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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": "(CNN) -- After stints as a guard in the jails of Washington, D.C., and on the streets of post-Katrina New Orleans, Stephen Tyrone Johns had settled in to a job he liked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, family members said. Security officer Stephen Johns reportedly opened the door for the man police say was his killer. \"It seemed to be kind of laid-back -- it didn't seem to be that dangerous,\" Leroy Carter, the stepfather who helped raise Johns since he was 3, told CNN affiliate WUSA-TV in Washington. \"He had wanted to be on the Metro Police force or places like that, but I would have rather him been where he was. \"But it just backfired.\" Johns, 39, was shot and killed while on duty Wednesday -- allegedly gunned down by an 88-year-old white supremacist who stepped into the museum with a rifle and began firing. Johns is remembered by friends and family as a \"gentle giant\" -- he stood 6 feet 6 inches, according to Carter. And he lived up to the moniker to the very end. One of his last acts was reaching out and opening the door for the man who shot him, police said. Watch museum officials pay tribute » . James von Brunn, an outspoken Holocaust denier who had served six years in prison for a 1981 kidnapping attempt, was shot and wounded by Johns' fellow officers. He remained in critical condition Thursday at George Washington University Hospital. Johns, a six-year veteran of the museum's security staff, was a resident and native of Temple Hills, Maryland. In the hours following the shooting, friends and co-workers repeatedly remembered \"Big John\" for his quiet, friendly nature. \"To look at him initially he was very intimidating,\" said Alan Burkee, a friend and former co-worker at the museum. \"But he was very shy. ... He had a great demeanor -- very pleasant, very courteous to all the visitors that came in and the staff that worked there.\" Friends said Johns was an avid Washington Redskins fan and loved to travel, but lived just 10 minutes away from where his mother and stepfather raised him. He had an 11-year-old son, Stephen Jr., and recently had remarried, according to friends. \"He was a pretty great guy,\" Stephen Johns Jr., known as \"Little Stephen\" to family, told WUSA. \"He was always there for me when I was down or sad.\" Carter had picked up Stephen after school to tell him the news of the shooting, and the two were on the way to the hospital when Johns died. Steve Maritas is organizing director with the International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America -- of which Johns was a member. He said the way Johns and his fellow officers responded Wednesday saved lives -- and it flies in the face of the stereotype of the run-of-the-mill security guard. \"If that was the case, there would have been 50 people shot yesterday,\" said Maritas, whose organization represents more than 30,000 officers nationally and about 5,000 in the Washington area. \"These guys are very highly trained, highly paid officers. It's not like they're just there wearing a uniform.\" Johns had worked for Wackenhut Security Inc. since 2003. Maritas said Johns and his colleagues trained for days like Wednesday -- when years of safety and quiet give way to a sudden burst of terror. \"Hopefully, you'll never have to use your gun,\" he said. \"But you get a situation where you get a crazy guy like this -- it happens within two or three seconds.\" For Carter, there will always a clear reminder of the stepson he raised as his own. Little Stephen, he said, looks and acts just like his father did at that age. Carter said he takes comfort knowing that the roughly 2,000 people visiting the Holocaust museum at the time of the attack were able to walk away unharmed. \"That guy wouldn't have stopped until he was stopped,\" Carter said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Stephen Johns was prison guard, worked in New Orleans before museum .\n\"Gentle giant\" opened door for the man accused of killing him, police say .\nSecurity guard, 39, loved Washington Redskins, traveling .\nEleven-year-old son says dad was \"a pretty great guy\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Ed McMahon, the longtime pitchman and Johnny Carson sidekick whose \"Heeeeeeerre's Johnny!\" became a part of the vernacular, has died. Ed McMahon had suffered several health problems in recent years. McMahon passed away peacefully shortly after midnight at the Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center, his publicist, Howard Bragman, said Tuesday . McMahon, 86, was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and other medical problems. He had suffered a number of health problems in recent years, including a neck injury caused by a 2007 fall. In 2002, he sued various insurance companies and contractors over mold in his house and later collected a $7 million settlement. Though he later hosted a variety of shows -- including \"Star Search\" and \"TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes,\" McMahon's biggest fame came alongside Carson on \"The Tonight Show,\" which Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. The two met not long after Carson began hosting the game show \"Who Do You Trust?\" in 1957. iReport.com: Share your memories of Ed McMahon . \"Johnny didn't look as if he was dying to see me,\" McMahon, who was hosting a show on a Philadelphia TV station, told People magazine in 1980 about the pair's first meeting. \"He was standing with his back to the door, staring at a couple of workmen putting letters on a theater marquee. I walked over and stood beside him. Finally the two guys finished, and Johnny asked, 'What have you been doing?' I told him. He said, 'Good to meet you, Ed,' shook my hand, and I was out of the office. The whole meeting was about as exciting as watching a traffic light change.\" Watch McMahon discuss meeting Johnny Carson » . Though McMahon was surprised to be offered the job as Carson's sidekick, the two soon proved to have a strong chemistry. Carson was, by nature, introverted and dry-witted; McMahon was the boisterous and outgoing second banana, content to give Carson straight lines or laugh uproariously at his jokes (a characteristic much-parodied by comedians). Watch Comedian Joan Rivers recall McMahon » . Carson made cracks about McMahon's weight, his drinking and the men's trouble with divorce. McMahon was married three times; Carson, who died in 2005, had four wives. McMahon was also the show's designated pitchman, a talent he honed to perfection during \"Tonight's\" 30-year run with Carson, even if sometimes the in-show commercial spots fell flat. For one of the show's regular sponsors, Alpo dog food, McMahon usually extolled the virtues of the product while a dog eagerly gobbled down a bowl. But one day the show's regular dog wasn't available, and the substitute pooch wasn't very hungry. McMahon recalled the incident in his 1998 memoir, \"For Laughing Out Loud.\" \"Then I saw Johnny come into my little commercial area. He got down on his hands and knees and came over to me. ... I started to pet Johnny. Nice boss, I was thinking as I pet him on the head, nice boss. By this point the audience was hysterical. ... I just kept going. I was going to get my commercial done. \" 'The next time you're looking at the canned dog food ...' -- he rubbed his cheek against my leg -- ... reach for the can that contains real beef.' Johnny got up on his knees and started begging for more. I started petting him again ... and then he licked my hand.\" McMahon also promoted Budweiser, American Family Insurance and -- during the most recent Super Bowl -- Cash4Gold.com. Entertainment Weekly named him No. 1 on its list of TV's greatest sidekicks. Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 6, 1923. His father was a promoter, and McMahon remembered moving a lot during his childhood. \"I changed towns more often than a pickpocket,\" McMahon told People. He later joined the Marines and served in World War II and Korea. Though McMahon was well-rewarded by NBC -- the 1980 People article listed his salary between $600,000 and $1 million -- his divorces and some poor investments took their toll. In June 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon was $644,000 in arrears on a $4.8 million loan for a home in Beverly Hills, California, and his lender had filed a notice of default. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, told CNN's Larry King that McMahon had gotten caught in a spate of financial problems. \"If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that,\" said McMahon, who added that he hadn't worked much since the neck injury. McMahon later struck a deal that allowed him to stay in the house. He is survived by his wife, Pamela, and five children. A sixth child, McMahon's son Michael, died in 1995." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "McMahon's biggest fame came alongside Johnny Carson on \"The Tonight Show\"\nMcMahon hosted \"Star Search\" and \"TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes\"\nMcMahon had suffered several health problems in recent years ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- When Clifton Green and his wife adopted an adorable little girl from Ethiopia, they knew they would eventually have to deal with the hair issue. Clifton Green learned how to care for his daughter Miriam's hair, which is very different from his own. The Atlanta, Georgia-based couple, who are white, had read books about transracial adoptions that addressed how to deal with Miriam's springy curls that grew in full, dark and strong after a toddlerhood of baldness. Green took it upon himself to learn how to care for and style his daughter's textured tresses. \"We didn't have any skills, but we had the desire,\" said Green of learning to do his now 5-year-old daughter's hair. \"It's the culture, it's important and we want to honor it and respect it.\" For many African-Americans, having a child walk around with unkempt hair is an almost unpardonable sin. That desire to be well groomed extends into adulthood and the multitudes of hairstyles are as diverse as the black community itself. There are naturals, weaves, chemically relaxed styles, braids and dreadlocks, to name just a few. Far from being superficial, black hair and its care goes well beyond the multibillion-dollar industry it has become and is deeply rooted in African-American identity and culture. \"Barbershops and beauty salons are perhaps second only to black churches as institutions in the community,\" said Ingrid Banks, an associate professor of Black Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara and author of a forthcoming book on contemporary black beauty salon culture. iReporters share their hair-stories » . \"It's not about hair per se, it's about what hair means, particularly for black women in terms of racial identity, identity based on gender and ideas about power,\" she said. \"On one level, hair matters because race matters in our society. For black people, our hair has been infused with these racial politics.\" Banks points to the ideas, which continue to linger, that if a black woman straightens her hair she is \"selling out the race\" and/or \"embracing the white standard of beauty\" while women who wear their hair in natural styles are \"blacker than thou.\" \"When we think about that, there is no other racial or ethnic group in which those ideas come to bear on someone's politics,\" said Banks, who gathered data for her book by traveling to black hair salons across the country. \"No one is saying that about white women, Asian women or Latino women.\" Erin Aubry Kaplan, who wrote an article about Michelle Obama's hair and its implications for Salon.com, believes the first lady's straightened and perfectly coiffed style helps her image. \"She has been criticized about many things, but I think that underneath the criticism about her being radical or too outspoken about race is this uneasiness people have about her being this tall, dark-skinned woman,\" Kaplan said. \"So her hair is important, because if she is tall, dark-skinned and has an Afro then she becomes really scary.\" Sound off: Is there such a thing as 'good hair?' That unease was also evident in 2008 when The New Yorker magazine ran a cover with a drawing portraying Michelle Obama wearing an Angela Davis-style Afro while fist bumping her turban wearing husband. \"[The cover] I think was meant to poke fun at what people really fear,\" said Kaplan, who added that as a black woman who does not have kinky hair, she has had her own share of issues. \"I understood the intent, but we aren't at the point where we can laugh at black images, because every black image resonates and reflects on black people as a whole.\" Robert Morris can relate to the perceptions that black hair can evoke. The CNN iReporter recently cut the dreadlocks he had been growing for years and said that along with the physical makeover came an attitude shift in how people responded to him. Check out Morris' iReport on his change . \"I wasn't as approachable when I had the locks,\" said Morris, who now sports a shorter, cropped do that he is enjoying. \"It seemed like I had the stigma of being 'the angry black man.' \" People's possible reactions to hair caused another iReporter to lose sleep. Tamille Johnson said her decision to get kinky twists kept her up the night before her visit to the salon. Read Johnson's concerns in her iReport . \"It was really surprising to me because I was so afraid what people would think about them and I didn't think I would feel that way,\" Johnson said. \"Whenever I would get my hair done, I would get straight styles and I did not know if people would think that the kinky style was pretty.\" Johnson, an administrator at UC Berkeley, said she found the experience to be soul searching and she came to terms with the fact that as long as she thought her hair was beautiful, that was all that mattered. That attitude is one Renae Valdez-Simeon hopes to impart to her two daughters. Because her children are biracial, Valdez-Simeon said she has often heard comments about her children's \"good hair.\" Go to Valdez-Simeon's iReport . \"When a child has straight hair, they are told they have 'good hair' and while people aren't telling children with curly hair that they have 'bad hair,' in essence that is what you are saying because you are saying that straight hair is good hair,\" Valdez-Simeon said. Valdez-Simeon, whose site Mixtkids.com is billed as \"One Mom's journey to raise empowered mixed-race children,\" said she has increasingly heard the comments because her 7-year-old sports tight, curly ringlets while her 1-year-old's hair has yet to curl. \"I try to explain to people that good hair is not straight hair, it's healthy hair,\" said Valdez-Simeon, who also said all of the comments have come from African-Americans. Comedian Chris Rock saw the same attitudes in his young daughters and it helped motivate his new documentary \"Good Hair.\" The film is narrated by Rock and explores black hair from a variety of angles, including the booming $9 billion generated by the black hair industry and the science behind chemical relaxers used to straighten hair. Rock also visited the Bronner Bros. International Hair Show in Atlanta, a twice-a-year event that has been in existence since the company started in 1947. Janet Wallace, hair show manager, said as many as 50,000 attendees have come annually to each of the events to see the latest trends, services and products available. Stylists and the public alike are enthralled by the art form that is hairstyling, Wallace said. \"People want to look good from the cradle to the grave,\" Wallace said. \"Hair is fun because there are so many adornments and things you can do with it.\" Green acknowledges that he has not reached that level of artistry yet, but takes pride in styling his daughter's hair well. On weekends, the Emory University professor can be found wielding the various combs, brushes and products he has found that work for Miriam's hair (Carol's Daughter is a favorite at the moment). While he said he's still not that good with \"rows,\" the cornrow style that braids the hair close to the scalp, he can work other braided styles, twists and an occasional French braid. The ritual of doing Miriam's hair is not only a time of bonding for the pair, but also an opportunity for him to honor his daughter and her heritage. Green has kept his sense of humor about the many people who express surprise that he is so well educated about and skilled with black hair. \"I don't want people to look at her and tell she has white parents,\" he said, laughing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hairstyles tied to black culture and identity .\nProfessor: \"Hair matters because race matters\"\niReporters share their experiences with their hair .\nFather of an adopted daughter honors her heritage through her hair care ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Piracy is expected to pick up in the high seas off Somalia after a lull caused by monsoon season, maritime officials warned Monday. Suspected Somali pirates sit behind bars during the first hearing in their trial at Aden port court on July 15. The Combined Maritime Forces urged crews to take up safety measures, including using recognized transit corridors in the Gulf of Aden and reporting to the European Union's security center before transit. \"The prior preparation and vigilance of merchant mariners at all times of day and night is more important now than ever,\" said Rear Admiral Caner Bener of the Combined Task Force. International forces made up of more than 30 ships and aircraft from 16 nations will continue patrolling the waters to help fight pirates, according to officials. \"While our ability to deter and disrupt attacks has improved over time, we are constantly adapting the way we do our business as the pirates adapt and modify their tactics,\" Bener said. The waters off Somalia are rife with pirate activity, despite increased measures by military forces and shipping companies to ward off attacks. Heavily armed pirates have struck the busy Indian Ocean shipping lanes and the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. They have captured dozens of vessels and hundreds of hostages, making off with millions of dollars in ransom. It was unclear whether a ransom was paid. The Gulf of Aden, off northern Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Earlier this month Somali pirates release German ship held since May .\nIts crew was unharmed, NATO says .\nGulf of Aden, off northern Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Nearly a decade has passed since Bill Clinton left the White House, but despite becoming a private citizen, the former president never left the public eye. Former President Clinton receives flowers from a girl Tuesday upon landing in Pyongyang, North Korea. While much of his time has been devoted to global philanthropic interests and speeches, Clinton has never strayed too far from the campaign trail and remains one of the world's most recognizable statesmen. Clinton, 62, jumped back onto the world stage Tuesday with an unannounced trip to North Korea on a mission to negotiate the release of two imprisoned American journalists. North Korean President Kim Jong Il later pardoned and released the journalists. They were traveling back to the United States with Clinton on Tuesday night. The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea. Clinton arrived to a warm welcome in Pyongyang. Watch more on Clinton's North Korea trip » . There is a lot of nostalgia in Pyongyang for his administration, when relations between North Korea and the U.S. were stronger, said John Glionna, the Seoul, South Korea, bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times. \"Well, I think most of the people that I talked to in Washington earlier today were of the opinion that Bill Clinton is a big enough personality that would not risk the loss of face of him showing up in Pyongyang and returning empty-handed,\" Glionna said. Clinton's high profile has led critics to accuse him of upstaging his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, especially when he was making headlines while campaigning for her unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid. His first major verbal stumble during that campaign came in the run-up to the New Hampshire primary when he told a crowd that then-candidate Obama's claim to have been an early and consistent opponent of the Iraq war was \"the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.\" In the ensuing media uproar, many Democratic activists -- African-Americans in particular -- came to believe that the former president had belittled Obama's entire campaign effort. And while stumping for his wife in heavily black South Carolina, he seemed to try to minimize the impact of an Obama win by noting that the Rev. Jesse Jackson also won the state in 1984 and 1988 but went on to lose both nominations by wide margins. Critics accused the former president of trying to peel off Obama's white supporters by marginalizing him as the black candidate. Clinton's hesitancy to back Obama once he locked in the Democratic nomination also fueled the storyline of the Clinton-Obama riffs. But in a high-drama moment last year at the Democratic National Convention, both Clintons announced their wholehearted support for their party's nominee. Bill Clinton's name was tossed around as a possible pick to fill his wife's vacant Senate seat after she was selected as secretary of state. His name comes up in discussions of possible Supreme Court picks that Obama might have the opportunity to make. Before his wife's presidential campaign, Clinton focused most of his efforts on the William J. Clinton Foundation. The foundation's projects include the Clinton Global Initiative, which seeks to combat poverty and climate change and promote health and education programs worldwide as well as separate initiatives directed at childhood obesity, global warming, HIV/AIDS and malaria, inner-city entrepreneurship and economic growth in Latin America. It also funded the construction of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. The foundation boasts more than 800 staff and volunteers around the world. In his post-presidency, Clinton also has shared the stage with former President George H.W. Bush on numerous occasions. The two teamed up to establish the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund. They toured the tsunami-ravaged areas following the 2004 disaster, and they teamed up again the following year to lead relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Clinton also has taken time to author a couple of best-selling books. His 2004 memoir, \"My Life,\" sold more than 400,000 copies the first day it was available. Later that year, Clinton underwent heart bypass surgery after experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. A biting Vanity Fair article published last summer suggested that Clinton's surgery left him in an altered state of mind -- one marked by constant anger and rage. The Clinton campaign hit back, saying that theory is \"false and is flatly rejected by President Clinton's doctors who say he is in excellent shape and point to his vigorous schedule as evidence of his exceptional recovery.\" In a sharp critique of the article, Clinton spokesman also criticized Todd Purdum, national editor of Vanity Fair, for not giving enough attention to the former president's charitable works through his foundation since leaving the White House. \"Most revealing is one simple fact: President Clinton has helped save the lives of more than 1,300,000 people in his post-presidency, and Vanity Fair couldn't find the time to talk to even one of them for comment,\" spokesman Jay Carson said. While the 42nd president's image has gotten a few bruises over the years, Clinton has held on to his reputation as a master politician with a penchant for making news. CNN's Kristi Keck and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Kim Jong Il pardons two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA says .\nBill Clinton has focused on philanthropic interests in post-presidency .\nClinton has stayed involved in politics, sparking controversy in wife's 2008 campaign .\nClinton also has authored books, teamed up for charity with George H.W. Bush ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- When Albert Budacz was young, he prided himself on having good eyesight; he never wore glasses. But as he eased into his late 40s, he couldn't see as well. \"I noticed a change in my vision,\" he explained. \"Primarily in church when I would open a Bible, or something like that, I had to position myself under a light to see it.\" Ophthalmologist Dr. Sharon Solomon examined Albert Budacz and found age-related macular degeneration. Concerned that he was beginning to lose his sight, Budacz went to his ophthalmologist, Dr. Sharon Solomon with the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins. He was found to have the beginnings macular degeneration, an eye condition that occurs when the central portion of the retina -- called the macula -- begins to deteriorate. Until recently, people with age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of severe vision loss in Americans older than 60, had few treatment options. But now, thanks to new research and advancing technology, there are more vision-saving choices. Early signs of macular degeneration-related vision loss include shadowy areas or fuzzy distortion in a person's central vision. \"A patient told me recently that he noticed when he was driving that the streetlights were slanted; the poles themselves were slanted,\" Solomon said. \"That's a classic sign of the beginning of this disease.\" Although obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and certain drugs can cause it, age is the primary risk factor. \"As people approach their 50s and later, they may have little yellow deposits that develop underneath the retina, and that's called drusen,\" Solomon explained. \"Those deposits are the hallmark of what we call early age-related macular degeneration.\" There are two forms of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD: the dry form, known as non-neovascular, and the wet form, called neovascular. The dry form, which Budacz has, is more common. According to the National Eye Institute, about 85 to 90 percent of patients with advanced macular degeneration have the dry form. Dry macular degeneration is caused when drusen begin to accumulate in and around the macula. Drusen, those yellowish deposits, are debris from deteriorating tissue. With dry AMD, there is usually a gradual loss of central vision. Over a period of years, dry AMD can progress to a gradual deterioration of retinal cells, which can result in severe vision loss or lead to the wet version of AMD. As of now, there is no FDA-approved treatment for dry macular degeneration, although a few drugs and devices are in clinical trials. Health Minute: Watch more on new therapies for macular degeneration » . However, studies have shown that supplements and a healthy diet can slow the progression of dry macular degeneration. A recent National Eye Institute study found that certain nutrients such as beta carotene (vitamin A) and vitamins C and E may reduce the risk of progression of early-stage AMD by 25 percent. Solomon says these antioxidants have a positive effect. \"They're known as 'preservision,' \" she said, noting that they are commonly given to certain patient groups to slow their progression to advanced macular degeneration. Other research has shown that B6, B12 and folic acid may help prevent age-related macular degeneration. In a study of more than 5,000 women, researchers noted those who took a combination of B6 and B12 vitamins along with a folic acid supplement had a 34 percent lower risk of developing AMD then those taking a placebo. Although the studies showed strong results, the American Academy of Ophthalmology cautions patients to talk to their eye doctors about which supplements are best for their condition before they start popping vitamins. In the wet version of macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood and fluid. This leakage causes permanent damage to light-sensitive retinal cells, which die off and create blind spots in central vision. Doctors say it's the body's misguided way of attempting to supply the retina with more nutrients and oxygen. Instead, the attempt creates scarring, leading to severe central vision loss. Up until recently, there's been very little doctors could do for the wet form of macular degeneration. But over the past decade, there have been a few treatments developed to slow its progression. Cold lasers are now used to freeze the abnormal blood vessels responsible for destroying the macula; they have a 60 percent success rate. And within the past three years, researchers pinpointed a protein in the eye, called vascular endothelial growth factor, that stimulates the development of blood vessels. Injectable drugs that inhibit VEGF are now FDA-approved and available; without VEGF, there is little to encourage the growth of blood vessels in the retina. \"They actually have a 90 percent chance of stabilizing vision and a 30 to 40 percent chance of improving vision,\" Solomon said. \"This is the first therapy that we've had that can actually [reverse] vision loss.\" Most ophthalmologists prefer an ounce of prevention to a pound of cure. They promote yearly eye exams as the easiest way to keep macular degeneration in check -- and warn against waiting for a crisis to schedule a checkup. \"We typically pick up a patient when, all of a sudden, they've had an acute, abrupt loss of vision or change in the quality of their vision,\" Solomon said. \"And sometimes it's too late.\" Albert Budacz was lucky. He caught his macular degeneration in time. He's stopped smoking and takes antioxidants to slow the progression of the disease. And although he may not have the eyesight he had as a young man, he can still see pretty well with or without glasses. And to him, that's all that matters." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Age-related macular degeneration causes central vision loss .\nAge is primary risk factor; other factors: obesity, smoking, high blood pressure .\nTwo forms of AMD: wet and dry; until recently few treatments were available .\nInjections containing anti-growth factor can slow progress of wet AMD ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- What would you see if you could fly over Mars in a plane and look out the window? Victoria Crater as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The crater is about half a mile in diameter. It must be something like the thousands of curious, intriguing and spectacular images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera mounted on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, which operates HiRISE, has just released a new batch of these photos taken in the last several months. You can check out the full set here. They reveal an alien landscape of craters, valleys, ridges, channels, weird surface patterns and other features in incredible detail. Take the stunning image on the left, which shows the muffin-cup-like Victoria Crater, a site once explored by the Mars rover Opportunity. The camera isn't looking straight down, but is pointed 22 degrees east so we get a better view of the crater's slopes, \"comparable to a view from an airplane window,\" the university says. Looking at some of the photos, you feel like you're flying over the Grand Canyon or the Sahara. Others are distinctly extraterrestrial in nature. In all cases, the images reveal lots of details about the surface of our neighbor in the solar system. \"Each full image from HiRISE covers a strip of Martian ground 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) wide, about two to four times that long, showing details as small as 1 meter, or yard, across,\" according to NASA's Web site. It might be the closest thing to visiting Mars without leaving your chair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Photos were taken by a camera mounted on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter .\nThey show an alien landscape of craters, valleys, ridges in incredible detail .\nA new batch of these photos taken in the last several months has just been released ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "SOUTH CHINA SEA (CNN) -- Aboard the Svend Maersk, the sound of the ship's five-story high engine permeates like a heartbeat through the four-football field length of ship. Chief Officer Christian Vium talks to CNN's Eunice Yoon as night falls on the bridge of the Svend. It's also the heartbeat of the world economy, as the Maersk takes its thousands of containers filled with shoes, computers, furniture and fireworks from China to markets in Europe. But a more telling sight is when the massive vessel nears Singapore and passes by dozens of idle ships. \"A lot of ships have been taken out of service or laid up. Instead of sailing with half empty ships, it's cheaper to lay up the ship,\" said Bo Nikolaisen, captain of the Svend. \"I feel lucky, of course, that I am on a ship that is still working.\" A 10 percent drop is expected this year in the shipping business, which one analyst called \"a $20 billion black hole.\" It's an industry that is a prime indicator of the global economy -- 90 percent of world trade is carried on ships such as the Svend Maersk to ports and onto shops around the world. CNN sailed with the crew of the Svend Maersk for four days as the ship sailed from Hong Kong to Malaysia to get a sea-level view of the industry. What stands out on these vessels is the incredible size -- the vessels stack 15 stories high -- and streamlined crew: Only 21 men are required to run the ship. The crew comes from Denmark, Germany, Romania and the Philippines. \"We've been joking that the ship was the United Nations at sea,\" said Captain Nikolaisen. \"There are many nationalities, sometimes eight, maybe more. They are professionals -- most of them -- and they know that we cannot afford to be unfriendly to one another.\" Some of the crew are over 60; among the youngest is 24-year-old recruit Joey Lamasan. Lamasan still has trouble sleeping since he left his village in the Philippines. But here, he can earn triple what he would make back home. \"The salary in the Philippines is too small compared to the salary on board the ship,\" said Lamasan, who is on a six-month contract -- typical for many young seafarers. Piracy has been making the news in recent months, exacerbating economic concerns of the financial crisis. More common than large-scale theft of multi-million dollar cargo is thieves coming on board and stealing cash, computers and personal items. But what they fear the most \"would be fire or explosion,\" said Captain Nikolaisen. \"We cannot run away.\" Life on the boat -- like the scenery -- can be repetitive. There is no mobile phone service, no booze, and limited Internet access. Many of the seamen work in two four-hour shifts... to stay alert. Meals and coffee breaks are routine. Free time is usually spent alone in the cabins, playing computer games together, or occasionally calling home on a satellite phone. \"Ten to 15 minutes just to hear how it's going and keep contact. Also it's nice for the kids too. So they can still remember what Dad sounds like,\" Captain Nikolaisen said. After two months on the high seas officers get two months' vacation. \"When I am out here I miss the family,\" Nikolaisen said. \"And when I am at home I miss a little bit being at sea.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shipping industry is expecting a 10 percent drop this year .\nCNN sailed with the Svend Maersk to get a sea-level view of the industry .\nSvend captain: \"A lot of ships have been taken out of service or laid up\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: Reza Sayah is one of the few Western journalists reporting from Tehran after the Iranian government placed restrictions on coverage. A man in the crowd holds up a photo of Ahmadinejad during Khamenei's address at Friday prayers. TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- People in the crowd sang songs of tribute as they waited. When he arrived, they stood and welcomed him in unison: \"Praise be to God and to his prophet, Mohammed.\" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader for two decades, took the stage during Friday prayers at Tehran University with a few notes on small pieces of paper in his left hand. He leaned on the lectern with his right arm, crippled in an 1981 assassination attempt. He was ready to put an end to a week of unrest. First, a sermon about the dangers of division and disunity, using the language of Islam. Then came secular sentences, decidedly direct. He praised the huge turnout at the polls as a victory for Iran but criticized post-election turmoil as the work of Iran's enemies -- the United States, Israel and Britain. \"The enemies want to destroy our confidence. They want to create doubt about the election,\" Khamenei said. A full hour passed before he delivered a verdict that supporters of opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi did not want to hear. \"Eleven million votes difference?\" he asked. \"Sometimes there's a margin of one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, or one million, maximum. Then one can doubt, be concerned that there has been some rigging or manipulation. \"But there's a difference of 11 million votes. How can vote rigging happen?\" To be clear, he reminded the crowd of the victor at the polls. It was the man sitting in the front row: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was the \"the absolute victor,\" Khamenei said. \"If political elites want to ignore or break the law and willy-nilly take wrong measures which are harmful, they will be held accountable for all violence and blood and rioting.\" Few in the crowd were disappointed with the cleric's words. \"Death to America!\" the people chanted repeatedly, interrupting Khamenei's speech. \"Death to Israel.\" Noticeably absent Friday was Moussavi, the man who had sparked Iran's unrest by calling for a recount of the votes. Absent, too, were Moussavi's supporters, who did not take to the streets to protest as they had done in previous days. There were no signs and placards on the streets. Or people clamoring for change. The tens of thousands who showed up for Friday prayer were a stark contrast to the demonstrators. They were mostly religious conservatives, supporters of Ahmadinejad. And they had a message for the president's opponent, though it was not always consistent. Some were conciliatory. \"The nation should come together,\" one said. \"We are all one.\" Others took a hard line: \"They must stop with the demonstrations, otherwise there will be consequences.\" Just what those consequences might be may become apparent Saturday afternoon, when the demonstrators are expected again on the streets of Tehran. But for now, Iran's supreme leader had issued his warning clearly: Enough is enough." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Supreme leader sermonizes about dangers of division and disunity .\nKhamenei: Post-election turmoil the work of the United States, Israel, Britain .\nAyatollah endorses official results showing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected .\nCrowd repeatedly interrupts him to chant \"Death to Israel\" and \"Death to America\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Five-time defending champion Roger Federer is bidding to match the record of a controversial tennis legend who dominated the sport in the 1920s but died in disgrace. Tilden dominated tennis in the 1920s with his own trademark style. American Bill Tilden achieved fame and fortune through his tennis exploits and befriended Hollwyood stars such as Charle Chaplin, but he spent over a year in jail in the 1940s on a morals charge, which ruined his reputation before his untimely death in 1953. Tilden won his six straight U.S. Open titles from 1920-1925 - a record since the tournament abolished the challenge system - where the champion automatically qualified for the final - in 1911. Under that system, Richard Sears won the first seven editions of the U.S. Open (then the U.S. National Tennis Championships) in the 1880s. Tilden, who claimed his seventh U.S .Open title in 1929 as well as being twice a losing finalist, goes down in the history books as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. A relatively late starter, Tilden struggled to get into his college tennis team in Pennsylvania, but years of dedicated practice started to bear fruit after the First World War as he reached the U.S. Open finals of 1918 and 1919. He reached his peak in the 1920s, winning his first U.S. Open title and holding the world number one spot for seven straight years. Tilden also led the United States to a record seven straight Davis Cup titles as well as claiming three Wimbledon titles. His famed \"cannonball\" services worked particularly well on the fast grass surfaces on which the U.S. Open and Wimbledon were staged. Tilden never won the French Open being losing finalist in the last year it was held on grass courts, in 1927, and 1930 on clay. He won the last of his 10 grand slam titles at Wimbledon in 1930 before deserting the amateur ranks for the fledging professional circuit . Eventually joined by the likes of Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry and Don Budge, Tilden remained a star attraction until well into his 40s, filling arenas such as Madison Square Garden in big money matches. But off the court, Tilden was a controversial figure, battling with tennis officials as his amateur status was called into question and being accused of being arrogant and inconsiderate. Tilden, who never married, saw his reputation destroyed in the 1940s when he was found guilty of a morals charge in connection with a minor. He served seven-and-a-half months of a year jail term but was arrested again in 1949 after picking up a 16-year-old male hitchhiker. Tilden served a further 10 months for his probation violation and was shunned by the tennis community. His friendship with Hollywood stars such as Chaplin and a love of the theatrical world saw Tilden pour much of his riches into less than successful Broadway productions. He died a tragic figure in 1953, having a stroke in Los Angeles as he prepared for a trip to play in the U.S. Pro Championships despite his 60 years of age. Tilden was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1959 and in any polls of all-time great tennis players always features in the top order. Federer, who won a record 15th grand slam title at Wimbledon, is top seed at Flushing Meadows, the venue since 1978." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Roger Federer seeking to match the six straight U.S. Open wins of Bill Tilden .\nTilden dominated tennis in the 1920s, winning 10 grand slam titles .\nThe American legend served two prison sentences on morals charges in the 1940s .\nTilden was shunned by the tennis comminty and died at the age of 60 ." } ]

