(CNN)The prospect of a Palestinian state is nil so long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in office, Netanyahu said in a Monday interview. Asked by an interviewer with the Israeli news site, NRG, if it was true that a Palestinian nation would never be formed while he's prime minister, Netanyahu replied, "Indeed." His interview with NRG came as he courted conservative supporters a day before Israelis head to the polls for national elections. "Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel," he said. "This is the true reality that was created here in the last few years." Netanyahu went on to say that any opponents on the left who might argue otherwise are "sticking their head in the sand, time and time again." He further said a strong government led by his Likud Party is necessary to beat back international pressure to divide Jerusalem and return Israel to its pre-1967 borders, according to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report on the NRG interview. "I do not give in," Netanyahu told NRG. "We stood fast against huge pressure, and we will continue to do so." Following Netanyahu's interview, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who is also a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Israeli Prime Minister's stance is nothing new. "Netanyahu has done everything possible to bury the two-state solution," he said. "Netanyahu's statement at the illegal settlement of Har Homa is a response to all those governments who tried to block Palestinian diplomatic initiatives. He couldn't have done that without counting on full impunity from the international community. Now the world must learn its lesson and understand that impunity won't bring peace, only justice will." Earlier in the day, Netanyahu continued his efforts to drum up support during a campaign speech in the Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem, which he boasted that he helped establish in 1997, during his first prime ministerial term. Israel considers Har Homa part of a unified Jerusalem, while Palestinians consider the neighborhood an illegal settlement. If he is re-elected, Netanyahu said, he will continue to promote construction in Jerusalem as a means of national security, he said. "The pressure around this decision back then was enormous. But I insisted -- I ordered the construction and it paid off," he said. "Today, Har Homa is a flourishing neighborhood in which tens of thousands of Israeli civilians are living. As we proved in the past, my friends in the Likud Party and I, we will keep Jerusalem protected and keep developing it." Opposition leaders Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni of the Zionist Union, he alleged, are "ready to surrender to every dictate." Livni, he said, has denounced previous calls for more construction in Jerusalem's Jewish neighborhoods, while Herzog would strive to establish a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. "I will not let that happen," he said. "My friends and I in the Likud will keep Jerusalem united in all its parts,

Summary: "Impunity won't bring peace, only justice will," chief Palestinian negotiator says . Creating Palestinian state is "simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam," PM says . Benjamin Netanyahu's words come as he courts conservative voters a day before elections .


(CNN)They say time and tide wait for no man, as Henrik Stenson discovered at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida when he complained he had been decisively rushed after being put on the clock in the closing stages of his dramatic defeat. The Swede -- who lost to defending champion Matt Every by one stroke -- was ticked off that he and playing partner Morgan Hoffman were subjected to time constraints from the 15th hole onwards because of alleged slow play Sunday. Under competition rules, players are put on the clock if they have fallen behind the allotted time for each hole and well behind the preceding group of players. Once the measure is imposed, shots are timed and players given a one-stroke penalty for the second shot -- but not the first -- on which they are found to have taken too long. Stenson said the decision "got to me, and obviously I was rushing" as he three-putted both that hole and the 16th, opening the door for Floridian Every to seal the title with a round of 66 crowned by a long-range putt on the final green. Officials at the Bay Hill course said Stenson and Hoffmann's had been the slowest pairing of the day Sunday. But the frustrated 38-year-old Swede said he "could not see the point" of being put on the clock. "When someone is sitting there with a stopwatch it affects you a little bit," he explained, accusing officials of "influencing, potentially, the outcome of this tournament towards the end." "I didn't really have much time to look at my putt [on the 15th] and rushed that one a little bit, the first one, and three-putted," the PGA Tour website quoted him as saying. "Morgan got a bad time on his second shot on 16, and again I kind of rushed my putting on 16 and three-putted that one. That's really what cost me the tournament, those two three-putts on 15 and 16. "We might have been a couple minutes out, for sure -- but then again it's normally not the quickest when you're playing in the last group. "[There are] more people, more movement. You have to back off every now and then for some mobile phones and stuff like that." The PGA Tour was not immediately available for comment about Stenson's remarks. Stenson told reporters that "it's hard when you don't feel like you can take the time you want," adding that he was "disappointed with the rules official for pushing us up late in the round for no obvious reason." And he was unimpressed when told that part of the reason for the imposition of the ticking clock could have been a desire to complete play before live TV coverage came to an end at 18.00 local time. "I thought we were here to play golf, not to finish at 6pm," he snapped. Meanwhile, a delighted Every was left to reflect on the 17ft birdie putt on the final green that took him to the title. "You watch tournaments on TV where guys make

Summary: Swede and Morgan Hoffman subjected to time constraints from 15th hole . He said decision "got to me, and obviously I was rushing." Stenson blamed three-putting 15th and 16th for failing to win . He claimed decision had effect of 'influencing, potentially, the outcome of this tournament'


(CNN)Airstrikes started Wednesday in Tikrit, where Iraqi and coalition forces are battling to wrest control from ISIS. "These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing collateral damage to infrastructure," said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, commanding general of the international coalition, led by the United States. "This will further enable Iraqi forces under Iraqi command to maneuver and defeat ISIL in the vicinity of Tikrit," he said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS. At the request of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the coalition is providing "airstrikes, airborne intelligence capabilities, and advise and assist support to Iraqi Security Force headquarters elements," it said. According to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the first wave of airstrikes was intended to hit about a dozen preplanned targets. Tikrit, best known to Westerners as the birthplace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, fell in June to ISIS, which has captured large areas of Iraq and Syria for what it says is its Islamic caliphate. On March 1, al-Abadi ordered Iraqi forces to retake Tikrit and Salaheddin province. There have been several failed attempts to recapture Tikrit since the second half of 2014. If Iraq regains control of the city, it could mean that retaking Mosul -- a city 10 times bigger -- is possible. CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Summary: "These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL strongholds with precision," U.S. general says . Coalition is providing help asked for by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi .


(CNN)The story of the Jews in the United States is a testament to "American exceptionalism" and stands in contrast to a long history of discrimination and pariah status in Europe and Muslim lands. In fact, the economic prosperity and social standing of America's Jews shows that generally they have fared better than many other minorities. This positive record is a fulfillment of the assurance given to the Newport, Rhode Island, Hebrew Congregation in 1790 by President George Washington: "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States ... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." Since then, American Jews have been appointed and elected to public offices as governors, senators, mayors, Cabinet officers and in the military, and today, most American adults are unaware of and don't seem to care who's Jewish. Thus it comes as a shock when at the University of California Los Angeles, a Jewish woman student applicant for the Student Council's Judicial Board is initially rejected after being asked: "Given that you are a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community, how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view?" According to The New York Times, the discussion that followed had "seemed to echo the kind of questions, prejudices and tropes -- particularly about divided loyalties -- that have plagued Jews across the globe for centuries." The minutes and video of the event suggest some student leaders seemed to be auditioning for the Salem witch trials and others for jobs as political commissars in Communist North Korea. And in February, at another University of California campus in Davis, Jewish students opposed to a Student Council resolution advocating a boycott of Israel were heckled by cries of "Allahu Akbar" and a Jewish fraternity house was daubed with a swastika. Chancellor Gene Block of UCLA called the dust up on his campus a "teachable moment." Yes, agreed. It seems UCLA's diverse body of students requires remedial classes in civics. Would UCLA students consider it appropriate to ask U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan similarly hostile and demeaning questions? Apparently it's necessary for the university to teach its student leadership that the U.S. Constitution bans religious tests for public office. While they are at it, they also can inform them that the Bill of Rights assures freedom of religion, speech and assembly to all citizens. California's university administrators might need to be reminded that Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to all Americans, and they have an obligation to ensure equal educational opportunity for all students. This includes, among other things, promptly and effectively addressing certain hostile environments. As for the UC Davis students, they need to learn that support for Israel is a legitimate American tradition. A century ago, Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis asserted: "Zionism is the Pilgrim inspiration and impulse all over

Summary: Barry Kosmin: U.S. tradition of tolerance is challenged by incidents of anti-Semitism on campus . He says a majority of Jewish students surveyed reported experiencing or witnessing anti-Semitism .


(CNN)As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to the United States, some former security leaders from Israel have come out against his speech to Congress, set for Tuesday. Speaking at a Tel Aviv press conference, retired Maj. Gen. Amnon Reshef, one of the founders of Commanders for Israel's Security, said the speech -- expected to take a hard line on Iran's nuclear ambitions -- is "a terrible mistake" that will further damage the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. He also said the speech could harm Israel's security by damaging Israel's relationship with other countries. On Friday, Meir Dagan, the former head of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, told one of the leading Israeli newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth: "The person who has caused the greatest strategic damage to Israel on the Iranian issue is the prime minister." Dagan, who was the director of Mossad from 2002 to 2010, continued, "I've seen leaders who made decisions and then later admitted that they had erred. Nobody is immune from mistakes. The difference between him and others is the willingness to take responsibility. He is strong on talk, not in action." Recent polling by CNN affiliate Channel 10 Israel shows Israelis split on the speech, with 38% supporting it and the same percentage opposing it. The remaining 24% are undecided. But another poll from Panels Politics, an Israeli polling institute, indicates 53% of Israelis believe the speech will have no effect on the negotiations between six world powers and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. Another 30% believe the speech will affect the negotiations. Reshef said this year's elections, which will take place on March 17, exactly two weeks after Netanyahu's speech, are crucial for the peace process. Even after years of failed negotiations, Israel has the opportunity now to restart negotiations with the help of moderate Arab states, he said, while warning that going the wrong direction could push peace further out of reach. Reshef would not specify which political leaders would be the best for negotiations, but he said he trusts Israeli voters to decide for themselves in the upcoming elections. Commanders for Israel's Security is a nonpartisan group of nearly 200 veteran senior security members from the Israel Defense Forces; Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency; and the police. It is committed to a regional political-security initiative to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group also seeks to normalize relations with moderate Arab states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. 6 questions about Netanyahu's visit .

