did Bennett say about the NCAA?",
"He says Penn State is the most serious scandal confronted"
] | [
[
"response has been little better."
],
[
"NCAA President Mark Emmert"
]
] | William Bennett: The NCAA is adopting a low profile in Penn State scandal .
He says Penn State is the most serious scandal confronted by college football .
The NCAA must take the lead in putting safeguards in place and in punishment, he says .
Bennett: It's time for the NCAA to make up its mind about priorities in college football . |
(CNN) -- Colombia and the United States signed an agreement Friday that allows U.S. personnel to be stationed at seven military bases in the South American nation. The United States says it needs the bases to help in its fight against terrorists and narcotraffickers, especially since the closure a few months ago of a U.S. base in Ecuador. The United States maintains similar "forward operating locations" in El Salvador and Aruba-Curacao. Colombia's agreement to host the Americans has come under harsh criticism in Latin America, particularly from President Hugo Chavez in neighboring Venezuela. Chavez has likened the agreement to an act of war and accuses the United States of wanting to stage military personnel nearby to destabilize his leftist government. The U.S. forward operating location in Aruba-Curacao is off the northern coast of Venezuela. The United States linked Colombia's agreement to a trade pact the South American nation wants. Colombia also stands to gain from U.S. help in the nation's 45-year-old war against Marxist guerrillas known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly called FARC. Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, Defense Minister Gabriel Silva and Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio were joined by U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield in signing the document Friday in Bogota, the nation's capital. | [
"What will this agreement help?",
"where are they stationed",
"What has the Venezuelan Leader call the agreement?",
"Where will U.S. military personnel be stationed?",
"What does Colombia want?",
"What does the U.S. say the agreement will help fight against?",
"what will this help with",
"who may be stationed"
] | [
[
"its fight against terrorists and narcotraffickers,"
],
[
"at seven military bases in the South American nation."
],
[
"an act of war"
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[
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],
[
"trade pact"
],
[
"narcotraffickers,"
],
[
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[
"U.S. personnel"
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] | U.S. military personnel may be stationed at seven Colombian bases .
U.S. says agreement will help fight against traffickers, terrorists .
Venezuelan leader has called agreement an act of war .
Colombia wants U.S. aid in 45-year anti-guerrilla battle . |
(CNN) -- Colombia is preparing to hand over to U.S. officials a Dallas teenager who was mistakenly deported after she ran away from home more than a year ago, the South American country's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday night.
Jakadrien Turner will be turned over to diplomatic officials Friday so she can be transported to the United States, the statement said. But the foreign ministry did not say when -- or how -- that will happen.
The U.S. Embassy in Bogota is working with Colombian authorities but cannot provide additional details "due to privacy considerations," said a U.S. State Department official who asked to remain anonymous per department policy.
Jakadrien somehow wound up deported to Colombia after U.S. authorities mistook the girl, who lacked identification, for a Colombian national.
Family members said Thursday night that they were thrilled at the news that the 15-year-old would be returning home.
"It's a giant step. I'm relieved, but I won't be completely relieved until I get her in my arms again," the girl's mother, Johnisa Turner, said. "A weight has definitely been lifted."
Grandmother Lorene Turner said U.S. Embassy officials called with the news that her granddaughter would be turned over to U.S. officials.
"When I heard those words I didn't hear nothing else. I flipped out. I can't wait," she said.
But Jakadrien's family was still demanding to know why immigration authorities deported the teen -- a U.S. citizen with no knowledge of Spanish -- and why they simply took her at her word when she gave them a fake name.
The teen's family had been searching for her since she ran away in the fall of 2010. Her grandmother scoured Facebook looking for the girl, viewing Jakadrien's friends' pages for any information.
"There's no words," Johnisa Turner told CNN of the ordeal. "It hasn't been easy at all."
The Colombian Institute for Family Welfare confirmed Thursday that Turner is in its custody, is pregnant, and entered the country as an adult. The institute said Colombian authorities learned about the case a month ago.
After Jakadrien went missing, the family managed to track her to Houston, where she worked at a DJ club under a different name. They tried to get help from authorities there, to no avail.
Then, to the family's surprise, they learned their teenage daughter was in Colombia, partying with men and smoking marijuana. They later learned from a detective that Jakadrien was pregnant.
How Jakadrien got to Colombia is a mystery to the family. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency maintains she was arrested in Houston for theft and told them she was an adult from Colombia.
The agency says authorities believed her story because she maintained her false identity throughout the process. They handed her over to an immigration judge, who ordered her removed from the country.
"At no time during these criminal proceedings was her identity determined to be false," the agency says.
It says criminal database searches and biometric verification revealed no information to invalidate Jakadrien's claims.
The family's attorney, Ray Jackson, says it doesn't make sense.
"They dropped the ball," he said.
He says the immigration agency took Jakadrien's fingerprints but failed to match them to the name she gave. The name matched a woman wanted by Interpol, Jackson says, so they "shipped her on through."
The agency says it is taking the allegations very seriously and is "fully and immediately investigating the matter in order to expeditiously determine the facts of the case."
For months, family members said they frantically searched for signs of the missing teen.
Jakadrien had run away once before, two weeks earlier, her mother said, and Jakadrien told her the family didn't give her enough freedom. Her good grades at school had dropped off, something Turner blamed on the normal problems of teenagers. In addition, Jakadrien's grandfather, her mother's father, had recently died.
Turner said she contacted Dallas police, the National Center | [
"How long has the family been looking for her?",
"What did the girl give authorities",
"What has her family been doing since 2010",
"She is a citizen of which country?",
"Who said \"I flipped out. I can't wait\"?",
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[
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"Lorene Turner"
],
[
"Grandmother Lorene Turner"
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[
"South American country's foreign ministry"
],
[
"fall of 2010."
]
] | NEW: "I flipped out. I can't wait," the teen's grandmother says .
Colombia's foreign ministry says the girl will be handed over to U.S. officials .
She is a U.S. citizen but gave authorities a fake name .
Her family had been looking for her since the fall of 2010 . |
(CNN) -- Colombia's main leftist rebel group shot and killed four hostages held for more than a decade, President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday, vowing to fight the rebels with everything in reach.
A fifth hostage, a policeman, was found alive, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon told reporters.
"This is yet another example of how brutal and cruel the FARC is. ... When faced with security forces, they (the rebels) had no qualms about killing them in cold blood," Santos said.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960s. While severely weakened in recent years, the guerrilla group has continued to carry out kidnappings and attack security forces.
Chains were found near the bodies of the four hostages, who were kidnapped "more than 12 or 13 years" ago, Santos said.
The president called the killings a "crime against humanity" and swore their only effect would be to make police and soldiers more determined to fight "with everything in reach."
The bodies of the four men, all of whom were security force members, were found in the morning, according to Pinzon.
They were executed in the southern region of Caqueta, where the military was conducting operations against the rebel group, he said.
Three of the hostages were shot in the head, while the fourth was shot in the back, the defense minister said.
The fifth hostage, identified as Luis Alberto Erazo, had been held for roughly 12 years, Pinzon said. He reportedly ran from the rebel camp at the start of a firefight between rebels and Colombian troops. His condition is "acceptable," Pinzon said.
Earlier this month, a military operation killed then-FARC leader Alfonso Cano. Following his death, the FARC released a statement in which its leaders said they would not end their guerrilla struggle. | [
"What did the defense minister say?",
"Where where the victims shot?",
"What killed the former FARC head?",
"Who was shot in the head?",
"How many people where killed?",
"Who has been found alive?",
"Where were they shot?",
"What did President Juan Manuel Santos call the killings?"
] | [
[
"A fifth hostage, a policeman, was found alive,"
],
[
"southern region of Caqueta,"
],
[
"a military operation"
],
[
"Three of the hostages"
],
[
"four"
],
[
"A fifth hostage, a policeman,"
],
[
"in the southern region of Caqueta,"
],
[
"\"crime against humanity\""
]
] | NEW: A fifth hostage is found alive, Colombia's defense minister says .
NEW: President Juan Manuel Santos calls the killings a "crime against humanity"
The victims were reportedly shot in the head and the back .
A military operation earlier this month killed former FARC head Alfonso Cano . |
(CNN) -- Colombian Sgt. Pablo Emilio Moncayo, held by Colombian FARC rebels as a hostage for more than 12 years, was reunited with his family after being released by his captors.
The young soldier arrived in the city of Florencia in a Brazilian military helicopter that transported him from the jungle, and he walked out wearing a military uniform and into his waiting father's arms. He had been held captive longer than any other hostage held by the rebels.
Moncayo was accompanied by Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba, who helped negotiate his release.
He had been captured as a 19-year-old corporal when Marxist guerrillas attacked his unit, killing 22 of his colleagues and capturing him and 18 others on December 21, 1997.
"How amazing it is to see civilization again," Moncayo told reporters shortly after his return. The advances in technology fascinated him the most, he said.
"I survived everything, all of these years of captivity because of my love for Colombia," Moncayo said.
Moncayo thanked Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa for asking for his release, and presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, but he did not mention Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during his remarks.
Another source of tension during the rescue came after the Venezuelan-based network Telesur broadcast images of Moncayo and those involved in the handover. The Colombian government issued a terse statement calling the broadcast a violation of the protocols of the rescue.
The television station denied any wrongdoing, and Cordoba said that the humanitarian party had not noticed that the network had someone in the jungle filming.
During the handover, the FARC also gave Senator Cordoba the coordinates of the remains of a third hostage who died in captivity in 2006. Colombian authorities could retrieve the remains of Maj. Julian Guevara as soon as Thursday.
The FARC has said that Moncayo's was the last unilateral hostage release it would make. It is asking for a prisoner swap for the remaining hostages they hold.
If his experience was like that of other freed hostages, Moncayo likely spent the years chained to trees and marching from one jungle hideout to another every few days. Other captives have talked about enduring rain, cold and a blistering sun, and eating mostly beans and rice and weak soup -- when fortunate enough to get a meal.
It's a reality that changed Tuesday for Moncayo when the rebels released him.
The rebels had said they would release Moncayo, who was promoted to the rank of sergeant while in captivity, nearly a year ago.
The FARC already released a hostage Sunday.
Josue Daniel Calvo, who had been held for 11 months, was reunited with his family Sunday on a tarmac in the city of Villavicencio, where the helicopter that retrieved him touched down.
The humanitarian mission to release the captives has been led by Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba, who has obtained freedom for previous hostages. The Red Cross also has been involved. Brazil, which is trusted by both sides, has picked up and ferried the hostages aboard its helicopters.
The FARC released six hostages last year but have said Moncayo would be the last set free unilaterally. From now on, the FARC said, the rebels will demand that guerrillas held by the Colombian government be swapped for the remaining police and soldiers under rebel captivity, many for more than a decade.
Moncayo was among the best-known hostages still in FARC captivity, due mostly to the efforts of his father, who walked across Colombia to garner attention and press for his son's release.
Gustavo Guillermo Moncayo Rincon set out on June 17, 2007, Father's Day in Colombia, on a 700-mile (1,100-kilometer) trek from his hometown of Sandona to the capital, Bogota. The teacher became known as "el caminante por la paz" ("the walker for peace").
He was received by a governor and a mayor on his walk, which drew nationwide attention. Thousands of people cheered him when he arrived at the Plaza de Bolivar in Bogota in August 2007.
The walk put pressure on Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to negotiate with the rebels, | [
"What happened with Pablo Emilio Moncayo?",
"since when was the soldier been held by FARC?",
"what amount of miles walked his father?",
"what Colombian soldier had been held by FARC guerrillas?",
"who was returned to freedom?",
"who says from now on, it will demand prisoner swap to release captives?"
] | [
[
"held by Colombian FARC rebels as a hostage for more than"
],
[
"12 years,"
],
[
"700-mile"
],
[
"Sgt. Pablo Emilio Moncayo,"
],
[
"Sgt. Pablo Emilio Moncayo,"
],
[
"FARC"
]
] | Brazilian helicopter returns Pablo Emilio Moncayo to freedom .
Colombian soldier had been held by FARC guerrillas since December 1997 .
Moncayo's father walked 700 miles in campaign to win his release .
FARC say from now on, it will demand prisoner swap to release captives . |
(CNN) -- Comedian George Carlin, known for pushing the envelope with his use of profanity and for pointing out the silliness and hypocrisy of human life, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71. iReporter Kevin Eckhoff met George Carlin at a show in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2004. iReporter Chris Sargent says, "He could play with words and phrases in ways that would put the most highly regarded English professors and linguists to shame." CNN.com invited readers to share tales of meeting Carlin, and the impact he had on their lives. Below is a selection of their responses, some of which have been edited for length and clarity. Melanie Phillips of Salem, Oregon: I met George Carlin in the early '70s at a performance he gave at Los Angeles Valley College. The large auditorium was filled to capacity so they closed the doors leaving about 40 people outside. When Carlin came up on stage he asked, "Who are all those people staring in the windows?" The host told him the fire marshal had locked them out. Carlin thought for a moment then asked, "How many people are allowed to be on stage?" The legal limit was 50. The comedian turned to the audience and said, "Forty of you people in the first few rows come up on stage and give those people outside your seats." My friend and I ran up on stage and we all gathered in a circle around him, like at a campfire. For the next 90 minutes, Carlin did his entire act by taking our requests, "Hippy Dippy Weatherman," "Seven Words ..." After the show was over, he passed through our little circle, shaking hands (including mine) as he quickly made his way off stage to avoid being swamped by fans. It was one of my most memorable experiences and a grand gesture for the 40 fans who had been locked out. Alexis Karlin of Boston, Massachusetts: When I was little my dad had this box car and one day he put a George Carlin tape in it and it got stuck. So for a year until the car died we listened to this George Carlin tape over and over and over again. ... I won't miss that car but I will miss George Carlin. Chris Sargent of Laurel, Maryland: Last night, the world's greatest comedian and champion of the First Amendment, George Carlin, died at the age of 71 from heart failure. He was one of the few things my father and I had in common, as I have fond memories of sitting in the living room with him, watching George on HBO, and laughing our a***s off. His gift was to make us think about everything. He could play with words and phrases in ways that would put the most highly regarded English professors and linguists to shame. Kevin Eckhoff of Jacksonville, Illinois: George was in classic form as he arrived for a show in late 2004 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis. This was my second time meeting George. He signed the photo from our first meeting, took this new photo, and then proceeded to begin signing my friend's albums. Before he started, he paused, fanned out the records, looked at each, and in his own special way said, "You know, I go from city to city and you guys (autograph collectors) always have my records in such great shape. Just where the **** do you get these records in such pristine condition?" We all busted out laughing. We'll miss you George! Thanks for a great memory. | [
"What did Carlin once invite fans to do?",
"A Carlin tape was stuck in whose stereo?",
"When did George Carlin die?",
"What did Alexis Karlin say?",
"Where did Carlin once invite fans to sit on?",
"What did Alexis Karlin say was stuck to his dad's stereo?",
"Who is Carlin?",
"What did CNN.com readers share about Carlin?",
"What was lodged in the father's car stereo?",
"What did CNN.com readers share?"
] | [
[
"come up on stage"
],
[
"Alexis Karlin"
],
[
"Sunday."
],
[
"When I was little my dad had this box car and one day he put a George Carlin tape in it and it got stuck. So for a year until the car died we listened to this George Carlin tape over and over and over again."
],
[
"stage"
],
[
"When I was little my dad had this box car and one day he put a George Carlin tape in it and it got stuck. So for a year until the car died we listened to this George Carlin tape over and over and over again."
],
[
"Comedian"
],
[
"tales of meeting Carlin, and the impact he had on their lives."
],
[
"George Carlin tape"
],
[
"tales of meeting Carlin,"
]
] | CNN.com readers share their memories of Carlin, his comedy .
Carlin once invited fans to sit on stage so more people could see his show .
Alexis Karlin says for a year, a Carlin tape was stuck in her dad's car stereo .
iReport.com: Share your tales, memories of comedy great George Carlin . |
(CNN) -- Comedian Jay Leno's plan to hold a free concert for the jobless of Detroit, Michigan, drew criticism from a politician in the city. A Detroit politician believes Jay Leno should change the location of his free show for the city's unemployed. Detroit City Councilwoman Martha Reeves likes the idea, but she said the "Tonight Show" host needs to change the location. "When I heard Jay Leno say Detroit is one of his favorite places and he's going to do a free concert for the people laid off, to people who don't have any money right now, given the economic state we're all in, I was elated," Reeves said. "Then he said Auburn Hills... and that's not Detroit." Auburn Hills is a well-to-do suburb of Detroit, but is located in Oakland County, which has had its share of economic troubles as well. The free comedy show -- called "Jay's Comedy Stimulus Plan" -- is set for April 7 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, which holds about 24,000 people. "I thought I might try to get a word to him that we have a Ford Field, we have a Cobo Hall, we have wonderful theaters here, the Fox Theater," Reeves said. "He could come and present something to Detroit as he said." Free tickets for the show will be given out beginning Monday at 10 a.m., according to Leno's Web site. Leno, host of NBC's Tonight Show for more than 15 years, has a new job himself. He will move from late night to a 10 p.m. show. | [
"Who will play a free show in Auburn Hills?",
"What is the cost of the tickets?",
"On what day will free tickets be given out for Jay Leno's show?",
"In which well-to-do suburb of Detroit is Jay Leno going to perform a free show?",
"Who says Jay Leno should change his concert location?",
"When are free tickets going to start to be given out?",
"What cities city council wants Jay Leno to change his concert's location?",
"Who said that Jay Leno should change concert location?"