[ { "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) -- Three men charged with sexually exploiting Cambodian children are being brought back to the United States to face prosecution, the Justice Department announced Monday. The men are among the first charged under an international law enforcement initiative specifically targeting Americans traveling to Cambodia for the purpose of sexually abusing children. The initiative, Operation Twisted Traveler, is an effort by the Justice Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to crack down on sex tourism. \"The men charged in this investigation apparently thought they could pursue their abhorrent desires by leaving the United States to prey on children in another country, but they were sadly mistaken,\" U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a statement. \"We are now working closer than ever with officials in other nations and concerned private parties to take every effort we can to identify and prosecute sex tourists, as well as to provide every protection we can to the world's children.\" Ronald Boyajian, 49, Erik Peeters, 41, and Jack Sporich, 75, are each charged with international travel and engaging in sexual contact with minors, a charge carrying a maximum prison sentence of 30 years, according to the Justice Department. They are slated to make their first appearances in federal court on Tuesday, the Justice Department indicated in a news release. The defendants are charged with international travel and engaging in sexual contact with minors, a charge carrying a maximum prison sentence of 30 years for each of their alleged victims, according to the department. They are charged under the federal Protect Act, enacted six years ago to strengthen federal laws relating to predatory crimes against children outside U.S. borders, the department added. The three defendants were apprehended, according to Immigration and Customs officials, as a result of information provided by the human rights organization International Justice Mission and the group Action Pour les Enfants, which combats child exploitation. All three men have been previously convicted of sex offenses in the United States, the Justice Department noted in its statement. \"These types of cases are disturbing not only because young, defenseless children were victimized in unspeakable ways but also because the defendants went to such lengths to engage in their dark activities overseas,\" O'Brien said at a news conference. He highlighted the case against Peeters, who was convicted on child molestation charges in 1990. \"Our case against Mr. Peeters outlines evidence of him allegedly molesting Cambodian boys, paying them small amounts of money -- $5 to $10 -- and possibly taking digital pictures of his young victims while they were naked,\" O'Brien noted. He said Peeters molested at least three boys in Cambodia over the course of several months. One of the boys was 12 years old when the abuse is said to have started. Boyajian is said to have \"engaged in sexual activity with a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl in an area outside Phnom Penh frequented by child sex tourists known as 'Kilo 11,' \" the Justice Department statement said. Sporich, according to Action Pour les Enfants investigators cited in the government's criminal complaint, repeatedly hosted three Cambodian boys at a residence outside the city of Siem Reap. The complaint states that Sporich \"was known to drive his motor bike through the neighborhoods while dropping Cambodian (money) on the street in order to meet kids.\" The new charges \"clearly demonstrate to the Cambodian people that the United States will not tolerate this type of abuse,\" said Carol Rodley, the American ambassador to Cambodia. \"These cases not only signal to the Cambodian victims our commitment to justice, but they will also act as a powerful deterrent for those individuals who are contemplating traveling to Cambodia to engage in illegal sexual activity with minors.\" The International Labor Organization estimates that at least 12.3 million adults and children are victims of forced labor, bonded labor and sex slavery each year. Cambodia is one of several countries recently added to a U.S. \"watch list\" because of what a State Department report calls a worsening human trafficking record in that country." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Operation Twisted Traveler is crackdown on U.S. sex tourism in Cambodia .\nThree men being returned to United States, charged under Protect Act .\nSuspects convicted of previous sexual offenses in U.S., agency says .\nThey face sentences of 30 years for each alleged victim ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- You don't want to monkey around on a blind date, especially if your friends are also taking an interest in the same dark, handsome stranger. Jookie, as she is known, studies a poster of French gorilla Yeboah, who is heading for London Zoo. So when three female gorillas at London Zoo heard that they would soon be visited by a brooding French hunk -- well, they went a bit bananas. The latest development in Anglo-French relations sees Yeboah, a 20-stone 12-year-old, leave his current home at La Boissiere Du Dore Zoo, Pays de la Loire, northwest France and head for the British capital by the end of the year. There he will be greeted by gorilla trio Zaire, Effie and Mjukuu, who were given posters of their prospective boyfriend for the first time Thursday. One female gorilla shrieked in delight, while another wedged the poster in a tree to stare at it. A third, clearly overcome by emotion, held the photo close to her chest -- then ate it. Their reception was somewhat unsurprising. The zoo has been without a male gorilla since the demise of Bobby, a silverback, in December. Tracey Lee, team leader at London Zoo, put in a good word for the hirsute lothario on the London Zoo Web site, saying Yeboah is \"a very charming, fun loving and intelligent gorilla.\" But whom will Yeboah choose to charm first? Zaire, at 34, is the oldest female gorilla and has been at London Zoo since 1984. The zoo says she's \"happiest when she's taking down and rebuilding her nest in various spots around the island. She loves to play with fabric and often drags it around with her all day. \" Then there's Effie, 16, who \"enjoys seeing toddlers and often makes her way over to the glass when they come to see her,\" according to the zoo Web site. Finally there's 10-year-old Mjukuu, or \"Jookie.\" Dan Simmonds, a keeper at the zoo's Gorilla Kingdom, says she \"has this 'butter wouldn't melt look' to her, and she gets away with murder.\" \"The other two females get along with her very well; she seems to have them all wrapped around her little finger.\" Bridget Fallon contributed to this story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "London Zoo has been without a male gorilla since December .\nFrench gorilla Yeboah is being sent from La Boissiere Du Dore Zoo, NW France .\nFemale gorillas at London have been shown posters of their new guest ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the most unexpected controversies of the Obama administration came to a head Tuesday as the president delivered a hotly debated back-to-school speech to students across the country. President Obama speaks to students Tuesday at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. Many conservatives expressed fear over the past week that the president's address would be used to push a partisan political agenda. Obama, however, avoided any mention of political initiatives. He repeatedly urged students to work hard and stay in school. \"There is no excuse for not trying,\" he told students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. Watch Obama speak to the students » . \"This isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.\" Read text of Obama's speech to students (pdf) Several Cabinet officials are slated to deliver similar messages at various schools across the country throughout the day. In the past week, news of Obama's speech had upset some parents. \"Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me,\" suburban Colorado mother Shanneen Barron told CNN Denver affiliate KMGH last week, before the text of the speech was released. \"I'm an American. They are Americans, and I don't feel that's OK. I feel very scared to be in this country with our leadership right now.\" But Amy Veasley, a parent from the Dallas, Texas, area, said Monday that she was surprised by the controversy. \"The president of our country wants to call our students to action. I'm not sure why parents wouldn't want their students to hear out the leader of our country,\" she said. A Baltimore, Maryland, teacher who asked not to be identified bemoaned the fact that the country has \"become so polarized that we believe that our president is an enemy and not our leader.\" During George W. Bush's presidency, she said, \"whether I disagreed or not, I still saw him as a leader.\" iReport.com: Share your thoughts on Obama's speech . White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that \"it's a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an 'Animal House' food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school.\" Some school administrators had decided to show the president's speech, but others decided against it. And others were leaving the decision in the hands of individual teachers. One school district in Toronto, Ohio, decided to air the speech live for students in the third grade and up but not show it to younger children, according to CNN affiliate WTOV. Nine out of 550 students attending the Toronto schools showing the speech chose not to watch it, WTOV noted. Toronto Superintendent Fred Burns said the parents of the nine children were concerned that the speech was too political. Watch students respond to Obama's speech » . \"It's a very charismatic speech,\" Burns told WTOV. \"It's very much a speech to help kids get involved in education and finish school.\" Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible contender for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, said Sunday that Obama's speech could disrupt an already-hectic first day of school for many students. \"I think there's concerns about the disruption,\" he said on CNN's \"State of the Union,\" calling the scheduling of the speech a \"little ham-fisted\" by the White House. Watch CNN's Ed Henry talk about school speech uproar » . Education Secretary Arne Duncan, however, noted that Obama's speech was not unprecedented. President George H.W. Bush delivered a nationally televised speech to students from a Washington school in fall 1991, encouraging them to say no to drugs and work hard. In November 1988, President Reagan delivered more politically charged remarks that were made available to students nationwide. Among other things, Reagan called taxes \"such a penalty on people that there's no incentive for them to prosper ... because they have to give so much to the government.\" Some of the controversy over Obama's speech involved a proposed lesson plan created by the Education Department to accompany the address. An initial version of the plan recommended that students draft letters to themselves discussing \"what they can do to help the president.\" The letters \"would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals,\" the plan stated. After pressure from conservatives, the White House distributed a revised version encouraging students to write letters about how they can \"achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.\" Duncan said Sunday that the passage was poorly worded. Some politically conservative figures said they had no problem with Obama speaking to students about education. \"I think there is a place for the president ... to talk to schoolchildren and encourage\" them, former first lady Laura Bush told CNN Monday. Parents should follow Obama's example and \"encourage their own children to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dream that they have,\" she added. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on \"Fox News Sunday\" that Obama's speech was a good idea if the message is a positive one about completing school. \"It is good to have the president of the United States say to young people across America, 'Stay in school, study, and do your homework,' \" Gingrich said. Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer accused Obama last week of trying to \"indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda.\" \"Now that the White House got their hand in the cookie jar caught, they changed everything,\" he said Monday. After reading the text, he said, \"My kids will be watching the president's speech, as I hope all kids will.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "President Obama speaks to students about education's importance .\n\"There is no excuse for not trying,\" Obama says .\nSecretary of Education Arne Duncan says speech not unprecedented .\nSome school administrators did not show speech; others let teachers decide ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi plans to form a new political party aimed at reining in the power of the Islamic Republic's leadership, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday. Mir Hossein Moussavi is reportedly seeking to form a new political party in Iran. Moussavi told supporters the party will be focused on upholding \"the remaining principles of the constitution,\" according to Etemad-e Melli, a newspaper aligned with fellow opposition candidate Mehdi Karrubi. He is expected to file papers with Iran's Interior Ministry to establish the party before hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a new term, the newspaper reported. The announcement comes after weeks of protests over Iran's disputed presidential election and an attempted clampdown by Iran's clerical leadership. The clerical leadership has declared Ahmadinejad the winner of that vote. Moussavi, a former prime minister, was the leading challenger to Ahmadinejad in the June 12 balloting. The official results showed Ahmadinejad winning with more than 62 percent of the vote. Moussavi and Karrubi have consistently rejected those results as fraudulent and demanded a new vote. Their supporters turned out in crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands to demand the results be overturned. Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees the elections, has declared the official count will stand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mir Hossein Moussavi seeks to curb power of clerics, reformist newspaper reports .\nHe's expected to file papers to form party before Ahmadinejad is sworn in .\nMoussavi's loss to President Ahmadinejad in election sparked mass protests in Iran ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "MOSCOW, Russia -- President Obama arrived in Moscow on Monday for a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev aimed at trying to \"reset\" the U.S.-Russian relationship. But he also may have a less publicized goal: figuring out who's really in charge here. President Obama, right, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev walk by an honor guard in Moscow on Monday. When Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, engaged in his first summit with his Russian counterpart, things took an odd turn. Bush said -- now infamously -- that he looked into then-President Vladimir Putin's eyes and saw into his soul, and basically found he was a good guy that Americans could do business with. Oops. The Bush-Putin relationship ended up getting pretty chilly, which is why the new U.S. president is now trying to warm things up. Obama gets his first shot at literally looking into Putin's eyes Tuesday, when he has a sitdown with the man who is now prime minister of Russia, a post that many international analysts believe allows Putin to continue to pull the strings behind the scenes. Obama's outreach to Medvedev started sooner, their first meeting coming back in April at the G-20 summit in London, and it's been bearing some fruit for Obama. Russia recently signed on to sanctions against North Korea, and this week both sides will officially announce that Russia has agreed to let U.S. military equipment headed for Afghanistan fly over Russian territory. Watch Obamas arrive in Russia » . Both sides are also hoping to announce significant cuts in nuclear arms, though there are still major hurdles to clear, such as Russian suspicions about U.S. plans for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. In an interview with The Associated Press late last week, Obama seemed to be trying to work through the sticking points by driving a bit of a wedge between Medvedev and Putin. \"The old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russia relations is outdated and that it's time to move forward in a different direction,\" said Obama. \"I think Medvedev understands that. I think Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new.\" Ouch. If he wants to accomplish some key goals in Moscow, such as winning Russian cooperation in dealing with Iran's nuclear program, why would Obama fire a rhetorical shot like that at Putin -- if, in fact, he's really in charge here? It could be that Obama is trying to flex his muscles a bit for American domestic political consumption to show he's not rolling over to Russia, amid Republican charges that he's soft on foreign policy. It's a move Putin knows well, having perfected the art of flexing his muscles at then-President Bush as a way of asserting Russian nationalism in recent years. Watch Russian students talk about Obama's visit » . Whatever the intention of Obama's words, the back and forth with Putin is a reminder of the high stakes here. Of course, the president's second stop in Italy for the G-8 summit will be important too, with a packed agenda including Iran, the financial crisis, climate change and eradicating world poverty. The first African-American president's third and final stop at the end of the week in Ghana will also get wide international attention. But it's this first stop where Obama will get a big diplomatic test as he juggles, among many issues, who's really in charge here." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "President Obama meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday .\nTuesday, he meets Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who some say is really in charge .\nObama seems to be driving a bit of a wedge between the two, says CNN's Ed Henry .\nMoscow meetings will be a big diplomatic test for Obama, Henry says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "URUMQI, China (CNN) -- Reports of alleged syringe stabbings in a restive western Chinese city are generating a bit of panic, but doctors say some people have incorrectly concluded they were attacked with needles. People's Armed Police units equipped with armored personnel carriers take positions in Urumqi on Saturday. \"In the patients we have seen in the last couple of days, there are many which we believe were not actually punctured with needles,\" Wang Hanbin, a Peoples' Liberation Army doctor examining people in Urumqi, told reporters on Saturday at a briefing. Wang said about 20 cases are being investigated closely and samples were being taken to laboratories in Beijing for more testing. But, he said, \"many of the patients we have seen were mainly influenced by psychological factors.\" Wang, a member of a six-person military medical panel reviewing the syringe-stabbing claims, attributes the false reports to widespread fear and lack of medical knowledge. \"Many of the patients did not actually see their attacker or the act of others attacking them with needles. Some patients who had needle puncture wounds experienced some discomfort in the area of the wound, and showed some symptoms, but couldn't give an accurate account of what they perceived to have been a needle attack.\" This is the latest crisis plaguing Xinjiang province and its capital city of Urumqi, where tensions have boiled over between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. The Han Chinese are the country's dominant ethnic group, and the Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority who consider Xinjiang their homeland. Ethnic Uyghurs have been blamed for the alleged syringe stabbings, and demonstrators clashed with police in Urumqi for two days this week over the issue. Protesters were demanding better police protection and a crackdown on the Uyghurs. The latest unrest left five people dead and 14 injured, according to Urumqi's deputy mayor, and the Communist party chief in the city has been dismissed from his job amid the crisis, according to state-run media reported. Watch report on unrest in Urumqi from CNN's John Vause » . The Urumqi Public Prosecutors Office on Saturday said four ethnic Uyghurs were arrested in connection with three syringe-wielding incidents. At the press conference held by military medical personnel, the doctors said puncture wounds could not be found \"in a large percentage of the patients.\" \"Some could have been bitten by insects such as mosquitoes, and in other cases there were moles, or skin pigmentation, and we couldn't find a needle puncture wound,\" said Wang, speaking at the news conference. \"Maybe they heard something from someone, then they discovered that they had a growth on their body. So, then they suspect that they may have been attacked with a needle and came to seek treatment. Some patients who came to seek treatment had some red marks or rash on their skin, but we didn't find any needle puncture wounds.\" Wang urged people not to panic and urged them to immediately seek medical treatment if they think they were stabbed. He also said people need to educate themselves about medical care. Rumors have abounded in Urumqi of recent syringe stabbers trying to spread AIDS and other diseases. But another doctor, Duan Qing, explained at the briefing that would be impossible for there to be any such cases of AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or syphilis because there is a lengthy incubation period. \"Even if there are cases of such illnesses, they are unrelated to incidents. This is basic medical knowledge,\" she said. The three incidents that led to the arrests occurred in late August. A man admitted stabbing a female shopper with a pin on August 28. Authorities said a man and woman on August 29 stole money from a taxi driver after threatening him with a syringe. And in the third incident, a man resisting arrest stabbed a police officer with a syringe on August 31." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Many \"we believe were not actually punctured with needles,\" army doctor says .\nNEW: About 20 cases are being investigated closely, including testing, doctor says .\nFive killed in riots between predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and Han Chinese .\nCommunist Party chief for Urumqi dismissed after deadly unrest ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- There was a time when singer-actress LeAnn Rimes was considered as clean cut as they come. LeAnn Rimes, at the 2009 Lollapalooza Music Festival, is being spotted with Eddie Cibrian. Once hailed as a country music ingénue, she first captivated fans as a 13-year-old with a mature-beyond-her-years voice and a poised stage presence. After selling millions of records and amassing Billboard Music Awards and Grammys, Rimes was often held up as an example of a child star who managed to avoid the pitfalls of fame and emerge with a successful career and a happy marriage. Then rumors surfaced that she was allegedly having an affair with actor Eddie Cibrian. Now the two have both separated from their respective spouses and the ensuing scandal has cast a shadow over Rimes' wholesome, good-girl image. \"I kind of feel like the public's perception is changing towards her,\" said Lindsay Powers, staff editor for Us Weekly. \"She hadn't even announced [her] divorce yet and here she was on a beach in Cabo [San Lucas], wearing a little bikini with Eddie Cibrian rubbing suntan lotion all over her. She's like flaunting their relationship while her husband is piecing together his life in New York City on his own.\" Such relationship woes among celebrities are as old as Hollywood itself. Stories of celebrity hookups on movie sets, be it Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1960s or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the 21st century, are the stuff of which tabloid dreams are made. But Rimes, who married former dancer Dean Sheremet in 2002 when she was 19 and he 21, seemed an unlikely candidate to star in such a drama. Unlike other young celebrity couples, Rimes and Sheremet were unlikely tabloid targets, choosing to live quietly and often being captured smiling and embracing on the red carpet. The pair appeared devoted to each other and seemed to take a swipe at critics of their young love when they reportedly held a \"seven year itch\" party to toast their union. In her book, \"What I Cannot Change,\" Rimes wrote glowingly of her spouse. \"My husband, Dean, has changed my heart -- and life -- in more ways than I can ever imagine,\" she wrote. \"We met in Los Angeles when I was hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards. It was almost an instant attraction.\" Rumors began swirling about the singer and \"CSI: Miami\" actor Eddie Cibrian after they co-starred in the Lifetime movie \"Northern Lights.\" During an interview with Matt Lauer in April on the \"Today\" show, Rimes sidestepped questioning about her relationship with Cibrian. \"I refuse to discuss tabloid rumors,\" Rimes said. \"I've grown up in the press my entire life. I think people are fascinated by my personal life, and I totally get it.\" Soon after, Cibrian's wife and mother of his two young sons, Brandi Glanville, was quoted as demanding Rimes leave her husband alone. Now, Glanville is being as vocal about the breakup of her and Cibrian's marriage. She told PEOPLE in August that she sensed her husband was attracted to Rimes after double-dating with the singer and Sheremet. Rimes and Cibrian have been seen publicly golfing, vacationing and attending a concert. She announced on her Web site that she and Sheremet were ending their marriage. Jonathan L. Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management Inc., said fans are often very forgiving of stars for their bad behavior. \"The public is very tolerant of a wide range of behaviors from celebrities,\" said Bernstein. \"To the extent the public truly expected her to be someone with a clean-cut image, she may lose some fans there.\" \"On the other hand, there are some people who like celebrities who lead racy, unpredictable lives, so she could gain fans at the same time.\" Bernstein, the author of \"Keeping the Wolves at Bay; A Media Training Manual,\" said, \"Everybody wants to read the juicy gossip,\" but Rimes could mitigate potential damage to her career if she is real and does \"not pretend to be one thing and then be the other.\" \"People like watching real-life soap operas,\" he said. \"Ultimately, if people love [Rimes'] singing, they are going to come to her concerts.\" Us Weekly's Powers said Rimes and Cibrian's situation mirrors that of actress Tori Spelling and her husband, Dean McDermott. Like Rimes and Cibrian, Spelling and McDermott were both married to others when they met on the set of a Lifetime movie in 2005. Spelling and McDermott divorced their spouses, married and now are the parents of two children and stars of their own reality show on Oxygen network. As was the case with fans who rallied around Jennifer Aniston because they believed she had been wronged by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Powers said she believes Rimes' estranged husband, Sheremet, will emerge the winner of public sympathy. \"Celebrity history will show that people tend to feel bad for the person who is scorned,\" Powers said. \"I think people are always going to feel bad for [Sheremet] with the fact that LeAnn not only left him after seven years of marriage, but ran off with this man she met on the set of her movie.\" Leslie Litzenberger of Santa Clara, California, has run the fan site Leannfans.com since 1995 and said the singer has a supportive fan base. All of the media surrounding Rimes has not decreased her admiration for the singer, Litzenberger said. \"The recent stories don't at all change how I feel about LeAnn,\" Litzenberger said. \"What has happened is between them. I love the person that she is and tabloid stories with quotes from supposed \"friends\" are not going to change that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LeAnn Rimes is divorcing her husband and has been spotted with co-star .\nRimes and actor Eddie Cibrian have been photographed on vacation .\nA former child star, Rimes had enjoyed an image as a happily married celeb .\nMagazine editor says Rimes' spouse gathering sympathy for being wronged ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- China has developed a vaccine for swine flu and is set to become the first country in the world to begin mass inoculations, but there are concerns over possible side effects, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. A swine flu vaccine has been approved in China and inoculations could begin in the next few weeks. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told CNN, \"We have to be ready for the fact that there might be adverse effects.\" \"No matter what vaccine you're looking at, sometimes there are extremely rare side effects. We don't even know what those are yet, but they will show up in one in every two or 10 million vaccinated.\" Inoculations could begin in the next few weeks, according to the South China Morning Post, before celebrations begin on October 1 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. The vaccine, PANFLU.1, was developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd and is suitable for people aged three to 60. Sinovac says the single-shot vaccine has been approved by China's National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products and has obtained the Certificate for the Release of Biological Products. It says more than five million doses will be ready by the end of September. The South China Morning Post reports Health Minister Chen Zhu as saying that some 200,000 people taking part in the anniversary celebrations will be the first to receive the vaccine. Others considered to be high priority are students aged five to 19, those with medical conditions, especially chronic respiratory and coronary diseases, and pregnant women. The inoculation program will also target medical staff and key workers, including police officers, soldiers and quarantine officials. Chen said on Tuesday that there have so far been 5592 recorded cases of H1N1 in China's 31 inland provinces, but no one has yet died from the illness. \"Due to the rising number of cases, especially since late August, we have indeed started seeing some serious cases,\" he said. The Post reported that there are plans to vaccinate 65 million people before the end of the year and that Chen admitted the amount of available vaccine was not nearly enough to inoculate the country's population of 1.3 billion people. The Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) last week approved two factories to produce the vaccine -- Sinovac, based in Beijing, and Hualan Biological Engineering, based in Henan -- according to the Post. But it reports the SFDA has announced that \"more qualified enterprises which could produce swine flu vaccines\" would be licensed by the end of September. Hartl said that in Europe, several drug firms are set to submit clinical trial data in the next few weeks, with GlaxoSmithKline likely to be among the first. Weidong Yin, CEO of Sinovac, said last week, \"With the support of the Ministry of Health, State SFDA, and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Sinovac was able to successfully and rapidly complete the clinical trials and registration process for the H1N1 vaccine.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "China has approved a swine-flu vaccine and is set to begin inoculations .\nSinovac Biotech has developed the vaccine, suitable for those aged three to 60 .\nThere have been 5592 recorded cases of H1N1 in China's 31 inland provinces ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Across the country, insurance companies, trial lawyers and legislators are closely watching a November referendum in the state of Washington that could change how insurers are required to treat their customers. Insurance companies are using the referendum process to try to strike down a new law in Washington state. Insurance giants like Allstate, State Farm, Safeco and Farmers have poured more than $8 million into the referendum battle. Their goal is to convince voters to reject a law passed earlier this year that could force insurers to pay up to triple damages and lawyer fees if they fail to pay a legitimate claim and then lose in court. A \"yes\" vote on the referendum allows the law to go into effect while a \"no\" vote strikes the law down. Supporters of the law say it forces insurance companies to pay legitimate claims in a timely and fair fashion and frees the courts from relatively minor cases that clog the system for months and even years. One supporter, the Washington Trial Lawyers Association, has raised almost $900,000 to fight the insurance industry over the referendum. \"Insurance companies have figured out that they can make more money if they don't pay your claim,'' said Washington state Rep. Steve Kirby. Kirby and his fellow Washington state lawmakers heard so many complaints from policy holders who believed insurers weren't treating them fairly that earlier this year they passed a law called \"The Fair Conduct Act.