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[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- The concept may be radical, but it might just have to be if the worst predictions of climate change are realized. The Lilypad as imagined by architect Vincent Callebaut moored off the coast of Monaco. The Lilypad, a floating ecopolis for climatic refugees, is the creation of Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut. \"It is\" he says, \"a true amphibian, half aquatic and half terrestrial city, able to accommodate 50,000 inhabitants and inviting biodiversity\". Callebaut imagines his structure at 250 times the scale of a lilypad, with a skin made of polyester fibres coated in titanium dioxide which would react with ultraviolet light and absorb atmospheric pollution. The Lilypad comprises of three marinas and three mountain regions with streets and structures strewn with foliage. \"The goal is to create a harmonious coexistence of humans and nature,\" said Callebaut. With a central fresh water lagoon acting as ballast, the whole construction would be carbon neutral utilizing solar, thermal, wind, hydraulic, tidal and osmotic energies. With high density populations living in low-lying areas -- The Netherlands, Polynesia, Bangladesh -- the ecopolis, its creator believes, could be the answer to mass human displacement that global warming is predicted to cause. In its most recent 2007 report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted sea levels will rise by 60-90 cm during this century. Some climate scientists like James Hansen think that if greenhouse gas emissions aren't checked then those figures might be much, much worse. In practice, Callebaut envisages the Lilypad sailing the seas, following currents like a futuristic cruise ship. He also thinks that it could \"widen sustainability in offshore territories of the most developed countries such as Monaco\". You can't help thinking that the well-heeled residents of the Principality might have a thing or two to say about 50,000 climatic refugees bobbing around in the harbour, but you cannot fault Callebaut's ambition. His previous creations -- showcased on his website -- reveal an imagination working at full throttle with sustainable design lying at its heart. Anti-Smog -- a prototype of depolluting architecture and Ecomic -- an ecotower rising up from the foundations of Aztec ruins are two further examples of his eco design credentials. The Perfumed Jungle, Fields in Fields and The Fractured Monolith may sound like titles for various genres of novel but are, in fact, names for sustainable projects in Callebaut's growing portfolio. Now all he needs is to find someone brave enough to build on the vision he has created." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Belgian architect imagines climate refugees living on a futuristic Lilypad ecopolis .\nThe structure would support 50,000 inhabitants in a zero carbon environment .\nThe goal is to \"create a harmonious coexistence of humans and nature\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- The creators are billing it as one of the coolest hostels in the world and it's undoubtedly one of the most novel overnight stays you are ever likely to experience. Welcome to the Jumbo Hostel -- an old Boeing 747 which is being converted into a 25-room hostel at the Stockholm-Arlanda airport. The Jumbo Hostel is currently being refurbished and will open for business in December 2008. The idea is the brainchild of Swedish businessman and entrepreneur Oscar Dios, who has been running hostels in Uppsala, Sweden for the past five years. Renovation work is underway on a plane which used to carry in excess of 350 passengers. Jumbo Hostel is scheduled to open for business in December 2008 and will provide accommodation for up to 85 guests. CNN spoke to Dios about how he got the project off the ground. \"We were looking to expand the business but it was more or less impossible to find reasonably priced housing at the airport. And you cannot build a new house and run a hostel because it is too expensive,\" he said. It was in 2006 that Dios first heard about the Boeing 747, which was for sale. Formerly flown by the now defunct Transjet Airways, the plane was wasting away in a hangar at Arlanda airport and hadn't flown since 2002. \"The plane was in a terrible state when we first saw it,\" he said. \"But we contacted the owners and gave them a fairly good offer, I think.\" Although he wasn't prepared to let on exactly how much he paid for the old Boeing, Dios confirmed that the price tag was a six-figure sum (in euros). Dios took possession of the 1976 Boeing 747-200 -- one of 393 built by the company until 1991 -- in June 2007 and by December he had reached agreement with the airport authorities about his unique proposal. In August 2008 the plane was finally moved to its permanent home at Arlanda airport's main entrance, where it will now stay. Apart from the engines being removed from the wings before purchase, the plane, from the outside, looks almost exactly as it did when it was grounded. The interior, for obvious reasons, is a different matter. Dismantling and stripping out all the old equipment and instruments started earlier this year. The final phase of refurbishment is nearing completion and Dios says it complies with the same building regulations required for a house. There will be two types of accommodation. A basic room will be roughly six square meters in size with sleeping space for three adults. It will cost €110 ($150) per night. But if you fancy splashing out, you can book the top deck, complete with the cockpit suite, which comes with a private bathroom and panoramic views of takeoffs and landings. Dios envisages newlyweds taking advantage of this more expensive option, which costs €500 ($700). If you don't want to spend a whole night on board you can hop on and relax in the cafe suite for a couple of hours at a cost of €25 ($35). This will also afford you the opportunity of striding out onto the wing and taking in the views of the bustling airport. While most large commercial planes end up in vast aircraft boneyards, some, like the Jumbo Hostel, find new lives. New York based urban architects Lot-ek plan to create a library in Guadalajara, Mexico, made by recycling 200 Boeing 727 and 737 fuselages. And Californian millionaire Francie Rehwald has started building a house from the parts of another scrapped 747." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Swedish entrepreneur to open a Jumbo Hostel at Arlanda airport in Sweden .\nDecommissioned Boeing 747-200 currently being renovated into a 25 room hostel .\nJumbo Hostel will cost €110 per room per night or €500 for the cockpit suite ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Plans to rejuvenate a dilapidated London icon -- known worldwide to movie and music fans -- were unveiled last week. The redevelopment of Battersea Power Station includes a new eco-dome and a solar chimney. Battersea Power Station, which has dominated the west London skyline since 1933, will -- subject to planning approval -- undergo an $8 billion redevelopment including shops, homes, a hotel, offices and a striking 300 meter eco-tower. The building appeared on the cover of the 1977 Pink Floyd album \"Animals,\" complete with a giant pig floating above its four distinctive towers. It has also appeared in numerous movies including sci-fi drama \"The Children of Men\", new Batman feature \"The Dark Knight\" and Alfred Hitchcock's \"Sabotage.\" Real Estate Opportunities Ltd (REO), who currently own the 38 acre site say the defunct and crumbling edifice will be: \"brought back to life in the most spectacular way. It will be a place to live, work and play\". An Irish development company, REO is planning to spend $300 million repairing the old coal-powered station and get it working again -- this time producing energy from biofuels, waste and other renewable energy sources. At the heart of the regeneration stands a vast new chimney and eco-dome, which as well as housing apartments and offices will act as a vast solar ventilation system cutting down the building's energy demand by two thirds. Managing Director of REO's development manager, Treasury Holdings UK, Rob Tincknell describes it as \"a power station for the 21st century...supporting a truly sustainable, zero carbon development\". Uruguayan architect Rafael Vinoly whose daunting job it was to come up with a workable new design for the much loved site describes the old power station as a \"remarkable architectural presence\". In creating a vast transparent chimney Vinoly hopes that it will contrast with what he describes as the \"monumental mass\" of J. Theo Halliday and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's original design. Of course, we've been here before. Since the turbines were shut down for the final time in 1983 the power station -- situated on the south bank of the river Thames -- has been the subject of several failed redevelopment ventures. In 1983, a scheme proposed by UK businessman John Broome promised to turn the power station into a gigantic theme park. But by the decade's close and despite the enthusiastic backing of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher his funding package for redevelopment, much like the site itself, were in a ruinous state. In 1996, development company Parkview International headed up by Victor Hwang acquired the freehold for the site. By the time its current owners REO bought the site a decade later another over ambitious redevelopment scheme -- which included a single table restaurant atop one of the four chimneys -- had come and gone. By now the entire site was in a pretty parlous state -- the chimneys being declared beyond repair and threatened with imminent demolition. This new proposal has already provoked a chorus of dissent. Writing in London's Evening Standard newspaper, architecture critic Rowan Moore described the idea as: \"spectacularly, riotously, extravagantly nuts,\" telling the developers and planners to: \"Forget it. Do not try to compromise with a tower two-thirds as high. Do not build a tower. Aim for zero-carbon and beautiful buildings...\". The Guardian's resident architecture expert Jonathan Glancey gave the designs a cool reception describing them as; \"more than a little over the top\". CNN spoke to Keith Garner, an architect and member of the Battersea Power Station Community Group about the new proposals. He didn't mince his words. \"If you take it as a serious proposal, it's immensely harmful,\" he said. \"It is a massive tower -- about the same size as the gherkin. Battersea Power Station is a Grade II* listed building. If you put a tower of that mass next to it, you are going to diminish its significance. \"If you are serious about rescuing this building you would do it in stages. The old turbine halls and the switch houses are easily reusable. A sensible, rational approach to this would involve starting with the power station itself and doing the work in small achievable phases.\" Consequently, Garner doesn't believe that the new plans are credible. \"I think the developers have overplayed it. This is a joke and I think it needs to be denounced for what it is -- a ludicrous and unnecessary diversion from the principal task of repairing the building.\" Take a look at the photos of the new proposal and classic images on the tab at the top of the page. Tell us what you think of the latest redevelopment plans in the sound off box below. Do you think they will dwarf the old power station and compromise its iconic status?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "New plans to rejuvenate the iconic Battersea Power Station site have been unveiled .\nA new chimney and eco-dome form part of a 21st century blueprint for sustainability .\nCritics remain unconvinced that the new development is desirable or achievable ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "JOHNSTON, Iowa (CNN) -- Politics meets technology Thursday as a group of undecided Iowa Democrats has allowed themselves to be wired for the debate of Democratic presidential hopefuls. A dial-test graph is displayed over candidate Rudy Giuliani during a recent GOP debate. By the end of the debate, CNN hopes to be able to gauge which debater was the group's favorite and whose popularity fell -- and perhaps -- who may win the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses on January 3. Across town, six Democratic candidates will be facing off for their final scheduled debate in the Hawkeye State before caucus night. The debate is hosted by the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television. Each member of the randomly selected group will watch the debate on a large-screen TV while operating special hand-held dial-testing devices which are approximately the size of typical remote-control devices. Viewers will react to the debate as it happens -- second-by-second -- as they move their dials to the right or the left. Dialing right indicates a positive response and dialing left represents a negative response. Southern Methodist University professors Rita Kirk and Dan Schill will track the average response of the group corresponding with each moment of the debate. Responses will be represented by a moving line on a video monitor. The group of Iowans, randomly selected by phone from a list of registered voters, will be recording their impressions of every moment of the debate. The Democratic participants will answer a series of questions both before and after the debate, to determine how the event may change their minds about the candidates. Among the questions to be posed before the face-off: Who do the group members think will perform best in the debate? Afterwards, they'll be asked who they think did the best. They also will be asked who they would vote for if the election were held today and who they think will win the nomination. All participants are planning to attend caucuses, but have yet to pick a candidate. Some are wavering between two candidates while some are considering several. They're hoping to get a better sense of the race from watching this debate, and CNN is hoping to get a better sense of their impressions of the debate by watching them. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Randomly chosen, undecided Democrats will watch debate while turning dials .\nDials will rate their positive and negative responses to each debater .\nGroup members will be asked questions about candidates before, after debate ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The September issue of Essence magazine features an interview with Sen. Barack Obama and his family inside their Chicago home. Angela Burt-Murray is editor-in-chief of Essence magazine. Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray said it took a year for the magazine to gain access to the Obama's Illinois home for an intimate interview with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia. Burt-Murray talked Thursday with CNN \"American Morning\" anchor Kiran Chetry about the interview and the Obama family. Chetry: You are the first African-American media outlet to get this inside look. Did your team get a chance to see the real Obamas? Burt-Murray: I think we did. We went to their home on the South Side of Chicago and it was wonderful to see them as a family interacting with each other, and see the girls skipping around the house, just acting like it's a normal, everyday occurrence to have a camera crew in their home and Secret Service at different points throughout the house and around the yard. But it didn't really seem to impact the girls in any way. Watch what Essence found inside the Obamas' home » . Chetry: Much was made of an earlier televised interview they with their daughters and they said, looking back, they probably shouldn't have done that. There is so much interest about their family, and yet they want to protect their girls. How do they balance that? Burt-Murray: They try to take a look at who is around the family and make sure they try to keep things as structured as possible. But also, you have instances where magazines like Essence show up to take photographs, but the girls are very relaxed because they're in their home environment. And I think that's the difference between our photo shoot and what you saw on television. Taking the girls outside of their home and putting them in the spotlight is probably a bit more challenging for them as parents. Chetry: They have to deal with completing stereotypes, if you will: They were parodied as these angry black radicals and as these Ivy League elitists. In the magazine, Gwen Ifill wrote, \"The Obamas pride themselves on creating a family picture that is authentically black with shades of Norman Rockwell.\" Explain that. How are they getting that image out. Burt-Murray: I think it's the idea that they're just an average American family. They have strong family values, they're deeply rooted in their community and they want to show their girls a great example of achievement. But they also want to be a model for the rest of their community. The Obamas talk about in our story how important it is for them to continue to live in their South Side Chicago neighborhood because it's a neighborhood in transition. So you have children who have the opportunity to see an African-American man run for the highest office in the nation right in their neighborhood. So they're modeling not only for their children but also for the larger community. Chetry: They do live in a gated community, a $1.6 million home, so it's out of reach for a lot of people. Burt-Murray: But it's so accessible. While we were there photographing them for Essence, you could see the cars going by and stopping and people getting out to take photographs. The girls were on the porch and people could see them. There is some normalcy there, but it's also obviously something very special and different. Chetry: They said race had been prominent on the campaign trail. Barack Obama told Gwen Ifill that he thinks race is a national obsession. He thinks the racial divide is not as big an issue in this country as it's made out to be. Burt-Murray: As evidenced by the success that he's had with his campaign, you can certainly see that attitudes are shifting. But there are still challenges, obviously, that need to be addressed. And it keeps coming up throughout the campaign. So it will be interesting to see what happens when the country goes to the polls in November." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Essence magazine interviews senator, wife and children in Chicago home .\nEditor says candidate, Michelle Obama try to keep daughters' life normal .\nObamas have strong family values, roots in community, Angela Burt-Murray says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- The Taliban in Afghanistan have momentum that makes any effort to negotiate with them difficult, the U.S. defense secretary said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday. He's visiting Afghanistan on Wednesday. Secretary Robert Gates spoke to CNN's Chris Lawrence in an exclusive interview Tuesday evening before leaving for Afghanistan, where he is visiting troops and bases Wednesday. \"The political level of the Taliban probably isn't ready to think about reconciliation or any kind of accommodation at this point,\" Gates said in the interview. \"They probably feel like they have the momentum with them. And until that momentum changes, it will be difficult.\" As part of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, the military and Afghanistan government are attempting to reach out to elements of the Taliban who are engaged in the battle for financial gain, rather than ideological gain. \"There are really two groups we're talking about -- the younger, or less committed, who do this mainly to earn a living and put food on the table for their families, and those that are more ideologically committed. The latter are going to be a tougher pull, and we'll probably have to wait awhile before there's an opportunity there.\" On Monday, CNN's Nic Robertson interviewed a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, who said the Taliban will only negotiate with the Afghanistan government when the United States leaves the country. \"Our conditions are clear, we want to negotiate and they [the U.S.] will not interfere in our affairs; secondly, they [the U.S.] will leave the country,\" Mujahid told CNN. Gates said the stance was not surprising. \"Well I don't know what else he'd say. He's leading the opposition, he's leading this insurgency. He's not going to sort of, sort of throw down and say 'We're ready to negotiate, we're about done here,' \" Gates said. The United States is adding 21,000 troops to the Afghanistan battlefield. The majority will be moving to the south to confront the Taliban along the porous Pakistani border. The Taliban have had mostly free rein in that area with few U.S. or coalition forces to confront them until now. Gates admitted moving the battle to the south will mean there is \"a tough fight ahead.\" \"I think, certainly, I have been pretty clear. As we move into areas of the south that have not seen any Afghan or coalition forces so far, we're clearly going to be going into areas where the Taliban are very entrenched,\" he said. \"And, sad to say, I expect with the rising level of our activity and operations, there probably will be higher casualties.\" In recent weeks, the Pakistani government has seen the Taliban gain control on its side of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Privately, Pakistani officials have expressed concern to the United States that the increased fighting in southern Afghanistan will only push the Taliban back to the Pakistani side. \"Well I think it's just the reality that there are extremists on both sides of that border. And they threaten both the elected government of Afghanistan and the elected government of Pakistan. So like it or not, they both have a certain common enemy,\" Gates said. Gates said he is encouraged by recent cooperation efforts between the two countries to deal with the problem, and by Pakistan's recent confrontation with the Taliban in Bunir province, near the capital of Islamabad. \"The signs right now are pretty positive,\" he told CNN." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "U.S. defense secretary: Political level not ready for reconciliation, accommodation .\nU.S. trying to reach out to Taliban interested in financial gain, not ideological gain .\nTaliban spokesman: We will negotiate with Afghan government when U.S. leaves .\nGates says that as U.S. forces build up in southern Afghanistan, fight will be tougher ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DAVOS, Switzerland (CNN) -- The worldwide economic recession has exposed a \"crisis of global governance\" that can only be addressed by the radical reform of the United Nations, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday as the World Economic Forum got under way in Switzerland. Kofi Annan says the United Nations needs to be reformed. \"The current architecture of managing global affairs is broken and needs to be fixed,\" Annan said on the opening morning of the five-day annual meeting of global political and business leaders. \"We have major new players coming on the scene and they need to be integrated and given a voice.\" Referring to the U.N. Security Council, which gives permanent places and vetoing powers to the U.S., the UK, Russia, China and France, Annan said: \"We cannot continue to run the world based on countries that won a war 60 years ago. It's either destructive competition or cooperation. We live in an interdependent world and the only way to move forward is to cooperate.\" Annan is one of six co-chairs at this year's WEF gathering, along with news tycoon Rupert Murdoch, HSBC Chairman Stephen Green, Werner Wenning of the German chemical group Bayer, Indian industrialist Anand G. Mahindra and Maria Ramos, Chief Executive of the South African transport group Transnet. He also urged delegates to address three interconnected challenges: the global recession, energy and security, and climate change. \"It is important leaders work on ways of finding effective, far-reaching policies -- even if they are radical -- that will allow us to create sustainable economic growth and create jobs for those who are out of jobs,\" Annan said. Newscorp. CEO Murdoch said delegates needed to be \"absolutely honest about where the world is at this point,\" warning that the consequences of $50 trillion being wiped off personal fortunes had left people feeling \"depressed and traumatized.\" \"We've been living in the Western world way above our means. We've been on a great binge and it's come to an end and we have to live though the correction,\" Murdoch said. But he said the downturn offered a chance to set about tackling issues of energy sufficiency and pollution. \"We must treat this crisis, whether it lasts for a year or five years, as an opportunity to set goals for how we want to come out of it. This is a time to shape the policies to help to solve some of those problems.\" HSBC boss Green said the banking industry needed to admit that it had not \"covered itself in glory\" in contributing to the collapse of the financial industry and called for continuing government intervention to \"stop a nasty recession spiraling down into something else.\" But he said the major banks could contribute to solving the crisis as well: \"I do not believe for a moment that you can have a successful economy without successful and properly functioning international capital markets.\" Wenning said he didn't expect any solutions to emerge from this year's meeting, but hoped delegates could achieve \"a joint understanding of the reasons for the financial crisis\" and called for a return to \"the basics of sustainable behavior.\" \"If we are really able to address these mega-challenges of the future then we would be able to restore the trust in leadership -- and I believe the world needs leadership.\" Political leaders will join the discussions later Wednesday with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin both due to deliver agenda-setting addresses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kofi Annan calls for reform of U.N. at World Economic Forum in Davos .\nAnnan says economic recession has exposed a \"crisis in global governance\"\nRupert Murdoch: Western world has been living \"way above our means\"\nHSBC boss Stephen Green admits banks \"didn't cover themselves in glory\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Taliban militants, who implemented Islamic law in Pakistan's violence-plagued Swat Valley last week, have now taken control of a neighboring district. Protests in Karachi against the creation of sharia courts in Swat Valley. Here are some answers about the Swat Valley, its history and what's taking place there. What is Swat Valley? Swat Valley is located in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, near the border with Afghanistan and about 185 miles (300 kilometers) from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The alpine region once was one of Pakistan's premier tourist destinations, boasting the nation's only ski resort until it was shut down after Taliban militants overran the area. It also was a draw for trout-fishing enthusiasts and those wishing to visit the ancient Buddhist ruins in the area. What's happening in Swat Valley? In recent years Taliban militants unleashed a wave of violence that claimed hundreds of lives in the province. The militants wanted sharia law -- or Islamic law -- imposed in the region. They took over the valley in 2008. The central government of Pakistan, which long exerted little control in the area, launched an intense military offensive in late July to flush out the militants. In retaliation, the Taliban carried out a series of deadly attacks and began gaining ground, setting up checkpoints in the area. Has the government intervened? The militants and the Pakistani government reached a peace deal earlier this year, which was recently signed into law by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Under the deal, sharia law was imposed in the region. While the peace deal drew criticism for the Pakistani government, some analysts and political observers say the government had little choice but to capitulate, as militants have terrorized the region with beheadings, kidnappings and the destruction of schools. What's happening now? This week, the Taliban moved to seize control of the neighboring Buner district, bringing it closer to Islamabad than it has been since Taliban insurgency began. What is sharia law? Sharia law is Islamic law. While there are different interpretations of it, the Taliban's strict interpretation forbids women from being seen in public without their husbands and fathers, requires veils for women and beards for men, and bans music and television. Consequences are severe; during the Taliban struggle to impose sharia law, anyone found disobeying was pinned to the ground and lashed. Others were beheaded and hung from poles, with notices attached to their bodies that anyone daring to remove the corpse before 48 hours had passed would also be beheaded and hanged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat Valley take control of neighboring Buner district .\nSwat Valley was once one of Pakistan's top tourist attractions .\nMilitants are now closer to Islamabad than any point since start of insurgency ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (CNN) -- If Russell Jackson has his way, any child who needs medical care but lacks the transportation to get there will have a safe and reliable alternative. Russell Jackson started Kid One, which has ferried thousands of children to medical appointments. \"We found that there were 80,000-plus children in Alabama living in a home with no car,\" Jackson says. \"And in the rural areas, there are no cabs, there are no buses, there are no trains. ... Millions of children in our country every day have no access to medical care when they need to reach it.\" Jackson is so determined that in 1997 he gave up his career as an Alabama firefighter, moved in with friends and dug into his retirement account to start Kid One Transport, a nonprofit organization that provides rides for needy children in his home state. In 11 years, Kid One's fleet of vans has ferried more than 16,000 kids to and from scheduled medical-related appointments all over Alabama. Watch Jackson describe the need for medical transportation in rural Alabama » . Jackson never anticipated he would leave the fire department to head up a nonprofit organization. After all, firefighting was the culmination of a lifelong dream. \"What little boy doesn't want to be a firefighter?\" Jackson says, laughing. But an emergency call to his department in March 1992 changed everything. Jackson was dispatched to help an unresponsive 2-year-old who had accidentally hanged himself in the family car while trying to retrieve a toy. \"We did everything that we could to try to revive that young child,\" he says. The 2-year-old died despite their efforts. \"I took it pretty tough,\" Jackson remembers. \"It's not that I had not been exposed to tragedies before, but this one hit me differently.\" At the advice of a counselor, Jackson started volunteer work to help him process his grief. A friend suggested Jackson volunteer in the small rural town of Sayre, Alabama. Jackson was stunned by what he saw just 25 minutes from his home. \"When I drove into the community, it was a world of its own. It was a lot of homes that were deplorable. And that's really the only way I can explain them,\" he says. Jackson says he was instantly ashamed by his own comfortable lifestyle. Watch Jackson describe the \"turning point\" that led to Kids One Transport » . \"All it took was the one visit,\" he recalls, \"and I knew I really wanted to come out and work with these folks, hand in hand, and do whatever I could to help make life a little bit easier for them.\" When social workers told him about the neighborhood children who had no way to travel to and from appointments for chemotherapy, physical therapy and even for regular checkups, Jackson started driving them there himself. Before long this one-man operation grew into a 13-van team covering 30 counties. Though Jackson recently stepped down from a daily role in the organization he founded, he says the best part of his work has been meeting the families and witnessing firsthand so many medical transformations. There were some who learned to speak, another who learned to walk, and others who recovered from life-threatening illnesses -- even when doctors were less than hopeful. Watch a child who relies on Kid One to get to medical appointments » . \"I saw so many lives changed, so many determined children and parents who wanted to beat the odds that were against them,\" Jackson says. He says he believes that getting them to the care they needed made the difference. \"We're that missing part of the puzzle that is preventing so many people from reaching what we'd consider as world-class medicine. ... To know that they beat it all because of a simple ride,\" he adds. \"That has definitely been worth every bit of founding Kid One Transport.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "More than 80,000 children in Alabama reportedly live in homes without a car .\nFireman Russell Jackson quit his job to start a nonprofit to help fill that gap .\nKid One has ferried 16,000 children to and from medical-related appointments ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- One look outside the window gives a glimpse of the \"economics of energy\" in Doha, Qatar. Cranes dot the tops of half-finished towers, a monumental work in progress; the result of vast energy wealth being pumped out of the ground and poured into project after project. Doha, Qatar: A city skyline awash with cranes and towers powered by abundant oil and gas supplies. It's here that our Principal Voices met for the first of this year's roundtables. Outside Qatar, the economics of energy present a very different picture. Rising fuel costs are pricing power out of the means of some of the world's poorest people. And the environmental cost of continuing to exploit the world's fossil fuel supplies is now almost universally agreed to be so great that society can no longer afford to ignore it. Our Principal Voices come from diverse backgrounds: . The Icelandic President Olafur Grimsson -- the first head of state to sit on a Principal Voices panel -- grew up on a small island in the North Atlantic Ocean and over the past forty years has witnessed the country abandon coal to become the world's first clean economy. Dr Joseph Adelegan from Nigeria has seen poverty first hand in Africa where he worked closely with villagers to convert slaughterhouse waste to gas they use for cooking. And, Qatar-based businessman Hesham Ismail AbdulRahman Al Emadi is leading an ambitious project to create a global network of \"Energy Cities\" to house the oil and gas industry. For an hour and a half they spoke about how to solve what Icelandic President Grimsson called, \"the most fundamental question of the 21st century\": energy and whether there will ever be enough alternative sources of power to satisfy global demand if, and only if, the world manages to shake its addiction to oil and other fossil fuels. They spoke not only about the need to find alternatives to traditional energy sources, but whether there'll ever be a concerted effort in developed countries to conserve rather than consume precious resources. So what is holding us back? \"We are creatures of habit,\" Grimsson offered by way of explanation, adding that \"it usually takes a crisis to bring about change\". He warned that there is one potential disaster looming: the predicted melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas in 30 to 40 years which will cause catastrophic flooding in India and China. \"This is not just a discussion about the rich, about cities or about Europe or America or even China or India, the great economic powerhouses. This is also a question about the poorest of the poor.\" In a response to an emailed question about whether the developed world should face sanctions for not meeting any targets set by the international community on climate change, Dr Joseph Adelegan called for aid to help poorer countries --like the ones in Africa -- find alternatives to fossil fuels. The Middle East is facing different challenges. Hesham Al Emadi says energy subsidies in Gulf Cooperation Council countries and ignorance of the issues provide little incentive for residents to conserve energy or find greener alternatives: \"there is lots of ignorance. Awareness is a major issue.\" And what of countries like the U.S.? Would higher taxes on fuel be enough to move residents in the right direction? Acknowledging he's an optimist and \"a great friend of America,\" Grimsson said, politically, all the elements are already in place for a big shift in attitudes in the U.S. \"McCain, Hillary and Obama are all on the positive issue, as I call it,\" he said. He also said the world might be wise to look to the Middle East for guidance. \"I believe they are probably more aware than we are that the odds are that oil will run out sooner rather than later,\" Grimsson said, adding \"A visionary leader of a country who wants to create a good living for his or her grandchildren or great grandchildren thinks about these issues.\" We'll put more content from the debate on the website as soon as possible, including video highlights. What's your point of view? Send us an email by filling out the form on the front page, or perhaps send us an iReport explaining your views. Join the debate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "First Principal Voices round table debate takes place in Doha, Qatar .\nOlafur Grimsson states \"it usually takes a crisis to bring about change\"\nJoseph Adelegan calls for aid to help poor countries find alternatives to fossil fuels ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: Maury Klein is professor emeritus of history at the University of Rhode Island. He is the author of 15 books, including \"Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929\" and most recently \"The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Made Modern America.\" Historian Maury Klein says it's important to remember that psychology plays a huge role in financial markets. (CNN) -- Friday marks the 79th anniversary of the day that launched the stock market crash of 1929. As an unprecedented wave of selling threw the floor of the New York Stock Exchange into pandemonium on a day that became known as Black Thursday, a show of organized support by a coterie of leading bankers halted the panic. But on the following Monday, the market collapsed in a tsunami of selling. Every intense convulsion of the stock market raises primal fears spawned by the Great Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression, which dragged on for a full decade and has haunted Americans ever since. The Panic of 2008 is no exception. In the past year, the market's fall has at times rivaled that of 1929. Are there connections or similarities between those earlier national traumas and our current crisis? First some facts about that earlier experience. The Great Crash and the Great Depression were two separate events. The Crash was a financial panic, the Depression an economic downturn. The one does not necessarily lead to the other; the market has collapsed several times in American history without bringing on a depression. Great Depression holds lessons for surviving a tough economy . The Crash began in October 1929, and the worst of it was over in three weeks; the Depression did not fasten itself on the nation for another year. To this day, the connection between them remains unclear, which makes it difficult to draw lessons or analogies from them. The Dow plunged 39 percent between October 23 and November 13, 1929, but it regained 74 percent of that loss by March 1930. Only when the economy failed to gain momentum in the spring did the market slip back. By fall the country had slipped into a depression, and the market resumed a downward course that did not touch bottom until July 1932. It did not again return to the levels of 1929 until 1954. The Depression did not end until increased military spending revived the economy in the spring of 1940. The bull market of the 1920s was unique in that it marked the first time large numbers of ordinary people participated. The market moved from Wall Street to Main Street and aroused intense interest even among people who were not active in it. The new investors, or \"fish\" as the pros called them, were prone to panic when the market fell sharply. Could it happen again? History never repeats itself, but historical patterns do -- though always in a new context. Here are just a few of the similarities and differences between the earlier crisis and its modern version. During the 1920s, the financial industry underwent a great expansion, bringing into the business many inexperienced people and new investment vehicles -- most notably the investment trust, the forerunner of the modern mutual fund. Nobody knew what impact they would have on the market with their buying and selling on a large scale. The business world hailed the 1920s as the \"New Era,\" one with new rules in which the old pattern of cyclical depressions would no longer occur and prosperity would be continuous. Compare this delusion with the \"New Economy\" of the 1990s. The 1920s marked the beginning of the consumer economy, and with it a broad expansion of credit. Installment buying made its debut on a large scale. Credit also was used to buy stocks on margin, greatly increasing the market's volume and volatility. The banking system was shaky throughout the 1920s, and failures escalated steadily after 1929. The Crash exposed many cases of fraud that led to investigations and passage of the most significant banking reform in American history. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC, gave rise to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and separated investment banks from commercial banks. The latter reform was repealed in 1999, giving banks free rein to perform both activities once again. Some differences between the eras are worth noting. Prior to 1933, the federal government played virtually no active role in relieving the banking crisis of the 1920s. The stock market did not have giant institutional buyers moving huge blocks of stock. Nor did it operate on a global scale, though it was deeply influenced by international events. After the crash, the banks had plenty of money to lend but no takers, the opposite of today's situation. Deflation became the mortal enemy as people removed their cash from banks and hoarded it. A familiar pattern emerged from these events. Business and the Republican Party in the 1920s demanded and got a \"free\" market unrestrained by government. Neither Wall Street nor the New York Stock Exchange was regulated by the government. The resulting disaster prompted outraged demands that Washington \"do something.\" Regulation was then forthcoming. Later, as prosperity returned and the market began soaring, the restraints were gradually removed and the pattern of excess began anew until it collapsed once again in our own time. With the fall comes renewed pleas for government to \"do something.\" Finally, it is important to remember that psychology plays a huge role in financial markets. Every panic has been at bottom a crisis of confidence. So too with the economy. As Frederick Lewis Allen observed, \"Prosperity is more than an economic condition; it is a state of mind.\" The trick is always to find out what exactly is needed to restore it. We are still fishing for the answer to that riddle. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Maury Klein." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maury Klein: The 1929 market crash and the Depression were separate events .\nMany financial panics have not led to depressions, Klein says .\nBefore 1933, the government wasn't active in trying to save banks, he says .\nAfter crisis, people demanded regulation, which eventually faded, Klein says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- On a historic night for America, Barack Obama secured the Democratic Party's nomination for president and emerged for the first time on stage in Denver with running mate Sen. Joe Biden. Obama on Wednesday officially became the first African American to lead a major party ticket. Delegates cried and cheered as former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton motioned to cut the roll call vote short, saying \"Let's declare together with one voice right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president.\" The dramatic move was carefully choreographed to put down any fears of a divided party following the protracted primary battle. Watch emotional crowd nominate Obama » . The Democrats jumped to their feet as they made history with Obama as their leader. Outside the hall, Republican leaders also hailed the achievement. On Thursday, the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s \"I have a dream\" speech, in the culmination of the Democratic National Convention, Obama will address an estimated 70,000 people at Invesco field in Denver. Read more about the historic anniversary . \"This is something people like me have been waiting for for days, weeks. Years,\" said Howard Hemsley, an African-American delegate from New York. \"He's going to the White House. He's going to be our next president.\" iReport.com: \"Never thought I'd see this day\" Former President Bill Clinton reflected on the significance of the moment in his address before the Democratic National Convention. Read more on Clinton's case for Obama . \"Now, Sen. Obama's life is a 21st-century incarnation of the old-fashioned American dream. His achievements are proof of our continuing progress toward the more perfect union of our founders' dreams,\" he said. \"Barack Obama will lead us away from the division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope.\" Watch the sights and sounds of the convention events » . President Clinton and Biden, two of the party's elder statesmen, lavished praise upon the newly crowned nominee and did their best to paint Republican rival Sen. John McCain as a candidate who would lead the country down a dangerous path. Clinton cast Obama as the safe pick, and the only one who could bring about change. He sought to put to rest the main criticism of Obama -- that he does not have the experience to lead. Watch Clinton wow the Democrats » . Obama's perceived weakness compared to McCain on foreign policy and national security issues has been of concern to Democratic strategists, especially since Russia's conflict with Georgia intensified this month. According to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 78 percent of registered voters said they believe McCain can handle the responsibilities of commander in chief, compared to 58 percent for Obama. \"Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and to restore American leadership in the world,\" President Clinton said Wednesday night. iReport.com: Share your reaction to the convention speeches . \"And here's what I have to say about that. Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.\" The ex-president had been one of the most vocal critics of Obama during the protracted primary season. Republicans have used the Clintons' earlier criticism of Obama's experience in their attacks on the Democratic presidential nominee. Going into the convention, there were still a lot of questions about whether the Clintons were ready to embrace Obama following the bruising primary battle. Clinton seemed to change that narrative as he declared his support for Obama. David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst who worked in the Clinton administration, said the speech was \"the most effective and the most important speech Bill Clinton has delivered since he left the White House.\" View an analysis of day 3 » . Continuing criticism leveled by Clinton and other speakers this week, Biden took to the stage and delivered an assault on Republican policies. \"As we gather here tonight, our country is less secure and more isolated than at any time in recent history. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out,\" he said. Biden rattled off a list of McCain's positions on issues ranging from taxes to alternative energy, repeatedly saying: \"That's not change -- that's more of the same.\" Read more about Biden's attacks . Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is widely believed to have been chosen for the Democratic presidential ticket based on his foreign policy credentials. Watch Biden accept the nomination » . The six-term senator pointed to his friendship with McCain, but said \"I profoundly disagree with the direction that John wants to take the country.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Barack Obama becomes first African American to lead major party ticket .\nDelegates cry, cheer during historic night .\nFormer President Bill Clinton says Obama is ready to lead .\nVP nominee Joe Biden slams Republican John McCain, his long-time friend ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Deaths in Zimbabwe related to the cholera epidemic are approaching 2,000, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, and close to 40,000 people have been affected by the preventable water-borne disease. Two men rest in a cholera rehydration tent on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border in December. Statistics released by the Geneva, Switzerland-based organization WHO on Tuesday show 1,937 people have died in the raging epidemic from the 38,334 who contracted the disease since its outbreak in August. Cholera has spread to neighboring countries South Africa and Botswana. The epidemic comes at a time when President Robert Mugabe's government is facing its worst economic crisis, manifested in shortages of all essentials from food, fuel, cash, foreign currency and electricity and a hyperinflationary economy. Health experts have said Harare's failure to import adequate stocks of water-treating chemicals is the main driver of the disease. Most residents have resorted to rivers and shallow wells for drinking water, because taps are usually dry. On top of that problem, the waste-disposing system has collapsed. Children can be seen playing on heaps of uncollected garbage in the suburbs of most urban areas in Zimbabwe. Last month, Mugabe's government declared the cholera epidemic a national emergency. Since then, international governments and organizations such as WHO, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, USAID and other U.N. groups have moved in to combat the disease that has engulfed all of Zimbabwe's provinces. But the situation has not immediately improved. Zimbabwean Health Minister David Parirenyatwa warned this month that the epidemic could get worse as the rainy season develops. Harare issued a warning Monday that some parts of the country are going to experience floods during rainy season, further compounding the fight against the disease. The season peaks in January or February and ends in late March. Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal in September to run the government after a hotly contested presidential election. It was widely hoped that the deal would be the panacea to the humanitarian and economic problems bewildering the once-prosperous Zimbabwe, but the pact is yet to take effect. The sides continue to debate the sharing of key Cabinet ministries such as information, local government, finance, defense and home affairs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "World Health Organization says 1,937 people have died since outbreak in August .