] | [
[
"Jay Leno's"
],
[
"Free"
],
[
"Monday at 10 a.m.,"
],
[
"Auburn Hills"
],
[
"Detroit politician"
],
[
"beginning Monday at 10 a.m.,"
],
[
"Detroit"
],
[
"A Detroit politician"
]
] | Detroit councilwoman says Jay Leno should change concert location .
Comedian plans to perform free show in Auburn Hills, a well-to-do suburb .
Martha Reeves' suggestions: Ford Field, Cobo Hall, the Fox Theater .
Free tickets for the show will be given out beginning Monday at 10 a.m. |
(CNN) -- Comedian Mark Russell was at a recent event in Chicago, Illinois, when he found himself sitting next to Valerie Jarrett, an adviser to President-elect Barack Obama.
Moving the Obamas into the White House will take about six hours.
Russell asked her whether President Bush's staff members were going to remove all the Os from their computer keyboards, alluding to the 2001 incident in which President Clinton's departing staff removed Ws from some White House computers.
Jarrett said no, but that didn't stop Russell from speculating what really happened when President Bush's daughters, Barbara and Jenna, gave Obama's two daughters a tour of the White House recently.
"The Bush daughters showed Sasha and Malia Obama around," Russell joked. "Barbara showed them where all the bedrooms were, and Jenna showed them how to make a fake ID."
Russell sees humor in the presidential transition, but the actual operation to move both families in and out of the White House is serious business.
The clearing out of the Bushes' belongings began over the summer, when many items were packed and taken to Crawford, Texas, says Anita McBride, chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush. Then, during the Christmas holiday, the Bushes moved their personal things out of Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, according to McBride.
On January 20, the Obamas move in -- a side of Inauguration Day that most people never see: a grueling, precisely timed workday involving scores of staffers that follows six months of careful planning.
Gary Walters worked at the executive mansion from 1986 until 2006 as chief usher in charge of moving presidential families in and out of the White House. From his Virginia home, Walters described how the complicated Obama move in to the White House is completed in only a few hours.
In the morning, after the Bushes and Obamas depart the executive mansion for the Capitol Hill swearing-in ceremony, moving trucks will roll up to the south side of the White House, Walters said.
The drivers put down their tailgates, allowing most of the White House's 93 staff members to begin unloading Obama family items, he said.
"Staff members all have been given very specific jobs on that day, almost down to the minute as to what their responsibilities are," Walters said.
The move is designed to be seamless, painless and invisible while millions of Washington visitors -- and millions more watching on TV -- follow the inauguration ceremonies and the parade that follows.
By about 5 p.m., before the Obamas move from the parade viewing stand to their new home, the presidential move must be complete.
"Their clothes will be in their closets; everything will be put away," Walters said. "There should be no full or half-empty boxes will in view. Furniture will be set in proper places. Their favorite foods will be in the kitchen or the pantry. The chief usher will welcome them into their home and ask them what they would like to do before going out to enjoy the inaugural balls."
Incoming first lady Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, will also be moving into the White House residence, which has 24 rooms on the second and third floors. The Obamas have hired California decorator Michael Smith to use an allocated $100,000 to redecorate the space. Watch what decorator may do with the White House »
"I think they're going to find that this is really conducive to family life," President Bush told CNN's Larry King. "President-elect Obama has got a 45-second commute to see his girls."
In the West Wing of the White House, the political jostling has begun among new staffers to grab workspaces near the center of power: the Oval Office.
There, the carpet is changed with each new administration to suit the incoming president, Walters said. Possibly, the office desk will be changed, as will paintings that will be hung on the wall.
Books on the Oval Office shelves will be changed per the new commander in chief, as will accessories to be | [
"How many private rooms are to be redecorated?",
"In which time do scores of staffers switch out Bush, Obama furniture, clothes, etc.?",
"What did scores of staffers work on?",
"What did Obama allocate for decorating?",
"how much did the Obamas allocate",
"Where did the usher work?"
] | [
[
"24"
],
[
"By about 5 p.m.,"
],
[
"the Obamas move in"
],
[
"$100,000"
],
[
"$100,000"
],
[
"in charge of moving presidential families in and out of the White House."
]
] | Ex-White House usher details whirlwind moving operation for Bush, Obama .
Scores of staffers switch out Bush, Obama furniture, clothes, etc. in six hours .
Obamas allocated $100,000 to redecorate 24 private rooms in the White House . |
(CNN) -- Comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert has warned NASA to name a new wing of the international space station after him or he would "seize power as space's evil tyrant overlord." Stephen Colbert threatened NASA that he might become "space's evil tyrant overlord." A NASA spokesman said the U.S. space agency is aware of Colbert's threat, issued Monday night on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report," but no decision will be made on the node's name until next week. Colbert topped NASA's online poll soliciting names for the wing, with 230,539 of the more than 1.1 million votes cast, according to NASA spokesman John Yembrick. The runner-up was Serenity, which Colbert said is not an appropriate name. "That's not a space station," Colbert said. "That's an adult diaper." Serenity was the name of a spaceship in the television series "Firefly," which spawned a 2005 movie. The contest rules spelled out that NASA reserves the right to "ultimately select a name in accordance with the best interests of the agency. ... Such name may not necessarily be one which is on the list of voted-on candidate names." NASA's hedging prompted a Pennsylvania congressman to urge the agency to name the node after the comedian. "The people have spoken, and Stephen Colbert won it fair and square, even if his campaign was a bit over the top," Rep. Chaka Fattah said. Fattah sits on the congressional committee that oversees NASA's funding. "NASA, I urge you to heed Congressman Fattah's call for democracy in orbit," Colbert said. "Either name that node after me, or I, too, will reject democracy and seize power as space's evil tyrant overlord." NASA's Yembrick said he watched Colbert's show Monday, but he would not directly respond to his "evil tyrant overlord" threat. "We think it's great that he and his audience are taking an interest," Yembrick said. Several media outlets have reported that NASA is working on a compromise in which it would slap the droll Colbert's name on a piece of "mission essential" equipment in the new wing: the toilet. Colbert's loyal fans, lovingly called the Colbert Nation, have in the past bombarded polls to have things named after their idol. Thanks to them, the comedian out-polled every other name in a bridge-naming contest in Hungary. The country's government later said it cannot name the bridge after him because he does not speak Hungarian and is not deceased. Colbert also tried to get himself on Democratic and Republican primary ballots in his home state of South Carolina in 2007. The Democratic Party's executive council voted against his inclusion, and he did not qualify for the Republican primary because he missed the deadline. But ice-cream maker Ben and Jerry named a flavor in honor of him, Colbert's AmeriCone Dream. And Virgin America named one of its planes Air Colbert. | [
"Where will Colbert's name go?",
"What did NASA say?",
"Whose name will go on the toilet?",
"When will NASA decide on this?",
"Who has thrown backing behind Colbert?"
] | [
[
"on a piece of \"mission essential\" equipment in the new wing: the toilet."
],
[
"but no decision will be made on the node's name until next week."
],
[
"Colbert's"
],
[
"next week."
],
[
"Rep. Chaka Fattah"
]
] | TV host's name topped poll seeking new name for space station wing .
NASA says no decision will be made until next week .
Pennsylvania lawmaker has thrown backing behind Colbert .
Some media outlets say NASA may put Colbert's name on toilet . |
(CNN) -- Comedy is hard; dying is easy. Any stand-up will tell you that. Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen play comedians in "Funny People." Let's have a hand, then, for Judd Apatow. Hollywood's most successful contemporary comedy producer isn't resting on his laurels but continues to push toward risky subject matter: male sexual insecurity in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," unwanted pregnancy in "Knocked Up" -- and now the big C. No, not cancer -- though Adam Sandler's superstar comedian George Simmons is stricken with an appropriately eccentric form of leukemia. No, this latest film's true subject is Celebrity and the funny things it does to people. Apatow's most personal (and also most self-indulgent) film, "Funny People," shuffles between three competitive Angelino roommates scrambling to grasp a rung on the showbiz ladder (Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Jason Schwartzman), Simmons' multimillion-dollar Malibu mansion and the L.A. comedy clubs that sometimes bridge the gap between anonymity and fame. Apatow and Sandler know these worlds well enough. The movie begins, in fact, with old home video footage of young Adam goofing off, making prank phone calls while his roommate Judd sniggers behind the camera. It's one of the few times we see Sandler really having fun and cutting loose. This is mostly a restrained, subdued and admirably unsentimental performance. It feels natural that Simmons -- faced with his dire prognosis -- should return to the comedy circuit to wrestle with his imminent extinction before a roomful of strangers, even as he decides to keep his condition a secret from everyone around him. It's actually not so hard in his case because he doesn't have any real friends, only "showbiz friends." The exception is Ira Wright (Rogen), a struggling young comic who lucks into a job as his hero's joke writer slash personal assistant. Simmons is by turns demanding, generous, friendly and abusive, and Ira couldn't be happier. The cross-currents are intriguing: He's getting his first taste of the high life, just as George is trying to savor his last days by reliving his first steps on the circuit. True to form, Apatow negotiates the perilous terrain of existential doubt with his fall-back weapon of choice, the penis joke. Some of these are choice (Ira's real last name is "Wiener," pronounced "Whiner"), but many, many more feel flabby and redundant. There's even an Andy Dick joke, in the form of Andy Dick himself -- one of several celebrity cameos, the oddest of which is surely Eminem, wondering aloud if George wouldn't be better off dead. We must be approaching the 80-minute mark by then, about the time many comedies start wrapping things up. But it's a question that doesn't seem to have occurred to Simmons or the filmmakers before, and it spurs Apatow on to develop another hour of additional material in which George, miraculously recovered, pursues the love of his life (Leslie Mann), Ira in tow, without much consideration for her two daughters or her husband (Eric Bana). It's as if the movie bred its own sequel. There's plenty of funny stuff here. Bana has a ball as the obtuse Aussie, but despite all the blue jokes, this is a more modulated, pensive effort than Apatow's previous hits. He's improved, a little, as a director (perhaps the credit belongs to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, who ensures that for once it doesn't all look like a sitcom), but Apatow is still in dire need of a good editor. His instincts are generous. He wants to give us the six-course meal, and to go around the table, give everybody the chance to tell us a funny story. As a result "Funny People" is consistently entertaining but also rather grueling -- as if we're watching two or three different movies at the same time. At least one of these -- the tribulations of the young roomies -- we | [
"What is Funny People?",
"Who stars in the film?"
] | [
[
"film,"
],
[
"Seth Rogen"
]
] | "Funny People" has some funny -- and insightful -- stuff to say about comics .
Judd Apatow film stars Adam Sandler as ailing comedian .
Movie's main drawback is it's too long, but material makes up for it, says Tom Charity . |
(CNN) -- Comedy isn't evolutionary. Hollywood has been plundering ancient history for yuks at least since Buster Keaton's day, and there's little in "Year One" to suggest we've progressed much over the last 90 years. Michael Cera and Jack Black go in search of meaning -- and some food -- in "Year One." Quite the opposite, in fact. It's a stretch to envisage Keaton picking up bear poop, as Jack Black does here, giving it an appraising sniff, then a quick lick. And I can't imagine him peeing down his own nostrils, as Michael Cera does (he's chained upside down at the time). Not to say this monkey business isn't funny; these are the highlights of a relentlessly low-brow lark, notwithstanding several sophomoric speeches in a panicky existentialist vein. Black is Zed, a sorry excuse for a hunter in a tribe that has yet to discover the wheel. His buddy Oh (Cera) is even further down the totem pole, a mere gatherer. Neither is a hit with the ladies, and when Zed is exiled after stealing forbidden fruit, well, not even Oh wants to go with him -- though of course he does tag along. It's no fun being a sidekick all on your lonesome. Co-written and directed by comedy veteran Harold Ramis ("Ghostbusters," "Groundhog Day"), "Year One" is little more than a series of juvenile skits dressed up in toga party glad rags. It rambles off into Old Testament territory when the boys stumble across Cain (David Cross) killing his brother Abel (Paul Rudd), then arrive in the desert in the nick of time to save Isaac's neck (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) from his zealous father's knife -- though his foreskin is another story. Sorely lacking the anarchic edge that Monty Python brought to "The Life of Brian" and the sheer chutzpah of Mel Brooks' "History of the World: Part One," "Year One" is more akin to one of those old Bob Hope-Bing Crosby jaunts -- two guys bicker and banter in exotic climes, hopping from scrape to scrape without ever reaching the bottom of the barrel. Inevitably, Zed and Oh find themselves on the Road to Sodom, where Oliver Platt's plummy High Priest orchestrates orgies in the afternoon then presides over human sacrifices in the evening. It is in Sodom that the boys will prove their manhood. Black's manic over-reacher and Cera's shy mumbler complement each other well enough in theory, but at 39, Black is almost old enough to be the 21-year-old Cera's father. It's a big age gap for a comedy duo, and they never quite mesh or convince as bosom buddies, even if they're fairly amusing separately. Among the supporting cast, only Hank Azaria's fundamentalist Abraham really seizes on the possibilities; he and Platt deliver the goods. Too many others, on the other hand, just seem to have dropped by to hang out for a day or two on set. Typically, neither Juno Temple nor June Diane Raphael gets any breathing room as the heroes' designated distressed damsels; Ramis ogles female flesh as enthusiastically as he milks homophobia for cheap laughs. Bearing the tell-tale scars of slash-and-burn post-market testing editing -- several early scenes simply hit a brick wall -- "Year One" isn't an out-and-out disaster. It's just another feeble comedy that never finds its rhythm or builds up a head of steam. iReport.com: Share your review of "Year One" It was probably a lot more fun to make than it is to watch, but we'll have to take that on trust. Even the outtakes played alongside the end credits aren't funny. "Year One" is rated PG-13 and runs 100 minutes. For Entertainment Weekly's review, click here. | [
"Who does the movie star?",
"Who directed the movie?",
"Which film stars did Harold Ramis direct?",
"What is the name of the feeble comedy?",
"What is the name of the movie?",
"Who is staring in the film?"
] | [
[
"Michael Cera"
],
[
"Harold Ramis"
],
[
"(David Cross)"
],
[
"\"Year One.\""
],
[
"\"Year One\""
],
[
"Michael Cera"
]
] | "Year One" is a feeble comedy, says CNN.com's Tom Charity .
Harold Ramis-directed film stars Jack Black and Michael Cera, but few laughs .
Black and Cera play Stone Age tribesmen who meet biblical figures . |
(CNN) -- Coming back this weekend after a stay in Europe, I had that distinct sensation -- last felt when Lehman Brothers capsized, setting off the Great Recession -- that we once again find ourselves at the mercy of events and people just beyond our control.
Here at home, one hears that by Wednesday dawn, we will know whether BP's latest big try to stop the oil spill will work. If it does, we can begin to feel that we are moving in the right direction, but if it doesn't -- well, no one is quite sure what Plan D looks like. Is this really where we have come: that the fate of our precious coastlines and the waters off our coasts are in the hands of a single foreign-based company?
A month ago, it looked like the White House was on top of this problem, as Cabinet officers scurried here and there, the Coast Guard and others swung into action, there were talks with BP, and the president paid a personal visit. But increasingly, it has become apparent that the federal government may be present but is not in charge.
It keeps saying that BP bears ultimate responsibility. It is keeping the press away. No wonder James Carville, Chris Matthews and Donna Brazile exploded late last week. They are right on a basic point: Ultimately it is not the responsibility of BP or any other company to protect American interests but the responsibility of the federal government. Some Obama supporters have argued that the 1990 Oil Pollution Act limits the president's capacity to take action. Others disagree. Either way, in an emergency, laws can be changed.
Although this disaster is not an existential threat, it could be argued that if the U.S. government had fought World War II in the same way it has fought the oil spill, we might well be speaking German now. Faced with a growing danger to our well-being, a WWII-type government would at minimum have:
• Brought in the CEOs of all the major oil companies and charged them with the duty of an all-hands collaborative effort to stop the spill and help ward off the damage.
• Brought in the best minds in the country, from universities and technology, for emergency efforts to find solutions.
• Moved quickly to mobilize the National Guard and other military forces, if necessary, ensuring that they received the resources needed to protect our beaches.
• Made a clear call to citizen volunteers to help where necessary.
• Given Cabinet officers an ultimatum: Get this under control in the next 30 days, or else.
There will be ample time after this disaster for finger-pointing and blame-laying. The key now is to get this spill under control before it does far more damage.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post had it exactly right Monday morning when it argued that with the European crisis spreading now beyond Greece, "the knife-edge psychology currently governing global markets has put the future of the U.S. economic recovery in the hands of politicians in an assortment of European capitals."
Across Europe, one finds people stunned at the rapidity with which this crisis has grown, threatening not only their weak economies but also their dreams of a European utopia with people living a honeyed existence. All that could go smash now. Indeed, it is ironic that Europe may now be forced to give up its strong welfare state even as the U.S. is moving toward it. But the immediate point is that the U.S. finds itself too much at the mercy of whether European politicians and publics now make the right moves.
It may take a while, but Americans are going to start feeling a lot happier about our country when we once again believe we have strong control of own destiny. Leadership, anyone?
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Gergen. | [
"What is David Gergen concerned about?",
"What does David Gergen believe a determined government response would have mobilized in reaction to the oil spill?",
"Who said that is does not make sense to place the fate of the U.S. coast in the hands of one company?"
