(CNN)It's seen a rapacious Leonardo DiCaprio rip-off the gullible, Sarah Jessica Parker ponder sweet amor and an air-headed Brad Pitt harbor intentions of blackmailing a CIA agent -- all just a bridge away from the madness of Manhattan. In the old times, Brooklyn's historic Navy Yard would be lucky to attract the stars of the silver screen to a USO show. Today, its home to one of the largest film studios outside of Hollywood. The "Wolf of Wall Street", "Sex and the City Two" and "Burn After Reading" are just a few of the major motion pictures shot at Steiner Studios in recent times. More than 40 feature length and TV productions were filmed here in the last year alone. Studio chairman, Doug Steiner, opened the site just over 10 years ago. "It was really awful looking with wild dogs -- literally wild dogs -- roaming the streets here," Steiner said. "I liked the industrial landscape a lot and the opportunity. To me Brooklyn was a great opportunity waiting to happen because of the proximity to Manhattan." At its peak during World War II, the Brooklyn Navy Yard employed some 70,000 people. But the 1.2 square kilometer site fell into steep decline in the 1960s when the sailors moved out. Today, the yard is a vastly different place -- and not just because of the Hollywood A-listers strutting around. A non-profit corporation has been regenerating the location with the aim of creating new employment opportunities since the turn of the century. Steiner studios was one of the first tenants but others have followed. One former warehouse represents the corporation's biggest project to date, with more than 90,000 square meters of space up for grabs and the potential creation of 3,000 new jobs. "I think our influence on Brooklyn in general has been quite substantial," said David Ehrenberg, CEO of the Brooklyn Naval Yard Development Corporation. "We were the first entity that started investing substantially back into these old buildings on the Brooklyn waterfront. "And to some extent (we) proved a concept -- that manufacturing and industrial and creative companies would want to take root in Brooklyn," Ehrenberg said. Being at the forefront of these wider trends has helped attract a new type of workforce to the area. Steiner says housing prices within half a kilometer have risen up to ten times. Some 1,500 people already work at the studio, which is set on a path of rapid expansion. It is benefiting from the explosion in demand for high quality content across mobile devices - and Steiner sees it as part of a wider trend. "Old media has always been based in New York City and continues to be based (here), film and television has been anchored in LA and high-tech has always been in northern California," Steiner said. "But I think right now we're seeing everything coming together in New York."

Summary: Brooklyn Navy Yard has been transformed from disused site into hub of commercial activity . Location now houses one of the largest film studios outside of Hollywood .


(CNN)Congratulations, Internet haters! Well done, keepers of the one-true-way-to-talk-about-race! If we don't tamp down the backlash against Starbucks "Race Together" campaign, I fear that no major corporation will even try to talk about race again -- for maybe 10 or 20 years. Is that really what we want? Look, I get it. Asking baristas to hold conversations about race is a lot to demand of already hard-working employees. Not to mention, the topic should probably be called "systematic racism," not just "race." And there are legitimate questions about what Starbucks could realistically hope to accomplish, here. But for crying out loud! In the past 48 hours, racial justice activists have spilled more digital ink criticizing Starbucks for trying to fight racism than they have against other (actually racist) companies. The truth is that we cannot have it both ways. We cannot demand that companies address race, and then attack them when they try. Yes, it seems like harmless fun to pile on or retweet the snark. At some point, all of us have enjoyed the cheap thrill one gets by kicking around a big company online. But the cost this time is that no corporation will want to do anything creative or constructive on racial subjects for a very long time. In fact, some activists are responding with such little sympathy, empathy and grace, that other corporations are like to run the other way. Again, is that what we want? Mellody Hobson, an African-American member of the Starbucks board and a personal friend, is a major supporter of this campaign. How will other corporate boards react in the future when a minority member encourages the company to publicly address issues of racial inclusion? Starbucks is trying to make a positive difference. If the company gets rewarded, others will follow. But nobody wants their brand to get beaten up. At some point in the future, activists will launch an online petition or protest against a company guilty of some legitimately racist behavior. But how seriously will anyone take us, when even the "good guys" end up getting kicked in the teeth and called racist -- for trying to OPPOSE bigotry? Modern science tells us that bias lives on, in even the most dedicated anti-racist. The only cure is talking about it. Our country needs more open discussion of race, not less. Companies who try to further that discussion should be rewarded, even if their initial attempts are imperfect. We can put forward suggestions and criticisms in a constructive manner: "This is a great first step, Corporation! Here are five ways to improve the campaign -- and make it even better." I think any human anywhere would be open to hearing that kind of feedback. But nobody wants to be called an idiot, just for trying. Unfortunately, today's vicious backlash against Starbucks could become a case study in proving that -- when it comes to race -- no good deed goes unpunished. Ironically, after all this is over, Starbucks will still sell plenty of lattes. The people who will suffer the most are the

Summary: Starbucks was trashed by many online for its "Race Together" initiative . Van Jones: What kind of lesson will this have for other companies that try to do the right thing?


Los Angeles (CNN)Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight collapsed in court Friday shortly after a judge set his bail at $25 million in a murder case, an amount Knight's attorney said was excessively high. The attorney earlier indicated such a bail was probably higher than his client could post. Knight bent over in his chair at the defense table, with his attorney beside him, and two deputies rushed to him as he was facedown. Moments earlier, the judge ruled that Knight "has a great potential to flee and apparently has so in the past." "In this court's opinion, $25 million is reasonable, and it is so set," said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen. Attorney Matthew Fletcher told CNN affiliate KABC that Knight hit his head on a chair and knocked himself out. Fletcher later saw Knight in the holding cell, and "he was dripping sweat ... like somebody threw a bucket of water on him," Fletcher told the station. "And he wiped the sweat off his head and said, 'I haven't had my medication,' and I said since when, and he said since yesterday. That's when I went back in and told the judge 'You need to make an order that he gets his medicine and he hasn't been fed' and the judge said, 'Well, they offered him food at some point today,' and I said well that's not what I've heard," Fletcher told the affiliate. Knight, who suffers from diabetes and blood clots, was taken to the hospital, the attorney said. Knight's condition was not immediately available. He has collapsed before while in custody. Knight has been held in solitary confinement, Fletcher added. When asked about the $25 million bail, Fletcher said, "It's just laughable." The bail in other prominent murder cases "at most is $5 million," Fletcher told the affiliate. "The heads of the Mafia, $5 million (bail)," Fletcher said. Prosecutors sought the $25 million bail, he added. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 13. Knight, 49, has pleaded not guilty to several charges that accuse him of running over two men -- killing one of them -- in January after an argument. Knight is charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of hit-and-run, with an allegation that he committed a serious and violent felony while out on bail, prosecutors said. The man who died was Terry Carter, 55, a former rap record label owner. The second man is Cle "Bone" Sloan, 51. The deadly incident happened on January 29, after a flare-up on the set of the biopic "Straight Outta Compton," a film about the highly influential and controversial rap group N.W.A. The argument spilled over to the parking lot of Tam's Burgers in Compton. The incident is the latest run-in with the law for Knight, who founded the wildly successful Death Row Records in 1991 and signed artists such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Knight was driving the car in which Shakur was a passenger when the rapper was shot to death in Las Vegas in

Summary: "It's just laughable," Knight's attorney says about high bail . Knight is taken to hospital, but his condition is not available, attorney says .


(CNN)Five Muslim women stand tall in a boxing ring, slowly winding strapping around their hands. A spotlight is trained on them and the audience draws close, hanging on their every word. "How can we be truthful if we have to hide out of shame, feel humiliated for feeling, for saying, doing, thinking as we please? How can that be freedom, how can that be truth?" Performed at Southbank Centre's WOW -- Women of the World Festival -- Common Wealth Theatre's "No Guts, No Heart, No Glory," tells the true story of Muslim female boxers from Bradford in the north of England, and how they are using the sport to transcend religious and gender barriers. The critically acclaimed show -- in which the women stamp, dance, shout, swear, punch, and even crowd surf -- was partly inspired by Ambreen Sadiq, a former UK national champion, and one of Britain's first Muslim female boxers. Her journey to success wasn't easy -- as a victim of bullying at the age of 13 she found respite in boxing after being introduced to it by her father and brother. "I got bullied quite a lot growing up, my dad's Pakistani and my mum's Portuguese," Sadiq told CNN. "I got stick from both sides, from white and black people. I felt like I wasn't accepted. I used to move schools so many times just to feel accepted. "People would stay stuff about how I looked... everyone said that's a boy's sport, what are you doing that for? You're going to look like a man, like a transsexual. "I was bullied from such a young age, I felt like it was never going to stop. Boxing helped me to control that anger." It was a transformative experience for Sadiq -- she went from being quiet, having few friends and getting into fights to plucking up courage to start conversations, and thereby build self confidence. "Instead of punching someone in the face I'd punch the bag," she added. "If anyone came up to me and said anything I could just walk away from it -- whereas before I'd just straight punch them in the face or something. So it's helped me a lot with discipline." It's sometimes hard to imagine Sadiq as a boxer -- her movements are calm and assured, and a kind smile is never far from her lips. "Boxing has made me the person I am today, and I'm so proud of the person I am," said the 20-year-old trailblazer, who is now looked up to by girls from all kinds of communities wanting to follow in her footsteps. "I've had a lot of girls -- not just Asian girls -- coming up to me and asking, how do you stop people saying it's a boy's sport? How can you convince your parents to let you box?" While boxing for many is just a sport -- albeit a violent one -- when it comes to women and Muslims participating it can feel more like a cause, with Sadiq often finding herself explaining her motivation to girls. "What's

Summary: "No Guts, No Heart, No Glory" is a play by Common Wealth Theatre that tells the true story of Muslim female boxers . The performance was partly inspired by former UK national champion Ambreen Sadiq who experienced bullying and discrimination . "We want to give them a voice and give them a reason, so they know they can have confidence" says cast member Freyaa Ali about girls in boxing .