\nCholera epidemic comes as Zimbabwe faces worst economic crisis .\nExpert: Failure to import adequate stocks of water-treating chemicals behind disease .\nCholera has spread to neighboring countries South Africa and Botswana ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- One of Chicago's most well-known real estate moguls appears to have shot himself to death, police said. Steven Good was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot Monday, police said. The body of Steven L. Good was found in his Jaguar on Monday. The car was spotted in a parking lot of a wildlife preserve in Kane County, Illinois, just outside Chicago, authorities said. No note was found, and police say they do not know how long the 52-year-old had been in the vehicle. Good was the chairman and chief executive officer of Sheldon Good & Co., a major U.S. real estate auction company. The death comes amid great turmoil in the country's real estate industry. In his role as chairman of the Realtors Commercial Alliance Committee, Good commented on tough conditions last month at a business conference. On a memorial blog set up by the Chicago Association of Realtors, for which Good once served as president, friends and colleagues described him as a gregarious man with a big personality. He was a savvy businessman who built his company into a major national real estate company that did deals with Donald Trump, they said. \"It is testimony to Steve's leadership that Sheldon Good & Co. remains well-positioned for the future,\" said Sheldon Good President Alan R. Kravets. \"The guy was a true blue Realtor,\" said Barbara Matthopoulos, the association's spokeswoman. She was new to real estate when she met Good more than a year ago. He took time to give her advice that has helped her grow to love the business. \"Anybody who knew him would speak to his leadership, his generosity, his attitude. The guy was just very positive, always smiling, always telling you a story. He was engaged. Everyone is really very shocked,\" she said. \"I doubt anyone could help explain why this happened.\" Kane County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said authorities don't have any \"concrete evidence if this had anything to do with his finances.\" The company was founded by Good's father, Sheldon Good, in 1965, according to the firm's Web site. Steven Good had \"been involved in the sale of more than $4 billion of real estate, including commercial, office, retail, industrial, residential, and vacant land sites,\" it says. \"Mr. Good is the driving force behind the expansion of the company, which has been ranked as the largest firm in the United States exclusively conducting real estate auctions.\" Good, who was also an attorney, wrote a book, \"Churches, Jails and Gold Mines: Mega-Deals From a Real Estate Maverick.\" According to Amazon.com, Donald Trump wrote the afterword. The first chapter begins, \"Our auction company is to the real estate business what Sotheby's and Christie's is the fine art and collectibles business.\" The book goes to say that as of its 2003 publication, the firm had sold 40,000 properties totaling $8 billion. \"If you lined up 1,000 people and said pick the one that might do this to themselves, he would be the last person I would choose,\" said Wayne Caplan, who worked at Sheldon Good for six years and knew Steven Good personally. \"He had a zest for life. He has a wife and kids and he had so much in his life.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Steven L. Good was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound in his car Monday .\nGood was a well-known real estate businessman in Chicago .\nFriends, family shocked, saddened by what police say appears to be a suicide ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas Friedman is never short of a word or two. Thomas L. Friedman: \"Incredible opportunities masquerading as insoluble problems.\" The celebrated commentator occupies a position in his profession that many of his contemporaries would rival. He gets to go where he wants, when he wants and write about what he thinks, or as he puts it: \"I get to be a tourist with an attitude.\" Officially, he's The New York Times' foreign affairs columnist -- a position he's held since 1995 -- as well as the author of five books. Through his syndicated column his opinion has become a recognizable American voice on the international stage, and with it has come a sense of responsibility. \"I agonize over every column. Precisely because I know it is going to be read by a lot of people and it's going to be in Google forever,\" he told CNN. \"So there is that sense of responsibility, but at the same time you do have to take the attitude of 'This is what I think. This is why I think it.' I'm not in a popularity contest.\" Before his current position, Friedman served in various posts at the New York Times, including chief economic correspondent, chief White House correspondent and bureau chief in Beirut and Israel. His reporting from Lebanon in 1983 and work in Israel in 1988 won him Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting. Taking in the world provides never-ending fascination, he says. \"I have the best job in the world, I mean, somebody has to have it.\" He's recently trained his eye on how America can reassert itself by leading the way in green technology, encapsulated in his latest book \"Hot, flat and crowded.\" As he admits, the environmental aspect is not the point of the book; really it's a treatise on how America \"lost its groove and why we need to get it back by taking the lead in the energy revolution.\" One man who will need to take a pivotal role is the incoming U.S. president, Barack Obama, Friedman says. \"I have a lot of high hopes for him. I think we are very lucky to have someone with his raw material as the next president. I think he brings together several things that we haven't had,\" Friedman told CNN. Whether Obama can solve the raft of problems he faces is another matter. \"Is he ready to be as radical as the moment? Really have the courage of our crisis? At the end of the day it's gonna be Barack Obama and (Chinese President) Hu Jintao. We're not going to get out of this without cooperating and working closely with China,\" Friedman said. While presenting a view from the United States, Friedman is still able to do a mea culpa on America's behalf when it comes to the current economic crisis. \"We were in the middle of a huge credit bubble which in its own way was a Ponzi scheme. We gave the world financial SARs. We just spread it around the world.\" An optimist by nature -- \"I do live by the motto that pessimists are usually right, but all the great change in history was done by optimists\" -- he's sanguine when it comes to the planet in the current climate of economic depression and environmental urgency. \"What I'm basically arguing is that you can look at the world today that is hot, flat, and crowded and you can have one of two reactions. One reaction is to say 'We're cooked, let's party,'\" he said. \"That's not the way I'd look at it. I'd look at it the way John Gardner, the founder of Common Cause, once described. I look at these problems that come from hot, flat and crowded and what I see are incredible opportunities masquerading as insoluble problems.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author: \"I'm not in a popularity contest\"\nOn U.S. and global economic situation: \"We gave the world financial SARS\"\nOn Barack Obama: 'Is he ready to be as radical as the moment?'" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(LifeWire) -- Janice Shih might be the most educated pastry chef you'll ever meet. Janice Shih left her career in medicine at age 38 and became a pastry chef. Shih attended Johns Hopkins University, followed by medical school at George Washington University, then practiced for eight years as an obstetrician/gynecologist before realizing that baking, not medicine, was her calling. \"Everyone would say, 'You're a doctor; it must be so great to be able to save lives,'\" she says. \"But I felt like I was just pushing papers and feeling pressure to see more patients in less time. It was very draining. It just wasn't fun anymore.\" So in 2004, at age 38, she swapped her stethoscope for a rolling pin and enrolled in the pastry program at L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. \"I had always been interested in pastries -- mostly interested in eating them,\" she says with a laugh. Shih now owns Tenzo Artisan, a bakery and catering company in Baltimore that specializes in pastries for people with food allergies -- it's rewarding, she says, to make birthday cakes for people whose dietary sensitivities had forbidden such treats. She's one of thousands of career changers who have left their cubicles for culinary school. Enrollment has risen 40 percent since 2000 at the Culinary Institute of America, and it's up 15 percent this year at The Art Institutes, which operates 30 culinary programs across the country. The trend is helped by a growing cultural interest in gourmet food and a proliferation of cooking-themed TV shows like the Food Network's \"Ace of Cakes\" and Bravo's \"Top Chef.\" Plenty of possibilities . Students attending the grueling programs, which can last six to 38 months, can dole out as much as $30,000 to $40,000 for the diploma. And then the real work begins. Neil Robertson, 44, was technical director at a graphic design firm in 2003 and felt like he no longer fit the mold. He quit his 18-year career and attended the French Pastry School in Chicago. \"I've always loved to bake,\" he says. \"But baking in a professional kitchen? I wasn't sure that I could handle it.\" In his first professional experience after pastry school, he found out how tough it can be: \"I came very close to tears.\" Yet he persevered, and five years later became head pastry chef at Seattle's Canlis restaurant. \"You're not a chef as soon as you finish culinary school,\" says Michael Ruhlman, author of \"The Making of a Chef,\" an inside look at life at the Culinary Institute. \"You're a chef only after spending several years further honing your craft and learning the ropes. To say otherwise would be like saying grads of medical school could instantly be called pediatric neurosurgeons the day after graduation.\" And becoming a chef isn't the only option. \"There are so many possibilities today,\" says Culinary Institute President Tim Ryan. \"Catering, sales, manufacturing -- we even have graduates who have launched clothing companies (or) become food scientists.\" Jen Beltz, 38, and Thom Householder, 40, testify to that. In 2004, they quit their jobs at AARP and followed their palates to Italy. Using the proceeds of their house sale, the couple attended a five-month culinary program in Florence, then a nine-month course in Canada. All the while, they had no idea where their gastronomic education would take them. \"Some of our friends and family seemed to think we were a bit insane,\" Beltz recalls. But with their newfound culinary know-how, Beltz and Householder launched Front Burner PR, a boutique public-relations and marketing firm in Portland, Maine, that focuses on restaurants, hotels and other food-related clients. Don't quit your day job just yet . Think carefully before writing your resignation letter -- culinary school is no cakewalk, says Robertson. \"It's hot. It's fast. It's high-stress. It's a pressure cooker.\" Ruhlman agrees. \"I can't even tell you how many people have read my book and thanked me for saving them from going to culinary school,\" he says, \"because they had no idea how hard it really is.\" Before taking the plunge, Robertson and Ruhlman suggest getting a feel for the job via a culinary vacation, like those offered through gourmetontour.com and foodvacation.com, or by shadowing a chef. For the second option, \"go to a restaurant that you like and respect and ask if you can spend a day in the kitchen,\" suggests Ruhlman. It's called trailing, and some restaurants are open to it. If you have some food experience, you might be able to stage (pronounced stauge), which entails working in a kitchen alongside a chef, without pay, for a day or two. \"You get to see what life is really like in a professional kitchen,\" he says, \"and it will really open your eyes.\" Looking back, Robertson says leaving his job for the culinary world was a bold move, but worth every deflated soufflé along the way: . \"I'm much more excited about what I'm doing now.\" LifeWire provides original and syndicated lifestyle content to Web publishers. Sarah Jio's work has appeared in \"Gourmet,\" \"Health,\" \"O, The Oprah Magazine,\" and many other publications." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Physician one of thousands to leave office drudgery for cooking school .\n\"It just wasn't fun anymore,\" says doctor, now owner of catering business .\nChef: School is \"hot. It's fast. It's high-stress\"\nTrend is fed by TV shows \"Ace of Cakes\" and \"Top Chef\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Gunpowder, fireworks and attention-grabbing installations mark Cai Guo-Qiang as one of the world's biggest and brightest artists. Cai's fireworks will be seen by millions during the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. The Chinese artist is about to show the world what he can do with a spectacular pyrotechnics display at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite not having lived in China since 1986, Cai has been selected to be the Director of Visual and Special Effects for both the opening and closing ceremonies at the Games. For the 51-year-old contemporary artist, whose work has previously caused controversy in China, the politics that have been swirling around the Games are secondary to the event itself. \"In any country, in any city, there will be political influence on what is said, what kind of images are to be projected and, yes, of course artists can be and are influenced by politicians,\" he told CNN. \"But what I also think is that our leaders at the very highest level want artists to be able to be free, to be creative and to show this other side of China that is vibrant.\" While some of his art is politically charged, Cai has established his reputation as much as a director of the spectacular, with his work often providing a visceral and visual bang. He studied stage design at the Shanghai Drama Institute between 1981 and 1985 before moving to Japan a year after graduation. Now residing in New York, he gained wide-spread international recognition at the Venice Biennale in 1999, winning the Golden Lion prize. However, the work he displayed -- Rent Collection Courtyard, a replica of famous Chinese socialist-realist sculpture -- upset artists of the original piece in Shanghai who believed it diminished the sentiment behind the original work. Born in Fujian in 1957, Cai's father was also an artist, but had a much more traditional outlook than the one Cai developed. \"He and his friends always lamented about the good days and, that there's no vitality in today's art and culture. So, I really rebelled against that. I felt that what they were talking about had very little to do with how our lives were like at that moment,\" he said. Cai began using gunpowder in his work after moving to Japan. Detonating large trails of it on his two-dimensional pieces, creating small mushroom-clouds, or lighting enormous firework displays, explosions have been a continuous theme of his work. \"I have always been a coward as a child. I am not very brave. I am very aware of the fact that I am not very gutsy. So, I am always trying to do things to kind of boost my own sense of courage a bit. So maybe that is why I use gunpowder,\" he told CNN. Cai has proffered different explanations for different projects that feature the same motifs. Perhaps that is not surprising when his influences come from a myriad of sources that include Taoism, Buddhist philosophy and UFO-observations. Recently exhibited at New York's Guggenheim Museum, \"Inopportune: Stage One\" is a set of 9 cars suspended above each other with illuminated shards shooting out. Cai has previously said it denotes Chinese craftiness in stealing western technology, while arrows piercing the life-sized stuffed tigers of \"Inopportune: Stage 2\" are also about the aesthetics of pain. \"For me cars are tigers, they are all bodies of the human form and it is a human form I am working with through this medium. For the cars the energy goes inward out and for the tiger piece the energy flows in,\" he told CNN. Meanings and interpretations then can be fluid, but as well as the explosions and visual excitement, there is a common social theme in his work. The most connected to this ethos is \"Reflection-A Gift from Iwaki 2004.\" The skeleton of a wooden boat found off the coast of Iwaki, Japan, that spills delicate pieces of porcelain from its hull is recreated piece by piece by the people who helped excavate it. \"This work and the history of this work belongs to the people of Iwaki and me. It is a shared experience, a shared history,\" he said. \"Some works of art have material other works have form, but this piece has something additional, it has a narrative, it has a story that is just as important as the material and form itself.\" Ultimately the most unifying and social part of his work is the spectacle of it all. Everyone loves fireworks, and if Cai's own careful planning and that of the Games organizers come together, he should provide a fitting opening and finale to the world's biggest spectacle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chinese artist will curate Olympic Games' opening ceremony pyrotechnic display .\nUses gunpowder and fireworks to produce spectacular large-scale pieces .\nInternational recognition winning Golden Lion at 1999 Venice Biennale ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- For Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau, the last two months have been a whirlwind. \"Full of the best moments and the scariest moments of my life,\" says the 24-year-old Olympic swimmer. Eric Shanteau said he felt angry when he found out he had testicular cancer. \"Getting to the Olympics was, has always been, my swimming dream since I was 8 or 9 years old. You know, right after I started swimming it was, 'I want to make an Olympic team. That's where I want to be'.\" In June, a week before the qualifying round of the Olympics he was told he had testicular cancer. \"My initial reaction was probably anger more than anything else,\" he says. \"I'm used to being in control of everything. I'm in control of how I train, how I race and then to all of a sudden have that control ripped away from me was tough.\" After weeks of tests to determine the \"stage\" or spread of the cancer, Shanteau's team of doctors cleared him to compete in the Beijing Olympics, which meant carefully monitoring his tumor but delaying treatment. Though putting off the surgery was controversial to some, Eric says it was an educated choice based on numerous doctor evaluations. \"I hope people understand that if I was in a different position with my test results, then I wouldn't have put off having surgery.\" Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from Eric Shanteau's surgery » . He swam a personal best in the 200 meter breaststroke. He did not qualify for the finals. Cancer was a motivator, he says, because he knew it meant he could be facing his last competition. He put everything he had into that heat. \"Leave it all in the pool, and I don't look back and regret anything as far as how I raced.\" Once back from Beijing, Shanteau invited CNN to spend time with him the night before his surgery in Atlanta, Georgia. Though admittedly a little scared, he spent the evening relaxing with his family, cooking dinner, walking the dog. A source of inspiration, he says, were fans who shared their stories of beating cancer. \"They send me their story and it helps me to learn that people are going through the same thing I am all over the world,\" says Shanteau. \"They all affect me in a different way and it's been really encouraging to share in this experience with other people.\" Testicular cancer is diagnosed in about 1 in 300 men in their lifetime. It is the most common form of cancer for 15- to 34-year-olds. It is also one of the most curable if discovered early. Nearly 140,000 men in the United States are testicular cancer survivors. Shanteau says he experienced no symptoms of cancer and came across the tumor by chance. \"I've been in a Speedo half my life,\" he says. \"So I am really comfortable with my body. One day I just felt something that wasn't suppose to be there. I decided to go and get it checked out.\" He adds that although he had the \"greatest excuse in the world\" -- an Olympic dream -- to ignore the lump, he understood the importance of early detection. Shanteau's father Rick, is battling lung cancer and responding well to treatment. \"A lot of guys, if they hear a rattle in their car, they're at the mechanic the next day,\" he says. \"But if they feel something [physically] that they don't think should be there, it takes them a year to get to their doctor and that just is not smart. There's really no excuse, because it can save your life.\" Fast forward to Shanteau's recent operation at Emory University Hospital. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta was with Shanteau during the surgery and spoke with the lead surgeon, Dr. Jeff Carney, moments afterward. \"I think the operation went very well,\" Carney said. \"Eric's a very healthy young man, very thin, in excellent shape. That makes my job easy.\" Later that week, Shanteau's pathology results revealed that the operation removed the most of the cancer. \"The majority of it is gone.\" he tells CNN. \"There is a small chance it could come back but I shouldn't need chemotherapy at this point, so I am really optimistic.\" His treatment plan is to keep a close eye on his health for the next year with regular medical tests. \"Obviously, it would have been nice if the doctor said, 'You're completely in the clear,' but my results are exactly what the doctors expected.\" Eric says the cancer diagnosis gave him a different perspective on life. \"I appreciate life much more now,\" he says. \"I don't let myself get upset about the little nitpicky things anymore. Food even seems to taste better. It is really great.\" As for Shanteau's swimming career, he plans to compete in the 2009 World Swimming Championship in Rome, Italy. \"2012 [the next Olympics] is a push for me. Right now I'm just kind of taking it year by year and we'll see what happens.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau found out about his cancer in June .\nHe delayed treatment so he could compete in the games in Beijing .\nHe plans to compete in the 2009 World Swimming Championship in Rome .\nTesticular cancer is diagnosed in about 1 in 300 men in their lifetime ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues high-level talks with Mexico's leaders this week, her comments about responsibility in the U.S.-Mexico drug trade have struck a chord with officials familiar with U.S. anti-drug efforts. Mexican federal police have been deployed openly in Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso, Texas. Clinton said the United States' \"inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border\" was a major contributor in Mexican violence along the border. She went on to say that the United States has \"a co-responsibility.\" In an interview Wednesday on \"American Morning\" with CNN anchor John Roberts, former Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Robert Strang talked about the three-pronged approach needed to curb drug use in America and the need to bust distribution rings. Strang is also CEO of Investigative Management Group. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity: . John Roberts, CNN anchor: Everybody's blaming Mexico for [the U.S. drug trade], but the secretary of state yesterday said, 'Hey, the United States shares a lot of the blame because of the pent-up demand here, the insatiable demand for drugs.' Do you agree with her? Watch Clinton say, \"We have to do a better job\" » . Robert Strang, former DEA special agent: Let's face it, the average first drug use is 12 years old in our country. That means kids that are in the sixth grade are trying drugs for the first time. Marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, all these drugs are coming across the border because we demand them. We have the cash to pay for them, and we really are pretty much the No. 1 consumer in the world for these drugs. Roberts: Is the United States doing enough to try to curb demand? The Office of National Drug Control Policy, I don't remember much coming out of it during the Bush administration, and I haven't seen anything come out of it in the Obama administration. Strang: We're trying all the time. I'm on the board for D.A.R.E. America, and that is teaching kids about the dangers of drugs and violence in schools. And constantly, we're trying to get money federally for this program and police officers go into the school. They teach the kids. It's a wonderful program in those trouble years, the fourth, fifth and sixth grade especially, and we need to have a little bit more money in this area. amFIX: React to Strang's comments about U.S. anti-drug effort . There's three things, John: It's treatment, it's enforcement and it's education. And it's like a three-legged stool. If all three things don't work, it's going to fall down. So, we can send all of the agents in the world down to the border. We can seize all the coke, heroin, methamphetamine that we want. If we don't have treatment on demand, and if we're not educating our kids in our country about the dangers of drugs, the problem's going to grow. Roberts: When you see the Department of Homeland Security prepared to spend these hundreds of millions of dollars on border security, what do you think? Strang: I'm happy that they're doing something. This is a small piece of the enforcement operation. The best thing to do is like the case that we saw three weeks ago, when the DEA announced 750 arrests involving 250 cities between Mexico and the United States, mostly in the U.S., this huge distribution network. Because when you dismantle those networks that constantly are putting drugs from the cartels to the street, when you can put those guys in jail, when you take their assets, then you have an impact. Watch how drugs from Mexico enter U.S. » . Roberts: But would you like to see them take some of that money, and you know, they take, I think, what, $700 million, and they throw it at the border. Would you like to see them take some of that money, maybe even just a fraction of it, and throw it into prevention programs? Strang: Absolutely. Instead of going to some of the financial institutions, I'd like to see it go for the drug problem. I'd like to see enforcement, treatment and prevention. I'd like it to be evenly divided, and I really think we could have an impact on the problem. We've got to look at this a different way. And I think that it's a combination of these things, and we're moving in that direction. Let's hope that we make some headway here." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Robert Strang, former DEA special agent, says drug use starts as early as 12 .\nStrang: \"We can send all of the agents in the world,\" but border patrol not enough .\nMoney aimed at financial institutions should go to prevention programs, Strang says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Americans have varied feelings about guns. In Focus: Guns in America is a series of stories by CNN photojournalists that looks at the complex views and emotions that surround this controversial subject. In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Washington, D.C.'s, ban on handgun ownership, saying it violates the constitutional right to \"keep and bear arms\" by preventing individuals from having guns in their homes. In this series, Americans tell their stories about guns on a first-hand basis, providing a more intimate look at a topic that is often ignored until gun violence erupts. In one video, 32-year-old Steve Ferguson talks about a shooting in Washington that left him paralyzed, his battle to recover and his views on guns. In another story, Scott Morris shares his passion for his shooting range on a road he named 2nd Amendment Drive. CNN photojournalists also traveled to Massachusetts to play paintball, rural Pennsylvania to hunt turkeys, and to Hollywood to hang out on a movie set. They also meet Dale Tate, who hand-makes guns that he considers works of art, and they learn about new technology for less lethal weapons." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The U.S. Supreme Court rejects Washington, D.C.'s, ban on handgun ownership .\nCNN photojournalists take a look at the views and feelings about guns in America .\nIn this series, individual Americans tell their stories about guns ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian militants fired more rockets into Israel on Friday as a tenuous six-month truce between Hamas and Israel expired. Palestinian children look at a blast crater following an Israeli airstrike over southern Gaza on December 18. Two Qassam rockets were fired Friday morning from Gaza into separate Israeli communities, the Israel Defense Forces said. Earlier, Palestinians in Gaza shot at Israeli farmers working in their fields in Kibbutz Nirim, the IDF said. No one was hurt in the attacks and one car was damaged, it added. Islamic Jihad sources claimed responsibility for firing the rockets. Under the Egytian-brokered truce, which began June 19, the Hamas government in Gaza agreed to end militant attacks from Gaza on Israel. The pledge applied to all militant groups in the coastal territory, including Islamic Jihad. In return, Israel agreed to halt raids inside Gaza and ease its blockade. The truce held well for the first four months but began to fall apart in October, when there was a marked increase in the number of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel -- estimated at 200. Israel resumed airstrikes in Gaza as a result. Watch what may follow the end of the truce » . Israel has said a major military operation in Gaza may be unavoidable if daily rocket fire from the territory continues. However, both sides have expressed a desire not to see the situation worsen. Islamic Jihad said it planned a rally in Gaza City in the afternoon, after Friday prayers, announcing the end of the truce but also calling for a lifting of the Israeli siege. Israel has tightened its restrictions on border crossings and the flow of goods into the impoverished territory, making life extremely difficult for residents. Gaza depends on Israel for 90 percent of its imports, according to the U.N. Development Program. -- CNN's Ben Wedeman and Michal Zippori contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Egyptian-brokered truce, which began June 19, has expired .\nCeasefire had applied to all militant groups -- including Hamas, Islamic Jihad .\nQassam rockets fired Friday from Gaza into separate Israeli communities .\nIslamic Jihad sources claimed responsibility for firing the rockets ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Two inmates at New Jersey's Union County Jail made a movie-style escape Saturday and remained at large Monday, according to Union County Prosecutor Ted Romankow. Otis Blunt, left, and Jose Espinosa escaped from the Union County Jail Saturday night, officials say. Twenty-year-old Jose Espinosa and 32-year-old Otis Blunt, who are considered armed and dangerous, were discovered missing from their cells at about 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Romankow said. The men left behind dummies in their beds, cinder block dust and a note wishing authorities \"Happy Holidays.\" Espinosa, who recently pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, was to be sentenced on January 25 and faced a minimum of 17 years in prison. Blunt was being held in lieu of $75,000 bond on weapon and robbery charges. Both men were being housed in the high security area of the multilevel jail, Romankow said. Police said Espinosa and Blunt were in adjacent cells and used a long metal wire to scrape away mortar around the cinder block between their cells and the outer wall in Espinosa's cell. Once the cement block between the cells was removed, they smashed the block and hid the pieces in a footlocker. According to police, Blunt, who is 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 210 pounds, squeezed into Espinosa's cell through an approximately 16- to 18-inch hole. The two inmates wiggled through another 18-inch hole in the outer wall. From a roof landing, the two men \"took a running jump or they were standing and they jumped approximately 15 feet out and about 30 feet down,\" Romankow said. Then they jumped a razor-wire fence onto a New Jersey transit railroad bed to freedom, police said. Authorities found two sets of footprints in the snow heading in opposite directions. At a news conference Monday, Romankow read the note that was found in Espinosa's cell, saying it represented the \"arrogance of these two men.\" \"Thank you officer -------- for the tools needed, you're a real pal, Happy Holidays,\" the note read, with a smiley face drawn next to it. Authorities are investigating the note's claims about the guard, the Associated Press reported. The guard has not turned in a report and disciplinary action has not been taken, Romankow said, according to AP. To delay discovery of the escape, Espinosa and Blunt used dummies made of sheets and pillows in their beds. They also hung photographs of bikini-clad women to hide the holes in the walls, a move reminiscent of a scene in the Hollywood hit \"The Shawshank Redemption.\" Romankow played down the comparison. \"I think this is a very serious situation you saw,\" he said. \"I really prefer not to compare with any movie, although I can understand why you might because it does look certainly very similar to some of them. Except in 'The Shawshank Redemption' they had a better poster on the wall.\" According to police, Blunt tried to escape in September using similar methods. There is an $8,000 reward for the men's capture. Romankow said a statewide hunt is under way, with several agencies involved. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Brian Vitagliano contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two inmates broke out of Union County Jail Saturday night, officials say .\nThey removed blocks from walls, hiding their work behind pinups of women in bikinis .\nThe duo made it over 25-foot fence to escape jail's top-security area .\nOne was awaiting sentence for manslaughter; the other faced robbery charges ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. His new book, \"Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security -- From World War II to the War on Terrorism,\" will be published this fall by Basic Books. Zelizer writes widely on current events. Julian E. Zelizer says Democrats should be questioning themselves on several key points. PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) -- This week, Jews will conclude the eight-day celebration of Passover, a holiday that has often found its way into the political realm. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. frequently invoked the story of the liberation of the Jewish people from the Egyptians in his struggle against white oppression. President Obama made headlines last week when he hosted a Passover Seder in the White House. Today, Democrats can draw an important lesson from Passover, this time not so much from the story that is retold during the holiday but through the rituals that are the focus of the week. Last Wednesday and Thursday evenings, Jews gathered with families, friends and other groups to have a Seder. These meals are not just about eating and talking, but also about learning and debating the stories of the holiday contained in a book called the Haggadah. There is no right answer to many of the questions that are raised, and discussions change over time as the life experiences of the participants bring new perspectives to the table. The highlight of the Seder is when the youngest child asks the Four Questions, asking the adults what makes these nights different from the others and then offering some possible answers. Politicians could learn a lot from the Seder, particularly when one party controls both the executive and the legislative branch, and the temptation is to act in lock-step. Republicans did not have enough moments of questioning and reflection between 2002 and 2006, which many observers agree was not just damaging to the country but to the party as well. While there was strong private, internal disagreement among Republicans over how to conduct the war on terror, over whether the war in Iraq was a wise move and over the basic contours of economic policy, most Republicans stayed silent in public. Even when they gathered in the private corridors of the White House, according to memoirs that have been published by former officials such as Scott McClellan, Republicans tended to remain deferential to President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Historically, vigorous internal party debate has had the ability to strengthen a party politically. The fight that took place between Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican primaries, where Reagan pushed President Ford to be more responsive to the growing conservative movement and avoid making all his decisions from inside the beltway, created a GOP that in the 1980s was a formidable political force. Bill Clinton's insistence that Democrats needed to rethink some of their conventional wisdom from the New Deal and Great Society periods, with his preference being to move toward the center, opened up a healthy debate about what Democrats should stand for that helped result in Barack Obama's victory in 2008. Thus far, Democrats have been more comfortable openly criticizing each other. Princeton economist Paul Krugman has emerged as the leading liberal critic of the administration by arguing that President Obama is not spending enough to stimulate the economy and that his financial bailout plan will only provide Band-Aid solutions that place all the risk on taxpayers. But Democrats will feel less comfortable having internal debates as the elections of 2010 and 2012 get closer, as the pressures of re-election intensify and as Republicans become more aggressive and more coherent in their attacks. To get the conversation started, it would be worth thinking about the four questions that Democrats should keep asking when they get together in the next few years. The first is: What are the issues on which Democrats are willing to compromise with Republicans, if any? The compromises will not be easy given that Republicans have refused to endorse Democratic proposals in the first few months of Obama's presidency. However, if the popularity of the GOP continues to erode and Obama's stays strong, there might be an opportunity for the president to act. Compromises means giving something up, so Democrats will have to talk among themselves about what that might be. The second question is: Where are Democrats willing to renege on campaign promises? Since November, Democrats have already backed off some very big promises. Though Obama ran as a candidate who promised to change the way that government worked, government reform has quickly dropped off the agenda. Nor has the White House been fully compliant with its promise to end the secrecy practiced by the Bush administration. It is natural that a party won't be able to do everything it said in a campaign, but Democrats need to think about which issues they are willing to let go and which they are determined to fulfill. The third question is: What is the foreign policy agenda of the current administration? This has been the murkiest part of the First 100 Days. When Barack Obama ran for president, it was clear what kind of foreign policy he opposed. His campaign took aim at the unilateralism, militarism and pre-emptive strategy of the Bush administration. Yet it is easier to be against something than for something. Now the burden is on President Obama to define what he will be about in the next four years and what he hopes to pursue. This agenda will be dynamic and unfold as international crises occur. But Democrats need to keep coming back to the questions and keep forcing the president to articulate what his goals are in this arena. The final question is: What are the policy priorities of the Democratic Party? This is always one of the most difficult questions for any party given that events move politics in unexpected directions. This White House has naturally been consumed by the economic freefall and the effort to stabilize economic conditions. With his budget, Obama has highlighted two priorities from the campaign -- health care and the environment, though some will get traded away in upcoming negotiations. Another issue that the White House may make a priority is immigration reform. Whereas the campaign established a certain framework for thinking about priorities, that framework fades as the election moves farther away. Democrats must keep getting together, asking their own version of the four questions and insisting on internal debates. Although the discussions can become uncomfortable (as most Jews will recall from their Seders), this is a formula for making the strongest party possible. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Julian Zelizer: Passover Seders involve four questions asked by youngest .\nHe says Democrats should be asking themselves four key questions .\nZelizer: Are they willing to compromise on their objectives to win GOP support?\nHe asks what priorities will take precedence for the Democrats ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Ahri's chin quivers, and his large dark eyes fill with tears the 11-year-old can't control. Holding Eka Jaya, Nuraini leads son Ahri, 11, to the orphanage with dad Joni Lubis and brother Mohammed. \"Be tough. I am sorry you have to go,\" his grandmother whispers while hugging him. His parents are taking Ahri to live in an orphanage. They swear they are not abandoning their son. \"I am not throwing my child away,\" says his mother, Nuraini, wiping away tears. \"I just want him to get a proper education. I hope that one day he'll do something useful for this country and help his brothers, because we are living in poverty.\" The family lives crammed into a home that's 17 feet by 17 feet in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Jakarta. Nuraini runs a small shop the family opened to try to make ends meet. Ahri's father, Joni Lubis, collects bottles from the streets, selling them to plastic and glass factories. Watch Ahri say goodbye » . Ahri's parents make $2 to $3 a day, with about half of that going toward their daily rent. With the increased cost of living, what's left just isn't enough to send Ahri to school and to feed him and his two brothers, 3-year-old Mohammed and 7-month-old Eka Jaya. \"I never imagined it would come to this,\" Nuraini admits. But for many Indonesians, it has. More than 80 percent of children in child care institutions have both their parents, according to the most recent survey conducted in 2006 by the Indonesian government. A recent study by Save the Children, UNICEF and the government says Indonesia -- the world's fourth most populous nation -- has more orphanages than any other country. This year, orphanages are reporting even higher number of parents giving up their children because they can no longer afford to feed them or send them to school. In the past year, the cost of living increased beyond many people's reach. In May, a 30 percent fuel hike set off countrywide protests. Ahri peers intently as his mother signs off custody of him to the orphanage. The other children cram their faces up against the window to see the new arrival. At least half of them at the Putra Utama 1 orphanage have been through this before as well. \"The prices have gone up. [Families] can't balance their income with the prices,\" orphanage staffer Utari says. \"By putting their children here, they are hoping that their children's education will improve.\" It doesn't take long for Ahri to make new friends. Soon, he's stuffing rice into his mouth and chatting with the other boys. His parents stand against the doorway and watch their son playing soccer. Here at least, there's enough space to do so. \"If my son can adapt, then I am happy,\" says Ahri's father, Joni Lubis. \"I can see that it's calm and peaceful here. That makes me happy. So does the school -- my son can be educated.\" Nuraini adds, \"There has to be a better chance for my two other sons.\" It's all they can hope for: that economic pressures will ease so they won't have to face such a decision again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mother of three insists she is not \"throwing away\" her first-born child .\nParents take 11-year-old to orphanage because they say they can't make ends meet .\nMore than 80 percent in orphanages have two living parents, Indonesian study says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Taliban advances in Pakistan are raising concerns in Islamabad and capitals as far away as Washington. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson looks at how the Taliban spread and what could be done to help Pakistan. Students in burqas in Buner district . How is the Taliban extending its influence in Pakistan? It has extended its influence considerably over the last few years moving northwards along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, from South Waziristan to North Waziristan to Bajur and across now to Swat and Buner. But the Taliban has also extended its influence because it is now involved with several Punjab terrorist groups that have affiliated themselves with the border Taliban and have helped commit some attacks such as one on a police station in Lahore. The Pakistan government has been cutting deals with the different elements that were Taliban or became Taliban since 2004-2005. Those deals have enabled the Taliban to extend themselves. Is Pakistan going to fall or fail? The overall answer to that is no. But the Taliban is further destabilizing an incredibly unstable situation. There is a weak government that faces challenges, not only from the Taliban but also from almost every political party in the country. It faces challenges from across the border with its old enemy India, which means a large percentage of the Pakistan army is tied up on that border rather than fighting terrorism. The Taliban is not going to take Islamabad, but its attacks and advances are going to weaken an already unstable government and make an already dangerous situation even more volatile... and that will mean the Taliban will be able to wield more influence in the future than they do today. What options are open to the Pakistan government and other countries? Pakistan could form a broad-based government of national unity and appeal for more international support in terms of encouraging financial aid and having trade restrictions lifted so they can improve the economy. The international community could help Pakistan resolve issues with India. It would help the economy and help the government focus on its own internal problems and better influence the situation in Afghanistan. What the Pakistan government would also need to do is convince its people that outside support and help is in their best interests to deal with terrorism and stabilize the country. To do that the government would also have to win the support of its large Pashtun minority, from whom the Taliban draws a lot of its support ... and that is difficult particularly as the U.S. -- which would need to be a principle supporter of Pakistan -- continues to bomb targets in Pashtun areas leading to civilian casualties." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Taliban influences in Pakistan has developed over years .\nPakistan government weak and could be weakened further .\nPakistan has options to deal with Taliban, but they come with problems ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Obama administration is giving General Motors 60 days worth of financing for restructuring, according to senior administration officials. General Motors' Rick Wagoner, CEO of the company since 2000, is on his way out, sources say. Chrysler will receive as much as $6 billion and 30 days to complete an agreement with Italian automaker Fiat, the officials said. Meanwhile, White House and GM sources told CNN Sunday that GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will resign as part of the federal government's bailout strategy for the troubled automaker. Wagoner's departure comes as President Obama is expected to announce Monday the latest details of the government's plans for restructuring GM and Chrysler LLC, which have been pushed to the brink by huge losses and a sharp decline in sales. Fritz Henderson, GM's chief operating officer, is expected to be named GM's interim CEO, according to two GM sources. A GM spokesman declined to comment on reports of Wagoner's resignation. A company statement said: \"We are anticipating an announcement soon from the administration regarding the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry.\" GM and Chrysler face a Tuesday deadline to prove to the Treasury Department that they can be viable in the long term. Without such a finding, the government can recall the $13.4 billion it already loaned to GM and the $4 billion it loaned to Chrysler. Wagoner, a 32-year company veteran, has been CEO of General Motors since 2000. Before becoming CEO, he was chief operating officer and led the company's North American operations. He also served as chief financial officer from 1992 to 1994. A senior GM official official told CNN that the White House and its auto task force had \"sent very clear signals\" that the key to more help was \"new leadership\" and something that would help the administration see real change. General Motors has been hit hard as auto sales have plummeted. Sales have continued to tumble through the early months of this year, falling 40 percent across the industry and about 50 percent at GM and Chrysler. The companies and industry analysts have slashed their sales estimates for the year, and that has heightened the need for more loans to keep GM and Chrysler afloat. Last month, the two companies filed reports on their restructuring efforts. GM said it needed up to $16.6 billion more in loans. Chrysler asked for an additional $5 billion, and said it would need the money by the end of March to avoid running out of cash. The Obama administration had been widely expected to approve the requests. Obama has repeatedly spoken about the importance of saving the struggling auto industry, and on March 19, the Treasury Department announced $5 billion in federal help for GM's and Chrysler's auto parts suppliers. CNN's Kate Bolduan and John King contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Departure of General Motors' CEO part of government's bailout strategy, sources say .\nGM official: White House signaled that \"new leadership\" was key to more aid .\nOfficials: GM to get 60 days of financing; Chrysler could get $6 billion .