] | [
[
"that we once again find ourselves at the mercy of events and people just beyond our control."
],
[
"National Guard and other military forces,"
],
[
"David Gergen."
]
] | David Gergen: Growing concern that government is not responding adequately to oil spill .
He says it doesn't make sense that fate of U.S. coast is in hands of one company .
Determined government response would have mobilized more resources, he says . |
(CNN) -- Commentators who have watched the conflict in Northern Ireland play out for decades call the peace process a miracle. Various leaders negotiated for years to bring an end to Northern Ireland's "troubles." Culminating in a power sharing deal between Ulster's unionists, led by Ian Paisley, and Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA (nationalists), led by Gerry Adams, the road to peace has been a torturous one characterized by violence, set-backs and numerous false starts. Only recently the Ulster Defence Association, Northern Ireland's largest loyalist group, said it will cease to be an armed paramilitary group, starting at midnight on November 11, saying the "war is over." "All weaponry will be put beyond use," Colin Halliday of the Ulster Political Research Group, which is linked to the group, said in a speech in Belfast aired by RTE, Ireland's state-owned broadcaster. "The struggle to maintain the union is on a new and more complex battlefield." The Irish Republican Army (IRA) disarmed two years ago, helping to restore the province's government in Belfast. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said the most recent moves of groups to disarm was "significant and hopefully signals a further step toward the ending of all paramilitarism in Northern Ireland." For those that have lived through the turmoil in Northern Ireland, peace achieved though diplomacy must have seemed like an unrealistic goal. After all, each attack by loyalists usually resulted in retaliation by nationalists -- making the dispute bitter and intractable. But diplomacy has worked in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Credit for developing a framework for the peace process stretches back to former British Prime Minster John Major's rule in the 1990s and efforts by Ireland's Ahern. But it was Major's successor, Tony Blair, who was unrelenting in his quest for peace by making it a major priority of his government. Blair came to Northern Ireland 37 times as Prime Minister, traveling there more often than any of his predecessors as well as hosting many meetings at 10 Downing Street and discussing the peace process while at many international summits. According to the Belfast Telegraph: "When he (Blair) said on that first day he had come to seek 'a lasting and fair political settlement' it turned out he wasn't spouting platitudes on a stump." Journalist James Button, who covered the peace process talks, says: "Blair played a clever hand. He saw the hardliners had to be involved. "Critically he judged that the process had to tilt ever so slightly towards the republicans to prevent a split in their ranks and the resumption of violence by radicals -- which had happened whenever the republican leadership had inclined to moderation before." Button says Downing Street had a bicycle theory around peace talks: "They had to keep going forward otherwise they would fall over." It was Blair's diplomacy that wooed the previously immovable Paisley. Irish political scientist Lord Bew told the Guardian the alliance with Paisley was Blair's "last great romance... Once again when we thought the old maestro was fading, his capacity to seduce, politically speaking, is phenomenal." But as Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein told CNN, the conflict was primarily a local one that needed to be solved by local people: "The people who have to be the brokers are the people who live in the areas of conflict. "They're the people who ought to be the brokers but everybody else from the outside has to enhance the conditions so that those leaders or factions can actually broker not just an agreement, but implement an agreement. "The Good Friday Agreement -- and [former U.S.] Senator [George] Mitchell said this at the time, when we got the agreement -- "That's the easy bit. Implementing it is going to be the difficult bit." Mitchell worked with the various participants to reach an agreement. The long road to peace The "troubles" have been a centuries-old dispute between England and Ireland over who controls Northern Ireland. In 1609 | [
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] | [
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] | Some commentators have called the peace process in Northern Ireland a "miracle"
It culminated in a power sharing deal between the Ulster's unionists and Sinn Fein .
Peace and prosperity would not have occurred without diplomacy . |
(CNN) -- Commercial office space, warehouses or factory facilities are not required to launch a successful business. At-home enterprises have turned many business people into full-fledged celebrities. Grammy award-winning musicians OutKast started in a basement recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Apple, Google and Microsoft all were born at home-based facilities. See more famous businesses that started at home » Culinary queen Paula Deen started her media empire by making bag lunches in her own kitchen. | [
"What led to Paula Deen's media empire?",
"What companies started in homes?",
"What famous names started in homes?",
"Who's kitchen bag-lunch operation led to her media empire?",
"What proves commercial facilities aren't required for success?",
"Where did Google startup?"
] | [
[
"by making bag lunches in her own kitchen."
],
[
"Apple, Google and Microsoft"
],
[
"OutKast"
],
[
"Culinary queen Paula Deen"
],
[
"Apple, Google and Microsoft all were born at home-based"
],
[
"at home-based facilities."
]
] | At-home startups prove commercial facilities aren't required for success .
OutKast, Google, Microsoft, Spanx and other famous names started in homes .
Paula Deen's kitchen bag-lunch operation led to her media empire . |
(CNN) -- Conan O'Brien suggested in a statement Tuesday that he will not accept NBC's proposal to move him and "The Tonight Show," which he's hosted for seven months, to 12:05 a.m. ET. NBC has proposed moving "The Tonight Show" from its traditional 11:35 p.m. slot so that the show's former host, Jay Leno, could host a half-hour show then. "My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of 'The Tonight Show.' But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction," O'Brien said. "Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more. "There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work." Read O'Brien's full statement After Leno left "The Tonight Show" last year -- as part of an agreement reached six years ago giving it to O'Brien -- he began hosting "The Jay Leno Show" for NBC in the fall, airing at 10 p.m. ET. But ratings for the 10 p.m. show were low, and on Sunday, NBC announced that it was taking Leno out of the prime-time slot because the show "didn't meet affiliates' needs" despite performing at acceptable levels for the network. The last show will air February 11 to make way for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which airs starting February 12. Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, said the plan was for Leno to host a new, half-hour show at 11:35 p.m. ET, followed by "Tonight" with O'Brien at 12:05 a.m. and Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night" show moving to 1 a.m. As of Sunday, NBC was still negotiating with the three hosts over the proposed lineup. iReport: Share your view on the late-night shakeup O'Brien, in his statement Tuesday, said the plan wasn't acceptable. "For 60 years the 'Tonight Show' has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying 'The Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," O'Brien said. " 'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't 'The Tonight Show.' "Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the 'Late Night' show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy." Fox's president of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, told reporters on Monday that his network may be interested in O'Brien should he leave "Tonight." "I love him," Reilly said at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California. "It's a very compatible fit for our brand. He is one of the few guys in the planet who has demonstrated he can do one of these shows every night." In monologues on their respective shows on Monday, Leno and O'Brien had zingers about the looming shakeup. "NBC said the show performed exactly as they expected it would and then canceled us. Don't confuse this [with] when we were on at late night and performed better than expected and they canceled us. That was totally different," Leno quipped. O'Brien had the following to say on his show Monday: -- "Good evening, I'm Conan O'Brien, the new host of 'Last Call with Carson Daly.' " -- "This weekend no one was seriously hurt, but a 6.5 earthquake hit California | [
"What network is interested in Conan?",
"in what way would he damage the franchise?",
"What host of the Tonight Show is concerned?",
"What network does he work for?",
"Who is interested in O'Brien?"
] | [
[
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[
"O'Brien"
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[
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"Fox's president of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, told reporters on Monday that his network may be"
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] | Conan O'Brien: Moving 'Tonight Show' would damage greatest franchise in TV history .
O'Brien says he wants resolution with NBC quickly .
O'Brien says he has no offers from other networks on the table .
Fox's president of entertainment has expressed interest in O'Brien . |
(CNN) -- Condolences continued to pour in late Sunday night following the death of heavy metal rocker Ronnie James Dio, who lost his battle with stomach cancer earlier in the day.
"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. 16th May," his wife, Wendy Dio, said in a message on his official website.
Dio, 67, followed Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath's lead vocalist in 1979.
"Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away," she wrote. "Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all."
The rock community paid tribute to Dio in messages late Sunday.
"In addition to his powerhouse vocal ability, Ronnie was a true gentleman who always emanated great warmth and friendship to us and everyone around him," KISS said. "We will miss him."
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian called Dio's death a big loss.
"So many memories of Ronnie. Toured together many times. He always had a kind word and a smile, and he loved the Yankees," Ian said.
Musician Slash summed up the loss in one sentence: "Ronnie died at 7:45 a.m., but his music will live for eternity."
Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, who became friends with Dio while touring Europe, said the rocker will be missed.
"I still have this image of him standing on stage in front of 100,000 belting out 'Man on the Silver Mountain' and remember the shivers it sent up my spine," Sixx said.
He called Dio "one of the kindest souls I have ever met and his talent was beyond inspirational to so many of us."
"Those of us that had the opportunity to know Ronnie can tell you what a wonderful and passionate man he was," Sixx said.
Dio most recently was touring with Heaven and Hell, a version of Black Sabbath renamed for legal reasons. All shows were canceled last March because of his illness.
His last public appearance was in April at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards when he accepted a vocalist of the year award for his work on last year's Heaven and Hell album. Dio appeared frail, but he spoke while accepting his award.
Born Ronald James Padavona in 1942, Dio's professional music career began as a high school student in the late 1950s.
His 1960s rock group The Electric Elves evolved into Elf by the early 1970s, when the group played heavy blues rock.
Dio's rock became darker with his band Rainbow, which he left in 1979 to join Black Sabbath.
Black Sabbath released three albums with Dio, including "Heaven and Hell" in 1980, "Mob Rules" in 1981 and "Live Evil" in 1982.
Dio left that band in 1982, but he had a brief reunion with the group a decade later.
He formed the group Dio in 1982 and later Heaven and Hell. | [
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"in April at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards"
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[
"Ronnie James Dio,"
]
] | Rock community paid tribute to Dio in messages late Sunday .
Dio most recently was touring with the band Heaven and Hell .
His last public appearance was in April at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards . |
(CNN) -- Conjoined Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud, who were successfully separated in Saudi Arabia Saturday, are recovering and are expected to lead normal lives, officials said.
Conjoined twins Hassan, left, and Mahmud rest the day before separation surgery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"The twins' vital signs are good; they're doing excellent," said Sami Al-Shalan, spokesman for the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility in Riyadh where the surgery took place. "The twins still have about 24 hours before a progress report can be issued. The anesthesia consultants are happy with the progress of the children."
The boys are less than a year old and were brought to the kingdom on February 10. The delicate surgery took a little more than 15 hours.
"The twins' parents have visited them in the [pediatric intensive care unit], but they can't stay there long. They come and go," Al-Shalan said.
Separating the boys' urinary system was a major challenge, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the Saudi minister of health, told CNN. So was separating the siblings' local veins and arteries, he said.
"We had to identify the arteries and the blood veins between each baby," Al-Rabeeah said. Watch Al-Rabeeah explain the operation »
The procedure was the 21st of its kind to be performed in the kingdom.
The surgeries are performed free as part of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's philanthropic initiative.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report. | [
"Who performed the surgery?",
"Who declared the surgery successful?",
"What are are the Egyptian twin boys?",
"What is the surgery for?",
"Who is less than a year old?",
"What type of procedure was it?"
] | [
[
"Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah,"
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[
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[
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[
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[
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]
] | Egyptian twin boys are less than a year old .
21st procedure of this type to be performed in the kingdom .
15-hour delicate surgery declared successful, surgeon says .
Surgery free as part of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's philanthropic initiative . |
(CNN) -- Conjoined Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud, who were successfully separated in Saudi Arabia Saturday, are recovering and are expected to lead normal lives, officials said. Conjoined twins Hassan, left, and Mahmud rest the day before separation surgery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "The twins' vital signs are good; they're doing excellent," said Sami Al-Shalan, spokesman for the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility in Riyadh where the surgery took place. "The twins still have about 24 hours before a progress report can be issued. The anesthesia consultants are happy with the progress of the children." The boys are less than a year old and were brought to the kingdom on February 10. The delicate surgery took a little more than 15 hours. "The twins' parents have visited them in the [pediatric intensive care unit], but they can't stay there long. They come and go," Al-Shalan said. Separating the boys' urinary system was a major challenge, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the Saudi minister of health, told CNN. So was separating the siblings' local veins and arteries, he said. "We had to identify the arteries and the blood veins between each baby," Al-Rabeeah said. Watch Al-Rabeeah explain the operation » The procedure was the 21st of its kind to be performed in the kingdom. The surgeries are performed free as part of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's philanthropic initiative. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report. | [
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"What sex are the twins?",
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"What age are the Egyptian twin boys?",
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],
[
"less than a year old"
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[
"King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's"
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[
"separation surgery"
]
] | Egyptian twin boys are less than a year old .
21st procedure of this type to be performed in the kingdom .
15-hour delicate surgery declared successful, surgeon says .
Surgery free as part of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's philanthropic initiative . |
(CNN) -- Connectivity was the name of the game at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, held last week in Las Vegas -- especially when it came to health-related products. From cloud-connected scales to music-connected sex toys, these gadgets rose above the rest as those that might really help you keep your New Year's resolutions.
Sleep soundly
A small, lightweight band users wear on their heads during sleep, the Zeo Sleep System measures brain waves while you're in dreamland, and will sync via Bluetooth with your smart device.
Zeo's free app plots out how many hours of quality snooze time you're getting each night. Great feedback for our highly caffeinated, tech-obsessed society, it also plots out sleep quality based on behaviors you input.
How much did those three glasses of vino affect your sleep? How about that late night fast-food run, or actual run?
Zeo gives you concrete tips for improving your sleep routine based on your habits, and will even wake you up at the optimum time in your sleep cycle. The Zeo is available for a one-time purchase price of $99. (No monthly subscription required.)
Body bands
A bevy of body bands made a splash at CES this year, among them the BodyMedia Fit and the Basis Band.
BodyMedia's Fit monitoring system consists of a small electric band the user wears on his or her arm, that works in conjunction with a software interface that's available on your smartphone or online. Users input their daily calorie intake, and the device monitors calories burned.
The band uses sweat sensors, an accelerometer and skin temperature monitors to figure out how much exercise you're doing, and for how long. It compares that to your food intake to give a picture of your daily health. The accelerometer knows when you're lying on your back for hours at a time (presumably sleeping), and adds that to your fitness picture as well.
The Fit CORE is available for $149, but requires plugging in to synch your data. The new Fit LINK is Bluetooth-enabled for wireless synching, and is available for $179. Both products require a $6.95 monthly subscription to BodyMedia's online dashboard.
Similar to the BodyMedia's Fit, the Basis Band adds real-time heart rate monitoring to the mix by using a optical engine that "looks through the skin to see actual blood flow," similar to the technology used in pulse oximeters (those little things they put on your finger at the doctor's office.)
The Basis Band is also worn on the wrist rather than on the arm, and looks more like a trendy watch than a fitness monitor. The Basis is available for pre-order, shipping sometime this quarter; and will be $199. The price includes lifetime access to the cloud service and online interface -- no monthly subscription required.
Smart medical devices
Smart medical devices abounded on the expo floor this year.
The Withings Wi-fi Body Scale, a sleek device that looks like an iPhone you can step on, connects with your iPhone, or other iOS or Android-capable phone.
The scale measures your weight, lean and fat mass and calculates your BMI almost instantaneously. To keep things simple (and less depressing), the display only shows your weight -- the rest of the information floats up to the cloud, and is available on your smartphone. The free app interface also lets you invite friends, family members or your doctor to view your progress; and it will keep track of data for up to eight users.
The Withings Wi-fi Scale is available for $159, which includes lifetime access to the web and phone service. Unfortunately, just because this scale is cloud-connected, doesn't mean you're going to be any lighter.
Withings also had another smart medical device: the iPhone Blood Pressure Cuff. Wrap it around your arm and then plug this bad boy into your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. A small compressor in the device inflates the cuff, using power from your device | [
"What gives you concrete tips for improving your sleep routine?",
"What does Zeo Sleep System do?",
"where you can connect wi-fi body scale",
"what is zeo sleep system",
"What is the name of the app?",
"What does the WI-Fi Body Scale connect with?"
] | [
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[
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] | Zeo Sleep System gives you concrete tips for improving your sleep routine .
Withings Wi-fi Body Scale connects with your iPhone or Android-capable phone .
OptumizeMe is an app that lets you challenge friends and family to get healthy . |
(CNN) -- Conservationists have found a new population of orangutans in a steep, mountainous corner of Indonesia -- a discovery that significantly adds to the number of the endangered red-haired primates.
The orangutans were discovered in a mountainous corner of Indonesia.
About 65,000 orangutans are thought to remain in the wild, limited to rain forests on two islands in Malaysia and Indonesia: Borneo and Sumatra.
The latest population was found in the eastern edge of Borneo, with conservationists counting 219 nests. Even by conservative estimates, that raises the total number of the orangutan population by at least a couple of hundred, maybe thousands.
"We rarely have something positive to report in the conservation world. Most of the stories are about declining population or animals dying. It's all pretty negative," said Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist with the U.S.-based Nature Conservancy.
"So to find a substantial population of potentially several hundred to several thousand animals is very exciting."
Locals in the area had long spoken of an orangutan population in the hard-to-access limestone mountains of the Kalimantan province. A group of conservationists reached the area in December after driving for a day, taking a boat for another, and then hiking across steep mountainous terrain for two, Meijaard said.
The remoteness of the area has meant that the animals have been undisturbed by development. Elsewhere, the orangutan's forest habitat has been cut down for timber extraction and palm oil, used in food and cosmetics.