Summary: Retired general says Netanyahu speech will damage Israel-U.S. relationship . Poll shows Israelis split on whether they support the speech, with many undecided .


Sao Paulo, Brazil (CNN)Demonstrators took to the streets across Brazil on Sunday, protesting corruption and demanding the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Her administration is struggling amid a weak economy and a massive corruption scandal involving the country's state-run oil company. "I love Brazil. I love my country. And I am tired of corruption. We are tired of corruption. It doesn't matter which political party you are from, we are tired of being robbed," a protester told CNN in Sao Paulo, where people packed the main Paulista Avenue. In Rio de Janeiro, they gathered along Copacabana beach, while in the capital, Brasilia, protesters marched on government headquarters. The mood was festive. Many demonstrators wore the country's colors -- green, blue and yellow -- waved flags, and chanted: "Out Dilma." Amid complaints about the economy, protesters say they are incensed because Brazilian investigators are unraveling a huge money-laundering and bribery case centered around Petrobras, the country's national oil company. Dozens of politicians, some in Rousseff's party, are accused of accepting millions in payments. The President has not been implicated in the investigation, but she was the Energy Minister and chairwoman of Petrobras during much of the time that the alleged corruption took place. Why are protesters furious with Brazil's President? Sunday night Rousseff sent two of her ministers to address the nation at a televised press conference. The justice minister and the general secretary said that the government was listening and would announce changes in several days designed to combat corruption. The announcement did little to quiet the protests in some cities. Many protesters banged pots and pans and honked car horns. CNN iReporter Bruno Teles with Avant Drones shot aerial footage of the crowds in Sao Paulo. He said, "Brazilians are tired of such corruption, lies and [the] bad economy." Before becoming the country's first female president in 2011, Rousseff, from the Workers' Party, was chief of staff to former President Lula da Silva. She won re-election in October, in one of the tightest races in recent years, but has since seen her approval rate plummet along with the economy. Brazil is headed into recession again this year, inflation is up and the currency is at a 12-year low. Rousseff's approval rating down to 23% from 42% at the end of 2014, according to DataFolha. The economy is expected to contract this year and the real has plummeted 23% against the dollar. Barbara Arvanitidis reported from Sao Paulo. Dana Ford reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Patrick Gillespie and Shasta Darlington also contributed to this report.

Summary: Protesters denounce corruption and demand the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff . They march in key cities: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the capital, Brasilia .


Maui, Hawaii (CNN)When she was just 4 years old, Chelsea Elliott went blind in her left eye. Then, two years later, she lost hearing in her right ear. Now 24, Elliott might have been spared years of struggle if her rare eye condition -- known as Coats disease -- had been caught earlier. Not wanting other children to feel the same frustration, anger and limitations, Elliott launched a nonprofit that offers free vision and hearing screenings to school-age children -- particularly from lower income communities. Here's a stunning statistic: 25% of U.S. children ages 5-17 suffer from vision problems, according to the National Commission on Vision and Health. Nonetheless, eight states still fail to require vision screenings at schools. Undetected and untreated, eye disorders can result in delayed reading and poorer academic outcomes. Elliott's organization, the Half-Helen Foundation, has screened nearly 9,000 children in Texas and Hawaii since its 2013 launch. As you might guess, the name honors Helen Keller -- who overcame blindness and hearing loss as an infant. Before her death in 1968, Keller learned to speak and then eventually earned degrees from Radcliffe College and Harvard University, inspiring countless people around the world. "When I learned about Helen Keller for the first time in the fourth grade, I surmised that I am half blind and half deaf like half Helen," said Elliott. "What better role model than to name a nonprofit after the most extraordinary woman who overcame obstacles being blind and deaf?" Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for CNN Heroes 2015 . I talked with Elliott about the motivation behind her work. Below is an edited version of our conversation. CNN: You do vision screenings right in the schools. How does it work? Chelsea Elliott: We use our tool, the Spot camera. This device allows us to test for the six most common vision impairments in children in seconds. We are looking to see if they're near-sighted, if they're far-sighted, if they have astigmatism, or if they're at risk for conditions like lazy eye or strabismus or if there's a difference in pupil size. The Spot camera is a hand-held autorefractor that takes a picture of a child's eyes. It has multi-colored Infrared light -- a red, blue and green light that flashes. Children tell me it looks like a video game. Often I'm trying to get the child to look straight into the camera. So once I capture their attention, the camera will capture the image and the screening is done. It's that quick. We learn so much more about a child's vision health in a fraction of the time it takes to do a basic eye chart test. After the screening, we deliver referral reports to the school health aide to distribute to the families. The families communicate directly with us if they need assistance in seeking corrective wear or access to an eye care professional. If a child passes, all the better. But if a child fails, then we've found one who we can help, and that's one less child who has

Summary: Eight U.S. states don't require vision and hearing screenings in schools . After going partially blind and deaf as a child, Chelsea Elliott created a solution . Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2015 CNN Heroes .


(CNN)Last month, my husband and I took our daughters to a Columbia University women's basketball game. We live nearby, had already attended a men's game and were excited for our girls, one of whom plays basketball, to watch college women in action. When we walked into the arena, my mouth practically dropped to the floor. Only a handful of people were there, quite a contrast from the nearly packed house for the men's team. It must be winter break, I thought. It wasn't. Sure, the Columbia women's team hasn't had a great season for years -- and this year wasn't much different. Still, only a handful of spectators to cheer on women who were clearly standouts in their high schools to make it to a college basketball team? I sat on the bench, cheered the women and fumed. How to Super Bowl #LikeAGirl . A few weeks later, the Princeton women's basketball team did something no other Ivy League men's team had done before, racking up 30 wins and zero losses during the regular season and beating the Ivy League season record of 28-0 held by the 1970-71 Penn men's team. (Princeton ended up losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament, finishing with a 31-1 record.) The Princeton team garnered national headlines, which was great, but I still wondered what it was going to take for women's sports to get the same attention as men's sports -- meaning an equal number of fans, TV rights, marketing endorsements, you name it. Is such a day even possible? Consider salaries alone. The average salary for a WNBA player is $72,000, which doesn't include bonuses and benefits, while the average salary for an NBA player is around $5 million, or about 70 times what the average female basketball player makes. And look at the differences in coverage. The Final Four teams for the men's NCAA basketball tournament got front page attention in Monday's New York Times. The women? A story without a photo deep in the sports section. I met Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, during a spectacular and inspirational women's conference in Jacksonville, Florida, last week called Generation W, where I moderated panels on issues affecting women. "This connection with sports and masculinity is a very tough nut to crack. People have been trying to crack it for a long time," said Hogshead-Makar, who has devoted her career to the advancement of girls and women in sports. Why has coverage of women's sports stopped post-Olympics? More than 40 years after the enactment of Title IX, a law that says that any school receiving federal funds cannot discriminate based on sex, there are still huge disparities, she said, with men getting $190 million more per year in college athletic scholarships than women. "It's appalling what these huge differences are. Any fifth-grader can walk into your average high school or college softball baseball facility and say, 'Duh, that's not equal.' " Hogshead-Makar, who is chief executive officer of the advocacy group Champion Women, said even though Title IX requires that

Summary: The average WNBA player makes $72K; the average NBA player makes $5 million . There are huge disparities between men's and women's sports, a former Olympic champ says . A recent survey says both men and women believe men are better at sports .