\nGM, Chrysler were told to prove viability to Treasury Department by Tuesday ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A thin girl with caramel skin and a yellow silk blouse walks alone through a barren landscape of rubble. Nway prepares for her new job, selling vegetables from her aunt's garden. Her legs are marked by cuts. Her face is smeared with white streaks of powder. And her eyes are blank as she sifts through the debris of what used to be her home before Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar one night and swept her parents away. Her name is Nway, and that's how she looked when aid workers found her after Nargis destroyed her isolated village. She refused to talk about the cyclone, pretending it never took place. She became, according to a CNN story, the \"girl who refuses to remember.\" A year later, an aid worker returned to the village to see how Nway was doing. She found Nway living in a tidy, bamboo house flanked by palm trees. The 8-year-old greeted her visitor with a big smile. Then she asked whether she could play with her visitor's hair. Pam Sitko, the aid worker, said Nway -- like thousands of people in Myanmar -- is slowly recovering one year after Nargis demolished their country. \"After all of her pain and loss, she really is a spunky girl,\" said Sitko, who works with World Vision International, a humanitarian group. \"She wasn't shy about reaching out to touch my blonde hair.\" The night everything changed . Nway's resilience is shared by many in Myanmar, aid workers say. Last year's cyclone was catastrophic. It killed at least 140,000 people and left at least 2 million people without homes, according to the United Nations World Food Programme. The brunt of the storm hit Myanmar's delta region, the country's bread basket. It wiped out crops, shrimp farms and fish ponds. A year later, many fields remain unplanted; supplies are short, and the lack of drinking water complicates recovery efforts, World Food Programme officials say. Yet some sense of normal life is returning, said Mia Marina, a program support manager for World Vision's Nargis response efforts. World Vision is building cyclone-resistant schools and providing supplies to cyclone survivors. \"Most of the people are going back to their livelihoods,\" Marina said. \"Kids are going to school. The markets are open.\" The people of Myanmar are also buying planting tools and seed in preparation for the monsoon rains that typically come in May, Sitko said. \"Everyone is hoping that this is the moment that it turns around,\" Sitko said. \"It's an exciting time, a time of hope.\" That hope appears to have spread to Nway. She is fortunate to be alive. The cyclone killed her mother and father. The winds were so powerful that they blew away the village buffalo. In Nway's village, 120 people out of a population of 430 people lost their lives. Nway survived because she was staying with her aunt. The pair joined a group squeezed in to the village headman's house to survive, Sitko said. Nway wouldn't talk about the cyclone after aid workers found her a month later. She would walk away whenever she was asked about that night. Now, according to Sitko, who wrote about her meeting for World Vision, Nway can talk a little about her loss. Sitko said Nway shared one memory from the morning after the cyclone while sitting in her aunt's house: . \"When I walked to my aunt's house that day, my legs were scratched, and I passed lots of dead bodies,\" Nway said. \"I wanted to help, because everyone was working, but I was too scared, so I only helped clean up my auntie's yard.\" Nway dreams of her future . Nway prefers to talk about other subjects. One is her new job. She helps her aunt sell vegetables from their garden. On most mornings, she smears white powder made from tree bark on her cheeks (it's used as a skin beautifier by women and children in Myanmar). Then she balances a tray of vegetables on her head and walks to a village road to call out to potential customers. Nway told Sitko that she's made \"four new best friends.\" They like to memorize new words and play hide and seek after school. \"I'm always the fastest runner,\" she told Sitko. Nway is starting to become aware of life outside her village. \"She was very proud,\" Sitko said. \"She explained that she had recently taken a trip to another village with her aunties, and she wasn't afraid.\" Nway doesn't know, though, where she would attend school as she gets older, Sitko said. She'll have to pay to attend school away from her village one day, but her aunt and uncle can't afford the costs. \"She wanted to study and said that she was smart,\" Sitko said. \"She said she would be willing to travel to a school outside of her village if she had to.\" Nway has already taken a more difficult journey. The shocked girl who aid workers met a year ago has changed, Sitko said. Now Nway can remember -- and smile again. \"I was expecting a very different girl,\" Sitko said. \"The little girl I met was very confident. I think she's been really transformed by our experience.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Girl who survives Myanmar cyclone pretends it never happened .\nCyclone survivor becomes known as 'the girl who refuses to remember'\nAid worker returns to Myanmar a year later to see the girl .\n\"I was expecting a very different girl,\" worker says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Environmentalists are encouraged by President Barack Obama's focus this week on renewable energy and stricter emissions standards, although some economists are skeptical he can pull the country out of the recession while cleaning up the planet. President Barack Obama with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Obama must strike a careful balance between stimulating the economy in the coming months and investing in the long-term future of the environment, said Raj Chetty, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. \"If you spend money too quickly, you lose site of the long-term vision,\" Chetty told CNN. \"If you focus too much on the long term, you may not act on spending money.\" Framing his remarks with an eye on the recession, the president on Monday announced a plan for \"a new energy economy that will build millions of jobs.\" Obama proposes to put 460,000 Americans to work through clean energy investments, increasing fuel efficiency in vehicles and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By 2025, the Obama administration hopes one-fourth of the nation's energy will come from renewable sources. Over the long term, the president hopes to create millions of new jobs by investing $150 billion in taxpayer money to help private companies develop new sources of clean energy, such as wind, solar and geothermal power. It's about time, say scientists who often clashed with former President George W. Bush on environmental policy. \"By repowering our nation with clean energy, we will create millions of jobs that can't be sent overseas. By harnessing the energy of the sun and wind, we can refuel our nation and end our addiction to oil,\" said Wesley Warren, director of programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Environmental scholars, however, say the changes Obama seeks are not easy. \"These technologies are not new. They have been around for 10 to 15 years,\" said Bill Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School of Environment at Duke University. \"Government can push new policies, but it has to prove to be economically competitive or else it will not happen.\" \"It is going to require massive investments,\" said Joseph Romm, former acting assistant secretary of energy under the Clinton administration and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. \"The only question is, are we going to be the leader and export our technologies or a follower and continue importing our resources?\" Some economists question whether spending government money on new energy technologies is the best way to stimulate the economy in the short term. Opponents of Obama's proposals say renewable energy would be expensive, take up large amounts of land, and might not even be able to generate sufficient energy given the aging infrastructure of the nation's electric grid. \"If the private sector will not invest in these technologies, it will not be efficient,\" said Alan Reynolds, senior fellow at the Cato Institute. \"Creating jobs by switching from one form of energy to another is a bad idea,\" he added. \"You don't need subsidies for anything that is free. Getting a $7,000 rebate on a $100,000 plug-in electrical hybrid that gets its power from a coal plant doesn't make a lot of sense.\" Several events in Washington this week underscored the Obama administration's commitment to environmental issues. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday named a special envoy to pursue global agreements combating global warming. On Wednesday, former Vice President Al Gore urged Congress to approve Obama's stimulus package and said the United States needs to join international talks on a climate-change treaty. \"For years our efforts to address the climate crisis have been undermined by the idea that we must chose between our planet and our way of life, between our moral duty and economic well-being these are false choices,\" Gore told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. \"In fact, the solutions to the climate crisis are the same solutions that will address our economic and national crisis as well.\" Obama may have science on his side. By overwhelming consensus, scientists agree that our warming planet poses a greater global threat with every passing day. The replacement of current technology with energy generated from natural resources, such as sunlight and wind, could help reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency. \"Frankly the science is screaming at us,\" said Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at Wednesday's hearing. \"Carbon dioxide emissions grew at a rate of four times faster in the Bush administration than they did in the 1990s.\" Even so, experts agree the faltering economy will complicate any discussion about investment in clean energy. \"The country is running two deficits,\" said David Orr, a professor of environmental studies and politics at Oberlin College, \"the economy in the short term, which will take one to five years to figure out [and] the environment in the long term, which if we don't do anything about it will see catastrophic effects.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Environmentalists are encouraged by President Obama's focus on renewable energy .\nSome economists are skeptical he can fix the economy and the planet at once .\nScholar: Obama can push new policies, but they must be economically competitive .\nPresident announced a plan for \"a new energy economy\" that will build jobs ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- North Korea vowed Wednesday that it \"will take every necessary measure to protect its sovereignty\" in the midst of 12-day U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. South Korean soldiers move into a building during a joint military exercise with U.S. troops in Pocheon Tuesday. \"These war exercises were kicked off by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet war-like forces across South Korea at a time when the inter-Korean relations have reached the worst phase and the situation has grown so tense that a war may break out (at) any moment due to the reckless policy of confrontation pursued by the South Korean conservative authorities,\" North Korea's official KCNA news agency said. Referring to \"war maneuvers\" and \"nuclear war exercises,\" a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said they were \"designed to mount a preemptive attack on the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in terms of their scale and contents from A to Z,\" according to KCNA. South Korea has defended the joint exercises. \"We have said several times that the U.S.-South Korean military exercises are annual defensive exercises,\" said Kim Ho-nyun, a Unification Ministry spokesman, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday. \"We again urge North Korea to maintain the agreed stance of mutual respect and to stop its verbal attacks and actions that are raising tensions on the Korean peninsula,\" he said. Tensions have ramped up in recent days, as North Korea threatened retaliation in the event of an interception of its \"satellite\" launch. U.S. and South Korean officials have said that North Korea appears to be preparing to test-fire its long-range missile, the Taepodong-2, under the guise of launching a satellite into space. The missile is thought to have an intended range of about 4,200 miles (6,700 kilometers), which -- if true -- could give it the capability of striking Alaska or Hawaii. On Saturday U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth said he wanted dialogue with North Korea, but he also spoke against North Korea's move to go forward with a launch, saying it would be \"ill-advised.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "N. Korean Foreign Ministry refers to U.S.-South Korean \"nuclear war exercises\"\nSouth Korea calls exercises \"annual defensive exercises,\" Yonhap reports .\nNorth Korea threatens retaliation in event \"satellite\" launch is intercepted .\nU.S., South Korea say North Korea appears to be prepping missile test firing ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush has expressed his \"deep concern\" and regret to Iraq's prime minister over the desecration of a Quran by an American soldier, the White House said Tuesday. President Bush called Nuri al-Maliki over the incident, al-Maliki's office says. The leaders are seen in September. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Bush spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday in one of their regularly scheduled secure video teleconferences. \"President Bush expressed his deep concern over the incident and told Prime Minister Maliki that the soldier has been reprimanded by his commanders and removed from Iraq,\" Johndroe said. Al-Maliki's office on Tuesday said Bush issued an apology for the action on behalf of the United States and \"promised to present the soldier to the courts.\" The office said Bush made the apology in a call to al-Maliki on Tuesday morning. An American staff sergeant -- a sniper section leader -- used a Quran for target practice in Iraq earlier this month. The U.S. commander in Baghdad issued a formal apology Saturday and read a letter of apology by the shooter. Watch the U.S. military formally apologize » . The sergeant has been relieved of duty as a section leader \"with prejudice,\" officially reprimanded by his commanding general, dismissed from his regiment and redeployed -- reassigned to the United States, the U.S. military said. Reports of the Quran desecration have enraged Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere around the world. The soldier, whose name was not released, shot at a Quran on May 9, villagers said. The Quran used in the incident was discovered two days later, according to the military. A tribal leader said \"the criminal act by U.S. forces\" took place at a shooting range at the Radhwaniya police station on Baghdad's western outskirts. After the shooters left, an Iraqi policeman found a target marked in the middle of the bullet-riddled Quran. Pictures of the Quran show multiple bullet holes and an expletive scrawled on one of its pages. Officials said the soldier asserted he wasn't aware the book was the Quran, but U.S. officials rejected the claim. On Saturday, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, appeared with leaders from Radhwaniya and apologized. \"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness,\" Hammond said to tribal leaders and others at the ceremony. \"In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers.\" Hammond also read a letter from the shooter, who called his actions \"shortsighted, very reckless and irresponsible,\" but he insisted he was not being malicious. \"I sincerely hope that my actions have not diminished the partnership that our two nations have developed together,\" the letter said. Hammond said the soldier's actions were tantamount to \"criminal behavior.\" \"I've come to this land to protect you, to support you -- not to harm you -- and the behavior of this soldier was nothing short of wrong and unacceptable,\" the general said. Another military official kissed a Quran and presented it as \"a humble gift\" to the tribal leaders. Many Iraqi leaders said the apology alone would not suffice. Watch villagers protest the desecration » . On Monday, the Iraqi Islamic Party, the movement of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, condemned what it said was a \"blatant assault on the sanctities of Muslims all over the world.\" The party said it reacted to the news \"with deep resentment and indignation\" and wants the \"severest of punishments\" for the action. \"What truly concerns us is the repetition of these crimes that have happened in the past when mosques were destroyed and pages of the holy Quran were torn and used for disgraceful acts by U.S. soldiers,\" al-Hashimi said. \"I have asked that first this apology be officially documented; second a guarantee from the U.S. military to inflict the maximum possible punishment on this soldier so it would be a deterrent for the rest of the soldiers in the future.\" CNN's Ed Henry and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nuri al-Maliki's office: President Bush \"promised to present the soldier to the courts\"\nAn American staff sergeant used a Quran for target practice .\nIraqi Islamic Party has demanded \"the severest of punishments\" for the soldier ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- The negotiations are over. The treaty has been signed. The skies across the Atlantic are now open for free movement of flights between European and U.S. cities. Now the battle commences between airlines as they prepare for their new-found commercial freedom when the Open Skies agreement comes into action in March 2008. The choice of transatlantic routes is set to increases with the advent of the Open Skies agreement. The main beneficiaries of increased competition between airlines are likely to be business travelers. And while they may not see a dramatic reduction in ticket prices, they can look forward to a greater choice of flights from a greater number of airlines as well as an increase in business-only services. Airlines with the strongest brands and best quality products are likely to lure passengers away from European rivals by launching flights from other major European cities. British Airways has confirmed it will launch its first transatlantic flights from continental European cities once the agreement comes into place next year. And while it is not ready to confirm branding, types of aircraft, or even final routes, a BA spokesperson said likely contenders for new transatlantic routes will be from business destinations such as Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels and Milan. She also confirmed that, contrary to expectations, these flights would not be exclusively business class. Though they will offer premium cabins for business customers. Virgin Atlantic is expecting to place a greater focus on its business customers and has established a team to work towards the launch of business-only flights in 2009. These will fly from airports such as Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Zurich and the airline is currently in discussion with Airbus and Boeing to place orders for between 10 and 15 aircraft. Virgin and BA are both confident they can entice customers away from European national carriers due to the strength of their brands and service offering. As Paul Charles, director of corporate communications at Virgin Atlantic says, \"we are seen as a truly global brand and well-placed to compete with the quality of business services currently coming out of cities such as Paris and Milan.\" Open Skies will put an end to the exclusive arrangement granted to British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines and American Airlines to fly transatlantic out of Heathrow. As a result, airlines including BMI, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines are all lined up to launch direct transatlantic flights from Heathrow from next year. But with the airport currently operating at almost-maximum capacity, it is likely that new flights will be limited. Airlines operating from other airports, in particular the new business-only players such as Eos, Silverjet and Maxje, will, however, see an opportunity to expand their own services across the Atlantic. Joshua Marks, executive vice president for planning and development at U.S. business-class airline, Maxjet, says it expects to \"strengthen its position at Stansted\" as a result of the Open Skies agreement. \"With more flights moving from Gatwick to Heathrow, three major airports will become two in London.\" As such, he adds, Stansted could become the default airport for travelers coming from and to the east of the city. Now that the U.S. Department of Transport has given approval for Maxjet to launch flights from Stansted to other countries with open skies agreements with the U.S., business travelers in London should also be able to pick up Maxjet flights to destinations such as India. Maxjet has confirmed that it will not fight for slots at Heathrow, which Marks says has become an \"operational nightmare.\" Yet, other premium-only services are not ruling out the move. Silverjet, currently operating out of Luton, has been in discussion with (un-named) airlines interested in striking deals to launch flights out of Heathrow. Opportunities have been offered for flights to U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, says Lawrence Hunt, Silverjet's chief executive. \"This is an ongoing dialogue,\" he says. But before they make the move, they would need to see major changes to facilities at Heathrow in order for it to offer the \"personalized, discreet and carefree\" travel experience Silverjet offers customers from Luton. \"Heathrow has become a zoo and the customer experience has become appalling,\" he says. Airline executives agree that growth in transatlantic flights as a result of the Open Skies agreement will be aimed at business customers. As Hunt says, airlines have little else to offer, or gain, in terms of economy long-haul seats. And as Charles at Virgin points out, given the success of the new business-only entrants and the simultaneous ongoing demand for its business class seats, \"there's clearly a market out there for business-only flights.\" While there may be some softening of prices from Heathrow as airlines fight for slots, few expect prices for business travelers to drop dramatically as a result of the Open Skies agreement. As BA's spokesperson says, UK to North America is already a very competitive market. \"It is not as if we are moving from a monopoly,\" she says. Despite this, there is still a great deal to offer business customers and those that will make the most of the opportunity, says Anthony Concil, spokesperson from IATA, will be the most innovative. \"We have created a new playing field and it is up to players to make the most of that and for governments to take the agreement forward towards further liberalization.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Open Skies agreement lifts restrictions on transatlantic air services .\nBritish Airways and Virgin will launch flights from European capitals .\nBusiness-only services set to expand across London airports ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The United Nations has sent police and military patrols to a camp in western Sudan after reports fighting there killed civilians, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday. A file photo of refugees queuing for food in the Kalma camp in western Sudan. Aid groups have started evacuating wounded from the Kalma camp, home to 80,000 internally displaced people in the Darfur region of western Sudan. The U.N. said it received reports that Sudanese police vehicles surrounded the camp and that civilians were killed Monday during subsequent attacks inside the camp. The U.N. African Union Mission in Darfur \"is extremely concerned by this serious incident [and the] circumstances will be investigated,\" the mission said in a statement. \"It is closely monitoring the situation and [calls] on all parties to exercise restraint.\" A spokesman for the mission, Noureddine Nezni, said Tuesday the Dutch wing of Medecins Sans Frontieres had evacuated 47 wounded people who were being treated at a nearby hospital. Some of them -- mostly young men -- refused to be evacuated for fear of being arrested for having participated in the fighting, Nezni said. Nezni would not say how many people were killed in the Monday attacks. \"There are many figures being thrown around and we hesitate to give any numbers before we are sure,\" he said. \"We are still checking and hopefully we will have the correct figure late today.\" The Sudanese government said it entered the camp to look for \"huge quantities of arms and criminals,\" Nezni said. The U.N. African Union Mission in Darfur said it sent police and military patrols to Kalma to confirm the details of the incident and provide assistance. Nezni added that the mission and some aid groups were in talks with refugees at the camp to find a lasting solution to the problems. Fighting has displaced more than two million Sudanese -- and more than 238,000 refugees live in camps across the border in eastern Chad, the U.N. says. They have been displaced by fighting that broke out in 2003, when rebels began an uprising in Darfur and the government launched a brutal counter-insurgency campaign. The Sudanese authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the U.N., Western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength. In the past five years, an estimated 300,000 people have been killed through direct combat, disease, or malnutrition, the U.N. says. Another 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting among rebels, government forces, and allied Janjaweed militias. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir last month for the campaign of violence in Darfur. CNN's Eunice Mafundikwa contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "United Nations sends police and military patrols to a camp in western Sudan .\nMove prompted by reports of fighting which killed civilians .\n47 wounded people evacuated for treatment at a nearby hospital ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- More than 200 people have died of meningitis in the past week alone in Niger and Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization. A health care worker vaccinates a child during an earlier outbreak of meningitis in Niger. The disease is an epidemic in 76 areas of the two countries, the health agency reported Wednesday. A spokesman for W.H.O. in Nigeria, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, said Saturday that the outbreak is bigger than usual and stretches across the African meningitis belt from east- to west-sub-Saharan Africa. The outbreak began around the start of the year, Soyinka told CNN. It usually peaks in the dry season because of dust, winds and cold nights, before dipping around May when the rains come, he said. A shortage of vaccines means officials are relying on \"effective prevention,\" in which they watch for outbreaks and then vaccinate people in the epicenter and surrounding areas, Soyinka told CNN. There have been nearly 25,000 suspected cases and more than 1,500 deaths in the meningitis belt in the first 11 weeks of the year, W.H.O. reported. More than 85 percent of those cases happened in northern Nigeria and Niger. Nigeria's Ministry of Health has reported 17,462 suspected cases of meningococcal disease, including 960 deaths, the world health agency said. In the past week, it reported 4,164 suspected cases with 171 deaths. Sixty-six local government areas in Nigeria have crossed the epidemic threshold. Epidemic thresholds are a way the W.H.O. confirms the emergence of an epidemic so it can step up vaccinations and other management measures. Niger's Ministry of Health has reported 4,513 suspected cases of meningococcal disease, including 169 deaths, since the start of the year. In the past week, 1,071 suspected cases and 30 deaths have been reported, the W.H.O. said. Ten of Niger's 42 districts have crossed the epidemic threshold. By comparison, other countries are reporting fewer than 50 cases a week. Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the thin lining that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. Several different bacteria can cause meningitis but Neisseria meningitidis -- which is to blame for this outbreak -- is one of the most significant because of its potential to cause epidemics. Health authorities have released 2.3 million doses of vaccine to Nigeria and 1.9 million doses to Niger, the W.H.O. said. CNN's Christian Purefoy in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "W.H.O.: Meningitis killed more than 200 people in the past week in Niger and Nigeria .\nOutbreak stretches across African \"meningitis belt,\" at epidemic levels in 76 areas .\nVaccine shortage forces an \"effective prevention\" approach .\n25,000 suspected cases, 1,500 deaths in the belt in the first 11 weeks of 2009 ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Tens of thousands of people packed a soccer stadium in Cameroon Thursday, including President Paul Biya and his wife, for the first large-scale mass of Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to Africa. Tens of thousands of people gathered at a football stadium in Cameroon to see the pope. Africa is the last continent that Benedict had left to visit, and one he could not avoid, said David Gibson, a biographer of the pope. \"He knows he has to do this. He knows Africa is the future of the (Roman Catholic) Church, as it is for all of Christianity,\" said Gibson. Christianity, like Islam, is on the rise in Africa and Latin America, even as the northern hemisphere tends to become more secular.\" One in five of the world's Christians lives in Africa -- up from less than one in fifty in 1900, said Brian Grim, an editor of the World Religion Database. So Benedict is making the visit although travel \"is not his cup of tea,\" Gibson said. \"John Paul II loved the travel and loved the different cultures. Benedict is a European through and through.\" Watch the pope at the soccer stadium » . But Benedict understands that travel has become an essential part of a pope's duties, said Gibson, the author of \"The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.\" Benedict drew cheers at the mass at the 40,000-seat Amadou Ahidjo Stadium when he told worshippers that God had not forgotten orphans, poor and abused children, and those \"forced to join paramilitary forces,\" Cameroon TV reported. He did not mention condoms, a subject which sparked controversy when he reiterated the Vatican's opposition to artificial birth control Monday while flying to Cameroon. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit harder by AIDS and HIV than any other region of the world, according to the United Nations and World Health Organization. There has been fierce debate between those who advocate the use of condoms to help stop the spread of the epidemic and those who oppose it. The pope's mention of birth control may have been an effort to draw attention to the trip, which \"is not getting much of a bounce in the Western media,\" Gibson speculated. \"They are savvy enough to know that if the pope mentions condoms, it is going to be a headline,\" he said of the pontiff's advisers. The issue did not come up by chance, he pointed out. \"These were pre-selected questions for which they had prepared answers,\" he said. The pope also Thursday met local Muslim leaders in Cameroon, a west African country which is just over one-quarter Roman Catholic and just under one-quarter Muslim. Both religions are expanding rapidly in Africa, said Grim, a senior research fellow in religion and world affairs at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Less than one in ten people in sub-Saharan Africa was Christian in 1900. Today nearly six in ten are, he said. The region was about 14 percent Muslim at the beginning of the 20th century, he said, and about 30 percent Muslim now. Benedict outraged Muslim leaders around the world in 2006 by quoting the 15th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus when he said, \"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.\" He repeatedly apologized for the citation, which he said did not reflect his own views. \"It was a painful lesson but clearly the pope learned something from that,\" Gibson said. The pope's meeting Muslim leaders in person can help relations between the Church and Islam, the analyst added. Face-to-face encounters make \"the pope a human figure. That's what these trips are really about -- to see that the pope is not the boogeyman, he is someone who is kind and wise and wants to discuss issues. \"It's so easy to see caricatures, so for the pope simply to show up can be an enormously positive development,\" Gibson said. Gibson said this week's visit may be Benedict's only trip to Africa. \"Knowing that the pope is older, he cannot travel as much -- he does not like to travel -- makes these trips more poignant. He may never come back to Africa again.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tens of thousands of people pack soccer stadium in Cameroon for pope's mass .\nPope tells followers that God has not forgotten orphans, poor and abused .\nHe did not mention condoms after sparking controversy earlier in the week ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- Prosecutors dropped corruption charges Monday against South Africa's ruling party president Jacob Zuma, who is expected to win the presidential race later this month. Jacob Zuma is expected to win the country's upcoming presidential election. The leader of the African National Congress had been charged with more than 700 counts of corruption and fraud. The charges, which were linked to a multibillion dollar arms deal in the country, were dropped after eight years of investigations. Zuma, who was named one of Time's Most Influential People in 2008, is favored to win the country's next presidential elections scheduled for April 22. He served as deputy president of South Africa from 1999 until he was fired in 2005 by President Thabo Mbeki over his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal. Opposition parties are accusing prosecutors of buckling under pressure from the ruling party. Mokotedi Mpshe, head of the National Prosecuting Authority, disagreed. \"An intolerable abuse has occurred,\" Mpshe said after reading transcripts of telephone conversations between two prosecution chiefs who appear to be planning to charge Zuma before ANC party elections. CNN's Nkepile Mabuse contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob Zuma is president of the ANC, the most powerful party in South Africa .\nHe is widely predicted to win the presidential vote, expected to take place in April .\nZuma has denied claims of accepting bribes, money laundering, among others .\nOpposition parties accuse prosecutors of buckling under pressure ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "PARIS, France (CNN) -- The backstage gossip at recent fashion shows wouldn't be complete without rampant speculation about who is likely to replace esteemed American Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. Vogue editors Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfeld at AmfAR's 10th Annual New York Gala in January 2008. Wintour has yet to announce any plans to retire but her advancing age -- she's 60 this year -- has stoked speculation that after more than 20 years in the role it might be time to leave. One name touted as a possible replacement is Carine Roitfeld, the highly respected editor in chief of Vogue Paris. Read more about Carine Roitfeld . Roitfeld is accustomed to the speculation, describing it as \"frustrating.\" She told CNN she hadn't been offered the job and even if she was she probably wouldn't take it. \"It's a bit like for an actor. Do you want to go to Hollywood or do you want to stay here in Paris and do the cinema I like to do?,\" Roitfeld said. \"I think I prefer to stay here in Paris.\" Watch Carine Roitfeld Revealed . A fixture at the U.S. title since 1988, Wintour has a fearsome reputation, mostly courtesy of the 2006 film starring Meryl Streep, \"The Devil Wears Prada.\" The film is based on a book penned by a former assistant at American Vogue who has denied suggestions Wintour was the inspiration for the demanding and odious lead character. Roitfeld is anxious not to create any friction between her and her U.S. counterpart, telling CNN \"I think Anna does a great job... I think she's a great person.\" She said she would be honored to be asked to fill Wintour's shoes, but pointed out that \"it's a very different job.\" \"I'm very happy at French Vogue to be able to do everything -- almost everything -- I want in the magazine,\" she said. \"It would be too political at American Vogue for me. And I'm not sure I'm talking enough good English to work there.\" At Vogue Paris, Roitfeld knows her readers. They are a select group of incredibly stylish and wealthy women who are thrilled rather than alienated by unconventional ideas. The best-selling edition so far, in August 2003, featured French actress Sophie Marceau on the cover smoking a cigarette. At French Vogue, there's less pressure to appeal to the masses. Its circulation of some 139,000 is dwarfed by the million plus readers of American Vogue. Fashion shoots are about fantasy. There's no imperative to make any clothes they feature wearable. If it's unusual and innovative, then it's in. With just 25 staff, Roitfeld describes the team at French Vogue as like a family. And that's how she prefers it. Having said that, she told CNN she wouldn't dismiss any offer out of hand. \"Of course I would consider it because it would be ridiculous not to consider such a huge position -- in terms of money and in terms of power,\" she said. \"But I'm very happy. It's very much a small team (in Paris). America is a huge team. I know because I've worked for them before. I think it's not for me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Style icon Anna Wintour is rumored to be leaving American Vogue in 2009 .\nVogue Paris Editor in Chief Carine Roitfeld touted as a possible replacement .\nRoitfeld told CNN: \"I think I prefer to stay here in Paris... I'm very happy\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Seven members of a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping patrol have been killed by a heavily armed militia group in Sudan's Darfur region, the U.N. said. Peacekeepers drive into a Sudanese refugee camp near Farchana, east of Chad. Five of those killed were Rwandan, a U.N. peacekeeping official said, and the other two were a Ugandan and a Ghanaian. Twenty-two others were wounded in the attack, which was immediately condemned by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. \"The attackers used heavy weapons and engaged the UNAMID convoy in an exchange of fire for more than two hours,\" according to the statement released by Ban's spokesman. UNAMID is the acronym for the U.N.-AU mission in Darfur. The peacekeepers are allowed to used force when fired upon directly. \"The secretary-general condemns in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence against AU-U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur and calls on the government of Sudan to do its utmost to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice,\" the statement said. \"The secretary-general expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers who lost their lives, and reiterates his appreciation for their service, valor and commitment to the search for peace in Darfur.\" The ambush happened around 2:45 p.m. (1145 GMT) in northern Darfur. The rescue mission did not take place until after dark, she said. The peacekeepers who were attacked operated out of Shangil Tobayi -- a base to the west of El Fasher. In five years of war the U.N. says more than four million people have been affected: Two-and-a-half million people forced from their homes and more than 300,000 killed. Sudanese officials dispute those numbers claiming only 10,000 have died -- a number they say is normal for five years of war. U.S. President George W. Bush calls the killings genocide and has put sanctions on Sudan. The U.N. says Sudan's government is guilty of crimes against humanity and of violating international human rights laws every bit as heinous and serious they say as genocide. In February 2008, a fresh wave of killing forced 58,000 people to flee their homes as government troops and Janjaweed militiamen retaliated against rebels. A U.N. report said Sudan broke international law as 115 innocent civilians were killed using tactics similar to those employed in 2003, 2004, the worst years of the war. Peacekeepers are frequently targeted by militias in Darfur, where they are trying to protect civilians from \"janjaweed\" militias -- nomadic Arab militias, supported by Sudan's government, which target pastoral black Africans. Ten African Union peacekeepers were killed in October in an ambush on their peacekeeping base -- the deadliest single attack on AU peacekeepers since they began their mission in late 2004. A U.N. commission concluded in 2005 that the Sudanese government and militias \"conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement\" in Darfur. In 2006, the U.N. Security Council authorized the creation of the joint AU/U.N. hybrid force of peacekeepers to protect civilians in Darfur. That hybrid force formally took over peacekeeping duties late last year from the force composed solely of members of the African Union. Yet the force is under-manned as a result of the Sudanese government's opposition to a U.N. presence, with just over 9,500 troops of an authorized strength of 26,000." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "U.N.: Seven peacekeepers, including five Rwandans, killed and 22 wounded .\nAttack immediately condemned by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon .\nIn five years of war U.N. says more than 4 million people have been affected ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Prince William has spoken in depth publicly for the first time about death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, 12 years ago, saying \"mummy\" is now a hollow word \"evoking only memories.\" Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a Paris car crash 12 years ago. Prince William was only 15 and his brother Prince Harry 12 when Diana died in a Paris car crash along with Dodi Fayed in 1997. The Prince made the comment Thursday during a speech to mark his new role as patron of Britain's Child Bereavement Charity -- a group his mother was once involved with. The British Press Association reported that he told the launch of the charity's Mother's Day campaign: \"My mother Diana was present at your launch 15 years ago, and I am incredibly proud to be able to continue her support for your fantastic charity, by becoming your royal patron. \"What my mother recognized then -- and what I understand now -- is that losing a close family member is one of the hardest experiences that anyone can ever endure. \"Never being able to say the word 'Mummy' again in your life sounds like a small thing. Tell us what you think about Prince William's moving comments . \"However, for many, including me, it's now really just a word -- hollow and evoking only memories. \"I can therefore wholeheartedly relate to the Mother's Day campaign as I too have felt -- and still feel -- the emptiness on such a day as Mother's Day.\" Listen to Prince William discuss his mother. » . The charity wants to raise awareness of the problems suffered by mothers bereaved of a child or children bereaved of their mother. Based in Buckinghamshire, a region west of London, it educates professionals and supports families after a death. Writing in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper about his new role, the Prince said the reality of losing a child or parent was \"awful.\" \"Initially, there is a sense of profound shock and disbelief that this could ever happen to you. Real grief often does not hit home until much later. \"For many it is a grief never entirely lost. Life is altered as you know it, and not a day goes past without you thinking about the one you have lost.\" Mother's Day in the UK always falls on the fourth weekend of Lent, and this year is on March 22. Earlier this week France's leading society magazine, Point de Vue, reported that the Prince would marry his long-term girlfriend, Kate Middleton, this summer. The magazine claimed an official announcement was \"imminent.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Prince William says he feels \"emptiness\" every Mother's Day .\nHis mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a Paris car crash 12 years ago .\nPrince: \"For many, including me, [Mummy is] now really just a word\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The future of Detroit is electric cars, the governor of Michigan declared in an opinion piece on Newsweek's Web site. The Chevy Volt is one of the electric cars being developed by Michigan's auto industry. \"In Michigan, we are doing everything we can to become the home of this new electric auto industry -- and to the jobs this industry will create,\" wrote Gov. Jennifer Granholm. \"Again, the road to a stronger future for our country will begin in Michigan.\" She said that for automakers, replacing the 100-year-old internal-combustion engine is both \"revolutionary and daunting.\" Ann Marie Sastry, director of the energy systems engineering program at the University of Michigan, said the industry will have to take risks and government support will be essential. \"Gov. Granholm is doing exactly what we all hope our elected officials will do -- she is supporting partnerships and growth in critical economic areas,\" Sastry said. \"She's enunciated a vision for clean vehicles that builds our regional economy and provides global, sustainable transportation solutions. \"We understand that these investments will take time to reach profitability, but these are hard problems, and they are worth investment and risk. The risk of doing nothing is much, much greater. I'm glad she is making the case for Michigan.\" Granholm said all of Detroit's Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- are working on electric vehicles. \"General Motors plans to make lithium-ion battery packs to power the Chevy Volt, which is expected to earn a fuel-economy rating of more than 100 mpg,\" she wrote. \"... As Ford celebrates the sale of the 100,000th hybrid Escape, it is preparing for the introduction of a full line of new hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Chrysler, too, is electrifying its product lines.\" Sastry said she couldn't be more delighted with GM's plans for the Volt as a \"truly mass-marketed electrified drive train using electric technology.\" In 2008, GM sold 14,439 hybrid vehicles, according to a statement from the company. \"These companies are serious about transforming themselves and transforming us into a nation less reliant on foreign oil,\" Granholm wrote. Sastry said public opinion toward energy conservation is a major factor in the companies being willing to take the risk of creating the new types of cars. \"These very large companies are placing a bet on the future in no small measure because of the American public's change in attitude toward it,\" she said. In her commentary, Granholm referred to President Barack Obama's plan, announced in February, to direct $2 billion from the economic stimulus package into technology aimed at putting 1 million American-made, plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. Sastry said it's hard to predict when something of that scale will happen -- many industry experts disagree on an exact time -- but it will happen. \"Keep in mind, several industries have to work together to make this happen,\" she said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gov. Jennifer Granholm says auto industry's future is electric .\nUniversity of Michigan expert agrees Big Three need to move to electric cars .\nPublic opinion on energy conservation is pushing the move, expert says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- A well-known Iranian filmmaker has written an open letter calling for the release of journalist Roxana Saberi. In a letter, Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi blames himself for urging Roxana Saberi to stay in Iran. Bahman Ghobadi said he kept quiet about the arrest and conviction of the Iranian-American journalist at the request of her family. After Saberi was convicted last weekend and sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence, he said he felt he had to do something. He told CNN that Saberi, whom he described as his fiancee, is caught in a \"game of politics.\" In his letter, which has been posted by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Ghobadi blames himself for urging Saberi to stay in Iran despite her desire to leave. Also, he writes, \"My letter is a desperate call to all statesmen ... and to all those who can do something to help.\" \"From the other side of the ocean, the Americans have protested against her imprisonment, because she is an American citizen,\" he writes. \"But I say no, she is Iranian, and she loves Iran. I beg you, let her go! I beg you not to throw her in the midst of your political games! She is too weak and too pure to take part in your games. Let me be present at her trial, sit next to her wise father and gentle mother, and testify she is without guilt or reproach.\" The 40-year-old filmmaker said that Saberi was planning to leave the country, but he kept her from leaving until his latest film -- which will be shown at this year's Cannes film festival -- was completed. Ghobadi won the 2000 Golden Camera award at the Cannes festival for his feature film, \"A Time for Drunken Horses.\" Saberi, 31, was sentenced Saturday to eight years in prison after a one-day trial that was closed to the public. The decision prompted sharp denunciations from President Barack Obama, as well as other U.S. and international officials. Iranian officials initially said Saberi was held for buying a bottle of wine. The Foreign Ministry later said she was detained for reporting without proper accreditation. On April 9, word emerged that Saberi had been charged with espionage. Saberi's lawyer has said he will appeal the verdict. Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi has ordered the head of Tehran's Justice Department to make sure the appeals process is quick and fair. Ghobadi wrote that he is \"optimistic about her release, and I firmly hope the verdict will be canceled in the next stage of the trial.\" \"My Iranian girl with Japanese eyes and an American ID, is in jail. Shame on me! Shame on us!\" CNN's Igor Krotov and Shirzad Bozorghmehr contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi writes letter calling for release of jailed journalist .\nFilmmaker says fiancee Roxana Saberi is caught in a \"game of politics\"\nJournalist \"is without guilt or reproach,\" filmmaker's letter says .\n\"Shame on me! Shame on us!