(CNN)Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has freed a Saudi diplomat it kidnapped three years ago, Yemeni Foreign Ministry officials told CNN. Tribal leaders involved in negotiations with al Qaeda over the last month handed Abdullah Al Khalidi to Saudi authorities on Monday, two Yemeni government officials said. Unknown gunmen kidnapped Al Khalidi, the Saudi deputy consular, in 2012 as he was leaving his residence in the Mansoora district of Yemen's business capital of Aden. He was later handed over to al Qaeda, where he appeared in al Qaeda video last year pleading to the Saudi government to ensure his safe release. Al Qaeda was demanding a ransom for his release and threatened to kill him if the ransom was not paid. CNN was not able to confirm whether Saudi Arabia or his family paid a ransom in exchange for his release. A Yemeni Foreign Ministry official told CNN that his government was not involved in the negotiations for Al Khalidi's release. "The Yemeni government does not negotiate with terrorists. Ransoms that are paid to terrorists motivates them to conduct more kidnappings," said the official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to media . The Saudi Interior Ministry announced Monday that Al Khalidi reached Riyadh safely and is undergoing medical checkups. Al Khalidi had been living in Aden for four years when he was kidnapped. Last week, a Frenchwoman working for an international organization was kidnapped, along with her Yemeni translator, in Sanaa. Two four-wheel drive vehicles were used in the kidnapping attempt, according to eyewitnesses. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Kidnappings of foreigners is common in Yemen with tribes or al Qaeda-linked militants often demanding a ransom for their release or using them as a bargaining chip in their dealings with the central government. Al Qaeda is believed to have been behind most of the kidnappings since 2012. Gunmen kidnapped an Iranian diplomat, Ahmed Bakht, in Yemen in 2013, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Bakht was an Iranian national employed within the Iranian Embassy in Yemen and was kidnapped while traveling through the diplomatic quarter in Sanaa when gunmen blocked the road ahead of him and abducted him.

Summary: Saudi ministry says diplomat arrived in Riyadh safely and is undergoing medical checkups . Gunmen kidnapped the diplomat, Abdullah Al Khalidi, in Aden, Yemen, in 2012 .


(CNN)Nigeria's military says its forces have retaken the northeastern town of Gwoza, which Boko Haram militants last year declared the headquarters of their "caliphate." The announcement comes on the eve of the West African country's general elections. "Just this morning, the gallant troops of the Nigerian military in a concerted and well-coordinated land and air operations have liberated Gwoza, the headquarters of their so-called caliphate," Major General Chris Olukolade said in a Defense Ministry statement Friday. Olukolade said the troops had routed Boko Haram fighters in towns and villages leading to Gwoza. "Several of the terrorists have died and many of them captured in the process. A lot of arms and ammunition have been recovered and the administrative headquarters completely destroyed. A massive cordon and search has commenced to locate any of the fleeing terrorists or hostages in their custody," Olukolade said. Boko Haram declared its own "caliphate" after seizing the area around Gwoza, in Borno state, in August 2014, according to the Chatham House think tank. The militant group has purportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between the majority Muslim north and the mostly Christian south. Nigeria's general elections take place Saturday . The polls had been scheduled for February 14, but on February 7, Nigeria's election commission announced they would be postponed for six weeks due to security concerns, with the military needing more time to secure areas controlled by Boko Haram. The controversial decision was unpopular among many Nigerians and led to widespread protests. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running for reelection, has been criticized for not doing enough to combat Boko Haram. On Friday, Jonathan referenced the Gwoza victory in a broadcast to the nation, praising Nigeria's armed forces for their "immense sacrifices" in defending the nation. "We are also glad that our gallant armed forces have successfully stemmed the seizure of Nigerian territories in the northeast by the terrorist group, Boko Haram," Jonathan said. "They have recaptured most of the communities and territories formerly occupied by the insurgents, making it possible for thousands of internally displaced Nigerians to begin returning to their homes and communities." Jonathan said security agencies were fully prepared to deal decisively with "any group or persons who attempt to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the elections." "Those who may harbor any intentions of testing our will by unleashing violence during the elections in order to advance their political ambitions should think again as all necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that any persons who breach the peace or cause public disorder during or after the elections are speedily apprehended and summarily dealt with according to our laws," the President said. On Thursday, Jonathan and Maj. Gen. Muhammad Buhari, the other leading presidential candidate, issued a pledge reaffirming their commitment to "free, fair and credible elections" following their signing of a nonviolence pledge -- the Abuja Accord -- in January. The International Criminal Court also issued a warning that anyone inciting or engaging

Summary: Nigeria's military says it has retaken the northeastern town of Gwoza from Boko Haram . The announcement comes on the eve of the West African nation's general elections . Boko Haram declared Gwoza the headquarters of its "caliphate" last August .


(CNN)A man armed with an assault rifle held his family hostage and shot and killed a Navajo Nation police officer Thursday evening, the Native American tribal government said. The suspect fled, and was shot to death hours later. The slain officer, who was not immediately identified, was one of two Navajo Police officers shot after a domestic violence call came in around 4 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) Thursday, according to a statement from the Navajo Nation. The officers were responding to a report that a man with an AR-15 rifle was holding his family hostage. That same man shot at the Navajo Police, then ran. A manhunt ensued involving officers from the Navajo Nation's Window Rock and Crownpoint districts. It ended with word around 10:30 p.m. that the suspect was shot to death in the northern Arizona city of Red Valley, just over the border from New Mexico, according to the Navajo Nation government. It was not immediately clear how he died -- whether it was from a shootout with police or a self-inflicted wound. The wounded officer is being treated in the Shiprock-Northern Navajo Medical Center. The officer's condition was not immediately known. "We send our condolences to the family of the Navajo Police officer who gave his life in the line of duty," Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly said. "... The family will be in our prayers." The Navajo Nation straddles northeast Arizona, northwest New Mexico and southeast Utah, compassing some 27,000 square miles -- an area larger than West Virginia. Along with a distinctive, centuries-old culture, the autonomous jurisdiction boasts what its website calls "the largest and most sophisticated form of American Indian government." CNN's Christine Sever contributed to this report.

Summary: A man holds his family hostage with an AR-15, police respond . The man shoots at Navajo Nation officers, killing 1 and wounding 1 . The suspect is shot to death hours later in Red Valley, Arizona .


(CNN)It's time for leaders in Israel and the United States to call off their war of insults before they cause serious, lasting damage. Heading into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, both sides should immediately agree to a cease fire. The speech itself is a terrible mistake. Arranging it without prior consultation with the White House was not only an affront to Barack Obama but to the Presidency itself. One would have thought that after all the uproar, Netanyahu would have caught a "cold" and postponed, but now that he plans to go ahead, he should at least give a measured, thoughtful address -- not the barn burner for which he is known. But let's be clear: he also deserves a respectful hearing in Congress from both sides of the aisle. Blame for the deterioration in relations is shared here in America as well as in Israel. This conflict began on a personal level. Those close to Obama and Netanyahu say the two men took an instant dislike years ago and have since descended into loathing one another. Obama, they say, regards Netanyahu as headstrong, bombastic and reckless. Netanyahu sees Obama as weak, unreliable and priggish. The Obama team also accuses Netanyahu of timing his Congressional speech to rally Israeli voters behind him in elections two weeks away -- Bibi as Churchill standing up to the Nazis -- while Netanyahu's team is convinced Obama is desperate for a deal to burnish his legacy -- the Nobel laureate who brought peace. Each thinks the other endangers the future of the world and each has allowed his top lieutenants to viciously attack the other in the press. But in recent months what began as personal antipathy has deepened and widened into a serious split over the best way to head off Iran's aggressive push to become a nuclear power. The Iranian threat has long been vexing; former Defense Secretary Bob Gates once told me it was the toughest problem he saw in nearly a half century serving of distinguished service in national security. There are no obvious solutions acceptable to key parties. The Obama administration believes that a compromise agreement with Iran limiting -- but not dismantling -- its nuclear capability is better than to have current talks fall apart, risking an armed showdown. The Netanyahu government believes the agreement which Obama appears ready to accept will let Iran eventually wriggle free and build a bomb. In truth, there is merit to both points of view -- and the devil here is not only in the details but in the very structure of an agreement. As Obama believes, a negotiated settlement is far preferable to a possible war or learning to live with a nuclear Iran. But what is alarming not only to Israel but to other American friends in the region -- and rightly so -- is that the U.S. and its partners in the negotiation with Iran (Russia, China, the UK, France, Germany) have made repeated concessions to get an Iranian signature without getting major

Summary: David Gergen: Netanyahu's speech is a terrible mistake of his making but he deserves a hearing . The rift in US-Israel relations over Iran is serious, needs repair, Gergen says .