(CNN)"A pilot called me last week, concerned he might have Marfan syndome," a health care provider told me recently at a meeting. "But if I find he has the disease, do I have to report him to the Federal Aviation Administration? And if so, should I call him first and tell him that? Would he lose his job?" She was totally unsure what to do. Several other providers were present, and none of them knew, either. "You should definitely call him and tell him," a health care lawyer, who was present, said. "You have to provide full disclosure." "But presumably, he knows that you might do so," I said. "And if you told him, he might not come in for the check-up." Marfan syndrome affects connective tissue and can lead to sudden tears in the aortic artery, causing sudden death. Yet if treated, it poses much less risk, though not necessarily zero. The case raised several specific quandaries about what the responsibilities of medical professionals are and should be -- legally or ethically -- in evaluating pilots. The FAA requires that pilots self-report any diagnoses. But health care professionals have no obligation to notify anyone. They may know that a pilot has a medical problem that is poorly or not treated and may endanger passengers, but these providers have no obligation to do anything about it. These issues are crucial, given that Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the Germanwings Flight 9525, killing 150 passengers. We still don't know why he committed suicide-murder, but the latest reports indicate he was treated for suicidal tendencies before getting his pilot license. The Germanwings disaster has demonstrated that current standards of medical and psychiatric evaluation are inadequate. The FAA requires only that pilots fill out a psychological questionnaire, asking whether they have had psychological symptoms. But pilots are not assessed in person by a psychiatrist. Such face-to-face assessments can provide crucial information that self-report forms might miss, partly because pilots might answer inaccurately. Moreover, the FAA requires only that 25% of pilots have a single random drug screen per year. Pilots may pass drug tests in January and realize that the odds of undergoing subsequent tests that year are nil. They may hence use more alcohol and recreational drugs. We need to consider changing current policies. Some alterations are relatively easy. The FAA should consider requiring far more drug testing -- for all pilots, perhaps every few days. Other possible reforms pose difficult ethical dilemmas, and thus need broad, careful discussion -- e.g., what role providers should play and how much privacy pilots should have. Medical exams and records over time can indicate key problems that a single visit to an FAA doctor may miss. But requiring more information from pilots diminishes their rights to privacy. Indeed, such rights impeded investigators from knowing initially the reason Lubitz took a six-month leave and the nature of his medical condition. Physicians have to break patient confidentiality when third parties may be endangered. The legal precedent for breaking patient confidentiality in this way is the so-called Tarasoff case, in which

Summary: Robert Klitzman: Physicians should consider reporting pilots who have medical problems such as depression . Yet stigma can make pilots fear job loss and thus hide diagnoses and not seek treatment . The FAA could require that pilots seek treatment in order to fly, but some pilots may still simply cover up problems .


Tikrit, Iraq (CNN)Two men in blue smocks were mopping up blood spilled in the main entrance to the Dijla Hospital south of Tikrit when we arrived there mid-morning Friday. The air shook with outgoing rockets and artillery roaring toward the center of the city. We were escorted by men from the Badr Brigade, the biggest and best-organized Iranian-backed force fighting ISIS. As we got out of our car, a man wearing a vest with the emblem of the Iraqi Red Crescent beckoned urgently to video journalist Mary Rogers to come inside. He led her to a gurney surrounded by four or five men, some wearing blue disposable surgical gowns, others in dark green military fatigues. They were huddled over a man naked to the waist, a thick plastic tube inserted in his side, red with blood, leading to a bottle filling up with more blood. The wounded man -- no one knew his name -- had been shot in the head, the chest and the leg. He was motionless. The head doctor, in dark green combat fatigues, told me the man was in critical condition. All the while, the windows of the building shook from the concussion of the bombardment of central Tikrit. From the sound, it was clear that artillery and rocket launchers were nearby. Several other wounded fighters were in the entrance, but their condition was much less grave. One, who identified himself as Sadiq, had been shot in the upper thigh, but was fully conscious. He told producer Kareem Khadder he had been shot in central Tikrit that morning, recalling at the time he was uncertain whether it was shrapnel or a bullet because the fighting was so intense. While Mary and Kareem were doing that interview, I walked around the hospital to see if there was anything else that might help us put together a report. It was a ramshackle place, it looked like much of the facility had been in a state of neglect for a while, perhaps because until recently it was in no-man's land. When I went back to see where Mary and Kareem were, I was told Mary was down a corridor where an "operation" was about to take place. Mary was invited to film the operation. I found her putting on a surgical gown and blue shoe covers. Several men rolled a gurney through the corridor in our direction. The same critically wounded man was wheeled into a side room. He never made it into the operating theater. A different set of doctors or medics started working on him, pumping air into his lungs, then applying CPR. His chest took a final heave, as the doctors tried to find a pulse, but there was no pulse to find. There was no "operation." This was a last, desperate attempt to stop this unknown man from dying. His face was yellow and waxy. He was dead, but the doctors didn't call time of death, . In the meantime, our escorts were calling us to leave, we needed to move to our next destination, which they

Summary: A CNN crew finds medical personnel trying to save a wounded fighter in Tikrit . But when the man dies, demands start for the crew's video footage .


(CNN)What does it take to help a single dolphin entangled in fishing line? In the recent case of a dolphin calf rescued off the eastern coast of Florida, about two days of effort involving seven boats and 35 people from 12 institutions and organizations. And that was after four weeks spent finding him and evaluating his situation to see whether it warranted intervention. With spring approaching, marine experts say it's a good reminder to look after your belongings when you take to the water. From plastic bags to swimming trunks to crab pots, marine life can get entangled in all manner of human debris. With limited time and resources, experts can't save them all. "You really want to make sure you keep all your hands on your stuff," said Elizabeth Stratton, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries' assistant marine mammal stranding coordinator for the southeast region. "We feel a special responsibility in cases where an animal's health is in danger because of debris introduced by humans," said Stratton, who was involved in last week's rescue. So where does an intervention begin? A couple spotted the calf off the coast of Fort Pierce with monofilament line wrapped around his rostrum, or snout. The mammal was riding the wake of their boat. They reported it January 18 to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, which set out to find the calf and his mother. The group found the pair and took more pictures, which were sent to the NOAA Fisheries on February 9 for evaluation. The photos revealed monofilament line wrapped around the calf's upper jaw, cutting into the tissue to the bone, threatening his ability to eat or possibly leading to infection. Veterinarians who reviewed the photos deemed the injuries potentially life-threatening. "We can't disentangle every animal," Stratton said, "but If it comes back as life-threatening, we mobilize to do disentanglement." The next step was to find the creatures again. Through characteristics on the mother's dorsal fin, the group was able to identify her through records on file and target her home range for a search. After a two-day search, the group found the dolphins on Friday and approached for intervention. The process took about an hour, from netting the calf and his mother to sending them on their way, Stratton said. Apart from the fishing line both mother and son were in good condition. Rescuers gave the calf a long-lasting antibiotic and radio-tagged the mother before releasing them to the ocean "where they belong," Stratton said. The moral of the story for humans: "Be conscious of your gear." To report an injured marine mammal, call 877-WHALEHELP (877-942-5343).

Summary: It took about four weeks and an hour for rescuers to help a dolphin calf . Fishing line was wrapped around its rostrum . Dolphin was rescued off the eastern coast of Florida .


(CNN)When we asked our viewers to tweet their questions about the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, we received hundreds of responses. We put them to our experts and here are answers to six of the most interesting ones. 1. " Does the rate of descent tell you anything? If co-pilot was determined to crash, why would he set it so slow?" 2. "New cars can stop themselves before a crash. Why isn't there tech to prevent a plane from landing anywhere but the runway?" 3. "Why don't we have live cameras on planes, so when we detect something wrong, we can help the innocent and take over and help?" 4. "Is there a possibility the plane was hacked, and that the co-pilot was framed?" 5. "[The] plane was presumably full of fuel, why wasn't there a fiery explosion upon impact? Does the wreckage show any burn marks?" 6. "What about under the influence of medication or other drugs? How often do they go through drug screening?"

Summary: CNN received hundreds of questions about the Germanwings plane crash . Reporters and experts responded with answers to the most interesting ones .


(CNN)The murder earlier this month of 27-year-old Farkhunda at the hands of a mob that beat her to death, burned her body and tossed her into a river shocked Afghanistan, a country in which unspeakable things often hit the headlines. The young woman from Kabul was falsely accused of burning pages in the Holy Quran. What followed was the horror of mob rule, all captured on video while bystanders looked on. Soon after the incident, the images of her brutal slaying went viral on social media, noted Afghanistan's TOLO News. And this time, the outrage led Afghans to the streets, with assistance from Facebook and other social media. These platforms have served both to disseminate the images of her savage beating and murder and as a means for convening those who are mobilizing and organizing to protest her killing. Last week, crowds chanted for days, calling for justice for Farkhunda and "death for her killers." And,TOLO News reported, protests were held in different parts of the country, calling for the "ultimate penalty to the perpetrators." Indeed, technology and connectedness have played a role in changing the old narratives in Afghanistan, as Farkhunda's killing shows. Not only was her murder captured and shared online, but some of those men arrested for her killing were found to have confessed via social media posts. And now a country's anguish is shared in those same online and virtual neighborhoods. Some Afghan civil society leaders see the protests that have resulted as yet another sign of an evolving Afghanistan -- a nation whose recently elected leaders, now sharing a unity government, visited Washington, D.C., in an effort to turn the page on the past. "When we are talking about this case, what is it showing us? First of all, when we are talking about women's rights, we see that we have succeeded; people will not tolerate what they tolerated a decade ago," said Nargis Nehan, founder and executive director of Equality for Peace and Democracy, a non-governmental organization created to promote "a culture of peace, tolerance, transparency and accountability." She was speaking last Tuesday at a roundtable at Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security, organized around the visit by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. "If this was the Afghanistan of a decade before and this would have happened, a small group of Afghan women would have come to the streets to be seeking justice. Today we have men seeking justice." Nehan explained that the younger generation, a progressive generation, wants to have a peaceful Afghanistan. "But at the same time, we have conservatives who have been power-holders for many decades in Afghanistan and they don't want to see that. Change always has a cost and unfortunately in this case we see that a very innocent girl like Farkhunda has paid that." Nehan and other leaders from Afghanistan could be seen checking Facebook frequently for updates on what was happening on the streets of their capital. What they found was an online community sustaining the strong sense of injustice over Farkhunda's killing

Summary: Murder of 27-year-old woman by mob in Afghanistan set social media ablaze with calls for justice . Lemmon: Outrage, Afghan President's call for probe signal a changing nation years after Taliban rule .