\" the letter concludes ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tokyo is a huge and often confusing city for travelers, but with these tips you needn't be daunted by the Japanese capital. 100 Yen shops are great value for money. Subway Tokyo has an incredibly efficient subway, but the 13 lines are run by two different companies, Toei Subways and Tokyo Metro, meaning a bewildering variety of day passes are available. A good bet is the Toei and Tokyo Metro One-Day Economy Pass, which costs ¥1,000 and gives you a day of unlimited travel on all subway lines. During rush-hour the subway becomes an unbearable crush. All social niceties go out the window in a free for all that's best avoided completely. Taxis During the day traffic can be gridlocked, but in the evening, when traffic is lighter, taxis are reasonably alternative to the subway. Enter and exit taxis by the back left-hand door. Don't make the novice's error of trying to open or close the door -- your white-gloved driver will do that from the front seat. Ideally, have a map of your destination, or at least an address written in Japanese. Tipping is not expected. ATMs Although Tokyo is ultra-modern, you may have to revert to carrying travelers' checks for the duration of your stay. Few ATMs accept foreign cards, although you should have more luck at post offices and branches of Citibank. ATMs in busy areas stay open until 9 p.m. and most are closed at weekends, although Citibank has 24-hour ATMs. Credit cards are still not accepted as widely as you might expect, so travelers' checks are your best bet -- and make sure you're carrying cash if you're planning a night out away from the city center. What's on The best way to keep up with events and entertainment is with one of Tokyo's English language magazines. Metropolis and Tokyo Notice Board are two of the best -- and they're both free. 100 Yen shops These bargain stores are hugely popular in Tokyo, selling everything from food to toiletries for ¥100 plus ¥5 tax -- about $1. They are also a great place to pick up an inexpensive, kitschy souvenir. Daiso 100-Yen Shop in Takeshita-dori (Village 107 Building, 1-19-24 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku) has four floors of cheap thrills. Etiquette As a foreigner, having a generally courteous demeanor will cover a multitude of sins, but there are a few rules you should try to remember: . - Never use your chopsticks to take food from someone else's and don't stick your chopsticks upright in your food when you've finished -- both of these denote funerary customs. - If you're eating with other people, don't pour your own drink. Fill your neighbor's glass and wait for them to reciprocate. - The Japanese don't pour sauces onto their rice. Leave any sauces in their serving dish and dip your food in lightly. - It's a faux pas be seen eating in public -- especially on a train. And blowing your nose in public is an absolute no-no. .................................. What are your tips for a great stay in Tokyo? Where have you found the \"real\" Tokyo? Send us your suggestions in the \"Sound Off\" box below and we'll print the best." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tokyo has a fantastic subway system -- just don't use it during rush hour .\nFew ATMs accept foreign cards, so you should take travelers' checks .\n100 Yen shops are hugely popular in Tokyo and are great value for money ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it is blocking the import from China of five species of seafood until their importers can prove they are not contaminated. About 10 percent of catfish eaten in the U.S. comes from China, according to the National Fisheries Institute. \"FDA is initiating an import alert against several species of imported Chinese farmed seafood because of numerous cases of contamination with drugs and unsafe food additives,\" said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's assistant commissioner for food protection, in a conference call with reporters. The species cited are catfish, eel, shrimp, basa and dace, he said. Basa is similar to catfish; dace is similar to carp. The medications cited include the antimicrobials nitrofuran, malachite green, gentian violet and fluoroquinolones. Nitrofuran, malachite green, and gentian violet have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Use of fluoroquinolones in food-producing animals can result in antibiotic resistance. None of them is approved for use in farmed seafood in the United States and some of them have been shown to cause cancer when fed to laboratory animals for \"prolonged periods of time,\" Acheson said. Alerts have been issued in the past, but Thursday's announcement is the largest. The food will not be allowed into the United States until the importer can prove it is free from harmful contaminants, Acheson said. He said the agency decided to broaden its previous alerts for products from individual companies to a countrywide alert after tests showed that 15 percent of those species of seafood produced by 18 companies in China contained traces of one or more of the contaminants. \"FDA is taking this action to protect the public health of the American people,\" he said. Watch more on the FDA's import alert on five kinds of fish from China. » . The products \"could cause serious health problems if consumed over a long period of time,\" he said. Still, Acheson added, the low levels of contaminants means that there is \"no imminent threat\" to the public health. China is the world's largest producer of farmed fish, accounting for 70 percent of the total produced, he said. It is the third-largest exporter of farmed fish to the United States. The action is an import alert, which means that these products from Chinese processors \"will be detained and refused entry into the United States until the importer can demonstrate that the product is safe and in compliance with applicable regulations,\" said Margaret O' K. Glavin, FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. Last year, the FDA slapped a countrywide alert on all Chinese eel after tests showed residues of an antimicrobial agent, she said. Since then, and \"despite extensive communications between FDA and appropriate Chinese authorities to correct the problem, we have continued to find residues of certain veterinary drugs or food additives that are not permitted for use in the United States,\" she added. Glavin said the FDA inspects 5 percent of seafood from China. The first alert on Chinese seafood occurred before 2001, she said. \"We're not asking for this product to be withdrawn from the market or for people to take this out of their freezers and throw it away,\" Acheson said. \"This is a long-term health concern; it is not an acute health concern.\" China is not the sole offender, Glavin said. Import alerts have been ordered for firms in the Philippines, Mexico \"and several others,\" though this is the first countrywide import alert, she said. More than 80 percent of shrimp eaten in the United States is imported, including 7 percent from China, according to the National Fisheries Institute. About 10 percent of catfish eaten in the United States comes from China, the seafood industry advocacy group said. Last year, the United States imported 590,299 metric tons of shrimp from abroad; 68,150 metric tons of which came from China, according to the Department of Commerce. The United States imported $1.2 billion of fish from China in 2004, according to H. M. Johson & Associates, a seafood industry research group. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "FDA blocks import of shrimp, catfish, eel, basa and dace from China .\nFish won't be allowed until importers prove they are safe .\nThe fish were treated with antibiotics and antifungal medication .\nThe antibiotics are not allowed in U.S. fish ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Tokyo was known as Edo until 1868, but it's hard to imagine that this high-rise, high-tech metropolis could possibly have existed in a time before electricity and concrete. Tokyo isn't just a futuristic city; it's the place that has shaped our vision of what the future will look like. In Tokyo, the future is a long-standing tradition. There's a sci-fi familiarity to areas like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Akihabara; the skyscrapers glowing with illuminated signs, subway stops inside shopping malls and taxis with automated doors could be straight out of \"Blade Runner\" or \"The Fifth Element.\" But the space-age topography of Tokyo has been shaped by a history of catastrophe. In the 20th century alone Tokyo suffered earthquakes, fires and devastating bombing. The result is a city that has repeatedly been forced to rebuild, shedding its past with each successive redevelopment. In Tokyo, the future is a long-standing tradition. After centuries of expansion, Tokyo has grown vertically to accommodate its 12 million residents. Perhaps the inevitability of another catastrophic earthquake accounts for the lack of emotional attachment to the city's architecture; buildings are continuously being pulled down and replaced, creating the sensation that Tokyo's skyline is a permanent work in progress. While it can seem that the city is intent on stream rolling over its past, you can still see traces of old Edo. The Meiji Jingu Shrine tells of the city's Shinto heritage and there's something timeless about the charming chaos of Tsukiji Fish Market. Even the enduring formalities of Tokyo's social etiquette and the joy with which Tokyoites greet the coming of the cherry blossom are signs that the city maintains a lingering affection for its traditions. At first glance, Tokyoites may seem sober and industrious, efficiently going about the business of making their city a world capital of techno commerce, but shops filled with manga comics and anime DVDs hint at a desire to escape the obligations of real life. That appetite for escapism is most colorfully expressed in the phenomenon of \"cosplay\", which sees teenagers dress as characters from cartoons and comic strips, or in the outlandish uniforms of various distinctive subcultures. In the 80s, Japan's bubble economy created unsustainable growth in Tokyo and property prices in the capital went through the roof. When the bubble burst in the early 90s, Tokyo was hit particularly hard but, after years of recession, Tokyo has the buzz of a city regaining its confidence. For this endlessly fascinating city, it's back to business -- and back to the future." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Known as Edo until 1868, Tokyo has been shaped by a history of disasters .\nThere's a sci-fi familiarity to areas like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Akihabara .\nThere are still traces of traditional Tokyo, such as at the Meiji Jingu Shrine ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Danielle Dayton and Patrick Murray received the call Saturday afternoon: Their 4-pound son, Brayden Murray, was shipping out. Patrick Murray and Danielle Dayton say their tiny son's evacuation went smoothly. As coastal hospitals prepared for Gustav, tiny babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Units were among the first to be evacuated. \"The NICU babies are our first priority when it comes to evacuation,\" said Keith Darcey, a spokesman for East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana, where Brayden was a patient before being evacuated to Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, Lousiana. Woman's Hospital started receiving phone calls Wednesday from coastal-area hospitals inquiring whether there was room in their NICU, spokeswoman Jodi Conachen said. By Sunday evening, the hospital was taking care of 32 evacuated babies. \"The hospitals started preparing early this time,\" she said. \"They learned their lesson from Katrina.\" The babies have done well since arriving in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said Darcy Gann, director of the NICU at Woman's Hospital. \"They act like they were barely affected by the transfer.\" The babies arrived by ambulance without their parents. Dayton and Murray drove to Baton Rouge to join their son after dropping off their 7-year-old daughter, Breanne, to stay with relatives far from the storm. While the couple took care of their children, they had a friend board up their business in Metairie. \"You have to deal with it the best you can. You can't panic, because it doesn't do anyone any good,\" Murray said. \"You do what's best for the baby.\" Although Murray said Brayden's evacuation went smoothly, one hospital administrator said the patient evacuation process had been \"incredibly frustrating.\" Watch part of the NICU evacuation » . \"There was at least a six- to eight-hour delay in evacuating the babies,\" said Dr. Kevin Jordan, chief medical officer of Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, which sent seven NICU babies to Woman's Hospital. \"It was very, very, very disorganized.\" Jordan blamed the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. He said Touro is still waiting to evacuate four critically ill adult patients on ventilators. \"It's been incredibly frustrating,\" he said. The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said each hospital is responsible for evacuating its own patients, adding that Touro asked for assistance Sunday morning, days after other hospitals had asked for help. \"It's never a perfect process,\" he said. \"It's never easy to evacuate thousands of people in 48 hours.\" Touro, which usually has between 215 and 245 patients, has evacuated all but around 65 to 70, he added. \"The sickest of the sick patients we're keeping and sheltering in place,\" Jordan said. \"We're concerned that evacuating them could do significant harm.\" Other hospitals took a different approach. East Jefferson evacuated only its three NICU babies, keeping its 210 adult patients in the hospital. \"We survived Katrina quite well and learned a lot from the experience,\" Darcey said, adding that since Katrina, the exterior of the hospital has been fortified. \"But you don't want to take any chances with the little babies,\" he added. \"Their temperatures have to be very carefully regulated, and if the air conditioning goes out, that could have a detrimental effect on their health.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sick newborn babies among first evacuate area, as Gustav approaches .\nTouro Infirmary, sent seven NICU babies to Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge .\n\"It was very, very, very disorganized,\" says Touro's chief medical officer ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Hundreds of refugees on Wednesday blocked a main road in northwest Pakistan, to protest living conditions for some of the 1.5 million Pakistanis forced to flee their homes in the past three weeks. The refugee situation in Pakistan could be a bigger threat than fighting with Taliban, U.N. says. \"The government has been making big promises, but none of those were ever fulfilled,\" said Hazrat Bilal, a protester and refugee whose family has taken up temporary residence in a primary school. The refugees had blocked the main road in Pakistan's Mardan district since 8 a.m. Wednesday, Bilal said by telephone. The demonstrators were demanding food, water and other government services, he said. Mardan is a main transit point for the large numbers of Pakistanis fleeing the Swat Valley, the site of fierce fighting between Taliban militants and Pakistani soldiers. The first pictures from the fighting » . The refugee crisis could pose a bigger threat to stability in Pakistan than the war itself, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told CNN while touring a refugee camp in the nearby Swabi district last week. The Pakistani government has been working with international aid agencies to establish camps for refugees, where tents, food, water and basic medical services are provided. But the scale and speed of the displacement -- said to be the worst since the Rwandan genocide in 1994 -- have overwhelmed aid workers, Guterres said. \"The scale of the problem is such that all our resources combined cannot cope with it. And it's very important for this population not to feel abandoned,\" Guterres said. \"Without massive support of the international community for the Pakistani people, this will become a very dramatic problem, and not only a humanitarian problem.\" On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced $110 million in humanitarian aid for Pakistani refugees. She also unveiled a system that lets Americans donate to the U.N. refugee effort, by sending a text message on mobile phone, including the word \"Swat.\" Meanwhile, Pakistan's military said it was continuing the assault on Taliban militants. Pakistani forces have targeted regional Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah and Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan, but have \"no information about whether we have been successful,\" said the spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. He said 80 \"terrorists\" were killed Tuesday night in \"intense fighting\" in the town of Sultanwas, located in Buner district. One Pakistani soldier was also killed in recent fighting, Abbas said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nearly 1.5 million Pakistanis have registered as displaced since May 2, U.N. says .\nU.N. believes refugee crisis could be bigger threat than fight with Taliban .\nUnited States is sending $110 million in aid to Pakistan ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Rick Warren, founder and pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, is one of America's most influential authors and religious leaders. In August, he moderated a discussion on key issues between presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Rick Warren says no matter what problem you have, there's a purpose behind it. His latest book is \"The Purpose of Christmas.\" He was interviewed by Kiran Chetry on \"American Morning\" on Friday. Here is an edited version of the exchange: . Chetry: We always say we don't want Christmas to be commercialized. It seems that at the end of the year, we end up in the same position, worried about buying presents, worried about spending money, worried about holiday cards, and how do you get back to the real meaning? Rick Warren: A lot of people are really hurting because of the economy and because of the fears about what's going to happen, and really those same problems are the problems that Mary and Joseph went through. Housing, no room at the inn, travel, economic unrest, things like that. So I wrote this book really to focus us on what is the true meaning of Christmas. It's a book of hope, and the big idea behind it is that no matter what problem you're going through, there's a purpose behind it. God has a purpose, and that purpose can help you make it through even the stressful times when we decide to write a note to everybody, buy a gift for everybody, redecorate our house, have five or six meals and go to eight or nine parties. Rick Warren: Shop more or pray more? » . Chetry: Exactly, because that's usually what ends up happening, and sometimes the spirit of giving and fellowship is lost in that. You also write in the book, remember that God loves you, but for somebody who is facing foreclosure -- let's say you lost a loved one or your job or dealing with an illness -- it can sound pat in a way. What do you say to people who say, pastor, I don't feel that God loves me or I wouldn't be going through this . Warren: Actually, sometimes what we think is a problem is actually a protection. For instance, last month my daughter-in-law, who is 25 years old, went through a brain tumor. She had her first child premature, about six weeks early, and when she had that baby early, it was breech. The cord was wrapped around its neck and it stopped breathing and they actually had to do an emergency C-section and resuscitate the child and save the baby's life and save her life. We looked at that and we thought, boy, that's a pretty tough problem, but we now know that she had a three-inch brain tumor at the base of her brainstem, and if she had pushed, it would have killed her. And so actually, seven weeks later, when she should have been delivering the baby, we discovered the brain tumor, and she would have been trying to have brain surgery, three surgeries, one was 20 hours long, at the same time as having a baby. So what we thought was a problem was actually a protection saving her life. And sometimes, we look at a tapestry, and from the top down, you can see the picture. From the bottom up, it's all of these different colors of threads. It makes no sense. It's all jumbled. When God looks down, he sees what he's doing. When we look up, we just see the jumble. Chetry: And she's OK? Warren: She's OK. Chetry: Thank goodness. I want to turn to politics now and ask you about the summit you hosted for both of the candidates. Great provocative questions and interesting answers we weren't hearing on the campaign trail. Now that the campaign is over, what is your reaction to the outcome and to President-elect Barack Obama? Warren: Well, there's no doubt about it, we need to be praying for our president. I don't think any president has come into a crisis so quickly as President-elect Obama has, and no president has come in with probably as high expectations as President-elect Obama. So we need to pray for him. We need to support him where we can, and we need -- we want the best for America. Chetry: Religion factored heavily into some of the back-and-forth in the campaign season. Many people believed [incorrectly] that Barack Obama wasn't really Christian, that he was Muslim, and, of course, the Jeremiah Wright thing. Religion ended up, unfortunately, being a divisive issue at times as opposed to one that was a uniting issue. How do you change that? Warren: Part of it is we have to end the caricaturization of the candidates. I know all of the candidates on both sides, and none of them were exactly as they were portrayed. We tend to overportray them whether it's Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John McCain. They're not anything like the caricaturization that we often hear. We tend to push to extremes. They are a lot more practical and pragmatic, I think, than we want to give them credit for, and every president, when he becomes president, has to let go of some ideology and become more of a pragmatist because there's so many issues that you don't probably understand until you actually hold the office." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pastor Rick Warren: Problems we face similar to those of Mary and Joseph .\nHe says we need to look for the purpose of Christmas and of our problems .\nWarren: We need to pray for new president and support him where we can ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- The children in their party outfits on the red carpet were in full agreement with the woman in the middle of the slum: \"It's unbelievable!\" Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Ali got to leave their homes in Mumbai to go to Hollywood for the Oscars. Nine-year-old Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, 10, were living a very different life and apparently loving every minute of it. The two, some of the child stars of the Oscar-winning \"Slumdog Millionaire\" movie, know the Indian slum well. It's where they've grown up, and it's where they will return at the end of their Hollywood dream trip. But before that, there was the red carpet and an interview with E! host Ryan Seacrest, where they grinned and repeated their disbelief at what was happening to them. \"Unbelievable. I never thought it would be an Oscar, this movie,\" said another of the children, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar. Then it was to the awards show itself, where their movie won first for its cinematography, script and music. Toward the end of the evening, Danny Boyle picked up best director, and then Rubina, Azharuddin and many of the movie's other stars got to storm the stage with producer Christian Colson to collect the best picture award. By that time, it was late morning in the children's home city of Mumbai, where family, friends and many fellow residents of the slum watched the results from Hollywood. Watch how Mumbai celebrated » . \"I don't really know what the Oscars are,\" Rubina's mom said. \"I'm just glad my daughter looks happy, though she told me she misses Indian food.\" The Oscar success of \"Slumdog\" distracted some from the drudgery of their daily lives. But the poverty and lack of opportunity that's a central theme of the film is always all around. \"Our children lead a dog's life,\" Rubina's mother said, pointing out garbage everywhere, the open drains and the lack of education opportunities. That at least may change for Rubina and Azharuddin. In a few days they will be back in Mumbai and back in the slums that are their home. Watch how 'Slumdog Millionaire' dominated at the Academy Awards » . But, according to media reports, Boyle has promised to help the children he plucked from the obscurity of the slum and see that they will now get to go to a proper school." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two child stars of \"Slumdog Millionaire\" come from the slum featured in the movie .\nThey traveled from Mumbai to Hollywood for Academy Awards .\nDisbelief, joy echoed amid the red carpet glamour and in the squalor of the slums ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi police and soldiers on Saturday launched major raids in a once-notorious insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. Saturday's raids in Falluja by Iraqi forces were similar to U.S.-led sweeps in the city in 2004, shown here. A police official in the Anbar province city of Falluja told CNN that a large number of security forces were scouring its Sinaie district for an array of weapons -- machine guns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. The Sinaie area, in Falluja's southeastern section, is an industrial district with factories, scrap yards and large, abandoned yards. The area used to be a stronghold of the insurgency in Falluja until the militants were driven out in major military operations five years ago. At that time, the U.S.-led offensive was largely in response to the brutal ambush, killing and mutilation of four U.S. security contractors. Their charred bodies were left dangling from a bridge over the Euphrates River in spring 2004. In November of that year, U.S. and Iraqi forces attacked insurgents in Falluja, killing about 1,200 militants. Eight Iraqi soldiers and 51 U.S. troops, mostly Marines, died in urban combat, according to the Pentagon. About 95 percent of Falluja's population was displaced. Falluja is about 37 miles, or 60 kilometers, west of Baghdad . After the city was pacified, the United States committed more than $200 million to reconstruction projects there, and changes became evident. Small cafes and grocery stores lined the streets once dusty and abandoned. Iraqis in Falluja got back to the rhythms of everyday life: They worked, shopped -- and rebuilt. As fragile security gains took root, American military officials marveled at the resurgent city of several hundred thousand. On Saturday, a police official denied reports that armed groups were trying to re-establish a foothold in the area. The U.S. military said Marines and police in the nearby town of Karma were also participating in a combined cache sweep. Violence has dropped in Iraq, and President Obama's administration has been gearing up to withdraw U.S. troops. The U.S. military continues to be on guard for flare-ups in violence and insurgent activity. The vast and predominantly Sunni Arab Anbar province was a battleground between the U.S. military and al Qaeda in Iraq during the earlier years of the Iraq war. But the insurgents eventually lost ground when a grass-roots movement called \"the awakening\" emerged. The tribe-based awakening forces rejected al Qaeda in Iraq and turned their allegiances toward the U.S. and Iraqi government. While the awakening doesn't have clout in Falluja, there are pockets of support just outside the city, as well as in the rest of the province. Al Qaeda in Iraq's strongest presence in the country is now in the Mosul area, in Nineveh province, north of Baghdad." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Iraqi police official says security forces were scouring Sinaie district of Falluja .\nU.S. military: Marines and area police assisting in combined cache sweep .\nAnbar province is vast and violent scene of U.S. and al Qaeda in Iraq encounters ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "SINGAPORE (CNN) -- Hundreds of customers flocked to the Singapore office of troubled insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) on Wednesday, many hoping to pull their investments and policies from the company. People in Singapore queue outside the office of AIA, a subsidiary of AIG. The crowd formed just hours after the U.S. Federal Reserve Board authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend $85 billion to a crumbling AIG. In return, the federal government will receive a nearly 80 percent stake in the company. One person who lined up in Singapore, retired teacher Wong Yoke Inn, said she was going to pull her investments from AIA even though it would cost her about $3,000 -- the equivalent of about $2,000 in the United States. She joined an orderly crowd whose members were each given a number and a time to return to meet with a representative of AIA Singapore -- AIG's division in the island nation. AIA tried to allay investors concerns in a statement distributed outside the Singapore office and posted on the company's Web site. \"AIA Singapore has more than sufficient capital and reserves ... to meet our obligations to policyholders,\" the statement said. \"The funds maintained in Singapore are segregated from American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and are held specifically for the purpose of meeting our obligations to policyholders.\" The U.S. government announced Tuesday night that it would act to save America's largest insurer from filing for bankruptcy. Such a move almost certainly would have further roiled world markets already reeling from the bankruptcy filling of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America. AIG has $1.1 trillion in assets and 74 million clients in 130 countries." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hundreds queue outside AIG subsidiary in Singapore following news of U.S. bailout .\nU.S. Fed announces $85 billion loan to one of world's largest insurers .\nSingapore offices try to ease worries of policyholders ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York Times endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination over Rudy Giuliani and the rest of the GOP field, strongly criticizing the former mayor of its home city. Sens. John McCain, left, and Rudy Giuliani took part in a debate in Florida on Thursday. In endorsements posted on its Web site for Friday's editions, the Times also endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. \"Senator John McCain of Arizona is the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe,\" the paper's editorial board wrote. \"With a record of working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation, he would offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field.\" The endorsement anticipated readers asking how the New York paper could reject Giuliani, a man it endorsed for re-election in 1997 and praised for his work cleaning up crime in the city and during the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. \"That man is not running for president,\" the paper wrote. \"The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city's and the country's nightmare to promote his presidential campaign,\" the paper writes, describing Giuliani as \"a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man.\" Giuliani played down the harsh words, suggesting that the Times has a liberal editorial staff that often disapproved of him. \"I probably never did anything the New York Times suggested I do in eight years as mayor of New York City, and if I did, I wouldn't be considered a conservative Republican,\" Giuliani said during a Republican debate Thursday night hosted by MSNBC in Boca Raton, Florida. \"I changed welfare, I changed quality of life, I took on homelessness -- I did all the things that they think makes you mean and I believe show true compassion and true love for people.\" His wasn't the only Republican campaign taking that tack. An e-mail from the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sarcastically noted that McCain had been endorsed by \"[t]hat bastion of conservative advocacy.\" The editorial was hardly full of praise for McCain, despite calling him a \"genuine war hero\" and a \"staunch advocate of campaign finance reform.\" \"Mr. McCain was one of the first prominent Republicans to point out how badly the war in Iraq was being managed. We wish he could now see as clearly past the temporary victories produced by Mr. Bush's unsustainable escalation, which have not led to any change in Iraq's murderous political calculus,\" it reads. \"At the least, he owes Americans a real idea of how he would win this war, which he says he can do.\" The paper praised Clinton's chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, but called Clinton more qualified for the job. \"It is unfair, especially after seven years of Mr. Bush's inept leadership, but any Democrat will face tougher questioning about his or her fitness to be commander in chief,\" it reads. \"Mrs. Clinton has more than cleared that bar, using her years in the Senate well to immerse herself in national security issues, and has won the respect of world leaders and many in the American military.\" The Democratic editorial contrasts Clinton and Obama -- calling her \"the brilliant if at times harsh-sounding senator from New York\" and him \"the incandescent if still undefined senator from Illinois.\" The paper says Clinton \"sometimes overstates the importance of [her] resume,\" but that upon hearing \"her policies and answers for America's big problems, we are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience.\" New York is one of a host of states that will vote during the February 5 Super Tuesday primaries. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Paper rips Rudy Giuliani as \"a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man\"\nGiuliani responds: I wouldn't be a conservative Republican if I did what paper wanted .\nOpinion piece says McCain will \"end the George Bush style of governing\"\nPaper praises Barack Obama but calls Hillary Clinton more qualified for the job ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The Rev. Martin Luther King is looking down on the United States, smiling, Otis Sutton said Wednesday. Otis Sutton, 78, recalls how times have changed since he grew up in the segregated South. \"That's what he wanted. He'd been preaching that all along,\" Sutton, 78, said of the nation electing its first African-American president. Sutton, who has worked on and off at the historic Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta, Georgia, since it opened in 1947, was baptized by the civil rights icon's father, King Sr. He remembers playing pick-up football games in a dirt lot with King Jr. when they were both youngsters in Atlanta. Asked if King Jr. was any good at football, Sutton chuckled. \"He liked to read and study,\" he said with a reverence that prohibited him from disparaging King Jr. in any way, \"but he loved the game.\" Walk around Atlanta and you'll find plenty of African-Americans who hope Sen. Barack Obama will inspire young people to reach for a book rather than a football. \"As young, black Americans our society and our communities had told us that the only way we could make it out is if we entertain,\" said Cortez Tarver, 28, who cuts hair at the University Barbershop, just down the street from the historically black Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University. Hear Tarver talk about Obama's win » . \"They want us to be funny. They want us to cook their food, entertain them and play their sports -- and we do all that, we're just going to fit in.\" The media reinforce the erroneous notion that successful black men exist only in the realms of hip hop, football and basketball, Tarver said. The result is that fewer and fewer African-American children aspire to occupations like doctor and lawyer, he said. All that changed after Obama locked up the Electoral College vote on Tuesday night. \"Now, they can say they want to be president,\" Tarver said of young blacks. \"This shows us, hey, if we go to college, we study hard, we help out our communities, we can become president, we can become something great -- other than shucking and jiving, other than putting on a show.\" Sutton likens Obama's rise through the political ranks to Tiger Woods' rise through professional golf. Until about 12 years ago, when Woods turned pro, it was rare to find black youngsters swinging clubs at their local links. Even if they had the natural skills, they did not believe the game belonged to them, he said. \"You never seen black children playing golf till [Woods] started playing,\" said Sutton, explaining that even his 7-year-old grandson, Josh, now enjoys playing golf. What Woods did for golf, Sutton said, Obama has done for politics. Children across the nation were told Tuesday night that they, too, can aspire to the highest office in the land. \"If he can do it, they believe they can do it,\" Sutton said. Back at University Barbershop, Tarver's colleague, Spot Jackson, 28, said the only thing keeping him awake was some Burger King coffee and a few doughnuts after staying up until 6 a.m. watching election news. Like Tarver and Sutton, Jackson said he believes Obama shattered the ceiling for black men and women. He joked that Obama's victory made him want to start a foundation. Its mission would be simple, he said. \"We're going to eradicate the word 'can't.' We're going to try to get it out of every dictionary known to man,\" he said. \"There's nothing you can honestly say you can't do anymore; it just changes your perception as far as what you think is possible in this country.\" Jackson dismissed a question about whether the change was made possible by Obama's skin color, saying it was more about the man's character and platform. \"He could've been green and if the message was the same and it resonated the same way it did, then he still would've gotten the same support,\" he said. Jackson said he saw television footage of people in Indonesia celebrating the U.S. presidential election, something he's never seen in the 10 years he's been voting. Morgan Blanchard, 20, a junior at Clark Atlanta, said she also was impressed to see international footage from Italy and Australia of people celebrating the election. It shows Obama has broad appeal, which speaks more to his honesty and principles than to his skin color, she said. \"Oh gosh, it's not even that he's African-American,\" she said, noting with a sly smile that Obama's mother was white. \"It's the way he carries himself, the way he puts himself out there. I don't think race has anything to do with it.\" Her sentiments were echoed by fellow Clark Atlanta student Ashante Smith, 18. A sophomore studying music, Smith said many African-Americans voted for Obama because of his race, but she pointed out that he also snared millions of votes in white and Latino communities. \"I think he was just really committed to all communities,\" she said. And while she thinks Obama can help improve education, unemployment and the economy in general, she concurs with many who say he can hearten generations of African-Americans to reach higher in life. \"It just inspires me to go for what I want,\" she said. \"It's like we can do anything.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "African-Americans in Martin Luther King Jr.'s hometown say Obama shattered ceiling .\nOtis Sutton says Obama did for politics what Tiger Woods did for golf .\nBlacks no longer relegated to \"shucking and jiving\" to get ahead, barber says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A Taliban leader has instructed fighters in Afghanistan to target U.S. and other coalition troops in response to the United States sending more troops into the war. U.S. Army soldiers, right, watch two Afghan soldiers at ISAF's Camp Bostick in the eastern Kunar province. A two-page statement sent to CNN instructs fighters to start new attacks against coalition troops and Afghan parliament members, and urges suicide bombers to strike. The statement was written by Mula Birather, a Taliban chief of at least 12 military groups in Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed to CNN that the statement came from Birather. The statement also warned Afghans to not get \"near U.S. troops anywhere because we will target them any where they are and if anybody is killed in a attack on them we will not be responsible for their death.\" The statement comes as U.S. troops begin increased deployments in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama approved sending 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in March and pledged to send 17,000 more. Col. Greg Julian, a spokesman for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, responded to the statement. \"The Taliban extremists are promising to bring more death and destruction to Afghanistan and limit the freedom of movement of all Afghans,\" Julian said. \"They offer no hope for the future, and only seek to kill... We will continue working side-by-side with our Afghan partners to improve security and demonstrate to these ruthless murders and criminals that they will not stop progress in Afghanistan.\" Meanwhile across the border in Pakistan, the country's military intensified its drive against the Taliban in the country's restive tribal regions, reclaiming a key town in the northwest district of Buner. CNN's Nic Robertson and Atia Abawi contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Taliban leader instructs fighters in Afghanistan to target U.S., coalition troops .\nStatement written by Mula Birather, chief of at least 12 Afghan military groups .\nU.S. troops are beginning increased deployments in Afghanistan ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's Note: Republican strategist Alex Castellanos was a campaign consultant for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign and has worked on more than half a dozen presidential campaigns. Castellanos is a partner in National Media Inc., a political and public affairs consulting firm that specializes in advertising. Alex Castellanos says stimulus bill is a cover for a bold plan for government to rule key parts of private sector. (CNN) -- Two Congressmen walk into a bar to watch President Obama's first prime-time press conference. The Democrat says to the Republican.... D: Just watch the president tonight and you'll see how to get this economy back on track. Monopolies. R: Monopolies? D: Monopolies so big they will shame Parker Brothers and make them put the board game in a bigger box. Monopolies so huge, they'll make railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt look like a push-cart operator. R: Why monopolies? D: In these desperate times, we can't afford to let Americans choose inefficient cars or wasteful health care. We can't let innovation run wild on Wall Street or Main Street. We have to make sure Americans are secure in their health care and jobs, their incomes and energy. To serve the greater good, we have to organize America's economy so it achieves the best possible ends for all Americans. We can't leave that to chance. Who knows what might happen if individual Americans make those choices in a free market and organize themselves? R: A little less freedom, a lot more organization, all for the collective good? D: My friend, we need a directed economy, where we limit people's choices to those that serve the best social ends. Our nation's development is best controlled by monopolies, not some atomistic economy where Americans are free to make almost any choice and organize bottom-up, according to their own whims. That means, big, honking, all-powerful monopolies. R: But during the campaign, Obama talked about change, fueling \"bottom-up prosperity.\" This sounds like the same old, top-down, industrial-age stuff Democrats have been pitching for years. D: You betcha! Bottom-up campaign rhetoric just ran into the top-down Democratic establishment from Washington. Guess who won. We're going to create monopolies in the biggest sectors of the economy, starting with banking and financial services. Even after the meltdown, that's still the largest stock market sector, 16 percent of the S&P. R: Follow the money. D: Exactly. With massive regulation, caps on pay and restrictions on risk and competition, we can turn the entire financial sector into a cross between a public utility and the DMV. R: And then? D: We'll create an energy monopoly that would make J. D. Rockefeller look like a gas station attendant. If it has anything to do with energy, we will control it, plan it and direct it. You are going to love your windmill. R: I'm not feeling so good. D: That's next. A health care monopoly alone will organize another 16 percent of the economy. Choice and diversity are great, but not so much in health care. We'll throw in $20 billion at the start for paperless health records. Data, my friend, is power. You know where we will go: Cost controls. Restricted formularies. Nancy Pelosi can be your doctor. You don't need a lot of choice. Just a good choice. Or a good-enough choice. Cough for me. R: Watch that. I'm leaving. D: Now that you mention it, we can't forget the good old American auto industry. To borrow from Henry Ford, consumers can pick any color car they want, as long as it is green. R: Who are you going to get to run these monopolies? You are dealing with increasingly complex economic networks. How are you going to coordinate the sophisticated relationships, the subtle interests and ever-changing needs of millions of American consumers? Americans have traditionally done that themselves, in a natural and organic way, one to another, through the market. Who is smart enough to replace all that? D: Congress. R: You are making this stuff up. The president isn't talking about huge government-run monopolies. All he's talking about is the stimulus bill. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on the stimulus package . D: Of course. That's the beauty of the thing. As long as we call it \"stimulus,\" we can pass almost anything that expands the power of government to command people's lives. Why do you think Newsweek's cover says, \"We Are All Socialists Now?\" R: I need a drink. Don't they serve Congressmen in this bar? D: No. But you can buy one from a lobbyist. The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Alex Castellanos." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Alex Castellanos: Democrats think we can't let the free market rule economy .\nHe says Democrats are trying to micro-manage the crucial finance sector .\nCastellanos says they also want to make key decisions for health care .\nHe says stimulus bill is being used as cover for introducing bigger government ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- My eyes stung, I was coughing, my nose was running. Along with cameraman David Hawley and freelance producer Kareem Khadder, I had just been tear-gassed -- not for the first time last Friday -- during a day-long clash between Palestinian kids and Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Na'alin, on the West Bank. An Israeli soldier confronts Palestinian protesters during a demonstration Friday in the West Bank village of Jayyus. We had gone there to gauge the Palestinian view of Tuesday's Israeli elections. Na'alin, and many other towns and villages like it in the West Bank, are in the forefront of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Here, it all comes down to the most basic element in the century-old conflict: control of the land. Na'alin is an old town, with factories and workshops, surrounded by olive groves. But in recent years neighboring Israeli settlements, built since the June 1967 war, have increasingly encroached on Na'alin's farmland, and Israel, on grounds of security, has built its security barrier around the town. As a result, Na'alin residents say they have lost access to much of their land, their water sources, in short their livelihood. Beginning two years ago, every Friday they hold protests against Israel's settlement expansion and barrier building. Most Na'alin residents are not ideological hotheads; before the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in September 2000, many worked in Israel. Most are still fluent in Hebrew and do business with Israelis looking for a good deal on car repairs and other services. For that reason I thought Na'alin would be a good place to see what Palestinians were thinking. What I heard was universal pessimism. No one I spoke with expressed the slightest hope that any of the leading candidates --Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, Kadima's Tzipi Livni, Israel Beitenu's Avigdor Lieberman and Labour's Ehud Barak -- would do anything to remove the settlements that are slowly closing in on Na'alin. As we sheltered from the tear gas behind a house, Na'alin resident Hani Khawaja told me, \"I don't expect anything to come out of the elections that will please the Palestinians. Just killings, expulsions and land confiscations.\" Another man, Ayub Srour, had a slightly different approach. He prefers Israeli leaders to be honest about their intentions, and not raise hopes only to dash them later. He wants Likud leader and long-time hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu to win. \"At least he's honest. He says he'll expel us, and he will expel us. He says he's slaughter us, and he will slaughter us.