(CNN)Federal and local authorities are investigating a deadly shooting by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent in Washington State. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agent fired when a suspected "illegal border crosser" assaulted him during a patrol along the U.S.-Canadian border on Thursday. The reported shooting happened near the Huntington Border Crossing which connects the cities of Sumas, Washington, and Abbotsford, British Columbia. It is one of several area border crossings between the U.S. and Canada and is located east of Bellingham, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The Bellingham Herald newspaper, citing police radio dispatches, said the man was struck in the head. "The agent had been hit by pepper spray but wasn't seriously injured, according to police radio traffic," the newspaper said. The shooting apparently happened on an east-west road less than 1,000 feet from the border. Video from CNN partner CTV Network showed a covered body lying on the roadway, surrounded by police and investigation vehicles. The Border Patrol agent and the shooting victim have not been identified. The FBI and Whatcom County Sheriff's Office are assisting in the investigation. CNN's Tina Burnside, Greg Morrison and Christine Sever contributed to this report .

Summary: Officials: Agent fired when a suspected illegal border crosser assaulted him . Incident happened along U.S.-Canada border .


(CNN)In the midst of all the shouting over Indiana's new religious-freedom law, which many fear will lead to increased discrimination against LGBT people, culture warriors marked the grim anniversary of another conservative "victory," one that left more than 10,000 needy children without their pledged financial support. A year ago this week, I rose each morning with red, puffy eyes and heavy sense of exhaustion. I hadn't slept soundly since March 26, a day many of my friends and readers mark as the last day they wanted anything to do with organized Christianity. It all started when World Vision, a humanitarian organization I had long supported and promoted, announced a change to its hiring policy allowing people in same-sex marriages to work in its U.S. offices. In response, conservative evangelicals rallied, and within 72 hours, more than 10,000 children had lost their financial support from canceled World Vision sponsorships. Ten-thousand children. In addition, funding for schools, hospitals, water projects, and medical care was threatened as churches vowed to cut off support to an organization that hired LGBT people. As one of my readers, Anthony, recalls, "Our church leadership vowed that they would pull all support, including over $2 million to build two hospitals in Zambia." To try and stem some of the bleeding, I joined with other World Vision bloggers to encourage my readers to sponsor children or make one-time donations to the organization. We had raised several thousand dollars and multiple sponsorships -- many coming from gay and lesbian couples -- when the CEO of World Vision announced the charity would reverse its decision and return to its old policies discriminating against gay and lesbian employees. It had worked. Using wells and hospitals and child sponsorships as bargaining chips in the culture wars had actually worked. Never in my life had I been so angry at my own faith tradition. Many conservative evangelicals count the World Vision reversal as a major victory in the culture wars. Eric Teetsel, director of the Manhattan Declaration, told Christianity Today he considered it "the best news of 2014" for evangelical Christians. "This was Christianity at its best," he said. But as I survey the battlefield a year later, I can't help but wonder if even the most strident culture warriors would consider the World Vision campaign worth its many casualties. There are, of course, the families around the world affected by the sudden drying up of funds meant to support their hospitals and schools, not to mention the kids who used to receive letters and gifts from their sponsors, but whose pictures were casually ripped from the refrigerator and tossed into the garbage can once they were deemed expendable collateral in an American political battle. Then there are the many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, (especially LGBT Christians caught in the middle), for whom the campaign represented yet another blow to their humanity. I remember a gay friend of mine telling me, through tears, "Christians don't even think I'm worthy of answering phones in the office of a humanitarian organization. What makes them think I

Summary: Indiana's religious freedom law will not directly affect many people, but conversation around it, will have lasting effects, writes Held Evans . The casualties of the culture wars tend to be the very people Jesus went out of his way to serve, says Evans .


(CNN)"The Law of the Jungle, which never orders anything without a reason, forbids every beast to eat Man." I still remember the first time I read the passage from "The Jungle Book," heart racing beneath my pajamas covered with The Six Million Dollar Man. "The real reason for this is that man-killing means, sooner or later, the arrival of white men on elephants, with guns, and hundreds of brown men with gongs, rockets and torches. Then everybody in the jungle suffers," Rudyard Kipling wrote. I probably understood that tiger attacks were fairly rare in Milwaukee, but to my 11-year-old brain, Kipling was dropping wisdom that just might keep me alive on the next expedition into the weedy lot behind Piggly Wiggly. "The reason the beasts give among themselves is that Man is the weakest and most defenseless of all living things, and it is unsportsmanlike to touch him." Reading that passage 35 years later, while rolling through the very forest that inspired the classic, the irony in that line finally clicks. When we hear the woof of a frightened deer and my guide kills the engine, my grown-up heart pounds once again. It is a sign that there may be big cats nearby. "I wonder who will be the last person to see a tiger in the wild? And are they alive today?" These are the questions that launched this stop on "The Wonder List," and they led us to a much bigger question about life in the 21st century: Is the planet still big enough for man and man-eater? India is about one-third the size of the continental United States, with four times as many people. That kind of human pressure has changed Kipling's "Law of the Jungle" in dramatic ways. According to the animal conservation group Born Free, there are more tigers in cages in Texas than in the forests of India. So I set out to understand how and why. Having covered the poaching of African animals to feed the huge market for Asian medicine, I assumed the demand for tiger-skin rugs in Dubai or tiger-bone wine in Beijing would be the biggest threat to this endangered cat. Can tigers claw their way back from the brink? But it turns out that tiger-human conflict is a much bigger problem. Almost half a billion rural Indians have no plumbing and answer nature's call by squatting in the forest. Most tiger attacks happen when these people are mistaken for prey, and most tiger kills come in the angry hours that follow, as friends and neighbors of the victim seek revenge. And so, a new specialty in conservation is the art of tiger conflict mediation. It is not easy to convince a frightened farmer that the cat that ate his cow is more valuable alive than caged or dead. But these efforts, along with a more pointed anti-poaching campaign, seem to be paying off. The latest tiger census counted 2,226 big cats in India, a 30% increase over the previous count in 2011. If the estimates hold, this would make India the

Summary: There are more tigers in cages in Texas than in the wild in India, a conservation group says . Tiger-human conflict is a major problem affecting the big cats .


Omoa, Honduras (CNN)Alexis González walks slowly and with some hesitation, using the outside wall of his house for balance. "I'm getting used to the prosthesis," the 16-year-old says. He tries to smile, but an expression of sadness quickly returns to his face. When he was 15, González made a decision that would forever change his life -- to leave Omoa, an impoverished village in Honduras -- with dreams of getting to the United States. At the end of the trek -- about 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) across Mexico and Guatemala -- he saw hope, school, a job and the chance to send money home. "Sometimes we don't even have food to eat and I also wanted to get a higher education," González says. His mother was singlehandedly raising nine children, working odd jobs in restaurants and the nearby fields. They lived in a single room, an adobe house with dirt floors built on a steep and muddy hill. Chickens being raised for food roamed around the structure. González says his father left the family when he was little boy. When Gonzalez left in January 2014, he didn't ask his mother for permission. He only left a letter telling her about his plans. "I wouldn't have let him go," his mother Mercedes Meléndez says. "When he left I went looking for him everywhere." She even went to Corinto on the Honduras-Guatemala border to ask authorities if they had seen him, she says. González says he traveled by land through Honduras and Guatemala with a teenage cousin. They took the bus and also walked and hitch-hiked in some places. Once in Mexico, they got on the cargo train migrants call "The Beast." Migrants get a risky, but free ride clinging to the outside of the train. Violent gangs sometimes board the train to rape, rob and kill migrants. Those without money to pay off the gangsters are thrown off, sometimes to their deaths in deep ravines or sharp rocks. González says he never faced any gangs. Things seem to be going well for him and his cousin for a while. They had been traveling for a few days on the train and were excited at nearing the U.S.-Mexico border and crossing into the land of their dreams. But they were also tired. They ate what they could, but were unable to sleep for more than an hour at a time. They were hanging onto the grate above the train car's couplers. "We used our own sweaters to tie ourselves to the train so we wouldn't fall off," González says. But tragedy was just around the corner. Somehow, he doesn't know how, he fell off the train while sleeping. He woke up bleeding profusely. "The train had severed my right leg and part of my left heel," he says. He was eventually rescued by the Mexican Red Cross and taken to a hospital where he recovered for a month. He stayed at a shelter for wounded migrants for another two months. There he was fitted with a prosthesis free of charge. It's not difficult to

Summary: Honduran teen tells how he lost his leg trying to get to the U.S. He fell from the outside of a train rumbling through Mexico . It's a trip also attempted by tens of thousands of other desperate children .