\" Hearings were held, the bill was revised -- even watered down, according to Kirby -- and both the House and Senate passed it. The governor readily signed it. But the very next day a coalition, funded primarily by insurance companies, moved in to stop the law from going into effect by filing petitions for a voter referendum on the law. Representatives of the insurance industry say the law will raise premiums and that the system is working fine as it is. The law, they said, will only make things worse, and they want voters to have the final say. \"The insurance companies stepped in and said, 'Consumers, you get to decide if you want to do this,' '' said Dana Childers, executive director of the Liability Reform Coalition, which is leading the insurance company charge to defeat the new law. Childers said the state's own insurance commissioner sees no need for the law. \"His own information that he provided to the legislature and the public says that this law simply isn't necessary,'' Childers said. But that's not what Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler told CNN in a recent interview in Seattle. Kreidler said he strongly supports the new law and that if insurance companies act responsibly they have nothing to fear. \"If companies act in good faith, [they are] not going to have a problem,\" Kreidler said. \"It's not going to cost any more money. There's not going to be any legal action. There's going to be no treble damages, because if companies deal with their customers in good faith there's no penalty.\" The campaign to woo voters has already begun. The insurance industry-backed group is already running television commercials depicting greedy lawyers planning to sue and warning consumers that the law will lead to frivolous lawsuits and higher rates. It's not a new tactic by the insurance companies. Earlier this year, CNN exposed a controversial insurance industry strategy that began in the mid-1990s. Former insiders say insurance companies began limiting or denying legitimate claims in minor injury cases and reaped billions in profits as a result. The strategy has tied up courts across the country -- over minor claims, judges told CNN -- for months and even years. How did they do it? \"It really came down to basically three elements: a position of delay, a position of denying a claim and ultimately defending that claim that you're denied,\" said Jim Mathis, a former insurance industry insider. But Robert Hartwig, with the industry-backed Insurance Institute, said the strategy was not intended to deny valid claims but to attack fraud, which, he claimed earlier this year, was rampant in minor accident cases. \"What insurers are doing is trying to monitor costs. And every insurance company is under the same pressure to do it,\" Hartwig said. Washington state resident Michelle Tribble plans to vote for the law because she says she has experienced the strategy first-hand. She says her two accidents convinced her insurance companies don't want to play fair. Tribble was working for an insurance company when she got rear-ended on the freeway. Ten weeks later she got hit again, this time by an uninsured motorist. The two accidents, she said, resulted in back injuries that required medical treatment. The first company agreed to pay but her own insurer, Allstate, refused to pay even though she had coverage. \"I just wanted my medical bills paid because I didn't want my credit being hurt,'' Tribble said, adding that the total came to about $18,000. She said Allstate dug into her medical past. \"They brought out stacks of medical records, you know, to see if I was at all deceptive.\" An arbitrator sided with Tribble, but Allstate refused to pay. The case went to court, where a jury, too, ruled for Tribble. But Allstate appealed again. Finally, four years after the accident, the company paid her claim. Allstate said it could not comment on individual claims but said cases like Tribble's prove \"that the current judicial system is working.\" E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Referendum in Washington state aims to derail new insurance law .\nInsurance industry opposes law that could force triple damages in some cases .\nMeasure's supporters say it will ensure that customers are treated fairly ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Samoa will switch its driving from the right side to the left side of the road on Monday in a move opponents have called ill-conceived and said will lead to dozens of wrecks and fatalities. Proponents tout the change, which no other country has attempted since the 1970s, as making economic sense. Thousands of angry Samoans protested in the streets, and one group -- People Against Switching Sides (PASS) -- unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the change in the country's Supreme Court. Opponents have also aired nightly ads depicting roadsides littered with crosses and vandalized newly-erected signs warning drivers to \"keep left.\" Bus drivers have demanded the government compensate them to change the location of passenger door and the steering wheel. The nation has declared Monday and Tuesday holidays for people to adjust to the change and banned alcohol sales for the next three days. The government said it will strictly enforce the use of seat belts and has built speed bumps to prevent wrecks. Until now, most of the cars in the Pacific island nation have been imported from the United States, where drivers travel on the right side, and Samoa's neighbor, American Samoa. The change will allow the thousands of expatriate Samoans who live in their nation's biggest neighbors, New Zealand and Australia, to send used -- and therefore, cheaper -- cars to their families back home. In both those countries, drivers travel on the left side of the road. \"It narrows the bridge between the rich guys and people like us, the lower class people from the rural areas,\" Fa'aleaga Young Yen told CNN affiliate TVNZ in New Zealand. Watch people speak out about the switch » . \"Just the freight alone cost me US $3,500 from Hawaii,\" he said. \"To send the same kind of car from New Zealand? NZ$1,400 (US$968).\" About 70 percent of the world's population drive on the right side of the road. But many countries -- primarily those that were once British colonies -- remain to the left. Many have gradually switched over the years, including Sweden in 1967, Iceland in 1968, Nigeria in 1972 and Ghana in 1974. All have gone from driving on the left side to the right. Samoa's case seems to be unique because it is steering in the opposite direction." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Samoa declares Monday, Tuesday holidays for people to adjust to change .\nSupreme Court rejected constitutional challenge to change .\nDrivers in Samoa's biggest neighbors, New Zealand and Australia, use the left side .\nSweden, Iceland, Nigeria and Ghana switched from driving on left side to the right ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House released the text Monday of a controversial back-to-school speech to students from President Obama. The uproar over President Obama's back-to-school speech led the White House to release the transcript Monday. Many conservatives have expressed a fear that the address would be used to push a partisan political agenda. In the text of the speech, however, Obama avoids any mention of controversial political initiatives. He repeatedly urges students to work hard and stay in school. \"No matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it,\" he says. \"This isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country.\" The text of the 18-minute speech was posted on the White House Web site so people can read it before its scheduled Internet broadcast to schoolchildren Tuesday. Read text of Obama's speech to students (pdf) Some of the president's critics have been adamantly opposed to the idea of an address by Obama to children. \"The president's speeches tend to be [about] what's wrong with the country and what can we do to fix it,\" said Bill Hogsett, a parent from Dallas, Texas. \"I believe this is the greatest country on Earth, and I try to teach that to my children. ... I don't want them hearing that there's a fundamental flaw with the country and the kids need to go forward to fix it.\" Hogsett, who spoke Monday shortly before Obama's remarks were released, said he wanted to read the speech before making a final judgment. Amy Veasley, another parent from the Dallas area, said she was surprised by the controversy. \"The president of our country wants to call our students to action. I'm not sure why parents wouldn't want their students to hear out the leader of our country,\" she said. A Baltimore, Maryland, teacher who asked not to be identified bemoaned the fact that the country has \"become so polarized that we believe that our president is an enemy and not our leader.\" During Bush's presidency, she said, \"whether I disagreed or not, I still saw him as a leader.\" On Sunday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that parents who are threatening to keep their children home Tuesday to avoid Obama's speech were being \"silly.\" Appearing on the CBS program \"Face the Nation,\" Duncan emphasized that it is up to school officials whether to include the speech in the day's activities and that the message of the speech is simply to encourage children to finish school. \"That's just silly,\" he said of anyone planning to have their kids stay home because of the speech. \"They can go to school. They can not watch.\" The speech is about \"the president challenging young people,\" Duncan asserted. Some school administrators have decided to show the president's speech, but others will not. Watch CNN's Ed Henry talk about school speech uproar » . Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible contender for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, said Sunday that Obama's speech would disrupt an already-hectic first day of school for many students. \"I think there's concerns about the disruption,\" he said on CNN's \"State of the Union,\" calling the scheduling of the speech a \"little ham-fisted\" by the White House. Watch school reject Obama's speech on education » . \"There [are] also concerns about is this going to be done in an appropriate manner. I trust and hope that the White House will have a content that is not political and they're not using the public school infrastructure for that purpose.\" Duncan, however, noted Obama's speech is not unprecedented. President George H.W. Bush delivered a nationally televised speech to students from a Washington school in fall 1991, encouraging them to say no to drugs and work hard. Read text of Bush's speech to students (pdf) In November 1988, President Reagan delivered more politically charged remarks that were made available to students nationwide. Among other things, Reagan called taxes \"such a penalty on people that there's no incentive for them to prosper ... because they have to give so much to the government.\" Read text of Reagan's speech to students (pdf) Some of the controversy over Obama's speech involved a proposed lesson plan created by the Education Department to accompany the address. An initial version of the plan recommended that students draft letters to themselves discussing \"what they can do to help the president.\" The letters \"would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals,\" the plan stated. After pressure from conservatives, the White House distributed a revised version encouraging students to write letters about how they can \"achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.\" Duncan said Sunday that the passage was poorly worded. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told \"Fox News Sunday\" that Obama's speech is a good idea if the message is a positive one about completing school. \"It is good to have the president of the United States say to young people across America, 'Stay in school, study, and do your homework,' \" Gingrich said. Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer last week accused Obama of trying to \"indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda.\" \"Now that the White House got their hand in the cookie jar caught, they changed everything,\" he said Monday. After reading the text, he said, \"My kids will be watching the president's speech, as I hope all kids will.\" CNN's Lauren Kornreich and Rebecca Sinderbrand contributed to this story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Speech posted on Web site Monday for parents, pundits to view .\nObama says, \"No matter what you want to do ... you'll need an education\"\nSecretary of Education Arne Duncan: \"Silly\" of parents to keep kids out of school .\nMinnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Speech could cause first-day \"disruption\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Kate Hudson's ex, Black Crowes rocker Chris Robinson, is going to be a dad again, a representative for the band confirmed in a statement Tuesday. Chris Robinson and girlfriend Allison Bridges will be having a child in early 2010. Robinson and girlfriend Allison Bridges, who have been dating for two years, are expecting their first child in early 2010, the statement said. The baby will be the 42-year-old frontman's second child --­ he and Hudson have a 5 1/2-year-old son, Ryder Russell, together. Hudson and Robinson were married for six years and their divorce was finalized in October 2006. They were granted joint custody of their son. Robinson and his brother Rich formed the band that would eventually become the Black Crowes in the 1980s. The Crowes' new album, \"Before the Frost . . . Until the Freeze,\" is in stores now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson having baby with girlfriend .\nRobinson and girlfriend Allison Bridges have been dating for two years .\nHe and ex Kate Hudson have a 5-1/2-year-old son, Ryder Russell, together ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Douglas Khayat is a psychologist for the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders//Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), working in Complexo do Alemao, one of the poorest and most violent favelas in Rio de Janeiro. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- An estimated 150,000 people live in Complexo do Alemao, where armed groups fight for turf, and fighting between police forces and ruling groups leave thousands of people trapped by violence. Complexo do Alemao, a poor area of Rio de Janeiro controlled by armed drug-dealers . There are no private or public health facilities inside Alemao and not even government ambulances enter. In this extremely violent corner of the world, residents live with a great deal of psychological trauma. In recognition of this trauma, Doctors Without Borders offers psychological support, in addition to the medical services we provide to the community in the favela. The people who call Alemao home live under a vow of silence, the unspoken code of survival that dictates that no one discuss what goes on inside the community particularly the violent episodes they endure or witness. Killings, beating, threats, expulsions, regular exposure to heavy weapons, and other forms of abuse, are all carried out by the armed groups that control the drug trafficking, imposing their own set of rules. See images of life in the favelas » . Since October 2007, Doctors Without Borders psychologists have conducted 2,000 consultations for 1,000 different patients. For 85 percent of patients, suffering was directly related to violence. They have either been directly affected by combat, experienced the trauma of witnessing extreme violence, have had family members killed or tortured. The symptoms we mostly see are anxiety disorders, depression, psychosomatic conditions, and learning and behavior problems in children. When police enter the area, fighting often breaks out with armed groups. The state of fear created by these groups creates an environment in which psychological disorders multiply. Some get used to living this way, but others do not, particularly children. See a report on healthcare in Brazil » . The needs are incredible, so are the stories. Last year a middle-aged man arrived at our project asking to see a psychologist. Two years earlier he suffered a series of tragic events that resulted in persistent insomnia and anxiety that almost ruined his family. He was crossing a football field holding hands with a female friend, not his wife, when suddenly a armored police car entered the community and began shooting. Everything happened in a matter of seconds. His girlfriend told him she was wounded. The shooting became so bad that he had to leave her to find shelter. She died and he could not stop blaming himself for leaving her in the middle of the field. It made his marriage hell. It started to affect his work and he began to have terrible nightmares. He started to drink a lot. But our treatment with him went really well. We helped him reevaluate others facets of his life and things started to get better, his marriage, his work. People around him reacted to his new attitude, and his life began to improve. The population trusts us because we live the same day-to-day routine they live. Our project is the only health facility inside Complexo do Alemao. During the day, we are exposed to the same environment as the residents. This experience in the same environment helps to develop a bond with our patients. For me as a Brazilian, as a middle class carioca (from Rio de Janeiro), it is difficult to experience this aspect of my country. I've grown angrier about the conditions in my city and country after doing this work. At the same time, it has been and continues to be a life changing experience, a possibility to dive into my country's soul and play an important part of people's lives." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dr. Douglas Khayat describes life in one of Brazil's most violent favelas .\nPsychologists have so far given 2,000 consultations for traumatized locals .\nDoctors Without Borders provide the only medical/psychiatric help in the region ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: We asked readers to weigh in on CNN.com Live producer Jarrett Bellini's vacation destination, and you chose South Africa. Check back for updates on his trip. Giraffes are a common sight in Kruger National Park. KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa (CNN) -- I spent two nights sleeping under a full-moon sky, nestled in my trusty hammock at Kruger National Park. Our guides provided us with tents, but I figured I wouldn't have too many opportunities in my life to slumber in the open bush on the African continent. Thus, I rested more or less exposed throughout the night, hoping that a lion wouldn't figure that he wouldn't have too many opportunities in his life to maul a sleeping American tourist in the open bush on the African continent. Needless to say, I survived, and it was magnificent. Visually speaking, I wasn't sure what, exactly, to expect from a South African safari, for my complete mental database of safari images spanned a wide variety of distinct landscapes, and most were cartoonishly obstructed by rich, middle-aged tourists covered head to toe in unnecessary beige safari gear. However, Kruger National Park seemed to fit, quite perfectly, my idea of the African savannah. Arid and brown from the winter dry season, it was a forever-long expanse of low trees and dusty earth, the kind that somehow allows the early sun to reflect that perfect glow of stunning reds and oranges. Our guide was a self-proclaimed African bushman named Elson, who seemed to have an amazing one-ness with both the land and the animals. We'd be driving down one of the many nondescript dirt roads at a fairly fast pace, only to have him hit the brakes of our jeep, slam into reverse and point out a leopard 200 yards away. It would take the rest of us a fair bit of time to finally see what he noticed at a mere passing glance. He knew the land, and he knew the animals -- a talent that proved helpful for finding the less common residents in the savannah. The other creatures carelessly came into view as though the roads and cars were just a natural part of their habitat, a mild annoyance at worst. iReport.com: Share your South Africa experiences and suggestions . Kruger National Park is roughly the same size as Israel, and here, many animals roamed right along the roadside, gnawing on whatever vegetation remained until the rainy season would flourish the plants anew. Seemingly endless miles of terrain, and there they were just feet away from us. If you didn't know you were in a national park, you might think you were in a zoo. That's how close the animals came to our jeep. Only, here, they weren't in separate enclosures, wandering aimlessly within an artificial terrain. This was truly their home, and we were only passing guests. Giraffes tore away at high branches. Elephants walked fearlessly, one-by-one across the road. Rhinos ... well, the rhinos pretty much just sat there looking stupid. But the zebras frolicked. The hippos splashed in the water. And the baboons stopped at nothing to make me laugh. Of course, the rare lions and leopards pretty much just shaded themselves under distant trees, and the crocs swam silently through the bog. But they were there. And we were there. And it was beautiful. And just as soon as it began, our time in the South African bush was over. A couple of giraffes and elephants met us by the roadside to bid our group farewell as we drove out of the park. The preserve faded silently behind us, and the road ahead paved my way to Swaziland for a short stopover before continuing to the second part of this South African journey." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "CNN.com's Jarrett Bellini is traveling in South Africa .\nReaders chose his destination and can share their travel suggestions .\nBellini will provide updates from South Africa on CNN.com and CNN.com Live ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Vehicles began streaming across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge early Tuesday -- a day ahead of schedule -- after the completion of repairs to a crack in the structure's east span. Commuters make the trek across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after it reopened Tuesday. Commuters began driving over the bridge around 6:40 a.m. PT (9:40 a.m. ET), shortly after Randy Iwasaki, director of the California Department of Transportation, announced the reopening at a news conference. \"The bridge has been inspected, and it is safer than when we closed it on Friday,\" Iwasaki said. Over the weekend, crews began repairing a \"significant crack\" that was found on the east span of the bridge during a planned closure for another project. The target time for reopening had been early Wednesday, but crews worked nonstop overnight to repair the eyebar beam, Iwasaki said. He thanked motorists for being patient. \"I know it's been trying. I received a few e-mail notes,\" the official said. Iwasaki said some closures or detours near the bridge would remain in place a while longer, including those along northbound and southbound Interstate 880. About 280,000 vehicles cross the landmark bridge every day, according to the department. The Bay Bridge was closed last week as part of a seismic retrofitting project that required cutting out and replacing a double-deck portion of the east span. Watch as the bridge needed big repairs » . A 50-foot section of the bridge collapsed in 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake, prompting efforts to make it quake tolerant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Bridge \"is safer than when we closed it on Friday,\" official says .\nCalifornia bridge closed last week for scheduled retrofitting .\nWorkers discovered \"significant crack\" on east span of bridge .\nAbout 280,000 vehicles travel San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge daily ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Four U.S. service members were killed in fighting Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. An Interior Ministry official said the victims of a suicide bomb blast at Kabul airport were all civilians. The deaths took place in Kunar province in what a spokeswoman called an \"ongoing event.\" Troop deaths have mounted in Afghanistan this year as American and other international forces have stepped up their fight against the Taliban. August was the deadliest month for the U.S. military in the nearly eight-year-old war, with 52 fatalities. The four deaths on Tuesday bring the number of U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan to 13 in September. Elsewhere, a suicide bomber killed two people and wounded six others Tuesday morning in the Kabul airport's military section, Afghan officials said. U.S. and Belgian nationals were among the wounded, a Western diplomatic official told CNN. The victims were all civilians, the Interior Ministry official said. The blast occurred near a gate at Kabul International Airport, said Zamari Bashari, a representative of Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior. NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan and other government organizations use the military side of the airport. In Pakistan, eight tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces over the border in Afghanistan were attacked near Quetta, according to Quetta police. People on motorcycles fired shots at the tankers when they were parked at a rest area, but they did not catch fire, police said. CNN's Atia Abawi contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Four U.S. service members killed in fighting in eastern Afghanistan .\nTwo people killed in explosion at Kabul International Airport, six wounded .\nOfficial: Suicide bomber struck near gate of military section of airport ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ANTIOCH, California (CNN) -- In many respects, Jaycee Dugard and her two daughters lived an unremarkable public life -- one that belied the horrifying circumstances that have since made front-page news. Dugard's daughters attend a birthday party two weeks ago. CNN has blurred their faces to protect their privacy. Dugard, kidnapped 18 years ago in South Lake Tahoe, California, helped manage the small printing company her alleged captor, Phillip Garrido, ran from his home in Antioch, east of San Francisco. Her two daughters, fathered by 58-year-old Garrido, attended birthday parties and, like many girls their age, shared a love for the TV show \"Hannah Montana.\" The media \"made it seem like these little girls were living like wolves or jungle kids in the backyard dungeon. Perhaps that's it, but they didn't give that visual to me,\" said Cheyvonne Molino, who runs an auto wrecking yard with her husband. See photos of Dugard's living conditions » . Garrido would often bring the girls by the yard, delivering bottles of water on hot days. The 11-year-old went by the name Angel and the 15-year-old, Starlet. \"They were polite. They were well-mannered,\" Molino said. Two weeks ago, the girls attended a birthday party for Molino's daughter, who turned 16. Again, they showed no signs of lives lived in turmoil. Customers of Garrido's printing company, Printing for Less, knew the girls' mother as Allissa. Watch interview with Garrido » . They spoke to her about graphic design, business cards and fliers, and describe her as professional, polite and responsive. \"She was always having a very pretty smile on the face,\" said Deepal Karunaratne, who had real estate brochures printed. \"She comes and talks to me and was always smiling. She was a very pretty girl, a very pretty young lady.\" The children, however, sometimes stood out. \"They were not dressed like average teenage girls. They were dressed very conservatively,\" Karunaratne said. Another customer, Ben Daughdrill, sometimes corresponded with Dugard when he used the printing service for his junk-hauling business. \"Nothing stood out,\" he said. \"Obviously, there was some brainwashing going on. That's all I can think. She had access to a phone and a computer, so obviously something went on that no one knows about.\" Dugard's real identity was discovered last week and her alleged kidnappers -- Garrido, a registered sex offender, and his 55-year-old wife, Nancy -- were arrested. They face 29 felony charges, including rape and kidnapping, and both have pleaded not guilty. Authorities said the Garridos held Dugard and her daughters in a soundproof shed in the couple's overgrown, littered backyard. Garrido told Karunaratne that he had a soundproof recording studio in the backyard, said Karunaratne, who described Garrido's music as \"Christian, contemporary\" and said some songs \"were about love and romance.\" Watch aerial view of backyard compound » . Dugard and her mother and daughters have moved to an undisclosed location as they try to get reacquainted, said Carl Probyn, Dugard's stepfather. A team of psychologists and several law enforcement officers are with them, he said. In a related development, authorities in two San Francisco Bay-area cities are investigating whether disappearances dating back to the late 1980s could be connected to Garrido. Police in Hayward, about 20 miles south of Oakland, say they are investigating whether he is connected to the disappearance of Michaela Garecht, last seen in 1988 at age 9. Hayward Police Lt. Chris Orrey said there are similarities between Garecht's disappearance and Dugard's -- similar age and appearance, both were abducted in daylight, and a sketch of a suspect resembles Garrido, she said. Orrey said there were differences as well, though she would not elaborate. But she said Hayward police have been in contact with Garecht's family and witnesses since Dugard was found alive last week. And in Dublin, about 25 miles east of Oakland, police are looking into whether Garrido was connected to the 1989 disappearance of Ilene Misheloff. Ilene was 13 when she was abducted, investigators said. Investigators announced Saturday that they were looking into whether Garrido may have been behind other unsolved crimes. Contra Costa County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Simpkins said police in Antioch and neighboring Pittsburg were searching Garrido's property \"for evidence relating to open cases.\" Authorities brought cadaver dogs to search the property next door to the Garridos as they tried to determine whether Garrido was connected to a string of unsolved slayings of prostitutes in the 1990s. Several of the women's bodies were dumped near a park where Garrido worked at the time. Watch where police are searching » . \"What we also know is that Phillip Garrido had access to that property,\" said Jimmie Lee, spokesman for the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department. \"He used that property, and it looks like he lived on that property in a shed.\" A bone fragment was found during the search, but investigators do not know whether it was from a human or an animal, Lee said. The fragment is being sent to a laboratory for testing. And building inspectors have declared the Garrido home unsafe, due to substandard structures and \"junkyard\" conditions, he said. CNN's Ed Lavandera, Patrick Oppman and Dan Simon contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Police check 2 other cases for connection to alleged kidnapper Phillip Garrido .\nJaycee Dugard's daughters attended birthday parties, loved \"Hannah Montana\"\nThey were \"polite ... well-mannered,\" says mother of one of their friends .\nDugard was allegedly held captive for 18 years by sex offender who fathered the girls ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- In Pakistan's combustible Swat Valley, some girls refuse to wear uniforms so they can make it to school without being harmed. Shiza Shahid, left, a 20-year-old Stanford University student, is helping to teach young girls in Pakistan. Other girls hide textbooks in their shawls to escape harassment. School-age girls are among the victims in the fierce fighting between government soldiers and Taliban militants in the Swat Valley. The Pakistani government said it has flushed much of the Taliban out of the area, but some fighting persists. Many girls remain banned from schools. Dozens of their schools have been bombed, and militants have burned books. A new program has taken 26 girls out of the battle-scarred region to Islamabad for a 10-day retreat, where they can learn in safer surroundings. A group of college students of Pakistani background is helping the girls. Among them are Shiza Shahid, 20, from California's Stanford University, who organized the program called Shajar-e-llm, or Tree of Knowledge. Shahid said she was moved to help after hearing about how the girls struggled to get an education. \"I think we were so angry, upset and emotional that we decided we have to do something,\" she said. Watch as Shahid says she had to act to help the girls » . Though well-intentioned, the program sometimes seems disorganized. \"We need support. We need unfortunately more organization, more of the bureaucratic nitty-gritty that you don't want to do, but you have to,\" Shahid said. \"We are young, and that does come with the burden as not being equally trusted or seen as capable.\" Nonetheless, the group has ambitions for a boys' learning retreat as well. The lessons are simple enough -- confidence-building exercises, critical-thinking lessons -- all framed in the context of Islamic values. The girls -- ages 11 to 14 -- spoke about their dreams. One wants to meet a poet; another wants to learn calligraphy. Another wants to grow up to lead Pakistan. \"I want to become president and rule this country in a good way,\" said 12-year-old Malila. One day during the retreat, the girls were taught a song about freedom of speech. As a guitarist strummed, the girls sang that God gives everyone the right to free speech and no one can take it away. Free speech seemed to end with the song, however. The girls could not risk talking about Taliban harassment, because the militants' version of Islamic law lingers. Such Islamic law, or shariah, also keeps females from going to school or going outside without their husbands. The United Nations estimates that 375,000 Swat Valley residents fled their homes during fighting that started in April. In all, 2.5 million Pakistanis were displaced in what was said to be one of the largest human migrations in recent history. Many residents have returned to their homes, but peace has not been completely restored to the region. And soon, the girls at the learning retreat will return home to the Swat Valley as well. Organizers said they hope the girls will carry a new love for education. \"There were tears and there were tough moments,\" said Madihah Akhter, a volunteer with the program. \"But the girls surprised me. They were really resilient. They were beyond their years.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Schoolgirls victims of fighting between Pakistani soldiers and Taliban in Swat Valley .\nA retreat in Islamabad gives 26 girls a safe haven to learn .\nA student from Stanford University is helping lead the retreat ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz could lose the right to her entire portfolio of world-famous photographs if she doesn't meet a Tuesday deadline to pay back a $24 million loan she is alleged to owe. Annie Leibovitz appears before her photo of Demi Moore during an exhibition of her work in June in Madrid, Spain. Leibovitz, who has photographed everyone from the Rolling Stones to Queen Elizabeth II, put her art, intellectual property and even real estate assets up for collateral last year when she consolidated her massive debts. Art Capital Group, which restructured the debts, says Leibovitz agreed \"to make Art Capital her 'irrevocable exclusive agent'\" of the assets \"in exchange for a reduced interest rate on the loan.\" Now the company is suing Leibovitz for breach of contract, saying she has \"refused to cooperate in the sale of those assets,\" according to a question-and-answer sheet on the lawsuit issued by Art Capital. It also says she has \"refused to pay to Art Capital hundreds of thousands of dollars she owed as part of the same agreement.\" Asked by CNN for comment, Leibovitz's attorney, Steven Brawer, said, \"I don't have anything I can tell you.\" They have until October 1 to respond to the lawsuit. In the question-and-answer sheet, Art Capital says Leibovitz \"acknowledged that in order to repay the loan she would sell her fine art, intellectual property and real estate assets. She authorized Art Capital to act as agent in the sale of those assets through which Art Capital could recoup its decrease in interest rate. She would have realized a significant gain from that sale.\" It says the loan agreement gave Art Capital \"the right to sell the collateral before the loan came due on September 8 and for a two-year period thereafter.\" One of Leibovitz's best known photos is of John Lennon with his wife, Yoko Ono, shortly before the Beatles star was assassinated in 1980. She is no stranger to controversy. In 1991, Leibovitz photographed a nude and extremely pregnant Demi Moore for the cover of Vanity Fair. The issue, considered scandalous at the time, was sold in many places nationwide with a sheath of white paper. Last year, Leibovitz photographed Disney star Miley Cyrus wrapped in a bedsheet, eliciting claims that the photographer pressured the teen queen into poses that were too provocative for her young age. In July, Art Capital filed a complaint with the New York Supreme Court, asking it to uphold the sales agreement it signed with Leibovitz, including its right to sell her art and real estate. If the court agrees with Art Capital, it means Leibovitz could end up owing far more than she did originally. Art Capital has asked for an unspecified amount of damages in addition to the money it says the photographer originally borrowed. Art Capital -- through its affiliate, American Photography -- provides financial and consulting services to artists, galleries and art owners, and offers loans based on their intellectual property and fine art assets." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Photographer Annie Leibovitz faces Tuesday deadline to pay back $24 million loan .\nLeibovitz put up art, real estate as collateral in consolidating massive debt .\nArt Capital Group sues Leibovitz, alleging she hasn't repaid money .\nPhotos of Demi Moore, Miley Cyrus among Leibovitz's most controversial works ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Will Michael Jackson stop the world? Fans have set up impromptu shrines to Michael Jackson, including this one at his family's house. Thousands are expected to swamp Los Angeles, California, to mourn him Tuesday at the Staples Center, and the accompanying media crush will be enormous. The tribute to the King of Pop at Harlem's Apollo Theater earlier this week drew coverage from all over the world, along with a public turnout in the thousands. Given the feverish interest in all things Jackson, the Los Angeles memorial could be one of the most-viewed events of all time. \"This will obviously be a huge media event, and with Web streams of the funeral, it may be impossible to say for sure how many people watched once all is said and done, because there's still no comprehensive way to measure Web viewing,\" said Toni Fitzgerald, of Media Life, in an e-mail interview. A handful of events have earned the kind of worldwide coverage to put the world on pause, if only for a moment. The 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy \"had the nation locked in a trance for two or three days,\" recalled TV critic Ed Bark of UncleBarky.com. The world audience for the Apollo 11 moon landing has been estimated in the hundreds of millions. The BBC estimated 2.5 billion people watched the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana. Watch Jermaine Jackson talk about his brother's legacy » . The numbers are easily exaggerated -- nobody knows how many people are watching in groups or in public places -- and the Web has complicated matters further. But in a multichannel, satellite TV, computer-and-cell phone world, the Jackson memorial could have an audience in the hundreds of millions. It was first believed the event would take place at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. But the family announced Thursday that it will hold a private ceremony Tuesday, and then a massive public memorial service at the Staples Center. Fans had until 6 p.m. Saturday to register for free tickets to the memorial service. Organizers used a computer to choose 8,750 names from 1.6 million who registered since Friday. Watch a tour of Neverland » . \"You have to go back to the Beatles, the death of John Lennon perhaps, and the death of Elvis Presley to find a comparable figure in, not just pop music, but pop culture,\" said Entertainment Weekly critic-at-large Ken Tucker. (EW, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.) \"And Jackson so self-consciously turned himself into not just an American pop icon but a global pop icon. I think this does have worldwide implications and interest.\" See how interest in Jackson's music has skyrocketed » . The circumstances of Jackson's death have led to comparisons with Presley's in 1977, but in terms of coverage, the two can't compare. The news wasn't even the top story on CBS' \"Evening News,\" Bark recalled, and there certainly wasn't wall-to-wall nationwide live coverage of his funeral. A public viewing drew about 30,000 fans; the funeral, two days after his death, was held in Graceland's living room. But Bark said there are parallels, at least in terms of coverage, with the Kennedy assassination. \"These days it's so much harder to get a bulk audience on any given venue the way the [broadcast networks] did back then, but still the enormity [of the event] -- it's the syndicated tabloid shows ... and TMZ and all the cable networks devoting lots of attention to it, [and] the broadcast networks can't seem to do enough specials in prime time,\" said Bark. \"I do think it's comparative but in a very different way.\" Officially, the sorts of events that have attracted the largest mass audiences have been scheduled entertainment or sports programs. Sixty percent of America watched the 1983 \"M*A*S*H\" finale; more than half watched the 1980 \"Who Shot J.R.\" episode of \"Dallas\" and the 1977 \"Roots\" conclusion. The Beatles' first appearance on \"The Ed Sullivan Show\" in 1964 drew about 45 percent of the country. The Super Bowl is routinely the year's most watched program, with audiences north of 80 million -- about 40 percent of U.S. television households. Although interest in Jackson has been high, the number of viewing choices (and, perhaps, the traditional decline in summer viewing) has kept the ratings for individual Jackson-oriented shows down. \"Jackson's death came up in just about every conversation I had from Thursday to Sunday, and yet only 5 million people tuned in to some of those broadcast specials,\" Media Life magazine's Fitzgerald observed. Still, the public memorial service might be different. \"I expect you'll see very big tune-ins on the cable news networks and on BET, if they cover it; they had huge numbers for their BET Awards focused on Jackson over the weekend,\" Fitzgerald said. The BET Awards was watched by 10.7 million, the most ever for a cable awards show. \"With the celebrity factor thrown into the funeral, who'll be there, who'll talk, I would guess tens of millions in the U.S. will watch it on TV,\" she said. It is certain is that the news media will be there in force. \"I guess we're all going to wait and see what the spectacle is,\" Bark said. \"There may be no precedent for this.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Public memorial Tuesday could be one of the most-viewed events of all time .\nIt could have a television and online audience in the hundreds of millions .\nJackson's death has led to comparisons with Elvis Presley's death .\nOthers see parallels, at least in terms of coverage, with the Kennedy assassination ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly a year after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina, disc jockey Adam \"DJ AM\" Goldstein was found dead in his New York apartment Friday afternoon, his publicist said. He was 36. Adam \"DJ AM\" Goldstein was one of two people who survived a 2008 plane crash in South Carolina. \"The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear,\" his publicist, Jenni Weinman, said in a statement confirming the performer's death. \"Out of respect for his family and loved ones, please respect their privacy at this time.\" Goldstein was found unconscious and unresponsive in his lower Manhattan apartment Friday afternoon, New York police said. The cause of death would be determined by medical examiners, but \"there is no criminality suspected at this time,\" a police statement reported. Goldstein and Travis Barker, the drummer for rock band Blink-182, were the only survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina that left both critically injured. Four others aboard the plane were killed when the Learjet skidded off a runway during takeoff from Columbia. Watch more about his career » . \"Daily I live with the guilt and grief of what happened that night, what I saw, who was lost and why I was spared,\" he wrote in a December post on his Web site. \"I have no words to express the pain that comes with knowing four people died, while I lived.\" In addition to spinning beats at clubs and festivals, Goldstein was known for dating reality-TV star Nicole Richie and singer-actress Mandy Moore. \"I am absolutely heartbroken,\" Moore said in a statement. \"For those of us lucky enough to have known him, Adam radiated a contagious exuberance for life and also personified the very definition of a true friend. To say that he will be missed beyond words is an understatement. My heart goes out to his loved ones.\" iReport.com: DJ AM \"bridged communities\" At the time of his death, he had been working on an MTV show about drug addiction that had been scheduled to debut in October. Goldstein himself had been a crack cocaine addict who said he wanted the show to help others recover. CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Adam \"DJ AM\" Goldstein was found unconscious in his apartment .\nThere is no criminality suspected at this time,\" police say in statement .\n\"The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear,\" Goldstein's publicist says .\nHe was one of two survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A judge has ordered mediation in the case of a teen girl who says her family threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity. Rifqa Bary, 17, ran away from her family in Columbus, Ohio, in July. She claims her father threatened to kill her. The 17-year-old girl, Rifqa Bary, ran away from her family in Columbus, Ohio, in July and took refuge in the home of the Rev. Blake Lorenz with the Global Revolution Church in Orlando, Florida. Bary's parents want her back home. At a court hearing Thursday in Orlando, the girl's parents denied all the allegations against them. Also at the hearing, Judge Daniel Dawson of the Orange County Juvenile Court ordered the girl and her parents to seek the mediation within 30 days. The judge had previously ruled that the girl will remain in Florida foster care until the allegations are resolved. The parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, could not attend the hearing in person but listened through a telephone conference as their lawyer spoke for them. They denied they ever threatened to kill their daughter because she converted to Christianity. Mohamed Bary told CNN he believes a lot of false information has been circulated about the case. \"We wouldn't do her harm,\" the father said, adding that he knew his daughter was involved with Christian organizations. \"I have no problem with her practicing any faith,\" he said. But Bary conceded he would have preferred that his daughter practice the Muslim faith first. The teen had heard of pastor Lorenz and his church through a prayer group on Facebook. The girl's parents reported her missing to Columbus police, who found her two weeks later in Florida through cell phone records. The teenager, in a sworn affidavit, claims her father, 47, was pressured by the mosque the family attends in Ohio to \"deal with the situation.\" In the court filing, Rifqa Bary stated her father said, \"If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me!\" The teenager claims her father added, \"I will kill you!\" Watch the teen talk about her fears » . Also at Thursday's hearing, the judge sealed a report on the girl from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and issued a gag order for attorneys in the case. At one point during the hearing, the girl's court-appointed guardian, Krista Bartholomew, told the court: \"This is not a holy war but a case about a broken family.\" Outside the courthouse after the hearing, a Muslim activist and several Christian activists exchanged words over the case. Watch the heated exchanges » . Another hearing is scheduled for September 29 if the family is not able to resolve the conflict through mediation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teenager claims father threatened to kill her because she converted to Christianity .\nParents of teen have denied all allegations against them .\nRifqa Bary, 17, ran away from Ohio home; took refuge in home of Christian pastor .\nJudge orders teen and her family to seek mediation within 30 days ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- McDonald's probably won't be exclaiming \"I'm Lovin' It\" in this case. McCurry restaurant owners A.M.S.P Suppiah and his wife Kanageswary Suppiah. In a David-and-Goliath match-up in the world of fast food, McCurry -- a small Indian curry shop in Malaysia -- has won an eight-year legal battle against the hamburger giant. McDonald's claimed that the prefix \"Mc\" in McCurry trampled on its trademark. The country's Federal Court on Tuesday ruled that it didn't. \"We're very relieved -- much, much relieved -- that this eight-year-old saga is finally over,\" said McCurry owner P. Suppiah. \"We're a typical South Asian-Malay cuisine. No way people walking into McCurry can confuse us with McDonald's.\" The sparse 24/7 self-service restaurant in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, is popular with blue-collar workers who are drawn to its affordable fare, such as biryani rice and fishhead curry. Its logo: a chicken flashing a thumbs-up. The eatery opened in 1999. McDonald's filed suit two years later. \"We were shocked that such a big giant wants to take us to court,\" Suppiah said. \"We felt that we had nothing in common, because we were not selling any Western fast food.\" The hamburger chain, which has 185 restaurants throughout Malaysia, said McCurry was violating the prefix \"Mc\" and that McDonald's had the right to protect it. McCurry, in turn, said the prefix is common and is part of last names all across Europe. Furthermore, it said, the \"Mc\" in McCurry stands for \"Malaysian Chicken Curry.\" A lower court ruled in favor of McDonald's, and Suppiah appealed. An appeals court in 2006 overturned that ruling, prompting McDonald's to appeal this time. On Tuesday, the Federal Court -- the highest in the land -- held up the appeals court ruling. McDonald's said it accepts the judgment. \"We respect the finding of the court and beyond that have no further comment,\" said Liam Jeory of McDonald's Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. Suppiah said the ruling means he can now add other McCurry locations, with its slogan: \"Tasty and so Gooood.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "David-and-Goliath match-up in fast food world sees McCurry defeat McDonald's .\nMcDonald's claimed that the \"Mc\" in McCurry trampled on its trademark .\nMcCurry owner P. Suppiah: \"We're very relieved -- much, much relieved\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- With irresponsible banking practices taking the blame for bringing about the global economic crisis, there has been a surge of interest in Islamic finance. Islamic finance is estimated to be worth $700 billion and has been growing by 15 to 20 percent per year. Now, a slew of academic courses are springing up to meet the demand of those wanting to break into an expanding market. According to ratings agency Moody's, the global Islamic finance sector is worth $700 billion and has the potential to be worth $4 trillion. What's more, the ethical principles underpinning Islamic finance are seen by some as offering a more sustainable alternative to profit-oriented conventional banking. The result is that academic institutions are lining up to offer formal training in the area. \"There is a huge demand for Islamic finance courses now, so large that it's difficult to cope with,\" Professor Habib Ahmed, Sharjah chair in the school of government and international affairs at Durham University, England, told CNN. Durham will launch a Masters degree in Islamic finance from October, becoming one of a number of European institutions to offer Islamic finance programs. \"Islamic finance has been growing by 15 to 20 percent per year for some time and there is a lot of interest at the moment. People are looking for alternatives after the economic crisis.\" \"Islamic economists believe that if the principles of Islamic finance were followed the crisis wouldn't have happened. We are seeing a lot of non-Muslim countries, including the UK, France, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore encouraging Islamic finance,\" he said. There are many differences between Islamic and conventional banking practices. One fundamental difference is that Islamic banks do not charge interest. Rather than borrowers and lenders, the system is based on buyers and sellers. \"Conventional banking is biased to the seller. Islamic finance is trying to level the ethics between the two parties,\" Aly Khorshid, an Islamic finance scholar who writes for Islamic Banking and Finance magazine, told CNN. \"People think the Islamic system is based on faith, but it's based on justice. The system is based on justice for the two parties and how you get to the justice is extracted from Islamic faith,\" he said. Khorshid said that there are similarities between \"ethical investment\" schemes and Islamic finance, in that the Islamic system does not allow investment that harms people or the environment. He credits the rapid growth of the Islamic finance sector on the success of \"sukuk\" -- Islamic bonds. In the West, banks including Lloyds TSB, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Citibank all offer Islamic finance products, catering to a niche market of Muslim borrowers. But while Islamic banks allow Muslims to take advantage of financial services that are consistent with their religious beliefs, it is the ethics underpinning Islamic finance that are attracting the interest of conventional finance institutions keen to learn lessons from the banking crisis. Although Islamic banks have suffered from the global repercussions of the economic downturn, they emerged largely unscathed from the initial banking meltdown that brought about that financial turmoil. Ahmed told CNN that is because Islamic banks are not allowed to deal in mortgage-backed securities or credit-default swaps, two of the practices accused of helping bring about the banking crisis. Khorshid said that although it's too early to say if Islamic finance has dealt with economic downturn better than conventional finance, the Islamic system has many more layers of risk assessment and management, which could help protect it from the problems afflicting conventional banks. But the growth of Islamic finance has brought its own problems. Critics say some banks use Islamic finance to package what are essentially conventional products. \"Islamic banks are also driven by the profit motive and sometimes that can dominate the ethics,\" Ahmed told CNN. While Europe is catching up with the demand for these banking products, the U.S. is lagging behind. Ahmed says that regulatory and legal changes are needed for Islamic finance to grow in the U.S., but he adds there are signs that Canada may become a North American center for Islamic finance. The lack of Islamic finance services in the U.S. is reflected in a relative lack of demand for Islamic finance courses, but in the UK there is the opposite problem. With students coming from Asia and the Middle East to get the qualifications that will help them take advantage of the Islamic finance boom, Ahmed says it is difficult for universities to find qualified teaching staff. \"Most people with PhDs in Islamic finance are working in the industry, making a lot of money,\" he told CNN. He added that Islamic finance products have the potential to appeal to the non-Muslims market, pointing out that in Malaysia the majority of customers for Islamic banks aren't Muslims. \"If people look at the principles they'll see something beneficial in terms of economics, rather than just religious reasons. It's a type of ethical finance that may be attractive to a lot of people.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There is an increase in demand for academic courses in Islamic finance .\nSome believe Islamic finance principles would have avoided banking crisis .\nIslamic banks do not charge interest or deal in mortgage-backed securities .\nSome principles are similar to those used for ethical investments ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- A black politician campaigning in eastern Germany has become the victim of a racist campaign by a far-right party. Zeca Schall says he is not thinking of leaving Germany despite the threats. The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) says it is trying to persuade Zeca Schall, a German citizen who came from Angola 21 years ago, to leave the country. Schall is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, the party led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and has been named as a CDU expert for the integration of minorities. The NPD's Web site calls Schall the CDU's \"quota negro\" and urges him to leave the country. \"The CDU seems to be realizing that even after years of re-education, negroes cannot be accepted as permanent guests in our state,\" said the NPD, which goes by its German initials. Watch more about the campaign against Schall » . Schall told CNN he had never before been subjected to such a level of racial hatred. \"I am shocked,\" he said Thursday at a campaign event in Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. \"I simply cannot believe that people would do this to fellow humans.\" Schall, who appears on a CDU election poster, said he is scared. \"I have police patrolling at my house day and night, and some officers stay in my house overnight,\" he said. But Schall said he is not thinking of leaving Germany and the CDU said he has the party's full support. Schall and the CDU said they have filed a lawsuit against the NPD. The situation escalated Wednesday when the NPD's national leadership held a rally in Schall's adopted hometown of Hildburghausen. Party Chairman Udo Voigt tried to speak with Schall \"and persuade Mr. Schall that he is needed more in Angola than in Germany,\" the NPD said in a news release. Police sent to protect Schall stopped the NPD's representatives from accessing Schall's premises. He is campaigning for the CDU for a state election in Thuringia, which is in the former communist East Germany. Right-wing extremism is generally a bigger problem in eastern Germany than in the west of the country, and citizens of Hildburghausen told CNN that, though most people support the politician, fascism is a problem in the area. \"Of course we have a base of right-wingers here,\" a passer-by said at the market in the town's center. But most of those questioned by CNN denounced the campaign against Schall and said he is a respected member of the community. \"I am not only a member of the CDU, I am also a voluntary firefighter at the local department,\" Schall said. Frank Schwerdt, the NPD's leader in Erfurt, tried to downplay the events. \"This is not a personal campaign against Mr. Schall,\" Schwerdt said. \"We simply feel that many citizens don't want foreigners to have a say in our politics.\" The NPD has been under surveillance by Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution for alleged contacts with illegal neo-Nazi groups. However, past efforts to ban the party have failed on technical grounds. The NPD denies ties to illegal groups. But members of the Christian Democratic Union told CNN that, since the racist campaign started against Schall, he has received several death threats and the party will no longer allow him to do media interviews because of the risks. At Thursday's campaign event in central Erfurt, increased police presence was noticeable and CDU members said plainclothes officers had been dispatched among the crowd." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "National Democratic Party of Germany trying to persuade Zeca Schall to leave country .\nSchall is a German citizen who came from Angola 21 years ago .\nSchall is a member of the ruling Christian Democratic Union .\nHas received death threats and his party will no longer allow him to do interviews ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The struggle over health care reform intensified Thursday as President Obama sought to build on what administration officials hoped was new momentum generated by his prime-time address to Congress. In his address to Congress on Wednesday, President Obama pushed for the government to help the uninsured. Republican leaders ripped the president's Wednesday night speech, arguing that he had botched a unique opportunity to build bipartisan consensus and offer specifics on his long-awaited plan. \"Now is the time to act,\" Obama told an audience near the White House. \"We have talked this issue to death. ... The time for talk is winding down. The time for bickering is past.\" The president was joined by representatives of the American Nurses Association, which has strongly endorsed the passage of a healthcare bill incorporating the president's ideas. Obama repeated several reform principles outlined in his Wednesday night address, including the need for all Americans to have access to coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions. He again insisted that his plan will provide \"more security and stability to those who have insurance,\" extend it to those who don't and slow the rate of growth in health care costs. He reiterated his call to cap out-of-pocket costs and create a health insurance exchange in which individuals and small businesses can pool resources to help bargain for lower coverage costs. iReport.com: \"Obama's speech lacked courage\" Obama has also pushed for the federal government to provide greater financial assistance to those who can't afford insurance. The president's latest call for reform came as the Census Bureau released new data showing that the number of people without health insurance rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008. All Americans would be required by law to have health insurance under Obama's proposal, which the administration has projected to cost $900 billion over 10 years. The requirement, Obama noted Wednesday night, would be similar to mandatory auto insurance in most states. Businesses would also be required to either offer health care coverage to workers or contribute to covering their costs of obtaining coverage. CNN's political analysts respond to Obama's speech » . Top congressional Republicans declared Thursday that they remain staunchly opposed to Obama's plan. They also accused the president of delivering an intensely partisan speech to Congress that unfairly maligned opponents and distorted basic facts. \"I thought the speech was partisan, uninformative, disingenuous and not likely to encourage those who have honest disagreements with him to be able to work toward some kind of common solution,\" said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Arizona. Kyl complained that Obama had made it tougher to reach common ground by constantly referring to opponents' \"unyielding ideological\" arguments and \"bogus claims.\" \"Nobody can have a disagreement with him based upon a valid difference of opinion,\" Kyl said. \"It's always the other -- the motive of the other individual is a bogus motive.\" Among other things, Kyl disputed Obama's claims that the Democratic plan won't add to the federal deficit. \"He wasn't referring to either the House or Senate bill that have gone through committee, because [the Congressional Budget Office] has projected that both of them have a deficit,\" he said. \"So somehow there's going to be a different bill, which is going to solve that deficit problem, I gather, but we didn't hear any detail about that.\" Health care legislation has cleared three committees in the House of Representatives, as well as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. It is currently under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee. Kyl also took issue with Obama's claim that people will have the option of keeping their current coverage if they like it. \"It's not true under the bills. Even if you like your insurance, there's a good chance you won't be able to keep it,\" Kyl claimed. Democrats and Republicans remain deeply divided over the question of whether to allow for a government-run public health insurance option. The president continued to stress his preference for such an option Thursday, saying it would force private insurers to lower costs. But he has repeatedly referred to the provision as only one alternative for increasing competition for health insurance and signaled his openness to ideas. Republicans are unanimous in opposing a public option, calling it an unfair competitor that would drive private insurers from the market and lead to a government takeover of health insurance. Obama has rejected that claim as a false allegation intended to scare people. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a strong supporter of the public option, insisted Thursday that such a provision would save \"tens of billions of dollars\" in health-care expenses. But the speaker, who has insisted that a health care bill cannot pass the House without a public option, also indicated that she doesn't consider the provision \"non-negotiable.\" At a separate news conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, argued that if a nonprofit health care cooperative successfully expands competition and \"makes the insurance companies honest ... that would fill the bill.\" The speaker nevertheless skewered the Republican opposition for failing to provide what she claimed was a reasonable alternative. Opponent of reform \"hit us with their best shot\" during the August congressional recess, she said, and their attacks amounted to little more than \"distortion\" and \"misrepresentation.\" Pelosi also criticized Rep. Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who heckled Obama on Wednesday night by shouting \"You lie!\" when the president denied that health care legislation would provide free coverage for illegal immigrants. The \"episode was unfortunate,\" and Wilson's remarks were \"stunning to hear,\" Pelosi said. But given Wilson's subsequent apology, she said, \"it's time to move on.\" Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Wilson for what they called a show of disrespect toward the president. Shortly after the speech ended, Wilson issued a statement that apologized for his \"inappropriate and regrettable\" comments. Obama said Thursday that he accepted Wilson's apology. \"I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes,\" the president noted during a Cabinet meeting. But it's important to have a debate \"without vitriol. ... Our goals are generally the same whether we're Democrats or Republicans.\" Wilson insisted that his outburst was \"spontaneous\" and agreed with the White House that the health care debate merits \"a civil discussion.\" One top Republican, however, also opined that Wilson's outburst reflected the strong passion being generated by the health care debate. \"We ought to have civil discourse in America, but don't underestimate the amount of emotion that people are feeling,\" House Minority Leader John Boehner said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Republicans say Obama missed opportunity to build consensus .\n\"The time for talk is winding down,\" president says near White House .\nHe follows up address to Congress with call for legislation this year .\nNew data show increase in number of Americans without insurance ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Mental Floss) -- Even in the midst of the Civil War, there was still one thing the North and South shared -- a serious addiction to caffeine. Confederate troops were less likely to get a cup of coffee. In that respect, the Union clearly had an advantage. Not only did the North have more than two-thirds of the population and control most of the heavy industry, railroads, and financial reserves in the country, it hoarded supplies of the highly addictive little bean, leaving the Confederacy to wage its own war against java deprivation. Coffee: It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner . Throughout the Civil War, coffee was as prevalent on the battlefields as it is in offices today. In fact, the Union army was fueled by the stuff to the point that, if there was no time to boil water, the Boys in Blue would chew on whole beans as they marched. And at night, Union campsites were dotted with tiny fires, each boiling a pot of coffee like a million miniature Starbucks. Beyond caffeine cravings, Union troops loved their coffee because it was, literally, the best thing on the menu. Before the advent of helpful (and tasty!) artificial preservatives, a marching soldier's rations were neither varied nor particularly appetizing. Typically, they consisted of salted meat, unleavened bread (accurately christened \"hardtack\"), and a little sugar and salt. It didn't help that Union supply chains were riddled with corrupt food contractors who charged the government top dollar for rotten, stale, and insect-ridden foodstuffs. Coffee, however, was almost always fresh because it was delivered in whole-bean form -- making it difficult for even the most dishonest supplier to skimp on quality. Not that they didn't try, of course. In fact, officials began requesting coffee as whole beans after some crooked contractors tried to up their per-pound profits by slipping sand and dirt into packages of ground coffee. In 1861, hoping to cut down on the time soldiers spent roasting and grinding beans, the army switched to a concentrated proto-instant coffee. The new concoction, called \"essence of coffee,\" was made by boiling prepared coffee, milk, and sugar into a thick gloop, which soldiers then reconstituted by mixing it with water. The product reportedly tasted every bit as bad as you'd imagine, and thanks to the corrupt dairymen who sold the army spoiled milk, it also tended to cause diarrhea. Needless to say, the Union army was soon back on the bean. Southern discomfort . Noxious as essence of coffee was, Confederate soldiers would have gladly downed a cup or two. But, because of a Union naval blockade, coffee (along with weapons, machinery, medicine, and other vital materials) was in short supply in the South. Before the war, a pound of beans would have set you back around 20 cents in Yankee dough. Once pre-war stockpiles ran out, however, the same amount was running as high as $60 in Confederate money. (Despite the undervalued currency, that was still a lot.) There was some coffee that made it into the Confederacy -- usually carried by steam-powered blockade-runner ships. But, for the most part, Southerners had to rely on coffee substitutes, including various forms of roasted corn, rye, okra seeds, sweet potatoes, acorns, and peanuts. Unfortunately, all these imitations lacked potency, tasted awful, and upset the bowels. The only slightly better alternative was tea made from the leaves of the native yaupon shrub. The good news was that it contained caffeine; the bad news was that it was incredibly difficult to digest. Luckily, there was one surefire way for Southern folk to get their coffee -- by making peace with the Union. Soldiers on the front lines often called informal truces so Rebels could swap tobacco for Yankee coffee and then dash back to their camps before they were reported missing. E-mail to a friend . For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Coffee was a hot commodity in the Civil War .\nUnion troops had it for breakfast, lunch, dinner .\nSuppliers sometime ground dirt into beans .\nBlockade kept coffee had to get for Confederate troops ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- More than two dozen times in the past three years, authorities came to Phillip and Nancy Garrido's ramshackle home at 1554 Walnut Ave. in Antioch, California, a rural property where Jaycee Dugard is said to have been confined for 18 years. Jaycee Dugard was locked in a shed tucked under a blue tarp in her alleged captor's backyard. And each time, they left without learning of the secret shed where Dugard lived. The Garridos have pleaded not guilty to charges of abduction and forcible rape. They are being held without bail in the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez, California. After she was abducted in June 1991, at age 11, Dugard's disappearance spawned a massive search that continued, on and off, for almost two decades. Federal agents remained committed to the case, chasing thousands of leads. But they apparently never had the Garridos on their radar. The case of the missing girl evoked deep emotions that rippled across the South Lake Tahoe community. Strangers threw fundraisers and parades to raise money for search efforts. Friends and neighbors wore T-shirts bearing images of Dugard's smiling face to give the case exposure. Elementary school students toted signs that encouraged the community to stay committed to the hunt for their classmate. All they wanted was to find little Jaycee Lee Dugard. And for some of that time, authorities were visiting the home of the couple now accused of abducting her. Watch an FBI agent talk about why clues were missed » . Interviews with public officials show that parole officers, law enforcement officials and firefighters visited the Garrido household but left without realizing that the kidnapped girl had grown to adulthood and was living in a soundproof shed hidden in the backyard. Two Dozen Contacts . There were at least 16 visits from parole officers and seven by the fire department. There was also one by the sheriff's office responding to an allegation that people were living in the backyard. State and local authorities have now begun internal investigations to find out why none of these visits uncovered the existence of Dugard, now 29, and her children, Starlet, 15, and Angel, 11. Their makeshift home of tents, tarps and sheds was tucked behind a 6-foot wall at the rear of the Garrido property. \"I feel confident the sheriff will use this as an example of how to do things better,\" said Federal Glover, a district supervisor for Contra Costa County who also heads the community's public safety committee. \"From this lesson, we will not have this type of missed opportunity occur again.