\" I've covered almost every Israeli election since 1996. With each election, the Palestinian feeling of despair and hopelessness only deepens. Since the last election in the spring of 2006, Palestinians have seen Israel and Hezbollah go to war, West Bank settlements continue to expand, Hamas and Fatah fight it out in Gaza with Hamas taking control in June 2007. They've also seen a series of Israeli incursions into Gaza, culminating recently in the 22-day Israeli offensive that left large parts of the strip in ruins. Meanwhile many Palestinians say their leadership -- often described as moderate and pro-western -- in Ramallah is incapable of reversing the trend of settlement expansion. The same leadership has been unable to convince Israel to remove few of the hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints that make travelling around the West Bank a test of patience and endurance. In short, when Palestinians look back over the last 15 years since the Oslo Accords were signed, they've seen their lot only go from bad to worse. As a result, more and more Palestinians are convinced the only way to beat the Israelis is to join them, to discard failed attempts at creating a Palestinian state in an ever smaller, ever more economically unviable territory, and go for what is known as the one-state solution. That would mean Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza relinquishing their dream of an independent Palestinian state, and instead insisting on equal rights in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, an area that is, for all intents and purposes, under Israel's control anyway. The one-state solution is an anathema to many Israelis, who are well aware that, with their higher birth-rate, Palestinians (those living within Israel proper, plus Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza) could well become a majority within a generation. Israelis increasingly worry the national struggle between Israel and the Palestinians will be transformed into an internal struggle, for equal rights for all those living within historic Palestine. Those fears prompted Israel's current caretaker prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to warn as far back as November 2007 that if Israel doesn't move quickly to achieve a two-state solution, it will be in a position not unlike South Africa during the apartheid area, whereby a minority -- in this case Israeli Jews -- rules over a restive majority -- the Palestinians -- by means of force, repression and discriminatory laws. Many Palestinians argue that is already the case, citing Israeli restrictions on movement, residence, and work. The bedrock of Israeli antipathy toward the Palestinians is part of the reason for the growing strength of the Israel Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) Party, led by Avigdor Leiberman. He argues that Israel's Palestinian minority (they make up about 20 percent of the population) as a potential fifth column working against the aims of the Jewish majority. Leiberman has focused much of his fire on Palestinian Knesset members such as Ahmed Tibi, accusing him and others of sympathising with Israel's enemies, Hamas and Hizballah. His solution is to compel all of Knesset members -- and possibly all Israeli citizens -- to take an oath of loyalty to the state. Another of Leiberman's proposals is to redraw Israel's boundaries to exclude as many of its Palestinians as possible. Tibi responds that Leiberman's growing clout is symptomatic of \"an obvious fascist phenomena invading Israeli society. During the last years, racism became mainstream.\" Back in the town of Na'alin, the kids throwing stones at Israeli troops do have some odd companions. Young Israelis, some of them self-described anarchists, also take part in the protests. They don't throw stones, but they do offer useful advice. \"Laththam! Laththam!\" one Israeli with black tattoos on his arms tells a young boy, no older than 12, hurling rocks with a home-made sling. \"Laththam\" is Arabic for \"cover your face,\" the advice imparted because if Israeli troops can identify stone throwers, they arrest them. There still is cooperation of sorts between Palestinians and Israelis, but it's an increasingly rare commodity. And this election probably won't do anything to bridge the growing gap between the two -- the curious friendship in Na'alin notwithstanding." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "CNN correspondent finds moods of universal pessimism in West Bank town .\nIsrael votes Tuesday after election campaign dominated by the country's right .\nMore and more Palestinians see \"one-state solution\" as only way forward .\nIsraelis oppose one-state solution for fear Palestinians would be majority ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that House committees will begin action on President-elect Barack Obama's proposed economic recovery package in the next couple of weeks, with a vote in the full House slated for the week after Obama's inauguration. Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will not go on a break until an economic recovery package is passed. Obama will take office January 20. If that schedule slips, Pelosi, D-California, pledged to cancel the House's planned weeklong break in mid-February for Presidents Day. \"We are not going home without an economic recovery package,\" Pelosi said. Pelosi said Obama's plan has broad public support \"almost sight unseen,\" citing a poll from Politico that says 79 percent of Americans support the president-elect's plan. A senior Pelosi aide said discussions about the details are ongoing between the Obama transition team and key leaders. The Ways and Means Committee will focus on the tax piece, approximately $300 billion in tax cuts. Obama transition aides met with Democrats on that committee Wednesday morning to discuss various proposals, according to another Democratic aide. The Appropriations Committee is tasked with drafting details on spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure projects, food stamps and other aid to states. Sidestepping a question on possible roadblocks for the bill, Pelosi instead touted the new muscle of the expanded Democratic majority. \"We have been so used to an uphill fight, but now we have arrived. We have a big, strong, something like an 80-vote majority in the Congress, in the House, with a Democratic president in the White House,\" she said. In a speech Thursday, Obama said it was imperative that Congress move quickly to pass the stimulus package once he takes office, warning that a failure to do so would have devastating long-term consequences to the nation's economy. \"We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime, a crisis that has only deepened over the last few weeks,\" Obama said at George Mason University in Virginia. Watch Obama call for \"dramatic action\" on the economy » . \"I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible,\" Obama continued. \"If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years.\" Key members of Obama's own party, however, said they opposed central tax measures of the president-elect's proposals after emerging from a closed-door meeting of the Senate Finance Committee. Watch Obama explain his tax proposals » . In particular, they do not think that giving employers a $3,000 tax credit for each worker they hired would work. \"I'm not that excited about that,\" said Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. \"Having a tax credit for hiring is not going to change that dynamic; creating a direct job will. So I'd rather spend the money on the infrastructure, on direct investment, on energy conversion and other kinds of things, much more directly and much more rapidly and much more certainly create a real job.\" Sen. Kent Conrad agreed. \"I think it's unlikely to be effective,\" the North Dakota senator said. \"If you think about it, businesspeople are not going to hire people to produce products that are not selling. Who is going to hire in the auto industry if you give them a $3,000 credit to make cars that people are not buying?\" A second Obama tax proposal that several Democrats were down on is payroll tax credits, amounting to about $20 per paycheck and totaling $500 per person and $1,000 for couples earning less than $200,000 a year. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said he doubted that proposal would do much to stimulate the economy. \"We have an example from the first stimulus that indicates just giving people $500 to $600, while certainly welcome when there's this much economic hurt, may not be the best use of stimulus,\" Wyden said. Instead, Wyden said, pumping more money into infrastructure spending would be more effective in creating jobs. Conrad agreed with Wyden. \"Twenty dollars a week? I don't think that will be effective, either. That is in terms of economic impact. We have got to focus on what is actually going to lift the economy,\" Conrad said. None of the senators CNN spoke with after the meeting said they thought the opposition to these provisions would derail the bill but suggested that many meetings would be needed with the Obama team to hammer out an agreement. First votes in the Finance Committee, which must approve the tax components of the stimulus plan, could come in the next two weeks, senators and aides said. CNN's Deirdre Walsh, Dana Bash and Ted Barrett contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Speaker Nancy Pelosi sets full House vote on stimulus for week of January 25 .\nHouse committees will work on Obama's plan over the next couple of weeks .\nSenate Democrats balk at proposal to give employers $3,000 for each worker hired ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The stock market crashed. Wall Street panicked. People stashed silver and gold under mattresses while businesses shut doors across America. People in Detroit, Michigan, line up for food at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. We're talking, of course, about the Great Depression ... of 1873. That's the event that Scott Reynolds Nelson cites when asked to give an historical perspective on today's sputtering economy. The historian says the economic panic of 1873 started with the same toxic mix as today's crisis: risky mortgages, a stock market dive and the use of complex financial instruments that few understood. \"Until 1929, when people used the word[s] Great Depression they referred to 1873,\" says Nelson, a professor of history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. \"That was a worldwide international depression that started with the banks. That's what we're seeing now. This looks like 1873.\" The nation's economic crisis is not only causing people to look more closely at their 401(k) account statements. They're also turning to their history books. Politicians and commentators routinely invoke the Great Depression and other historical events to describe today's economic crisis. Watch the debate over 'Depression' talk » . But how fair is that historical analogy? Why Great Depression comparisons may be unfair . James Kolari, an economist at Texas A&M University, says the nation experienced two \"rough\" recessions in the mid-1970s and the early 1980s. A recession is generally defined as a decline in the Gross Domestic Product for two or more consecutive quarters. He says it's not fair to compare the current economic crisis to the Great Depression, because the federal government was far more passive in the 1920s. \"We let 15,000 out of 30,000 banks fail,\" he says. \"Government efforts to jump-start the economy were slow and relatively weak until President [Franklin] Roosevelt came along with the New Deal.\" Kolari says people can learn more by looking at Japan. He says the U.S. economy is facing the same crisis as Japan in the 1990s when the Japanese economy collapsed from a real estate bubble and never fully recovered. \"The Japanese government moved too slowly and not aggressively enough,\" he says. \"The problems festered.\" David George, a professor of economics at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says the federal government better protects ordinary people from financial ruin today than during the first stages of the Great Depression. Today we reap the benefits of policies created during that era, George says. Roosevelt helped create New Deal legislation to insure bank deposits and enacted other modern relief efforts like unemployment compensation to help those in distress. \"By any measure, incomes were lower then than now, and the worst imaginable loss of output today would still keep the nation well above where we were back then,\" George says. Marjorye Heeney is not an economist, but she definitely knows something about the Great Depression. Heeney, 83, grew up on an Oklahoma farm during the Great Depression and lived through the 1930s Dust Bowl storms. For much of that decade, \"black blizzards\" -- formed by a prolonged drought and poor farming techniques -- ravaged the southern Plains. Heeney, who now lives in Topeka, Kansas, snorted when told that today's conditions remind some of the Great Depression. During the Depression, crops failed, and few had a job, car or clothes, she says. \"Everyone had one nail for themselves in the clothes closet,\" Henney says. Henney says the Great Depression toughened people up. People grew and canned their own food, sewed their own clothes and learned how to make possessions last. \"No one really came from wealth, and nothing was easy,\" she says. \"But people got by because they had a wonderful spirit of survival. We're not as gutsy. I don't know if we have that today.\" Why this economic period is still frightening . Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, says the nation's most recent recession was the dot-com bust, which hit around March of 2001. \"This recession has already eclipsed the dot-com bust in every fashion,\" he says. \"During that time, the GDP did not fall much, and unemployment did not rise much.\" Matheson offers one bit of good news, though. He says today's unemployment rate is not as bad as in previous eras. The unemployment rate reached 10.8 percent during the early 1980s and 25 percent during the Great Depression, he says. Yet Matheson says there is an ominous feature to the current situation: The Federal Reserve has already lowered interest rates as far as they can go, to around zero percent, but the recession marches on. The current recession is so \"scary\" that Matheson says he has reversed his attitude on Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan. He once opposed it but now supports it because he can't think of anything that might work better. He says the economy will not bounce back on its own anytime soon . \"You gotta go with what you got,\" he says. \"The Federal Reserve has loosed all of its cannons, and it has nothing left. Now we're down to fiscal policy.\" Nelson, the historian who has studied the panic of 1873, says today's economy might even be worse than the American economy in 1873. \"This is a perfect storm: banks failing, stock markets declining and commodity prices dropping,\" Nelson says. Nelson says it took America four years to recover from the 1873 panic. Tens of thousands of workers -- many Civil War veterans -- became homeless. Thousands lined up for food and shelter in major cities. The Gilded Age, where wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few \"robber barons like John D. Rockefeller,\" followed the panic. America, of course, pulled out of the panic. Nelson is just not quite sure how the nation is going to do it now. His ultimate assessment of today's economy is blunt: . \"It looks grim.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Is it fair to invoke Great Depression?\nSome economists say comparison overblown .\nNation had another Great Depression few remember, scholar says .\nDepression survivor: \"People had a wonderful spirit of survival\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: CNN agreed not to use the full names of the family members in this article due to concern for their safety. Youssif and his surgeon, Dr. Peter Grossman, shake hands at the end of their Wednesday visit. SHERMAN OAKS, California (CNN) -- Youssif nervously scanned the doctor's examining room, his dark brown eyes darting around, from the floor to the wall to the ceiling. His mother stroked his hair and then his forehead to put him at ease before the doctor walked in to the room. A day earlier, the badly burned 5-year-old Iraqi boy had boarded a plane in Amman, Jordan, with his family, their first trip on an airplane. Now, more than 7,500 miles later, his mom, dad and 14-month-old sister were with him at the Grossman Burn Center in the heart of sunny Southern California. Dr. Peter Grossman strode into the room, a warm smile across his face. He held Youssif's hand. The boy turned shyly around and buried his face into his father's leg. \"This is not unusual,\" said Grossman, a plastic surgeon with more than 12 years of experience, including helping one young girl whose face had melted to her shoulder after a horrific accident. Watch Youssif show his scars to Grossman for the first time » . A father of two children, Grossman spoke softly and reassured Youssif that they would soon be friends. \"We're going to do everything we can to make him better,\" he told Youssif's parents. Perhaps haunted by the pain he suffered in Baghdad's hospitals, Youssif hiccupped back sobs as his father lifted him onto the examination table. But the boy put on a brave face after his father told him to let the doctor do his job. \"Who's the brave one? Youssif,\" his father whispered reassuringly. \"He's not going to hurt you, I promise.\" Grossman pulled out measuring tape and took measurements of scars under the boy's chin and around his nose. One swollen scar around his chin measured nearly 3 inches. He also examined burns on Youssif's hands, forehead and right ear. At one point, Youssif thrust his head back and opened his mouth as best he could for the doctor. But his lips barely separated, their movement hampered by the swollen, hardened flesh. \"What we want to eventually do is be able to get him to open his mouth as wide as he can,\" Grossman said. Youssif faces eight to 10 operations, possibly more, over the next six to eight months. He also will undergo psychological therapy to help him better adapt to all that has happened to him. See photos of the boy's arrival in the U.S. » . On January 15, masked men grabbed Youssif outside his central Baghdad home, doused him in gas and set him on fire. Grossman won't be able to make all the scars go away, he said, but he's confident that \"we can make him significantly better.\" \"We're going to do everything we can to move forward and to do a good job,\" he said. The boy's mother nodded solemnly. \"I just want my son's smile back,\" she told the doctor. Watch how masked men stole a boy's smile . Youssif was introduced to his other doctors, a pediatrician and anesthesiologist. The boy cuddled into the warm confines of his father's chest. His dark eyes kept a keen watch on all those around him. His first operation could come as early as next week and involve multiple procedures. Grossman will cut away scar tissue around his nose and put temporary skin from a cadaver over it. \"We're also going to stick a balloon underneath the good skin under his neck and on his face,\" the doctor said. \"The purpose of that is over time we will stretch the good skin, so that in about three months he will be able to go back to surgery, remove the scar tissue and pull up the stretched out good tissues.\" Grossman eventually will work to repair Youssif's upper lip. \"We're going to make you a lot better,\" he said. With that, the doctor brought this introductory session to a close. The two shook hands. He also tried teaching Youssif an American guy classic: hitting your fists together in cool approval. Youssif watched and listened. He stretched his fist out, then pulled it back. He looked up at his father and then slammed his fist with his father's -- the only man this wounded boy trusts right now. His father caressed his son's hair and planted a soft kiss on his head. He risked so much for this moment for his son. This was more than just a journey from Iraq to America. \"I'm emotionally exhausted,\" Youssif's dad said. \"We went from death to a new life.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Burned Iraqi boy will undergo eight to 10 surgeries in coming months .\nYoussif's medical treatment in California follows CNN story about him .\nYoussif remains cautious around doctor but eventually warms up .\nBy the end of first visit, the boy, 5, and doctor shake hands ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Some of the toughest criticism of Pakistan's pro-democracy movement comes from an unlikely source: the 25-year-old niece of Benazir Bhutto, who says Pakistani party politics do nothing but support military rule. It's an environment, she said, her late aunt is partly responsible for. Fatima Bhutto says she's not interested in \"perpetuating a really ineffectual form of politics ... because of my name.\" \"At this stage, we are in a state in Pakistan where so-called democratic forces are only interested in coming into office. So ultimately, they only prop up dictatorships,\" she told CNN from her home in Karachi. She raised her voice as she described what she feels is the core of Pakistan's political problems: the lack of a true democratic culture. Instead, she said, the country is run by power grabbers. \"Ultimately to them, it's a game of revolving chairs. As long as they get to be in one, they don't care who's in the other one.\" Fatima Bhutto said her aunt played this \"game of revolving chairs\" at huge costs to the Bhutto family, shattering the clan's unity. In 1996, Fatima Bhutto's father, Murtaza Bhutto, was gunned down by Pakistani security forces in front of the family compound. His sister, Benazir, was prime minister at the time. His widow blames her sister-in-law for the killing, because Murtaza had become a political rival. Watch Fatima Bhutto say she's not \"interested in being a symbol\" » . \"We have to seriously look at her political legacy, which is deeply flawed,\" Fatima Bhutto said. \"Both her governments were known for widespread corruption, for an abuse of human rights, and for an excess of police violence.\" Fatima Bhutto was estranged from her aunt and had not spoken to her since Benazir Bhutto returned to the nation for Pakistani elections. Benazir Bhutto was killed in a bloody December 27 attack. Her niece says now that Benazir Bhutto has herself been killed, she does not look back in anger. Watch a struggle over the Bhutto legacy » . \"We also have to take into account that Benazir Bhutto died bravely and that the attack on her is ultimately an attack on her country,\" she said. She added that she did attend her aunt's funeral. Some here in Pakistan believe Fatima Bhutto -- and not Benazir Bhutto's 19-year-old son, Bilawal -- is the true heir to the Bhutto political dynasty. Fatima Bhutto said she's a political person and does campaign for a splinter group of the Pakistan Peoples Party. That group is now run by her mother following the death of her father. She said her main political goal is to empower Pakistan's largely disenfranchised masses and end what she calls the perpetual cycle of \"dynastic\" cronyism. What her role would be in making that happen remains the great unknown. \"What I think we need to do is open the field,\" said Fatima Bhutto, who went to college in the United States and graduate school in England. \"It has to stop being this autocratic, dynastic environment. ... When that day comes and this happens -- that we have an open field -- if there's a way for me to serve this country, then I would be proud to.\" Until then, she said, she exerts her power from her writing. Fatima Bhutto is a successful columnist, author and poet; a staunch critic of Pervez Musharraf's government. And though her name would probably propel her to the highest levels of Pakistani politics almost instantly, she said that won't happen anytime soon. \"I'm not interested in being a symbol for anyone,\" she said emphatically. \"And I'm not interested in perpetuating a really ineffectual form of politics simply because of my name.\" She added, \"I have never believed in dynastic politics, or the politics of birthright. ... I think that's dangerous to the cause of democracy in Pakistan, and ultimately doesn't serve the people.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Benazir Bhutto's niece: Pakistan's democratic forces only \"prop up dictatorships\"\nFatima Bhutto, who was estranged from aunt, says country is run by power grabbers .\nHer goal: empower Pakistan's masses, end cycle of \"dynastic\" cronyism .\nThe columnist, author and poet is a critic of Pervez Musharraf's government ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "PARIS, France (CNN) -- The wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken for the first time about the reasons her divorce in an interview with a French newspaper. The announcement ended weeks of speculation over their marriage. Cecilia Sarkozy told L'Est Republicain on Friday that the couple's relationship had not been able to survive the glare of the media spotlight following a highly public separation in 2005. The Sarkozys announced on Thursday they were divorcing by mutual consent after 11 years of marriage. A former model, Cecilia Sarkozy said that she was not comfortable with her position as first lady. \"I am someone who likes the shadows, serenity, tranquility. I had a husband who was a public man, I always knew that, I accompanied him for 20 years. But me, I think that is not my place. It is no longer my place,\" she was quoted as saying. The couple has been dogged by persistent rumors of infidelities, which Cecilia Sarkozy seemed to confirm in her newspaper interview. Explaining the events that led to the couple separating in 2005, she said: \"Two years ago an event happened of which unfortunately the whole of France is aware. In 2005, I met someone, I fell in love and I left.\" The French president, in Portugal for an EU summit, has declined to comment on his marriage breakdown. His divorce comes as he deals with crippling public sector strikes at home that have shut down much of France's transit system. Cecilia Sarkozy was a smiling figure at her husband's inauguration in May as she stood with the couple's five children. But she said recently she didn't see herself as having any role at all as the president's wife. For the French public, news of the divorce is unlikely to come as a shock. French presidents and their spouses have a long tradition of leading separate lives, even while carrying on the functions of state. Former President Francois Mitterrand not only lived apart from his wife, Danielle, but he maintained a secret second family that turned up in public only at his funeral. Jacques Chirac, who stepped down when Sarkozy was elected this year, hinted at a number of affairs. He and his wife lived largely separate lives, appearing together only at presidential functions. Nicolas Sarkozy said at the start of his term that he had no worries as president, except for his wife. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Cecilia says she didn't like spotlight .\nFormer model said it was no longer possible to keep their marriage together .\nThe split came after 11 years of marriage ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Katy Brown is an Internet-savvy college freshman with conservative perspectives who worries about the future of the Republican Party. Katy Brown, Kevin Neugebauer, Barbara Rademacher and Chuck Burkhard discuss the future of the GOP. Brown, a student at Kent State University in Ohio, joined other Republicans and conservative independent iReporters in an online roundtable discussion. The Republican National Committee selected Michael Steele to become its chairman Friday during its annual winter meeting after the decisive victory of President Obama in November. Over the next four years, Republicans must regroup and establish a strategy, and the new GOP leader must navigate a political landscape where the Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress. \"I think we'll come with somebody who has experience, knows what they're talking about, is good with both liberals and conservatives, both Democrats and Republicans,\" Brown said of a future Republican presidential nominee. iReport.com: Watch Brown respond to one of Obama's Cabinet picks . Kevin Neugebauer of Katy, Texas, a Republican who voted for Sen. John McCain in the election, said during the chat that he thinks the majority of Americans are conservative and that he wants to see the party head in a more conservative direction. iReport.com: 'McCain wasn't conservative enough to win' Neugebauer thinks that abiding by conservative principles, especially fiscally, is the only way to solve the country's financial problems. \"I don't want to have to mortgage my kids' future to get us out of the things we're doing today,\" he said. Another panel participant, Chuck Burkhard of Windber, Pennsylvania, voted for McCain as a registered Republican but plans to become an independent. Watch the iReporters talk over a Web chat » . He feels that the Bush administration failed at making government smaller and reducing spending, which he thinks Republicans should make a top priority. He hopes that the party will take a new direction and reach out to more people. \"I really think the Republicans will reach out with a grass-roots campaign,\" he said. iReport.com: 'I choose Sen. McCain' Neugebauer said he thinks the Republican Party needs a \"fresh new face\" who can set the agenda. He says the government needs to be smaller and thinks politicians waste money on \"stuff that the government has no business being in.\" The fourth panel participant, Barbara Rademacher, said she had a difficult time making her decision during the 2008 election. She finally settled on McCain but says she is very much an independent voter. Social issues such as abortion are what swung her to the right, but she said the party focused too much on attacks. \"I hate the Republican Party the way it is right now. I hated the way they acted during the election and some of the ideas they came up with as election strategies,\" she said. Rademacher said she thinks former Gov. Mike Huckabee, a candidate in the 2008 race, would be a good president because of his experience. She says he has integrity, intelligence and charisma, as well as the ability to manage money. iReport.com: How will Huckabee reform the party? \"I think he may be the only hope for the Republican Party,\" she said. Burkhard, Brown and Neugebauer all agreed that Huckabee would be a good presidential candidate. Neugebauer said he also likes former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and advocated for a return to strong Republican politics. \"I just think what we need to do is, we need to concentrate on the core values that the Republican Party was started on,\" he said. \"There's too many fence-huggers. They'll say one thing just to get votes, and they actually are thinking the other way. You really need someone in there that can rally the troops and somebody with good morals and a good record.\" Paul A. Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University, said that although Obama is president, there is a large number of conservative people in the country, and they will want their say. \"We have to remember that the 2000 and 2004 elections were very narrow elections,\" Beck said. \"The country was very divided in those elections.\" He said he feels that many voters looked at Bush's administration and blamed him for the downfall of the economy and the war in Iraq, creating trouble for the Republican candidates who would attempt to follow him. \"It looks like the Bush administration fumbled the ball. McCain didn't know quite what to do,\" he said. Hao Li, a student at the University of Southern California, said he wasn't Bush's biggest fan but thought the former president did \"the right thing.\" Li said he lives the divide in this country every day as a committed Republican and McCain voter in a state that went for Obama. He describes himself as strongly fiscally conservative and socially moderate. He feels that the GOP needs to make greater efforts to reach out to minorities and young people if party members hope for success. Watch Hao Li ask about reaching out to young people in a 'Digg Dialogg' \"The party has its way of saying, 'Just work hard, and you'll get there,' and they don't really outreach to the minority community. The party shouldn't change its basic principles, but the party should outreach to women and minorities.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Republican National Committee names Michael Steele as chairman .\nKaty Brown advocates bipartisan cooperation during iReport roundtable chat .\nKevin Neugebauer suggests Republicans need to return to conservative roots .\niReport.com: Hao Li asks how the party can reach out to younger voters ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The last eight years In the United States have included momentous events including the September 11 attacks, the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and an economic recession. Ted Stanke of New York created a symbolic map of the United States out of toy soldiers to protest the Iraq war. Historic moments defined President Bush's time in office, and now the world must wait to see how history will define him. Just 27 percent of the respondents to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said they approved of Bush's handling of his job as president. Respondents also indicated they didn't want him to have future influence, with 66 percent saying they didn't want to see the president return to public life. We asked readers to share their views on Bush's legacy on iReport.com. The majority of the responses expressed disappointment with the president's performance. Many readers with whom we spoke said they were deeply frustrated with the way Bush handled issues such as the Iraq war, the economy and Hurricane Katrina. Watch Bush discuss handling of Katrina » . Cathy Cott, 49, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, vented her \"boiling anger\" on iReport.com. She voted Republican for 22 years until after the 2000 election when Bush won a narrow victory over Democrat Al Gore. She says she is now a registered Democrat who voted for Barack Obama. iReport.com: Bubbling over . \"I guess the simplest reason for my boiling anger is I have three kids and they will spend their lives paying for Bush's policies, wars, economic disasters and the general mess he is leaving behind both monetarily and in their general quality of life,\" Cott said. \"Eight years of frustration\" over the Iraq war and other military decisions inspired New York artist Ted Stanke to create painstakingly detailed and unmistakably symbolic artwork from toy soldiers. One piece shows a map of the United States with an inset globe made from the tiny fighters, while another depicts a bush constructed from the soldiers. iReport.com: See Stanke's toy soldier art . Some iReporters say they still support Bush, while others said they voted for him but changed their minds about him later. Kathi Cordsen is a Republican who describes herself as a Bush supporter. The Fullerton, California, resident says the September 11 attacks profoundly changed the way people perceived Bush. She says many people were too unwilling to give him a chance. iReport.com: In defense of Bush . \"He is a funny man, a kind man, a bit of a goofball and not very well-spoken,\" Cordsen said. \"But, he would not have been treated the way he is being treated now if not for 9/11. His presidency was thwarted by the 'evildoers.' I love that term of his.\" Chuck Burkhard of Windber, Pennsylvania, hopes history will remember Bush as a strong man who loved his country. Burkard said the president juggled unprecedented challenges during his term, including dealing with terrorism and facing up to financial forces that may not have been under his control. Critics of Bush should look within themselves for answers, he said. iReport.com: Working overtime . \"Most of us are spoiled by a have-it-our-way-now and reckless generation that must stop borrowing so much and start working more. We shift blame instead of looking to ourselves for resolve and drive.\" Burkhard said he feels Bush is one of the most overworked presidents in history and has shouldered too much blame for the current state of the economy. \"I personally have never seen this much responsibility thrown onto our country, in such a small amount of time,\" Burkhard said. \"We are responsible for the world economy, the global war on terror, global warming. You name it, we have our hands in it.\" Chris Molisani of Rochester, New York, says September 11 was a defining moment, not just for Bush's presidency, but also in his own life. He was in high school and college during Bush's eight years in the White House. iReport.com: Look back on how Bush changed the country . He can scarcely remember the Bush presidency before 9/11 and expects phrases such as \"weapons of mass destruction,\" \"Axis of Evil\" and \"You're either with us or against us\" to be associated permanently with him. He hopes for a brighter future with President-elect Barack Obama. \"History will likely be kinder to Bush than his contemporaries are, but a Washington, Lincoln or Roosevelt he will not become,\" Molisani said. \"What is interesting to note is that some of the worst presidents in history have been followed by the best presidents. Perhaps we will have a bright future to look forward to.\" Maria Davis of Prescott Valley, Arizona, voted twice for Bush but now regrets her decision. Her dislike for the Democratic candidates' running mates in 2000 and 2004 was a major factor, she said. iReport.com: Watch Davis discuss the pros and cons of the president's time . Although she wants Bush to get out of the national spotlight, she feels he needs to speak to the people and mend wounds. She hopes he will follow Sen. John McCain's example and make a gracious speech after the inauguration. \"Speak to the American people passionately and gracefully about Obama taking the presidency,\" Davis said. \"That would probably help people.\" His presidency wasn't all bad, she said. \"Well, he was good for 9/11, and he caught Saddam [Hussein], but he ran the country into the ground with unneeded funding for an unneeded war in Iraq,\" she wrote. Overall, Davis has mixed feelings now and has felt uneasy for a long time. She was laid off from her job and is trying to run a home eBay business that barely pays rent. She is having trouble finding jobs that pay more than $7 per hour. Her brother, who has a house payment and a child to support, was recently laid off, as well. She hopes the country can rebuild. \"It's hell, it's absolutely hell,\" she said. \"I really hope Obama can fix the economy so we can have our lives again and live the American dream.\" The desire to dream again was a common theme, and many iReporters said they yearn for more hopeful times. Robin Savage of San Juan Capistrano, California, said Bush's greatest legacy is the passionate voter turnout he unintentionally inspired in the 2008 election. She said she is glad to see Obama's rise as a result. iReport.com: One last thing before he goes . \"I think the one thing President Bush will be remembered for is not being able to really connect with people. If you compared him to Obama, I tell you, what a difference there is.\" Patrick Finney of Portland, Oregon, said he felt there was a large disconnect between Bush and the American people. He says the president ignored what ordinary folks wanted. \"I am afraid that George Bush will be judged harshly by history,\" Finney said. \"I am also afraid that judgment will be deserved.\" But critics should be careful about taking aim at Bush, warns David P. Kronmiller of Burbank, California. \"I do not think we should be blaming him for the misery of the last eight years. He is not to blame. We are. You are, the American people. We voted him into office.\" iReport.com: The Bush paradox . Kronmiller says he voted for Bush in 2000, but not in 2004, adding that he feels Bush is responsible for day-to-day decisions that placed the country in a state he finds unfortunate. He watched the final presidential news conference and said he thinks Bush should have better addressed the hardships faced by residents who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. \"I learned my lesson in four years,\" Kronmiller says. Jimmy Deol of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, said he believes Bush had good intentions. \"I think he meant well,\" Deol said. \"I wholeheartedly believe it. In his convictions, he always thought he was doing the right thing. The people elected him. There must have been something people liked.\" iReport.com: Quotes and commentary . Deol said he thinks Bush should take time out to help the veterans of the war he helped create. Overall, he said, the meaning of the Bush presidency will be defined by those who pick up where he left off. \"The movement of change? That's Bush's legacy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "iReport.com: Readers share impassioned, often angry, thoughts on Bush .\nCathy Cott says she feels frustration coming to a boil at the mention of him .\nChris Molisani says he can't remember Bush's years before September 11 .\nMaria Davis wants to see him give a unifying departing speech ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: CNN agreed not to use the full names of the family in this article due to concern for their safety. Youssif is able to smile again, and his scars are healing well. Doctors are monitoring the swelling on his right ear. WOODLAND HILLS, California (CNN) -- Youssif happily pulls off his plastic face mask and pats his cheeks, which were once covered by horrific burns. \"No hurt,\" the 5-year-old Iraqi boy says in English. \"No hurt.\" He then shows off his right hand. It too had been marred by hardened scar tissue after he was attacked by masked men outside his central Baghdad home January 15, 2007. Now, his hand is smooth. Youssif flashes a proud grin. A few moments later, he darts off and comes back toting his kindergarten portfolio. In less than a month of schooling, he's now writing the alphabet in upper- and lowercase. See photos of a transformed Youssif » . He reads a book, repeating each word after the narrator. When he gets to the word \"you,\" he gets tickled. He points at the name \"Youssif\" and then covers the final four letters. \"You,\" he says. Youssif began attending an American school just last month, one year to the day after he was so savagely attacked in Baghdad. In a recent letter to those who have helped his son, Youssif's father described the anniversary as a \"very hard day\" to endure but one that also brought joy. \"But this year, it was the day for another miracle, Youssif's first day of kindergarten. It was a very happy day,\" Youssif's father said. Youssif begins each day with his father strapping him into a bike trailer. Dad then pedals him to school. On one recent outing, his dad's mobile phone blared Arabic music as Youssif quietly sat in the back, a helmet securely strapped to his head, the wind whirling past. As soon as they reached the school, Youssif's slow walk away from his father, his head held down, quickly changed into a sprint toward his classroom, and all you could see was the big red \"S\" on his Superman backpack flying away. \"Harry,\" Youssif says in a small, muffled tone, reading the writing on the dry-erase board after receiving a little help from some classmates seated on the rug. Watch Youssif-inspired music video » . He then receives a congratulatory high-five from one of his kindergarten teachers. Youssif is adjusting well to school, able to write out the alphabet and count to 12 without hesitation. He always finishes with an accomplished sigh, wide eyes and a smile so big, it's as if he is making up for the 10 months he was not able to smile. He is quick to show the pencil box on his desk, pointing to his name written on it and then pointing to himself with the same tiny finger and nodding his head, letting you know that it is his. \"The kids love Youssif. They get more excited than he does when he learns a new word in English, and they brag about it for hours,\" the mother of a classmate says. Youssif is attending the school thanks to help from the Children's Burn Foundation, the Grossman Burn Center and hundreds of thousands of dollars donated by you, the CNN.com user, to help bring him and his family to the United States for treatment. Youssif has undergone more than half a dozen surgeries. One removed the most massive scarring, which stretched about half a foot, from one of his ears to below his chin. See how doctors removed Youssif's scars » . He could undergo as many as 12 more procedures, his doctors say, mostly to tweak scars. His right ear has swelled, and doctors are monitoring it to figure out the best way to keep it in check. He wears a clear plastic face mask for much of the day to keep his skin tight and to allow it to heal correctly. But the young boy's transformation -- both in looks and in spirit -- is nothing short of remarkable. Back at his apartment, Youssif peels a clementine. He uses exaggerated motions as he plops each section in his mouth. At one point, he places his hand on his hip and taps his foot, waiting for an acknowledgment of this feat. When he came to America in September, he couldn't eat -- or at least not like this. He smiles again. \"Now, Youssif eats anything he wants, because he can open and close his mouth,\" his father said in the letter. \"I have begun to see my son's lively spirit return. The surgeries have removed more than just external scars, they are also beginning to remove his internal scars. \"A few weeks ago we went to the park and Youssif rode on the merry-go-round. Every time he passed by, he shrieked and laughed and waved wildly to me. I thought my heart would burst with happiness.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Youssif began attending school in metro LA one year to the day of his attack .\nBoy burned in Iraq is already writing the alphabet and counting .\nDad says, \"I have begun to see my son's lively spirit return\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Despite the rain, \"Slumdog Millionaire\" shone brightly at the British Academy Awards Sunday, scooping a clutch of honors. \"Slumdog Millionaire\" director Danny Boyle shields composer A.R. Rahman from the rain as they arrive Sunday at the BAFTA awards in London. Not even the drizzle could dampen Danny Boyle's spirits as \"Slumdog,\" his Mumbai-set rags to riches movie phenomenon won a remarkable seven awards at the glitziest night in the UK film calendar. \"You make a film like this and you just hope and pray it will be seen by a few people,\" the British director told CNN. \"And the journey it's been on, the reception it's had around the world, has just been extraordinary.\" Watch Danny Boyle, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto talking about \"Slumdog\" on the red carpet. As was widely expected, following its haul of four Golden Globes last month including Best Motion Picture, \"Slumdog\" took the Best Film award. \"I'd like to acknowledge the blood, sweat and tears of our cast,\" said the film's producer, Christian Colson who accepted the award. \"The film you saw is the film Danny Boyle imagined and it's very rare you can say that. He dreamed the dream, 24-hours a day, seven days a week for two and a half years.\" Boyle's labors were recognized by the Academy, handing him the Director award, which he can add to the BAFTA he won for debut feature \"Shallow Grave\" in 1995. \"Slumdog\" has touched audiences and critics alike. Boyle thinks the film's extraordinary effect is down to its universal message of hope. \"It's the contrast I think between where the kid comes from and what he achieves,\" said Boyle. \"And he achieves everything on his own terms, and that gives you a kind of hope, really, which we all, no matter how romantic it is, we all need that.\" Watch Bollywood legend and \"Slumdog\" star Anil Kapoor talking about the \"Slumdog\" phenomenon. \"Slumdog\" also won the Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Music, Sound and Editing awards. Closest rival David Fincher's \"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,\" which was up for 11 awards, bagged only three. These included a richly-deserved Make Up & Hair award for the feat of transforming Brad Pitt into an octogenarian baby to tell the curious story of a man who is born old and gets younger as he ages. Actress Kate Winslet also continued her success streak, scoring the Leading Actress honor for her powerful portrayal of a former-Nazi concentration camp guard in Stephen Daldry's \"The Reader.\" Conversely, Winslet both won and lost the award having been nominated twice in the same category, which included Meryl Streep for \"Doubt,\" and Kristin Scott Thomas for \"I've Loved You So Long.\" But most eyes were on the actress to see if there would be a repeat performance of the breathlessly incoherent acceptance speech she made at the Golden Globes last month after winning two awards. \"These are really special moments. And I don't want to waste them,\" Winslet told CNN on the red carpet before going on to accept her award with no tears or obvious emotion. Instead she simply thanked her parents and the late Anthony Minghella and the late Sydney Pollack, two of the film's producers. Watch Kate Winslet talking about her \"amazing year\" on the red carpet. Reformed Hollywood badboy Mickey Rourke provided the only mild controversy of the night with a few expletives in his acceptance speech for the Best Actor award. \"Thank you Darren Aronofsky who gave me a second chance after I'd f***ed up my career for 15 years. Such a pleasure to be here, and be out of the darkness,\" he told the audience. Earlier, the actor told CNN how things have changed for him since the accolades started pouring in for his extraordinary performance in Aronofsky's \"The Wrestler.\" \"I got a whole bunchy of new friends that I don't need,\" Rourke said. \"But I've also heard from some people that I'd worked with years ago that I'd burned bridges with that have come around. \"It's taken me a long time to change and come back and do things the right way. I'm just grateful for the second chance.\" There were also gongs for Spain's Penelope Cruz, who took home Supporting Actress for her fiery scene-stealing performance as an unhinged artist in Woody Allen's \"Vicky Cristina Barcelona,\" and the late Heath Ledger whose chilling reinvention of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's \"The Dark Knight\" was recognized with the Supporting Actor award. Now, as attention turns to the upcoming Oscars, \"Slumdog's\" BAFTA wins will only increase the momentum behind the Best Picture nominee. After success at both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, Kate Winslet could also be justified in looking forward to the Oscars with confidence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Slumdog Millionaire\" wins seven prizes at British film awards .\nMickey Rourke named best actor; Kate Winslet named best actress .\nPenelope Cruz, late Heath Ledger win supporting actor awards ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf has revealed he is flattered to be linked with a move to Premier League Chelsea but insists he will still be an AC Milan player next season. Clarence Seedorf wants to remain with AC Milan, despite Carlo Ancelotti's recent switch to Chelsea. There has been speculation that the 33-year-old midfielder could move to Stamford Bridge to link up with his former Rossoneri coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was confirmed as Blues manager on June 1. But the player is not interested in moving to the English Premier League and has told his own official Web site: \"It's beautiful news, that Ancelotti wants me in London, but next year I will still be playing for Milan. \"I have a contract with Milan and I am a player of Milan. I hope to still play for at the San Siro for at least three or four more years. After that I have a whole lifetime ahead of me to do good.\" Seedorf played for six-and-a half years under Ancelotti at Milan. Together they won two Champions League titles, the Club World Cup, two European Super Cups, the Coppa Italia and Italian Supercoppa. His comments will come as a welcome boost to Milan following the sale of Seedorf's fellow-midfielder Kaka to Real Madrid." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf says that he has no plans to quit AC Milan .\nSeedorf was replying to rumors linking him with Premier League side Chelsea .