(CNN)Two police officers shot and wounded while standing guard outside the Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department early Thursday were deliberately targeted in what a police official called an "ambush." Such ambush-style attacks were the leading circumstance in the surging number of shooting deaths of law enforcement officers, according to the nonprofit, Washington-based National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The shootings were a chilling low point in the protests in the St. Louis suburb since a Ferguson police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in August. The demonstrators were out again late Wednesday -- in response to the announcement hours earlier of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson's resignation -- when shots rang out from a hill about 125 yards from where the protesters had gathered, according to witnesses. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the shootings were an "ambush" intended "for whatever nefarious reason" to inflict harm on the officers. The officers -- one shot in the face, the other in the shoulder -- have been released from the hospital. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decried the shootings as a "heinous assault (that) was inexcusable and repugnant." Calling the shooting a "cowardly action," Holder said, "I condemn violence against any public safety officials in the strongest terms, and the Department of Justice will never accept any threats or violence directed at those who serve and protect our communities." The number of law enforcement officers shot to death in the line of duty rose more than 50% in 2014, the law enforcement group said in a report released in December. Many of those shootings occurred during police interactions with suspects such as traffic stops, responses to disturbances or attempted arrests. Such was the case in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, when Deputy U.S. Marshal Josie Wells was killed in an exchange of gunfire after going to arrest a fugitive murder suspect at a motel. However, ambushes were the largest single category of circumstances in the shooting deaths of officers in 2014, according to the group's report. Fifty officers were killed by firearms -- 15 in ambush attacks -- in 2014, the Memorial Fund said. That's compared with five ambushes among 32 shooting deaths in 2013 and six ambush deaths during 2012, according to the FBI. But those ambush numbers have trended higher before in previous years: The FBI counted 15 officer deaths by ambush each year in 2011, 2010 and 2009. Ambush situations were the biggest category of circumstance behind 543 officers feloniously killed from 2002 to 2011: 23.2%. Ambush killings are nothing new. The FBI defines two types: . One is by "entrapment and premeditation," which is a scenario "where the officer was lured into danger as the result of conscious consideration and planning. These attacks are generally accomplished from cover or hiding; however, they can occur without cover or hiding," the agency said. The second are ambushes of "unprovoked attacks," which are "generally accomplished without hiding; however, they can occur with or without cover," the FBI said. Harry Houck, a consultant and former New York Police Department detective, said officers

Summary: Two police officers are shot and wounded in Ferguson, Missouri, in what a police official calls an "ambush" Firearms killed 50 officers in 2014, up from 32 in 2013, the Officers Memorial Fund says . National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: Of the 50, 15 were killed in ambushes .


(CNN)It's a golfing paradise forged from the ashes of the space race. And, according to owner Dave Pelz, it might just be the best back garden on the planet. One thing is certain, no self-respecting golfer would emerge from a stint patrolling the perfectly coiffured turf at Chez Pelz in Austin, Texas any worse around the greens. "They say it's the world's best backyard," one of golf's most renowned short game coaches, and former NASA employee, told CNN's Living Golf show. "It's my dream. I have a dream job and I live in my dream house. I live with my dream girl. I'm a happy guy." It's no wonder Pelz is content. His named is etched in the evolution of golf. His students, including five-time major champion Phil Mickelson, have amassed a combined 20 majors between them and as one of golf's most fertile brains, Pelz has 26 golf patents to his name. The 70-year-old still works with Mickelson prior to major tournaments and the player known as "Lefty"credits Pelz with helping to elevate his game to the elite level. "I was 0-for-43 in majors before I met him, and I've won four, plus a Players Championship since," Mickelson was quoted as saying prior to capturing his fifth major -- the British Open -- in 2013. "That says it all about him, in my book." The septuagenarian pioneered the use of statistics back in the 1970s and 80s, his analysis of the game sculpted by a 15-year stint working for space agency NASA. His insistence on short game practice, and invention of clubs to help players hone their skills in that department, have informed the modern professional's approach. "I did space research and golf research on my own time," explained the brains behind the two-ball putter, one of the best-selling clubs of all time that helped golfers line up their putts more accurately. "NASA has the most unbelievable equipment in the world and that was the dawn of the space race. Sputnik had just gone up. "We were trying to catch the Russians in terms of space exploration. And I got in a wonderful group of scientists and learned to do honest to God research." Pelz banked a place at Indiana University thanks to a golf scholarship and chose to study physics. He famously played the legendary Jack Nicklaus 22 times and lost to the 18-time major champion on every occasion, but made significant improvements to his game once he began working for NASA. Using the one variable at a time method favored by scientists, Pelz began grading his own performance using the methods he'd picked up at the Goddard Space Flight Center. And gradually, piece by piece, he began to deconstruct each facet of his game and isolate the improvements he needed to make. "I started measuring my own putting," he said. "I started measuring my short game. I started measuring my driving. "I learned how to measure things at Goddard Space Flight Center because they had the best instruments in the world and I learned the practical application of the

Summary: Renowned short game coach Dave Pelz has turned his backyard into a golf paradise . Pelz has replicas from Augusta TPC Sawgrass and St Andrew's at his Texas home . The 70-year-old spent 15 years working for NASA before becoming a golf coach . He's worked with over 100 pros including five-time major champ Phil Mickelson .


(CNN)The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered probate judges in the state to stop issuing licenses for same-sex marriages. In February, a federal court decision in Mobile County had cleared the path for same-sex marriages to begin in the state. The 134-page order Wednesday was supported by six justices. One dissented and another concurred to most of the opinion and in total to the result. Past and present clash over same-sex marriage in Deep South . Marriage is between one man and one woman under Alabama law, the order states. "Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to this law. Nothing in the United States Constitution alters or overrides this duty," it says. Probate judges have five business days to respond to the order if they don't think they are bound to uphold it. "Same-sex couples in #Alabama should not lose hope because of out-of-step Supreme Court ruling; #marriage fight is far from over. #ALMarriage," tweeted Equality Alabama. The Liberty Counsel, which filed an emergency petition to the state's Supreme Court said on its website that "the ruling of the Alabama Supreme Court offers the most forceful and clearly articulated rebuttal to date of the imaginative arguments for same-sex "marriage" employed by federal courts." In his dissent, Justice Greg Shaw wrote that he didn't think the case was properly filed nor did the court have jurisdiction. He also said the public interest groups involved in the case cannot sue in Alabama's name. Shaw added that the federal courts should have stayed an order striking down Alabama's marriage law until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on it this fall. Then there were 12: Nebraska ordered to end same-sex marriage ban . CNN's Chandler Friedman and Matt Tettelbach contributed to this report.

Summary: A federal judge in Mobile had cleared way for same-sex marriages . Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday said state law cannot be overridden by federal ruling . Judges have five days to respond to order if they disagree .


(CNN)Kids, being kids, like to climb on things. More often than not, that's OK. But when the thing in question is a war memorial? That's the question burning up online parenting groups and in family rooms after an amateur photographer snapped a picture of two children scampering on top of the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington. The photographer, Matt Munson, described the shot on Facebook as "two little brats climbing over war memorial right in front of a veteran." The parents, he said, were laughing. "It actually drew a crowd of spectators and the parents realized how evil they were being and quickly took off before I could take a picture of them all," Munson wrote. "The more I look at this photo the angrier I get." He has plenty of company there. As the photo went viral, comment after comment poured in on Facebook and Twitter, chastising the parents for allowing the kids to play on the statue, part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that depicts three women tending to a wounded soldier. One nurse cradles the wounded fighter while another looks despairingly into an empty helmet. The third looks skyward, to a rescue helicopter or perhaps God, according to the memorial foundation's website. In Munson's photo, a visitor to the memorial seems to grimace at the sight as he pushes an older man in a wheelchair. The older man, wearing a Navy ballcap, and a woman also look on. The children's parents aren't shown. Disgusting. "Disgusting," Facebook user Trisha Davidson wrote of the children's actions. "So wrong," Twitter user karsonwithak chimed in. But not everyone was upset. "I fully take why people can get annoyed and respect that," Reddit user z3k3 wrote. But the writer said a grandfather who was a veteran of World War II "loved watching the kids play on the local memorial." "He saw it as a way for the next generation to take some joy out of something so terrible and at the same time gave them a link to the past as many would stop to read the names or even get interested enough to read up on the subject a little," z3k3 wrote. Fair enough, some said. But some memorials are meant to be interactive. Others aren't. And a statue depicting a nurse caring for a gravely wounded man just doesn't seem to be the place for play, a Reddit user with the screen name nickfree wrote. "Unless the memorial is designed to be climbed on -- unless the message of the memorial is clearly 'use me, interact with me, to help carry my message' (e.g. memorial benches), the default is leave it respectfully alone," nickfree wrote. On the Mommyish parenting blog, associate editor Maria Guido wrote that "there's nothing wrong with children who may not understand how gleefully playing all over a memorial may seem inappropriate to some." "If these kids were just doing that -- gleefully playing all over a memorial -- I wouldn't find anything wrong with the image, actually. But they're not," she wrote. "These parents were disrespectful," she wrote.

Summary: A photo of children playing on Vietnam Women's Memorial draws anger . Many say the kids and their parents were showing disrespect to veterans .


(CNN)The news that the U.S. military will charge Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion for abandoning his post in Afghanistan revives a deeply disturbing and morally wrenching incident in America's troubled war in Afghanistan. From the moment last year that the world learned about the prisoner-swap deal that secured his freedom, the questions that surrounded Begdahl's disappearance gained significance. After all, the United States had agreed to a very high price for his release. Based on the evidence that has come to public light, desertion seems the right charge against Bergdahl, whose comrades say he walked away, abandoning his commitments as a soldier in a war and creating new and greater dangers for them. But even before the charges were filed, there were other question whose answers are emerging. Was the United States right to negotiate a high-price trade? Did "leave no man behind" trump "no negotiating with terrorists"? And if it did, did the importance of saving one man outweigh the dictate not to pay ransom even if that man was a traitor or a deserter? New information about his disappearance and life of the people freed in exchange for Bergdahl make the case all the more troubling. Bergdahl, you will recall, spent five years as a prisoner of the Haqqani network, a group allied with the Taliban organization, America's principal enemy in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters had captured him in June 2009, just after Bergdahl, apparently disenchanted with the military, left his post in southeastern Afghanistan. The Taliban handed the American soldier to the Haqqanis, who shuttled him between locations as they and their partners negotiated for his release, seeking to maximize the profit from their valuable captive. In May 2014 they struck a deal. Five Taliban commanders were flown out of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, freed in exchange for the American soldier whose disappearance many had already labeled a desertion. The images became iconic. A strikingly pale Bergdahl, blinking painfully against the bright sun as he was handed over to U.S. officials. The scene contrasted sharply with a video of the Taliban chiefs' receiving a heroes' welcome in Qatar, where they prepared for a new life after their American captivity. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Bergdahl had served with "honor and distinction." If that had been the case, the trade would have proved much less controversial. But from the moment Bergdahl went missing there had been questions. In the letters he wrote home before vanishing, Bergdahl showed a steady erosion of his faith in the military and belief in the mission. "The future is too good to waste on lies," he told his parents. "And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others." Men who had served with Bergdahl said he had simply walked off the base carrying little more than a compass. Not only would such a move constitute near-suicidal foolishness, it also put his comrades in great danger, particularly as they set out on a desperate quest to find him. What has been the cost of Bergdahl's odyssey? Some said the

Summary: Frida Ghitis: Desertion charges against Bowe Bergdahl revive questions: Was swap deal for him correct? What has his odyssey cost? She says swap may have sent dangerous message to America's enemies, cost American lives. Still, retrieving U.S. soldier was right call .