\" One of the first red flags authorities might have caught was in 1993, two years after the kidnapping. Garrido, who had been released from prison after serving 11 years for a 1976 kidnapping, violated his parole in April 1993. It is unclear what he did or how the violation was flagged. As a result, he was placed in federal prison for one month and then released on house arrest for three months. He returned to the Antioch home, where he lived with his wife and his elderly mother. Violation Wasn't Reported to Nevada . But the parole violation was never reported to the state of Nevada, where the first kidnapping and rape had occurred, said Gail Powell, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety. \"The state of Nevada would have taken some action,\" Powell said. \"I don't know what, but some action could have meant putting him back in prison, pulling him off parole.\" In 1999, the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections agreed to take responsibility and authority for supervising Garrido's parole because he resided in that state. Garrido's most recent parole agent visited the home at least twice a month since December, according to California corrections officials. Sometimes the visits were unannounced, said Gordon Hinkle, a department spokesman. Parole officers also checked on Garrido frequently before 2008, Hinkle said, but he did not know how often or how many parole officers visited Garrido's residence. The parole agent who most recently entered Garrido's backyard didn't notice any children's toys or items to indicate that minors were living in the house. The agent saw a shed but assumed it belonged to a neighbor. \"There was a deceptive false impression,\" Hinkle said. \"If you were to be on the property walking around, you would have seen a big fence.\" Parole Officers Carry Big Caseloads . Hinkle said the parole officer performed his duties appropriately. The parole officer was also responsible for raising suspicions when two University of California Berkeley officers notified him that Phillip Garrido came in with his \"daughters.\" The parole officer called the Garridos in for questioning. California has one of the highest parolee-to-officer ratios in the country. State budget cuts are expected to strain the department this year, which could mean reducing the number of parole officers, Hinkle said. The officer assigned to supervise Garrido was also responsible for 39 other sex offenders. As recently as June, two months before Dugard was discovered with the Garridos, Contra Costa County firefighters responded to a fire on the property. They doused a car engine that had exploded into flames at the rear of the property, said department spokeswoman Emily Hopkins. They spent two hours there and then left. They also visited Garrido's property in fall 2007, after a neighbor reported fire coming from the backyard. In addition, they responded twice in 2008 and three times in 2009 to medical emergencies involving Garrido's elderly mother, Patricia Franzen. Fire department officials weren't sure whether more visits were made to the home, because computerized records date only to 2006. Neighbors Steered Clear . Neighbors who had encounters with Garrido said they didn't take the time to get to know him. Some said they knew that he was a sex offender, so they steered away from his house. Others ignored him because they thought he was strange. Betty Unpingco invited the entire neighborhood to her son's graduation party in spring 2006. She said Garrido attended and brought speakers for the party. When Unpingco and several adults noticed him talking to the high school girls, they asked him to leave. Later that night, she said, when they saw him waiting outside his home to speak to the girls, the adults escorted them home. Feeling uneasy after the party, Unpingco checked the sex offender registry and found Garrido's picture. \"It was just so bizarre,\" said Unpingco, who has 10 children. \"I warned my children to stay away from him and to always walk in twos.\" She did not notify police. In November 2006, another neighbor did call police, saying she saw people living in tents behind the Garridos' house. Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren E. Rupf said he didn't think the deputy who responded knew at the time that Garrido was a sex offender. The deputy spoke to Garrido in his front yard about the allegations, but Garrido convinced him otherwise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Officials visited Garrido home more than two dozen times in past three years .\nPhillip Garrido's parole officer checked up on him at least twice a month .\nGarrido violated parole in 1993, but offense wasn't reported to all the right agencies ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BURBANK, California (CNN) -- Laura Ling on Wednesday expressed the shock she and Euna Lee felt when former President Clinton showed up in Pyongyang, North Korea, to help secure the two journalists' release. The families of Euna Lee, left, and Laura Ling greet them Wednesday in California. \"We feared at any moment that we could be sent to a hard labor camp, and then suddenly we were told we were going to a meeting,\" a tearful and emotional Ling said at a news conference Wednesday morning in California shortly after arriving by plane with Lee and Clinton. She spoke minutes after the two women were reunited with their families at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank outside Los Angeles. They had been detained in North Korea since March. North Korea pardoned Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, after Clinton's brief trip Tuesday to Pyongyang. \"We were taken to a location, and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton,\" Ling said, with Lee standing beside her. Watch the emotional return at the airport » . \"We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end.\" She expressed her and Lee's \"deepest gratitude\" to Clinton and his \"wonderful, amazing\" team. Watch as Ling says, \"We could feel your love\" » . \"The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives,\" Ling said. \"We are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea, and we are so happy to be home.\" She said that she and Lee are looking forward to spending \"some quiet, private time\" with their families. iReport.com: Share reaction to the freed journalists . Former Vice President Al Gore also spoke to the throngs of journalists at the news conference. He expressed his gratitude to Clinton and President Obama and his administration who \"have been deeply involved in this humanitarian effort.\" Watch Gore pay tribute to the people involved in the effort » . Lee and Ling are employed by Gore's California-based media company, Current TV. The women were arrested in March while reporting from the border between North Korea and China. In June, they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign. On Wednesday morning, Lee bowed as she walked down the steps of the plane into a private hangar, and Ling raised her fists into the air. The women hugged their families, who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Lee's 4-year-old daughter, Hana, clung tightly to her tearful mother. Watch as the women reunite with their families » . Clinton walked off the plane minutes later but did not address the crowd. \"I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones,\" Clinton said in a statement. \"When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home.\" Journalist Lisa Ling said she never gave up hope that she would see her sister again. \"We always maintained our hope and knew in our hearts that we would see Laura again; we just didn't know when,\" Lisa Ling said outside her home in Los Angeles, California. \"We are just thrilled beyond words that the day has finally arrived.\" She said her sister was looking forward to eating fresh fruit and food for the first time in four months, after many meals of rice that often contained rocks. \"I can tell she has gone through a lot,\" Ling said. \"My sister has an amazing, amazing spirit, and she's a little bit weak right now, so I think it's going take a little time for her to gather up her wits and be able to talk about what she experienced.\" At the White House, Obama applauded the release of the two journalists, saying, \"We are very pleased with the outcome.\" Their release is a \"source of happiness not only for the families but for the entire country,\" he said. Watch as Obama says, \"We are relieved\" » . Obama also thanked the former president and Gore for their roles in winning the women's release. \"I think that not only is this White House ... extraordinarily happy, but all Americans should be grateful to both former President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their extraordinary work,\" he said. Clinton made the trip to North Korea after the women's families asked him to travel there, a senior administration official said. Doug Ling, Ling's father, earlier reacted to the news of his daughter's release outside his home in Carmichael, California, saying it was \"one of the best days in my life.\" \"I figured, sooner or later, they'd be back,\" he said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also expressed her relief that the two women were released. She spoke from Nairobi, Kenya, where she is taking part in a multination visit to Africa. \"I spoke to my husband on the airplane, and everything went well,\" she said. \"It is just a good day to be able to see this happen.\" In July, Ling and Lee spoke to their families and told them that the North Koreans were willing to grant them amnesty if a high-level envoy, such as former President Clinton, were willing to travel to Pyongyang, the administration official said on condition of anonymity. North Korea said Clinton \"expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il\" for the journalists' actions, but the administration official said he knew nothing about an apology. He said Clinton met for three hours and 15 minutes with the North Korean leader but said he did not know what issues were discussed. But he said Clinton's views on a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are well-known. North Korea's state-run Korea Central News Agency said Clinton conveyed a message from Obama \"expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries.\" But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said before the announced agreement that Clinton was not carrying any message from Obama. Gibbs added the former president last spoke with Obama during a White House visit in March. He described Clinton's trip as a \"solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans.\" Clinton's mission came as the United States and its allies in the region are seeking to persuade North Korea to return to the stalled nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea conducted its second nuclear bomb test in May and has held several missile tests since then. The United Nations has responded by increasing sanctions on the nation. North Korea and the United States had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear program. North Korea agreed then to halt the development of nuclear weapons but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003. Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000, near the end of his second term as president. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, had gone to Pyongyang in 2000 to meet with Kim. She was the last high-ranking American official to do so before this week. CNN's Elaine Quijano, Charlie Moore and Ninette Sosa contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Sister says freed journalist is looking forward to eating fresh food, resting .\nJournalist Laura Ling expresses gratitude for her and Euna Lee's release .\nClinton helps secure two journalists' release from North Korea .\nTwo journalists arrested in March near North Korea-China border ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Ann Holmes Redding has what could be called a crisis of faiths. Ann Holmes Redding says she sees no contradiction in being both a Christian minister and a Muslim. For nearly 30 years, Redding has been an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church. Her priesthood ended Wednesday when she was defrocked. The reason? For the past three years Redding has been both a practicing Christian and a Muslim. \"Had anyone told me in February 2006 that I would be a Muslim before April rolled around, I would have shaken my head in concern for the person's mental health,\" Redding recently told a crowd at a signing for a book she co-authored on religion. Redding said her conversion to Islam was sparked by an interfaith gathering she attended three years ago. During the meeting, an imam demonstrated Muslim chants and meditation to the group. Redding said the beauty of the moment and the imam's humbleness before God stuck with her. \"It was much more this overwhelming conviction that I needed to surrender to God and this was the form that my surrender needed to take,\" she recalled. \"It wasn't just an episode but .... was a step that I wasn't going to step back from.\" Ten days later Redding was saying the shahada -- the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Mohammad as his prophet. But Redding said she felt her new Muslim faith did not pose a contradiction to her staying a Christian and minister. \"Both religions say there's only one God,\" Redding said, \"and that God is the same God. It's very clear we are talking about the same God! So I haven't shifted my allegiance.\" Watch Redding say, \"Being a Muslim makes me a better Christian\" » . The imam at the Islamic Center in Seattle, Washington, where Redding prays said she brings the best of both traditions to her beliefs. \"Coming from an example of wanting to be Christ-like and coming from the perspective of wanting to follow the best example -- the example of our prophet Mohammed -- it all makes sense then,\" Benjamin Shabazz said. There are many contradictions between the two religions. While Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, Christianity worships him as the son of God. James Wellman, who chairs the department of comparative religion at the University of Washington, said that while it is not unusual for people to \"mix and match\" beliefs, it is almost unheard of for a minister to claim two religions. \"When you take ordination as a Christian minister, you take an explicit vow of loyalty to Jesus. It's hard for me to understand how a Christian minister could have dual loyalties,\" Wellman said. Redding said she sees the theological conflicts but that the two religions, at their core, \"illuminate\" each other. \"When I took my shahada, I said there's no God but God and that Mohammed is God's prophet or messenger. Neither of those statements, neither part of that confession or profession denies anything about Christianity,\" she said. To her parishioners and family, though, Redding has turned her back on her faith and office. There was, she said, \"universal puzzlement\" at her decision to convert to Islam but still remain an Episcopal minister. \"I have people who love me very much who really don't want me to do this, and I love them very much. And I would love to be able to say, 'Because I love you I will renounce my orders' or 'I will renounce Islam' ... I hate causing pain to people who love me, that's not my intention,\" Redding said. The Episcopal Church also rejected Redding's religious choice. \"The church interprets my being a Muslim as 'abandoning the church,' \" she said. \"And that [there] comes an understanding that you have to be one or the other, and most people would say that. It simply hasn't been my experience that I have to make a choice between the two.\" The Diocese of Rhode Island, where Redding was ordained, told her to leave either her new Muslim faith or the ministry. A diocese statement said Bishop Geralyn Wolf found Redding to be \"a woman of utmost integrity. However, the Bishop believes that a priest of the Church cannot be both a Christian and a Muslim.\" Even though she has been defrocked, Redding said she is not capable of turning her back on either faith. She said she wants to continue speaking about and teaching religion and perhaps even travel to the Hajj, a journey to Mecca that every Muslim is supposed to make in their lifetime. Redding said she does not want her belief in two religions to diminish the value she holds for both Christianity and Islam. Each faith by itself is enough to fulfill a person spiritually, she said. \"It's all there. I am not saying you have to go somewhere else to be complete. Some people don't need glasses, some people need single lenses. I need bifocals.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ann Holmes Redding says she saw no contradiction in Muslim being a minister .\nChristian parishioners, family saw Redding as having abandoned her faith .\nDiocese rules that priest \"cannot be both a Christian and a Muslim\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Jewish groups on Wednesday rejected as inadequate an apology by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone for remarks in which he praised German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Bernie Ecclestone: \"Many people in my closest circle of friends are Jewish.\" During an interview with The Times newspaper last week the billionaire spoke of the Nazi dictator's ability to \"get things done.\" But after a storm of criticism, Ecclestone issued a statement on Tuesday in which he said: \"I unreservedly apologize for the remarks I made regarding Hitler in a recent interview. I am extremely distressed and embarrassed that these remarks have been used as suggesting that I support Hitler or Saddam Hussein. I would never support such people. \"I should never have been so foolish as to have been drawn into discussing these people but the fault was entirely mine, which I deeply regret.\" On Wednesday Jon Benjamin, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, rejected the apology. \"Mr. Ecclestone's comments were crass, ignorant and insensitive,\" he said in a statement issued to CNN. \"There is no excuse for praising one of history's most evil men for being good at being bad.\" Tell us what you think of Ecclestone's comments . In his statement on Tuesday, the 78-year-old appeared to reignite the controversy by remarking: \"During the 1930s Germany was facing an economic crisis, but Hitler was able to rebuild the economy, building the autobahns and German industry. \"That was all I meant when I referred to him getting things done. \"I'm an admirer of good leadership, of politicians who stand by their convictions and tell the voters the truth. I'm not an admirer of dictators who rule by terror.\" He told The Jewish Chronicle on Tuesday he regretted offending people who took his remarks \"the wrong way.\" Ecclestone had earlier been described by the newspaper's editor, Stephen Pollard, as \"either an idiot or morally repulsive.\" Germany's Central Council of Jews had urged motor racing teams to boycott Formula One over Ecclestone's comments but cautiously welcomed the apology. However one of the group's leaders pointed out that the F1 chief's remarks about the man who presided over the deaths of six million Jews had caused great pain. \"If Ecclestone says he was an idiot, I will certainly not contradict him,\" Dieter Graumann, vice president of the council, told Handesblatt newspaper. \"Apologizing is better than not apologizing. But the glorification of a mass murderer is not a trivial offense.\" German media also reported that Guenther Oettinger, premier of the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, had canceled a meeting with the Briton at this weekend's German Grand Prix at Nurburgring because of his comments about Hitler. The F1 chief had told the German newspaper Bild: \"Many people in my closest circle of friends are Jewish. Anyone who knows me knows that I would never attack a minority.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone apologizes for praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler .\nBillionaire had spoken of Hitler's ability to \"get things done\"\nJewish groups dismiss as inadequate Ecclestone's apology ." } ]

[ { "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 has decided to rescind invitations to Iranian diplomats for July Fourth celebrations overseas because of violent crackdowns against protesters in Iran, the White House said Wednesday. President Obama on Tuesday toughened his stance on Iran's crackdown on protesters. \"July Fourth allows us to celebrate the freedom and the liberty we enjoy: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble peacefully, freedom of the press,\" White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. \"Given the events of the past many days, those invitations will no longer be extended.\" The administration had decided to invite Iranians to the celebrations at overseas posts as part of the president's policy of engaging the Iranian regime. In late May the State Department sent a cable to its embassies and consulates worldwide informing them they \"may invite representatives from the government of Iran\" to their July Fourth celebrations. But in a fresh cable sent to all embassies and consulates Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered posts \"to rescind all invitations that have been extended to Iranian diplomats for July Fourth events. \"Unfortunately the circumstances have changed and participation by Iranian diplomats would not be appropriate in light of the Iranian government's continued violent and unjust actions against its own people,\" said the cable, obtained by CNN. \"For invitations which have been extended, posts should make clear that Iranian participation is no longer appropriate in the current circumstances. For invitations which have not been extended, no further action is needed.\" A senior administration official said Clinton made the decision, and then informed President Obama. The U.S. receptions marking Independence Day usually feature symbols of Americana, such as hot dogs, red-white-and-blue decorations and remarks by U.S. officials about America's founding fathers. One senior administration official said Wednesday the reconsideration of the July Fourth invitations is consistent with Obama's comments Tuesday, in which he said he was \"shocked and appalled\" at the violence against demonstrators. \"The president said yesterday how this plays out will affect what we do,\" the official said. Obama said Tuesday, \"If Iran chooses a path that abides by international norms and principles, then we are interested in healing some of the wounds of 30 years in terms of U.S.-Iranian relations.\" Watch Obama ramp up criticism of Iran » . On Tuesday, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said an invitation to Iranian diplomats would send the wrong message to Iranians \"who are bravely standing up for the same rights and freedoms which Americans celebrate on this day.\" \"The Fourth of July is a day when we celebrate democracy and reflect on the gift of freedom which all Americans cherish,\" she said in a statement. \"The Iranian people are no less worthy of freedom and self-governance than citizens of the United States.\" Earlier this year, as part of the policy to engage Iran, Obama videotaped a message for the Iranian people on the Persian new year and U.S. officials have engaged members of the Iranian government. In March, Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, spoke briefly with Iran's deputy foreign minister, Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, at an Afghanistan conference in The Hague. Administration officials believe the U.S. will engage Iran at some point to address issues of U.S. national security, including the nuclear issue, but the idea of bilateral engagement is in a holding pattern while the violence continues. \"I wouldn't say engagement is off the table, but it is certainly on ice,\" a senior administration official said this week." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Administration had planned to invite Iranians to celebrations at overseas posts .\nClinton: Participation not appropriate given \"continued violent and unjust actions\"\nViolence against election protesters in Iran has caused the change, officials say ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Although there were no signs of missing aviation adventurer Steve Fossett Tuesday evening, an official leading the rescue said she remained optimistic. Aviation record-holder Steve Fossett is missing and a search is under way. Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan of the Civil Air Patrol said Fossett, who has been missing for a day, once walked 30 miles to get help after making a forced landing. But Ryan noted the challenge rescuers are facing as they comb the high desert region, which is covered with sagebrush and hides deep ravines. Rescuers are focusing on 600 square miles. \"It's a very large haystack,\" she said. \"And an airplane is a very small needle. No doubt about that.\" The Civil Air Patrol has 10 aircraft that will be searching until dusk for Fossett, who has been missing since Monday afternoon, she said. The search will resume Wednesday at 7 a.m. (10 a.m. ET). Fossett, 63, was in a single-engine plane when he took off at 9 a.m. (noon ET) in good flying conditions from hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, Ryan said. He had planned to return to the ranch, which is about 30 miles south of Yerington, Nevada, at noon (3 p.m. ET). The search for him began about six hours later, Ryan said. Fossett did not file a flight plan, which is not required on flights using visual navigation. Fossett is the first person to solo around the world in a balloon, and has broken numerous other flight records. When he left, he had four to five hours of fuel for flight, said Ryan. \"Steve took off toward the south and was going to fly southbound, looking around for some dry lake beds for some plans he had for the future,\" Ryan said. Those plans, she said, involved testing a vehicle in an attempt to set a world land speed record. Ryan said authorities are analyzing information from radar intelligence to try to track Fossett. Helicopters and planes from Naval Air Station Fallon, in Fallon, Nevada, the Nevada Air National Guard and the California Highway Patrol are helping in the search. Watch CNN's Miles O'Brien, who is a pilot, describe the search » . Fossett was flying in a single-engine, Citabria Super Decathlon -- a plane capable of aerobatics -- with tail number N240R, according to CAP. Fossett, though, had no parachute, which is required for aerobatics. See where Fossett took off » . There has been no sound detected from the plane's emergency locator radio beacon, which goes off if there is a hard impact. The aircraft, with serial number 635-80, was manufactured by Bellanca, and is registered to the Flying M Hunting Club Inc. in Yerington. \"Steve is a tough old boot. I suspect he is waiting by his plane right now for someone to pick him up,\" predicted Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, in a written statement. \"The ranch he took off from covers a huge area, and Steve has had far tougher challenges to overcome in the past. Based on his track record, I feel confident we'll get some good news soon.\" Virgin Atlantic sponsored the GlobalFlyer, which Fossett flew in 2005 during the first nonstop, solo flight around the world without refueling. A year later, he used GlobalFlyer again to break the world's flight distance record, traveling more than 26,000 miles in 76 hours, 45 minutes from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Bournemouth, on the coast of southern England. He made an emergency landing during that flight after electricity on the aircraft failed over Shannon, Ireland. His goal had been to land at Kent International Airport in Manston, England. In 2006, Fossett piloted the plane to its new home, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. In 2002, he achieved the first solo balloon flight around the world, traveling 20,626 miles in 14 days. He's credited with 115 world records or world firsts, and holds official world records in five sports, according to his Web site. CNN.com interviewed Fossett last year after he published a book about his life's passion for breaking world records, titled \"Chasing the Wind.\" Asked which of his record-breaking feats was his personal favorite, he said, \"The first solo around-the-world balloon flight. We had to really upgrade the technical capability of balloons and the flight was much more difficult than I'd ever imagined it would be. I tried six times over the course of six years before succeeding.\" \"I think I'm a risk averse person, which might sound very strange because of the sports I'm involved in,\" Fossett said, in response to a question about whether anything scares him. \"What I do is try and reduce the risk. I don't do any of this for the thrills. I'm doing them for the personal achievement.\" Asked how long he'll keep going, Fossett answered, \"I imagine that when I'm 80 years old and sitting in a wheelchair that I might do something like take a remote control airplane and try and fly it around the world. I plan to be setting and breaking records indefinitely.\" The aviator was in Sparks, Nevada, northeast of Reno, in August, preparing a jet racer to break the land speed record at Bonneville Flats in northwest Utah. Fossett was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but grew up in California, where he attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in economics in 1966. Two years later, he earned an MBA at Washington University in St. Louis and became a successful commodities broker, eventually launching the Chicago-based securities company Lakota Trading in 1980. He married Peggy Viehland in 1968. The couple have no children. His interest in adventure started early. As a Boy Scout, he grew up climbing the mountains of California. \"When I was 12 years old I climbed my first mountain, and I just kept going, taking on more diverse and grander projects,\" he told CNN in the 2006 interview. Fossett fueled his drive for adventure with the money he made from Lakota Trading. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fossett was scouting locales for land speed record attempt, official says .\nAircraft combing rugged terrain in western Nevada for Fossett and his plane .\nFossett made first solo, nonstop, non-refueled airplane trip around the world .\nThe 63-year-old also made first solo balloon flight around the world ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Although most Swedes would be too modest to say so themselves, Stockholm can stake a decent claim to being the capital of Scandinavia. Built on 14 islands, Stockholm seems to float on water. Built on 14 islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, Stockholm is a soft-hued vision of light and water, the bewitching start to an archipelago of some 24,000 islands and islets. Sweden's neutrality during World War II means Stockholm was spared the bombing inflicted on most European capitals; the result is the unspoiled old town of Gamla Stan, with its winding, cobbled streets. Despite a post-war building blitz that saw the construction of some particularly uninspiring modernist architecture, it is a city where gray concrete facades are largely eschewed in favor of a smorgasbord of pastel colors, rusty reds and glowing ochres. For a capital city it's unusually green -- not just leafy and dotted with verdant parks, but environmentally sound. Stockholm proper has a population of just 800,000, avoiding the congestion and pollution that plague larger cities -- so much so that you can fish from, and swim in, the waters surrounding the city center. Cold and sometimes bleak during its long, dark winters, Stockholm comes alive during the summer, when the Scandinavian sun barely sets. As temperatures rise the city's cafe culture blossoms, only for Stockholm to become a ghost town during July, when the locals make the most of their generous holiday entitlement and slip off to holiday cottages in the archipelago. But beyond its historic heart Stockholm is a progressive, evolving city. Its financial fortunes grew with the mid '90s IT boom and shrank when the dotcom bubble burst, but it remains a hotbed of technology and communications companies. Watch ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus take CNN on a tour of Stockholm » . Around 20 percent of the residents of greater Stockholm are of foreign descent, giving a sense of cultural diversity -- not to mention some welcome variety to the city's thriving restaurant scene. Despite Sweden's largely anti-EU stance, Stockholm is cosmopolitan and outward looking, with a keen eye for the latest international trends. Its shops are filled with the latest in functional, minimalist Swedish design and there are enough boutiques boasting hip New York brands and cool Swedish labels to indulge Stockholmers' obsession with style. It's also the city where Swedish global exports H&M and IKEA have their flagship stores. For all its picture-postcard pleasantness and progressive civic planning, Stockholm can seem a little sterile. It's not the kind of place likely to be described as \"edgy.\" Stockholmers themselves can come across as standoffish, but that's not say that they are unfriendly -- just politely reserved. Small talk is regarded with a certain suspicion meaning the locals can be hard to get to know, but it's amazing what a difference a couple of glasses of akvavit can make. Puritan legal regulations mean that high-alcohol drinks (that's anything with more than 3.5 percent alcohol) are heavily taxed and can only be bought in bars and government-run \"Systembolaget\" shops. The result is that a night on the town is expensive enough to make anyone teetotal, with Stockholmers often avoiding midweek drinking, saving their krona for weekend partying. But what Stockholm lacks in grit it more than makes up for in style. From its artfully designed coffee shops to the classic contours of its baroque and rococo buildings, this island city is endlessly pleasing to behold, especially when viewed from the water that flows like blood through its veins." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From artfully designed cafes to baroque buildings, Stockholm exudes cool .\nThe island city has dubbed itself the capital city of Scandinavia .\nCity blossoms in the summer when temperatures rise and sun barely sets .\nInflux of immigrants has added new dimension to city's gastronomic scene ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Two words, delivered with index finger punctuating the air and directed at the president of the United States, made a little-known South Carolina congressman one of the most controversial men on the Internet -- at least Wednesday heading into Thursday. Many Facebook and Twitter users condemned Rep. Joe Wilson for his outburst toward President Obama. As soon as Rep. Joe Wilson was identified as the person whose angry and audible outburst disrupted President Obama's health care speech to Congress, condemnation was swift -- and brutal. Within minutes, someone had altered Wilson's entry on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia: . \"He is a [expletive] that called the president of the United States a liar on national television and has no respect for the office he holds.\" When the Web site scrubbed the sentence, an even more offensive entry wormed its way in. iReport.com: \"You are disrespectful, sir\" Soon, the site disabled edit options for Wilson's entry, chalking it up to \"vandalism.\" On Twitter, post after post urged users to condemn Wilson's breach of protocol, listing his Web site address and his congressional office phone number. Web surfers who visited http://www.joewilson.house.gov/ were greeted with the message: \"This site is down for maintenance. Please check back again soon.\" Those who called his office number either could not get through because the line was busy, or could not leave a message because the phone continued to ring without activating voice mail. \"If he's the face of the GOP, we'll have public option by Columbus Day!\" wrote Andisheh Nouraee, a columnist for Creative Loafing, an alternative weekly in Atlanta, Georgia. Democrats on Capitol Hill piled on the condemnation as well. \"Biggest disappointment of evening, the total lack of respect show by one member for the president,\" wrote Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. \"Never acceptable to behave like a jerk.\" As \"Joe Wilson\" trended on Twitter as the most popular conversation topic -- and on Google among the most searched terms -- the lawmaker's supporters fought back. Many set up Twitter accounts and posted their first tweets Wednesday night and early Thursday. \"You have nothing to apologize for. You should be applauded for standing up and speaking the truth,\" said Jamie Sawyer of Madison, Wisconsin. \"Good for him! Too bad he had to apologize\" was a comment on the Lonely Conservative blog. \"At last the little man found his voice tonight and called Obama what he surely is, a liar,\" said another blog, Sunlit Uplands. By early Thursday, genuine tweets about Wilson were interspersed with ads for male erectile dysfunction: \"Joe Wilson Cialis $1.9 Viagra $1.1 (Web site address)\" Though Wilson issued an apology, saying his emotions got the best of him, few online bought it. Watch Obama react to the \"You lie!\" outburst » . On the Internet, where speculation runs rife, tweeters pointed to a comment Wilson posted on Labor Day as evidence that his outburst was planned: . \"Happy Labor Day! Wonderful parade at Chapin, many people called out to oppose Obamacare which I assured them would be relayed tomorrow to DC,\" the tweet from Wilson's account said. On Facebook, where users aren't impeded by Twitter's 140-character limitation, a prolonged and nasty war of words dominated Wilson's page. \"I have no problem being called a liberal hack by illogical, fear filled, unintelligent people. and actually, I will take it as a complement,\" wrote Janine Feczko. Name-calling was met by ad hominem attacks: \"Janine, I'm sure in the trailer park where you live they gush over your incredible intellect and witty commentary. After all that toothless grin and tripple chin screams Harvard Law,\" wrote Dan Colgan. Nine hundred and 10 comments later, the battle raged on early Thursday. Amid all this, the campaign of Democrat Rob Miller, who hopes to unseat the Republican Wilson in next year's midterm elections, raked in the dough: more than $200,000 from 5,000 individuals overnight and Thursday morning after Obama's speech, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Finally, there were those who found humor in Wilson's heckle. A hastily created Web site, JoeWilsonIsYourPreExistingCondition, hurled a new insult at the politician with every click of the refresh button. \"Joe Wilson poured salt on your lawn,\" said one. Refresh. \"Joe Wilson traded the dead batteries in walkman for the fresh ones in your TV remote.