Orangutans, a species of great apes, with hair that is usually reddish-brown instead of the black or brown. The name is derived from the Malay and Indonesian words for "orang" (person) and "hutan" (forest). They spend most of their time on trees, subsisting on fruit and leading a solitary existence except to mate.
The expedition in December found the nests crammed into just a few miles in the 2 million-acre forest.
"The immediate steps include going back to the area to see how far the population ranges and to put better protection in place," Meijaard said. | [
"What was found in Indonesia?",
"Where was it found?",
"Where was a new population found?",
"Where was the new population of orangutans found?",
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] | Conservationists have found a new population of orangutans in Indonesia .
Discovery significantly adds to number of the endangered red-haired primates .
Latest population was found in the eastern edge of Borneo . |
(CNN) -- Consumers who bought "Caylee Sunshine" dolls and Michael Vick dog toys were misled into believing that a portion of their purchases would go to charity, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
The "Caylee Sunshine" doll cost $29.99 before Showbiz Promotions halted its production.
The Florida Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit Thursday against Showbiz Promotions and its owner, Jaime Salcedo, seeking $10,000 in penalties for each violation under the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
But Salcedo denies the allegations, saying he has been trying to resolve the disputes and compensate charitable organizations. The Jacksonville-based entrepreneur claims he has been working with the attorney general's office for more than one year to settle the issue.
The suit also asks that Salcedo stop running the Web site, www.cayleedoll.com, his short-lived vehicle for selling dolls that critics said were modeled after slain Florida toddler Caylee Anthony. Salcedo says the doll was not meant to be Caylee, but rather a tribute to her memory.
The dispute began with the attorney general's investigation into complaints about dog chew toys in the likeness of suspended NFL star Michael Vick, who is serving a federal prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation.
Consumers said they ordered and paid for merchandise from the company but did not receive the items, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims that Showbiz Promotions told consumers that a portion of the proceeds would go to local animal shelters, another promise Salcedo allegedly never made good on.
"Defendant Salcedo began cooperating with the Attorney General and made attempts to either make delivery on consumer orders for the Vick Dog Chew Toy or to provide refunds. However, numerous consumer complaints remain unresolved," the complaint alleges.
But Salcedo claims the scope of the damage is less extensive. Of 200 complaints that he says the attorney general's office received, all but 10 were resolved.
"Those people purchased on PayPal, so the only way I had to get in touch was going though e-mail. If they don't respond, then I can't help them," he said in a telephone interview Friday.
Salcedo also insists that his company made donations to animal shelters in forms of merchandise, including Vick chew toys, T-shirts and hats.
"They'd rather have $100 in toys because they can sell them or auction them off," he said. "We said they could have either and every time they said they wanted the toys."
The suit also addresses Salcedo's promotion of the Caylee Sunshine Doll and other members of the Sunshine Doll Collection, including Gracie Sunshine and Hope Sunshine.
The dolls set off a firestorm of controversy with its launch in January, drawing allegations that Showbiz Promotions was attempting to profit off the death of Caylee Anthony, whose mother is facing trial for her murder. Members of the public, media pundits and the Anthony family called for production of the dolls to be halted.
One month later, Showbiz Promotions pulled the plug on the Sunshine Collection, citing high manufacturing costs and tepid consumer response. The company had fulfilled just five orders and provided refunds for 20, according to Salcedo.
The lawsuit alleges that the product's Web site, www.cayleedoll.com, falsely claimed that "100% of the profits" from the Sunshine Doll Collection would go to charity, accusing Salcedo of fabricating a donation receipt and posting it on the site so visitors could view "the first donation" made to charity.
The receipt -- a purported screen grab from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Web site -- shows an "online credit card donation confirmation" for $5,000 in the name of Showbiz Promotions, according to the lawsuit. Salcedo says he never posted any such image on the site.
The alleged receipt is attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit, along with another purported receipt in Salcedo's name that the attorney general's office says is the only existing NCMEC donation associated with Salcedo or Showbiz Promotions. See exhibits attached to the lawsuit
"The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children confirmed that their records showed that a | [
"What is the owner accused of ?",
"Who denied allegations?",
"Who fabricated the receipt?",
"What is the owner called?",
"Who is accused of misleading customers?"
] | [
[
"fabricating a donation receipt and posting it on the site so visitors could view \"the first donation\" made to charity."
],
[
"Jaime Salcedo,"
],
[
"Salcedo"
],
[
"Jaime Salcedo,"
],
[
"Showbiz Promotions"
]
] | Showbiz Promotions and its owner accused of misleading consumers .
Florida Attorney General's Office: Company never gave portion of sales to charity .
Owner Jaime Salcedo accused of fabricating donation receipt to trick customers .
Salcedo denies allegations, says he did everything possible to resolve dispute . |
(CNN) -- Contrary to a report in a British newspaper, Michael Jackson does not have skin cancer, says Randy Phillips, president and CEO of AEG Live, the promoter of the King of Pop's upcoming concerts at London's 02 Arena. Michael Jackson gestures to the crowd at the March announcement for his series of London concerts. "He's as healthy as he can be -- no health problems whatsoever," the executive told CNN. Phillips said he asked Jackson point-blank about the skin cancer rumor yesterday, and the entertainer just brushed it off and laughed. "He's used to rumors like this. He's been famous ever since he was 5. He doesn't read the newspapers or watch news reports," Phillips explained. He also had an answer for an item in the British tabloid The Sun that said Jackson had been "making regular trips to a dermatologist in Beverly Hills wearing a mask and surgical cap." "Michael is very close friends with his dermatologist. It's as simple as that," said Phillips. According to Phillips, the 50-year-old pop star had passed a stringent physical exam before he and AEG inked their deal for Jackson to headline a 50-show residency at 02 beginning July 8. "And he'll have to take another before the shows start," he offered. Phillips also told CNN a tour with sister Janet Jackson and other performing members of the Jackson family was "never in the works, at least from Michael Jackson's side." He added, "Never say never, but right now, he's focusing on his own show. It's not about his family." "He's working out every day with his choreographers and his dancers. He's in better shape at 50 than I was at 30," Phillips laughed. Phillips took the opportunity to knock down a couple of other rumors. "For now, he has no plans for his kids to be in the show. And there are no elephants. No elephants in the show, and he's not dying of cancer." Phillips said the London shows were the first step in a multi-phase package with Jackson that he called "more than a 360-degree deal." He said there are also plans for recorded music and movies, including a 3-D live concert film and a 3-D movie based on Jackson's 1983 "Thriller" music video. Phillips didn't rule out a tour or a concert residency in another city, stating it would most likely start in Europe, then roll out to Asia, North America and South America. | [
"what was name of tabloid?",
"What claim did the concert promoter make?",
"what is name of concert promoter?",
"When is Jackson scheduled to perform in London?",
"When does he start performing?",
"Does Michael Jackson supposedly have skin cancer?",
"What kind of cancer does Michael Jackson supposedly have?",
"what is name of london arena?"
] | [
[
"The Sun"
],
[
"Michael Jackson does not have skin cancer,"
],
[
"Randy Phillips,"
],
[
"beginning July 8."
],
[
"July 8."
],
[
"not"
],
[
"skin"
],
[
"02"
]
] | U.K. tabloid reported that Michael Jackson has skin cancer .
Jackson has "no health problems whatsoever," says concert promoter .
Jackson is scheduled to perform 50 shows at London arena starting July 8 . |
(CNN) -- Cornelia Wallace, ex-wife of four-time Alabama Gov. George Wallace, has died, the governor's office announced. She was in her late 60s. The cause of death was not immediately known. "She served as first lady during a very turbulent time and our thoughts and prayers are with her family today," Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and wife Patsy said in a statement. Cornelia Wallace first met her husband at a party in the Alabama governor's mansion when her uncle, James Folsom, was governor and she was only eight years old, Time Magazine reported in 1972. She was 19 years younger than Wallace. At the time, Wallace was a state legislator married to his first wife, Lurleen, who also served as Alabama governor. The then Cornelia Ellis went to the semifinals of the Miss Alabama contest before becoming the star of the Cypress Gardens water ski show in Florida, Time reported. She married John Snively III, a millionaire whose family once owned the Gardens. The couple had two sons but divorced seven years later. After Lurleen Wallace died of cancer in 1968, George Wallace got back in touch with Cornelia Ellis Snively and they married in 1971. The following year, Cornelia Wallace was beside her husband when he was shot in a 1972 assassination attempt in a Maryland parking lot. George and Cornelia Wallace divorced after his failed bid for the U.S. presidency in 1976. George Wallace died in Montgomery on September 13, 1998. | [
"What age is Wallace?",
"What did Bob Riley say?",
"What was her age?",
"What did she serve as?",
"At what age was she?>",
"When wAs he assassinated?",
"Who was she with?",
"When was he shot?"
] | [
[
"her late 60s."
],
[
"\"She served as first lady during a very turbulent time and our thoughts and prayers are with her family today,\""
],
[
"late 60s."
],
[
"first lady"
],
[
"late 60s."
],
[
"1972"
],
[
"her husband"
],
[
"1972"
]
] | Cornelia Wallace was in her late 60s .
She was with Wallace when would-be assassin shot him in 1972 .
"She served as first lady during a very turbulent time," Gov. Bob Riley says . |
(CNN) -- Costa Rica's first female candidate held a two-to-one lead in the country's presidential election, as the second-place candidate, Otton Solis of the Citizen's Action Party, conceded defeat.
If the PLN -- the Spanish acronym for the ruling National Liberation Party party -- wins, Laura Chinchilla would become the nation's first female president.
Polls showed Chinchilla garnering 47.3 percent of the vote, with 24.9 percent of election sites reporting. Solis had 23.3 percent, while Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement had 21.9 percent.
Before noon Sunday, all three leading candidates had cast their votes in events broadcast live by local media.
If none of the candidates gain 40 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be used to select the next president.
In addition to president, Costa Ricans also cast ballots Sunday for two vice presidents, 53 congressmen and 495 councilmen.
Video footage showed flag-waving supporters of the main presidential candidates dressed in their respective campaign colors throughout the country.
International observers interviewed on CNN affiliate Teletica compared the election scene to a festival.
The festivities included election sites where children could vote in a mock presidential vote. The educational outreach let the children pick their candidate on a digital ballot not unlike the ones the rest of the electorate cast their votes with.
Some 2.8 million Costa Ricans are eligible to vote.
The legacy of outgoing President Oscar Arias -- a Nobel laureate who leaves office a popular, if polarizing leader -- has in many ways shaped the presidential race.
Although he has given Costa Rica a larger role in foreign affairs through his involvement in seeking resolution to the political crisis in Honduras, but his style has rubbed some the wrong way.
After casting his vote Sunday, Arias called the electoral process transparent and trustworthy.
"I would like to thank the Costa Rican people for filling the streets with color," he said.
CNN's Roberto Pazos contributed to this report. | [
"Who represents ruling National Liberation Party?",
"What shows Chinchilla with 47.3 percent of vote?",
"Who has 47.3 percent of the vote?",
"What represents the ruling National Liberation Party?",
"How many percent of the vote did Solis have?",
"Who bows out with 23.3 percent of the vote so far?",
"Which party does Chinchilla represent?"
] | [
[
"Laura Chinchilla"
],
[
"Polls"
],
[
"Chinchilla"
],
[
"PLN"
],
[
"23.3"
],
[
"Solis"
],
[
"National Liberation"
]
] | NEW: Solis bows out with 23.3 percent of the vote so far .
NEW: Polls show Chinchilla with 47.3 percent of vote, with a quarter of sites reporting .
Chinchilla represents ruling National Liberation Party .
If no one takes 40 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be necessary . |
(CNN) -- Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, the government said in a televised statement on Tuesday. Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, has contracted the H1N1 virus. Arias fell ill on Sunday, complaining of a sore throat and temperature, Presidential Minister Rodrigo Arias said. A doctor's visit on Tuesday revealed that the president had the H1N1 virus, cases of which had been reported earlier in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. The president's overall health was good, but following his doctor's advice, he will rest at his home until Sunday, Rodrigo Arias said. The president is expected to return to work on Monday, the minister said. As of Friday, there were 718 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Costa Rica, and the virus has been blamed for 27 deaths, according to a report by the country's ministry of health. A majority of the confirmed cases -- 480 -- were in San Jose. Arias, 67, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for helping bring an end to Central America's civil wars. More recently, he acted as mediator between two feuding sides claiming the leadership of Honduras. | [
"What did President Oscar Arias fall ill from?",
"What has President Oscar Arias been diagnosed with?",
"What virus was Oscar Arias diagnosed with?",
"How many confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus were there?",
"When is Arias expect back to work?",
"When is Arias expected to return to work?"
] | [
[
"H1N1 virus,"
],
[
"H1N1 virus,"
],
[
"H1N1"
],
[
"718"
],
[
"Monday,"
],
[
"Monday,"
]
] | President Oscar Arias has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, government says .
Arias fell ill Sunday, complaining of a sore throat and a temperature .
Arias is expected to return to work on Monday, presidential minister says .
As of last Friday, there were 718 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Costa Rica . |
(CNN) -- Country music artist Taylor Swift has told CNN she never dreamed she would shoot to stardom so quickly. At just 19 years old, she is one of the most successful recording artists of the decade in the United States. Her album "Fearless" is certified quadruple platinum, and her 60-date tour of the U.S., UK and Australia sold out in minutes. Talking to CNN's Becky Anderson, she said: "I think for me the most satisfying thing is going out with my first headlining tour and having every show sell out. That was something that I never dreamed would be so quick to happen. "Putting Madison Square Garden on sale and having it be sold out in 59 seconds. Like I can't believe that. I'm still completely blown away by that. "And I think my parents are most proud of the moment when where we were all sitting in the crowd at the CMA Awards and they heard my name announced as entertainer of the year. "I think my parents cried more for that moment than any other moment." She has had two number one albums in the Billboard Charts, and in 2009, Swift became the first country music artist ever to win an MTV Video Music Award. Asked what she would have thought had someone told her 10 years ago that she would be famous by the age of 18, she said: "I thought I was going to do what my parents did. They went to college. They went into business and I loved music and I never imagined that I would actually get to do that as a job. It's wonderful." Asked why it is that her songs are considered country music, she said: "I think that what categorizes country music, to me, in my head. I think a country song is when you are singing about being proud of your life. "I sing about love and boys and that's my life. So that's what fascinates me, feelings, and so I think if you are singing and writing songs about the way that you live your life, that's a country song." On reports that she is dating teen heartthrob Taylor Lautner, Swift said: "He's a great guy and we're really close." But she refused to be drawn on her thoughts about Kanye West, who cut her off as she accepted the award for Best Female Song at the MTV Music Video Awards ceremony. "I just haven't really changed my mind and that I don't like to talk about it," she said. | [
"She said her and Taylor Lautner are what?",
"What age is the person?",
"What is most satisfying?",
"What is the most satisfying thing?",
"The most satisfying thing is having what?",
"At age 19 she is one of the most successful what?",
"Which teen heartthrob is she close to?",
"What is her age?",
"Who is she really close to?"
] | [
[
"really close.\""
],
[
"19"
],
[
"going out with my first headlining tour and having every show sell out."
],
[
"going out with my first headlining tour and having every show sell out."
],
[
"every show sell out."
],
[
"recording artists"
],
[
"Taylor Lautner,"
],
[
"19 years old,"
],
[
"Taylor Lautner,"
]
] | Most satisfying thing is having every show in her tour sell out, she tells CNN .
At 19 she is one of the most successful U.S. recording artists of the decade .
On teen heartthrob Taylor Lautner, she says: "We're really close" |
(CNN) -- Country music singer-songwriter Brad Paisley was examined and released from a hospital after taking a nasty spill during a South Carolina concert Saturday, the entertainer says on his Web site and Twitter account.
"I hit hard," Paisley wrote on Twitter. "And I mean freaking hard."
Paisley was examined at Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in Charleston and released Sunday.
"Tnx4 prayers,after my fall,I was just discharged from the hospital.Just very very bruised. Nothing broken, had a ct scan all is okay!" he said on his Twitter account, @paisleyofficial.
Paisley was on the final note of an encore finale, a song titled "Alcohol," when he fell, his Web site says.
"If ur wondering,it was the last song&last night of the tour&I was running fast on stage,tripped.really did think I broke a rib or something," Paisley wrote.
He also posted two photos of himself posing with medical personnel while he was being treated at the hospital emergency room.
Paisley was able to complete the show after his fall.
"[H]e bounced back up, finished the show and thanked the audience and told them good-bye," his Web site said Sunday. "Once he left the stage he was transported to the local hospital via ambulance to be checked out -- all is well, only badly bruised. Brad was discharged from the hospital and is on his way home to Nashville."
Paisley, 37, was making his final stop of the "American Saturday Night Tour" at the Charleston Coliseum.
He won his third consecutive Country Music Association Male Vocalist Award in November, his 13th prize from the organization. | [
"who was treated at a local hospital?",
"What did he tweet?",
"Where was the performance?",
"Who fell off the stage?",
"who said he was running fast, tripped and took a tumble?"
] | [
[
"Brad Paisley"
],
[
"\"I hit hard,\""
],
[
"South Carolina"
],
[
"Brad Paisley"
],
[
"Brad Paisley"
]
] | Brad Paisley fell off stage during a performance in South Carolina .
Singer says he was "running fast," tripped and took a tumble .