(CNN)They are being remembered as people who "meant so much to so many." Yvonne Selke and her daughter, Emily, were aboard Germanwings Flight 9525 that crashed Tuesday in the French Alps. They, along with the other 148 people on board that flight, are presumed dead. "I just keep saying over and over, it's surreal. You always see these things on the news and you think it's horrible, but you never know anyone involved," said Haley Holmes, a close friend of Emily Selke's. "I think what people need to know about them, and what people should know about them, is that they were two -- not two Americans on a plane, not a mother and daughter on a plane -- but Yvonne and Emily -- two amazing, loving people who left behind friends and family who love and miss them a lot," Holmes told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°." Emily Selke had belonged to Gamma Sigma Sigma's Zeta chapter at Drexel University. She was a membership vice president while at the sorority and "an integral part of our growing chapter," according to the chapter's Facebook page. "She embodied the spirit of Gamma Sigma Sigma," the sorority said. "As a person and friend, Emily always put others before herself and cared deeply for all those in her life. Emily will be greatly missed by her fellow sisters of Zeta." A music industry major, Emily Selke graduated with honors from the Philadelphia university, according to the school. She then went on to work around Washington for Carr Workplaces, a company that offers office space, meeting rooms and virtual offices, company spokesman Robert Beach said. "We cherished Emily's work ethic, enthusiasm, humor and overall presence," said Beach, calling her "dedicated, helpful and always willing to go the extra mile." "Her genuine, bright smile and quick wit will be missed," he added. Yvonne Selke worked for Booz Allen Hamilton. Betty Thompson, an executive vice president with that consulting firm, described Yvonne as "a wonderful co-worker and a dedicated employee" in a statement to The Washington Post. Holmes said Yvonne Selke was "a lovely spirit to be around," fiercely loyal to the people she loved. "Our entire family is deeply saddened by the losses of Yvonne and Emily Selke. Two wonderful, caring, amazing people who meant so much to so many. At this difficult time we respectfully ask for privacy and your prayers," the Selke family said in a statement. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday that three Americans were on the plane. The third American was Robert Calvo, according to Desigual, the clothing company for which he worked for in Spain. Students, singers among the victims .

Summary: Third American killed on Germanwings flight identified as Robert Calvo . State Department says three Americans were on the plane . Co-workers, friends in shock at deaths of mother and daughter from Virginia .


(CNN)In 1971, a physicist conceptualized the existence of a fourth fundamental element in the electronic circuit, besides the three that were already in use at the time. His name was Leon Chua and he believed -- for reasons of symmetry -- that an extra component could one day be constructed to join the resistor, the capacitor and the inductor. He called it "memristor", a portmanteau of the words memory and resistor. It took 37 years for our engineering abilities to catch up with that idea: the first memristor was built by Hewlett Packard in 2008. And today, many researchers believe it could spark a revolution in computing. Simply put, the memristor could mean the end of electronics as we know it and the beginning of a new era called "ionics". The transistor, developed in 1947, is the main component of computer chips. It functions using a flow of electrons, whereas the memristor couples the electrons with ions, or electrically charged atoms. In a transistor, once the flow of electrons is interrupted by, say, cutting the power, all information is lost. But a memristor can remember the amount of charge that was flowing through it, and much like a memory stick it will retain the data even when the power is turned off. This can pave the way for computers that will instantly turn on and off like a light bulb and never lose data: the RAM, or memory, will no longer be erased when the machine is turned off, without the need to save anything to hard drives as with current technology. But memristors have another fundamental difference compared with transistors: they can escape the boundaries of binary code. Initially, the technology will be mostly used to create super-fast memory chips that contain more data and consume less energy. This alone would make regular computers much more powerful, but down the line, the memristor could also take on the processing. Jennifer Rupp is a Professor of electrochemical materials at ETH Zurich, and she's working with IBM to build a memristor-based machine. Memristors, she points out, function in a way that is similar to a human brain: "Unlike a transistor, which is based on binary codes, a memristor can have multi-levels. You could have several states, let's say zero, one half, one quarter, one third, and so on, and that gives us a very powerful new perspective on how our computers may develop in the future," she told CNN's Nick Glass. Such a shift in computing methodology would allow us to create "smart" computers that operate in a way reminiscent of the synapses in our brains. Free from the limitations of the 0s and 1s, these more powerful computers would be able to learn and make decisions, ultimately getting us one step closer to creating human-like artificial intelligence. Transistors are based on silicon, a rigid material whose properties are used to manage the flow of electrons, and thus information. In 1975, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, formulated a famous law which states that the number of transistors in an electronic circuit doubles

Summary: The memristor is a new type of electrical component that could revolutionize electronics . It was first conceptualized in the 1970s, long before one could even be built . Researchers at ETH work with IBM in memristors for future computing devices . Memristor-based chips wouldn't require silicon, so we could see computers in windows, textiles or even coffee cups .


Naypyidaw, Myanmar (CNN)Twenty-one people are dead and 21 missing after a ferry capsized in the Southeast Asia nation of Myanmar. Myanmar's Ministry of Information said in a statement that the ship capsized Friday night as it sailed, in bad weather conditions, around the city of Sittwe. That's when a large wave crashed into the ferry, causing it capsize near Myaybone and Myaukkyine islands. Authorities have managed to rescue at least 167 people, according to the information ministry for Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. Pictures from the government showed rescue workers helping people off a boat onto the land. Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine state and sits on the Bay of Bengal, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) from the Bangladesh border. This weekend's weather forecast for the city calls for some clouds giving way to clear skies, with high daytime temperatures expected to be in the 30s Celsius (80s to 90s Fahrenheit). Fatal ferry disasters are nothing new to the region. Last month, at least 68 people died when a packed double-decker ferry sank while on the Padma River north of neighboring Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, officials said. A cargo vessel hit the ferry, causing it to overturn and trapping passengers on its lower deck. Forty-five people died in an accident on the same river in August. In May 2013, several boats carrying as many as 150 people were thought to have capsized near Myanmar's western coast ahead of a storm approaching the area. Those boats were carrying Rohingya, members of Myanmar's long-suffering Muslim minority, Thailand-based U.N. official Kirsten Mildren said at the time. Journalist Manny Muang reported from Myanmar, and CNN's Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta.

Summary: 167 people have been rescued, Myanmar's government says . The ferry capsized after being hit by a large wave in bad weather conditions .


(CNN)A photo of what appeared to be a homeless person reading a copy of Vogue has been deleted from the Instagram account of the style editor who posted it amid criticism that it showed how "out of touch" she is. Vogue style editor-at-large Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, a member of German royalty who has been with the magazine since 2012, posted the photo Saturday from Paris, where she is covering fashion week. "Paris is full of surprises....and @voguemagazine readers even in unexpected corners!" the caption read. Style news website Fashionista, which first reported on the picture, called it the latest example showing how "disturbingly out of touch" she is. "... The things she writes, both in Vogue and on social media, often straddle the line between entertaining/aspirational and disturbingly out of touch. On Saturday she crossed that line," the article said. Some commenters on the photo appeared to agree, calling the photo "shameful," "cruel" and "in poor taste." In response, von Thurn und Taxis, who often goes by "TNT," posted the comment: "Why cruel? The person to me is as dignified as anyone else!" Others started coming to her defense, saying there was nothing wrong with the photo, before it disappeared from her feed about five hours after it was posted. Vogue and TNT did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment. Do you think the photo crossed the line? Let us know on this Facebook post.

Summary: Photo appears to show homeless person reading Vogue . "Paris is full of surprises....and @voguemagazine readers even in unexpected corners!" the caption read . Photo has since been deleted .