(CNN)Opening statements in the murder trial of movie theater massacre suspect James Holmes are scheduled for April 27, more than a month ahead of schedule, a Colorado court spokesman said. Holmes, 27, is charged as the sole gunman who stormed a crowded movie theater at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, and opened fire, killing 12 people and wounding 58 more in July 2012. When the trial began in January, some 9,000 potential jurors were summoned, and jury selection was expected then to continue until May or June, when the trial would finally start. The jury selection process, however, appears to be moving faster than expected, according to court spokesman Rob McCallum. In January, Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. told the first pool of potential jurors that if chosen for the jury, they cannot read, watch or hear anything about the case. "This will require great effort on your part," the judge said three times. Holmes, a one-time neuroscience doctoral student, faces 166 counts, including murder and attempted murder charges. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. If convicted of the most serious charges, he could face a death sentence. Prosecutors have charged in court that Holmes "intended to kill them all," referring to patrons in the crowded cinema watching the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." Holmes colored his hair a comic-book red and told police he was "The Joker" upon arrest after the mass killing. Holmes was heavily armed and "dressed head-to-toe in protective gear," authorities said. He wore black contact lenses to conceal his eyes. His AR-15 jammed during the shooting, police said, and they arrested him in the parking lot. The trial itself could last four months. If there's a conviction, the death penalty phase could last another month, which means court proceedings could last until fall. CNN's Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.

Summary: Opening statements on April 27 would be a month ahead of an earlier schedule . James Holmes, 27, faces 166 counts, including murder and attempted murder charges.


(CNN)James Bond's latest mission has been revealed in the first trailer for "SPECTRE" which was released Friday. Daniel Craig reprises his role of everyone's favorite spy in the 24th Bond film, scheduled for release November 6. Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, David Bautista and Andrew Scott also star in director Sam Mendes' second Bond film. The acronym stands for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, a fictional global terrorist organization that Bond attempts to infiltrate after a cryptic message from his past returns to haunt him. Though lacking in stunts and explosions we have come to expect from Bond teases, the first look at "SPECTRE" was packed with clues to the movie's closely guarded plot. It picks up where the last chapter, "Skyfall," left off, with a shot of the smoldering remains of the bombed MI6 headquarters. Bond's assistant, Moneypenny, presents him with "personal effects" recovered from the ruins of the "Skyfall" house: a singed old photo of two boys and a man and a temporary certificate of guardianship. "You've got a secret, something you can't tell anyone because you don't trust anyone," she says. Then, there's an abandoned home in the mountains, the new Aston Martin DB10, and a secret meeting of shadowy men, including one who addresses Bond as "James." What does it all mean? See for yourself and let the speculation begin: . Weigh in on our Facebook page: .

Summary: Next James Bond film, "SPECTRE," is scheduled for release November 6 . New trailer hints at secret from Bond's past that sets him on mission to uncover sinister group .


(CNN)Pope Francis, who succeeded a resigning pontiff exactly two years ago, told a Mexican television network Friday that he expects his pontificate will be brief. "Four or five years," he told Televisa. "I do not know, even two or three. Two have already passed. It is a somewhat vague sensation. Maybe it's like the psychology of the gambler who convinces himself he will lose, so he won't be disappointed and if he wins, is happy. I do not know." Francis, who was elected in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI stepped down, said his predecessor had reopened a door to more popes emeritus. When asked whether he likes being Pope, he enthusiastically responded: "I do not mind." Francis, 78, said he feels God only wanted him to lead the Roman Catholic Church for a short time "and nothing more." He said that he would not support putting an age limit on the papacy. He also enjoys calling on the Pope Emeritus. "It's like having a wise grandfather at home. One can seek advice," Francis said. Francis made similar retirement comments in August when he praised Benedict for "his beautiful gesture" and said he might do the same thing one day. He told Televisa he misses the ability to go out in public without attracting a huge crowd. "I would like ... to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza," he said. Also Friday, while at a communal penance service at St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope announced a "Jubilee of Mercy" will start in December. The theme will end November 26, 2016, the Vatican said. There have been 26 jubilees since the first in 1300. The most recent was in 2000. Pope says it's OK to spank children if you don't demean them . CNN's Livia Borghese contributed to this report.

Summary: Pope has talked of retirement before, but this time he says he think papacy will end after no more than five years . Francis says he doesn't like the idea of an age limit . Ponitff announces a rare jubilee to begin in December .


(CNN)Chelsea claimed the first silverware of the English domestic season and Jose Mourinho's first trophy of his second spell in charge with a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Sunday. Deflected efforts either side of halftime from Chelsea captain John Terry and leading scorer Diego Costa dashed Tottenham's hopes in the all-London League Cup final. Chelsea had suffered a chastening Christmas defeat to the same opposition in the English Premier League, with Harry Kane starring, but the promising young English striker was kept largely quiet in the showpiece occasion. The first half saw Tottenham edge the possession and carry more of the attacking threat, with Dane Christian Eriksen's free kick rattling the Chelsea crossbar. But chances for either side from open play were in short supply and it was from a free kick that Chelsea went ahead just before the break. Willian's delivery from the right brushed Danny Rose's head and fell invitingly to Terry whose shot went into the net after taking a deflection off Eric Dier. Tottenham might have felt hard done by and the sense of injustice would have deepened on 56 minutes as Cesc Fabregas found Costa down the left and his firm strike took another wicked deflection, this time off Walker, who was credited with the own goal, to leave goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with no chance. It seemed to take the sting out of the Tottenham challenge and although Kane had a late half chance, it was Terry who typically snuffed out the threat with a timely tackle. It was the fifth time Chelsea had lifted the English League Cup and third under Mourinho. The Portuguese claimed it in his first season with the west London club in 2005 and after returning to the Stamford Bridge hot seat last season has broken his mini-trophy drought. Mourinho, whose side is also well-placed to go through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, was clearly reveling in his latest success, his 21st career trophy as a manager. "'It is important to feel like a kid at 52 years old," he said. Man of the match Terry is hoping it will pave the way for further triumphs. "It's the first trophy this season and it's massive. It meant an awful lot to us when we won it in Jose's first year in 2005 as well," he said. "That could be the start of something very good. We have to kick on and we have got the league to focus on, but it's a great day and a great win." Man City blow . Chelsea was also boosted by an earlier result in the EPL as its nearest title rival Manchester City was beaten 2-1 at Liverpool. City had hoped to cut the gap at the top on Chelsea to just two points with a win at Anfield, but instead suffered a chastening reverse. Jordan Henderson put Liverpool ahead with a thumping shot after just 11 minutes only for Edin Dzeko to draw City, defending the EPL title, level midway through the first half. Liverpool, looking to boost its own

Summary: Chelsea wins English League Cup at Wembley . Jose Mourinho's team beats Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Wembley . John Terry and Kyle Walker own goal for Chelsea . Man City loses 2-1 at Liverpool to miss chance to close on Chelsea at top of EPL .


Boston (CNN)Dun Meng knew to pull over his Mercedes-Benz SUV to respond to a text message that night in April 2013. That's when a man got out of another car, jumped into his SUV and pointed a gun at him. "He asked me, 'Do you know the Boston Marathon explosion?' " Meng told a crowded courtroom Thursday, speaking in halting English. An interpreter who spoke Meng's native Mandarin sat next to him but was not needed. "He asked, 'You know who did it? I did it and I just killed a policeman in Cambridge,' " Meng said a man later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev told him. Meng was on the witness stand in the death penalty trial of admitted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan's younger brother. He recalled seeing the flashing lights of police cars in Cambridge earlier that night. "After that, how did you feel?" Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb asked. "Terrified. The whole world is looking for him at the time. ... I thought it was just a typical robbery." There was nothing typical about the days after the Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three people and hurt more than 240 others. Timeline of the bombings, manhunt and aftermath . Prosecutors say Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev had earlier killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier because they wanted his gun. But their efforts to take it were thwarted by a safety holster. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was 19 at the time, does not dispute he was present when Collier was killed on the evening of April 18, 2013, nor does he deny that he participated in the bombings three days earlier. He is being tried on 30 charges -- 17 of which carry the possibility of the death penalty. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, would not survive the night. He was killed in a chase and gunbattle with police that began with reports of an "officer down" at MIT. It was after Collier's killing that Meng encountered the Tsarnaev brothers. Tsarnaev's 'manifesto': OK to kill civilians . At the time, he was working on his master's degree at Northeastern University. Meng, a partner at a company that created a food delivery app, recalled feeling tired after work. He drove along the Charles River with no destination in mind. He pulled over after receiving a text message. "I'm a traffic engineer, and I know it is unsafe to text while I'm driving," he said. A car pulled up quickly and stopped. A man in the car walked over. Meng said he thought the man wanted directions. Instead, the man pulled open the SUV door and climbed in. Meng said Tamerlan Tsarnaev demanded cash. He said he had about $45 on him. "He said, 'That's not enough. Where's your wallet?' So I give him my wallet, but there's no cash in the wallet." The man pulled the magazine out of his handgun. He showed Meng it was loaded. "I'm serious," Meng testified that the man told him moments before admitting to being the Boston Marathon bomber. "So don't be stupid." Jurors see

Summary: Testimony focuses on carjacking after the Boston Marathon bombings . Dun Meng says one of carjackers admitted to being a bomber and to killing an MIT officer .