\" Refresh. \"Joe Wilson yells 'Freebird' at concerts.\" Not everyone, however, was busy assigning blame to Wilson. Los Angeles actor and comic Paul Scheer decided to shoulder it. \"I apologize 4 yelling 'liar' during Obama's speech,\" he jokingly wrote. \"Sen McCain ate my Kit Kat while I was in the bathroom & he pretended like he didn't.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Little-known South Carolina congressman shouts, \"You lie!\" at President Obama .\nWikipedia disables editing for Rep. Joe Wilson's entry, citing \"vandalism\"\nName-calling rampant on Facebook and Twitter as political passions run high ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Cairo native and jewelry designer to the stars, Azza Fahmy, reveals her favorite sights, restaurants and activities in the Egyptian capital. Designer Azza Fahmy scours Cairo's souks, mosques and streets to find inspiration for her jewels. MUST SEE PLACES: . Sultan Hassan Mosque -- Considered one of the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture. The building was commissioned by Sultan Hassan bin Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun in 1356 AD as a mosque and religious school for all four branches of Sunni Islam. The mosque is featured on the Egyptian one-hundred pound note. Address: Al-Qal'a street, Islamic Cairo . Islamic Museum -- Established in 1881, the museum displays 10,200 pieces from Egypt's different Islamic eras, including the Fatimid, Ottoman and Persian periods. Address: Bab El Khalq Square in the Egyptian library. Take Port Saed Square to reach the intersection with Muhammad Ali St. in Ahmad Maher Square. Opening Hours: Saturday through Thursday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..; Fridays: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Coptic Museum -- Recently reopened after renovations, the museum showcases the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika Pasha in 1910 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Christianity in Egypt from its beginnings to the present day. It also includes a beautiful garden -- a wonderful place to relax. Address: Religious Compound, Precinct of the old Roman Babylon Fort, Old Cairo. Across the street from the Mar Girgis Metro station. Phone Number: +20.2.362.8766 and +20.2.363.9742 . Beit El Seheimy -- A historic Ottoman restored house. It is one of the best examples of a rich private house dating back to 17th century Egypt. Address: El Moez Street, Fatimid Area close to Khan al Khalili. Beit El Keretleya -- Another authentic Ottoman House in Old Cairo. ACTIVITIES . Felucca ride -- Feluccas are the traditional Egyptian sailboats of the Nile. Perfect for catching the breeze on a hot summer night, for brisker sails the rest of the year, and catching the sunset anytime. Feluccas are usually furnished with cushions around the circumference and a table fixed in the middle, where one can enjoy picnic-style lunches or dinners while enjoying a different view of the metropolis. Address: They are usually parked on the side of the Nile in unique spots, including along the Corniche across the street from the Four Seasons on the Nile in the Garden City area of Cairo. Horseback riding aside the pyramids -- Pick up horses at an area called \"Nazlet el seman\" close to the pyramids. Camel ride -- At the pyramids . Hantour ride -- A horse carriage that goes around certain streets of Cairo, usually by the Corniche. Walk around -- Downtown streets, particularly Wist el Balad. PLACES TO EAT: . Abu El Sid -- Famous, though pricey, restaurant featuring Egyptian cuisine. Also a night spot. The mezzes are delicious, as are the mulukheya served with chicken or pigeon. Address: 157, 26th of July street, Zamalek. Phone: +20.2.749.7326 . Felfela -- Authentic Egyptian fast food chain. The nicest outlets are in downtown Cairo or Haram/Pyramids Street (all you need to tell a cab is felfela Wist el balad or Haram street). Best for breakfast. Felfela is a good place to taste such Egyptian staples as shorbat ads (lentil soup), tasty with a squeeze of lemon; taamiya (the local version of falafel); and ful (stewed fava beans served in a variety of ways). Address: 15 Shara Hoda Sharaawi, Downtown Cairo. Phone: +20.2.392.2833 . Abu Shakra -- Moderately priced Egyptian cuisine. Known for its grilled meats and the Egyptian delicacy, stuffed pigeon. Branches in Maadi, Heliopolis, Downtown, & Mohandeseen. Address: Heliopolis 82 Marghani Street Cairo. Phone number: +20.2.418.9888 . El Omda -- Try the local specialty -- Kushari, a base of rice, lentils, chick peas, macaroni, with a topping of Egyptian garlic, vinegar and spicy tomato sauce. Inexpensive. They also serve Egyptian dishes such as kofta, grilled chicken and a selection of salads. Address: 6 El-Gazayer St., Mohandesseen area behind the Atlas Hotel off Gameat El Dowal Street in Cairo, Egypt. Phone: +20.2.346.2701. Opening Hours: noon until 2:00 am. Andrea -- Located near the Pyramids, this large restaurant features a spacious air-conditioned dining room with a fireplace for winter and a much-lauded garden terrace for summer. Soft lighting, pleasant views and the sizzle of the outdoor grill create a relaxed ambience. Roasted chicken is the house speciality. Kebabs, kofte and quails are also prepared on patio grills. Portions are generous, local beer and wine are served. No desserts. Address: 59 Teraat el-Maryotteya St. Cairo. Phone: +20.2.383.1133 . Opening Hours: Noon-midnight daily." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Must see the Sultan Hassan Mosque .\nTake a ride on a felucca on the Nile .\nEat on Andrea's garden terrace in the summer .\nRide a camel or a horse at the Pyramids ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Fans around the world have gathered at arenas and record stores, big screens, parks and makeshift shrines, to watch the memorial service of Michael Jackson and pay homage to their idol. A Michael Jackson fan in Berlin watches footage of the memorial concert. As thousands of fans joined Jackson's family and closest friends at Los Angeles Staples Center arena, millions more followed proceedings on television and online. In Germany, at least 8,000 Jackson fans watched events in Los Angeles unfold at a Trauerfeier,\" (translated as Sadness Party) at Berlin's O2 World arena, reported CNN's Frederik Pleitgen. Fans began arriving at least three hours before the event was due to begin, Pleitgen said. \"He [Jackson] connects races, religions and ages,\" said one fan, \"his music connects the world.\" Many fans were moved to tears when Jackson's daughter Paris Katherine wept as she called the singer \"the best father you could ever imagine.\" Pleitgen added: \"A lot of people got very wet eyes.\" Watch fans gather in Berlin » . South African former president Nelson Mandela paid his respects to Jackson in a statement read to the audience at the Los Angeles memorial by singer Smokey Robinson. Watch Smokey Robinson deliver Mandela's message. » . \"Michael became close to us after he started visiting and performing in South Africa regularly. We grew fond of him and he became a close member of our family. We had great admiration for his talent and that he was able to triumph over tragedy on so many occasions in his life,\" Mandela said. \"We mourn with the millions of families worldwide.\" In the southern Chinese enclave of Hong Kong, fans carried flowers and Jackson paraphernalia, such as a doll and record, at a memorial. Watch Jackson tributes pour in from around the world » . \"I cannot accept MJ has already left us, and I think we should come here and do something for him and express our feeling to show that we really miss him,\" said one man. Hundreds of British fans in London braved torrential rain to watch a giant screen outside the city's O2 Arena, where Jackson was scheduled to play a series of 50 concerts from July 13. Many more fans are expected to converge on the venue next Monday to mark what would have been the first of his concert dates. See images of Jackson fans from around the globe » . \"I am still in denial,\" said Jenny Keme, 21. \"We're going to stay here to the end of the ceremony even though it's pouring. He had such a gentle soul, that's what I love most about him.\" Celeste Dixon, 28, added: \"He is the King of Pop, not was. No one will ever be worthy of him, he is bigger than life. Without Michael Jackson breaking barriers, Barack Obama would never have made it.\" Elsewhere in London the cast of musical \"Thriller- Live\" paid their own tribute during the evening performance at the Lyric Theatre, with cast, crew and audience observing a minute's silence. \"Many of them were in tears during it,\" reported CNN's Phil Black. The theater has become a shrine to Jackson, with devoted followers holding vigils and leaving cards and messages at the building's entrance. In Japan, meanwhile, hundreds of fans gathered at a Tower Records store -- where Jackson twice visited -- in Tokyo to watch his videos on a big screen. Followers were even offered the chance to take a photograph next to a cast of a footprint left by Jackson when he last visited. Watch fans gather in Tokyo » . In a bar in New Delhi, the Jackson memorial gathering was small -- only a dozen or so people. On the wall of the bar that usually only plays hard rock, Jackson's music was blasting, candles were lit underneath two framed pictures of Jackson and customers had written messages saying goodbye. The bar manager said: \"We all grew up with Michael Jackson. Other generations had The Beatles, or Elvis Presley. Michael is our generation.\" And on the streets of Beijing, people were greeted by a Jackson look-alike, 28-year-old Wang Jie, who performed ahead of the memorial. Though Jackson never himself performed in China, he is loved in the country. Members of the official Michael Jackson Fan Club rented a hotel room so they could watch his funeral broadcast live. Thousands of other fans worldwide following the coverage online via CNN and Facebook, with many again moved by the comments of Jackson's daughter about her father. \"Never cried so much ever since my dad passed away,\" said Facebook user Rinoa S Koh from Singapore, while user Nomar Levey in Jamaica added: \"OMG Tears are really pouring.\" Facebook user Manu Tyagi from India said: \"The first English songs I ever heard in India were MJ songs... grew up with his music... and never though we would see him die so soon. He achieved his destiny before he passed to the kingdom of god! Really hope he rests in peace. He was the best.\" As Jackson's coffin casket was carried out of the Staples Center, Facebook user Marika Papazoglou in Greece said: \"RIP Michael. We love you more.\" Anouk Lorie contributed to this story ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sadness Party\" held in Berlin, where fans follow service live from Los Angeles .\nIn London, Jackson fans brave torrential downpours and hail to pay tribute .\nIn Japan fans gathered at record store, have photo taken next to cast of footprint .\nOnline fans pay tribute to King of Pop, comment as service progresses ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing a civilian bystander Thursday, a police official told CNN. Iraqis survey the damage after car bombs were detonated within minutes of each other in Mosul, July 9. It is the latest in a series of attacks across Iraq that have killed at least 64 people and wounded 167 others over the past two days. The deadliest attack happened earlier in the day when a double suicide bombing killed at least 35 people and wounded 65 others in the city of Tal Afar in Nineveh province, also in northern Iraq. Political tensions have recently increased in the region between Arabs and Kurds. The Tal Afar bombings occurred a day after attacks on mainly Shiite targets in Nineveh province, including a car bomb in a Turkmen area of the provincial capital Mosul, left at least 19 people dead and dozens wounded. U.S. forces pulled out of Iraq's urban centers June 30. The U.S. military had suggested keeping its combat troops in Mosul beyond the withdrawal deadline, but the Iraqi government insisted on making no exceptions for the date set in the security agreement. Also on Thursday morning, at least seven people were killed and 25 wounded when a bomb detonated in a busy marketplace in Sadr City, the vast Shiite slum in Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. Bomb blasts from a rigged bicycle a car in two predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of southwestern Baghdad wounded six people, according to the official. In Baghdad's central Karrada district, a roadside bomb targeting a convoy of Iraq's Central Bank governor killed one civilian bystander and wounded five, another Interior Ministry official told CNN. The governor escaped unharmed. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Official: At least 35 people killed and 65 wounded in a double suicide bombing .\nBombers struck the city of Tal Afar in Nineveh province .\nTal Afar bombings occurred a day after attacks on mainly Shiite targets in Nineveh ." } ]

[ { "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) -- Many fans will always remember where they were when they heard the \"King of Pop\" had died. The rapper The Game will always remember what he did afterward. The Game created a tribute to Michael Jackson -- video and all -- within a day of Jackson's death. That same day, Thursday, June 25, he rounded up some famous friends, recorded a song, shot a music video and got a Michael Jackson tattoo etched on his upper arm. Actually, he got the tattoo while he was in the studio recording the track. Some people know how to multitask. The tune, \"Better on the Other Side,\" isn't available for sale yet -- although he's hoping it will hit iTunes very soon. Because the record company was caught off guard, it is still playing catch-up. Game says all proceeds from the sale of the single will be donated to Michael Jackson's family. The companion music video is all over YouTube. In it, the 29-year-old shares the spotlight with Chris Brown, who sings the hook as a counterpoint to Game's rap. It's the first project Brown has appeared in since he pleaded guilty to assaulting his former girlfriend, Rihanna. The video, in various forms, had received more than 750,000 views as of Thursday evening -- not bad for less than a week in release. In the following interview, The Game (born Jayceon Taylor) recounts how the project came together -- with a little help from Lady Luck and the muse of Michael Jackson. CNN: You may be the first well-known artist to have a Michael Jackson tribute out there. The Game: I didn't want to wake up the next morning and have somebody spread a tribute all over the Internet, and I wasn't a part of it. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. CNN: Did you already have the beats pre-recorded? The Game: No. The first thing I did was call DJ Khalil ... and I told him, \"Yo, I need you in the studio, and by the time I get there, I need a Michael Jackson tribute song made [the music bed]. I need violinists, I need pianists, I need everyone in there for a production.\" And then I started reaching out to Diddy. He's on a set 18 hours a day, but he said he'd get it done some way, somehow. Talked to Chris Brown. He and [his manager] Tina Davis said they were on their way to the studio -- so they told me after I do my part, to bring it over and Chris will do the hook. Before I took the beat over to Chris, Boyz II Men walked into the studio randomly -- so they took it to their studio next door, laid down all the background vocals. Then I took it to Mario [Winans], then I took it to Diddy. In the meantime, me and my boy Taydoe -- we running around to the hospital, to the Jacksons' house, to the star on Hollywood, getting all this [secondary] footage [for the video]. Crazy. CNN: This was the day he died, on Thursday? The Game: It was just the day. By Friday, everything was done -- video, everything. We did it in 15 hours. Watch a report about Jackson's final days » . CNN: You made the music video for $500. The Game: All in tapes, $500 went to tapes, HD high-definition tapes. CNN: At the end of the video, you reveal a new tattoo. The Game: Yeah, I'll show you. I thought if I was going to get a Michael Jackson tattoo, I would get a more menacing one. (The tattoo shows the \"King of Pop\" with a bandanna over the lower half of his face.) CNN: Had you ever met Michael? The Game: I never met him in person, but he tried to mediate a truce between myself and Curtis Jackson [aka 50 Cent], and I wasn't having it at that time. CNN: How did that happen? Did somebody call you and say, \"Please hold the line for Michael Jackson?\" The Game: At first my managers called me and they said, \"Mike -- Michael Jackson -- is going to want to talk to you in an hour. Exactly an hour.\" So I waited an hour, and I'm like chewing on my fingers in the hotel room ... and the phone rings and a guy comes on and he's got an English accent. He's like (affects an English accent), \"Hello Game, I have Michael Jackson on hold for you.\" It was just cool. So Michael comes on, and ... he was like, \"Yo, it's Mike, and I'm a big fan of your music,\" and starts going into my songs, \"Hate it or Love It\" and \"How We Do.\" And he's like, \"I'm a big fan of 50's -- every time I get in the car, I tell my driver to play 'In Da Club.' Would you guys be willing to make a truce, and then put it on my album?\" Listen to Jackson's biggest hits » . And then I was like, \"Yo Mike, we gotta slow down, man!\" This was at the height of me and 50's little beef, or whatever people called it, but I talked to him for another 35 minutes on why I couldn't do it at that time, and at that point in my career, and he was OK with that. He said one day if we decided to do it -- myself and Curtis' camp -- we could reach out to him. We never got a chance to do it. CNN: So the video also features Chris Brown. It's the first track we've heard him on since the hearing last Monday [June 22]. The Game: They were really edgy about getting on it. I think [his managers] wanted Chris Brown's first look to be kind of strategically thought out, and I came so fast with the Michael Jackson tribute -- but we talked it over, and at the end of the day, they thought it was a good idea, so we went ahead and did it. CNN: How is Chris? I'm sure you guys talk all the time. The Game: He's like a little brother to me. I talk to him all the time, and I give him my support. You know, I'm no stranger to trials and tribulations in life, and the court system. CNN: What are your thoughts about how Michael Jackson died, and how it seems as though prescription drugs may have been involved? The Game: My thoughts on Michael Jackson are always the same. It doesn't matter, the form or fashion he died in. He's iconic to me, and his untimely demise is felt around the world. You got certain people saying, \"Oh everybody's loving Michael now,\" but that's neither here nor there. Me, myself -- I loved Michael Jackson to death. My mom sent me a host of pictures with all my \"Thriller\" shirts on, and the jacket with the zippers and glove -- me, my sisters and brothers -- so I really don't care. I just know he left an impact on the world. I think he's the most cried-for human being since Jesus Christ. It's just my opinion. CNN: Are you thinking about donating part of the proceeds from the single? The Game: Oh, all the proceeds of anything that I do that has anything to do with Michael Jackson will go to his family and his children. And that's just the bottom line." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Game records \"Better on the Other Side\" as tribute to Michael Jackson .\nRapper greatly admired star; Jackson tried to mediate between Game and 50 Cent .\nGame: \"He's iconic to me, and his untimely demise is felt around the world\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- An employee at a New Jersey chocolate processing plant died Wednesday after falling into a vat of hot chocolate, according to a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's office. Vincent Smith II, 29, was dumping raw chocolate into the vat for melting when he fell in from a nine-foot high platform. He suffered a fatal blow to the head from the vat's agitator, a paddle-like mechanism used for stirring the chocolate. According to the Camden County prosecutor's office, three other people were on the platform at the time. One was able to shut the machinery off quickly, but it was too late to save Smith. The facility, owned by Cocoa Services Inc., is managed and operated by by Lyons and Sons. The rectangular vat, which was 8 feet deep, 14 feet long and 6 feet wide, was churning a batch of chocolate for Hershey's when the accident occurred, the prosecutor's office said. CNN's Jesse Solomon contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Worker was dumping chocolate into the vat when he fell from a 9-foot high platform .\nThe vat was churning a batch of chocolate when the accident occurred .\nVincent Smith II suffered a fatal blow to the head from the vat's agitator ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Obama spoke at the Pentagon on Friday to those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, telling them no words would heal their pain yet calling for a renewed resolve against the ones who attacked the country eight years ago. President Obama addresses family members and friends who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. Obama laid a wreath of white flowers at the Pentagon, where 184 people lost their lives when a hijacked jet smashed into the military icon outside the nation's capital. \"No words can ease the ache of your hearts,\" Obama told a crowd of relatives and friends standing under umbrellas in a steady rain. The plane, American Airlines Flight 77, struck the Pentagon's west wall. Earlier in the day, the president and first lady Michelle Obama held a moment of silence outside the White House to mark the eighth anniversary of the al Qaeda attacks that killed 2,752 people. At the Pentagon, Obama was introduced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who spoke of the \"great pinnacle of sacrifice\" shown that day. \"Eight Septembers have come and gone,\" Obama said. \"Nearly 3,000 days have passed, almost one for each one who has been taken from us. \"We recall the beauty and meaning of their lives,\" he said. \"No passage of time, no dark skies can dull the meaning of that moment. Watch a slideshow of Obama's speech and the day's events » . \"Let us renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this violent act,\" Obama said. The nation paused at the moments when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon -- symbols of America's financial and military might -- and at a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials believe that plane's target was either the White House or the Capitol. There was silence at the site of the former World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane struck the North Tower, followed by another at 9:03 a.m. when a jet struck the South Tower. iReport.com: 9/11 emotions surge back in sculpted tributes, memories on video . Family members and friends of those killed read their names in solemn roll calls at each site as bells tolled. In London, England, U.S. Ambassador Louis Susman and his wife, Marjorie, laid a wreath at the September 11 Memorial Garden in Grosvenor Square. At ground zero in New York, a woman whose husband worked on the 94th floor of one of the twin towers recalled that day. \"The pain can still be so sharp. ... I realize how much my life has changed,\" she said, mentioning that her children have now grown and she has grandchildren. Her husband left many lessons, she said, including \"the courage to be kind.\" Just before the first moment of silence, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the newly established September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, designated by Obama. \"Appropriately, the city of New York has taken up that call. From this day forward we will guard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit of service and help keep us strong,\" Bloomberg said. At the Web site set up for that day, people were listing their charitable acts. One man who spoke to the crowd at ground zero remembered his brother, a partner at a law firm near the twin towers and a longtime volunteer firefighter. He rushed \"toward the inferno,\" to do what he could to help, the brother said. \"He was there when the tower collapsed.\" Near Shanksville, people gathered at a field where the 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 died. The passengers and crew, aware of the fate of other hijacked planes, fought the men who had taken control of their aircraft, leading to its crash. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell gave the keynote address at the 2,200-acre site, where a $58 million memorial is scheduled to open in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. More than 1 million people already have visited the field, Powell said. No one could capture the terror the 40 people aboard Flight 93 must have endured, Powell said. They were strangers to each other who \"represented the very best diversity that is America,\" he said. \"In place of fear, they found the courage of attack,\" he said. \"They seized the moment, and they lost their lives in so doing. We are here to ... honor their spirits.\" Powell said he believes the United States is safer since the attacks. He pointed to improvements in the visa system, which gives officials a better idea of who is coming into the country; creation of the U.S. Homeland Security Department and beefed-up security at airports. Powell said there also have been improvements in law enforcement and intelligence-gathering. Engaging the terrorists in Afghanistan also is a solid move, he told CNN. \"But you can't rest on that. You have to keep studying the problem. You have to keep trying to get into their mind. And so it may be a long and continuous fight that may never end.\" The level of concern about terrorism in the United States is roughly half of what it was immediately after September 11 and is down 20 points since the five-year anniversary in 2006, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. Thirty-four percent of Americans think an act of terrorism is likely in the United States over the next few weeks. More than six in 10 have confidence in the Obama administration's ability to protect the nation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obama: \"Let us renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this violent act\"\nFamily, friends of those killed in attacks read names in solemn roll calls .\nFormer Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks at Pennsylvania site .\nServices take place in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Writer and producer Larry Gelbart, most known for his work on the hit television series \"M*A*S*H,\" died Friday morning in his Beverly Hills, California, home, his wife said. He was 81. Larry Gelbart said, before \"M*A*S*H,\" a TV set only produced feeling \"if you touched it while you were wet.\" Gelbart died of cancer, Pat Gelbart said. The family will hold a private memorial service. Throughout his career, Gelbart developed a portfolio of more than 40 works spanning radio, television, theater and film. His fascination with radio as a child inspired him and influenced his evolving career. \"I never had any aspirations of [a] literary career, but writing for radio seemed to be a natural extension of being such a radio fan,\" Gelbart told CNN in 1999. \"So when I got my chance, that's what I did.\" Barely out of high school, Gelbart began as a comedy writer for radio in the 1940s. He wrote for various programs, including the Fanny Brice show and \"Duffy's Tavern.\" While in the Army, he wrote for Armed Forces Radio. Later, he joined the staff of Bob Hope's show and jump-started his own television career as a TV writer for the star. Gelbart went on to write skits for the live comedy \"Your Show of Shows\" in 1953, winning two Emmys for his work. \"'Your Show of Shows' was successful, was wildly successful. Not just because it got there first, but because it got there first with so much,\" Gelbart said. The 90-minute variety program was one of the first televised sketch comedy shows. Gelbart took his work to another stage, winning two 1963 Tony awards for his Broadway musical hit, \"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.\" In 1972, Gelbart helped create the Korean War comedy drama \"M*A*S*H.\" The show went on for another 11 years, although Gelbart only wrote and produced \"M*A*S*H\" for the first four seasons. \"M*A*S*H\" won 50 awards, including eight Golden Globes. \"M*A*S*H\" was so popular it lasted much longer than the Korean War itself, and was seen as a commentary on American involvement in the Vietnam War. Gelbart also was involved in the short-lived sequel, \"After MASH.\" For Gelbart, \"M*A*S*H\" mixed a bit of comedy with drama, allowing viewers to connect more with the story. \"I said once that the only way before 'M*A*S*H' you would get any feeling out of your television set is if you touched it while you were wet,\" Gelbart said. He added: \"We gave the audience permission to feel bad. Because America was feeling pretty rotten then, we were at war in Vietnam. And once the war stopped we didn't start feeling really terrific right away, if we ever will again about that situation.\" Gelbart continued steamrolling through the industry, with works including the 1982 hit film \"Tootsie,\" \"Oh, God!\" in 1977 and the 2003 film \"And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself,\" which starred Antonio Banderas. \"Tootsie\" earned Gelbart an Oscar nomination for best writing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gelbart died of cancer at age 81, his wife says .\nGelbart's film-writing credits include \"Tootsie\" and \"Oh, God!\"\nGelbart started in radio, moved to TV as writer for Bob Hope .\nHe said about \"M*A*S*H:\" \"We gave the audience permission to feel bad\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- One of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles, California, area has been accused of desecrating the remains of those buried there, according to a lawsuit. The cemetery holds the remains of celebrities such as Groucho Marx and Lenny Bruce. The suit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that employees at Eden Memorial Park, in Mission Hills, California, \"intentionally, willfully and secretly desecrated the remains of deceased individuals,\" often moving them to make room for new remains. Attorney Michael Avenatti, who filed the suit, told CNN that his investigation revealed that as many as 500 graves may have been torn up without the families' permission. \"We allege that Eden Memorial Park and its management for the better part of 15 years were engaging in improper burial practices, including the desecration of graves and the improper disposal of human remains,\" he said. The lawsuit is filed by F. Charles Sands, whose parents are buried at Eden Memorial Park, against the cemetery and its owner, Service Corporation International, based in Houston, Texas. The company is the largest owner of cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States. Watch what the lawsuit says workers did to remains » . This is not the first time Service Corporation International has faced allegations of digging up graves and moving bodies to make room for new remains. It reached a $100 million settlement with families of people whose remains were desecrated at Menorah Gardens in Florida. The company also reached a $14 million settlement with the Florida state attorney's office over issues related to those claims. A number of celebrities are buried at Eden Park, including comedians Groucho Marx and Lenny Bruce, according to several Web sites that track burials of celebrities. Anthony Lampe, the general manager of Eden Memorial Park, said he had not seen the lawsuit and referred inquiries to Service Corporation International. Company spokeswoman Lisa Marshall said the allegations in the lawsuit were not valid. She said SCI had investigated and confirmed burial issues at Eden Memorial Park in 2007, but she could not provide specifics of that investigation. The lawsuit alleges groundskeepers were secretly instructed to break buried concrete interment vaults that contained caskets that were already buried, using backhoes. It also alleges human remains would often fall out of the broken caskets, and those body parts were either scattered or thrown away. In one case, Avenatti said, a human skull was discarded. \"We have uncovered evidence that the groundskeepers and others at Eden Memorial Park have been instructed to break off or break apart that concrete vault and, at many times, that exposes human remains,\" Avenatti said. Asked about the seriousness of the allegations, he said, \"If the allegations are proven true, this is incredibly horrific.\" The lawsuit said that under Jewish tradition, \"the deceased are typically required to be interred within 24 hours, thereby leaving little time to obtain consent to move an encroaching vault in an adjacent plot and giving defendants a motive to desecrate human remains and commit other immoral acts rather than comply with the law.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Eden Memorial Park, in Mission Hills, California, is large Jewish cemetery .\nLawsuit says it breaks open vaults, discards remains to make room .\nCemetery is owned by Service Corporation International .\nSCI spokeswoman says allegations in the lawsuit are not valid ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Felipe Massa has revealed that he hopes to be at his home Brazilian Grand Prix -- but he won't be behind the wheel of his Ferrari. Felipe Massa has been given the all-clear to begin training as he bids to return to the race track. The 28-year-old had aimed to be able to return to racing before the end of this Formula One season, but is resigned to getting fit for 2010 following his horrific crash in July. Massa is now able to begin his rehabilitation after having plastic surgery on Monday to repair the broken bone in his cranium that resulted when a loose spring from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn hit him in the helmet during qualifying in Hungary. The operation, at the Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital, took around four and a half hours, Ferrari revealed on its official Web site. Massa told UK newspaper The Guardian that his next step was to head to Europe to use a simulator and drive go-karts as part of his fitness evaluation. He had hoped to return to action at Interlagos -- where his 2008 world championship dream was crushed by Lewis Hamilton despite winning the race -- on October 18, but said that he would only be there as a spectator. \"That was the race I wanted to come back in, but it's difficult to say if it would've been possible. It will be difficult to watch it, but I will be there,\" Massa said. He told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he still held a slim hope of driving in the final race of this season in Abu Dhabi on November 1. \"In 2010 I'll be back for sure and 100%, but it would be a dream to drive in Abu Dhabi,\" Massa said. Massa will be replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella for the final five races of 2009, with the veteran Italian having been released from his contract by Force India to take over from test driver Luca Badoer. He said he had never doubted that he would that he would get behind the wheel of a Formula One car again. \"It is my life,\" Massa, who is expecting his first child in November, told The Guardian. \"For me, the worst thing that happened was not being able to race. If you can't drive that's terrible. \"But my wife has already asked me, at least 10 times, 'Are you sure you don't feel any doubts or worries?' \"Always, I say, 'No, because this is what I like to do.' If I don't drive then I am not the same person. Ever since I was a small boy this is my life. This is what I like to do. \"So I really hope, and expect, nothing will change inside me when I go back into the car and start pushing myself to the maximum again.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Formula One star Felipe Massa has had successful plastic surgery on his skull .\nThe Brazilian driver plans to attend his home grand prix in mid-October .\nMassa suffered horrific head injuries after a freak accident in Hungary in July .\nFerrari have brought in Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella to replace him ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to approve sending thousands of additional forces to Afghanistan to deal with the growing threat from roadside bombs, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Friday. Marines detonate a roadside bomb. Injuries from the bombs have increased 700 percent in two years. Over the past two weeks, Gates has concluded that there are not enough forces or equipment in Afghanistan to protect U.S. troops from the threat of roadside bombs, Morrell said. The secretary, he said, wants to send these forces \"as soon as possible.