(CNN)Buddy Elias spent much of his life preserving the memory of his cousin Anne Frank. His death Monday brought back memories for me. We met three years ago in an Atlanta hotel conference room. He and his wife, Gerti, were touring the United States to promote a new book. I could tell instantly that he was related to Anne. His face resembled hers so much that it felt almost as though I was meeting her in person. "Anne Frank's Family" had just been published, based on 14 boxes of letters, postcards, photos and documents that Gerti accidentally discovered in the attic of their house in Basel. Elias told me that it wasn't just Anne who loved to write; everyone in the family did. The 6,000 recovered documents told a story of a family torn apart by war and anti-Semitism. That day in Atlanta, I listened to Elias tell me about loved ones he lost. He told me he was lucky that his family had remained in neutral Switzerland when World War II broke out. I thought back to our conversation Thursday when I learned the news of Elias' death. He died peacefully at his home in Basel, Switzerland, at 90, said an announcement posted on the website of Anne Frank Fonds, the foundation that Elias headed. Like millions of people who read "The Diary of Anne Frank," I was deeply influenced by her words and in awe of her family's courage. Anne received her diary on her 13th birthday and wrote in it for the two years that her family hid from the Nazis in the secret annex of an Amsterdam apartment. I was only in seventh grade when my father bought me the book in 1975. After the family was discovered, they were sent to Auschwitz. Later, Anne and her sister Margot were taken to Bergen-Belsen, where they both died in March 1945. Her father, Otto Frank, was the sole survivor of the family, one of only 7,000 people who made it out alive from Auschwitz. In the course of my two hours with Elias, I learned new things about the young, Jewish girl whose journal is arguably the most famous in the world. She called him Bernd, short for Bernhard, Elias' formal name. In his youth, Elias was an actor and a skater with Holiday on Ice. He was her first cousin and 4 years older. They adored one another. "Bernd, maybe we can skate as a pair together someday," Anne wrote in January 1941 from Amsterdam. "But I know I'll have to train very hard to be as good as you are." In another letter, Anne outlined the steps to their skating routine and drew a picture of the blue, fur-trimmed dress she would wear when she finally skated with Elias. "She never did get to do that," Elias said. On his 17th birthday in 1942, she asked him how it was going with a girl he had met. It was an ordinary letter that one keeps like any other. But it turned out to be her last to

Summary: Anne Frank was extremely close to her first cousin Buddy Elias . A discovery in Elias' attic led to the a book revealing new details about Anne's famiy . Elias became the preserver of Anne's legacy after her father, Otto Frank, died in 1980 .


(CNN)President Barack Obama shared jokes about pot and Hillary Clinton's email controversy at the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington on Saturday. The club's dinner brings together Washington's media elite, with noteworthy politicians typically attending, as well. Despite being held by a media organization that raises scholarship funds for journalism students, the dinners are generally closed to cameras. Organizers only allowed a select few pool reporters to enter while the President spoke. The lack of media glare allows guests to let some of their guard down, perhaps unleashing a few more jokes than they might if the cameras were rolling. At one point Obama, clad in a white tie, predicted he would get more laughs this year than in the past. "I'm not saying I'm any funnier. I'm saying weed is now legal in D.C.," he said. Voters in the District of Columbia legalized small amounts of marijuana last year, much to the chagrin of some in Congress. The President also touched on the controversy over the archiving of Clinton's emails while she was secretary of state. Obama lamented that while he was once a tech-savvy candidate, Clinton now seemed more up to speed. "Now I'm yesterday's news, and Hillary has got a server in her house. I didn't even know you could have one of those in your house. I am so far behind. Did you know that? I would have gotten one," he joked. The domain name for Clinton's private email address was @clintonemail.com. Obama wasn't the only politician attending this year's dinner. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also dropped in. He's of course rumored to be in contention to run for president in 2016. Walker, a Republican, acknowledged some headlines of his own, like when Rudy Giuliani said at a Walker event last month that he doesn't think Obama loves America. To date, Walker hadn't said whether he agreed with Giuliani or not. "I want to get this out of the way once and for all. I believe President Obama loves America and every single American in it. Except for Rudy Giuliani," Walker said, according to a transcript provided by his staff. "If I did not love America, I wouldn't have moved here from Kenya," Obama later countered in a joking reference to unsubstantiated theories that he wasn't born in the United States. Every president since 1885 except for Grover Cleveland has attended the 130-year-old organization's dinner. Obama has attended three times as president and last attended back in 2013.

Summary: "If I did not love America, I wouldn't have moved here from Kenya," Obama quips . He was attending the annual Gridiron Club dinner where politicians crack jokes .


Washington (CNN)A 17-year-old Virginia student has been charged with helping recruit for ISIS, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The teen, whose name was not disclosed, was taken into custody last week, the officials said. Prosecutors are seeking to charge him as an adult but currently have charged him as a juvenile, one of the law enforcement officials said. The case remains under seal. It was first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday. The Post, citing officials and neighbors, reported that investigators spent more than a month watching the teen and his home before he was arrested. The teen, who lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, is accused of helping a slightly older adult travel to Syria. The adult is believed to have joined ISIS there, a separate law enforcement official said. The teen is also accused of distributing ISIS messages to a network of contacts, one of the officials said. The teen is an "intelligent kid," a man who hired him to write for a digital currency news website said Wednesday evening. Dustin O'Bryant, the editor of the website Coin Brief from Alabama, said: "He did not come across as radical in any way." The teen wrote freelance articles for the website for seven months last year. He was told not to bring religion into his writing, O'Bryant said, adding he had noticed the young man had written online posts about his faith. The teen complied, he said. The website editor said he was "extremely, extremely surprised" to learn of the arrest from reporters calling him. He hadn't spoken to the teen since February, when the young man said he was dealing with personal matters but wanted to start writing for the website again at some point this year. Give me two weeks to three months, the boy told him. O'Bryant said he is shocked by the charge. "I hope there's some sort of misunderstanding here, and that he didn't know what he was doing," he said. He added that he didn't realize the teen was in high school because he had college courses on his resume. More than 20,000 foreigners have gone to fight for ISIS, the radical Islamist group that controls portions of Iraq and Syria, experts have told Congress. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said 180 Americans have tried to go to fight in Syria. It's unclear how many of those were attempting to join ISIS. It was also unknown if the man the teen allegedly helped is a U.S. citizen. The names: Who has been recruited to ISIS from the West . Others have been prevented from going there or providing support. Also Wednesday, a 21-year-old California man arrested last summer was indicted, changed with attempting to support terror and other counts. Adam Dandach, of Orange, California, was accused by the FBI in the indictment of attempting to provide himself and material support to work under the direction and control of ISIS. He will be arraigned March 16. California man accused of trying to join ISIS . In February, three men from New York --

Summary: Website boss tells CNN that teen didn't seem radical to him . The teen, who lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, is accused of helping a slightly older adult travel to Syria . Teen, whose name was not disclosed, was taken into custody last week, officials say .


Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)In just a few weeks, good relations with neighbors have become a matter of survival for Yemen's President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. On Saturday, he joined his allies in Egypt, while battles raged on in his country. After Houthi rebels occupied the capital Sanaa weeks ago, his government fled. When Hadi called for military intervention to beat back their attempt to overthrow him, adjacent countries answered with a grand airstrike operation. In the darkness of early Saturday, their jets increased the hail of ordnance on Sanaa, as Saudi led operation al-Hazm Storm went into its third day. And Hadi waited in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to meet with the region's leaders at the Arab League summit. This past "night was by far the scariest night since the raids started," said journalist Hakim Almasmari in Sanaa. "The strikes were so strong and continuous." The jets bombarded Hadi's weapons caches and other military assets, Houthi and Yemeni government officials said. Saudi Arabia has blockaded the Houthis, effectively cutting off their supply lines, and its air force controls Yemeni airspace. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have spoken about the possibility of putting boots on the ground. The Arab League is expected to give its official blessing to al-Hazm Storm on Saturday, which could clear the way for a ground invasion, CNN's Becky Anderson reported. But a few member nations, such as Shiite majority Iraq or possibly Algeria, could give military action a thumbs down. Though the Saudi kingdom has taken the lead with some 100 warplanes, the coalition partners include the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Egypt. Arab Spring wasn't supposed to turn out like this . Together they comprise about a third of the Arab League's membership. They are majority Sunni Muslim nations, and the Houthi rebels are Shiite Muslims allied with Iran. Having Yemen become an Iranian satellite country on its border would be perceived as a major threat by neighboring Saudi Arabia, which sees the Houthis as proxies of Tehran, Saudi Arabia's bitter rival on the Persian Gulf. Iran has sharply denounced the armed intervention. The United States, on the other hand, strongly approves of it and is supporting it logistically, and aiding coalition forces in locating targets, but it is not participating in active battle. A small contingency of U.S. forces had been stationed in Yemen to help in the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but left once Houthi rebels took the capital. Dozens of people have died in the strikes, and on Saturday, Human Rights Watch said many of the victims were civilians, perhaps as many as 34. "Reports of air strikes and anti-aircraft weapons in heavily populated areas raise serious concerns that not enough is being done to ensure their safety," HRW regional spokesman Joe Stork said. A Saudi Arabia defense official blamed civilian deaths on the Houthis, saying they were using them as human shields. Brig. Gen. Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri said the kingdom's military was using precision weapons to avoid collateral damage, state-run Saudi News Agency reported. Media outlets

Summary: Yemen's President rallies support on Saturday in Egypt . Arab League blessing of military action may set the stage for a ground invasion .