(CNN)Twenty-one people were injured Saturday when a commuter train collided with a car and derailed near the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles, authorities said. The collision happened at about 10:45 a.m. near Exposition Boulevard and Watt Way when an eastbound Hyundai turned north onto the tracks as an eastbound light-rail Metro train approached, said Sgt. Michael Verlich of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "The vehicle got wedged in between a pole and the train, causing the train to dislodge," Verlich said. Of the 21 injured people, 10 were transported to hospitals for treatment, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department Twitter account. One was in critical condition and one in grave condition, the tweet said. The derailment was expected to cause traffic problems for the 6:30 p.m. Saturday soccer game between Mexico and Ecuador at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum across from the USC campus. Metro Los Angeles, the transit and transportation agency for Los Angeles County, said it has requested shuttle buses to accommodate the crowds.

Summary: Commuter train and car collide near the USC campus . 21 people hurt; 10 are taken to the hospital .


London (CNN)Captive Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko has sent a stark message to Russian President Vladimir Putin as she awaits trial in a Moscow jail. In a letter from prison, written in response to questions from CNN, she said: "If Putin wants to defeat Ukraine -- let's try to defeat me first!" "But if he wants peace and friendship between our nations as he claims," she added, "I am ready to make the first step towards it. "My freedom will be that first step towards peace and understanding in Ukraine." Savchenko has been held by the Russian authorities in pre-trial detention since last June. Her defiant message was written after CNN submitted a series of questions to the Ukrainian fighter pilot through one of her lawyers, Mark Feygin. We do not know under what circumstances Savchenko answered the questions, but Feygin says she wrote the responses on Friday as he was visiting her. Savchenko undertook a hunger strike for 83 days to protest her detention despite pleas from her family and her lawyers. She recently abandoned her fast after nearing death but has since resumed it, only drinking broth and milk occasionally to stay alive. Russia claims the 33-year-old is behind the killings of two Russian journalists hit by mortar fire at a checkpoint in eastern Ukraine, allegations she has always denied. Moscow says she then crossed voluntarily into Russia and sought asylum as a refugee. The Ukrainian government, however, insists she was kidnapped by rebel forces and that she is a prisoner of war. "I have already been in captivity for an hour when those Russian journalists died. I have not seen them, and our ways have never crossed.. The 'rebels' themselves told me that those journalists came under fire of their own 'makhnovtsi' [slang for 'anarchists']," Savchenko told CNN in her letter from jail. "And the investigators knew all about it since the very beginning! And they have nothing on me! They simply thought that it would be easy to "twist my arms" and receive another star for their epaulettes. But it's not going to happen!" she added. Savchenko's case has attracted wide international attention and turned her into a symbol of resistance against Russia in her home country, with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko awarding her the title "Hero of Ukraine," one of the nation's highest honors. She has also been voted into the Ukrainian parliament despite her captivity. Despite her critical situation, Savchenko appears to have retained her sense of humor just as much as her determination, writing that she was feeling "On the edge!...;) Close to Nirvana and enlightenment!;) Joking." "Holding on! But holding my body entirely on my the power of my will," she continued, "because I am so numb that I couldn't feel the needle when the blood sample was taken from my vein today. "Tottering, head is spinning, [blood] pressure 80x40, [blood] sugar 2.9, T [temperature] -- 35.7°C. But still be standing till 50kg [body weight]! Even longer if God let's me! Hasn't fainted even once and hasn't fallen off my feet." The military pilot told

Summary: Captive Ukrainian pilot sends message to Putin as she awaits trial in a Moscow jail . Nadiya Savchenko went on hunger strike for 83 days . Fighter pilot has been in pre-trial detention since last June .


(CNN)More than 20 years after his death from suicide, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain continues to fascinate. On Wednesday, the trailer was released for an eagerly anticipated HBO documentary on the singer's life. "Montage of Heck" is directed by Brett Morgen and offers an intimate portrayal of one of the architects of grunge music. The trailer features bits of interviews with those closest to the performer, including family members; his wife, musician Courtney Love; and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic. A companion book containing art and archival documents from Cobain is being produced to accompany the film. Morgen, who also directed the documentary "The Kid Stays in the Picture" about producer Robert Evans, said the soundtrack for the documentary will include "a mind-blowing 12-minute acoustic Cobain unheard track." Unreleased Kurt Cobain song to appear on 'Montage of Heck' soundtrack . "Montage of Heck" has won raves on the festival circuit and will premiere on HBO on May 4.

Summary: The trailer surfaced on Wednesday . The documentary is winning raves . It premieres on HBO on May 4 .


(CNN)If you haven't yet been asked by friends or co-workers to Meerkat, chances are you will soon. The livestreaming app was the "SXSW sweetheart" this year, despite having only launched on February 27. It's been adding users rapidly ever since -- even Jimmy Fallon is streaming his life using Meerkat. As part of CNN's Instant Startups series, CNNMoney correspondent Laurie Segall reached out to Meerkat's Ben Rubin with some questions. And he agreed to answer them -- on Meerkat, of course. You can see a few moments from the chat in the video above. Rubin is actually the co-founder and chief executive of Life On Air Inc., a livestreaming company with many tentacles. But recently Rubin decided to dedicate his entire team to work on Meerkat after the app's popularity exploded. Still, Rubin said, he doesn't consider the app an "instant startup" per se. It took years of work to reach this moment, he said. The half-hour chat between Rubin and Segall was informative and entertaining. Several people said it broke their record for the longest Meerkat stream they had ever watched. We heard more about Meerkat and Rubin's vision for the future; for example, he sees the app branching out to work with other platforms, like Facebook or Tumblr. Rubin also revealed who he'd like most to join in the fun. Startup wannabes also got some great advice from this successful entrepreneur. Launching a new business or product is difficult, and requires flexibility, Rubin said. Entrepreneurs need people they can trust -- who won't be afraid to call "b.s." on a bad idea. For more, check out our Instant Startups page.

Summary: Meerkat launched February 27 but has caught on quickly .


New Delhi, India (CNN)Do not generalize India as a country of rapists. That was the firm message from the German ambassador in New Delhi after a professor back home was accused of turning down a male Indian student's application for an internship due to the South Asian nation's "rape problem." Professor Annette Beck-Sickinger never did such a thing, according to her and the University of Leipzig. The university points out four of her 30 students and two of her laboratory interns come from India; while it wasn't clear how many of them were men, the university said 29 of its 44 Indian students total are male. Still, Beck-Sickinger has admitted making a mistake by engaging the rejected intern candidate with talk about rape in Indian society and how the issue spurred "many (other) female professors in Germany (have) decided to no longer accept male Indian students for these reasons." "It was never my intention to make a defamatory comment about Indian society," she said, according to a statement posted on the website of the University of Leipzig. "I do not have anything against Indian students -- on the contrary. I sincerely apologize to anyone whose feelings I may have hurt." Marital rape: Why is it legal in India? The firestorm began with a recent post on the social-networking site Quora. It featured what appeared to be screenshots of email excerpts involving someone in the University of Leipzig's biochemistry department. They fell under this provocative headline: "What should an Indian male student do if he is denied an internship opportunity on the basis of India being projected as an unsafe country for women?" The post didn't identify Beck-Sickinger, blacking out the name of the emails' author. But it did lead with this statement that was later linked to her: "Unfortunately I don't accept any Indian male students for internships. We hear a lot about the rape problem in India which I cannot support. I have many female students in the group, so I think this attitude is something I cannot support." The thing is, Beck-Sickinger says she "never wrote" such a message, claiming this email was "put together from individual segments taken from different mails." "I do not reject students because of reasons of race or gender, " she added. "I am by no means racist or xenophobic in any way." Here's what the University of Leipzig says did happen: The professor told the candidate "the laboratories are fully occupied." The Indian applicant "didn't accept" this rejection, the university says, and went back-and-forth with Beck-Sickinger over email. During that exchange, Beck-Sickinger wrote things that she later regretted -- excerpts of which were posted to Quora and the university acknowledged as legitimate. Speaking about how Indian men might be stereotyped due to reports about alarming instances of rape in their native country, she said, "I fully agree that this is a generalization and may not apply to individuals. However it is also unbelievable that the Indian society is not able to solve this problem for many years now." India bans rape documentary . Beck-Sickinger

Summary: Professor notes she has Indians in her class and interning at her laboratory . An online post suggests a German professor rejected a student over India's "rape problem" Professor denies this but does apologize for anyone "hurt" by her remarks on Indian society .