After being treated at a local hospital, he tweeted he was fine, just "very bruised" |
(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain scored the goals that gave Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Racing Santander on Sunday -- a result that sees Manuel Pelegrini's side return to the top of the Spanish Primera Liga.
Real's 12 consecutive league victory ensured that Real will face title rivals Barcelona in next weekend's crunch league match in pole position on goal difference.
Barcelona's 4-1 victory at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday ensured that Real needed another win to regain top spot and they took the lead in the 24th minute.
Ronaldo teased a foul out of Jose Moraton in the penalty area and from the resulting spot-kick, the Portuguese international fired home his 18th league goal of the season.
Despite dominating the match, Madrid had to wait until the 76th minute for their second goal, Higuain sliding the ball home from Guti's pass for his 24th goal of the season, two behind Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts.
Meanwhile, Spanish international striker David Villa took his season's goal tally to 20 with two late goals as Valencia defeated Osasuna 3-0, to take a firm grip on third position.
Joaquin opened the scoring in the 47th minute before Villa netted his first with a minute to go -- and then doubled his tally with an injury-time penalty. | [
"Who finished 3rd in the league?",
"What was Valencia's placing?",
"Who scored the goals?",
"Who scored the winning goals?",
"What team did Real Madrid defeat?",
"What lifted Real above Barcelona?",
"What did Madrid return to the top of?"
] | [
[
"Valencia"
],
[
"third position."
],
[
"Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain"
],
[
"Gonzalo Higuain"
],
[
"Athletic Bilbao"
],
[
"Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain"
],
[
"Spanish Primera Liga."
]
] | Real Madrid defeat Racing Santander 2-0 to return to the top of Spanish table .
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain score the goals that lift Real above Barcelona .
Valencia consolidate third place in the table with a comfortable 3-0 win over Osasuna. |
(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo continued his sensational scoring form with a hat-trick on Wednesday night to keep Real Madrid's Spanish title hopes alive going into the final two matches of the season.
Real trail Barcelona by one point after matching the defending champions' 4-1 victory over Tenerife the night before, coming from behind to defeat European hopefuls Mallorca.
While world player of the year Lionel Messi took his tally to 44 goals with two more on Tuesday, Ronaldo is proving to be just as important to Real's chances.
The Portugal forward, who became the world's most expensive player when he signed for $130 million from Manchester United in pre-season, has now scored 36 times this campaign.
He followed up his double from Sunday's last-gasp 3-2 victory against Osasuna with another superb solo display, canceling out Aritz Aduriz's 16th-minute header with an opportunist effort 10 minutes later as he beat goalkeeper Dudu Aouate to a long ball by Sergio Ramos.
Ronaldo put Real ahead 11 minutes after halftime with his 24th league goal this season, again combining with Ramos as he chested down the Argentine's pass and prodded the ball past Aouate.
He made it 3-1 with 18 minutes to play as he skipped past two defenders on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and calmly slotted a low right-foot shot past the keeper to seal his first treble for the club.
Gonzalo Higuain capped the victory 10 minutes later with a superb deft chip over Aouate after running clear for his 26th goal in La Liga this season, putting him behind only Messi's 31.
This weekend, Real will host Athletic Bilbao while Barcelona travel to Sevilla, who reclaimed fourth place from Mallorca with a 5-1 victory at Racing Santander.
Striker Alvaro Negredo followed up his weekend double with two more goals as Santander, who had Mohamed Tchite sent off for two bookings after he made it 3-1 on the hour, were left just a point above the bottom three.
Eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao failed to return to the top six after a 1-1 home draw with Malaga, who moved above Santander on goal difference.
Atletico Madrid kept up the fine end-of-season form that has seen Real's city rivals reach the finals of the Europa League and Copa Del Rey by defeating second-bottom Valladolid 3-1.
Goals from Juanito, Jose Manuel Jurado and Diego Forlan put the ninth-placed hosts 3-0 up before a 78th-minute consolation by Jonathan Sesma as relegation-threatened Valladolid suffered a first defeat under former Spain coach Javier Clemente.
Deportivo La Coruna were leapfrogged by Atletico after losing 3-1 at Osasuna, and now cannot qualify for the Europa League.
Real Zaragoza moved five points clear of the bottom three with a 1-0 win at home to Espanyol, who are a point above in 13th place, thanks to a second-half penalty from in-form striker Adrian Colunga. | [
"Who reclaims fourth place?",
"what position did Sevilla claim?",
"Who did he score for?",
"Who scored his first hat-trick?",
"What team has reclaimed fourth place?",
"How many times has Ronaldo netted?",
"which country is he from?",
"What number of goals has he scored this season?",
"who scored a hat-trick?"
] | [
[
"Barcelona"
],
[
"fourth place"
],
[
"Real Madrid's"
],
[
"Ronaldo"
],
[
"Barcelona"
],
[
"36"
],
[
"Portugal"
],
[
"44"
],
[
"Ronaldo"
]
] | Cristiano Ronaldo scores his first hat-trick for Real Madrid in 4-1 win at Mallorca .
Portugal forward has now netted 36 times in his first season for Los Galacticos .
Real reduce Barcelona's Spanish league lead to one point with two games to play .
Sevilla reclaim fourth place from Mallorca with 5-1 victory at Racing Santander . |
(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty as Manchester United earned a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium on Wednesday night. Cristiano Ronaldo sent his penalty attempt wide as United failed to take an early lead at the Nou Camp. The Portugal winger, the top scorer in this season's competition, spurned the chance to net for the 39th time overall this campaign and give United a vital away goal. The 23-year-old hit the stanchion high outside goalkeeper Victor Valdes' left-hand post in the third minute after Gabriel Milito handled his header from a Paul Scholes corner. It was United's best chance in a game dominated by the home side, who had the best of possession with some silky moves but failed to find the killer pass in the final third of the pitch. United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar made a string of saves, especially in the second half, but was not often seriously tested. Barcelona were boosted by the return of Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who started alongside Samuel Eto'o up front, with Thierry Henry on the bench after also being cleared following an illness. Messi picked out Samuel Eto'o in the 13th minute only for midfielder Scholes -- making his 100th Champions League appearance -- to make a vital interception. Barcelona pressed forward again in the 21st minute and Rafael Marquez got clear of his marker but his header failed to trouble Van der Sar, who was back in the side following a groin injury. Then Yaya Toure showed good skill for the home side and sent a good cross into the area that was turned away by Van der Sar. Ronaldo felt he should have had another penalty in the 30th minute when he was bundled over by Marquez after Xavi had carelessly lost possession, but Swiss referee Massimo Busacca allowed play to continue. Eto'o rattled in a shot after 34 minutes but Wes Brown -- who passed a late fitness test to replace the ill Nemanja Vidic in central defense -- made a vital block. Brown partnered Rio Ferdinand, with England midfielder Owen Hargreaves operating as a makeshift right-back. Deco, starting his first game for Barcelona after two months out with injuries, then failed to test Van der Sar with a free-kick in the 38th minute. Marquez was booked in the 44th minute after tripping Ronaldo as he attempted to surge forward, meaning the Mexican is suspended for next Tuesday's second leg at Old Trafford. Ronaldo sent his effort from an acute angle wide of the post. After the break, Messi saw his effort blocked in the 47th minute and then Van der Sar tipped over defender Gianluca Zambrotta's long-range effort. Messi beat three United players but Ferdinand cut out his low cross from the right, then he played in a superb ball for Eto'o -- who lashed his shot against the side-netting. Deco tested Van der Sar with a low drive, then the Dutchman easily dealt with a 20-yard effort from Xavi. Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard took off Messi in the 62nd minute, replacing him with teenager Bojan Krkic, who scored the winner in the first leg of the quarterfinal against Schalke. A foul on the Serbian-born Spaniard drew a yellow card for Hargreaves in the 73rd minute, then United boss Alex Ferguson bolstered his midfield by bringing on Nani for England forward Wayne Rooney -- who had started up front with Carlos Tevez. Rijkaard responded by replacing Deco with Henry in the 77th minute, and the French forward forced a scrambled save by Van der Sar with a long-range shot on 83. Ferguson brought on veteran winger Ryan Giggs for Tevez soon after, then Van der Sar denied Andres Iniesta and also dived to comfortably save Henry's free-kick from 35 yards. Barcelona continued to press until the final whistle, but still could not create a clear-cut opportunity. E-mail to a friend | [
"Who dominated the Champions League?",
"What happens to Cristiano Ronaldo in the third minute?",
"Did the Goalkeeper make many saves?",
"Which teams had a draw?",
"What is the Goalkeeper's name?",
"What was the score on the fist leg of the semifinals?",
"What is the name of United's top scorer?"
] | [
[
"Barcelona"
],
[
"The 23-year-old hit the stanchion high outside goalkeeper Victor Valdes' left-hand post in the"
],
[
"made a string of"
],
[
"Manchester United"
],
[
"Victor Valdes'"
],
[
"0-0 draw"
],
[
"Cristiano Ronaldo"
]
] | Manchester United earn 0-0 draw away to Barcelona in first leg of semifinal .
United's top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo misses penalty in the third minute .
Barca dominated Champions League tie but could not breach United's defense .
Goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar made several saves but not seriously tested . |
(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off after inspiring Real Madrid to an incident-packed 4-2 victory at home to Almeria on Saturday night, in which he created a goal, scored one and also missed a penalty. The world's most expensive player helped Real bounce back from last weekend's 1-0 "El Clasico" defeat to Barcelona as the big-spending capital outfit came back from 2-1 down in an explosive final 20 minutes. However, unbeaten Barca stayed five points clear at the top -- having played one more match -- with a 2-1 victory at Deportivo La Coruna as Lionel Messi scored twice. Ronaldo, making his first appearance at the Bernabeu in two months following ankle problems, crossed for Sergio Ramos to head the opening goal in the 31st minute. However, Fernando Soriano leveled with a deflected shot in the 58th minute and Kalu Uche put lowly Almeria head just three minutes later as Real failed to clear a corner. The hosts equalized with 17 minutes left as Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain kept up his hot scoring run with a predatory finish after the Almeria defense did not deal with a cross from the left. With eight minutes remaining, Ronaldo went down under the challenge of the onrushing Diego Alves, but the goalkeeper saved his resulting penalty -- however, Karim Benzema followed up to smash in the rebound to put Real ahead. Ronaldo wrapped it up a minute later from Higuain's low cross, and was booked for tearing off his shirt to pose in front of his adoring fans. The Portugal captain received his second yellow card five minutes later for kicking out at Michel, but it was not costly as Real completed a morale-boosting win ahead of Tuesday's Champions League trip to Marseille. Barcelona, whose European title defense is still in the balance ahead of Wednesday's trip to Dynamo Kiev, took the lead against Deportivo in the 27th minute when Messi scored with a trademark neat finish. However, Adrian leveled in the 39th minute with a header after an error by Sergi Busquets, who returned from suspension. But Messi, named Europe's top player for 2009 during the week, put Barca ahead again with 10 minutes left from Pedro's cross and Zlatan Ibrahimovic followed up his winner against Real by wrapping up the victory on 88. Third-placed Sevilla again failed to keep pace with the leaders after being held 1-1 at home by mid-table Valladolid, who had a player sent off. Angola striker Manucho put the visitors ahead in the 33rd minute with a glancing header from Diego Costa's cross but five minutes later Borja Fernandez was red-carded for a lunge on Diego Perotti. Sevilla, who were held at home by Malaga last weekend, leveled with a penalty from Luis Fabiano just before halftime after Marcos brought down Jesus Navas. Brazil striker Fabiano squandered two golden second-half opportunities as Valladolid held on, meaning Valencia can move above Sevilla with victory away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Atletico Madrid moved further away from relegation trouble with a 2-0 victory at promoted strugglers Xerez, with star strikers Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero scoring in each half. Uruguay international Forlan put Atletico ahead in the 29th minute from a cross by Jose Antonio Reyes, while Argentina's Aguero doubled the lead on 65 with a low shot from 12 yards. | [
"Who did Barcelona beat?",
"Who is sent off after the match?",
"Who scores twice?",
"What was the final score in the Madrid Game?",
"What happened to Ronaldo?",
"Who trails Barcelona by five points?",
"Who was sent off?",
"Who is Lionel Messi?"
] | [
[
"\"El Clasico\""
],
[
"Ronaldo"
],
[
"Lionel Messi"
],
[
"4-2"
],
[
"sent off"
],
[
"Real Madrid"
],
[
"Ronaldo"
],
[
"Europe's top player for 2009"
]
] | Cristiano Ronaldo sent off after inspiring Real Madrid to 4-2 victory at home to Almeria .
World's most expensive player scores goal, sets one up and misses a penalty .
Real trail Spanish leaders Barcelona by five points after the Catalans beat Deportivo 3-1 .
Ball d'Or winner Lionel Messi scores twice and Zlatan Ibrahimovic nets the third goal . |
(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo's sixth-minute strike saw holders Manchester United become the first English team to win in Porto, reaching the semifinals of the Champions League 3-2 on aggregate in the process.
Ronaldo scores in spectacular style as Manchester United reached the Champions League semis.
The European Player of the Year fired a spectacular 35-yard strike into the top corner as United remained on course to become the first team to retain the Champions League -- and will now face Premier League rivals Arsenal for a place in the final in Rome.
The stunning goal was Ronaldo's 20th of the season but only his second in the Champions League since scoring the opener in last year's final in Moscow.
After drawing the first leg 2-2 at Old Trafford, Porto only needed a low-scoring draw to reach the last four, but in truth they never looked threatening against a United defense superbly marshalled by Nemanja Vidic and the returning Rio Ferdinand.
In fact, had Vidic been able to keep his close-range effort under the crossbar after John O'Shea had got the faintest of touches to a Ryan Giggs corner just before the interval, United would surely have completed their task in the first 45 minutes.
"We were very solid at the back tonight and that stability helped us," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports.
"The return of Rio Ferdinand alongside Vidic was a major boost and scoring an early goal helped settle us. It was a great strike by Cristiano and although we didn't score a second goal, I thought we never looked in danger of conceding," he added.
The result puts Ferguson head-to-head with his old foe, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, for a place in the final against either Chelsea or Barcelona.
It also keeps alive United's dreams of claiming an astonishing five trophies this season after also winning the English League Cup and the Club World Cup. | [
"where United become first English team to win?",
"What has the win allowed the team to do?",
"result of Manchester - Porto?",
"Who did Manchester United beat?",
"Who scores a six-minute?",
"when Cristiano Ronaldo scores?",
"Who does United face next?"
] | [
[
"Porto,"
],
[
"reaching the semifinals of the Champions League"
],
[
"3-2"
],
[
"Porto"
],
[
"Cristiano"
],
[
"sixth-minute"
],
[
"Premier League rivals Arsenal"
]
] | Manchester United beat Porto 1-0 to reach the Champions League semifinals .
Cristiano Ronaldo scores a sixth-minute stunner to put holders into last four .
United become first English team to win in Porto and now face rivals Arsenal . |
(CNN) -- Critics took to the social networking site Facebook to voice their fury over Pope Benedict's remark that condoms do not prevent HIV. Pope Benedict XVI's anti-condom comments have raised the ire of some Facebook users. Thousands have pledged to send the pontiff millions of condoms to protest the controversial comment he made to journalists as he flew to Cameroon last week. "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters. "On the contrary, it increases the problem." Pope Benedict XVI has made it clear he intends to uphold the traditional Catholic teaching on artificial contraception. The Vatican has long opposed the use of condoms and other forms of birth control and encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease. About a dozen Facebook groups have sprung up, mostly from European countries, criticizing the pontiff. "The clergy aren't supposed to have sex at all, but they are free to tell people how to conduct themselves? That's like a girl who wears no make-up as the CEO of CoverGirl," one member posted on the page, "Condoms for Pope Benedict XVI." "It frightens me that a man who has devoted his life to moral guidance ... and is undeniably a learned, intelligent man can be at the same time so narrow-minded, bigoted and irresponsible," posted another person on a different page. The online campaign added another voice to a deluge of criticism, which includes the governments of France, Germany and Belgium. Aid agencies and other health organizations have also chimed in. The Lancet, a British medical journal, urged the pope Saturday to issue a retraction for the "outrageous and wildly inaccurate" statement to journalists aboard his plane. "When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record," The Lancet said in an editorial. "Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide." Some in the Catholic Church have rallied to the pontiff's support. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, head of the Italian Bishops Conference, told Times Online in Britain that Benedict was simply pointing out that condoms "had not solved and could not solve the AIDS problem." Despite the controversy, the pope's pilgrimage spurred excitement in Africa. An estimated 1 million people turned out to hear him preach a Mass in Angola on Sunday, the last major event of his trip. He spoke of the need for reconciliation in the country, which has endured a brutal civil war. "Look to the future with hope, trust in God's promises and live in his truth. In this way you will build something that will stand and endure," he said. | [
"What did the Pope say?",
"What did the Pope say about condoms?",
"What are users planning to send to the Pope?",
"What did the Vatican oppose?",
"Who are they sending condoms to?",
"What did Pope Benedict XVI say recently about condoms?",
"What is the Vatican opposed to?"
] | [
[
"\"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms,\""
],
[
"do not prevent HIV."
],
[
"millions of condoms"
],
[
"condoms"
],
[
"the pontiff"
],
[
"do not prevent HIV."
],
[
"the use of condoms and other forms of birth control"
]
] | Facebook users plan to send condoms to Pope Benedict XVI .