(CNN)With tensions running high after the shooting of two officers in Ferguson, Missouri, state and county police took over protest security in the St. Louis suburb Thursday. St. Louis County Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are assuming "command of the security detail regarding protests," St. Louis County Police said, while Ferguson Police will remain responsible for "routine policing services" in the city. The takeover came less than a day after two police officers standing guard outside Ferguson police headquarters were shot in what St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar called an "ambush," spurring a manhunt for those responsible for targeting the line of officers. "We could have buried two police officers," Belmar told reporters. "... I feel very confident that whoever did this ... came there for whatever nefarious reason that it was." Belmar said several people "have been very forthright" with investigators, but authorities haven't released the names of any possible suspects. Investigators believe they have identified two people they want to question in the shooting, and one of them might be the shooter, a law enforcement official said. Police are also trying to find anyone who may have helped the shooter get away. This isn't the first time that county police and state troopers have stepped in to handle protest security. When clashes between police and protesters boiled over last year, Missouri's governor declared a state of emergency and tapped the State Highway Patrol to take over. After that emergency declaration expired in December, Ferguson Police resumed command of protest security. Officers from other agencies have continued to provide backup at larger protests. At a candlelight vigil Thursday night near the scene of the shooting, religious leaders led prayers for the wounded police officers and protesters. Dozens of demonstrators gathered again outside the police headquarters Thursday night. This time, Jeff Roorda of the St. Louis Police Officers Association said, the security situation on the streets is different. "It's a very tense situation, as you can well imagine," he told CNN's "The Situation Room." "In my communications as a union official with police commanders, I've been assured that tactics will be different tonight. I assume that means not only more officers, but a wider perimeter, with coverage, perhaps, of these blind spots from which the shots were fired last night." Shots rang from a hill overlooking the station out shortly after midnight Wednesday, at the end of a protest against the Ferguson Police Department. Officers saw "muzzle flashes ... about 125 yards away," Belmar said. Protesters have disavowed any ties to the shooting, saying the demonstrators believe in nonviolence. "As the protest was dying down, someone, somewhere got violent. Now who they were and what group they were affiliated with, we don't know," said Antonio French, a St. Louis alderman. "In no way are they representative of the thousands of people...who have been protesting." Belmar believes someone targeted the police, who have faced heated criticism for months, for a reason. "These police officers were standing there, and they were shot just because they were police officers," he said.

Summary: Protests resume outside Ferguson's police headquarters . Investigators identify two they want to question; one might be the shooter . State troopers and county police will take over protest security .


(CNN)We can't settle iPhone vs. Android or "Star Wars" vs. "Star Trek" for you. But we can settle another long-running geek debate: . Those short, animated loops that have captivated the Web for decades? They're pronounced like a brand of peanut butter. Steve Wilhite created the Graphics Interchange Format, or GIF, while working for Compuserve in 1987. When he received a Webby Award in 2013 for it, and delivered his five-word acceptance speech (that's all the Webbys allow), he flashed a GIF on the big screens at the Cipriani Wall Street in New York. And, in a flash, it all became clear: . "It's pronounced JIF, not GIF." Of course, in the grand tradition of heated debate, a flat statement of fact by the creator wasn't enough to sway some partisans. On Twitter, "GIF" became a trending topic as some folks pushed back. "Graphics Interchange Format. Graphics. Not Jraphics. #GIF #hardg," wrote Web designer Dan Cederholm. "So instead of GIF, we've got to say JIF? YEAH RIGHT," chimed in October Jones, creator of the "Texts From Dog" Tumblr and book. "And I suppose those animals with long necks are called 'JIRAFFES.'" And, of course, the peanut butter brand was getting lots of free publicity along the way. The always amusing HAL 9000 account (yes, somebody tweets as the robot from "2001") posted an "animated JIF" -- which is to say, a swirling, animated jar of the tasty, high-protein spread. Animated GIFs were a staple of the early Internet. Remember The Dancing Baby? That's a GIF. They fell out of favor as more advanced graphics technology emerged. But in the past couple of years, the Web has remembered how much fun it is to watch ridiculous things happen over and over again. Wilhite has argued for the soft-G pronunciation for years. Yet no less an authority than the White House has posted an image on its Tumblr feed advocating for the hard-G. And the Oxford English Dictionary says both pronunciations are acceptable. So, here's wishing Mr. Wilhite "Jood Luck."

Summary: GIF creator: It's pronounced "JIF" Steve Wilhite created the Graphics Interchange Format in 1987 at Compuserve . He pronounced the issue closed at the Webby Awards in 2013 . And yet, some partisans remain unswayed .


March 18, 2015 . Israelis have voted in a globally significant election. U.S. aid workers who've been exposed to an Ebola patient are being monitored. ISIS terrorists have destroyed some of Iraq's treasured artifacts. A professional football player has walked away from a dream job over health concerns. And a roving camera in the shape of a bowling ball could depict the future of surveillance technology. On this page you will find today's show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. ROLL CALL . For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call! Thank you for using CNN Student News!

Summary: This page includes the show Transcript . Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary . At the bottom of the page, comment for a chance to be mentioned on CNN Student News. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call.


(CNN)They were not-so-affectionately dubbed the "bed-wetters" by then-Obama senior adviser David Plouffe. The definition: Democrats who run to the hills every time there's a bump in the road. The Chicken Littles. The woe-is-us crowd. Well, they're at it again. Not surprisingly, it's because of the Hillary Clinton email brouhaha, an unforced error that is now ricocheting around the political world. And the home team stands in place, just watching, somewhat stunned. But Democrats don't actually have the luxury of standing by and seeing how this all plays out. Hillary Clinton is their candidate; their putative nominee. "Their only viable plan is to make her the best candidate possible," says one senior Democratic strategist. "And from time to time, this may require an intervention." Now might be a good time. But while the anxious Democrats shake their heads about the state of affairs — and the lack of serious alternatives in the presidential lineup — they might do well to look at themselves. Over the past six years, there's been a sharp structural decline of elected Democrats everywhere below the presidential level. Sure, we all know about how the Republicans regained control of the Senate in 2014, but what about the fact that blue-state governors fell like tent poles? Or that GOP governors now outnumber the Democrats by almost two-to-one, 31 to 18. Or that Republicans have complete control of nearly three times as many state legislatures as the Democrats, 30 to 11. And down the ballot, Democrats under Obama have lost more than 900 state legislative seats: the worst showing of any modern president. That's eye-popping. So, the conventional judgment that the Clinton behemoth is just too big — too well funded, too well supported, too historic — all helps account for the paucity of alternatives, to be sure. But there's much, much more to it than the phenom of Bigfoot Hillary. It's the phenom of Barack Obama, too — and the very strong counterforces he's generated around the country. The gains at the presidential level have not been cost-free: The country is polarized, the Democrats are often on defense and they're losing ground. One result: a thin presidential bench, which is painfully evident. Clinton asks State to release emails: What you need to know . And if you take a peek at those blue-state governors who might be president, consider this: At 76, Jerry Brown, an able leader, is probably past his sell-by date for a presidential bid. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made very few moves to raise his national profile. And Democratic governors are very thin on the ground in the heartland. Any time you have Republicans winning the gubernatorial races in Massachusetts, Illinois and Maryland, Democrats should pay attention. As has been the case with other presidents, for Obama party-building has not been on top of the agenda. But it shows. And so when Hillary Clinton runs into some trouble, the Democrats ought to worry. The Republicans have a deep and varied field; the Democrats have one real horse in the race no matter how much she

Summary: Gloria Borger: Democratic Party has no real alternative for 2016 and its bench is painfully thin . She says it may not be fun, but Democrats have no choice but to defend Clinton on issues like the email question .


(CNN)Paolo Ballesteros looks so much like Kim Kardashian. And her little sister Kylie Jenner. And Dakota Johnson. And Jennifer Lopez. The actor and makeup artist from the Philippines is gaining fans thanks to his Instagram account, which features pictures of him transformed to look like various female celebrities. The 32-year-old, who hosts the Filipino show "Eat Bulaga," says he does it using just his skill with makeup and wigs. Ballesteros told The Huffington Post that he stumbled upon his ability after watching tutorials on YouTube. Soon he was able to transform himself to look like everyone from Cate Blanchett to first lady Michelle Obama.

Summary: Paolo Ballesteros is an actor and makeup artist . He hosts the Filipino show "Eat Bulaga" His Instagram account has more than 750,000 followers .


(CNN)Its famous Yellow Wall -- the largest free-standing grandstand in Europe, with a capacity of 25,000 -- has helped enable German football club Borussia Dortmund achieve the rare feat of transcending the relationship between a club and its fans. So special is this club that 3,000 of its own supporters dipped into their pockets as part of a crowdfunding exercise, started in 2013, to help finance a new documentary based on one of Dortmund's founding fathers. These Dortmund fans, along with sponsors, raised €250,000 ($265,000) in the process -- the biggest sum at the time ever raised for a film through crowdfunding in Germany. "This fan-club relationship is a legacy from our fathers, who made it clear that we have to engage and we have to fight for our club. It's part of our story," Marc Mauricius Quambusch, one of the film's three creators, told CNN. One of those fathers, and seen as the most important, was Franz Jacobi, who in 1909 along with 17 others helped found the club -- and it is "Am Borsigplatz geboren: Franz Jacobi und die Wiege des BVB" ("Born at the Borsigsquare: Franz Jacobi and the cradle of BVB") that tells his story. Founding fathers . Mention Dortmund and images are conjured up of back-to-back German Bundesliga title wins in 2011 and 2012, the Champions League triumph of 1997 or how it became the first German side to win a European competition with the Cup Winners' Cup in 1966. Without 21-year-old Jacobi and his disciples, however, none of that success may have ever materialized. For it was those brave 18 that gathered inside a pub called Wildschutz just off Dortmund's Borsigplatz, with the aim of establishing their own football club in response to the Catholic Holy Trinity chaplain Hubert Dewald's refusal to allow his youth group members the chance to kick a ball around. Jacobi and co. managed to resist Dewald's overtures and so "Ball Spiel Verein Borussia" ("Ball Games Club Borussia") was born. "When we started making the film I was aware of our story but not so deeply," Dortmund fan Quambusch says of a film inspired by a similar crowdfunding project dreamed up by Fortuna Dusseldorf supporters in 2012. "It's so interesting -- one so deep and with so much drama." "It's also a love story, it has everything you need," Quambusch adds, referring to Jacobi having originally dragged his friends to the city as he was in love with the pub owner's daughter, who he would later go on to marry. "If you were to try to write something, it would be exactly the same story as this." A legacy . Jacobi's DNA today still runs through the club that he helped to establish. Dortmund president from 1910 to 1923, Jacobi laid the foundations of a club which prides itself on harboring a real sense of involvement and belonging for its supporters. Permitted to stay at home in Germany during World War I as he was the oldest son of the family and his father had died, Jacobi wrote postcards to those club

Summary: New film about one of Borussia Dortmund's founders, Franz Jacobi, set for release . Film was funded by 3,000 Dortmund fans and sponsors, raising $265,000 . Jacobi helped form the football club in 1909 along with 17 others .