\" Morrell said the deployment would be separate from any that might be requested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The plan could send nearly 3,000 troops, another U.S. military official familiar with the proposal said. He said Pentagon planners have already identified some of the units that would be sent. This official asked not to be identified because no final decision has been announced. Plans have been in place to set the U.S. troop level in Afghanistan at 68,000 since earlier this year, when President Obama approved an additional 21,000 troops. The decision comes at a sensitive time politically. In the last few days, two key Democrats have questioned sending additional troops. \"I don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan in the country or in Congress,\" Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, told reporters Thursday. On Friday, Sen. Carl Levin, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has recently returned from Afghanistan, said the emphasis should be on training and increasing the size of the Afghanistan army before considering more U.S. forces. \"Our primary goal should be to strengthen the Afghan army and the police, to provide the necessary training and equipment and also to see if we can't reintegrate some of the lower-level Taliban people, who are the young people who aren't the religious zealots but are being taken advantage of by the leaders,\" Levin, D-Michigan, told MSNBC. Gates himself has been a vocal opponent of expanding the U.S. presence for fear that the forces would be seen as occupiers by the Afghan population. But last week, he softened that position, saying McChrystal had made a persuasive argument that the concern should not be on the size of the forces but on their conduct. Morrell said the proposal may not raise total U.S. troop strength above 68,000, because some of the units already scheduled to go could be sent not fully staffed or others already there could be sent home. Still, \"the secretary has already determined this is a requirement that needs to be fulfilled,\" Morrell said. \"The forces there now require more IED protection.\" The troops would specialize in route clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, medical treatment and intelligence-gathering, Morrell said. \"We owe this to the troops already committed to the fight,\" he said. Since 2007, the number of roadside bombs in Afghanistan has jumped 350 percent, according to the Defense Department. Though many are found before they detonate, the number of troops killed has increased by more than 400 percent and the number wounded is up more 700 percent over the last two years. One U.S. military source told CNN that the Taliban's capacity to manufacture bombs, train attackers and target U.S. troops has grown over the past year. On September 8 near Kandahar, troops seized five tons of ammonium nitrate, more than twice the amount used in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1995. On August 27, C-4 plastic explosives were found in Herat by Afghan troops. Afghanistan's rugged terrain and dirt roads make it easy to quickly hide roadside bombs. \"You have disturbed earth all the time,\" said Gen. Montgomery Meigs, former head of the Department of Defense's IED Task Force. \"Especially close to villages and close to intersections -- that just makes the seeing and finding, even by soldiers' eyes, a lot more complicated.\" The Taliban have proven adept at adjusting their strategy as circumstances change. Seeing that troops were routinely stopping ahead of culverts to search for bombs that could be hidden under the roads, insurgents have started placing the bombs ahead of the culverts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Defense secretary finds not enough forces in Afghanistan to protect U.S. troops .\nPlan could send nearly 3,000 troops, source says .\nCongressional Democrats have spoken against troop increases .\nTroops killed by roadside bombs up more than 400 percent in 2 years ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Richard Nixon Presidential Library will allow access Tuesday to about 154 hours of Nixon White House tape recordings and 30,000 pages of documents that were formerly classified. President Nixon announces the U.S. incursion into Cambodia during the Vietnam War in April 1970. Among the tapes and documents are conversations about the Vietnam War, Nixon's second inauguration, the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 and the first Watergate trial, according to a library statement. Tuesday's release is the 13th opening of Nixon White House tapes since 1980, the statement said. The new Nixon tapes and documents will be available on the Internet and in the Richard Nixon libraries in College Park, Maryland, and Yorba Linda, California. Nixon resigned August 9, 1974, over the Watergate scandal -- the first president to resign from office. President Ford pardoned Nixon the following month, saying it was necessary for the nation to heal after Watergate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Richard Nixon Presidential Library to open access to 154 hours of recordings .\nTapes include conversations about Watergate, Roe v. Wade, Vietnam War .\nRelease also includes 30,000 pages of formerly classified documents ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(WIRED) -- Scofflaws could hack the smart cards that access electronic parking meters in large cities around the United States, researchers are finding. \"Cities all over the nation and all over the world are deploying these smartcard meters,\" researcher says. The smart cards pay for parking spots, and their programming could be easily changed to obtain unlimited free parking. It took researcher Joe Grand only three days to design an attack on the smart cards. The researchers examined the meters used in San Francisco, California, but the same and similar electronic meters are being installed in cities around the world. \"It wasn't technically complicated and the fact that I can do it in three days means that other people are probably already doing it and probably taking advantage of it,\" said Joe Grand, a designer and hardware hacker and one of the hosts of the Discovery Channel's \"Prototype This\" show. \"It seems like the system wasn't analyzed at all.\" Grand and fellow researcher Jake Appelbaum presented their findings Thursday afternoon at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The researchers did not contact the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency or the meter maker prior to their talk, and asked reporters not to contact those organizations ahead of their presentation, for fear of being gagged by a court order. At last year's DefCon hacker conference, MIT students were barred from talking about similar vulnerabilities in smartcards used by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority after the MBTA obtained a restraining order. They spoke with Threat Level about their findings prior to the presentation. \"We're not picking on San Francisco,\" Grand said. \"We're not even claiming to get free parking. We're trying to educate people about ... how they can take our research and apply it to their own cities if they are trying to deploy their own systems or make them more secure.... Cities all over the nation and all over the world are deploying these smartcard meters [and] there's a number of previously known problems with various parking meters in other cities.\" San Francisco launched a $35-million pilot project in 2003 to deploy smart meters around the city in an effort to thwart thieves, including parking control officers who were skimming money from the meters. The city estimated it was losing more than $3 million annually to theft. In response, it installed 23,000 meters made by a Canadian firm named J.J. MacKay, which also has meters in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Canada, Hong Kong and other locales. The machines are hybrids that allow drivers to insert either coins, or a pre-paid GemPlus smart card, which can be purchased in values of $20 or $50. The machines also have an audit log to help catch insiders who might skim proceeds. To record the communication between the card and the meter, Grand purchased a smartcard shim -- an electrical connector that duplicates a smartcard's contact points -- and used an oscilloscope to record the electrical signals as the card and meter communicated. He discovered the cards aren't digitally signed, and the only authentication between the meter and card is a password sent from the former to the latter. The card doesn't have to know the password, however, it just has to respond that the password is correct. The cards sold in San Francisco are designed to be thrown out when the customer has exhausted them. But the researchers found that the meters perform no upper-bounds check, so hackers could easily boost the transaction limit on a card beyond what could legitimately purchased. They could also program a card to simply never deduct from the transaction count. \"We're residents of San Francisco and our taxes are going towards a broken system that they could potentially be losing money on and we pay the consequences of that,\" Grand said. Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here! Copyright 2009 Wired.com." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Researchers find smart cards that access parking meters can be hacked .\nJoe Grand and Jake Appelbaum present findings at Black Hat conference .\nBefore smart cards, city was losing more than $3 million annually to theft .\nResearchers programmed cards to never deduct from transaction count ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "TEANECK, New Jersey (CNN) -- Actress Angela Logan has played many roles off-stage to earn a living. She's worked as a teacher, model and hairdresser and is studying to be a nurse. Angela Logan samples a bite of her Mortgage Apple Cake as Bake Me A Wish! founder Josh Kaye looks on. But when she fell into foreclosure on her Teaneck, New Jersey, home, Logan turned to baking an apple cake her family had always loved. \"It was a flash of desperation,\" Logan said. \"I thought, 'Wow. We could sell these cakes, they're so good.' \" Logan named her delicacy Mortgage Apple Cake and resolved to sell 100 in 10 days at $40 each to meet a mortgage payment, pay off bills and qualify for a federal program that could lower her monthly payments. She advertised the cake to everyone she knew, including her classmates. \"The hardest part was saying, 'Can you buy my cakes, this is my problem,' because admitting to your friends that you're in foreclosure, and that you need their help, that's a hard thing to say,\" Logan said. Two years ago, a contractor promised to renovate Logan's brick-and-stucco home. But instead, Logan says he took the money and did only a portion of the work -- leaving the entire second floor bare to the beams and plastic wrap still covering much of the exterior. Logan's financial squeeze tightened when one of the actress' talent agencies shut down without paying her for commercial work. The 55-year-old divorced mother of three fell far behind on her mortgage and other debt payments, leading her to seek help from Consumer Credit Counseling of New Jersey. Counselor Pamela Glass brainstormed with Logan to envision potential extra sources of income. \"We put our heads together to make extra money,\" Glass said. \"I said, 'Take a look at what you can do.' She said, 'I bake once in a while'. I said, 'Well, maybe you can do some baking.' \" When Logan asked, neighbors, fellow church congregants and classmates responded. Soon she was baking night and day, two cakes at a time. Al Hamdi, general manager of the Hilton in nearby Hasbrouck Heights, heard of Logan's plan and offered the hotel's four giant ovens, letting her accelerate production. \"She was going to do something out of the box to save her home and her family. That was the inspiring part for us,\" Hamdi said. Logan figures she's baked about 200 cakes -- double her goal. And since qualifying for the federal Make Home Affordable program, her monthly mortgage payment is dropping by nearly 20 percent . Other Americans in a financial bind can also find creative answers to their cash crunch, Logan said. \"Find your talent. Find something you can do that will help,\" she said. Watch as Logan describes the circumstances that led her to bake the Mortgage Apple Cake » . Many hobbies have the potential to generate extra cash: teaching a skill like playing an instrument or speaking a foreign language; home repairs for those who are handy; even dog-walking or pet-sitting for animal lovers. \"Some people have extra skills they don't use,\" Glass said. Internet retailer Bake Me A Wish! got a whiff of the Mortgage Apple Cake and is preparing to mass-produce it and share the proceeds with Logan. The company says it already has 650 Mortgage Apple Cake orders. \"We're going to be baking cakes together, develop a whole line of cakes, Angela Logan Cakes,\" said Josh Kaye, president of Bake Me A Wish! Escaping foreclosure could propel Logan to a new career in baking. But she's still studying nursing, knowing from experience never to depend upon just one role." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "New Jersey actress turned to baking apple cakes to avoid foreclosure .\nThe idea came from brainstorming with a consumer credit counselor .\nShe resolved to sell 100 cakes in 10 days at $40 each to pay mortgage, debts .\nSo far, she's sold about 200 cakes, attracting the attention of an Internet retailer ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Entertainment Weekly) -- How are the elements of the charming, traditional romantic comedy \"The Proposal\" like the checklist of a charming, traditional bride? Let me count the ways ... Ryan Reynolds wonders if marrying his boss, Sandra Bullock, is a good thing in \"The Proposal.\" Something old: The story of a haughty woman and an exasperated man who hate each other -- until they realize they love each other -- is proudly square, in the tradition of rom-coms from the 1940s and '50s. Or is it straight out of Shakespeare's 1590s? Sandra Bullock is the shrew, Margaret, a pitiless, high-powered New York book editor first seen multitasking in the midst of her aerobic workout (thus you know she needs to get ... loved). Ryan Reynolds is Andrew, her put-upon foil of an executive assistant, a younger man who accepts abuse as a media-industry hazing ritual. And there the two would remain, locked in mutual disdain, except for Margaret's fatal flaw -- she's Canadian. (So is \"X-Men's\" Wolverine; I thought our neighbors to the north were supposed to be nice.) Margaret, with her visa expired, faces deportation and makes the snap executive decision to marry Andrew in a green-card wedding. It's an offer the underling can't refuse if he wants to keep his job. (A sexual-harassment lawsuit would ruin the movie's mood.) OK, he says. But first comes a visit to the groom-to-be's family in Alaska. Amusing complications ensue. Something new: The chemical energy between Bullock and Reynolds is fresh and irresistible. In her mid-40s, Bullock has finessed her dewy America's Sweetheart comedy skills to a mature, pearly texture; she's lovable both as an uptight careerist in a pencil skirt and stilettos, and as a lonely lady in a flapping plaid bathrobe. Reynolds, meanwhile, is just refining his dry comedy thing, learning to get the most from his deceptive cute-face looks. Who knew these two would, hmmm, complete each other? Working together, both are surer and more disciplined in delivering their comedy goods. iReport.com: \"Proposal\" has \"plenty of laughs\" Something borrowed: The boisterous family dynamics. The eccentric supporting players (none more extreme than Oscar Nunez from \"The Office\"). The snappy screwball dialogue in Pete Chiarelli's script. And the way Anne Fletcher directs like a camp counselor wrangling bunkmates ... it's all been seen before. For a reason. These elements work. Something blue: As the wise and saucy matriarch of the family, the divine 87-year-old Betty White has fun as one hot grandma -- and inspires her younger stars to say \"I do,\" too. EW Grade: B+ . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . Copyright 2009 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "EW: \"The Proposal\" is a top-notch romantic comedy .\nMovie adheres to formula, but it's well done, very funny .\nCasting is perfect, script delivers ." } ]

[ { "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 Bronx woman has been charged with murder and robbery in the death of an 89-year-old Nazi concentration camp survivor, and police said a man is still being sought in connection with the death. Felix Brinkmann dances at a 2008 birthday party. \"He was not the kind of guy who had enemies,\" his son says. Angela Murray, 30, was arrested Saturday, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office, and is accused of strangling Guido Felix Brinkmann on Thursday in his Upper East Side apartment. Murray was arraigned Sunday and charged with one count of murder in the second degree and three counts of robbery. Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, was a Holocaust survivor who escaped death for a year while he was in the Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz camps. He had been slated for the gas chambers five times, but each time, he used his fluency in German to talk his way out, said his son, Rick Brinkman, who spells his last name differently. After the war, he was stunned to discover his wife, who had also been shipped to Auschwitz, alive and well in Poland. The Brinkmanns immigrated to America, where Brinkmann spent years in the bar and nightclub business, co-founding the Adam's Apple disco in Manhattan in 1971. In recent years, he had been the real estate manager of a mixed-use building in the Bronx, working \"seven days a week, without fail,\" Rick Brinkman said. On Thursday, the building's superintendent grew concerned when Brinkmann did not show up for work. He notified Brinkmann's son and received permission to enter the father's apartment, where he had lived alone since his wife died last year. Brinkmann was found face-down in his bedroom, his hands bound behind his back and his body showing blunt-force trauma wounds, police said. Brinkmann's blue 2009 Honda Civic had been stolen, along with one of two safes in his apartment, police said. The vehicle was later recovered in the Bronx. Rick Brinkman speculated that the killing was random. \"Anybody who knew him really liked him,\" the son said. \"He was not the kind of guy who had enemies.\" CNN's Jason Kessler contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bronx woman charged with murder, robbery; police say a man is still being sought .\nGuido Felix Brinkmann, 89, was found strangled Thursday in Manhattan apartment .\nLatvia native had lived alone since wife died last year; son suspects killing is random ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- For almost four months, fans of Michael Jackson were holding what were deemed by concert promoters AEG Live as the \"Hottest Tickets on the Planet.\" Queues for tickets to Michael Jackson's concert wind outside the O2 Arena in London on March 13, 2009. Now some 750,000 would-be concert-goers have been left with slips of paper that, while steeped in sentimentality, won't entitle them to see the hyped spectacular that was promised to be Jackson's farewell concerts. It's unclear whether all fans will receive a full refund. Early Friday morning, AEG Live's Web site was still promoting the concerts, announcing there were just \"17 days until show time.\" After midday, all reference to the shows had been removed. Late Friday afternoon, the O2 Arena was still saying that ticketing information would be available \"in due course.\" And callers to Ticketmaster's customer service number were still being greeted the message, \"Ticketmaster is aware of the news relating to Michael Jackson. We have no official information at this stage. As soon as we have any information we will immediately contact all customers who have booked tickets through Ticketmaster.\" Seatwave, Europe's biggest online market for fan-to-fan ticket sales, told CNN that customers who bought tickets via its Web site would receive a full refund, the cost of which would be covered by an insurance claim which could top £2 million ($3.2 million). \"This is what you buy insurance for. Unfortunately it's always for these kind of terrible circumstances,\" Joe Cohen, Founder and CEO of Seatwave told CNN. The official secondary ticketing partner for the shows, Viagogo, also promised fans a full refund. Consumer rights group Which? warned fans who bought tickets from third parties, including auction Web sites such as eBay, may have more difficulty getting their money back. Michael Jackson was scheduled to play 50 shows at the O2 Arena in London, a grueling schedule for even the fittest pop star, according to celebrity media advisor, Simon Astaire. \"He needed money, there is no question about that, hence his 50 dates at the O2. It's easy to say today and I think one has to be respectful today, but it was a stretch to do 50 concerts in the way he wanted to do in that time frame. Even for the fittest, most grounded individual it's very, very difficult,\" he told CNN. According to estimates by \"Billboard,\" unconfirmed by the promoters, Jackson's concerts would have netted the singer $50 million in ticket and merchandise sales. Back in March, tickets for an initial run of ten concerts sold out at the astonishing rate of 11 tickets per second, a feat Chris Edmonds, the Managing Director of Ticketmaster UK called a \"live entertainment phenomenon.\" Demand for the tickets prompted organizers to add another 40 dates to the schedule. The London shows were to be the first step in a multi-phase package with Jackson, including plans for a 3-D live concert film and a 3-D movie based on Jackson's \"Thriller\" music video. It's not known at this stage how much of the cost of Jackson's canceled concerts will be shouldered by promoters AEG Live. The company is yet to issue a statement on the matter. It is thought only part of Jackson's 50-date London engagement was covered by insurers. One of those was Lloyds of London, whose spokesman Louise Shields told CNN \"any losses are not likely to be significant.\" Mary Craig Calkins, partner at Howrey law firm in Los Angeles told CNN it was likely Jackson was covered by essential element insurance, a common form of cover in the entertainment industry to guard against losses associated with the main act. The policy would normally cover ticket sales and production-related expenses. \"He was hiring dancers for the production, there's pyrotechnics, there's the music, there's the equipment, there's the venue, \" Calkins told CNN. \"It's a bigger than life tour so you would expect the expenses to be huge... You would expect the insurance company to conduct a very thorough investigation. It's a lot of money at stake,\" she said. AEG Live's partner in Jackson's stage comeback, Tom Barrack, Chairman of Colony Capital, posted a statement on the company's Web site, saying they were \"deeply saddened\" by Jackson's death. A spokesman for Barrack declined to comment on the financial implications, saying \"they're not even focused on that, it's a personal loss.\" Barrack was involved in a deal to save Jackson's Neverland Ranch when the singer's debts became overwhelming. Watch a report about Jackson's lavish lifestyle » . Jackson's sudden and unexpected death has sparked a surge in demand for his recordings and memorabilia. Since his death, hundreds of items including albums, posters and T-shirts have been listed on auction Web site eBay. And sales of his recordings have skyrocketed in shops and on music download sites." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Financial impact of Jackson's death on London concerts remains unclear .\nTicket sellers are still to clarify whether fans will received a refund, and how .\nJackson was scheduled to perform 50 concerts at London's O2 Arena .\nSinger's death has sparked surge in downloads, sales of Jackson memorabilia ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A 22-year-old man from Pakistan hopes to soon swim the English Channel with an American friend -- but first he's got to navigate the currents of bureaucracy. College teammates David Gatz (left) and Usman Javaid want to swim the English Channel for charity. Usman Javaid, an Ohio college student who has won national swimming titles in his native Pakistan, wants to swim the channel with his best friend, David Gatz, a fellow member of the swim team at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. They want to honor their international friendship by working together to accomplish a great feat: a relay across the English Channel. They also hope to raise money for charity. \"With teamwork and cooperation you can tackle even the toughest of challenges,\" Javaid told CNN in a phone interview Wednesday from Islamabad, Pakistan. Yet the British government has denied Javaid's request for the visa that would let him enter the country. British authorities say they can't grant a visa because they have questions about Javaid's student status, the young man said. \"They weren't satisfied I was going to Britain for the stated purpose,\" he said. Javaid said his passport contains a valid student visa for the United States and he sent documentation from the Channel Swimming Association with his visa application to prove he is scheduled to do the swim. The United Kingdom Border Agency told CNN in a written statement that \"all visa applications are considered on their individual merits, taking into account all the information provided.\" \"Where an applicant fails to demonstrate they meet the relevant rules, their application will be refused,\" the statement said. The agency noted that anyone who is refused can reapply with additional information. Mark Cooper, the director of marketing and communication at Ohio Wesleyan University, said British authorities have not contacted the university to ask about Javaid's student status. \"We did send ... documentation to [British authorities] to follow up\" after Javaid's application was denied, he said. Javaid has since applied to the British high commissioner in Islamabad for an emergency visa. Meanwhile, Gatz and the university's head swim coach, Dick Hawes, are waiting in Dover, England, hoping things will work out so the men can try to accomplish their goal. The Channel Swimming Association has granted them permission to try their crossing between July 29 and August 6, Javaid said. The association determines such \"swim windows\" after considering the expected tides and the schedules of pilot boats, which accompany the swimmers. The association sent a letter Thursday to the British high commissioner in Pakistan to confirm Javaid's mission, said Joan Metcalfe, the association's chairwoman. As the clock ticks, Gatz remains in Dover, where he passes the time by training in the channel. \"There is some frustration,\" he said Thursday, \"but we're also optimistic.\" Gatz is the captain of Ohio Wesleyan University's varsity swim team. He swam twice for the university at the NCAA national championship meet and holds numerous records. Javaid is a gold medalist on the Pakistani national swim team and represented his country at the South Asian Federation Games. Their coach said he's proud of the pair, no matter the outcome of their attempt. \"I think it's great. It shows so much maturity on their part -- first, to take on such a large endeavor, but it also speaks so much about their friendship,\" Hawes said. Their relationship reflects the unity of the entire swim team at the school, he said. \"This is an international family,\" the coach said of his swimmers. \"It's a phenomenal environment. This has just been such a great experience.\" As they work to accomplish their goal, Gatz and Javaid also are accepting donations for Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization also known by its French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres. Gatz, who is double-majoring in biochemistry and pre-med, said the idea came as they followed news reports of Pakistan's campaign against the Taliban this year, which displaced thousands of civilians in the country's northwest. \"We wanted to donate to an organization that was helping people there,\" he explained. Javaid added Thursday, \"That was a big reason we chose Doctors Without Borders, because there are a lot of people suffering in that area and they are assisting them.\" Some of the donations will cover costs associated with their anticipated channel swim, he added. But even if they don't get to do their relay, Javaid said, their effort is still worthwhile. \"Even if my visa doesn't go through, we'll continue with Channeling Peace,\" he vowed, referring to the organization they set up for their effort. \"Even if I have to swim in a lake in Pakistan while David swims in the English Channel, it's still a powerful symbol,\" Javaid said. \"Symbols gather power not from the act itself but from the people who are supporting them,\" he said. \"A lot of people around the world are supporting us and our message. As long as they support it in their hearts and minds, we have been successful.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "College teammates want to swim English Channel for charity, international harmony .\nSwim was to happen between now and August 6, but one denied visa to Britain .\nUsman Javaid, an Ohio student from Pakistan, says U.K. questioned student status .\nJavaid reapplies for visa, waits for decision ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- A disabled punk band has launched a campaign to fight for the rights of disabled people to be able to party late. Heavy Load are a UK-based punk band with three out of five members who are disabled. \"Heavy Load,\" describe themselves as an \"anarcho-garage-punk\" band and are made up of five musicians, one of whom has Downs Syndrome and two who have unspecified learning disabilities. Their campaign, \"Stay Up Late,\" encourages carers to support disabled people who want to stay out past 10pm. Heavy Load's manager and bass guitarist, Paul Richards, 39, told CNN: \"The Stay Up Late\" campaign is to raise awareness, and tackle the issue where disabled gig-goers end up going home at 9pm, therefore missing most of the evening, because their support workers finish their shifts at 10pm. \"We started the campaign because we'd be playing a gig and something strange happens at 9pm when people would start to go home. We were also frustrated with asking to go on earlier in the evening so that our fans would still be there. It's not very punk to go on at 8.30pm,\" he added. \"Stay up Late\" has received widespread support from disabled people and the UK government, Richards said. Even carers who may be required to work later if the campaign is successful have offered their support. \"So far, we've only had one or two support workers say that they don't think they should be required to work unsociable hours,\" Richards said. The group has also partnered with the UK's leading learning disabilities charity Mencap, who they say have really helped to relay their message to a wider audience. Mencap and Heavy Load teamed up last week where the band headlined a concert in London for people with learning disabilities, giving them an opportunity to be involved in running a club night. See images from the concert » . They concert was held in conjunction with London venue Proud Camden, and around 400 people attended the event which finished at 1am. Everyone at the event, from the door girl, to bar staff and cloakroom attendants, were people with learning disabilities, venue owner Alex Proud told CNN. \"It's the first event of its kind for people with a learning disability and there was a real buzz about how people with learning disability are an untapped source in the entertainment industry.\" He said: \"At these nights there is a lack of inhibitions. They tend to let their hair down and really know how to party; it's a hell of a lot of fun for all involved. Proud is eager to put on events that include people with a learning disability and to make the public more aware of this often overlooked group. \"Young people with learning disabilities want to go out, but they are not catered for in the entertainment industry,\" he added. Heavy Load have been together for 13 years since meeting at the Southdown housing in England, a non-profit assisted-living community for people with learning disabilities. Vocalist Jimmy Nicholls, 62, posted an advert and a week later the band including Michael White, 47 (drums) Simon barker, 37 (lead vocals) and Mick Williams, 47 (guitar and vocals) was formed. Since then the band has gained many disabled and non-disabled fans and a successful documentary, \"Heavy Load,\" has been made about their lives. Now they are looking forward to setting up the \"Stay Up Late\" campaign around the world. Richards said: \"When we visited New York last year we were surprised to find that it's an issue for people with learning disabilities to get out much at all -- so there is definitely a need there. \"We've also been asked to go to Russia, Serbia, other parts of the U.S., Scotland and Czech Republic to play and promote the campaign -- which we'd love to do, but money's tight, \" he added. However, Richards insists the campaign is not about partying late every night. \"We don't insist on people staying up late against their will -- just having the choice to do what they want to do!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Disabled punk bank Heavy Load have launched the \"Stay Up Late\" campaign .\nThe band want disabled concert-goers to be able to enjoy gigs until the end .\nDisabled people often have to leave gigs early when their carers' shifts end .\nHeavy Load played last week at a London club night run by disabled people ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A new standoff was brewing in Honduras as the country's recently deposed president vowed to return, while the new provisional government said it would arrest him if he set foot back in the country. Ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya appears Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly. Political turmoil has swept this Central American nation of 8 million people following a military-led coup Sunday that ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya. Troops entered the president's residence and sent him out of the country in exile. A veteran legislator, Roberto Micheletti, was sworn in that same day as provisional president with the support of congress. Roberto Micheletti, the veteran legislator who was sworn in that same day as provisional president with the support of congress, was adamant that Zelaya would not return to power. \"He already committed crimes against the constitution and the laws; he can't return to be president of the republic,\" Micheletti told reporters Tuesday. \"He can no longer return to the presidency unless a president from another Latin American country comes and imposes him with arms.\" Micheletti added, \"If there is an invasion against our country, we have seven-and-a-half million Hondurans ready to defend our territory and our laws and our homeland and our government.\" However, Zelaya still vows to defy the provisional government. \"I am going to return on Thursday because they expelled me by force, and I am going to return as always: as a citizen and as president,\" Zelaya said at a U.N. news conference shortly after the world body unanimously adopted a resolution that he should be restored to power. Zelaya, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly, called the resolution historic. \"Your servant has several accusations against him in Honduras,\" Zelaya said. \"But nobody has given me a trial. Nobody has convened a tribunal.\" Meanwhile, Micheletti's provisional government said Zelaya would be arrested if he returned. \"As soon as he arrives he will be captured, as we already have the arrest warrants ready,\" new Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez Colindres told CNN en Español. Zelaya would face charges of violating the constitution, corruption and drug trafficking, among others, Ortez said. The deposed president said he would travel to Washington to attend a meeting of the Organization of American States. He also is expected to meet Tuesday evening with Tom Shannon, the top U.S. official on Latin America. Even as Zelaya spoke at the United Nations, his opponents held a large and noisy rally in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Crowd members waved blue and white Honduran flags and signs denouncing Zelaya. Roberto Micheletti, the new provisional president, briefly addressed the crowd Tuesday afternoon. He vowed that the next national elections, slated for November, will be held as planned, and that a new president will be sworn in as usual in January. Gen. Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, the top Honduran military commander who had butted heads with Zelaya, also spoke at the rally. By removing Zelaya, the armed forces were only complying with their constitutional duties, he said. Before he spoke, the crowd chanted in support, \"Armed forces! Armed forces!\" Zelaya supporters also were active Tuesday, with three major public-sector labor unions launching a general strike, a union official told CNN. About 100,000 workers joined the strike, said Oscar Garcia, vice president of the Honduran water workers union SANAA. That number could not be independently verified. \"It will be an indefinite strike,\" Garcia said. \"We don't recognize this new government imposed by the oligarchy, and we will mount our campaign of resistance until President Manuel Zelaya is restored to power.\" Also on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said it was reviewing its aid to Honduras as it works with regional partners on a deal to restore Zelaya to power and quell political unrest in the country. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the U.S. was reviewing whether Zelaya's ouster met the legal definition of a \"coup\" before any decision was made. \"Because of the situation and the very dramatic nature of the events there and our profound concern about what's going on there, I think we're looking at a number of aspects of our cooperation,\" Kelly said. The State Department has also issued a travel alert due \"to the current unstable political and security situation in Honduras.