(CNN)As long as 7,000 years ago, the Chinchorro people who lived along the desert coast of what is now Chile and Peru were mummifying the bodies of those who died. But, after millennia in which the mummies have remained well preserved, those ancient remains are now in danger of rapid decomposition, Harvard scientists have warned. The culprit? According to the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, in a news report published Monday, rising humidity that helps microbes flourish on the mummies' skin is to blame. As a result, scientists at the University of Tarapaca's archeological museum in Arica, northern Chile, have already seen some of its 120 prized examples of Chinchorro mummies start turning into a "black ooze," it said. Egypt dig unearths 3,600-year-old mummy . The role of rising humidity was confirmed through testing on skin samples by Harvard professor Ralph Mitchell and researcher Alice DeAraujo, according to the news release. Their findings will help conservationists in Arica -- an arid area where humidity levels have been increasing in recent years -- safeguard their precious relics. Egypt's mummies get CT scans . But Mitchell said he was concerned about potentially hundreds more mummies buried just below the sandy surface in the valleys of northern Chile. "You have these bodies out there and you're asking the question: How do I stop them from decomposing? It's almost a forensic problem," he is quoted as saying. A "complicated process" was used to prepare the mummies, said Marcela Sepulveda, professor of archaeology at the University of Tarapaca, cited in the news release. It involved removing the brain and organs, replacing them with natural fiber and ash, stitching the body back up with reeds and covering the skin with a paste of manganese, ocher or brown mud, depending on the period. The Chinchorro people mummified human remains for more than 3,000 years. The oldest of the mummies date back some 2,000 years before the ancient Egyptians mummified their pharaohs. Scan reveals 1,000-year-old mummified monk hidden in statue .

Summary: Scientists find that higher humidity levels cause microbes to flourish on the mummies' skin . Some specimens at a Chile museum have started to decompose into a "black ooze"


(CNN)For the first time in over a decade, Shania Twain is hitting the road in North America. Following her two-year Las Vegas stint, the country-pop queen will embark upon the 48-date "Rock This Country Tour" (although the tour will actually rock two countries -- the U.S. and Canada). Gavin DeGraw will open for Twain from June 30-Aug. 23, with singer/actor Wes Mack opening from June 5-June 28. Tickets go on sale for most North America dates on Friday, March 13 at 10 a.m. local time via www.axs.com. $1 from each ticket will go toward the Shania Kids Can Foundation. Check out the tour dates below and start playing "Come On Over" on repeat ASAP. Jun 5 Seattle, WA KeyArena at Seattle Center . Jun 7 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live! At Rogers Arena . Jun 9 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live! At Rogers Arena . Jun 11 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place . Jun 12 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place . Jun 14 Saskatoon, SK SaskTel Centre . Jun 15 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre . Jun 19 London, ON Budweiser Gardens . Jun 20 London, ON Budweiser Gardens . Jun 22 Hamilton, ON FirstOntario Centre . Jun 24 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre . Jun 25 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre . Jun 27 Ottawa, ON Wesley Clover Parks . Jun 28 Montreal, QC Bell Centre . Jun 30 New York, NY Madison Square Garden . Jul 1 Long Island, NY Nassau Coliseum . Jul 3 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena . Jul 7 Newark, NJ Prudential Center . Jul 8 Boston, MA TD Garden . Jul 10 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center . Jul 11 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena . Jul 13 Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse . Jul 15 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena . Jul 16 Miami, FL AmericanAirlines Arena . Jul 18 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena . Jul 19 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena . Jul 21 Washington, DC Verizon Center . Jul 22 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center . Jul 25 Auburn Hills, MI Palace of Auburn Hills . Jul 26 Moline, IL iWireless Center . Jul 28 Minneapolis, MN Target Center . Jul 29 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena . Jul 31 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena . Aug 1 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena . Aug 3 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center . Aug 4 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center . Aug 6 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena . Aug 7 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center . Aug 9 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center . Aug 10 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center . Aug 12 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena . Aug 14 Denver, CO Pepsi Center . Aug 15 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena . Aug 17 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose . Aug 19 Anaheim, CA Honda Center . Aug 20 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center . Aug 22 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center . Aug 23 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center . The "Rock This Country Tour" will also be Twain's farewell tour. See the

Summary: Twain is heading out on a 48-city tour . Tickets go on sale March 13 . It will be her farewell tour .


Hong Kong (CNN)Disgraced former People's Liberation Army (PLA) general Xu Caihou has died of bladder cancer, Chinese state media has reported. He was 71. Xu, who passed away at a hospital on Sunday, became one of the highest-profile figures in China's military to be caught up in President Xi Jinping's war on corruption last year, when the government launched an investigation into him on the back of bribery allegations. The court decided not to prosecute Xu due to his illness, but said his illegal income, including the bribes he was determined to have accepted would be handled in accordance with the law. Formerly a vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, the body which runs the two-million strong PLA, Xu was also expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and had his rank of general revoked, according to a statement from the state-run Xinhua news agency. A seven-month investigation, which began in March last year, found that Xu took advantage of his position to assist the promotion of other people. He confessed to accepting bribes personally and through his family. He was also found to have sought profits for others in exchange for bribes taken through his family members. The amount he received was "extremely huge," the statement added. In Chinese President Xi Jinping's annual New Year speech, he reiterated China's "zero-tolerance" stance towards corruption, vowing to keep "waving high the sword against corruption" and "fastening the cage of regulations." 2014 saw Xi take down two top officials in China's fight against corruption, in addition to Xu. He took down former domestic security czar Zhou Yongkang, likely soon to become the most senior Chinese official ever to face corruption charges, and Ling Jihua, a top aide to ex-President Hu Jintao. State media have touted the trio as the three biggest "tigers" caught in Xi's now-two year old anti-graft campaign, which has a stated goal of targeting both "tigers and flies" -- high-and low-ranking officials.

Summary: Xu, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, dies of bladder cancer . The official was the most senior military leader to face corruption charges in recent memory . Statement: Xu took advantage of his position to promote others and take bribes .


(CNN)The president of Sierra Leone has an idea on how to curtail the spread of Ebola: Get everybody to stay inside. President Ernest Bai Koroma on Saturday launched a campaign called "Zero Ebola," in which almost all Sierra Leoneans are supposed to stay indoors March 27-29 and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays -- April 4, 11 and 18. "The campaign will provide an opportunity for communities to be directly involved in the drive to zero cases, to reflect and to pray for the eradication of this disease from our country," he said in a statement. Sierra Leona tried a three-day lockdown last September in what was primarily an informational campaign, with volunteers going door-to-door to talk with residents about the virus. In August, the Liberian government locked down one of the poorest neighborhoods in the capital of Monrovia in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. The move resulted in riots. No commercial activity is supposed to occur during the upcoming lockdown, Koroma said. Because March 29 is Palm Sunday, church services will be allowed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Health workers, journalists and public safety officers are exempted. Koroma noted that his country has made "tremendous progress" in the fight against the deadly disease as the Ministry of Health reported zero new infections Friday. He warned that the rate of transmissions may increase during the upcoming rainy season. "The economic development of our country and the lives of our people continue to be threatened by the ongoing presence of Ebola in Sierra Leone," he said. "The future of our country and the aspirations of our children are at stake." During Sierra Leone's lockdown last year, Doctors Without Borders said such an effort is unlikely to stop the spread of the disease. "Large-scale coercive measures like forced quarantines and lockdowns are driving people underground and jeopardizing the trust between people and health providers," the charity group said in a statement. "This is leading to the concealment of cases and is pushing the sick away from health systems." Sierra Leone has the largest number of confirmed Ebola cases -- 11,751 so far, according to the World Health Organization. WHO says Liberia has the highest number of deaths -- 4,264. So far, 10,194 have died from Ebola and 24,701 have been infected, according to WHO. Ebola is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. The National Institutes for Health said Thursday it will admit an American health care worker with Ebola to its Maryland hospital. The person was volunteering at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last Tuesday that 15 American aid workers who had high-risk exposure to Ebola in Sierra Leone have arrived back in the United States for monitoring. None is known to be infected with the disease. CNN's Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report.

Summary: Sierra Leone president orders 3-day national lockdown as part of efforts to stop the spread of Ebola . Sierra Leoneans are asked to stay home March 27-29 and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 4, 11 and 18 .