\nSeedorf's former coach Carlo Ancelotti recently left San Siro to coach Chelsea ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "CAMEMBERT, France (CNN) -- We're up in the north central part of France -- Normandy -- to see what's happening with French cheese. Cheese lovers will be happy to know, just about nothing, at least as far as the traditional cheeses are concerned. Cheese from the Camembert region now carries the same cachet as a chateau label for wine. But for the milk industry in general, it's another story. It has now a larger annual turnover than the steel industry in France (which admittedly is in decline.) Somehow the French have figured a way to export dairy products to people who already have cows and their own dairy industries-- to the tune of nearly €4 billion ($6 billion) per year. CNN spoke to a few of the people who do just that everyday and who are part of the changing face of France. Philippe Meslon, the mayor of Saint-Loup de Fribois and the administrator of the Saint-Loup cheese works says: \"A camembert not made out of raw milk is like making love without sex. \"A Frenchman is someone who cultivates with modern evolution his past. It's someone who protects moral values, cultural values and artistic values, and when I say cultural values I would include camembert.\" Meslon and small cheese makers like Francois Durand, who has 40 cows, have struggled and won the right to an Appelation d'Origine Controllee -- the mark AOC for their \"Camembert de Normandie\" which carries the same cachet as a chateau label for wine. For Durand making cheese is about not cutting corners. \"You have to have the passion,\" he says. \"Yes it's difficult because it means a lot of work. We make it all by hand. I do believe it is important because the cheese is an emblem of France. It is a gastronomic emblem.\" Still some small cheesemakers have been driven out of business and the taste and smell of their particular cheeses are lost to the world forever. For Michel Delorme it was a combination of new, more stringent rules and his age that led him to quit producing his handmade Camemberts. Michel Delorme: \"It's more and more complicated for those who stay in the business. They must hold out! Yes I miss the cheese a little. That's true. But I've kept my souvenirs, you see I've kept my old milk cans so I can stay in the spirit of Camembert!\" Despite those who've quit, the actual number of the variety of cheeses in France is growing. At the last cheese census more than 1,000 different kinds of cheeses were made here. The milk industry is no small cheese in France, thanks to the efforts of people like Philippe Jachnik who travels the world endlessly promoting milk products, which these days include protein supplements and milk derivatives that can go into all sorts of processed food. Jachnik, who works for the milk marketing consortium, says: \"I really would say I am selling the French approach to milk. We EAT a lot of milk. We DRINK a lot of water, wine, beer and coffee. But drinking milk is not a big business here. \"France has developed technological and marketing knowledge about adding value to a raw material-- milk. I have been traveling for 40 years all around the world and I feel so welcome. When you are French and you demonstrate that being French you can listen to others, people are interested in knowing about this country, about its people, about the way of life here.\" Jachnik must be doing a good job as it's not just abroad that the French are selling more milk products-- cheese consumption in France has doubled from 12 to 24 kilos per person per year. It seems there's no curding their enthusiasm ... E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Milk industry is booming in France, now has larger turnover than steel industry .\nDairy industry worth $6 billion, French eat 24 kilos of dairy per person a year .\nCheesemaker: Cheese is gastronomic emblem of France .\nLast cheese census found around 1,000 different kinds of cheeses in France ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- After a lifetime of playing characters past-their-prime, Clint Eastwood appears to still be enjoying his own. Clint Eastwood stars as inspector Harry Callahan in \"Dirty Harry\" (1971). Just last week the 78-year-old actor, best-known for his portrayal of \"tough guys\" like \"Dirty Harry,\" was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival. The American film-maker accepted the Palme d'Or (only the second they've ever given for lifetime achievement), while he was in town promoting his new film \"Gran Torino.\" What is your favorite Clint Eastwood movie? Tell us below in the SoundOff box. Eastwood both directs and co-stars in \"Gran Torino,\" as a prejudiced Korean war veteran who comes to the rescue of troubled Asian teens who live next door. For Eastwood the honor caps a 40 year career acting, directing, producing and composing. During this time, he has won five Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and received many more nominations. The Hollywood veteran earned perhaps most acclaim for two films: \"Unforgiven\" (1992) and \"Million Dollar Baby\" (2004). For each of these films he was awarded both Best Director and Best Picture Oscars, as well as being nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Eastwood got his break in 1959, landing the role of Rowdy Yates in the television series \"Rawhide.\" A successful seven-year run helped turn Eastwood into a household name and landed him several other roles in so-called Spaghetti Western films, including the hit \"A Fist Full of Dollars\" (1964), directed by Sergio Leone. Leone then re-hired Eastwood for two more successful films: \"For a Few More Dollars\" (1965) and \"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly\" (1966). The trilogy earned Eastwood greater fame and a reputation for playing tough-guy, gun-slinging cowboys. Eastwood found another friend in director Don Siegel who gave him perhaps his most iconic role, starring in \"Dirty Harry\" (1971) as no-nonsense, \"loose-cannon\" cop Harry Callahan. The film was such a hit that it four spin off sequels were made: \"Magnum Force\" (1973), \"The Enforcer\" (1976), \"Sudden Impact\" (1983) (the highest grossing film of the series), and \"The Dead Pool\" (1988). In the 1990s Eastwood returned to westerns -- this time as director as well as star -- earning critical acclaim and a monumental nine Oscar nominations for \"Unforgiven\" (1992). Throughout the decade he also had considerable success helming blockbuster projects, like \"In the Line of Fire\" (1993), \"Bridges of Madison County\" (1995) and \"True Crime\" (1999). In 2000 Eastwood co-starred in the box-office hit \"Space Cowboys.\" In 2004, he put employed his entire array of movie skills directing, producing, scoring and co-starring alongside Hillary Swank in boxing drama \"Million Dollar Baby.\" Until his most recent return to the screen in \"Gran Torino,\" Eastwood had been concentrating on directing, releasing two films about World War II in 2006, \"Flags of our Fathers\" and \"Letters from Iwo Jima\" and directing Angelina Jolie to BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations this year in \"Changeling.\" Swedish director Ingmar Bergman is the only other film-maker to have received the Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement from the Cannes Film Festival." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Clint Eastwood wins a Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement .\nIngmar Berman is the only other filmmaker to have received this honor .\nEastwood directs and stars in his new film \"Gran Torino\"\n\"Dirty Harry\" star still enjoys playing gun-slinging \"tough guys\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England -- A yellow smiley-face badge, smeared with blood, has become the trademark for \"Watchmen,\" the most critically revered of all comic-books -- but it could also represent its troubled journey from page to big screen. \"Watchmen\" opens with the unexplained murder of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Note smiley badge. The subject of fervent debate in the geekosphere for more than two decades, \"Watchmen,\" finally rolls out in the U.S. and other territories from the first week of March onward. But it's not as well known to wider audiences, who may puzzle at all this heat about a superhero movie with no A-list star attached. Instead, they may simply ask: \"Watch-what?\" Are you looking forward to \"Watchmen?\" Or think it's just hype? Tell us your views . \"Watchmen,\" created by the UK comic-book team of writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, surfaced in 1986 as a monthly 12-issue series published by DC Comics (part of Time-Warner, which owns CNN parent company Turner Broadcasting). It was a defining year for the medium: aside from \"Watchmen,\" '86 also saw Pulitzer-prize winning holocaust drama \"Maus,\" from The New Yorker contributor Art Spielgeman; and Frank Miller's hyperviolent Batman reworking \"The Dark Knight Returns.\" \"Watchmen,\" set in 1985, sets up a parallel world in which America never lost Vietnam, Russia is about to invade Afghanistan and Nixon still holds power (Bernstein and Woodward were murdered). Meanwhile a superhero team -- only one of whom has special powers -- reforms after a fellow operative is mysteriously slain. So far, so what. But what lifts \"Watchmen\" is a complex, multi-layered narrative and depth of characterization that ensured it was the only comic-book to make Time's 100 best novels since 1923. A dark, downbeat work with a heady 11th-hour twist, it puts as much store on subsidiary characters like a newspaper seller as its does blue-skinned man-god Dr Manhattan. Watch \"Watchmen\" trailer. » . Perfect fodder, one might think, for the multiplex -- but \"Watchmen\" has been lodged in Development Hell for the best part of two decades. At various times Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin Diesel were mooted to play Manhattan; Mickey Rourke and Ed Norton suggested for right-wing vigilante Rorschach. Directors set to shoot have included Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass and David Hayter (whose script has been retained for much of the final film). Several planned shoots failed to materialize due to studio fears about the budget (locations include Antarctica and Mars as well as New York) and how the ending might be perceived in a post-9/11 world. But film-makers such as Gilliam and Guillermo del Toro also believed that the complex material would be better treated as a TV mini-series (as the \"Pan's Labyrinth\" film-maker told IGN: \"I just couldn't get my head around 'Watchmen' being two or three hours long.\") Whoever made \"Watchmen\" would also do so without Moore's blessing. Still resident in his hometown of Northampton, central England, Moore cuts an imposing figure. At least six-and-a-half feet tall, with chest-length beard and hair, talon-like rings on his fingers and the skull of a centuries-old Buddhist monk in his study, he resembles Doctor Who as reimagined by Edgar Allan Poe. (In person he's gracious and affable, as this writer will attest from a few years back). Moore has had a mixed relationship with both the mainstream comic-book industry (which he accuses of over-commercialization and exploiting creators' rights) and Hollywood. The comic-book series \"From Hell,\" in which Moore uses the Jack the Ripper killings as a precursor to 20th-century violence, runs to about 500 pages, including 40-plus pages of footnotes. On film it became a melodramatic pad around Victorian London, gamely carried by a pre-\"Pirates\" Johnny Depp. Two other Moore adaptations also failed to translate. Stephen Norrington's \"The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen\" (2003) was widely derided and the subject of a court case into which Moore was dragged; by the time of James McTeigue's better judged \"V For Vendetta\" (2005), Moore had asked his name be taken off any movie adaptations and refused to take royalties. Enter Zack Snyder. In 2004, Snyder came to the attention of mainstream cinemagoers with his well-regarded remake of George A Romero's zombie flick \"Dawn of The Dead.\" Following the $450m-plus taken worldwide by Snyder's \"300\" (2006) -- a hyper-stylized take on Frank Miller's ancient Greek suicide-mission -- it was announced that \"Watchmen\" would be his next project with Warner Bros. Paramount, which abandoned plans for the movie in 2005, took international rights. The $150-million feature went into production in Vancouver in mid-2007, wrapping in early 2008, and with a cast including Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley. Snyder has retained \"Watchmen's\" 1980s setting and also recruited original artist Gibbons -- who still retains friendship with Moore -- to advise on production design. Mindful that a narrative so complex could never work as a movie, Snyder has jettisoned several parallel subplots, which will surface as DVD extras and in director's cuts. Word is that the ending has also been changed. But wary of over-tweaking, Snyder told Entertainment Weekly last year: \"You can't make it into something else, you really can't. It's not 'Fantastic Four,' it's got to be hard R [cinema rating], it's got to challenge everyone's ideas.\" Meanwhile Moore, who sometimes mentions that he worships a Roman snake-god, hinted in the LA Times that he had cursed the feature. \"I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come,\" he added. So was it Moore who saw \"Watchmen\" end up in the courts for a case that risked scuppering its release? Last year Twentieth Century Fox claimed it still retained rights through an earlier deal with producer Lawrence Gordon in the 1980s; Warners Bros disagreed but a judge decided there was a case to answer. A settlement was eventually thrashed out last month, only weeks ahead of release. And so \"Watchmen\" ticks toward early March and a rollout in spring, the now-traditional season for edgier comic-book adaptations like \"300\" and \"Sin City.\" Trailers and early footage have drawn praise, with several scenes playing like detailed frames from the original artwork. But key will be whether Snyder can match \"Watchmen's\" dramatic beats against its green-screen chicanery for more than two hours (IMDB lists the running time at 163 minutes). After all, successfully mixing pyrotechnics and narrative is how the most satisfying genre features of recent years -- such as Peter Jackson's \"Lord Of The Rings\" trilogy and Christopher Nolan's \"The Dark Knight\" -- have found artistic, as well as commercial, favor. Should Snyder pull it off then will he earn the gratitude of fan boys everywhere, as well as no small thanks from a fair few movie executives. What Alan Moore might think is another issue." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Comic-book movie, directed by Zack Snyder, took two decades to reach cinemas .\nDirectors Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass, previously attached .\nSource material regarded by many as the best comic-book ever written .\nCo-creator Alan Moore has objected to the idea of story being made into movie ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- The designers behind a \"thinking\" yacht are hoping to break a world record by sending it across the Atlantic Ocean without any human assistance. The autonomous yacht Avalon is hoisted to have her keel put in place before launching . The four-meter boat, \"Avalon\", was designed and built by an eight-strong team of third-year engineering students at Swiss science university ETH Zurich. The students are planning to take the boat to a robotic sailing regatta in July, before launching it into the Microtransat Transatlantic challenge in early September. Using sensors to detect the speed and direction of the wind, the boat is programmed to reach a given co-ordinate and will attain it by automatically adapting to the changing conditions. One of the \"Students Sailing Autonomously\" (SSA) team's project managers, Hendrik Erckens, told CNN that if the Atlantic crossing succeeds it will be a world record as an unmanned boat has not previously made the voyage. It is planned the crossing will begin from the west coast of Ireland and finish in the Caribbean. \"For us the Microtransat challenge is the big goal. I'm pretty confident we can do it. This week in testing it is pretty much doing what it's supposed to do. And it is water tight. \"Over the last couple of days we tried some autonomous tacks and jibes and now we are testing the navigation,\" he said. See photos of the autonomous yacht from construction to launch » . The team has been working on the project since September 2008, and are currently at the on-water testing stage, having designed and built the boat. While the team will be able to track the boat through an onboard global positioning system (GPS) during the transatlantic voyage, Erckens said as long as the challenge is active they won't have any control over the vessel. \"We will set it out and it will be completely autonomous. There are solar cells on the back for power and extra power supplies on board. \"There is a satellite communication system on board and the boat can download weather information by itself so it can calculate the best route to travel,\" he said. Erckens said the team is positive that the carbon-fibre boat will survive the rough Atlantic seas -- an issue that has stopped many manned crossings before -- including Richard Branson's attempt at the fastest transatlantic crossing aboard the 99-foot Virgin Money last fall. \"We feel our advantage over other teams is that we are mechanical engineers. We have designed this boat ourselves and exactly for this purpose.\" Erckens said the idea could one day offer a new autopilot option for large yachts. \"The idea came as there are autopilots for boats out there, but currently the commercially available autopilots only steer the rudder. We are looking to control the sails as well.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "University students at ETH Zurich have designed and built a robotic boat .\nThe boat needs no sailors and uses sensors to sail in changing conditions .\nIt is hoped the yacht will sail autonomously across the Atlantic Ocean .\nIf it succeeds it would be the first Atlantic crossing by an unmanned boat ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama won a battle against Somali pirates. But does he really want to go to war? The USS Bainbridge tows a lifeboat in which the captain of the Maersk Alabama was held hostage. You may have seen the headlines in the last few days: a Somali pirate attack and hostage-taking ended with a precision operation by U.S. snipers and a successful rescue. Somali pirates have been the scourge of the Horn of Africa for years. They've attacked dozens of ships and taken hundreds of hostages from several countries. The attack on the Maersk Alabama was the first on an American ship. But when it was over, Obama made a particularly broad pledge. \"We are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region,\" Obama said. \"We're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise.\" See an interactive map of 2009 pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa » . Experts say that means addressing the anarchy ashore which allows the pirates to operate. Somalia is a failed state, where lawlessness is a license for every kind of criminal enterprise. James Christodoulou of Industrial Shipping Enterprises Corporation told CNN that if the US wants to do something about piracy, it has to \"go to Somalia and deal with the cause there. Whether it's with bullets or butter, the solution lies on land not at sea.\" The U.S. tried once before to impose order in Somalia, with disastrous results. It led a humanitarian mission to oversee the delivery of food aid that turned into an armed operation against local warlords. More than 40 U.S. personnel were killed before U.S. forces withdrew. That's the challenge facing the leader of every nation whose ships have fallen prey to the pirates. An international effort has been underway to patrol the troubled waters. The French navy has been particularly active. But no one has rushed onto Somali soil. The Obama administration is already managing wars in two countries. Wait and see whether it's really willing to risk a third." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "President Barack Obama says U.S. is committed to tackling piracy off Somalia .\nHostage captain of U.S. cargo ship rescued in U.S. Navy operation this week .\nBut experts say tackling piracy on seas means tackling failed state of Somalia .\nWith wars in two countries, is Obama willing to risk getting involved in another?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Natalie Cole's search for a new kidney ended this week when someone with a compatible organ died and their family asked that it be given to the singer, according to the organ procurement group that handled the donation. Natalie Cole received a kidney transplant Tuesday in Los Angeles. Cole, who underwent a successful kidney transplant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, was \"responding well and recuperating\" Thursday, her publicist said. Cole had been on what she called \"a very long list\" of people waiting for an organ donation when she got word recently that OneLegacy, an organ procurement agency in Southern California, had a kidney that was a biological match. It was a \"directed donation\" from a deceased organ donor, according to OneLegacy CEO Tom Mone. \"Having heard of Ms. Cole's need for a kidney, the family asked that one of their loved one's kidneys be transplanted to Ms. Cole if they were a match,\" Mone said. Directed organ donations are rare, and rarer still are those directed to someone not related to or known personally by the deceased, he said. The donor will remain anonymous until the family gives permission for the name to be made public, he said. Cole's need for a kidney donation was highly publicized, including with an appearance on CNN's \"Larry King Live\" on March 31. \"I'm on a very long list, which is why we are looking to donors,\" said Cole, the daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole. Cole said her kidney troubles date to February 2008 when she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Cole said she attributes the Hepatitis C to her well-publicized struggles to stop using cocaine and heroin. Cole said she has been sober for some time now after two stints in a rehabilitation clinic. Cole said she underwent chemotherapy in an aggressive way to fight the virus. Within four months of getting chemotherapy, both of Cole's kidneys failed. \"I couldn't breathe. I -- I went into -- literally, my kidneys stopped functioning. They stopped, you know, processing the fluid that was starting to build up in my body.\" Since then Cole has been on dialysis three days a week and has been searching for a kidney, she told King in one of the first public interviews about the issue. Cole won six Grammys for her 1991 critically acclaimed album \"Unforgettable: With Love,\" a jazzy tribute to her father. She won a Grammy this year for her new album \"Still Unforgettable\" and another Grammy for her work on another album. Cole was still able to tour this year even with her kidney ailment. She canceled a planned show last week in South Korea because of her illness, which meant she was in Los Angeles when the organ became available. \"I have been on dialysis in Istanbul, Milan, Indonesia, Manila, London. It's -- it's amazing,\" Cole said. During King's show, dozens of people sent e-mails to CNN telling Cole that they would get tested to see if their kidney could be donated. King handed a thick stack of paper to Cole. \"These are all e-mails from dozens -- dozens of people offering to be tested to see if they can match, who want to give you a kidney,\" King said. Cole stared at the papers for a moment. \"There are some great human beings out there. That's all I can say,\" Cole said. Cole is expected to return to the tour after three to four months of recovery. CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Natalie Cole's new kidney came from deceased fan; fan's family asked for Cole .\nNatalie Cole underwent kidney transplant surgery Tuesday .\nSinger received supportive e-mails when on CNN's \"Larry King Live\" in March ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A process that started months ago among White House lawyers to compile a list of possible Supreme Court picks has accelerated with word Justice David Souter plans to step down from the bench in June. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the only female high court justice. Women likely will be high on the Souter successor list. The nominee would give President Obama an immediate opportunity to place his stamp on the nation's highest court, and perhaps to begin cementing his legacy with a lifetime appointment to that bench. Obama on Friday said he will seek \"somebody with a sharp, independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity.\" That person must honor traditions, respect the judicial process and share Obama's grasp of constitutional values, he said. The president said he intends to consult with people in both political parties as he makes his choice to replace Souter. Legal sources say Obama's legal team will begin refocusing what had been an aggressive effort to fill federal vacancies on lower federal court seats. Now their attention will be directed into a search for Souter's replacement. Administration officials have been working closely with key senators and Democratic legal advisers on possible choices. \"The [Obama] White House and the Justice Department certainly have people there already thinking about the issues, compiling lists, starting to vet the backgrounds of those candidates,\" said Edward Lazarus, a Supreme Court legal expert and a legal adviser during the Obama transition. A mix of federal judges and political allies are among the names the administration is said to be informally considering, said legal and political sources. Among them are federal appeals court judges Sonia Sotomayor, 55, of New York; Diane Wood, 59, of Chicago; and Solicitor General Elena Kagan. Those sources say women candidates will be at or near the top of the list of finalists. \"The president has long recognized the need for more gender diversity on the high court,\" said one source who asked not to be identified. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 76, is the only woman on the high court. Sotomayor is near the top of the list of many sources consulted by CNN. She is a Hispanic-American named a federal trial judge by President Bush in 1992 and elevated to her seat in 1996. Her supporters call her a moderate who would enjoy bipartisan support in the Senate. But conservative legal blogs in recent weeks have been sharply questioning her judicial philosophy, perhaps anticipating a high court vacancy. Fights over judicial nominees have grown increasingly partisan and nasty in recent years, sparked by the confirmation fights over Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court. Bork was rejected by lawmakers, while Thomas sits on the high court. Many of President George W. Bush's judicial choices were blocked by Democratic senators, and his two Supreme Court picks were the subject of massive ad campaigns launched by advocacy groups on both sides of the political debate. Conservatives have vowed to give Obama the same treatment over his choices. Most of Bush's lower court choices were not named until August 2001, seven months into his first term. The political and practical stakes are high. Sources have said privately the president is not interested in choosing \"extreme\" liberals to the bench, an idea echoed by some legal analysts. Watch CNN's Bill Schneider examine Obama's options » . \"I don't expect to see President Obama naming some real firebrands, the kind that might be real lightning-rods for controversial confirmation hearings,\" said Lazarus. Conservatives \"are assuming that in his heart of hearts, Obama is an activist, old-fashioned, liberal firebrand on judicial issues, and, at least if one goes by what President Obama has written on the subject, he's not.\" Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate, has taught constitutional law in Chicago. Republicans have warned the White House not to shut them out of the overall judicial selection process. In a March 2 letter, 41 GOP senators urged Obama \"to consult with us as it considers possible nominations to the federal courts from our states.\" If not consulted, they said, \"The Republican Conference will be unable to support moving forward on that nominee.\" Watch CNN's Dana Bash report on how Republicans might respond » . Translation, say liberal groups: filibusters and obstructionist tactics. \"Republican senators fought hard against some of President Clinton's candidates,\" said Nan Aron, who heads the the Alliance for Justice. \"I think we saw it during Eric Holder's hearing [for attorney general]. Republican senators were testing out messages, not designed to deny confirmation to Eric Holder but to test them to see whether those tactics would work with some of Obama's judicial nominees,\" Aron said. \"That's going to happen. There's no question about it.\" The fight over Souter's seat could be just the opening act to perhaps two more high court vacancies under Obama. Bush burnished his conservative credentials by naming Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the high court, and helped increase the overall conservative bent of most federal courts. Republicans have controlled the White House -- and thereby court nominations -- in 28 of the last 40 years. Seven of the nine high court members were named by GOP presidents. Obama has said Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- liberals named by President Clinton -- are his kind of judges, but Obama has spoken only in general terms about the type of person he would nominate. \"I will look for those judges who have an outstanding judicial record, who have the intellect, and who hopefully have a sense of what real-world folks are going through,\" he said at the October 15 presidential debate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "President Obama has chance to place his stamp on the Supreme Court .\nSources: Women candidates to be at or near the top of the list .\nRepublicans hint at confirmation confrontation if they are ignored .\nSeven of the nine high court members were named by GOP presidents ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The question is starting to feel a little old: Whom will Barack Obama pick as his vice president? Sen. Barack Obama has a big event scheduled Saturday. Will his No. 2 man (or woman) be by his side? With the clock ticking (the Democratic VP candidate delivers a big speech next Wednesday) the announcement is at most days and at least a few hours away. Everyday seems to be \"the day,\" the day the guessing game will finally end. In a poke at all of the VP buzz, the Obama campaign sent an e-mail to reporters Wednesday with the subject line \"Vice presidential ...\" The first line of the e-mail: \"Just kidding.\" The e-mail contained details about Obama's schedule with no mention of any of the potential vice presidential candidates. But if the top contenders have any inside information, they're doing a good job of keeping quiet. Sen. Joe Biden told reporters camped outside his Delaware home Tuesday that it's not him. \"You got better things to do, guys; I'm not the guy,\" he said. Asked where he would be Saturday -- when Obama is reportedly scheduled to hold a campaign event in Springfield, Illinois, that may feature his new running mate -- Biden replied, \"here,\" pointing to his driveway. He softened up a little later that night, telling reporters, \"I promise you, I don't know anything.\" Along with Biden, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine are considered to be among the top tier of VP contenders. Watch the latest on Obama's VP selection » . Bayh has managed to stay out of the spotlight this week. Does that mean he's dodging the question? He hit the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend and tried out the attack dog role, criticizing Republican John McCain for his stance on Georgia, Iraq and national security. When asked about the veepstakes, the former governor said he had \"nothing to report today.\" Kaine, on the other hand, seems to have no qualms about taking the main stage this week. A relative newcomer to national politics, Kaine is scheduled to appear alongside Obama on Thursday as the presumptive Democratic nominee campaigns in central Virginia. Could he be introduced as Obama's No. 2 man? The pair will host an invitation-only town hall meeting Thursday in Chesterfield County, a suburb of Richmond. Kaine's sturdy performance in the traditionally conservative Richmond suburbs helped vault him to the governorship in 2005. Obama has stops scheduled in Virginia on Wednesday and Thursday before returning home to Illinois for the Springfield event, which takes place where he first kicked off his presidential run. The event marks the beginning of a tour of battleground states leading into next week's convention in Denver, Colorado. The Obama campaign has kept the details on both the timing and selection of the running mate under wraps. They would neither confirm or deny whether Obama would appear with his VP candidate this weekend. iReport.com: Whom do you think Obama should pick? Although the focus in recent days has been on Bayh, Biden and Kaine, there are quite a few other serious contenders, and a curveball pick could always be in the works. Other big names thought to be in the running include retired Gen. Wesley Clark, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Obama's campaign says that when he makes up his mind, he'll send a text message and e-mail to his supporters to let them know who his sidekick will be." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Democratic VP candidate gives big speech next Wednesday at convention .\nBarack Obama's campaign sends e-mail with subject: \"Vice presidential ...\"\nEvan Bayh, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine considered top tier contenders .\nObama has big campaign event Saturday; VP pick could join him ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Walking through a maze of narrow streets south of Tiananmen Square, Nick Frisch appeared unfazed by the sight of drastic changes -- traditional courtyard houses that once lined up these hutongs, or alleys, now in different stages of being knocked down. Nick Frisch's underground exploration in Beijing has attracted the attention of a Singapore TV crew. While the Qianmen area is going through an extreme makeover -- a restoration of its Qing dynasty flavor ahead of the Olympics -- Frisch's destination is safe from the city's ubiquitous wrecking balls. Upon reaching the entrance to the Underground City, however, he was told it was closed for \"renovation,\" just like the surrounding neighborhood. \"It's like they're trying to literally bury this place before the Games,\" said Frisch, a recent graduate of Columbia University in the United States, with a major in history and Chinese language. This place is a vast network of tunnels built beneath Beijing's city center during the 1970s in anticipation of a nuclear war with the Soviets. Covering an area of 85 square kilometers and containing 1,000 anti-air raid structures, the subterranean complex was said to have been mostly hand-dug by 300,000 local residents. \"The plan was to move half of Beijing's population underground and the other half to western hills in the event of a nuclear attack,\" Frisch explained. The 22-year-old New York native has lived in China on and off for a year and is fascinated by the bomb shelter and its history. After the authorities opened part of the Underground City as a tourist attraction to woo foreigners, he turned a routine visit to an adventure in 2006. Armed with a flashlight, Frisch veered off from the mandatory guided tour. Moving sandbags and unchaining doors, he explored the off-limit area and found rooms with bunk beds and decayed cardboard boxes of water purifiers. \"It's more than just propaganda posters down there -- it really is a parallel universe, with street signs stenciled on the wall,\" Frisch said. Since then, Frisch has discovered other shelters linked to the network -- many of them turned to cheap hostels -- on busy streets. Not surprisingly, the time-warped part of the Underground City remains his favorite. \"I sometimes wish I was born earlier to witness the Cold War unfold -- and the tunnels have given me a unique vantage point to look into that period of history,\" Frisch said. \"While Beijing is transforming itself for the Olympics, it's just amazing to see this space in such a sharp contrast to the city aboveground.\" E-mail to a friend . Steven Jiang is a Beijing-based freelance writer and former CNN producer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "American university student exploring Beijing's underground tunnels .\nPart of capital's \"Underground City\" now open to tourists .\nBeijing's underground tunnel network was built in 1970s as giant bomb shelter ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- This month, Just Imagine has looked at the future of space, and the potential it holds for humanity. Should humanity aim for the stars ... The proponents of the NewSpace movement, like our featured commentator Bob Richards, hold that humanity must expand into space if we are to survive. They say that the limitless resources held by the stars will help humanity seek a bold new future. But some say that we should fix Earth's problems, especially the challenge of global warming, before we set our eyes on the stars. They say space travel is too expensive, and its carbon footprint too great, to be a priority for us right now. We want to hear your views. Should space be our next frontier? Or should we focus on fixing things here on Earth first? Post your comments in the Sound Off box below, and we'll publish the best." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We ask, should humanity expand into space?\nThose in the NewSpace movement say space is humanity's future .\nBut others say we should focus on fixing issues on Earth first .\nWhat do you think? Post your views and we'll publish the best." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "COPENHAGEN, Denamrk (CNN) -- Actress Connie Nielsen hit the big time when she starred in \"Gladiator\" as Lucilla, sister of the deranged Emperor Commodus. Since then she has appeared in hit movies including \"One Hour Photo\" and \"The Hunted\". Connie Nielsen has always refused to play the Hollywood fame game. But Nielsen has refused to play the Hollywood fame game and seems drawn to challenging roles in controversial movies, including \"The Situation\", about the current Iraq war, and \"Battle in Seattle\", about the anti-globalization riots that took place in Seattle in 1999. Nielsen now lives in the US and returns to Copenhagen every year. She talks to My City, My Life about what makes the city, and its people, so special. CNN: How do you define yourself? Connie Nielsen: I absolutely refuse the fame part of my business. I refuse even the money side of my business. I try to do as good work as I can do, I try to grow in my art and reach for truth. That's what I want from my art, that's what I aspire to. I try to combine my work with my family, that's what I aspire to. I don't say that's the only thing. It's not all work and family, because otherwise you would be saying no to the many other things in life and there are many other things. CNN: The people here are supposed to be incredibly happy -- what do you think? Connie Nielsen: I think it's funny in a way because when I grew up here it was very unusual to hear the word \"happiness\". If you asked somebody, \"what do you wish for in life?\" they wouldn't say \"happiness.\" I would have answered \"excitement, knowledge,\" God knows -- I mean, many, many different things, but certainly not \"happiness\". It seemed like a foreign concept to wish for something that specific and that singular. And I think that a lot of Danes kind of feel like that about being the happiest people in the world. CNN: Is there anything you'd like to change about the city? Connie Nielsen: Anywhere there are social buildings that stuff people into boxes, concentrate poor people there. It's specific to any big city. There was an effort to create buildings that concentrate these people very closely, and their social problems. They are still around in New York, Paris, London and here too. So if I could change anything about Copenhagen, or any other major big city, I would change the way we build buildings or housing for lower income people. I don't think people who are already burdened with social, economic, psychological situations, dysfunctional families, need to be burdened with other people with the same problems. CNN: Is the city politically driven? Connie Nielsen: I don't think I can remember a moment in my life where people didn't discuss politics. People discuss politics at the table. I think some of the first information I received was politically charged (laughs). It was at a time when girls were being told, \"Why don't you go and learn how to repair machines rather than learn to repair your jumper? Why don't you learn to cut wood rather than learn to keep a house clean?\" in school. It was to make us conscious of what we were, how we defined ourselves and why you would accept one concept of yourself rather than another. Have you searched through the truth of that concept? Have you deconstructed? Have you made sure that its foundations are valid? That's how I grew up and I think it was wonderful. CNN: How would you describe the city architecturally? Connie Nielsen: It's everything here from very late renaissance to this 19th century golden age we had here. It's that, intermixed with pure Danish modernism. I love the juxtaposition of it all. I love when we bring in metaphors for our past as well. CNN: A lot of the places you have taken us to have been very romantic, do you think there is a fairy tale quality to Copenhagen? Connie Nielsen: An alternative society ... yes I do, I do feel that. I do feel that most things are possible here. I can dream here. I can imagine. CNN: What is it about the city that makes people creative? Connie Nielsen: Well, we have a very, very long winter and it gets a little boring, so you better think of something to do! It can get deathly boring, so you start using your imagination. Sometimes it's necessity that produces it, because you need to do something. CNN: Is there something about the people here that want to change things for the better? Connie Nielsen: I think so -- I think we're an idealistic people. I think there are disillusioned people everywhere, there are doubters everywhere, but I do think there are constructive people here; I do think that people believe in people. CNN: Do you take any inspiration from the city? Connie Nielsen: Yes, yes I do. Whenever I come back here I remember that I want to write poetry (laughs). I want to take more time to sit and paint some more. I want to do so many more things whenever I come back -- I'm always reminded of that when I come here. CNN: You've lived in lots of cities all over the world and still do. Why is Copenhagen special to you? Connie Nielsen: I was born here and it's the capital of my home country. It's also immensely beautiful. Many of my friends live here and much of my partner's family lives here too and so we bring our kids back here every year. It holds all the museums that hold our history, our culture, and I take our children there and I go there for my own pleasure all the time. I love going to museums. I love this city and I love cities that are on the water. I love the water element, specifically the sea. I grew up on the sea and I grew up sailing -- I love sailing -- and the presence of the sea gives the air and the light a very special quality that I absolutely adore. CNN: It seems that for a small place it has a lot of cultural influence. Connie Nielsen: Yes, it's sort of a little pearl in the middle of the seas. There's a lot of traffic through this place, from the east, west, north and south. And we are the southern part of the north, so everything from the south comes up here on its way towards the north, and the opposite. And it has left its mark. We are definitely some kind of place where culture is being deposited over and over and over again, but it also springs from here. It's the kind of place that attracts creative people and so it springs from here too. CNN: If Copenhagen was a person, how would you describe it? Connie Nielsen: If Copenhagen were a person, that person would be generous, beautiful, elderly, but with a flair. A human being that has certain propensities for quarrelling, filled with imagination and with appetite for the new and with respect for the old -- somebody who takes good care of things and of people." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Connie Nielsen says she refuses the fame and money side of acting .\nShe says the long winters mean the residents have to be creative .\nCopenhagen is full of history and culture, and Nielsen loves its museums .\nThe city is very beautiful and the light has \"a very special quality,\" she says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- A construction company and three supervisors were indicted Monday on manslaughter and related charges in the deaths of two firefighters battling a 2007 blaze at the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan. Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, left, and Robert Beddia died in the Deutsche Bank building blaze. Prosecutors also reached an agreement with the city of New York requiring the implementation of new fire safety measures. \"Our goal is to put in place procedures which will prevent a disaster of the magnitude of the Deutsche Bank fire and to make sure that firefighters are never again exposed to the risks they faced in that fire,\" Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said. The indictments against the John Galt Corp., Jeffrey Melofchik, Mitchel Alvo and Salvatore DePaola also allege negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. The indictment is the result of an investigation into an August 18, 2007, blaze that consumed nine floors of the Deutsche Bank building. The building had been scheduled for demolition after being contaminated by debris, asbestos and other hazardous substances after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings. The two firefighters killed in the blaze -- Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33 -- were caught in a smoke-filled stairwell that prosecutors say was improperly blocked off by barriers erected to seal off floors being stripped of contaminants. In addition to the deaths of Beddia and Graffagnino, 105 other firefighters were injured combating the blaze. The agreement with the city of New York mandates the creation of a new civilian inspection unit at the city's fire department, the sole purpose of which will be to perform inspections at construction sites throughout the city. \"The regulatory measures we have put in place and the additional reforms set out today are designed to prevent any firefighter again confronting the conditions that firefighters faced at the Deutsche Bank building that tragic day,\" New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a written statement. The father of one of the firefighters killed in the blaze, Joseph Graffagnino Sr., said the indictments did not go far enough. \"I don't understand if the [city] agency can't be indicted, why can't individuals be indicted who we already know should have been responsible for doing their jobs and did not do their jobs,\" he said to reporters. Graffagnino was referencing the lack of criminal charges brought against employees of the city fire department, the city's department of buildings and the building's landlord, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "John Galt Corp., three supervisors indicted; city to change procedures .\nFirefighters died when caught in smoke-filled stairwell .\nProsecutors allege doorway was improperly sealed .\n105 other firefighters were injured fighting blaze ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- \"Doing it nature's way has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.\" Janine Benyus . When self-confessed \"nature nerd\" Janine Benyus coined the term \"biomimicry\" in a book she published a decade ago, little did she know it would make her into an household name, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars. Janine is a champion of the biomimicry movement and helps companies to improve designs by turning to Nature. The natural sciences writer now gives talks on the subject to riveted crowds and is a consultant to some of world's biggest companies. In her capacity as \"biologist at the design table,\" Janine helps companies like Nike and Hewlett Packard to innovate and improve their designs by using what already exists in nature. She also appeared as a consultant in the apocalyptic environmental documentary \"11th Hour,\" produced by Leonardo DiCaprio last year. Janine coined the term \"biomimicry\" from the Greek \"bios,\" meaning \"life,\" and \"mimesis,\" meaning \"imitate.\" \"It was a surprise to me when the phone started ringing after my book came out in 1997,\" she told CNN. \"It was companies and individual inventors, companies that were inventing everyday and they had problems to solve. They said, 'gee the book is fabulous, it's about all this science that's happening in early stage research. But we're doing innovation in real time. Can you come and be a biologist at the design table?\" So far, using nature's design genius has led to the creation of bat-inspired ultrasonic canes for the blind, synthetic sheets that collect water from mist and fog as desert beetles do, and paint that self-cleans like a lotus leaf. Scientists are also working on making solar cells like leaves and supertough ceramics that resemble the inner shells of abalone, which is twice as durable as the ceramics used in jet engines. Before Janine wrote her book, there wasn't even a word to describe the work of a few scattered scientists looking for inspiration through nature in different corners of the world. History is, of course, littered with examples of humans copying nature's design. One of the most notable was invented by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral. Whilst out walking his dog one day de Mestral became annoyed by the burrs catching and sticking to his clothes and in his dog's fur. He decided to study them under a microscope. The magnification revealed a network of tiny hooks. The product of his labors was Velcro, which was patented in 1951. At the core of Janine's beliefs is that nature has already spent 3.8 billion years on research and development. Its failures are now fossils. She believes its successes contain strategies the human race can copy in its quest for a sustainable future. Janine has cultivated a deep knowledge of the natural world, beginning with direct observation in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, continuing in habitats from Maine to West Virginia where she worked as a backcountry guide, and now, in her home wilds of Montana. She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University, New Jersey, with two degrees in Natural Resource Management and English Literature/Writing. Named by Time magazine as an environmental hero of 2007, she's now writing the sequel book, \"Nature's 100 Best Technologies,\" and also consults through her firm The Biomimicry Guild, which came about following the massive demand for her knowledge. \"From interiors, manufacturing everything from apparel to transportation to bath and kitchen and carpets and furniture and sneakers, and even cities,\" she told CNN. \"I'd be talking to groups of mayors and talking to the European parliament, policy makers and they all wanted to know how can we learn from nature how to design a more sustainable world.