Pope Benedict XVI recently said condoms are not the answer to stop HIV/AIDS .
Vatican has long opposed use of condoms, other forms of birth control . |
(CNN) -- Croatia held off a furious late onslaught from Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria to win 1-0 in their opening Group B match in Vienna on Sunday. Emmanuel Pogagtetz, left, fouls Croatia striker Ivica Olic to concede the match-winning penalty. The Croatians took the lead in the fourth minute when midfielder Luka Modric coolly slotted home from the penalty spot after Emmanuel Pogatetz clumsily body-checked striker Ivica Olic in the area. Slaven Bilic's team dominated the first half, and should have gone further ahead in the 35th minute but Olic's strike partner Mladen Petric blazed over the bar with a left-foot volley after beating the offside trap to run on to Vedran Corluka's cross. Austria's main threat had come from set-pieces, but they were not able to capitalize on a string of corners. However, the home players kept battling in the second half and squandered a series of chances to level the score in the final 15 minutes. Martin Harnik fired over the bar on 78 as Croatia scrambled to clear the danger, then substitute Ivica Vastic had a powerful header well saved by goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, who then kept out another low effort by the veteran midfielder. Pletikosa also had to deny a driven shot from Umit Korkmaz, who also came off the bench, while another substitute in Roman Kienast flicked a header just wide from a free kick in the third minute of time added on. Croatia went into the tournament as one of the outside bets, having qualified top of their group ahead of Russia with a victory away to England which eliminated the British team. However, their chances of success were dealt a massive blow when top scorer Eduardo da Silva was ruled out of the tournament due to a broken leg. None of Croatia's strikers managed to score in the warmup matches, and the Arsenal forward's goal-poaching ability was sorely missed on Sunday. The winning goal came after Modric and Olic combined down the left wing from a throw-in, and Pogatetz clearly impeded the striker well away from the Austria goal. The Middlesbrough defender was booked for protesting the referee's decision, but he could have no complaints with the ruling. Austria are the lowest-ranked of the 16 teams at the tournament in 92nd place, but showed great courage against a 15th-seeded Croatia side stacked with attacking talent. But they joined fellow co-hosts Switzerland in losing their opening match, following the Czech Republic's 1-0 victory on Saturday. Croatia next play Germany on Thursday, when Austria take on Poland. Coach Bilic was delighted to start with a victory, but was not so impressed with his team's performance. "Some players were overwhelmed by playing at a great tournament but we started off with the best possible way -- with a win," Bilic told reporters. "In the first 35 minutes we played excellently, of course the early lead contributed to that. "They exerted more pressure in the second half and I'm sure that is not to do with a lack of strength from our players. But we confined ourselves to our penalty area too early. "The last 15 minutes or so when they play all or nothing, you can do that -- but we started in the 60th minute or so. I didn't think the players were happy when they got back in the dressing room. I turned on the CD player and said they should sing because they won." Austria coach Josef Hickersberger was left frustrated by his side's failure to take their chances. "This was the worst possible start you can have in an opening match of a major tournament," he said. "We took some time to recover, during the first 30 minutes we were nervous. "For the rest of the match we were playing the way we should have been playing. We even dominated in the second half of the match. We had good opportunities but unfortunately we weren't able to score a goal, so we are empty-handed. In our remaining games we need four points to go through | [
"Who beat Austria in match?",
"Who did Croatia beat?",
"When do Croatia play next?",
"Who scored the penalty?",
"When is Croatia playing next game?"
] | [
[
"Croatia"
],
[
"Austria"
],
[
"Germany on Thursday,"
],
[
"Emmanuel Pogagtetz,"
],
[
"Thursday,"
]
] | Croatia beat Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria 1-0 in opening Group B match .
Luka Modric scores fourth-minute penalty after striker Ivica Olic is fouled .
Austria battle back in the second half but miss a series of late chances .
Croatia next play Germany on Thursday, while Austria take on Poland . |
(CNN) -- Croatia sent out a message of intent to the other Euro 2008 finalists as they stunned highly-fancied Germany 2-1 in Klagenfurt to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
Ivicia Olic celebrates Croatia's second goal in their superb 2-1 victory over Germany.
Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic struck the goals as Croatia, who had only ever beaten Germany once before, produced arguably the first major upset of the tournament.
Lukas Podolski pulled a goal back late on for Germany with his third strike in two games to set up a nail-biting finale, but there was to be no way back for Joachim Loew's team, who finished with 10 men following the 90th-minute dismissal of substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger .
Both sides came into the game having won their opening matches, although Germany had looked far more impressive in seeing off Poland than Croatia had in defeating Austria.
However, it was Slaven Bilic's side who turned on the style at the Worthersee Stadion as they took control of Group B with two wins out of two.
A frantic start to the match promised much but for all their huffing and puffing, neither side were able to create anything resembling a chance in the opening 20 minutes as defences held firm.
The ball did find its way into the back of the net in the 22nd minute when Germany striker Mario Gomez slotted home past Stipe Pletikosa but the offside flag had already gone up against the Stuttgart man.
The deadlock was broken for real just two minutes after that incident though, when Croatia went ahead through Srna.
Danijel Pranjic sent over a superb cross from the left and Srna nipped in front of marker Marcell Jansen to slide the ball in at the far post, giving veteran Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann no chance.
Croatia had a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute, but Niko Kranjcar wasted it. Ivan Rakitic chipped a pass into the area which was flicked back towards the penalty spot by Olic, but the in-rushing Kranjcar was unable to cap a well-worked move as he blazed over.
Germany knew they needed to step up through the gears and they finally made Pletikosa earn his keep with two efforts in rapid succession.
The first saw Pletikosa push away a thunderous Michael Ballack free-kick, before the Spartak Moscow custodian awkwardly deflected away a Christoph Metzelder effort with his knee.
Metzelder then headed a Torsten Frings corner just over from close range as the Germans stepped up their efforts for an equalizer before the break.
However, Loew's side very nearly found themselves two goals behind in the 43rd minute, and they needed a fine reaction stop from Lehmann to deny Kranjcar, who chested down Olic's pass and smashed in a first-time volley.
Having seen his side let off the hook, Loew opted for a more adventurous approach in the second half as he sacrificed full-back Jansen for jet-heeled winger David Odonkor during the interval.
Aside from a Ballack shot over the crossbar though, Croatia looked fairly comfortable at the start of the period and also had a decent effort of their own with Luka Modric firing in a shot that Lehmann gathered, although not before seeing it squirm through his hands first.
However, Lehmann's next task was to pick the ball out of the back of his net as Croatia stunned the Germans with a second goal in the 62nd minute.
A Rakitic cross from the right took a deflection off Podolski before arrowing goalwards and although Lehmann, who had begun to come out for the initial cross, managed to dive backwards and get a hand on it, the ball struck his near post before rebounding back out to Olic, who had the easy task of slotting home.
Germany looked for an immediate response but aside from a Schweinsteiger shot that fizzed across the face of goal, they were still finding it difficult to create chances against a well-organised Croatia backline.
Loew's side earned themselves a lifeline with 12 minutes to go though when Podolski lashed home a shot on the half-volley after the ball had fallen kindly to him in the box | [
"Where did Croatia defeat Germany?",
"What was Croatia's score against Germany?",
"Who does Croatia stun?",
"What was the score in the Croatia match with Germany?",
"How many strikes has Lukas Podolski scored in the last two games?",
"Who had three strikes in two games?"
] | [
[
"Klagenfurt"
],
[
"2-1"
],
[
"Germany"
],
[
"2-1"
],
[
"third"
],
[
"Lukas Podolski"
]
] | Croatia stun favorites Germany 2-1 in their Group B encounter in Klagenfurt .
Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic both on target as Croatia make it two wins from two .
Lukas Podolski pulls goal back for Germany with his third strike in two games . |
(CNN) -- Croatia sent out a message of intent to the other Euro 2008 finalists as they stunned highly-fancied Germany 2-1 in Klagenfurt to secure a place in the quarterfinals. Ivicia Olic celebrates Croatia's second goal in their superb 2-1 victory over Germany. Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic struck the goals as Croatia, who had only ever beaten Germany once before, produced arguably the first major upset of the tournament. Lukas Podolski pulled a goal back late on for Germany with his third strike in two games to set up a nail-biting finale, but there was to be no way back for Joachim Loew's team, who finished with 10 men following the 90th-minute dismissal of substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger . Both sides came into the game having won their opening matches, although Germany had looked far more impressive in seeing off Poland than Croatia had in defeating Austria. However, it was Slaven Bilic's side who turned on the style at the Worthersee Stadion as they took control of Group B with two wins out of two. A frantic start to the match promised much but for all their huffing and puffing, neither side were able to create anything resembling a chance in the opening 20 minutes as defences held firm. The ball did find its way into the back of the net in the 22nd minute when Germany striker Mario Gomez slotted home past Stipe Pletikosa but the offside flag had already gone up against the Stuttgart man. The deadlock was broken for real just two minutes after that incident though, when Croatia went ahead through Srna. Danijel Pranjic sent over a superb cross from the left and Srna nipped in front of marker Marcell Jansen to slide the ball in at the far post, giving veteran Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann no chance. Croatia had a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute, but Niko Kranjcar wasted it. Ivan Rakitic chipped a pass into the area which was flicked back towards the penalty spot by Olic, but the in-rushing Kranjcar was unable to cap a well-worked move as he blazed over. Germany knew they needed to step up through the gears and they finally made Pletikosa earn his keep with two efforts in rapid succession. The first saw Pletikosa push away a thunderous Michael Ballack free-kick, before the Spartak Moscow custodian awkwardly deflected away a Christoph Metzelder effort with his knee. Metzelder then headed a Torsten Frings corner just over from close range as the Germans stepped up their efforts for an equalizer before the break. However, Loew's side very nearly found themselves two goals behind in the 43rd minute, and they needed a fine reaction stop from Lehmann to deny Kranjcar, who chested down Olic's pass and smashed in a first-time volley. Having seen his side let off the hook, Loew opted for a more adventurous approach in the second half as he sacrificed full-back Jansen for jet-heeled winger David Odonkor during the interval. Aside from a Ballack shot over the crossbar though, Croatia looked fairly comfortable at the start of the period and also had a decent effort of their own with Luka Modric firing in a shot that Lehmann gathered, although not before seeing it squirm through his hands first. However, Lehmann's next task was to pick the ball out of the back of his net as Croatia stunned the Germans with a second goal in the 62nd minute. A Rakitic cross from the right took a deflection off Podolski before arrowing goalwards and although Lehmann, who had begun to come out for the initial cross, managed to dive backwards and get a hand on it, the ball struck his near post before rebounding back out to Olic, who had the easy task of slotting home. Germany looked for an immediate response but aside from a Schweinsteiger shot that fizzed across the face of goal, they were still finding it difficult to create chances against a well-organised Croatia backline. Loew's side earned themselves a lifeline with 12 minutes to go though when Podolski lashed home a shot on the half-volley after the ball had fallen kindly to him in the box | [
"What was the score in the Group B encounter?",
"Who pulled the goal back?",
"What was the score between Croatia and Germany?",
"Who pulls goal back for Germany?",
"Where was the Group B encounter?",
"Who stunned favorites Germany 2-1?",
"Who is on target as Croatia make it two wins from two?",
"Who had the third strike?"
] | [
[
"two wins out of two."
],
[
"Lukas Podolski"
],
[
"2-1"
],
[
"Lukas Podolski"
],
[
"Worthersee Stadion"
],
[
"Croatia"
],
[
"Slaven Bilic's"
],
[
"Lukas Podolski"
]
] | Croatia stun favorites Germany 2-1 in their Group B encounter in Klagenfurt .
Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic both on target as Croatia make it two wins from two .
Lukas Podolski pulls goal back for Germany with his third strike in two games . |
(CNN) -- Croatians voted Sunday in support of their country's bid to join the European Union, paving the way for the southern European nation to become the alliance's 28th member.
According to official results, posted on a government website, about 66% of voters backed Croatia's entry into the EU and 33% sided against the move. Turnout was about 44%.
Already a member of NATO, Croatia is now poised to join an EU bloc that includes its neighbors Slovenia and Hungary. It is one of five nations listed as "candidate countries" on the European Union's website.
Last December, Croatian leaders signed an accession treaty paving the way for the nation's entry.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called that signing "an outstanding moment for the European Union -- and for Croatia."
"Today, we all acknowledge the hard work Croatia has done and its crowning success," Barroso said in a December 9 statement. "Croatia is the best proof of how strong and successful the transformative power of our enlargement policy can be."
Years after initiating its bid, Croatia is on pace to "rightly join our union" on July 1, 2013, the European Commission president said.
In that statement, Barroso alluded to the economic crisis affecting much of the eurozone, including bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal. But he insisted that these issues should not halt the European Union's expansion.
"Enlargement, provided that all the relevant conditions are met, will ... continue to serve as an anchor of stability, a driver of democracy and the rule of law," he said. "We should therefore not let the economic crisis overshadow this very important European policy." | [
"What number would Croatia become?",
"What country would become the alliance's 28th state?",
"What kind of treaty did Croatian leaders sign?",
"What month was the treaty signed?",
"when did vote in support of the nation's entry into the European Union?",
"who did signed an accession treaty in December to join the EU?",
"What do a majority of Croatians vote to support?",
"A majority of which people vote in support of the nation's entry into the EU?"
] | [
[
"28th"
],
[
"Croatia"
],
[
"accession"
],
[
"December,"
],
[
"Sunday"
],
[
"Croatia's"
],
[
"bid to join the European Union,"
],
[
"Croatians"
]
] | A majority of Croatians vote in support of the nation's entry into the European Union .
Croatian leaders signed an accession treaty in December to join the EU .
Croatia would become the alliance's 28th member state . |
(CNN) -- Cuba is more than a thousand miles from my home in New York, but it's a place close to my heart. Steve Kastenbaum talks with Salomon Leyderman outside the Adath Israel synagogue in Havana, Cuba. I went to Cuba to report on a country that appears to be on the cusp of a new era. My focus was the future of U.S.-Cuban relations and the reforms under Cuban leader Raúl Castro. But a vague notion of exploring my family history in Cuba resulted in the most memorable story of the entire journey. More than 15,000 Jews were living in Cuba in the 1940s and '50s. Today, there are about 1,500. My grandmother, the daughter of Russian immigrants, was born in Havana, and my grandfather came to Cuba when he was just 3 years old. His family left Germany in the 1920s. To me, they were as much Cuban as they were Jewish. Watch how everyday life has changed for Cubans » My grandparents left Cuba in the late '40s so that their children would be born in the United States. The last members of my family to leave Cuba did so post-revolution, in the 1960s. I was eager to see what had become of the places they left behind. Slideshow: Learn more about the Jewish population in Cuba » When Castro lifted restrictions on religion in the mid-'90s, the once-dilapidated building that houses congregation El Patronato came back to life. Today, it's a thriving center for the local Jewish community. When I arrived, the children's summer program was in full swing. A few dozen boys and girls were laughing and playing as they waited for lunch to be served. I wasn't prepared for the wave of emotions that overcame me. Had things been different, I could have been just like them. Slideshow: Experience more of Kastenbaum's explorations of Cuba » My next stop took me to Habana Viejo. Jewish life in Cuba has its roots in Old Havana, where my great-grandparents settled. I walked the streets where they lived and stopped in at the only remaining kosher butcher in town. I passed the building that once housed the local synagogue where my grandparents were wed. Watch efforts to restore parts of Havana » The current home of Adath Israel is a few blocks away. At the front door, Salomon Leyderman introduced himself to me as the oldest Jew in Cuba. He's 86. I took out some old family photos, and Salomon immediately recognized my great-grandfather, Salomon Sher. He shouted out in Spanish, "they were tailors!" I couldn't believe my ears. This 86-year-old man told me how my great-grandfather was highly regarded in the community, how he belonged to many social organizations and how after the revolution, he made it possible for many Cuban Jews to leave the island and join him in Miami, Florida. As he looked at a family portrait, Salomon began to cry. He recognized Luis Sher, my grandmother's brother. He said Luis gave him as a gift a suit to wear at his bar mitzvah, the Jewish ceremony marking a boy's transition into manhood. It took place more than 70 years ago, but he recalled the details as if it happened yesterday. Tears were flowing down my cheeks, too. The following day, I called my father in New York and handed the cell phone to the oldest Jew in Cuba. This time there were no tears, just laughter. After the call, Salomon looked at my sneakers and said they're good shoes. He told me he's a European size 42, and I should bring him a pair when I return. He then asked me to send him a card on Hanukkah and smiled. Steve Kastenbaum is a New York correspondent for CNN Radio. | [
"what heritage did the correspondent explore?",
"A CNN Radio correspondent explores what?",
"What is the gender of the 86-year-old?",
"what was the age of old jewish man?",
"When did his grandparents leave Cuba?"
] | [
[
"Cuba"
],
[
"Cuba"
],
[
"man"
],
[
"86-year-old"
],
[
"late '40s"
]
] | A CNN Radio correspondent explores his Jewish heritage in Cuba .
His grandparents left Cuba in the late 1940s .
An 86-year-old Jewish man remembered correspondent's family . |
(CNN) -- Cuba will pardon more than 2,900 prisoners, the government said Friday, though U.S. subcontractor Alan Gross is not among those who will be freed.
The decision to release the prisoners follows "numerous requests" from their family members and religious institutions, and is a humanitarian gesture, said Cuban President Raul Castro.