(CNN)If it were easy, any company or government could do it. But flying an Ebola patient halfway around the world -- while keeping that person alive, and everyone safe -- is complicated. Probably no one knows that better than Phoenix Air, a Georgia-based company that is the go-to for transporting Ebola victims by air. Since August, it has made approximately 40 trips -- about half to Europe, the rest to the United States. "We're like a fire truck sitting in the firehouse. The bell goes off and within a matter of hours we can be out the door and underway," said Dent Thompson, vice president and chief operations officer at Phoenix Air. He described the system that goes inside the company's modified Gulfstream G-III aircraft. It consists of three major elements: . Once the plane has landed and the patient has left, the whole system is sealed. The aircraft then flies to a high-security hanger in Cartersville, Georgia, where it undergoes a complete decontamination process, which can take up to 24 hours. Everything inside the liner, including the liner, is sterilized multiple times. The liner and everything in it is then removed, put in special boxes, and taken to a federally licensed incinerator where everything is destroyed. "We like to say it's more sterile than the surface of the moon when we're done with it," Thompson said. Phoenix Air began developing its system way before the current Ebola outbreak. It worked with the Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build a system that could safety transport patients with contagious diseases. Then, the main concerns were SARS, swine and bird flu. It took years to work out the kinks and get the system approved, and by the time the work was done, the need had sort of petered out. But Thompson said Phoenix Air held onto the system, knowing -- unfortunately -- the need would arise again. He got a call from the State Department in July. By August, the company had completed its first Ebola flight, safely delivering Dr. Kent Brantly to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. A few days later, it brought Nancy Writebol to the same hospital for treatment. And on and on and on. Thompson said other groups are now developing systems similar to Phoenix Air's, including the U.S. government. But so far, none has flown. "Other organizations have built systems, but we're the ones still doing it," he said. More than 10,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak, mostly in the countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Summary: Georgia company equips plane to transport Ebola patients . Design was developed when SARS, swine and bird flu were generating concern .


Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said. The missiles were fired from North Korea's west coast into the sea, which is also known as the East Sea, around 6:30 a.m. and 6:40 a.m. Monday (4:30 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. ET Sunday), the official said. They were fired from an area near Nampo City, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Pyongyang. The two projectiles were estimated to have flown about 490 kilometers (304 miles) before falling into the sea east of the peninsula, according to the South Korean official, who asked to remain anonymous citing government policy. Considering the speed, altitude and distance the missiles traveled, they are assumed to be Scud-Cs, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. The missiles were fired as the United States and South Korea began annual military drills, which United States Forces Korea describes as "nonprovocative training" that are "an important component of readiness" for defending South Korea. The annual joint military exercises, called Foal Eagle and Key Reserve, have long sparked tension between North Korea, South Korea and the United States. North Korea's state-run KCNA slammed the joint military exercises Monday, saying that the drills are "nothing but a smokescreen" by the United States and South Korea "to cover up their surprise invasion of the north." "The situation on the Korean peninsula is again inching close to the brink of a war," KCNA said, noting that North Korea's military "will never remain a passive onlooker in this grave situation." North Korea was informed on February 24 when the joint drills would be held, said Kim Min-seok, the South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman. "North Korea in the past did fire (projectiles) in a very similar manner," he said during a briefing Monday. "On several occasions, they fired (projectiles) from the west coast to sea off east of the Korean Peninsula." He added that North Korea fired about 90 ballistic missiles and rockets during last year's Foal Eagle and Key Resolve drill. "Our military is strictly warning North Korean military of the reckless and the provocative act. We will firmly and strongly respond to any North Korea's provocation through solid united defense posture," South Korea's Kim said. CNN's Paula Hancocks and Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this report.

Summary: North Korea has fired two missiles into the sea, believed to be Scud-C . The launch comes as the United States and South Korea begin joint military drills . The annual exercises have long sparked tensions .


(CNN)Another one for the "tourists behaving badly" file. Two American women have reportedly been arrested for carving their initials into a wall with a coin inside Rome's Colosseum. Daily Italian newspaper La Stampa says the women, aged 21 and 25, were spotted carrying out the act by fellow tourists, who then told security. The two letters -- J and N -- were about eight inches in length and scratched on a brick wall at the historic Roman amphitheater. The women, both from California, reportedly snapped a selfie of themselves with their initials before they were arrested. Their names have not been released. The American pair may now face a fine for "aggravated damage" on a building of historical and artistic interest. If one Russian's experience is anything to go by, the price won't be cheap. Last November, authorities in Rome slapped a 20,000-euro ($21,685) penalty on a Russian tourist caught carving his name into the famed landmark. The 42-year-old man was apprehended after a guard at the Colosseum saw him carve the letter "K" in a section of brickwork. After police caught up with him, the man was found guilty of causing aggravated damage, fined and given a four-month suspended sentence. The Russian was one of five tourists caught carving graffiti on Colosseum walls in 2014. The earlier incidents involved two Australians -- a father and son -- and a Canadian and a Brazilian, both teenagers. Rome isn't alone in having to deal with inappropriate tourist behavior this month. Egypt is now looking into reports that one of its most historic sites was the backdrop for a Russian porn flick. According to Al Arabiya News, authorities have confirmed that an X-rated film was shot next to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx and are now investigating. The video was reportedly made by Russian tourists, who then uploaded it to the Internet nine months ago. Al Arabiya reports that Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh al-Demati says the issue has been referred to the public prosecutor and new surveillance cameras are being installed in the area. The incident comes as a reminder that no world landmark is safe from the salacious urges of tourists -- no matter how sacred it might be to the locals. Cambodia's Angkor Archeological Park experienced its own string of nudity-related incidents this year. In February, U.S. tourists and sisters Lindsey Kate Adams and Leslie Jan Adams were deported after allegedly getting caught taking partially nude photos at Preah Khan temple, one of the sacred sites inside Cambodia's Angkor complex. They received six-month suspended prison sentences, a one-million riel ($250) fine and were banned from entering the country for four years. In January, a group of photos featuring a topless dancer leaning against the ruins surfaced on Facebook. Early last year, Peru officials were forced to respond to a chain of "naked tourism" incidents at Machu Picchu, also a World Heritage Site. They detained four American tourists, two Canadians and two Australians for stripping down for pictures at the site. CNN's Barry Neild contributed to this report.

Summary: Two American women arrested for carving initials into a Colosseum wall . Meanwhile, Egypt investigating Russian pornography film reportedly shot at Great Pyramids . Cambodia's Angkor Archeological Park experienced a string of nudity-related incidents this year .


(CNN)Israel's next prime minister -- whether incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu or Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog -- will be faced with a myriad of international and domestic crises amid deepening tensions with the United States, its closest ally. Here are five key issues waiting in the new leader's inbox after Tuesday's election. 1. Repairing relations with the United States . There are any number of irritants -- from settlement construction to failed peace talks to Israeli military action in Gaza and Lebanon -- which have long tested the alliance between Washington and Israel. But ties have grown increasingly strained between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu, playing out over the last several years in a series of awkward photo-ops, anonymous quotes in U.S. and Israeli media and tense body language. Relations hit a low point recently with Netanyahu's speech to Congress criticizing President Obama's policy toward Iran about its nuclear program. Repairing ties with the White House becomes easier if the next government is formed under Herzog, who has pledged to "restore intimacy and trust" with the leadership in Washington. Repairing ties becomes more difficult if Netanyahu remains in office. For all its official praise for the "unshakable bonds" between the U.S. and Israel, the White House sees Netanyahu as the problem. If Netanyahu is re-elected, they will have to work with him. Personal relations may be fraught now, but Obama has never suggested watering down or delaying mostly military U.S. aid to Israel, which amounts to $3 billion a year. Privately, however, U.S. officials have warned the level of Washington's political support for Israel with allies and at the United Nations could be affected by Netanyahu's attitude toward the Obama administration. 2. Confronting Iran . World powers are pushing toward a framework nuclear deal with Iran before the March 31 deadline. The next prime minister will take office shortly before a July deadline for a final deal and will need to reach key understandings with Washington on what security and diplomatic guarantees the United States will provide Israel if the deal goes forward. In addition, Israel will want input on what constitutes a violation of the deal and what would trigger punitive measures if Iran reneges. If he remains in office, Netanyahu's differing perceptions of the threat posed by Iran will undoubtedly come to a head as that deadline approaches. Netanyahu has been clear he believes history has handed him the role of delivering the Jewish state from an existential threat posed by Tehran's nuclear ambitions. He worries that the agreement that emerges will leave Iran as a nuclear "threshold state" with the materials and expertise to quickly break out and build a nuclear weapon. Herzog has similarly said he would never accept a nuclear Iran and stresses all options are on the table, including the military options. But he has suggested as prime minister he would work closer with the Obama administration and other governments negotiating with Iran to strengthen a deal, rather than try and block the deal through the US Congress. Beyond the nuclear deal, the next Israeli will leader

Summary: Benjamin Netanyahu trying to hold leadership post against Isaac Herzog . Iran, relations with Palestinians among key issues . But there also are domestic economic concerns .


(CNN)The fallout at Sigma Alpha Epsilon continues. Just days after a video surfaced of frat members singing a racist song, another video is making the rounds. This one appears to show the fraternity's house mom laughing and saying the n-word. Two students expelled over racist chant . The Oklahoma Daily, the university's student newspaper, posted a Vine dating from 2013 that shows an older woman talking over a rap song, saying "ni****" seven times in quick succession. The woman, who is seated with an Oklahoma shirt behind her, laughs before repeating the racial epithet. The sound of "All Gold Everything" from Trinidad James -- a black, Atlanta-based rapper -- can be heard in the background. Black OU SAE alumnus: 'They are not my brothers' The student newspaper reports that the woman appears to be Beauton Gilbow, who was the SAE chapter's house mom. She responded in a statement Tuesday. "I have been made aware that a video of me that is circulating on social media and in the news. I am heartbroken by the portrayal that I am in some way racist. I have friends of all race and do not tolerate any form of discrimination in my life. "I was singing along to a Trinidad song, but completely understand how the video must appear in the context of the events that occurred this week," said Gilbow. Before the Vine came out but after the fraternity chapter was suspended, the woman known as "Momma B" told CNN affiliate KOCO-TV that she was blindsided by the overall controversy. "I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me," Gilbow said. "This has been my life for 15 years. And it's tough." Opinion: Are frats 'a form of American apartheid'?