\" \"They want to know if there are blue prints, and of course there are. And they said 'great, bring over your biologists.\" One of the companies that Janine has worked with is Interface, Inc, the world's largest commercial carpet manufacturer . The process is particularly hard on the environment as it uses petrochemicals in every step and consumes vast amounts of energy, and produces tons of waste. But after working with Janine and the Guild, Interface introduced Entropy, a carpet inspired by random pattern formation in nature. It was a greener product that gave customers more flexibility as they could replace individual tiles instead of the whole carpet. Entropy quickly rose to become Interface's top-selling line of carpet and still represents 40 percent of their carpet tile sales. With results like that, it seems, you can't argue with Mother Nature." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Janine Benyus coined the term \"biomimicry\" in her influential 1997 book .\nBiomimicry is the concept of looking for inspiration for design through nature .\nShe was named by Time magazine as an environmental hero of 2007 ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Deepa, 40, was born in Mumbai, where she is now a banking technology consultant, as well as running a company that offers \"offbeat sightseeing tours\" of six Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur. Deepa Krishnan: \"When you live in Mumbai you feel like you're in the nerve center of the country.\" Deepa's Mumbai tours take in the city's bazaars, backstreets and culture and her blog, Mumbai Magic, is a personal view of life in the city. CNN: How does Mumbai compare to those other cities your company offers tour of? Deepa: Mumbai is a very young city by Indian standards, only 500 years old, whereas a city like Delhi is really ancient. Mumbai used to be a fishing hamlet and it grew after the British arrived. So it's a young city and one that has been formed by migrants. Almost everyone in Mumbai has arrived here in the course of the last few generations, and so the city has a vibrancy and cosmopolitanism that is different from other cities. CNN: What makes Mumbai special to you? Deepa: The fact that I am so grounded here -- I was born here and four generations of my family live here. But also, Mumbai is on the move, it's vibrant, it's accepting of change and it's got a very active citizenry. It's the one place where you can make a mark, where you can make a difference. When you live in Mumbai you feel like you're in the nerve center of the country. You feel like all the big events are near you and you're connected to everything. In other cities I tend to feel more remote. If there's a new play it premieres in Mumbai, if there's a new band they play in Mumbai -- everything happens here. We're close to the center of commerce and I would rather be close to the center of commerce than the center of politics! What makes Mumbai special to you? Let us know . CNN: What are your favorite parts of the city? Deepa: I think my favorite is a place called Bhuleshwar. It's the \"native\" bazaar area that sprang up outside the old British fort. It's got a certain colorful energy and retains its 18th Century-feel to some extent. Everything under the sun can be bought there; it's got a spice market, a jewelry market. It's a busy, bustling area where a lot of trade happens, so I love it. CNN: Where do people go if they want to escape Mumbai's bustle? Deepa: We head out of the city -- we run for the hills! We go to the Western Ghats, which is a mountain range that runs parallel to the coast, barely a two-hour drive from where I live. \"There's climbing and a whole bunch of very interesting mountain forts to explore; there's whitewater rafting, paragliding, cycling. Ecologically, it's a very bio-diverse area so it attracts photography enthusiasts and bird watchers. We're very lucky that we're so close to it. We also have a lot of beaches just outside the city and they are popular as well. Within the city there are little enclaves of peace -- even in Bhuleshwar market there are temple complexes where there's a surprising silence compared to the bustle of the streets. We also have our seaside promenades where we love to hang out. The young, who have no other place to go, find romance on Marine Drive and Bandra Bandstand. It's Mumbai's version of Lovers Lane -- except the lane is wide open! CNN: What's a typical weekend in Mumbai? Deepa: We party quite hard, so Saturday and Sunday evenings are days when you go out with friends and family. There are a huge number of restaurants with all sorts of cuisines on offer. There are some great clubs -- my favorite right now is a place called The Blue Frog -- and there's an active cultural scene. Alongside all the partying we're all in a mad race to lose weight and look good. Bollywood is helping men wake up to the fact that there's nothing wrong with a well-toned physique. In all the suburbs of Mumbai there's a mushrooming of places where young guys are pumping iron and trying to be 'he-men.' CNN: Do you think the city's changed since the terrorist attacks last November? Deepa: Yes, I think there's a hardening of stances and an unwillingness to accept platitudes. I also think there is increased uneasiness between communities. CNN: Has tourism been affected by the attacks? Deepa: My own business went bust for two weeks. For two weeks I had nothing but cancellations in Mumbai and I was only saved by the fact that I was doing business in other cities. But then business picked up again. My first clients after the attacks were a Jewish American couple and I was heartened by the faith and support they showed for Mumbai. Mumbai also gets big tour groups that arrive by bus and I think that kind of group tour has lessened, but my business gets more independent travelers and they are still coming. People choose to respond to crises more positively than we think they will and I'm seeing very strong individual responses. CNN: If Mumbai was a person what would he or she be like? Deepa: This is a city which is strangely beautiful and strangely warty. At its heart this city is about money, it's a city of exchange and commerce, so it would be a trader or a wheeler dealer -- someone who's on the move, making deals and making money!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Deepa lives in Mumbai, where her company runs \"offbeat sightseeing tours\"\nShe says Mumbai is younger and more cosmopolitan than most Indian cities .\nPeople in the city party hard, she says -- and there's an active cultural scene .\nLast November's terrorist attacks have increased tension in the city, she says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three Staten Island men are charged with violating voting rights, accused of assaulting African-Americans after Barack Obama's win in the November presidential election, authorities said Wednesday. A grand jury indicted Ralph Nicoletti, 18, Michael Contreras, 18, and Brian Carranza, 21, on charges of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights. All three pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday afternoon. According to the indictment, the three \"knowingly and intentionally\" conspired to intimidate African-Americans \"in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right ... and because of having so exercised that right, to wit, the right to vote.\" Nicoletti and Carranza are white, and Contreras is Latino. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. At the arraignment, Nicoletti and Contreras were ordered held without bail, while Carranza was released on a $200,000 bond but ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device. Contreras' attorney, public defender Len Kamdang, could not be reached for comment. Nicoletti's attorney, Bob LaRusso, had no comment. Prosecutors said in court filings that on the night of November 4, the defendants were at a \"makeshift outdoor clubhouse\" in the Rosebank section of Staten Island when they learned of Obama's victory. At that point, prosecutors said, Nicoletti drove Contreras, Carranza and another friend to the predominantly African-American Park Hill neighborhood in Staten Island. Their purpose, prosecutors said, was to assault African-Americans because of Obama's win. Their first victim, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, was 17-year-old Ali Kamara, whom they beat with a metal pipe and a collapsible police baton. Kamara escaped after suffering a concussion and injuries to his legs. \"The first swing that swung -- it hit my head. It cut my head,\" Kamara told CNN affiliate WABC. \"I got staples on my head now.\" Kamara said he hid in a neighbor's backyard until the boys moved on. Continuing to the Port Richmond section of Staten Island, the group assaulted a second African-American man, pushing him down, the federal prosecutors alleged. They then allegedly accosted a Latino man, demanding to know how he voted, and shouted profanities about Obama at a group of African-Americans at a hair salon. Next, prosecutors said, the group targeted Ronald Forte, a man they mistakenly believed to be African-American who was walking along Blackford Avenue in predominantly African-American Port Richmond. Forte is white, but because he was wearing a hoodie, the men were unable to identify his race and assumed that he was African-American. According to the indictment, the men decided to assault Forte with the police baton as they drove by, but at the last moment, Nicoletti swerved the vehicle directly into the 38-year-old man instead. Forte was thrown onto the hood of the car, shattering the front windshield. According to Staten Island Real Time News (silive.com), Forte was in a coma for 45 days, returning to his family's home in New Jersey in mid-December, said his mother, Eileen. She added that her son now has serious brain damage and motor control problems. \"He's not good. He's never going to be good,\" she said. \"Every day, I just see something different, and it's so scary.\" U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell decried the attacks. \"Violence and intimidation aimed at interfering with the constitutional rights of every citizen, including the right to vote, will not be tolerated,\" he said in a written statement. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Nicoletti has an extensive history of violent criminal activity including burglary, car break-ins, firebombing, assault, and marijuana and cocaine distribution. He is also a member of the \"Rosebank Crew\" (RBK) founded by his now-incarcerated younger brother, Anthony Nicoletti. Investigators found a cache of weapons and police batons stolen from vehicles owned by police, as well as letters from Nicoletti's brother urging Ralph to maintain RBK loyalty and not cooperate with authorities. Nicoletti and three others approached Contreras three weeks ago at his house, believing he was cooperating with authorities, according to a filing with the U.S. Attorney's Office. They allegedly attacked him and called him a snitch, according to a letter from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Pamela Chen and Margo Brodie to the judge in the case. The letter petitions for home confinement, drug testing and other pretrial release conditions for Nicoletti and Carranza. The judge has not responded to the request. CNN's Mythili Rao and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Indictment says three men conspired to intimidate African-Americans .\nThey've pleaded not guilty of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights .\nTwo held without bail; other out on bail with monitoring device .\nProsecutors: Men went to African-American neighborhoods, assaulted 3 people ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- In 1981, Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni was preparing to leave Egypt for a clinical attachment in England when her father had a heart attack. He fell in the street, and was taken to a public hospital, where Dr Kamal-Yanni kept vigil at his bedside until he regained his strength. A doctor at a hospital in India where health indicators have showed no significant improvement in seven years. During his stay in the hospital, she was appalled at the low level of healthcare available to him. \"It was awful. There was no medicine,\" she told CNN. As a doctor, Kamal-Yanni was able to watch over her father's progress. Her professional opinion on his recovery was striking. \"My father survived that heart attack for two reasons,\" she said. \"One, because of God's will, and two, because he had a strong will. It was nothing to do with the health service.\" The following year, Kamal-Yanni came to England to do a clinical attachment. She found herself deeply affected by the stark contrast between the healthcare available in Britain, on the publicly funded National Health Service, and the healthcare available at home in Egypt. She found herself slipping into depression. \"I couldn't talk to the patients; I couldn't talk to the doctors. I just couldn't cope with it,\" she revealed to CNN. \"I couldn't understand why every time I saw a monitor next to a patient I was so upset.\" It dawned on her that the gulf in care was troubling her. \"I kept thinking why on earth my dad didn't have that. The only reason was that he happened to be born in Egypt and these people had the luck to be born [in England].\" Kamal-Yanni is now a senior health & HIV policy advisor at third-world charity Oxfam. Her first-hand experience of the divide between the healthcare available in richer countries, and that on offer in poorer ones, has given her the impetus to try and narrow the gap. While Western countries are pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge, discovering the potential of nanotechnology and other high-tech solutions to the developed world's diseases, like diabetes, cancer and obesity, poor countries are struggling to combat health problems such as HIV, malaria and TB. Lack of infrastructure . And it's not as simple as shipping medicines and supplies in bulk quantities. Oxfam's \"Paying for People\" report, published in February this year, said that poor countries are suffering because they lack the infrastructure of a health service. The WHO's 2006 \"World Health Report\" also indicates that 4.25 million doctors, nurses and health workers are needed across 57 countries. Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, has 600,000 health workers: one million more are required. Without these key workers, it is questionable whether healthcare in poor countries can be improved. Nicky Wimble, a spokesperson for Oxfam, told CNN, \"There is money coming in for drugs now, but there's no commitment to long-term aid.\" Governments are unable to give healthcare workers with job security and doctors and nurses, where they do exist, are largely poorly paid: so people choose other careers. \"They're either becoming taxi drivers, or working for private businesses,\" Wimble says. This double brain-drain (one internal, one external as those who do train are tempted away by higher salaries and brighter futures in developed countries) means that even if drugs make it to poorer areas, there can be no one to administer them. \"Drugs are sitting in cupboards,\" Wimble told CNN. \"Or they're available in cities but people in rural areas don't have the bus fares to get to them.\" Vulnerable to disease . Dr Kamal-Yanni backs this up. She told CNN, \"There is no public investment in health systems so people have to pay for it. If you're poor you can't buy your healthcare and if you're a woman who happens to be poor you might as well forget it.\" And in countries where no healthcare system exists, people are extremely vulnerable to diseases, which can spread rampantly and unchecked through communities. Dr Kamal-Yanni paints a worrying picture. \"Particularly in Africa, they're not equipped to face anything -- not HIV, let alone avian flu. If something like avian flu hit Africa with no health system, no health workers and no money, it would spread. We can't contain it in Africa. The world would wake up and realize that, but in the meantime, it would have wiped out goodness knows how many millions of people.\" It's not just in Africa. HIV is a known crisis there, but it is anticipated that more people will be infected in India than anywhere else, as the disease spreads quickly through its billion-strong population. Increasingly, countries like these are having to deal with a boom in incommunicable diseases, like diabetes and cancer. Chronic diseases like diabetes have the additional problem that they require long-term care, and therefore long-term funding. Dr Kamal-Yanni explained the difficulties of that situation. \"You buy the pills today, but maybe tomorrow you don't have enough money so you're never cured and develop complications.\" What lies ahead? Dr Kamal-Yanni sees three possible outcomes for health in poor countries. The first, as she explained, is bleak. She told CNN, \"If things continue as they are, with rising infection, increasing resistance to drugs, HIV and malaria run unchecked, chronic and non-communicable diseases are ignored and no money is spent on a health system, then the gap will just increase and the situation will get worse and worse.\" Dr Kamal-Yanni is hopeful, however, that the situation will improve somewhat. She explained a second scenario, the one she feels is most likely to happen. \"If the international community invests a little bit, things will be slightly better,\" she told CNN. \"More people with HIV will get treatment, as will people with TB and malaria. But non-communicable chronic diseases [like diabetes] will be ignored.\" But large-scale epidemics like avian flu or SARS would still remain a huge threat in this scenario, as would diseases like cancer. \"Who's going to pay for medicine for cancer, which is increasing like anything in developing countries?\" asks Dr Kamal-Yanni. \"Nobody.\" Hope for the future . But there is a third scenario, which holds out more hope for people in developing countries. Dr Kamal-Yanni says, \"If public pressure is high, southern governments, donors and the international community will decide that health is really a priority. We'll put our money where our mouth is and we'll fulfil the commitments that we've made before.\" She says that in the first instance, African countries need to be encouraged to divert 16 percent of their budget to health. (Currently, nearly a third allocate less than five percent.) \"Then they will realize that this is not enough, so they'll put in more,\" she continues. If this money were to be added to the $50 billion promised by G8, the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, in Gleneagles in 2005, it would have a huge impact on health and education, particularly in Africa. And education is the key, Dr Kamal-Yanni believes. She explained, \"You can't separate health and education because unless you educate doctors and nurses, and midwives and pharmacists, you can't run a health service.\" Working together . It's also important for donors and governments to work together to provide a cohesive service, she says. \"They really need to start coordinating their work so it's not a series of vertical programs that don't relate to each other and waste resources.\" Oxfam's Nicky Wimble agrees. She told CNN, \"Over the last 100 years, countries like France, Britain and America have developed by giving their people free education and healthcare. It's a major way to bring people out of poverty.\" Wimble cites the example of education, where the number of children not in school worldwide has fallen from around 120 million to around 80 million. \"The key is getting governments to commit to it as a part of their aid package, and monitoring the aid package so that the money is tracked to ensure that it gets to where it's intended,\" she said. \"It's working for education, and they think it'll work for healthcare too, but it needs committed investment.\" And in the meantime, people like Mohga Kamal-Yanni will continue their work to pressure governments to encourage positive change. She says, \"That's my motivation to do this work. It's not for me; it's a life thing. My dream in life is for everybody in Africa to have access to a publicly financed, publicly run healthcare service with strong regulation, quality, care and equity.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Oxfam: Lack of infrastructure is the greatest danger to health in poor countries .\nWHO: 4.25 million more doctors and nurses needed worldwide .\nPoor countries won't cope with SARS, avian flu .\nPositive policy changes have seen number of children not in school fall by a third ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Botswana has been hailed as one of Africa's success stories and a beacon for democracy on the continent. It's home to Africa's longest continuous multi-party democracy and has remained politically stable since gaining independence in 1966. President Ian Khama took office in April 2008 promising steady progress. At its helm is President Ian Khama, the country's former vice president and son of Botswana's founding president. The diamond trade and disciplined government have helped to transform Botswana from one of the world's poorest nations to a middle-income country. But there are still large problem facing the country, including the world's second high level of HIV infections, according to the World Bank, and a slowing of the countries economic growth. The 56-year-old Khama took over office in April 2008, succeeding Festus Mogae who had been in power for 10 years, promising no radical departure from his predecessor's policies. Khama was born in southern England and trained at the UK's Sandhurst Military Academy before returning to Botswana and later becoming the commander of the Botswana Defence Force. He left the military in 1998 to take up the position of vice president. As the son of Botswana's most popular former president, political analysts inside the country have expected Khama to unite the factions in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and continue steady economic and political progress. While Khama has only been in power for 11 months, there has been some criticism that his style is too authoritarian. Citing Afrobarometer, an independent research group, Botswana's newspaper Sunday Standard recently wrote that there was a growing public perception that Khama has issued more directives compared to his predecessors. One area in which he has taken a definite line is on his policy towards neighboring Zimbabwe, publicly opposing the government of President Robert Mugabe and declaring it illegitimate. A general election is set for October 2009, with the BDP expected to win. No other political party has held power in Botswana and some commentators fear the emergence of a political dynasty that would affect Botswana's democracy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Botswana's President Ian Khama talks to CNN on 'African Voices'\nFormer military general and son of Botswana's first president .\nBotswana is one of Africa's success stories although HIV and Aids are rife ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Police raided an Islamic school and arrested seven students hours after a blast in a mosque in northern Pakistan left at least 50 dead and dozens injured, according to an Associated Press report. A man, right, mourns the death of his two sons in a suicide attack near Peshawar that killed at least 50. A bomb, packed with ball-bearings and nails, tore through Eid prayers at a mosque packed with hundreds of worshippers northeast of Peshawar on Friday, targeting Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, former Pakistani interior minister, local police told CNN. The blast left blood-stained clothes, hats and shoes as well as body parts and pieces of flesh scattered across the mosque, according to reports. The attack is the most recent in a series of attacks in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and occurred near Sherpao's residence in Charsadda -- an area approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) northeast of the city of Peshawar. Watch what's known about the blast » . Police investigators say Taliban or al Qaeda elements could have been involved and they believe the former minister was targeted over his supervision of operations against militants in Pakistan's tribal areas including the restive NWFP. This attack is the deadliest in Pakistan since 136 people were killed in the southern port city of Karachi on October 18 in a suicide bombing targeting the convoy of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister. See photos from the blast's aftermath » . Bhutto returned to the country after eight years in self-imposed exile ahead of January parliamentary elections. The attack comes in the midst of continued operations by the Pakistani army to rout out militants in the swat valley in the north of the country, an area the government considers a front-line in the so-called global war on terror. A former tourist destination about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Islamabad, The Swat Valley has been plagued by violence and has become a hotbed for militants. Earlier this month, the army said it has retaken towns seized by militants over the summer, killing 290 and capturing 140. The attack also comes less than a week after President Pervez Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of emergency he said was necessary to ensure the country's stability but that critics said was a move to stifle the country's judiciary, curb the media and secure more power. While Musharraf has promised free and fair parliamentary elections, continued instability in the tribal areas and the threat of attack on large crowds has kept people from attending political rallies and dampened the country's political process. Campaigners from various political parties say fewer people are coming out to show their support. The president -- who survived two assassination attempts in December 2003 -- denounced Friday's attack, speaking out against what he said was a small number of Muslim extremists who would carry out such an act, according to a report from the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. He ordered security and intelligence agencies to find those responsible. A spokesperson for the U.N. said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemns the attack and he \"urges all political forces in Pakistan to unite against the scourge of terrorism and to act together to create a peaceful environment ahead of the Parliamentary elections.\" This is the second attempt on Sherpao's life since April, when a suicide bomber blew himself up just a few feet from Sherpao during a political rally, injuring him and killing at least 28 people. The APP reported that the blast was caused by a suicide bomber inside the mosque, as people were gathering for religious observances of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim celebration of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. \"We were saying prayers when this huge explosion occurred,\" said Shaukat Ali, a 26-year-old survivor of the blast whose white cloak and pants were torn and spattered with blood, an AP report said. Despite security measures at the mosque, the bomber was praying in a row of worshippers when he detonated the explosive, provincial police chief Sharif Virk said, the report added. A Peshawar hospital was wracked with chaos as the injured arrived in pickup trucks, ambulance sirens wailed and the wounded screamed for help, the report said. The bomb contained between 13-17 pounds of explosives and was filled with nails and ball bearings to maximize casualties, said the head of the bomb unit at the scene, who declined to give his name. Sherpao and his two sons were in the first row of the mosque, the APP report said. Mustafa Khan Sherpao had leg injuries while Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao \"escaped unhurt.\" Sherpao was Pakistan's interior minister -- the country's top civilian security official -- before Musharraf announced a caretaker government in November ahead of elections. He heads the breakaway political group Pakistan People's Party-Sherpao, is a vocal critic of religious extremism, pro-Musharraf and a candidate in upcoming elections. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bomb detonated at mosque northeast of Peshawar, Pakistan .\nLocal police: At least 50 dead in attack on Eid prayers .\nReports: Former interior minister was target, escapes blast, one son injured .\nMinister supervised military operations in tribal areas against militants ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A former prison secretary has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for having sex with an inmate she was supposed to be supervising, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Colorado said Friday. Janine Sligar, 47, of Wray, Colorado, was sentenced Thursday for sexual abuse of a ward. After serving her sentence, she will serve five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender, spokesman Jeff Dorschner said in a news release. Sligar, who must surrender to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons on March 2, did not respond to a telephone call to her home for comment. She was indicted in July by a federal grand jury in Denver and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in October. According to the plea agreement, Sligar, a 14-year Bureau of Prisons veteran, said she and inmate Eric McClain met in February 2007, when he was assigned to clean her office. \"They began to have conversations and realized they had similar interests,\" the plea agreement said. That summer, they initiated a sexual relationship that included 10 to 20 sessions of oral sex and sexual intercourse, ending in October 2007, it said. The liaisons primarily occurred in a staff restroom in the housing unit at the Federal Prison Camp in Florence, Colorado, according to the agreement. Sligar, who acknowledged having detailed her activities in a journal, said she obtained a cell phone with a non-local phone number so McClain could call her without raising suspicion and admitted she gave him contraband that included photographs with explicit sexual poses, the plea agreement added. \"Defendant also admitted using her cell phone camera to take graphic pictures of a sexual nature which depict defendant and this inmate,\" it said. Authorities began investigating the incident after receiving a tip about the inappropriate relationship. They then learned that Sligar had changed the primary beneficiary on an insurance policy from her children to McClain. A subsequent search of her home turned up the journal and photographs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Former prison secretary Janine Sligar had sex with inmate .\nSligar sentenced to six months on charge of sexual abuse of a ward .\nDocuments: Sligar, inmate had 10 to 20 sexual encounters .\nSligar detailed liaisons in journal, admitted taking and giving inmate graphic photos ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- At 80, Maya Angelou says her \"knees are not all that swift and my lungs need some extra help but other than that, my desire to learn and to share, that has not abated.\" Maya Angelou urges politicians to \"aim for the high ground\" in her new book, \"Letter to My Daughter.\" She shares what she's learned in an eventful life in her best-selling new book, \"Letter to My Daughter.\" Angelou achieved fame for her autobiographical writing, including \"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\" and her poetry. She read her poem \"On the Pulse of Morning\" at President Clinton's first inauguration. She was only the second poet invited to read at the swearing in of a new president. But her career has had many facets -- Angelou has been a singer, dancer, playwright, director and teacher. In 166 pages, \"Letter to My Daughter\" distills stories from Angelou's life into universal lessons. She writes about birth, life and death, about the ways people misunderstand each other and then transcend their conflict. She calls on national leaders to raise the country's spirit and on Americans to remember that this is the nation that defeated the Nazis and expanded people's freedom through the civil rights movement. \"Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow,\" she writes. \"Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone.\" In an interview last week in her 1881 brownstone in Harlem, decorated in vibrant, bright colors, Angelou sat at the round table in her dining room, sipping coffee, as she talked about the election and her work. She supported Sen. Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination and then backed Sen. Barack Obama once the primaries were over. CNN: In the chapter called \"National Spirit,\" you call on political leaders to raise the level of discussion. Could you elaborate on that? Maya Angelou: What I've encouraged voters to do is to vote for the person I am extolling, and also don't expect that if your man or woman gets in, that all things will be rectified immediately. It's taken us a long time to come to this place of weariness and almost hopelessness. So because Obama gets in or McCain gets in, it's not going to be repaired overnight. The economy is not going to be repaired, the schools -- the disaster in our schools -- will not be repaired overnight. Nor will the social conversation be repaired overnight. However, I would encourage every voter to say to his or her candidate, go in and do it, and you will not do it alone. I will help. You have to get up off that sofa or off that couch and give something to the country -- even if it's one hour every other week to an old people's home -- I will read, go into the children's ward and read, or give to your church or your synagogue or your mosque. ... Offer something to the country. So you don't just sit there. CNN: What does it say about the country that Barack Obama is a candidate to be president? Angelou: The country is growing up and confessing to something we've known all along. What prevented us from admitting that we knew that? And I was taken back to slavery. If you will have a person enslaved, the first thing you must do is convince yourself that the person is subhuman. The second thing you have to do is convince your allies so you'll have some help, and the third and probably unkindest cut of all is to convince that person that he or she is subhuman and deserves it. Well, such a job has been done on all of us that people found it very difficult to admit that human beings are more alike than we are unalike. We've known it. But to admit it, you have to stop saying because this guy speaks another language, because their eyes are shaped differently from mine, because they're first-generation Americans from Eastern Europe, then they don't count, I don't have to consider them. With this, the country is finally able to see through complexion and see community. CNN: You've known and worked with people like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Could you imagine what their reaction would be to this? Angelou: I think everybody would be weeping tears of joy really. I think of my grandmother who raised me. She was a daughter of a former slave. She knew this was going to happen. You know that when I was young, I was physically abused and so I stopped talking. I thought that my voice had killed the criminal. ... The man had been found dead. Police said he had been beaten to death. So I knew, because I told [people] that he did it, that my voice could just go out and kill people. So after a few months, my mother's people sent me and my brother back to this little village in Arkansas to my grandmother, my father's mother who was raising me, and she used to braid my hair. My hair was huge and very curly, black. And my grandmother put her hand behind my neck and held it so she wouldn't break my neck by accident. And she would start to brush my hair and she would say, \"Sister, Mama don't care what these people say about you, that you must be an idiot, you must be a moron because you can't talk. Mama know when you and the good Lord get ready, you're going to teach all over this world. You're going to be a mighty teacher.\" I didn't speak for six years. She said that to me all the time, in this little village in Arkansas. [Now] I teach all over the world, I teach in French and Spanish, so when I stand up on a stage or see a book of mine gets accolades or a piece of music I've written, I think about my Mama, and she died before I really came of age, and I just think she knew it. CNN: She was prophetic about you, but beyond that? Angelou: Yes, [she believed] it will get better. And you have to continue to prepare yourself, continue to build yourself, continue to elevate yourself and be a benefit, be a blessing rather than a curse, and things will get better. And they have, so when I think of Dr. King and Malcolm, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, I also think of Chief Albert Luthuli, one of the first Africans to earn the Nobel Prize. I mean that after Chief Luthuli, apartheid was so rigid, unbreakable that men had to carry their IDs on plastic cards that were too large for any suit, so they flapped, reminding them constantly who they were. It was my blessing to meet Nelson Mandela before he went into prison and I've seen him many times since. He knew this day would come, and to be able to stay in prison for 27 years, knowing that the day would come. CNN: What gave you the inspiration to call the book, \"Letter to My Daughter,\" even though you don't have a daughter? [Angelou has a son, the writer Guy Johnson.] . Angelou: There was an African-American poet, her name was Anne Spencer; she wrote a poem called \"Letter to My Sister,\" around the turn of the 20th Century. ... I started making notes to Oprah [Winfrey] about 20 years ago. She really became a daughter to me. So there were things I wanted to talk to her about; I made notes, copious notes, and about a year and a half ago, I got out that box called WIP, works in progress, and I started going through two or three lines and I said, \"Hmmm, there's an essay in here.\" So it is a letter to all my daughters, to those who don't know they are. It is my intent to say you may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. You will be changed, events will change you, but you have to decide not to be reduced. CNN: Have you been in touch with Oprah lately about the election? Angelou: I spoke to her about a week ago ... [During the primaries], a newspaper reporter said this proves that Oprah Winfrey doesn't listen to everything Maya Angelou says, because she was supporting Sen. Obama and I was supporting Sen. Clinton. And when I was asked by the reporter, \"What do you say to Oprah?\" my answer was, \"I say nothing, she's a woman who thinks carefully and profoundly and she has courage. So she's chosen the person she thinks would be the best person for our country. I do the same.\" The primaries proved that Oprah had selected the one that most people wanted, so I went to Sen. Obama right after that. Hillary Clinton ... telephoned me and thanked me for my unwavering support, and then asked me to please put that same energy behind Mr. Obama. CNN: Another theme in the book is to believe in yourself, to have faith in yourself. Why is that important? Angelou: You need to know that you can go somewhere. You're not just like grass growing on the street. You're like trees, you have roots, and they've done wonderful things, and you need to know that, and by knowing that, you see how outfitted you are for these times. And that you really owe it to those who went before so that you can add to them for those who are yet to come. You need to know that you are in a continuum, and if you understand that, you realize that you are worthwhile. This continuum would be broken without me." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maya Angelou: No matter who wins, don't expect an overnight turnaround .\nAngelou says politicians should raise the level of discussion .\nShe says voting is not enough, people need to volunteer to help others .\nAngelou: You will encounter defeats, but don't be defeated ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Mike Mette has been a Chicago police officer for almost four years. But now, as a result of a fistfight one night in Dubuque, Iowa, he is a convicted felon. Mike Mette, a Chicago police officer, says he acted in self-defense when he punched Jake Gotthard, a student at the University of Dubuque. Mette has been sentenced to almost five years in prison after Dubuque County Judge Monica Ackley found him guilty of assault causing serious injury. Mette says he's been wronged. \"I was arrested for self-defense ... I was defending myself,\" he said. Mette's saga started in October 2005 after a night of drinking in Dubuque, where he was visiting his brother Mark. After the bars closed, Mette and his crew made their way to an after-hours party thrown by Jake Gotthard, a student at the University of Dubuque. According to court documents, Mette and his friends entered the house party, but decided to leave without paying the required $5 entry fee when they saw the room was mostly empty. Gotthard became angry, and with the help of his roommate, began chasing Mette down the street. Gotthard claims someone in Mette's group had stolen his cell phone and he wanted it back. Exactly what happened to the cell phone is still unclear. The altercation continued a block and a half down the street and eventually ended up in front of the house of Mette's brother. Fight could land cop in prison » . \"That's when Mr. Gotthard hit me. He hit me with two fists like this, straight into the chest,\" Mette said. \"He was yelling about his cell phone, telling me if he didn't get his cell phone back he was going to beat the crap out of me. He hit me several more times and then I pushed him away from me. It wasn't until after the third time is when he came back at me again and that is when I struck him.\" When police arrived, they found Gotthard lying on the ground with bruises and lacerations on his face, cheek, nose, chin and forehead. Mette, who had blood on his shirt and whose knuckle was bruised and cut, was arrested and charged with a felony. \"[Gotthard] had bruises on the side of his neck, his arms, his elbow, his shoulders, on his back, that were simply not consistent with Mr. Mette's version that he only struck him once,\" said Assistant County Attorney Tim Gallagher. Dubuque doctors testified the injuries were consistent with someone who had been stomped and kicked. But a doctor testifying for Mette's defense rejected the Dubuque findings. He said all those injuries could have come from Mette's single punch and the impact from falling on the sidewalk. Gallagher said the decision to prosecute Mette was a tough one. \"It's never an easy situation when someone is sentenced to prison, particularly when it's a police officer that we have to rely on,\" he said. \"But we can't allow individuals to be given certain privileges because of their occupation.\" The case spawned a battle between newspaper columnists in Chicago and Dubuque. \"Mette played baseball in college. But what's happening to him isn't about Iowa baseball mythology. It doesn't smell of corn. It stinks of the pig barn,\" wrote Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass. He chalks the judge's decision up to small town politics. In a reply, a columnist for the Dubuque Telegraph Herald wrote that Kass is a \"legendary muckraker\" who is \"training his scorn\" on Ackley, the judge. Mette is currently on unpaid leave from the Chicago Police Department and is appealing his case. He will begin serving his five-year sentence in November. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mike Mette, a Chicago police officer, is heading to prison this November .\nHe says he was acting in self-defense when he punched Jake Gotthard .\nDoctors testified Gotthard appeared as though he had been stomped, kicked .\nMette, currently on unpaid leave, is appealing the court's decision ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Prosecutors in Florida are taking a new look at the 2007 death of Anna Nicole Smith to see if recent evidence that California investigators gathered might cause them to open an inquiry. Prosecutors in Florida are reviewing evidence gathered in California for a probe into Anna Nicole Smith's death. Howard K. Stern -- Smith's longtime partner and attorney -- and two doctors were charged this month in California with conspiring to furnish drugs to Smith before her fatal overdose. \"Our prosecutors have met with representatives of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the California Department of Justice and discussed the evidence they have turned up in their investigation,\" said Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz. \"We are now examining that evidence to see where it might lead in relation to Ms. Smith's death here in Broward County in 2007.\" The Broward County state attorney's office never opened a probe into Smith's death but assisted the Seminole police in its investigation in the days afterward. Smith, 39, was pronounced dead February 8, 2007, after being discovered unconscious in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood, Florida. A coroner said she died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Officials said both prescription and over-the-counter drugs were found in Smith's system, including three anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drugs. Human growth hormone and chloral hydrate, a sleep medication, also were found in toxicology tests, officials said. Stern and Drs. Khristine Eroshevich and Sandeep Kapoor were charged in California with several felonies, including conspiring to furnish controlled substances, unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance and obtaining fraudulent prescriptions from June 2004 through January 2007 -- only weeks before Smith's death. Kapoor and Eroshevich also were charged with obtaining a prescription for opiates by \"fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.\" And each was charged with one count of obtaining a prescription for opiates by giving a false name or address, prosecutors said. \"Anna was the center of a cruel tabloid feeding frenzy,\" Eroshevich's attorney, Adam Braun, told CNN in a statement after his client was charged. \"In the face of this, Dr. Eroshevich did her best to help the patient while protecting what little privacy Anna had left. Any actions were done with the patient's well-being in mind and were certainly not criminal.\" Watch allegations over photos and the doctor » . California Attorney General Jerry Brown said the doctors and Stern devised a plan to use fake names so Smith could be prescribed \"thousands of pills.\" The former Playboy playmate and reality TV star was drugged \"almost to the point of stupefaction,\" Brown said. \"The quantity of the drugs, the variety of the drugs, the combination at any given point, and her continuing to use that -- that, to a professional, is clear evidence of addiction,\" Brown said Friday. \"These cocktails of methadone and anti-depressants and sleeping pills and Xanax, you put all that into a cocktail, it explodes and can cause death, injury and permanent morbidity and disability.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Broward County, Florida, prosecutors taking new look at death of Anna Nicole Smith .\nEx-Playboy playmate found dead in Florida hotel room in February 2007 .\nCoroner: Smith died of accidental overdose of prescription drugs .\nSmith's boyfriend, two doctors charged recently in California drug case ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Saudi King Abdullah has pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison in a case that sparked international attention, a Saudi newspaper has reported. The case cast light on the treatment of women under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic law. Al-Jazirah newspaper quoted a Saudi Justice Ministry official saying King Abdullah issued a royal pardon Monday -- the same day that the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, begins in Saudi Arabia. The victim's husband told CNN he has not received an official letter regarding her pardon, but considers it to be legitimate since it was announced in an official Saudi newspaper. He thanked King Abdullah for the pardon, saying: \"This fatherly care and noble gesture will help (in) lifting the emotional and psychological stress and suffering that our family has been enduring.\" \"This is not something new because we know that the King was always generous in dealing with his people and the entire world,\" the husband said. \"This week, we have two holidays to celebrate; the Eid and this great news of the pardon.\" Saudi sources told CNN that the king's pardon was not related to the beginning of the Hajj nor the Eid al-Adha festival that follows, which is normally when the Saudi monarch issues amnesty for prisoners. Watch how Arab media is reporting the story. » . Saudi Arabia's Justice Minister Abdullah Bin Mohammad al-Sheikh told al-Jazirah newspaper that the king felt the pardon would be in the best interests of the Saudi people, and the decision did not reflect any lack of confidence in the Saudi justice system. The White House welcomed King Abdullah's decision, but National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe stressed that \"this is obviously a matter for the Saudi Arabians and King Abdullah.\" A Saudi court ruled the 19-year-old had an \"illegitimate relationship\" with a man who was not her husband, and that she was raped after she and the man were discovered in a \"compromising situation, her clothes on the ground.\" The rape took place in Qatif in March 2006 when the woman was engaged to be married. The case has drawn international attention, provoked outrage in the West and cast light on the treatment of women under strict Islamic law in Saudi Arabia. The woman was meeting with a man -- described by the woman's attorney as a former friend from whom she was retrieving a photograph -- when they both were abducted last March. Seven men, convicted of abducting the pair and raping her, were sentenced from two to nine years in prison. Abdul Rahman al-Lahim, the lawyer who represented the woman, faced a disciplinary hearing for \"insulting the Supreme Judicial Council and disobeying the rules and regulations\" of the judiciary. The hearing has been postponed. The woman's husband has been outspoken in his support for his wife. He called a Lebanese TV show to defend her, when a former Saudi judge claimed on the program that she \"spoil(ed) their marital bed\" by meeting an unrelated male \"in secret\" and admitted her guilt. Al-Lahim has said he hopes the case changes the Saudi justice system. \"We want to highlight the rape crimes in Saudi Arabia and the way they are handled and sentenced in court,\" he added. \"This is a new era for all of us.\" He said that the rape case had elicited a fierce response, including calls for his beheading. U.S. President George W. Bush said last week that King Abdullah \"knows our position loud and clear\" on the case. Under Saudi law, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom, Saad Abedine and Isha Sesay contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Sources say pardon unrelated to Hajj nor subsequent Eid al-Adha .