Among those who might be freed are prisoners over the age of 60, along with those who are sick, female or young with no previous criminal record. With some exceptions, prisoners convicted of spying, terrorism, murder and drug trafficking will not be released.
Those who will be freed have already served a "important" part of their sentences and exhibited good behavior, according to an official statement published on the state-run website Cubadebate.
The jailed American, Gross, will not be among those pardoned, the Cuban Interests Section in Washington said.
Gross was jailed in December 2009, when he was working as a subcontractor on a U.S. Agency for International Development project aimed at spreading democracy. Castro has accused him of importing satellite equipment to connect dissidents to the Internet, and this year Cuba's highest court upheld the 15-year sentence imposed on Gross for committing crimes against the security of the state.
He has maintained his innocence and said he was trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet.
Castro, speaking to the National Assembly, said that 86 prisoners from 25 countries would be among those released in coming days.
He cited the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI as one of the motivations behind the move, which he said showed the "generosity and strength of the revolution."
The pope has said he plans to visit Mexico and Cuba before Easter.
In 2010, Castro agreed to free prisoners arrested during the 2003 crackdown on political dissidents. The Caribbean nation has released many of them, as well as other prisoners jailed for "counterrevolutionary" activities, ranging from hijacking to arson.
CNN's Willie Lora contributed to this report. | [
"NEW: Alan Gross is not among",
"How much prisoners will be freed",
"Cuban President Raul Castro says",
"Who won't get a pardon?"
] | [
[
"those who will be freed."
],
[
"more than 2,900"
],
[
"The decision to release the prisoners follows \"numerous requests\" from their family members and religious institutions, and is a humanitarian gesture,"
],
[
"Alan Gross"
]
] | NEW: Alan Gross is not among those who will be pardoned .
Cuban President Raul Castro says prisoners from 25 countries will be freed .
The move shows the "generosity and strength of the revolution," he says .
The president cites the pope's upcoming visit as a motivation for the release . |
(CNN) -- Cuban President Raul Castro's daughter joined Twitter to set the record straight about an interview she did abroad, but ended up arguing with one of the communist island's prominent dissidents online.
Mariela Castro Espin wrote on her Twitter account, @CastroEspinM, that she recently made a trip to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and toured the city's infamous red light district in her role as director for Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education.
An interview with Radio Netherlands characterized Castro Espin as "impressed" with the way the Dutch organize their prostitution. But on Twitter, Castro Espin said the conversation was taken out of context and that she would use social media to clarify her position.
"Without a doubt, there have been misunderstandings, manipulations, as always. At least there is the Web... and WikiLeaks," she wrote on Twitter.
Shortly afterward, Castro Espin was "welcomed" to the social networking site by Cuban dissident Yoani Sanchez, an outspoken critic of the Castro regime and avid Twitter user.
"Welcome to the plurality of Twitter," Sanchez tweeted to Castro Espin. "Here no one can shut me up, or deny me permission to travel or block my entry."
Castro Espin shot back: "Your focus on tolerance reproduces the old mechanisms of power. To improve your 'services' you need to study."
While there is long-running animosity between dissidents and the government, it is not common for the two sides to exchange barbs in such a public forum.
A bevy of critical replies to Castro Espin must have followed, for then she wrote on Twitter: "Despicable parasites: Did you receive the order from your employers to respond in unison and with the same predetermined script? Be creative."
In Cuba, where Internet access is limited or prohibitively expensive, many citizens use Twitter as a form of communicating, as Tweets can be posted from a simple text message.
Castro Espin is the niece of Fidel Castro. Her father, Raul Castro, assumed presidential duties from Fidel in 2006, and became president in 2008. Castro Espin's organization promotes gay rights in Cuba.
That fight for equal rights in Cuba led Sanchez to ask another question of Castro Espin on Twitter: "How can you ask for acceptance just for one issue? Is tolerance universal or not?" Castro Espin did not answer. | [
"who lashes out",
"what is locked horns with a Cuban dissident?",
"what is joined Twitter to discuss a recent trip?",
"For what reason did Raul castros daughter join Twitter?",
"who joined twitter"
] | [
[
"Mariela Castro Espin"
],
[
"Raul Castro's daughter"
],
[
"Raul Castro's daughter"
],
[
"she"
],
[
"Raul Castro's daughter"
]
] | Raul Castro's daughter joined Twitter to discuss a recent trip .
Instead, she locked horns with a Cuban dissident .
Mariela Castro Espin lashes out at anti-government critics . |
(CNN) -- Customs officials in Australia have cried fowl after searching a airline traveler -- and allegedly finding two live pigeons stuffed in his tights. Customs officials in Australia allege that a man tried to smuggle pigeons hidden in his tights. The 23-year-old man was stopped at Melbourne International Airport Sunday after arriving on a flight from Dubai, Australia's Customs and Border Protection service said in a statement posted on its Web site. The service alleges that two eggs were found inside a multivitamin container carried by the passenger, who comes from Melbourne. A further search revealed that he was wearing tights -- with a live bird stashed down each leg. Photographs show the birds appear to have been rolled in newspaper and polythene with only their heads showing. The images indicate that one bird was attached to each of the alleged smuggler's lower legs. Customs officials also claim that plant seeds were found in the man's moneybelt and undeclared eggplant in his baggage. "Wildlife smuggling is not only cruel to the animals involved, it poses a severe risk to the Australian environment and the health of the Australian community," said Richard Janeczko, Customs and Border Protection National Manager Investigations. "It is important that people declare all animal and plant materials to Customs and Border Protection when they enter Australia," Janeczko added. The service said that the maximum penalty for wildlife smuggling is 10 years imprisonment and/or a A$110,000 ($70,000) fine. | [
"What were the birds rolled into?",
"What were the birds rolled in?",
"Where was the man returning from?",
"What was rolled in paper and plastic?",
"What is the maximum penalty for wildlife smuggling?",
"Who stopped the man?",
"Who was stopped by customs officers?",
"What did the photographs show?",
"What is the penalty for wildlife smuggling?",
"What is the max penalty?",
"Who stopped a man returning from Dubai?",
"What is the maximum penalty for smuggling wildlife?"
] | [
[
"newspaper and polythene"
],
[
"in newspaper and polythene with only their heads showing."
],
[
"Dubai,"
],
[
"birds"
],
[
"10 years imprisonment and/or a A$110,000 ($70,000) fine."
],
[
"Customs and Border Protection service"
],
[
"23-year-old man"
],
[
"birds"
],
[
"10 years imprisonment and/or a A$110,000 ($70,000) fine."
],
[
"10 years imprisonment and/or a A$110,000 ($70,000) fine."
],
[
"Customs officials in Australia"
],
[
"10 years imprisonment and/or a A$110,000 ($70,000) fine."
]
] | Customs officers stopped 23-year-old man as he returned from Dubai .
Photographs show live birds were rolled in newspaper and polythene .
Maximum penalty for wildlife smuggling is 10 years jail and/or $70,000 fine . |
(CNN) -- Cyclist Chris Hoy has been knighted in the United Kingdom New Year Honors list, while every British gold medallist from the Beijing Olympic Games has also been rewarded. Hoy completes a remarkable year by being knighted in the United Kingdom New Years Honors list. In a move that breaks with tradition, triple-gold medallist Hoy will be knighted while still competing and will take part in London 2012 as Sir Chris. The 32-year-old told PA Sport: "To become a knight from riding your bike, it's mad. It is an amazing honor and is also great for the sport." Hoy, who was made an MBE after winning his first gold in Athens in 2004, was also voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year earlier this month. The Scotsman was one of 10 Olympic cyclists to be honored, while a number of Olympic coaches and officials were also recognised. Rebecca Adlington, the 19-year-old swimmer who won two Olympic golds -- the first British woman to win an Olympic swimming gold for 48 years -- receives an OBE (Order of the British Empire) . Adlington said: "I'm absolutely delighted to receive and accept the OBE -- it is fantastic to be recognised in the New Year Honors List. There are so many amazing names on the list, it's something I'll treasure for the rest of my life." Christine Ohuruogu, the only British athlete to win a track and field gold in Beijing when she claimed the 400m title, has been given an MBE (Member of the British Empire). "It is nice to be called the Olympic, world and Commonwealth champion and now to be made an MBE is extra special," said Ohuruogu. Away from the Olympics, Lewis Hamilton receives an MBE after becoming the youngest ever Formula One world champion. "It is a massive honor and incredible privilege. It is the most amazing culmination to what has been quite a year for me," said Hamilton. | [
"What event did Chris Hoy compete in?",
"What honor did Christ Hoy receive in the UK?",
"What reward did Chris Hoy get from his country?",
"Hoy will compete in what?",
"How many golds did Hoy garner in Beijing?",
"What sport does Hoy compete in?",
"How many golds did Hoy get in Beijing?",
"How many medals did Hoy win?",
"Who was knighted?",
"How many British gold medallists from the Beijing Olympics were rewarded?"
] | [
[
"Cyclist"
],
[
"knighted"
],
[
"knighted in the United Kingdom New Year Honors list,"
],
[
"London 2012 as Sir Chris."
],
[
"triple-gold"
],
[
"Cyclist"
],
[
"triple-gold"
],
[
"triple-gold medallist"
],
[
"Chris Hoy"
],
[
"every"
]
] | Track cyclist Chris Hoy knighted in the United Kingdom New Year Honors list .
Hoy will compete in the 2012 Olympics as Sir Chris after three golds in Beijing .
Every British gold medallist from the Beijing Olympics has also been rewarded . |
(CNN) -- DNA test results reveal that a Michigan man is not a Long Island, New York, boy who went missing 54 years ago, according to the FBI. John Robert Barnes claims a DNA test shows he's Steven Damman, who vanished in 1955. John Robert Barnes, of Kalkaska, Michigan, approached police in New York twice in March claiming to be Steven Damman, a toddler who vanished while on a shopping trip with his mother in 1955. Barnes tracked down Pamela Damman Horne, Steven's sister, and the two had private tests performed that showed a "probability" they were siblings, according to Nassau County, New York, detective Lt. Kevin Smith. But samples from Barnes and Horne analyzed by the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, determined that they do not share the same mother, the FBI in Detroit said Thursday. Sandra Berchtold, spokeswoman for the FBI Detroit bureau, said the FBI follows strict testing protocols and used mitochondrial DNA to determine Barnes and Horne were not linked to the same mother. Marilyn Damman took her toddler, Steven, and his baby sister, Pamela, to a food market in East Meadow, Long Island, in 1955. The mother went inside to do some quick shopping, leaving her 2-year-old son and baby girl in the stroller outside. But Damman told authorities that when she returned, her children were gone. A short time later, blocks away, the baby girl was found unharmed and the stroller was intact, but Steven was missing, Smith said. CNN's Stacey Newman contributed to this report. | [
"Did Barnes and Pamela have the same mother?",
"What does John Barnes claim?",
"what is the name of barnes and steven's sister?",
"Who went missing 54 years ago?",
"who claimed to be steven damman?",
"What did FBI tests show?",
"When did Steven go missing?"
] | [
[
"they do not share the"
],
[
"a DNA test shows he's Steven Damman, who vanished in 1955."
],
[
"Pamela Damman Horne,"
],
[
"Steven Damman,"
],
[
"John Robert Barnes"
],
[
"results reveal that a Michigan man is not a Long Island, New York, boy who went missing"
],
[
"1955."
]
] | John Barnes claimed he was Steven Damman, who went missing 54 years ago .
FBI tests show Barnes and Steven's sister, Pamela, have different mothers .
Steven went missing in East Meadow, Long Island, in 1955 . |
(CNN) -- Dan Godshall and 21 other students at Slippery Rock University will not be allowed to graduate at their school's main ceremony because they recently visited Mexico.
Dan Godshall was worried at first about telling his mother he wasn't able to be at the main graduation.
The students, who returned this week after student teaching in Mexico, came back to the United States early because they were worried the border would be closed and they'd miss out on walking at their graduation.
But now, they'll be walking in their own graduation, without any of their classmates, because the college feared they made have been exposed to the H1N1 flu outbreak in Mexico.
"At first I was like, no way, no way," Godshall told CNN. "I had the irrational, 15-minute oh my God, oh my God, I can't go to my graduation."
The students got the news from the school and received an e-mail from the university's vice president explaining the change.
"The university has received hundreds of calls from students and parents who were worried about being exposed at the commencement ceremonies," the e-mail said. "We have an obligation to protect others from what they perceive is possible exposure to this virus."
When he heard the news, Godshall was worried about how he would tell his mother that she wouldn't get to see him walk across the stage with the pomp and circumstance that everyone else will have.
"I thought my mom was going to freak," he said. iReport.com: How should we handle swine flu
Senior Ryan Brisini said at first when he found out that he couldn't walk, he was "a little irked."
"But we are a liability, and if you are going to try and do the best thing for the school and the entire graduation ceremony, we probably shouldn't be there," he said.
So Brisini and Godshall took the news in stride.
The 22 students will get a ceremony unlike anyone else in the school -- and the main graduation will see a video of their ceremony.
"It makes us a little distinguished from the group," Godshall said. "We were already the Mexican group, the swine flu zombies, now it gives us something positive and everyone has to watch our ceremony."
And with a small ceremony, only attended by the 22 students, their family and friends and university officials, senior Ryan Brisini thinks it will be more memorable.
He won't have to sit next to a bunch of people he won't know, and he won't have to endure the lingering theatrics of a regular ceremony.
"I think its kind of cool because when you are with people for an entire month you bond with them, and I can say I'm genuinely excited for everyone graduating, whereas at the main graduation I'd be with a bunch of kids I don't know," he said. "With this I can clap and cheer for everyone and genuinely be happy for them."
Still, some students are upset they will miss out on the grandiose day.
John Powell, who also went on the trip, told CNN affiliate WTAE-TV that the whole reason the group left early was so they could attend.
"It hits me a little bit. It's a necessary evil, separating us. I don't agree with it totally, but I'm not in too big of a position to overturn it," Powell said. Watch Slippery Rock students tell their story »
WTAE reported the university, in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, says it has received hundreds of calls from concerned people.
"There are concerns from the public perspective that they will be exposed," university spokeswoman Rita Abent told WTAE. "They may boo them. They may get up and walk out. And graduation should be a very respectful and a very celebratory time."
Slippery Rock University isn't the only school making changes to graduation ceremonies because of swine flu fears.
Cisco Junior College in | [
"What is reason for cancelling graduation?",
"Who will have own graduation?",
"What is the name of the university the students are from?"
] | [
[
"because the college feared they made have been exposed to the H1N1 flu outbreak in Mexico."
],
[
"Godshall and 21 other students"
],
[
"Slippery Rock"
]
] | Slippery Rock University students who visited Mexico will have own graduation .
Student: "We are a liability ... we probably shouldn't be there"
Some students thrilled to get unique ceremony where they will know all graduates .
Schools postponing proms, canceling graduations over swine flu fears . |
(CNN) -- Dan Kruse started to feel weak one day while hanging out with his friends in a park. The next day, the eighth-grader woke up completely jaundiced -- the whites of his eyes were yellow -- and he urinated blood. Dan Kruse, now 23, had food poisoning from E. coli bacteria as a teenager. Deeply concerned, his mother took him to the doctor, who told him to go to the hospital immediately. Doctors determined he had a severe form of food poisoning that made his kidneys shut down in a condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, caused by the bacteria E. coli. A priest gave him last rites, and doctors said he would most likely spend the rest of his life on kidney dialysis. "I didn't go to the bathroom at all for seven to nine days because of my kidneys shutting down," said Kruse, now a Web developer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "I definitely almost died." But with the help of an experimental treatment involving medicine "like a fine grain sand" that he ate six times a day, Kruse began to improve, and made a full recovery without dialysis. Food poisoning from strains of E. coli is less common in the United States than salmonella, a bacteria that has caused more than 1,000 infections in a recent outbreak since April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tomatoes have been implicated in this outbreak, but many other foods, such as raw meat and poultry, can spread salmonella and other kinds of bacteria. Food borne illnesses result in more than 300,000 hospitalizations in the United States every year, according to the CDC. About 76 million cases of food borne disease occur annually in the United States, the CDC said. Salmonella and E. coli present themselves in such similar ways that doctors can't tell which is which without testing a stool sample. Learn more about the differences between salmonella and E. coli » Both kinds of bacteria can lead to infections involving diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and sometimes a low-grade fever. In most cases, an infected person will recover within a week without medicine simply by staying hydrated, doctors said. People who experience voluminous, bloody and persistent diarrhea should seek medical attention, and may need antibiotics, said Dr. Jennifer Christie, gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Emory University. When should you go to the hospital? When you're not able to tolerate fluids, vomiting so much that you can't keep anything down, or have profuse watery diarrhea, said Dr. Iris Reyes, associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A racing heart along with diarrhea and vomiting indicates dehydration, she said. People with compounding medical problems such as cardiac conditions or diabetes should also seek medical attention, doctors said. In some cases, especially among small children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems, the infection may become more severe and lead to long-term complications. Salmonella can lead to a condition called Reiter's syndrome that involves joint pain, eye irritation and painful urination. Chronic arthritis may result, regardless of whether a person takes antibiotics. A common strand of E. coli, often called E. coli 0157, can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, which makes bacterial toxins go into the bloodstream and destroy red blood cells. This can result in kidney failure as a result of damaged cells clogging tiny blood vessels, according to MayoClinic.com. That strain of E. coli is distinct from enterotoxigenic E. coli, which causes traveler's diarrhea. People traveling to developing countries of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are at particular risk for traveler's diarrhea, but it usually resolves in a few days and is rarely life-threatening. Symptoms of food borne bacterial infections are also similar to those of some viruses, though bloody diarrhea is sometimes a telltale sign of bacteria. To prevent these infections, medical professionals emphasize the importance of washing your hands after handling raw meat, poultry, and uncooked eggs. You should also wash your hands after using the bathroom, touching pets or coming into | [
"what are some symptoms of food borne illnesses",
"How many cases of food borne illnesses are there in the US each year?",
"What are the symptoms?",
"what will washing hands after handling raw food do"
] | [
[
"diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and sometimes a low-grade fever."