Summary: "I am heartbroken by the portrayal that I am in some way racist," says Beauton Gilbow . She says she was singing along to a song but understands how the video must appear .


(CNN)Retired NFL star Darren Sharper changed course and pleaded guilty Monday to one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted sexual assault. Sharper has been in jail in Los Angeles since last year, but this case was in Arizona. Sharper and his attorney had a telephone meeting with Judge Warren Granville, where the former player and television analyst changed his plea. The judge sentenced Sharper to nine years in prison with no eligibility for early release, Maricopa County Attorney's Office spokesman Jerry Cobb said. Sharper will also be placed on lifetime probation afterward. Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowl player, originally faced five counts of drugging and raping three women in Scottsdale, Arizona, in November 2013. Before being indicted in Arizona, Sharper was arrested in California on charges of drugging and raping two women in that state. He was also under investigation in other states. Florida prosecutors announced last year they would not prosecute Sharper on similar allegations, but he faces federal charges in Louisiana. Sharper played for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints from 1997 through the 2010 season. The five-time Pro Bowl player intercepted 63 passes in his career, tying for seventh all-time. He is tied for second all-time in interceptions returned for touchdowns with 11, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. He later worked as an analyst for NFL Network. Sharper will get about 300 days credit for time already served in California, Cobb said. CNN's Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

Summary: Former NFL star Darren Sharper pleaded guilty to sexual assault . Initially he had pleaded not guilty . He is facing additional charges in other states .


March 26, 2015 . Almost a year after the controversial prisoner exchange that freed him, U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Get a recap of the events that led to yesterday's development. Also covered: the planned merger between two U.S. food companies, an annual migration of sharks, and the sinking levels of the world's lowest lake. 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)In the center of China's eastern Zhejiang Province lies Commodity City, which photographer Richard John Seymour says is the largest small-commodity wholesale market in the world. The shopper's paradise, in the city of Yiwu, covers 46 million square feet and has about 62,000 booths, with 100,000 suppliers exhibiting 400,000 kinds of products. The sheer enormity of the place posed challenges for London-based Seymour, who visited Commodity City twice last year. "I tried to see as much as I could in the days that I was there, and became very quickly exhausted by the constant sensory overload," he said via email. "I spent a total of four days constantly walking around Yiwu and wouldn't say I got near to seeing all of the stalls." Seymour's "Yiwu Commodity City" photo project began in January 2014, when he established both the style and content of his photos: the sellers in their environments in addition to the monotony of the market itself. When Seymour returned to Yiwu in August, he felt well-prepared to begin shooting. During this visit, he also came to better understand the atmosphere and dynamics of the market. "The atmosphere of the market was quite unusual in that one gets the sense that it really is home to a community," he said. "The second trip I made to the market was during school summer vacation, and because of this there were children in a huge number of the stores who obviously (spent) the day in the market with their parents. There were also children running and playing throughout the market, riding scooters along its vast corridors, chasing each other around, etc. It gave the impression that this was more than just a place of business, but a place of life, something that took me by surprise." The photos are like an endless delivery of presents, as each and every shot unwraps an assortment of contents within the identically square-shaped booths of the sellers. "Shooting Yiwu in a repetitive way, for me, becomes a very interesting way of describing the place, as each store becomes describable only by the items for sale within it," Seymour said. An estimated 40,000 visitors make their way into Commodity City every day. Many of them are retail buyers. Because of the large number of visitors and their diverse backgrounds, buyers and sellers typically communicate utilizing translators that work in the market permanently. "There is a broad mix of people in Yiwu, buyers and sellers come from all over the world. However just from my own experiences and those of others I spoke to, the fastest growing markets are of Middle Eastern and African buyers," Seymour said. There are thousands of orders placed at Commodity City that are later sold to consumers in many different countries. "I learned a great deal during this project," Seymour said. "If there was one thing that particularly stands out, it was the scale of production in China. ... Everything in Yiwu is a one-of-a-kind sample. Orders are made in Yiwu, but the factories nearby manufacture the items, so what you're seeing in the

Summary: Richard John Seymour traveled to the Chinese city of Yiwu to photograph Commodity City . In "Yiwu Commodity City," Seymour documents the buyers and sellers that make up the wholesale market . The photos shed light on how the products people own may connect to unfamiliar, distant landscapes .


(CNN)American missionary Phyllis Sortor, who was kidnapped last month by masked gunmen in central Nigeria, has been freed, a U.S. official confirmed Friday. Officials refused to provide details of her release, but said it involved some form of negotiations. Five men abducted Sortor, a missionary from Seattle with the Free Methodist Church, from her workplace February 23 and demanded a ransom of 60 million Naira ($301,500), Kogi state police Commissioner Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi said. Sortor runs a nongovernmental organization that educates nomadic Fulani children, the police commissioner said. Kogi state is located away from the areas where Boko Haram operates, making it likely that the kidnapping is not related to them. But there is the possibility that an offshoot group could have kidnapped Sortor, or that she might be sold to another group.

Summary: American missionary Phyllis Sortor was kidnapped by masked gunmen in central Nigeria on February 23 . Sortor, who was affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, has been released, an official said Friday .


(CNN)Around the world, parents are navigating deep, uncharted emotional waters after a young man decided to leave a band. Yes, Zayn Malik has quit One Direction. For parents bewildered by the sudden outpouring of grief, here are a few facts to use as anchors in the sea of despair. Malik left the band. He didn't die. He wasn't thrown out. He quit, because he's young and didn't want to do it any more. "I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight," he said in a statement posted on the band's Facebook page. Sound fair enough? In the world of One Direction fans, ABSOLUTELY NOT! A few more facts for emotional ballast: The band is staying together. The other four will continue to tour and make records and even work on their fifth album this year, the statement said. So, now that the facts are out there, how do parents cope with what may seem to be a completely over-the-top irrational response to a small change in line-up? Never, ever, underestimate the depths of adolescent emotion. "Teenagers are wired to feel emotional and to feel almost obsessive about things, and passionate and impulsive. So it makes sense biologically that they are this entrenched in 1D," says Dannielle Miller, an author and teen girl educator. After the loss of Malik, Miller says many teenagers are coping with a sense of loss they've never felt before. To them, it is real, and incredibly painful. "The last thing you want to do as a parent is to just think it's silly and to laugh at your child if she's really upset about this because her feelings will be very real to her," Miller says. (Or him, as the case may be). "If you choose to laugh at her or tease her about it, then she's not going to tell you when she's grieving about other things in her life that she's really struggling with." Arm yourself with some tissues and take a step back, advises child psychologist Dr. Louise Porter. "A parent's job is to understand that they're sad, even if we don't understand why. If we think it's an over-the-top reaction for the circumstances, that doesn't matter," says Porter. She advises against trying to placate and console. "You don't need to console, you don't need to give advice. There was a famous communicator by the name of Marshall Rosenberg who said 'don't just do something, stand there.' They just need us to hear the message that says 'you're sad.'" There's some scary stuff out there, not least the Twitter hashtag #cut4zayn or #cutforzayn. Fans are posting images of slashed arms, as a sign of devotion or warped attempt to pressure Zayn to change his mind. In one instance, a user posted a photo that appeared to show the bloodied words "I LOVE ZAYN" etched on his or her arm. There's a precedent, Miller says. In 2013, a similar hashtag started that urged fans to "cut for Bieber,"

Summary: Zayn Malik is leaving One Direction to be a "normal 22-year old" Grief-stricken fans express their devastation online . Experts: Great opportunity for parents to teach their children resilience .


(CNN)Just as meteorologists feared, Tropical Cyclone Pam pummeled the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. It is the strongest storm to make landfall, since the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013. The government declared a state of emergency, as the death toll continues to rise. Thousands are in critical need of shelter, food and water -- including many children. Aid workers on the ground are reporting massive destruction. Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale told CNN that the cyclone's destruction was the worst his country had ever experienced. He described the storm as a "monster." Officials are reporting that 90% of the homes in the Vanuatu capital are damaged or destroyed. With communication still down between many of the islands, the full extent of this storm's devastation is still unknown. Full toll of Cyclone Pam on Vanuatu unclear . If you would like to contribute to the efforts of those in place to help the victims of this storm, please check out the groups listed below. Though it may take days to realize Tropical Cyclone Pam's full toll on Vanuatu, these organizations are poised to help. ADRAAmeriCaresAustralian Red CrossCARE InternationalInternational Medical CorpsInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent SocietiesMedical SantoOxfam AustraliaSamaritan's PurseSave the Children AustraliaSave the Children USAUNICEF New Zealand UNICEF Australia UNICEF InternationalWorld Food ProgrammeWorld Vision .

Summary: Tropical Cyclone Pam struck the island nation of Vanuatu . Aid workers on the ground are reporting massive destruction .