(CNN)Chinese relic experts claim that a 1,000-year-old mummified monk encased in a Buddha statue was stolen from a village temple in Eastern China in 1995, state media reported. The mummy made international headlines last year when it first showcased at Drents Museum in the Netherlands. The Cultural Relic Bureau in Fujian province launched an investigation and found photos and historical records suggesting the statue belonged to a village temple where it was worshiped as an ancestor. The bureau will continue the investigation and report to national cultural authorities to seek repatriation in compliance with normal procedures, a spokesperson told the state-run Xinhua news agency on Sunday. The statue, currently in possession of a Dutch private collector, was being housed at the Hungarian Natural History Museum as a part of a European tour. The museum announced on their website that the mummy, originally scheduled to be on display until May, has been pulled from the exhibition at "the request of the loaning partner" -- the Drents Museum. It's unclear exactly when or how the statue made its way to a market in the Netherlands where a private buyer bought it in 1996. Drents Museum said the owner, who prefers to remain anonymous, had bought it legally. The mummy was discovered when the owner brought it to an expert for restoration. But it wasn't until a team of researchers and scientists did a CT scan -- a comprehensive three dimensional X-ray image -- last year, did they discover the mummy's organs were missing. "We thought it would be lung tissue, but instead we found little scraps of paper covered with Chinese characters," said Vincent van Vilsteren, an archaeology curator from Drents Museum. The mummy was found sitting on a bundle of cloth covered in Chinese inscriptions, revealing its identity as a Buddhist monk called Liuquan who may have practiced "self-mummification" to prepare for life after death. The process of self-mummification is a known tradition in countries like Japan, China and Thailand, and was practiced more than a thousand years ago. The elaborate and arduous process includes eating a special diet and drinking a poisonous tea so the body would be too toxic to be eaten by maggots. The few monks that were able to successfully complete the process were highly revered. "We suspect that for the first 200 years, the mummy was exposed and worshiped in a Buddhist temple in China ... only in the 14th century did they do all the work to transform it into a nice statue," said van Vilsteren. Researchers are still waiting on DNA analysis results to help trace the mummy back to its exact location in China.

Summary: Chinese relic experts claim that a mummified monk encased in a statue was stolen . The statue was bought in 1996 at a market in the Netherlands . Researchers believe the monk practiced "self-mummification"


(CNN)A Facebook post by actor Ashton Kutcher lamenting the lack of diaper changing tables in public men's rooms has parents talking. The new father -- he and partner Mila Kunis welcomed baby Wyatt Isabelle in October -- complained to his followers that he had yet to encounter a changing table in the public bathrooms he visits. He offered to give a social media shout-out to the first business where he found a diapering table in the men's room. The post had logged more than 230,000 comments as of Wednesday morning. Lots of folks offered up places Kutcher should patronize, such as Walmart and Cracker Barrel, where they say changing tables abound. Some dads said they didn't have a problem finding changing tables, but it may be because they're frequenting more down-to-Earth establishments than the Hollywood star. Other posters said "family restrooms" would take care of the problem altogether. Do modern dads get enough credit? Many praised Kutcher for raising the issue: "Thank you for doing this. This is not just an issue for dad's such as yourself who are awesome, but so many of the families I know who have two daddies have this issue ALL The time," wrote one poster. Another mom agreed: "My boyfriend was taken aback when he had to get a key for the family change room instead of just going into the men's with our son because they had no change table. It doesn't make ANY SENSE. Gender equality needs to go both ways." No update yet on whether Kutcher has encountered a diapering station in a men's room. Dad blogger's death prompts renewed push to rename 'Amazon Mom'

Summary: Actor Ashton Kutcher complained on Facebook that men's rooms don't have diapering tables . He offered to give free publicity to the first establishment where he encountered one . Kutcher and his partner, Mila Kunis, welcomed baby Wyatt Isabelle in October .


(CNN)Marvel is going back to war. The massively popular superhero entertainment factory has the third "Captain America" movie on the way, "Civil War," which will include Iron Man and quite possibly, the new Spider-Man. It's based on a story arc from almost a decade ago, which tackled issues of freedom versus security, with the two heroes going toe to toe against one another. This summer, Marvel plans to revisit that storyline as part of the much larger return of "Secret Wars," its biggest crossover event of the 1980s. The effects of this will be huge to the comics, ending 33 of the company's titles. CNN spoke to writer Charles Soule, who has gained acclaim for his work on "Superman/Wonder Woman," "Swamp Thing," The Death of Wolverine," "She-Hulk" and more. He gave us the scoop on the return of "Civil War," one year before it hits the big screen. CNN: What can fans expect from your "Civil War" storyline? Soule: "Secret Wars" is an opportunity to revisit some of the great Marvel stories of the past. One of those is "Civil War," and I got the call to work on that. "Civil War" happened in 2006 and 2007, and in that story Captain America and Iron Man went after each other based on an ideological difference on superheroes in the world. What I'm doing is taking that story in a different direction. CNN: Will this be a way for those who are interested in the upcoming movie to dive into that story? Soule: Absolutely. If you look at the ideas that that story had, Iron Man thought superheroes should have to register with the government, and become something of a police force. Captain America thought that that was restricting the central freedoms of this country. It was a debate of security versus freedom. We're taking that basic idea and expanding it to a larger canvas. The Registration Act is all in the past at this point. It's more of a world drastically changed based on a superhero war, and it's a huge story and it's fun to be able to involve every Marvel character there is. CNN: Is this one of the biggest stories you've worked on? Soule: I've been on big books but this one feels huge. It affects every character in one way or another, and it deals with some central issues to the modern world. That's not always something you get to do in a Marvel story. CNN: So this will have many twists and turns away from the original story? Soule: The idea is to take some of the events in the original storyline and spin them off into entirely new stories. Without spoiling, this deals with a world that has been ravaged for quite some time when we pick up the story. I felt the original "Civil War" explored those questions very well. If I was going to play in this sandbox, I wanted to ask my own questions.

Summary: This summer, the popular 1980s "Secret War" comic book storyline will return . Story will affect every Marvel comic, ending 33 titles . 2000s "Civil War" story will also be revisiting, pitting characters against each other .


(CNN)Thirty years ago, a journey across Europe meant a passport full of stamps, a wallet full of different currencies and plenty of time spent waiting in line to be glared at by border officials. That all began to change in June 1985, when the continent's countries began signing up to the Schengen agreement -- a deal that lifted frontier controls between cooperating neighbors. Today, 20 years after it came into force, with more than 26 states now participating, Schengen has completely altered the experience of traversing Europe. Nowhere is this more visible than at the old crossing points -- places that were once hives of activity but are now ghostly, vacated shells of their former selves. Not entirely forgotten though. Spanish photographer Ignacio Evangelista spent several years criss-crossing the continent to capture these abandoned checkpoints on camera for a project he calls "After Schengen." The result is a fascinating gallery of images that charts the unusual architecture of places whose fate has been intertwined with Europe's ever-evolving political and economic allegiances. "I don't know why but from many years ago, I feel very attracted to situations or places where the natural and the artificial come together, sometimes a little bit in conflict," Evangelista tells CNN, explaining his interest in frontiers. He says he spent his formative years poring over the World Atlas, marveling at the straight-line borders carved by colonialists across the map of Africa and wondering why Europeans couldn't iron the kinks out of their own squiggled frontiers. "When you are a young child in front of a map you feel ... you have the whole world in front of you and you can travel with your mind of course, with your imagination," he says. As a young adult in the early 1990s, Evangelista experienced many of these borders firsthand when he embarked on an Interailing trip -- a country-hopping rite of passage that sees many young Europeans take advantage of cheap pan-continental train tickets. "Before, when I was young, if you traveled from Spain to Germany you had to cross three countries and take three currencies," he recalls. "Once I was traveling with my friend, Interailing ... from Italy to Greece, we had to cross the old Yugoslavia. "I think into the night, 2 or 3 a.m., we cross the border from Italy into Yugoslavia and the train stopped. We were sleeping, of course. Then three or four soldiers come into the train and shouted at everybody, very aggressively, like in a spy movie. "We waited half an hour, then half an hour later the train went on. It was exciting, even funny as I was 18 years old, but now it's not so funny." As Evangelista points out, in a Europe cleaved by the Cold War, many borders were not just the cultural dividing lines they are today. Back then they were fortifications demarcating places of oppression and freedom. The checkpoints themselves were sometimes places of fear, of hostile bureaucracy -- a past Evangelista says lingers on in the buildings left behind. "For me it's fascinating because you can

Summary: Spanish photographer Ignacio Evangelista's "After Schengen" project captures images of abandoned European checkpoints . Schengen agreement came into force 20 years ago, lifting border controls between participating European nations . Border checkpoints range from giant Soviet statements to small huts in deep, dark forests .