\nNEW: Justice minister says king felt pardon in best interests of Saudi people .\nReport: King Abdullah pardons rape victim sentenced to 200 lashes .\nA Saudi court had ruled the 19-year-old had an \"illegitimate relationship\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in national polls, but the Democratic candidate holds a steady lead in the most recent Electoral College estimates. John McCain and Sarah Palin are campaigning hard in battleground states. In national surveys, McCain leads by 2 points, 47 percent to 45 percent, according to CNN's poll of polls released Monday night. In the Electoral College standings, the most recent survey shows 243 electoral votes either safely in Obama's column or leaning his way. At this point, McCain can claim only 189. Many of the state polls used to determine the Electoral College standings, however, were conducted before the conventions. Monday marked the first time McCain passed Obama in CNN's poll of polls. Watch how the race has tightened » . On Saturday, Obama was up by 3 in the poll of polls. That lead shrank to just 1 point Sunday before disappearing Monday. In the most recent survey, 8 percent of respondents said they were still unsure about who they were going to vote for. The poll of polls is an average of five surveys: CNN (September 5-7), ABC/Washington Post (September 5-7), CBS (September 5-7), Gallup (September 5-7) and Diageo/Hotline (September 5-7). The poll of polls does not have a sampling error. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Monday shows McCain and Obama tied at 48 percent. The poll, which was conducted Friday through Sunday, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. It was based on 1,022 telephone interviews. Republicans are hoping that if McCain can close the popular vote gap, he can also make gains in the electoral gap. The Electoral College will ultimately decide who takes over the White House. Watch what the different standings mean » . Although polls across the country are open on one day, the election is not a national poll but a series of 51 state-level elections that decide the members of the Electoral College. Technically, voters aren't choosing a candidate but a slate of electors who have pledged to vote for that candidate when the Electoral College meets. With 538 electors up for grabs, the candidate with more than half -- 270 -- wins the presidency. The number of electors from each state equals the number of senators and representatives the state sends to Congress . Both candidates are turning their focus to battleground areas as they try to stack the states in their column. According to CNN's electoral map, the states that could go either way are Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia. McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are campaigning Tuesday in Lebanon, Ohio, just 30 miles from Obama, who is in Riverside. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio. Obama's running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, is campaigning in Missouri. Both parties are putting a lot of emphasis on Missouri. For the past century, the state has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election except one. (Missouri picked Adlai Stevenson over Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.) McCain and Palin campaigned there Monday. They're hoping the state's landscape will help them take its 11 electoral votes. The state has the 13th oldest population in the country, and Obama has struggled with older voters. Also, 37 percent of Missourians are evangelical Christians, according to the Pew Forum. That's substantially higher than the 26 percent nationally. If McCain can take Missouri and tilt the toss-up states of Florida and Ohio, which also have older populations, he will pull ahead of Obama. CNN's Tom Foreman contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "CNN's poll of polls shows John McCain leading Barack Obama, 47-45 percent .\nObama ahead in Electoral College count, but some polls taken before convention .\nCandidates focusing on battleground states like Missouri, Ohio .\nCandidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "YUSUFIYAH, Iraq (CNN) -- Until recently, Yusufiyah was among the most dangerous places in Iraq. U.S. Col. Michael Kershaw meets with Sunni leaders in Yusufiyah, formerly a hot spot for insurgent activity. Located in the so-called \"triangle of death,\" a violent area south of Baghdad, it was the site of frequent clashes between coalition forces and Sunni fighters. In May, two U.S. soldiers went missing in Yusufiyah and were never found, despite a massive search. But today, Sunni tribal leaders in this town cooperate with U.S. forces in their battle against foreign fighters and al Qaeda in Iraq. \"It's all the roll of the dice. It's people and politics all intertwined down here,\" said Col. Michael Kershaw, commander of the Second Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. Kershaw now greets his former enemies with kisses, hears their grievances, spends time in their homes and even shares meals with them. He is surprised at how far relations have progressed. \"Our hope a year ago was to establish very basic inroads down here,\" Kershaw said. \"We thought the insurgency was far too deep for us to be able to effectively root it out and develop the relationship with the locals.\" As happened in Anbar province to the west, local Sunni leaders from this town south of Baghdad finally turned on the al Qaeda extremists in their midst when the death and destruction became too much to bear. \"Killing people, stealing goats, everything, you name it,\" said Sheik Hamid Karbouli, when asked why he and his men now oppose al Qaeda. Karbouli has recruited some 150 volunteers to man checkpoints and carry guns. Sunni sheik lists grievances against al Qaeda » . The U.S. military calls the men concerned local citizens. \"I haven't had more than one IED destroy a vehicle in an area where concerned citizens were located ... in the past two months,\" Kershaw said. To further encourage local tribesmen to turn against al Qaeda, the U.S. military pays local sheiks to provide security in their area; they receive up to $10 per man. It's a controversial policy, but one that has helped the U.S. military identify and stop insurgents, Kershaw said. \"In the three months since this has started, we have gathered more insurgents up, more terrorists, than we did in the preceding nine months. And that's because they have pointed out to us these people within their own ranks,\" Kershaw said. The next step is to have these young Sunnis join the Iraqi police. For that to happen, the U.S. military needs the cooperation of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. Cooperation, however, is slow in coming. Iraq's central government is concerned these gunmen might turn into armed militias if the U.S. pulls out and civil war erupts. To assuage these concerns, Kershaw is registering as many of the local volunteers as possible, taking photographs and retinal scans, hoping leaders in Baghdad will agree to hire them as Iraqi police. \"What we see as being the end state down here is these tribes being brought back full into the government process,\" Kershaw said. The Second Brigade has lost 53 men in Iraq. Their photos are proudly displayed in the brigade's headquarters. Some of the U.S. soldiers here have a hard time forgiving the Sunnis for what they might have done in the insurgency. \"Were some of these people part of the insurgency? Sure they were,\" Kershaw said. \"Our job over here isn't to do what's comfortable for us, and it isn't to do what we want,\" he said. \"Our job is to do the nation's bidding. If this gets our nation closer to a solution for this country ... then that's what we're gonna do.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad, was among the most dangerous places in Iraq .\nLocal Sunnis tired of the destruction wrought by al Qaeda in Iraq .\nThey partnered with U.S. forces to keep their town safe .\nIraq's Shiite-dominated central government remains wary of such partnerships ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's rundown housing estates and deprived inner cities will be the setting for a new project that aims to use classical music to lift children out of the poverty trap. Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra rehearse ahead of a performance at New York's Carnegie Hall in November last year. Organizers are modeling the plan on a hugely successful scheme already in place in Venezuela that gives free instruments and training to children from poor and vulnerable backgrounds. They are hoping that lessons learned in the slums of Caracas can be made to work in Britain. Internationally renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber is spearheading the initiative he hopes will give \"a sense of purpose\" to the lives of the most in need. Under the government-backed project, children as young as three will be taught to play classical instruments by trained musicians. \"We're really trying to go to the most deprived children, to the most poor areas,\" Lloyd Webber told CNN. \"You're talking about children from a background where classical music has almost certainly played no part.\" The inspiration behind the scheme is the El Sistema social program in Venezuela, which has helped improve the lives of thousands of young people since it began over 30 years ago. Many of those youths have gone on to be part of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, which was created as a result of the program and has performed around the world to rave reviews. The scheme has launched the musical careers of several of its members. One graduate, Gustavo Dudamel, currently conducts the orchestra but has been signed up to take over as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic next year. The 27-year-old prodigy described by the New York Times as \"classical music's hottest young podium property\" was born to a poor family in the Venezuelan interior and took up the violin aged 10. However for Lloyd Webber, who has worked with a range of top musicians from Yehudi Menuhin to Elton John, the purpose of the UK project is not to create a new batch of professional musicians. \"That's not the way we're looking at it. It's very likely most of those involved will not turn professional but they will hopefully be empowered to make something more of their lives.\" The Venezuelan project has grown from around 100 or so members when it started to involve 250,000 children and young people today. In the 1970s, Venezuela had only two professional orchestras mainly composed of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Italy. Thanks to El Sistema that number has expanded to over 110. But will the British version be able to match this astonishing success, given the very different social conditions that exist in the two countries? After all, though there are deprived areas in the UK they can't be compared with the grinding poverty of Venezuela's slums where the incentive to escape to a better life is surely much greater. Lloyd Webber disagrees, insisting that levels of poverty in Britain are far worse than many realize. \"We have many of the same problems here that they've encountered there. We have drug issues, prostitution issues, gang warfare issues. \"The Venezuelan project has been hugely helpful in reducing those kind of problems, and save children who would have possibly died without it.\" What about the wide array of distractions on offer in the West such as video games and television, not to mention the low regard many young people have for the world of classical music, which is still considered stuffy and uncool? Again he disagrees, claiming that children in poor areas of Britain often have nothing to distract them, which he says leads to anti-social behavior. \"There are very poor areas in England and for the children who live there, there is often very little to do. That's why you see them out on the streets drinking, bored out of their heads.\" Lloyd Webber is charged with chairing the steering group set up to organize the project, which is initially funded to run for the next three years. He says the scheme will focus on three or four specific areas of the country considered to be especially deprived. Charismatic teachers will be recruited to inspire the children. Although the cellist says the experience of performing in an orchestra should serve as a powerful inspiration on its own. \"I grew up performing in youth orchestras,\" says Lloyd Webber, who is the son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and younger brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has written and produced several major West End and Broadway musicals including Phantom of the Opera and Evita. \"It will give them a sense of purpose and a sense of togetherness. It's a wonderful feeling when you've a group of a hundred players wanting to produce something bigger and better than they are. \"It could be that through this some of those involved feel self-worth for the first time in their lives.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "UK project to provide musical instruments and training to children in poor areas .\nThe scheme is modelled on a successful program in Venezuela .\nEl Sistema has helped lift many youths out of the slums through music .\nThe UK scheme is being led by famous cellist Julian Lloyd Webber ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- She is one of the world's most likeable and photogenic leaders, has her own YouTube channel, and is determined to change the face of learning in the Middle East. Queen Rania's down-to-earth personality has won hearts and minds all over the world. She is also, according to you, the most inspirational leader featured on CNN's \"The Spirit of...\" in 2008. Thousands of CNN Web site users voted to award her the honor for her matchless energy working with Jordan's young people, ahead of luminaries such as peace advocate Kofi Annan, activist Wangari Maathai and environmentalist James Lovelock. This is Queen Rania's second award in as many months. In November, she was presented with the first ever YouTube Visionary Award for her bold use of the video-sharing network to discuss stereotypes about Islam and the Arab world. The channel fielded questions from young people about all aspects of Islamic culture. She could not be present to personally receive the honour at YouTube's Live event in San Francisco, but her pop-culture-savvy pre-recorded acceptance speech showed her to be possibly the coolest queen alive. She delighted viewers with a lighthearted top-ten list of reasons for registering her own YouTube channel, which included, \"Because I didn't have enough friends on Facebook,\" and \"Because anything Queen Elizabeth can do I can do better.\" The experimental venture gained her a faithful online following, and since then the channel has become a platform for entertaining, non-hostile debate. It is exactly this willingness to set aside her royal image and interact with the public that her fans say has shown Queen Rania's dedication to bringing about change. She first entered the international spotlight 15 years ago after marrying Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, the then future king of Jordan. In 1999, she was proclaimed Queen, the world's youngest at age 28. She wasted little time in applying herself to various causes, and soon made her name as an engaging advocate for women's rights and moderate Islam, and as a heavy investor in youth. The 38-year-old mother of four has said that she cares about her people as if they were her own children, and wants to ensure as many of them as possible get the most out of school. Queen Rania may be light-hearted in some of her approaches, but she is very serious when it comes to revitalizing education in the Middle East. She has made closing the Middle East's \"knowledge divide\" -- the gap in knowledge that has grown as a result of people in richer countries having more access to computers, the Internet and education than those in poorer countries -- a top priority over the next few years in the hope that it will unlock the economic potential of the region's population. Queen Rania certainly has a challenge on her hands. Earlier this year, the Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation revealed that nearly one in three between the ages of 15 and 45 is illiterate. Alongside promoting equal rights for men and women and the importance of literacy, Queen Rania has strived to convince both the education and private sectors that existing education systems need reinvigoration. She has repeatedly called for creative instruction and explorative learning to be embraced in the classroom. In April of this year, Queen Rania launched the Madrasati (\"My School\") project, which encourages Jordanians to get their neediest schools back on their feet. Under the program, communities are working with the public and private sectors to raise funds and recruit volunteers to renovate school facilities and provide school supplies and equipment. This is expected to improve the learning environment for children, and ultimately have a ripple effect on the neighborhoods where the schools are located. Queen Rania's campaigns in various areas have helped to inspire other Middle Eastern policy-makers to see globalization in a more positive light -- a truly inspiring leader." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Queen Rania voted \"The Spirit of...\" most inspirational leader of 2008 .\nOnline readers acknowledge her work with education, women's rights and Islam .\nQueen Rania personally encourages open dialogue through her YouTube channel ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan's GDP fell 4 percent last quarter, the fastest pace on record, the government said on Wednesday. A homeless man pulls his cart filled with possessions and goods for recycling on March 18 in Osaka, Japan. The January-March quarter for Japan was 15.4 percent lower than the same time period last year, according to figures released by the Cabinet Office. Exports fell 26 percent on quarter, while imports were down 15 percent. The GDP slide in the world's second-largest economy is the greatest drop among the world's leading economies. By comparison, GDP in the United States fell 6.1 percent on an annual basis. This was the fourth straight quarter the Japanese economy contracted. Analysts say the drop reflects cuts in domestic spending with job cuts, factory closings and less capital spending as a result of spiraling sales abroad. The news punctuates a month of poor economic news out of Japan in recent weeks. Panasonic, one of the world's largest makers of electronic devices, announced it lost nearly $4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. Hitachi lost $8 billion in the fiscal year, with consolidated revenues down 11 percent from last year, the largest loss ever recorded by a Japanese manufacturer. NEC Corporation lost $3 billion in the past fiscal year, down nearly 11.5 percent from last year. Meanwhile, Nissan lost $2.3 billion for the year.Sony Corp. announced net losses of $1 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, finishing a year in the red for the first time in 14 years." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Japan's GDP fell 4 percent last quarter, the fastest pace on record.\nFirst quarter GDP was 15.4 percent lower than the same time period last year .\nThis was the fourth straight quarter the Japanese economy contracted ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- In sport, being the best is not just about the having the greatest players. Here are five teams that have gone from zeroes to heroes, and in the process left their mark on sporting history. 1. The European Ryder Cup team . The 1980 U.S. hockey team's 'Miracle on Ice' against the Soviet Union. Europe's Ryder Cup team has become renowned for upsetting the form book, frequently triumphing against higher ranked American opposition. Since European players were first allowed to join the British and Irish team for the famous golf tournament (to improve the level of competition) in 1979, the U.S. has won six times; Europe seven; and the teams have tied once. The slight edge enjoyed by Europe, however, belies the lowly status of their players in world golf. For the last tournament two years ago in Ireland, for example, the Americans boasted 68.4 world-ranking points and the top three players, including world number one, Tiger Woods. Compare this with just 47.8 ranking points for the Europeans. Even so Europe went on to achieve a record third consecutive win. The key to this success has been the camaraderie and teamwork exhibited by the Europeans. Their players have consistently rallied around their position as underdog, managing to achieve a level of togetherness made all the more surprising since the team is made up of a collection of nationalities that are better known for falling out with each other. 2. The 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team . A famous victory against a seemingly invincible Soviet Union side propelled this team of college players and amateurs to the level of national heroes. Although the U.S. team went on to win the gold medal by defeating Finland at the Winter Olympics, it was the earlier match against the Soviets that captured the popular imagination. Classed as amateurs, the Soviet players were essentially professional, and were provided with different job titles by the communist government to allow them to compete. Many of their players were considered legends of world ice hockey at the time. The U.S. team coached by Herb Brooks was, by contrast, genuinely amateur and came into the tournament in Lake Placid, New York, as rank outsiders. Their youthfulness and tenacity combined with patriotic home support saw them upset predictions, defeating the Soviets 4-3 in a match that became known as the \"Miracle on Ice.\" The win over their Cold War enemies seized the imagination of the U.S. public -- it inspired two films and was voted the greatest sporting moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. Dave Ogrean, former executive director of USA Hockey, called the victory \"the most transcending moment in the history of our sport in this country.\" 3. The 'Crazy Gang' defeat Liverpool in the FA Cup . Nobody expected lowly Wimbledon Football Club to do anything other than turn up when they played Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Dubbed the 'Crazy Gang' by British media because of the eccentric antics of their players and staff, who included future film actor Vinnie Jones, the team was outclassed on every front. At the time Liverpool were the dominant force in English football, having won the league title that year for the seventh time in a decade. Managed by former player Kenny Dalglish and boasting a host of stars, the team was expected to cruise past Wimbledon, who had little resources and were considered something of a joke. Under the chairmanship of Lebanese businessman Samir \"Sam\" Hammam, Wimbledon earned a reputation for bizarre behaviour, with players setting fire to new signings football kits, and Hammam once offering to buy a camel for the team's striker if he scored 20 goals in a season. The practical jokes helped to foster an extraordinarily strong team spirit, however, which saw them topple Liverpool 1-0, with Wimbledon captain Dave Beasant the hero of the hour after he saved a penalty. 4. Joe's Jets win the Superbowl . When the New York Jets took on the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Superbowl, it was the team from Baltimore that was strong favorites. The Colts had stormed the National Football League (NFL) championship, considered at the time a much stronger competition than the American Football League (AFL), headed that year by the Jets. This news, however, seemed to have escaped Joe Namath, the Jets' charismatic quarterback, who gave a \"guarantee\" a few days earlier at a news conference in Miami -- where the Superbowl was being staged -- that his team would win. True to his predictions, the Jets came out on top with Namath taking all the plaudits (Sports Illustrated described him as a \"folk hero of the new generation\") after a blistering performance that saw his team triumph 16-7. 5. The Magical Magyars . The legendary Hungarian national football team of the 1950s is still considered one of the greatest teams in the history of sport. Although many of its players -- most notably striker Ferenc Puskas, who eventually moved to Real Madrid -- went on to play in the West, during its heyday the majority of the team was drawn from the Honved club in Budapest. The Magyars remained unbeaten for an unprecedented 33 consecutive matches (a record that still stands today) finally losing out in the 1954 World Cup Final to Germany. This golden age of Hungarian football was brought to an abrupt end in 1956 by the events of the Hungarian Revolution. Puskas and some of his team mates opted to defect to Western Europe, and never played for their country again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Europe's Ryder Cup team has often beaten the U.S. despite lower profile players .\nAmerica's ice hockey win against the Soviets is known as the \"Miracle on Ice\"\nWimbledon's defeat of Liverpool in the FA Cup was considered a major upset .\nNew York Jets Superbowl win in 1969 was inspired by quarterback Joe Namath ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Is it possible to have a building that can make you happy, sad, or even angry? The Experience Music Project in Seattle has appeared in the Forbes list of ugly buildings. Does it affect your mood? Alain de Botton thinks it is. The Swiss-born British writer, modern-day philosopher, and author of international bestseller \"The Architecture of Happiness\", believes there is more to buildings and architecture than we may think. Taking on 19th Century French writer Stendhal's motto that \"beauty is the promise of happiness,\" de Botton analyzes human surroundings and considers how our needs and desires are transferred into architecture. He also discusses the amount to which architecture can affect our personal happiness. De Botton told CNN he felt that a beautiful building, or likewise, an ugly structure, could affect how we feel. \"Beauty has a huge role to play in altering our mood. When we call a chair or a house beautiful, really what we're saying is that we like the way of life it's suggesting to us. It has an attitude we're attracted to: if it was magically turned into a person, we'd like who it was. \"It would be convenient if we could remain in much the same mood wherever we happened to be ...but unfortunately we're highly vulnerable to the coded messages that emanate from our surroundings,\" he said. But, how do buildings manage to cast their bricks and mortar over our emotions? \"One might say that architecture suggests a mood to us, which we may be too internally troubled to be able to take up. Its effectiveness could be compared to the weather: a fine day can substantially change our state of mind -- and people may be willing to make great sacrifices to be nearer a sunny climate,\" de Botton said. De Botton believed that structures communicate with us in various ways. \"This book focuses our minds on the idea that buildings speak -- and on topics which can readily be discerned. They speak of democracy or aristocracy, openness or arrogance, welcome or threat, a sympathy for the future or a hankering for the past.\" So, indeed your own house could be making you happy or sad, de Botton suggests. \"They (houses) tell us of certain moods that they seek to encourage and sustain in their inhabitants. While keeping us warm and helping us in mechanical ways, they simultaneously hold out an invitation for us to be specific sorts of people. They speak of particular visions of happiness,\" he said. De Botton said there are \"thousands\" of public buildings which are ugly and could possibly force a negative, saddening, or even potential anger-producing mood upon us. What are some examples? De Botton is quick to mention the new Westfield mall opening in Shepherd's Bush, London, which he describes as a \"monument to human idiocy\" which represents a \"large, confused shed, which offers the wider community nothing but a windowless façade clad in nauseating green paneling, with an utter indifference to symmetry, proportion or beauty\". And what other buildings could be considered a structure of sadness? Certainly, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Experience Music Project building in Seattle has to be a nominee -- featuring in the Forbes list of the top ten ugliest buildings in the world. Elsewhere, London's Millennium Dome (or 02 Arena) and Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are other well-known candidates for buildings that could destroy one's day, after featuring in various \"ugly\" lists. At the other end of the scale, de Botton has some ideas about structures we should cast our eyes upon to make us happy. While all of this is rather subjective, de Botton said there were some aesthetic values that were universally appreciated. He was particularly fond of the highly-detailed yet serene Senate House in Bloomsbury, London, and also the Georgian-style architecture of Bedford Square, also in London. It's fair to say though, that not everyone in the architectural world is as optimistic about the power of architecture over people. In a debate with architect Robert Adam organized by building.co.uk, Adam attacked de Botton's ideas. After questioning de Botton's use of the word \"us\" when presenting some opinions, Adam said he did not believe that people were culturally aware enough to take notice of such details. \"I wouldn't call myself a pessimist because it would mean I feel bad about popular culture, which I don't. What I think we have at the moment is people who are unprepared to take on the language of the greater part of the population,\" he said. We want to know what you think. Do you believe buildings can influence the way we feel? Give us your examples of buildings that make you happy or sad in the Sound Off box below and we'll publish the best." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Alain de Botton authored The Architecture of Happiness .\nHe believes emotions are shown in, and can be deduced from architecture .\nArchitect Robert Adam disagrees with many of de Botton's ideas ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Myanmar is facing a food shortage largely due to last year's deadly Cyclone Nargis, which destroyed nearly all the rice crops in the fertile Ayeyarwaddy delta, the United Nations said Wednesday. A young farmer ploughs a field in preparation to grow rice in Dalla, about 20 kms south of Yangon on July 9, 2008. Rice production in the cyclone-affected areas of Ayeyarwaddy and Yangon, the largest city and former capital of Myanmar, is expected to be 50 percent of last year's, according to the report issued by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP). Rat infestation in western's Myanmar's Chin State has also contributed to the food shortage, the report says. \"Access to food remains the critical challenge for the poorest people and for vulnerable populations in remote areas of Myanmar,\" Chris Kaye, WFP's representative for Myanmar, said in a written statement. \"And for many of those affected by Cyclone Nargis, who are engaged in rebuilding their lives and livelihoods, the limited delta harvest means they will continue to rely on assistance to meet their food needs.\" Watch Paul Risley of the WFP discuss the food crisis » . Although rice production is expected to be adequate this year because of strong crops in other areas of the country, access to food remains a serious challenge to Myanmar's poor, especially in the delta region, the report said. More than 5 million people fall below the food poverty line and emergency food aid is still needed in cyclone-affected areas, the report said. The cyclone also hurt the cattle and fishing industries, contributing to the food crisis. \"Humanitarian assistance has not restored the production capacity of small to medium-sized farms,\" He Changchui, FAO's Asia-Pacific regional chief, said in a written statement. \"Farmers and fishers are unlikely to self-finance their needs this year, thus entering into a spiral of pauperization of the delta.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Myanmar is facing a food shortage largely due to last year's deadly Cyclone Nargis .\nCyclone destroyed nearly all the rice crops in the fertile Ayeyarwaddy delta .\nRice production in the cyclone-affected areas expected to be half of last year's .\nDespite adequate crops this year, food access remains a problem for the poor ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Football fans are set to benefit from the recession as clubs slash season ticket prices to keep supporters coming back. Some Premier League fans will save on season tickets after five clubs cut prices. Price cuts have been announced at five English Premier League clubs. Manchester City, Sunderland, Everton, Portsmouth and Newcastle United have cut prices, while five further clubs announced price freezes on their season tickets. Bolton dropped their season ticket prices last season. Manchester City have taken an average of seven percent off their prices, while at Everton the cheapest adult season ticket will now be £399 ($550). At Sunderland under-16 season passes will be just £1($1.39) per home match for the 19 matches (£19 [$26] total) when purchased with an adult pass. The move comes amid a slight decline in Premiership football crowds this season. The average attendance at Premier League matches is down about 800 per match compared to the 2007/2008 season -- however, on average the stadiums are still at almost 92 percent capacity. Outside the United Kingdom, fans also stand to benefit from lower ticket prices. In the U.S. Major League Soccer side Kansas City Wizards recently announced they would drop ticket prices for the coming season. Wizards president Robb Heinemann was quoted in the Kansas City Star saying; \"We understand these are tough economic times.\" Other countries in Europe have maintained lower prices in recent years, with single tickets available for about 10 Euros in club games in Italy and Germany. Tickets in Australia's A-League tended to be cheaper yet, while South America and Africa/Middle East remained the cheapest. In England's League One and League Two competitions crowds had dropped more significantly. Dan Johnson of the Premier League told CNN the clubs cutting ticket prices were simply responding to the financial climate. \"Given the economic situation, there will be pressure on fans' ability to spend and the clubs have acted accordingly. \"It's a very real way that they can help at this time,\" Johnson said. Johnson said the drop in crowds this season was not significant and may be made up towards the end of the season when attendances are traditionally higher. Sport business expert Professor Simon Chadwick, founder of the Center for the International Business of Sport (CIBS) at Coventry University, told CNN recessions could have a strong impact on football crowds. \"In previous recessions there is evidence to suggest that as unemployment rises, the attendance at football matches decreases,\" he said. However, Chadwick said English football fans shouldn't hope for significant price reductions. \"Some Premier League clubs are running at nearly 100% capacity and there's excess demand ...so in the short-to-medium term they should be able to continue at premium prices,\" Chadwick said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Football fans to benefit as club teams lower season ticket prices .\nFive English Premier League teams have dropped prices for season passes .\nDan Johnson of the Premier League says the move is due to recession .\nA U.S. Major League Soccer team has also announced a price drop ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If one hardened cockpit door is good, would two barriers be even better? Many airline pilots believe the answer is \"yes,\" and are hoping to reinvigorate efforts to require so-called \"secondary barriers\" on every commercial plane in the country. Pilots praise the hardened cockpit doors mandated after 9/11, saying they have done as much as anything to protect aircraft from terrorist assaults. But planes remain vulnerable for short periods of time during some flights when pilots go to the lavatory, get meals or, on long flights, change out crews. Currently, flight attendants sometimes block the aisle with beverage carts to prevent possible terrorists from rushing the cockpit. But pilots believe the barriers -- relatively inexpensive gates that would be deployed before pilots come out of the cockpit -- would solve that vulnerability. \"This is an absolute no-brainer,\" Capt. Bob Hesselbein of the Air Line Pilots Association said. \"Of all the things we could do, the most cost-effective thing we could do right now is put the device in.\" ALPA this summer published a position paper calling on the U.S. and Canadian governments to require secondary flight deck barriers on all airliners by January 1, 2010. The barriers would be designed to delay anyone trying to attack the cockpit by at least five seconds, giving pilots time to retreat to the cockpit, ALPA said. Hijackers have attempted to gain access to flight decks on planes overseas four times in the past year, according to ALPA. The airline industry has fought efforts to require the barriers, saying airlines should be allowed to decide for themselves if the barriers would improve security. The barriers would not be useful on short hauls where pilots don't ordinarily leave the cockpit, and the airline industry claims other layers of protection are sufficient on longer flights. Hesselbein disagrees. \"You can never guarantee that you're going to have an armed pilot protecting that cockpit from inside that cockpit. You can never guarantee that you're going to have a federal air marshal, or federal air marshal team, in the cabin to defend that cockpit. \"But the secondary barrier, once installed, will always be there,\" Hesselbein said. The government has classified the number of federal air marshals and armed pilots, but it is widely known that they cover a small percentage of flights in the U.S. In a June 2005 report to Congress, the Transportation Security Administration said the barrier \"appears to be a simple solution that offers greater security at a relatively low cost.\" \"Valuable time is gained in deterring the movement of an unauthorized individual towards the flight deck,\" the report said. But the TSA recommended against mandating secondary barriers, citing \"the costs of engineering and installation that would be incurred by the [airlines] to retrofit\" aircraft. \"The economic fragility of the industry due to increasing costs, including persistently rising fuel prices, makes this a decisive recommendation.\" The Air Transport Association, which represents the nation's major airlines, said hardened cockpit doors and other measures provide effective security and that mandating other measures should not be done \"in the absence of appropriate risk analysis.\" Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, said he is again introducing a bill to require barriers on passenger planes. \"Everybody recognizes the vulnerability,\" he said. \"The airline industry recognizes the vulnerability and thinks that the federal government ought to pay for the secondary barriers. The federal government recognizes the vulnerability and thinks that the airline industry should pay. \"Meanwhile, for as long as the debate continues, the flying public is less safe.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pilots praise the hardened cockpit doors mandated after 9/11 .\nMany pilots support efforts to mandate secondary cockpit barriers .\nThe airline industry has fought efforts to require the barriers .\nThe TSA recommended against mandating secondary barriers ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KHARTOUM, Sudan (CNN) -- (CNN) -- Fighting resumed Tuesday in a disputed oil-rich town in Sudan, threatening to reignite a calamitous civil war which ended three years ago. Fresh fighting in Sudan over an oil-rich town has raised fears civil war could again erupt. Fresh fighting in Sudan over an oil-rich town has raised fears civil war could again erupt. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon deplored the fighting between the Sudanese military and troops with the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The SPLA fought a rebellion against the government for more than 20 years until both sides signed a peace deal in 2005. The deal's Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended a north-south civil war that killed about 2 million people and displaced more than 4 million others. An impasse over the boundaries of the town of Abyei is a major reason the peace agreement has not been fully implemented. Fighting erupted in Abyei on May 13. It resumed Tuesday despite a cease-fire and has \"resulted in the destruction\" of the town \"and the displacement of between 30,000 and 50,000 people,\" the secretary general said in a statement. Don't Miss Sudanese opposition leader arrested Sudan cuts ties with Chad after attack Darfur rebels advance on Sudan capital, their leader says \"If the situation is not urgently addressed, the achievements thus far of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could be placed at serious risk,\" he said. The civil war in Sudan, which started in 1983, pitted a northern government dominated by Arab Muslims against black Christians and animists in southern Sudan. That conflict was not directly related to ongoing violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Human rights groups and United Nations say the Sudanese military armed and trained Arab militias in Darfur after a rebellion erupted in 2003. They say the military and militias have engaged in widespread killing, rape and forced displacements in Darfur as they battle about rebels who have splintered into roughly a dozen groups. One of those groups staged a daring attack this month near the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The government said it quashed the attack. Nearly 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur in the last five years, the UN says." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fighting in disputed oil-rich Sudan town raises fears of return to civil war .\nUp to 50,000 people displaced by latest outbreak of fighting .\nDespite cease-fire agreement Abyei has been destroyed and deal is at risk ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York State Assembly passed a same-sex marriage bill Tuesday evening, bringing New York one step closer to legalizing such marriages. Gov. David Paterson has said he'd sign a same-sex if it's passed by the New York Senate. The bill, which passed 89-52, will now go on to the state Senate for a vote. If it is passed there, it will go to Gov. David Paterson, who has made it clear he will sign the bill. \"I applaud ... members of both parties for moving this historic legislation forward,\" New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement released by the mayor's office. \"I hope New York will soon become the latest state to adopt a law whose time has come.\" State Sen. Thomas K. Duane, a Democrat, said in a statement, \"I am confident that this year my Senate will uphold this fundamental legal principle and vote for my right, our right, to be married this year.\" This is the second time New York's Marriage Equality Legislation has been approved by the State Assembly -- it passed in 2007, but subsequently stalled in the then Republican-controlled Senate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "New York State Assembly passes bill by vote of 89 to 52 .\nSame-sex marriage bill will go to the state Senate .\nGov. David Paterson has said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill .\nNew York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg applauds legislators for vote ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- First it was instant messaging during office hours that gave us the thrill of passing notes in class. Then it was ogling ourselves on Web cams, ranting our minds on blogs, uploading our baby photos on Flickr and poking each other on Facebook. These days, as corporate records show, we choose to spend our lunch breaks watching YouTube, if not chatting over Skype. CSL's flagship One2Free shop stands at the corner of Hong Kong's trendy Causeway Bay district. The bad news is the Web 2.0 revolution is over. The good news is now we can take it with us. Over the past two years, well over a dozen startups have sprung into action, bringing everything from IM to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to our mobile phones, in a quest to conquer the cellular fourth screen. Winner of Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's 2007 Emerging Technologies Awards in the category of Social Networking, Mig33 is confident about the viability of its future: \"The next wave of Internet growth is mobile. The number of mobile devices worldwide has exceeded three billion, and the next billion subscribers will have their first Internet experience using a mobile phone.\" Like the Rotterdam-based Nimbuzz, Mig33 also offers instant messaging, photo sharing and VoIP for cheaper telephony, in addition to social networking via profiles, chatrooms and, of course, friends. Applications are free to download and communities are free to join, while members are charged only for SMS and VoIP calls, bridging communications between mobile devices and desktop computers. The softwares are fully functional on both 3G and any smart (Internet-enabled) 2.5G phones running such platforms as Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, S60 and the iPhone OS. Nimbuzz in particular boasts compatibility with Skype, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Live Messenger, Jabber, MySpace and Facebook. But it is hardly alone in partnering with traditional desktop live chat sites, as well as industry partners around the world. Playfully packaged, internationally-based Fring works with WiFi providers in Europe and Australia as well as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) providers based in both North and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, South Africa and China, also consolidating all chat buddies into a single mobile contact list. In this context, one way to stand out from the all-encompassing bunch with the global reach is through niche audience focus. MyHappyPlanet, a free online language-exchange network that allows members to create profiles and chat with language partners in real time (text, voice, video), will go mobile in the near future. A2Aworld, an upcoming mobile social networking startup, will focus on connecting social networkers between the world's two largest online communities -- America and Asia -- in terms of communication, information, culture and e-commerce. Furthermore, its business model is based on revenue from emerging online advertising, VoIP calls and premium membership fees, without the mobile ads and viral marketing. Fierce competition . Meanwhile in the mobile marketplace, VoIP competition is getting fierce. While SIPphone's open-source Gizmo Project was heralded by early beta testers as \"the first viable Skype alternative\" in July 2005, it's clear today that Skype itself is the big winner in the VoIP game. Most recently, iSkoot has extended its partnership with Skype, following its collaboration with mobile operator 3 for the global launch of the 3 Skypephone in October 2007, which was the first mass-market Skype-enabled handset as a carrier-integrated solution for mobile-VoIP IM services. But mobile VoIP itself still faces multiple challenges, including fragmented access and distribution. While some applications choose to collaborate with mobile network carriers, others choose to compete with them by using data networks such as WiFi. \"In the near future, there will be a hyper-convergence solution,\" predicts A2Aworld's Michael Liu. \"However, WiFi/WiMax to cell/IMS will be playing a bigger and bigger role. In the long run, there will be all-in-IP IMS solutions.\" Insecure communications also pose a new threat to VoIP, as Liu points out: \"In the early days of VoIP, people were mostly concerned with its cost, functionality and reliability. Now that VoIP is gaining wide acceptance and becoming one of the mainstream communication technologies, security has become a major issue.\" And to satisfy the YouTube generation, applications such as myZen Mobile encourage the circulation of photos and viral videos optimized for mobile viewing in real time, with an all-in-one interface featuring YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo podcast, etc, with the possibility to add other community sites such as ifilm and blogger. Going mobile . Simon Newstead, founder and CEO of Frenzoo, a social-networking site specialized in 3D fashion avatars, is enthusiastic about going mobile. \"We have a roadmap to implement our service on mobile platforms such as iPhone,\" he says. \"Today users are already using 3D in gaming platforms like the wildly successful Nintendo DS Lite, so the logical integration of 3D avatars into the mobile platform will certainly present a great opportunity. \"Technically, new handsets already integrate hardware acceleration for 3G, and battery life is increasing rapidly. Now the only remaining factor is availability or higher-speed affordable mobile bandwidth, which is already emerging in advanced mobile markets such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.\" Indeed in Hong Kong, where the mobile-phone penetration rate hovers around 150 percent, mastering the mobile market is becoming increasingly lucrative. Hong Kong's largest mobile network carrier CSL introduced Asia's first 3G video-sharing service in 2005, launched Hong Kong's first 3G interactive mobile TV in 2006, and partnered with blogging site Xanga in early 2008. From the carrier's point of view, people's choice of mobile communication is a question of coverage and user-friendliness -- of \"price, packaging, usability,\" according to CSL's (\"Create a Simple Life\") chief marketing officer Christina Teo. \"We try to 'replicate' any desktop experience to the mobile phone. You can call it replicating, extending, adding value,\" continues Teo. \"And with every new partnership, we need to make sure that the application works on each new handset we launch... With mobile phones [as opposed to desktop computers] there is still some concern, stigma, so we need to educate people to get over that hurdle. It's the faster we can get it at the click of a button.\" More and more, the mission of the mobile industry is to make seamless that virtual space between desktop and handset. \"It's where we want people to embrace life,\" says Teo. \"It's what we all aim to do. No downtime, no downspace... Over time Xanga will add more features, and we will mobilize as much as possible.\" The good news is the Web 3.0 revolution is only beginning. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Startups offer applications to bring social networking sites to mobile platforms .\nVoIP faces challenges on mobile market: competition, distribution, access .\nMobile mission to make seamless space between desktop and handset ." } ]