],
[
"About 76 million"
],
[
"diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps"
],
[
"prevent these infections,"
]
] | There are about 76 million cases of food borne illnesses in the U.S. each year .
Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and a low-grade fever .
Salmonella and E. coli infections present similar symptoms initially .
Washing hands after handling raw food is key to prevention . |
(CNN) -- Dancers have put on a dazzling display atop extravagant floats at the legendary annual Rio Carnival. Thousands of revelers cheered as dancers shimmied and shook their colorful costumes through the streets of the Brazilian city.
Seven-year-old Julia Lira took her place as the drum corps queen for the Viradouro School of Samba despite criticism that she was too young to fill a role normally reserved for voluptuous adult dancers. | [
"Where was the Rio carnival?",
"In what city is the carnival?",
"What do they criticize?",
"Where is the Carnival?",
"What was Julia Lira?",
"What is the criticism about Julia Lira?",
"What is there a parade of?",
"What age is the dancer?"
] | [
[
"the streets of the Brazilian city."
],
[
"Rio"
],
[
"too young to fill a role normally reserved for voluptuous adult dancers."
],
[
"Rio"
],
[
"drum corps queen for the Viradouro School of Samba"
],
[
"she was too young"
],
[
"dancers"
],
[
"Seven-year-old"
]
] | Parade of color during annual Rio Carnival in Brazil .
Dancers included seven-year-old Julia Lira, despite criticism that she was too young . |
(CNN) -- Danielle Dayton and Patrick Murray received the call Saturday afternoon: Their 4-pound son, Brayden Murray, was shipping out. Patrick Murray and Danielle Dayton say their tiny son's evacuation went smoothly. As coastal hospitals prepared for Gustav, tiny babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Units were among the first to be evacuated. "The NICU babies are our first priority when it comes to evacuation," said Keith Darcey, a spokesman for East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana, where Brayden was a patient before being evacuated to Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, Lousiana. Woman's Hospital started receiving phone calls Wednesday from coastal-area hospitals inquiring whether there was room in their NICU, spokeswoman Jodi Conachen said. By Sunday evening, the hospital was taking care of 32 evacuated babies. "The hospitals started preparing early this time," she said. "They learned their lesson from Katrina." The babies have done well since arriving in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said Darcy Gann, director of the NICU at Woman's Hospital. "They act like they were barely affected by the transfer." The babies arrived by ambulance without their parents. Dayton and Murray drove to Baton Rouge to join their son after dropping off their 7-year-old daughter, Breanne, to stay with relatives far from the storm. While the couple took care of their children, they had a friend board up their business in Metairie. "You have to deal with it the best you can. You can't panic, because it doesn't do anyone any good," Murray said. "You do what's best for the baby." Although Murray said Brayden's evacuation went smoothly, one hospital administrator said the patient evacuation process had been "incredibly frustrating." Watch part of the NICU evacuation » "There was at least a six- to eight-hour delay in evacuating the babies," said Dr. Kevin Jordan, chief medical officer of Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, which sent seven NICU babies to Woman's Hospital. "It was very, very, very disorganized." Jordan blamed the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. He said Touro is still waiting to evacuate four critically ill adult patients on ventilators. "It's been incredibly frustrating," he said. The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said each hospital is responsible for evacuating its own patients, adding that Touro asked for assistance Sunday morning, days after other hospitals had asked for help. "It's never a perfect process," he said. "It's never easy to evacuate thousands of people in 48 hours." Touro, which usually has between 215 and 245 patients, has evacuated all but around 65 to 70, he added. "The sickest of the sick patients we're keeping and sheltering in place," Jordan said. "We're concerned that evacuating them could do significant harm." Other hospitals took a different approach. East Jefferson evacuated only its three NICU babies, keeping its 210 adult patients in the hospital. "We survived Katrina quite well and learned a lot from the experience," Darcey said, adding that since Katrina, the exterior of the hospital has been fortified. "But you don't want to take any chances with the little babies," he added. "Their temperatures have to be very carefully regulated, and if the air conditioning goes out, that could have a detrimental effect on their health." | [
"What did chief medical officer say?",
"Who were among the first to be evacuated?",
"What did the medical officer say?",
"Where is the womens hospital located?",
"Who is first to evacuate?",
"What did Touro infirmary do?",
"What group was among first evacuated?",
"What did the chief medical officer say?"
] | [
[
"\"There was at least a six- to eight-hour delay in evacuating the babies,\""
],
[
"tiny babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Units"
],
[
"\"There was at least a six- to eight-hour delay in evacuating the babies,\""
],
[
"Baton Rouge, Lousiana."
],
[
"tiny babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Units"
],
[
"asked for assistance Sunday morning, days after other hospitals had asked for help."
],
[
"babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Units"
],
[
"\"There was at least a six- to eight-hour delay in evacuating the babies,\""
]
] | Sick newborn babies among first evacuate area, as Gustav approaches .
Touro Infirmary, sent seven NICU babies to Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge .
"It was very, very, very disorganized," says Touro's chief medical officer . |
(CNN) -- Danish authorities said Tuesday they have arrested three people who allegedly were plotting a "terror-related assassination" of a cartoonist whose drawing of the Prophet Mohammed sparked rage in the Muslim world two years ago. The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed provoked widespread outrage in the Muslim world two years ago. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service said police arrested a 40-year-old Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisians. The Danish citizen is charged with a terrorism offense, the intelligence service said, and the Tunisians will be deported. Police have not yet released the names of the three. The operation took place in the Aarhus area of western Denmark at 4:30 a.m. local time following lengthy surveillance, the intelligence service said. The target of the plot, the intelligence service said, was the cartoonist for the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten, which first published the controversial drawings in September 2005. The paper identified the cartoonist as Kurt Westergaard. Watch how threats have targeted cartoonists » "Not wanting to take any undue risks [the intelligence service] has decided to intervene at a very early stage in order to interrupt the planning and the actual assassination," the statement by Jakob Scharf, the agency's director general, said. "Thus, this morning's operation must first and foremost be seen as a preventive measure where the aim has been to stop a crime from being committed." The uproar over the cartoons ignited after the Danish newspaper published caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed. Some Muslims believe it is forbidden by the Quran to show an image of the prophet. Demonstrations erupted across the world in early 2006 after other newspapers reprinted the images months later as a matter of free speech. Some turned deadly. Many protesters directed their ire at Denmark, prompting the closure of several Danish embassies in predominantly Muslim countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan. Westergaard's cartoon depicted the prophet wearing a bomb as a turban with a lit fuse. Westergaard said he wanted his cartoon to say that some people exploited the prophet to legitimize terror. However, many in the Muslim world interpreted the drawing as depicting their prophet as a terrorist. "Of course I fear for my life after the Danish Security and Intelligence Service informed me of the concrete plans of certain people to kill me," Westergaard said in a statement posted on the newspaper's Web site. "However, I have turned fear into anger and indignation. It has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity which I used to do by the thousand was abused to set off such madness." CNN's Paula Newton said the arrests reinforced growing fears in Europe that radical Islam was trying to suppress free speech. "More and more Europeans feel that Islam is a threat to their way of life," Newton said. A recent Gallup poll for the World Economic Forum showed a majority of Europeans believed relations between the West and the Muslim world were worsening. According to the poll this sentiment was strongest held among Danish. Westergaard remains under police protection and does not know whether it will continue. "I could not possibly know for how long I have to live under police protection; I think, however, that the impact of the insane response to my cartoon will last for the rest of my life," he said. "It is sad indeed, but it has become a fact of my life." Carsten Juste, the paper's editor-in-chief, said staffers have been "deeply worried" for several months. "The arrests have hopefully thwarted the murder plans," he said on the newspaper's Web site. E-mail to a friend CNN's Saeed Ahmed contributed to this report | [
"Who was the terrorists' target",
"What country was this in?",
"Who was the target?",
"What newspaper does Kurt Westergaard work for?",
"Were the drawing s of Mohammed offensive in some way?",
"Where are the suspects from",
"What happened two years ago?"
] | [
[
"the cartoonist for the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten,"
],
[
"Denmark"
],
[
"Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten,"
],
[
"Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten,"
],
[
"Muslims believe it is forbidden by the Quran to show an image of the prophet."
],
[
"Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisians."
],
[
"\"terror-related assassination\" of a cartoonist"
]
] | Danish police say several arrested for plotting "terror-related assassination"
Agency reports that suspects include two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin .
Newspaper says the target was its cartoonist Kurt Westergaard .
Prophet Mohammed drawings sparked protests in the Muslim world two years ago . |
(CNN) -- David Bartal is a journalist who grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Sweden after marrying a Swedish woman. He has lived in Stockholm for more than 20 years and writes the blog "Cool Stockholm," which looks at the hottest trends in the Swedish capital. Blogger David Bartal describes Stockholm as "progressive, quite tolerant, somewhat reserved and beautiful." CNN: What is your favorite thing about Stockholm? David Bartal: Nature is close and accessible. Even if you live in the middle of the city you can get to a forest in a short time, but you still have that big-city feeling. CNN: Swedes have a reputation as being cold or hard to get to know -- is that fair? DB: I wouldn't say they're cold, but they are shy. People aren't especially keen to talk to strangers -- they can do quite nicely without them. People are a bit more reserved than in the U.S., which may not be a bad thing, but if you take the initiative they may be delighted to get to know you and become good friends. And no people are entirely homogenous. There are lots of extrovert, crazy Swedes -- and many of them are my friends. Watch ABBA songwriter Bjorn Ulvaeus take CNN on a tour of Stockholm » CNN: What is Stockholm like in the winter? DB: Between December and March the winter can get a bit long. It's not the cold as much as the dark -- it can make people glum. In the winter, the sun sets at four o'clock, but in summer you get incredibly long, beautiful days. It's one of the most beautiful cities on earth and it's fun to be here in the summertime. CNN: What do Stockholmers like to do in the summer? DB: In the summertime many will go to their country houses, they want to get out of the city. If they have a boat they want to be on the boat. In early August there are crayfish parties. People get together in groups and put on conical hats and paper napkins and eat crayfish, drink hard liquor and sing drinking songs. I've become quite assimilated, but not assimilated enough for crayfish parties! Foreigners just shake their heads in wonder. See photos of Bjorn Ulvaeus in Stockholm » CNN: What areas are good for nightlife? DB: There are two options: Stureplan has glitzy clubs and fancy restaurants. Party people might typically start their evening at the "little bar" at Riche, which has good DJs and attracts an arty crowd, then shift to Berns at midnight for flirting and dancing, and if they know the doorman or are feeling lucky, party in the early hours at celebrity hot-spot Spy Bar. There's also an area on the south side, mainly up on Mosebacke. It's funkier, a little more bohemian and a little more mellow, with clubs and music venues. You have to trudge up a steep cobble-stone street to get to the top of Mosebacke, but it's worth the climb. The view of the city at night is amazing and there are some cool nightspots. One of them is Kägelbanan (which means bowling hall). I danced my socks off not long ago there to some high-energy Turkish pop. What makes Stockholm special to you? Tell us in the SoundOff box below CNN: Sweden is known for its design -- are Stockholmers a fashionable bunch? DB: They are fashion conscious -- people follow trends quite slavishly. This season men are wearing red pants and women are wearing gladiator sandals -- it's almost mandatory. CNN: What are the latest trends in the city? DB: There's a lot of variety in coffee shops that didn't exist previously. There are imitation New York coffee shops, but there is also some innovation. Ljunggren Cafe, on the south side of town, is very designed. It has low, gray couches spread over a large area creating a very social environment; it's great for people watching | [
"What type of Swedes are there a lot of?",
"what does he feel about the area",
"How long has David Bartal lived in Stockholm?",
"where has bartal lived",
"what does he say about swedes",
"who is david bartal?",
"where is stockholm?"
] | [
[
"extrovert, crazy"
],
[
"\"progressive, quite tolerant, somewhat reserved and beautiful.\""
],
[
"more than 20 years"
],
[
"Stockholm"
],
[
"There are lots of extrovert, crazy"
],
[
"a journalist"
],
[
"Sweden"
]
] | Culture-vulture David Bartal has lived in Stockholm for more than 20 years .
Nature is close by but Stockholm still maintains a big-city feeling, he says .
People may be a bit shy, but there are also "lots of extrovert, crazy Swedes" |
(CNN) -- David Beckham believes the furore that followed his return to the LA Galaxy from his loan spell with AC Milan earlier this year has galvanized the team.
The Galaxy won the MLS Western Conference Championship with a 2-0 win at home to Houston Dynamo on Friday night, Beckham setting up Gregg Berhalter's 102nd-minute opener.
They will face Real Salt Lake, who upset the favored Chicago Fire 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Eastern Conference title on Saturday to reach the MLS Cup final in Seattle next Sunday.
Beckham had been subjected to abuse by his own fans after missing the start of the MLS season when he was in Italy, while Galaxy captain Landon Donovan questioned his commitment to the LA franchise.
However, the England midfielder -- who missed Saturday's 1-0 friendly defeat by Brazil in Qatar to play for his club -- thinks the situation helped bring the team together.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of controversy in a club, it brings players and teams together and it's done that," Beckham told ESPN in a post-match interview.
"I don't have to say anything about myself, I leave that down to other people to decide.
"I love playing soccer. I work hard for my teammates, myself, my manager, the fans and I hope that's enough for people."
Beckham joined the Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007 but they struggled to make an impact during the Englishman's time with the team until the arrival of former USA national team coach Bruce Arena.
Beckham, who returns to Milan in January as he bids to win a place in England's World Cup squad, believes this season's achievements have already gone some way for making up for the previous two seasons.
"We want to win next week but reaching it is the biggest thing," he told the UK Press Association.
"We've done that, done the hard work and this team deserves it." | [
"What was the score when LA Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo?",
"Who beat Houston Dynamo 2-0?",
"What can The Galaxy win when they face Real Salk Lake in Seattle?",
"What was the score?",
"What does Beckham believe?",
"Who believes controversy over his first loan spell with AC Milan brought team together?",
"What does Beckham believe brought team together?",
"Who do LA Galaxy face in Seattle next weekend?"
] | [
[
"2-0"
],
[
"LA Galaxy"
],
[
"the Eastern Conference title"
],
[
"2-0"
],
[
"with AC Milan earlier this year has galvanized the team."
],
[
"Beckham"
],
[
"a bit of controversy in a club,"
],
[
"Real Salt Lake,"
]
] | LA Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 2-0 to win the MLS Western Conference Championship .
Beckham believes controversy over his first loan spell with AC Milan brought team together .
The Galaxy can win their third MLS Cup when they face Real Salt Lake in Seattle next weekend . |
(CNN) -- David Beckham believes the furore that followed his return to the LA Galaxy from his loan spell with AC Milan earlier this year has galvanized the team. The Galaxy won the MLS Western Conference Championship with a 2-0 win at home to Houston Dynamo on Friday night, Beckham setting up Gregg Berhalter's 102nd-minute opener. They will face Real Salt Lake, who upset the favored Chicago Fire 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Eastern Conference title on Saturday to reach the MLS Cup final in Seattle next Sunday. Beckham had been subjected to abuse by his own fans after missing the start of the MLS season when he was in Italy, while Galaxy captain Landon Donovan questioned his commitment to the LA franchise. However, the England midfielder -- who missed Saturday's 1-0 friendly defeat by Brazil in Qatar to play for his club -- thinks the situation helped bring the team together. "There's nothing wrong with a bit of controversy in a club, it brings players and teams together and it's done that," Beckham told ESPN in a post-match interview. "I don't have to say anything about myself, I leave that down to other people to decide. "I love playing soccer. I work hard for my teammates, myself, my manager, the fans and I hope that's enough for people." Beckham joined the Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007 but they struggled to make an impact during the Englishman's time with the team until the arrival of former USA national team coach Bruce Arena. Beckham, who returns to Milan in January as he bids to win a place in England's World Cup squad, believes this season's achievements have already gone some way for making up for the previous two seasons. "We want to win next week but reaching it is the biggest thing," he told the UK Press Association. "We've done that, done the hard work and this team deserves it." | [
"Who will The Galaxy face in Seattle?",
"What two teams were in the MLS Western Conference Championship?",
"What was the score of the game?",
"Who beat Houston Dynamo?",
"Which team won?"
] | [
[
"Real Salt Lake,"
],
[
"Houston Dynamo"
],
[
"2-0"
],
[
"The Galaxy"
],
[
"LA Galaxy"
]
] | LA Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 2-0 to win the MLS Western Conference Championship .
Beckham believes controversy over his first loan spell with AC Milan brought team together .
The Galaxy can win their third MLS Cup when they face Real Salt Lake in Seattle next weekend . |
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