\" The alert \"recommends that American citizens defer all nonessential travel to Honduras until further notice.\" In another development, two U.S. military officials in Washington confirmed to CNN that U.S. helicopters will fly over southern Honduras on a humanitarian relief mission Tuesday. The officials said there is great sensitivity to any public appearance by the U.S. military in the country. The U.S. military also postponed some planned exercises with the Honduran military until the situation in the country settles down, according to the U.S. Southern Command. \"We have postponed certain activities,\" Maj. D.L. Wright, Southern Command spokesman, told CNN. Wright said this decision would be in effect for at least two to three weeks, or \"until the political situation settles.\" Zelaya was overthrown early Sunday when the Honduran military arrested him and flew him to Costa Rica. Micheletti, president of the Congress, was sworn in as provisional president later Sunday. The United Nations, OAS and most nations in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, have condemned the ouster and demanded that Zelaya be restored to power. The World Bank said Tuesday it would freeze funds to Honduras until the crisis is resolved, and the United States said it is reviewing its aid to the Central American nation. The U.S. joined many other nations in co-sponsoring Tuesday's U.N. resolution. Zelaya had been at odds with the other branches of government over a referendum he wanted to hold Sunday. The Honduran Supreme Court had ruled that the referendum was illegal, and Congress had voted not to hold it. The high court also had overturned Zelaya's dismissal of Honduras' top general, who said the military would not participate in the referendum. The court ordered that the general be reinstated immediately. Zelaya disregarded those actions and vowed to hold the vote anyway. Watch part one of interview with Zelaya (in Spanish) » | Part two (in Spanish) » . Honduran authorities on Monday clashed with Zelaya supporters, who took to the streets and threw rocks at authorities, burned tires and set up roadblocks. iReport.com: Are you there? Share your photos, videos . In a radio address Tuesday, Micheletti said Zelaya would be arrested if he came back. Watch interview with Micheletti (in Spanish) » . Micheletti also told Honduras' representatives at the United Nations and OAS to quit speaking against the new government or they immediately will be removed from their posts. They are not authorized, he said, to speak for the Honduran government. In another development, two U.S. military officials in Washington confirmed to CNN that American helicopters will fly over southern Honduras on a humanitarian relief mission Tuesday. The officials said there is great sensitivity to any public appearance by the U.S. military in the country. Three Black Hawk helicopters are scheduled to leave an air base at Soto Cano in Honduras and fly south to Nicaragua. They will be used to support the USNS Comfort, which is conducting a medical relief mission. CNN en Español's Krupskaia Alis in Honduras, and CNN's Karl Penhaul, Barbara Starr and Elise Labott contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Provisional Honduran government says president faces arrest on return .\nDeposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya says he'll return home this week .\nU.N. passes resolution saying ousted president should be returned to power .\nThree labor unions in Honduras reportedly begin general strike to back Zelaya ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- NASA's Kepler space telescope has already made a discovery, and its science operations aren't even officially under way yet. The planet used in the test is a giant gas planet about the size of Jupiter that orbits a star called HAT P-7. NASA scientists who put the telescope through a 10-day test after its March 6 launch said this week that Kepler is working well. Its ability to detect minute changes in light has enabled scientists to determine that a planet orbiting a distant star has an atmosphere, shows only one side to its sun and is so hot it glows. Kepler's ability to take measurements that precise at such a great distance \"proves we can find Earth-size planets,\" William Borucki, Kepler's principal science investigator told reporters at a recent briefing. The powerful scope is looking at thousands of stars in its vision field in the Milky Way on a 3½-year mission to find planets the size of Earth and to determine how common these planets are. The planet used in the test, a giant gas planet about the size of Jupiter, orbits a star called HAT P-7 in just 2.2 days and is 26 times closer than Earth is to the sun, according to NASA. It is called an exoplanet because it orbits a star outside the solar system. Kepler detected the planet's atmosphere, demonstrating the telescope's capabilities and giving astronomers what NASA says is \"only a taste of things to come.\" \"It learned that this planet is like 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That is so hot. And it's 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit just on one side only. The other side would be closer to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, \" said Sara Seager, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Kepler science team member. \"This particular planet showed an unusual change in brightness,\" she said. \"As the planet is orbiting the star, it goes through phases just as the moon goes through phases as seen from Earth.\" \"Kepler learned something new about an old planet,\" she said. \"The new discovery was that planet is extremely hot, very, very hot. And it's very, very hot on one side, compared to the other.\" Borucki compared it to \"an element in your toaster or stove.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler orbiting observatory beginning mission to find planets the size of Earth .\nIt has found that a planet orbiting a distant star shows only one side to the star .\n\"Kepler learned something new about an old planet,\" says team member ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The Sri Lankan government should immediately release more than 280,000 displaced Tamil civilians living in detention camps, a leading human rights group said Wednesday. Tamil civilians are at Menik Farm refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern town of Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. Human Rights Watch said the displaced Sri Lankans were already victims of a protracted and bloody civil war. Now they are victims again, confined against their will, like criminals, the global watchdog group said. \"Keeping several hundred thousand civilians who had been caught in the middle of a war penned in these camps is outrageous,\" said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Right Watch. \"Haven't they been through enough?\" But a Sri Lankan Defense Ministry spokesman said the Human Rights Watch report is overstated, and he defended the government's handling of the displaced. \"Those are not detention camps,\" said the spokesman, Lakshman Hulugalle. \"They are relief villages. All the basic facilities are being given to the people.\" Sri Lanka declared victory in May in its 25-year battle with the Tamil Tiger rebels, but concerns remain about how the island nation can heal visceral war wounds. The rebels -- formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- waged war for an independent state for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka since July 1983. As many as 70,000 people were killed in the conflict. With the cease-fire, the question of how to resettle Tamil refugees, many of whom were living among the rebels, has wrought intense criticism of the government from international humanitarian agencies. The United Nations reported that as of July 19, Sri Lanka was detaining 281,621 people in 30 military guarded camps in the four northern districts of Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna and Trincomalee. Human Rights Watch said humanitarian workers are prohibited from discussing abuses or the final months of the ethnic conflict and that camp residents are allowed to leave only for emergency medical care, often only with military escort. In some camps, people have to register with the military twice a day, the rights group said. If they fail, they are subject to punitive measures such as being forced to stand still under the sun for extended periods of time. The group reported health problems created by inconsistent water supply and a shortage of bathroom facilities. But Hulugalle, the Defense Ministry spokesman, said barbed wire around the compounds is a common way to define barriers in Sri Lanka and that military guards were being utilized out of security concerns. The government fears that rebels are hiding in the camps and screening people living in them. \"These are people who were kept for months in LTTE clutches,\" Hulugalle said, referring to the displaced civilians. He said the government has a 180-day plan to resettle most people but that a lot of work was needed in the northern districts as far as rebuilding infrastructure and basic services destroyed in the fighting. The human rights activists say, however, that the government is not working fast enough. Human Right Watch said Sri Lanka's goal now is only to resettle 60 percent of the refugees by the end of the year. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz visited a camp this week in Vavuniya, after which he announced an additional $8 million in humanitarian aid for the northern districts. But even in handing out dollars, Schwartz was critical of Sri Lanka's handling of the displaced. In a statement, he acknowledged that providing food, shelter and medical care for the displaced people was a \"formidable task.\" But Schwartz said the United States remains \"deeply concerned\" about the confinement of people to camps and the hardships they endure within those camps. He also criticized the restrictions placed on humanitarian workers visiting the camps. \"The government of the United States believes the focus now must be on the prompt return of the displaced in safety and dignity, and we want to accelerate this process,\" Schwartz said. In addition to global humanitarian aid, the International Monetary Fund has approved a $2.6 billion loan to Sri Lanka to mend the country. Adams of Human Rights Watch said Sri Lanka, in need of global sympathy in its efforts to rebuild, could very well go the opposite way if the Tamil people, once subjugated by the rebels, keep waking up as prisoners of their own state." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Group: More than 280,000 displaced Tamil civilians living in detention camps .\nSri Lanka says the Human Rights Watch report is overstated .\nHuman Rights Watch says aid workers are prohibited from discussing abuses .\nGroup reported health problems created by inconsistent water supply ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A man shot his estranged wife to death, along with their son and grandson, before turning the gun on himself as police closed in, authorities in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, said Sunday. Police say Dennis Carter Sr. shot four family members, three fatally, before turning the gun on himself. Dennis Carter Sr., 50, also shot and critically injured his pregnant daughter-in-law, the parish sheriff's office said in a statement. The shootings occurred Saturday night in the town of Holden, Louisiana. Authorities were dispatched to a report of shots fired at a home about 10:40 p.m. Upon arrival, they found three people dead and the fourth -- Amber Carter, 25 -- in critical condition, the statement said. Those killed were Dennis Carter Jr., 26, Amber Carter's husband; their son Mason Carter, 2; and 49-year-old Donna Carter, mother of Dennis Carter Jr. and estranged wife of Dennis Carter Sr., police said. All had been shot to death. A 16-month-old child at the home was unharmed, authorities said. Deputies believe Amber Carter attempted to escape from the gunman by jumping from a second-story window, holding Mason in her arms, the statement said, but the boy did not survive his gunshot wounds. Amber Carter had several bullet wounds, said Perry Rushing, chief of operations for the sheriff's office, and authorities believe the gunman shot her in the back as she was attempting to get out the window while holding the child. She also may have been shot again after she got outside the home, Rushing told CNN. Amber Carter was flown to a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital, and later transferred to New Orleans, Rushing said. She was in critical condition as of Sunday morning. A neighbor in the area told deputies that he heard a gunshot and saw Carter Sr. walking to a car, a red El Camino, with a gun in his hand, the sheriff's statement said. At 11:30 p.m., a police officer in the adjacent town of Livingston saw the vehicle entering Interstate 12 heading eastbound, the statement said. A Livingston Parish sheriff's deputy followed the car and attempted to stop it. \"However, the suspect shot himself with a handgun, in plain view of the officers, as the vehicle veered off the shoulder of the interstate near the Holden exit,\" police said. Records from the Livingston Parish Detention Center show that Dennis Carter Sr., of Hammond, Louisiana, had been jailed \"on three separate occasions in 2009 alone, on three separate charges of violation of a protective order and one charge of aggravated assault (domestic),\" the sheriff's office said. \"At this time, there do not appear to be any other suspects or victims in this ongoing investigation,\" police said. Holden is about 35 miles east of Baton Rouge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dennis Carter Sr. killed his estranged wife, their son and grandson, police say .\nPolice say he also shot his pregnant daughter-in-law, who is in critical condition .\nCarter drove away, then shot himself to death as police pursued, authorities say .\nSheriff's office says Carter had record of domestic violence ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- Forty seven-year-old Australian \"adrenaline junkie\" Sean Langman will attempt to break the 50-knot sailing speed barrier with his half sailboat, half plane, after a serious crash last summer. The half sailboat, half plane uses technology known as supercavitation -- sailing just above the water's edge. Langman, a shipyard owner and yachtsman, is intent on beating the French-set record within the next few weeks, with the \"Wot Rocket,\" a canoe-style pod with a nine meter-long rigid sail. The Wot Rocket is waiting for confirmation from the World Sailing Speed Record Council to attempt, once again, an unprecedented technology known as \"supercavitation\" -- sailing just above the water in a gas bubble created by the deflection of water. This is to to reduce the drag which is around 1,000 times greater in the water than in the air. \"Wot Rocket is so exciting as we push to sail up to three times the speed of the wind,\" Langman told CNN. In October last year Langman and his co-pilot crashed when they lost control of the vessel at 42 knots -- over 60 miles per hour. But after re-building and perfecting the vessel at a cost of half a million dollars, Langman is ready to try again. \"The exhilaration of sailing/flying is so big, you don't think about danger,\" he told CNN. Langman is certain that this time around he will beat the record. \"My only concern is we won't be able to keep control of the craft.\" In case the pilots crash again, Langman says the most thing is to remain calm. \"Last time I felt a mild panic as we were underwater. I just hoped the paramedics would get there in time. \"But really I feel very safe doing anything on water as that what I've done my whole life. I feel most 'in tune' when I'm on water,\" he added. The idea for Wot Rocket was conceived four years ago by Langman after he was inspired by the story of Burt Munro, the New Zealander who set a world land speed record on his modified Indian Scout motorcycle in 1967 -- played by Antony Hopkins in the 2005 Hollywood movie \"The World's Fastest Indian.\" Do you think the wotrocket can beat the record? \"I came up with the idea in the shower. So I presented it to a group of engineers and said 'this is what I believe.' Most said I'm a lunatic but one said 'I want to work with you'.\" Langman joined forces with leading Australian designer Andy Dovell and sought input from Boeing 747 pilots for their aeronautical knowledge. He then had the \"Wot Rocket\" built using the staff and facilities at his various Shipyards. Finally, he teamed up with Wotif.com founder Graeme Wood who invested in the project because, as he explained, he \"likes leftfield ideas.\" \"My family think I'm crazy, but every time I've had an idea it's taken me somewhere. It's really about ideas versus science and trying to make it work,\" Langman explained. \"And no one remembers the second man to walk on the moon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half sailboat, half plane will attempt to break the 50-knot sailing speed barrier .\nPilot Sean Langman crashed dangerously last year but is confident he can make it .\n\"Wot Rocket\" uses technology called \"supercavitation:\" sailing just above the water ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Off a desert highway, about 15 miles from her home in the southern tip of Nevada, the mystery of Maureen Fields' disappearance began with the discovery of her abandoned car. The body of Maureen Fields, seen here in June 2005, hasn't been found since she went missing in 2006. Investigators found the 41-year-old woman's 2004 green Hyundai just across the California border on February 16, 2006. It was one day after her husband, Paul Fields, said he last saw her. Investigators say they discovered Fields' purse and wallet, the keys in the ignition and a fully reclined driver's seat. There were slippers and eyeglasses beneath the gas pedal, religious pamphlets, a knotted pair of pantyhose as well as three bottles of prescription tranquilizers and pain killers. Watch an update on the case » . A small spot of her blood and vomit stained a blanket strewn across the ground beside the car. But Fields, who'd been working as a Wells Fargo bank teller in the small town of Pahrump, Nevada, has never been found. \"Just looking at the circumstances, it could appear staged\" by whoever was responsible for her disappearance, said Detective Dave Boruchowitz, an investigator with the Nye County, Nevada, Sheriff's Office. Reported inconsistencies in her 60-year-old husband's story, police said, paired with the fact that the couple was described as having a stormy relationship, made Paul Fields the initial suspect. A lack of physical evidence, however, has made the case unprosecutable, said Detective Joe Close, also with the Nye County Sheriff's Office. Paul Fields, who runs an auto business out of the double-wide trailer he and his wife shared, maintains his innocence. He's speculated that she faked her death before running off with another man. A message left at his home was not returned. But his attorney, Harold Kuehn, said, \"His contention is and my belief is that if she's truly dead, and the court says she is for civil purposes, then he didn't do it. ... What he told police is what he told me. Basically she left one day, never to be seen again.\" In a new twist, Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett says an unknown male's DNA was found on key items at the scene of the abandoned car. \"What we have to explore is the possibility of another suspect,\" Beckett said. \"We have to find out who this male was and whose DNA was found at the scene. It's a lot more complicated than one may think it is.\" The prosecutor said he's sure a jury would have reasonable doubt if presented a case with this question mark looming. \"We have a duty to make sure we're doing the right thing,\" he said. \"There are too many unanswered questions at this time.\" Maureen Fields has been declared dead, and the search for her body, and her killer, continues. Her father, Jim Fitzgerald, has been doing some investigating of his own. The former detective with the Newark, New Jersey, Police Department -- and now a national director with the conservative John Birch Society -- has made repeated trips from his Randolph Township, New Jersey, home to speak with his daughter's former friends and co-workers. He's also consulted with a psychic in his search for clues. No matter when her body is found, a serial numbered metal jaw implant -- which served to combat Fields' teeth grinding habit -- will stand as proof of her identity, Fitzgerald said. Since murder carries no statute of limitations, time is on the law's side. \"The case isn't dead to us,\" said Boruchowitz, one of the detectives still on the investigation. \"We're going to continue to work it until we prove who did it.\" Anyone with information about this case should call the Nye County Sheriff's Office at 775-751-7000." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maureen Fields of southern Nevada was 41 when she went missing in 2006 .\nHer abandoned car, with keys, purse and pill bottles, was found off a desert highway .\nPresumed dead, there's been no sign of her body and no evidence pointing to a killer .\nUnknown male's DNA, however, was recently discovered and may hold new clues ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Mississippi has kept its U.S. heavyweight title for a fifth straight year, among both adults and children. Adult obesity rates went up in 23 states in the past year, a survey shows. The percentage of adults classified as obese went up in 23 states, but Mississippi, with 32.5 percent, stayed atop the latest annual rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health. The same survey put the state's adult obesity rate at 31.7 percent in 2008. In addition, 44.4 percent of Mississippi children ages 10 to 17 are classified as overweight or obese, the study found. Doctors have linked obesity to increased risks of a variety of conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and heart disease. Wednesday's study found the current U.S. economic slump could worsen the problem by putting more nutritious food out of the reach of struggling families. See a map of obesity in the U.S. » . \"At the same time, safety-net programs and services are becoming increasingly overextended as the numbers of unemployed, uninsured and underinsured Americans continue to grow,\" the report states. \"For many people, too, worries over the recession are triggering increased depression, anxiety and stress, which often can be linked to obesity.\" Dr. Ed Thompson, Mississippi's state health officer, called the report -- which was drawn from state figures -- \"old data rehashed.\" But he said the state is taking steps to address what he called \"a multifaceted problem,\" targeting schoolchildren in particular. Thompson said teachers not only are trying to educate students about the importance of good nutrition and exercise, they are changing schedules to increase the amount of physical activity students experience in a day. In addition, lower-calorie, lower-fat foods are replacing some high-calorie, high starch lunchroom staples, he said. \"We can't tell our children to eat wise dietary choices and then provide them with little except for poor dietary choices in their school cafeterias,\" Thompson said. Rounding out the top five states among adults were West Virginia, with 31.2 percent of its population considered obese; Alabama, 31.1 percent; Tennessee, 30.2 percent; and South Carolina 29.7 percent. At the bottom of the rankings, Colorado had the lowest percentage of obese adults, with 18.9 percent. It was followed by Massachusetts, at 21.2 percent; Connecticut, 21.3; Rhode Island, 21.7; and Hawaii, 21.8. Even in those states, the obesity rate grew by fractions of a percent since 2008, according to the study. Thompson said most adults know they should eat less and exercise. \"The hard part is getting people to actually practice these things,\" he said. \"Our work lives require less physical exertion than they used to,\" he said. \"With less physical activity, we should have adjusted our dietary consumption downward.\" While deep-fried Southern cooking is legendary, Mississippi also ranks high in poverty statistics and low in education -- two factors commonly related to obesity. But Thompson said education appears to be more closely related to obesity than poverty. \"We do see obesity among people who are in lower socioeconomic levels, but we see it in higher socioeconomic levels as well,\" he said. \"Being poor does not not make you obese, and being rich does not make you thin.\" The survey used the Body Mass Index standards set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC defines someone as obese if they have a BMI -- a figure based on a ratio of height to weight -- of 30 or more, while anyone with a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight. Calculate your Body Mass Index » . Adult obesity rates went up in 23 states in the past year, with 31 states now reporting rates over 25 percent. By comparison, no state topped 20 percent in 1991, the survey's authors reported." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Survey: 44.4 percent of Mississippi children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese .\nEconomic slump could put more nutritious food out of the reach of struggling families .\nOther top states were West Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina .\nThe survey used the Body Mass Index standards set by the CDC ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) -- If you listen to inventor Dean Kamen, the biggest health problem facing the world today is not AIDS, obesity or malnutrition. It's a shortage of water. Dean Kamen hopes to tackle the world's fresh water shortage with the Slingshot, a water purifying device. Water is the most abundant resource on the planet, yet less than one percent of the Earth's freshwater supply is readily available to drink, according to the World Health Organization. Lack of accessible or clean drinking water, exacerbated by drought, is crippling communities in many developing countries. \"In your lifetime, my lifetime, we will see water be a really scarce, valuable commodity,\" Kamen says. Those are scary words from the man whose creations include the Segway personal motorized scooter and the Luke (as in Skywalker) prosthetic arm. But the forward-thinking inventor and his team at DEKA Research in Manchester, New Hampshire, aren't sitting around waiting for the world's wells to dry up. They've been working on an invention they say can tap into 97 percent of the world's undrinkable water. It's called the Slingshot, and it's a portable, low energy machine that is designed to purify water in remote villages where there's not a Wal-Mart in sight. The device takes its name from a well-known story. \"We believe the world needs a slingshot to take care of its Goliath of a problem in water,\" Kamen says. \"So we decided to build a small machine and give it to the little Davids.\" Perhaps you've heard about the Slingshot, which Kamen has been working on for more than 10 years. Over that time it has turned dirty river water, ocean water and even raw sewage into pure drinking water. Kamen says it can turn anything that looks wet, or has water in it, into the \"stuff of life.\" The magic behind the Slingshot is a \"vapor compression distiller\" that stands between what looks like two empty fish tanks connected by a couple of hoses. One tank contains the contaminated liquid, the other is for the newly clean water. Watch Kamen demonstrate the Slingshot » . The Slingshot boils, distills and vaporizes the polluted source, in turn delivering nothing but clean water to the other side. And it does it all on less electricity than it takes to run a hair dryer. In summer 2006, Kamen delivered two Slingshots to the small community of Lerida in Honduras. They were used for a month and Kamen says everything ran as planned. \"The machine worked very well down there, taking virtually any water that the people from that village brought to us,\" he says. \"All the water that we got from the machine was absolutely pure water.\" But there's a problem. Kamen says each Slingshot costs his company several hundred thousand dollars to build. He's looking to partner with companies and organizations to distribute Slingshots around the world, but says a little more engineering work needs to be done in order to lower the production costs. Kamen says the company would like to get the price down to about $2,000 per machine. \"The biggest challenge right now between this being a dream and a reality is getting committed people that really care about the state of the world's health to get involved,\" Kamen says. The world's population is quickly approaching 7 billion, making access to clean water that much more important. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, more than 3.5 million people die every year from water-related diseases and almost 900 million don't have access to a safe water supply. Kamen says people in developing regions of the world need the Slingshot as soon as possible. He also thinks the problem with polluted water will spread beyond small villages. He says one Slingshot machine can supply about 250 gallons of water a day, which is enough for 100 people. That's a lot of Davids. \"It is literally like turning lead into gold,\" he says. \"But I believe it's more important, because you can't drink lead or gold.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Segway inventor Dean Kamen wants to tackle the world's fresh water shortage .\nKamen has designed a portable water purifying device called a Slingshot .\nThe machine is designed to purify water in remote villages of developing nations .\nBut assembly costs remain too high for the machine to be mass produced ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italian authorities Tuesday arrested two suspects believed to be responsible for the September 18 killing of six African immigrants in Castelvolturno, a small town of 20,000 residents north of Naples. The army has been deployed in major cities aross Italy since the early summer. Police also arrested a third man wanted by authorities for belonging to the same clan, but not directly linked to the killings. The victims were gunned down in a hail of bullets as they stood outside a store selling ethnic goods. The attack sparked a riot by immigrants who complained about \"racism\" but officials suspect a dispute over drug trafficking. Those arrested, Alessandro Cirillo, Oreste Spagnuolo and Giovanni Letizia, were on the list of the 100 most dangerous men and wanted criminals in Italy. The arrests were part of a large police operation aimed at cracking down on organized crime in the Campania region and in particular the powerful Casalesi clan belonging to the Neapolitan mafia known as Camorra. The Casalesi clan and the area where the arrests took place prominently featured in the best seller \"Gomorrah,\" a book written by Roberto Saviano who now lives under constant police protection. \"This is a great day for the Italian state,\" said Carmelo Casabona, head of the police in Caserta. \"The operation was an immediate, concrete and strong answer to organized crime in this region.\" Two weeks ago, the Italian interior minister announced the deployment of 400 additional police officers in the area. And the Italian military will deploy 500 troops by Saturday as part of a large operation Italian officials say is aimed at \"reclaiming the control of the territory.\" \"Our objective is to take the water away from the sharks,\" said Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni. He explained that the additional police officers are already working, while the army's role will be defined at a key meeting Friday in Caserta. In the suspects' home, police found weapons including two AK-47s that investigators say were used to carry out the killings in Castelvolturno, as well as police overalls, one gun and one pump rifle. Authorities also arrested dozens of other people, including the wife of Francesco Schiavone, aka \"Sandokan,\" the head of the Casalesi clan who was arrested a decade ago and is serving a life-time prison sentence. As part of the same operation, Italian financial police confiscated 43 companies and 134 apartments spread throughout central and southern Italy belonging to the Casalesi clan, worth more than 100 million euros ($144 million). CNN Producer Flavia Taggiasco contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two suspects arrested over killing of six African immigrants in Italy .\nVictims were gunned down in a hail of bullets in town north of Naples .\nArrests part of large police operation aimed at tackling organized crime ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Ten years ago, Al Franken wrote a satirical book detailing his fictitious race for the White House. In \"'Why Not Me?\" Franken trounces former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to win the election, but after countless scandals, a mental breakdown and a cloning incident, President Franken is forced to resign. Comedian, author and radio host Al Franken can now add \"senator\" to his resume. Asked how he came up with the idea for the book, Franken said at the time that a number of people had been encouraging him to run for office. \"They thought it would be a good idea because I obviously know a lot about politics; I'm comfortable on camera, as you can tell; I've been married once, have two children; very, very good looking. And I told them that I'd be a terrible office-holder, so that was sort of the genesis of this idea,\" he said. As far-fetched as the plot was, Franken's political aspirations weren't fantasy, and eight months after Election Day, the Democrat will be sworn in as an office-holder, representing Minnesota in the Senate. Soon after, the outspoken comedian and former radio host will take over the desk once occupied by election rival Norm Coleman. For months, Coleman appealed the election results, in which a recount gave Franken a 312-vote lead. But Coleman's case was put to rest last week when Minnesota's Supreme Court ruled in Franken's favor. Franken on the issues » . When Franken is sworn in Tuesday, the title \"senator\" will become just the next line on a lengthy and varied résumé that reflects a man who has built up an illustrious yet controversial name for himself. Franken, born in New York in 1951, moved to Minnesota when he was 4 years old. He grew up in a middle-class family and did well in school. Franken attended Harvard University, where he majored in political science. After graduation, Franken teamed up with his home-state pal Tom Davis, and the two started writing for what became known as \"Saturday Night Live.\" Franken was also a performer -- playing self-help guru Stuart Smalley and impersonating public figures like Henry Kissinger and the Rev. Pat Robertson -- and over the course of two decades, he took home five Emmys for his work on the show. Post-\"SNL,\" Franken dabbled in film and had a successful career as an author, penning several best-sellers, including \"Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations.\" Watch CNN's Brianna Keiler report on Franken's plans » . In 2004, Franken made a name for himself as someone well-versed in politics through \"The Al Franken Show,\" carried by Air America Radio. During his final show on February 14, 2007, Franken announced his intentions to run for the Senate. But the man who once played Liam the Loose-Boweled Leprechaun wasn't the first unlikely politician to come from Minnesota. Voters there elected former wrestler Jesse Ventura as their governor in 1998. David Schultz, a professor of law at Hamline University in St. Paul, says Franken's win was probably not an affirmation of support for the Democratic candidate but was, for many, a \"lesser of two evils vote.\" Third-party candidate Dean Barkley was chipping into Coleman's support, and \"in addition, Coleman threw all his dirt against Franken early, and by the general election, it was old news.\" \"Coleman had little new to campaign on during the general election, and Franken became a better candidate in terms of campaigning during the last two months,\" he said. In a video posted on his campaign Web site, explaining that he wanted to run, Franken said Minnesotans had \"a right to be skeptical\" about whether he was ready to take on such a challenge. Watch more on the Franken factor » . Franken cited late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone as his political hero. Wellstone, who first won election to the Senate in 1990, died in a plane crash shortly before the 2002 election. Going into the race, Coleman was considered one of the more vulnerable Republicans seeking re-election. Although he'd started distancing himself from President Bush, he had been long seen as one of the president's allies. Franken's campaign took off, and he raked in contributions, but his foes were not going to let Coleman go down without a fight. The former comedian's past came back to attack him as anti-Franken ads focused on some of his more controversial lines. The National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a 60-second spot highlighting clips from Franken's SNL days, with an announcer saying, \"Rape jokes, poor and foul-mouthed anger do not make for good training for the United States Senate.\" The Minnesota State Republican Party also blasted their challenger for a 2000 Playboy column he wrote called \"Porn-O-Rama!\" When the votes were tallied on Election Day, Coleman held a slight edge on Franken, leading with just 206 votes. Under Minnesota law, a recount was in order because the margin of victory was less than .5 percent. The controversial recount, and subsequent court challenges, evoked comparisons to the 2000 Bush-Gore saga. But Franken came out on top in one of the most drawn-out Senate races in Senate history. A day after the Minnesota Supreme Court handed down its unanimous decision in favor of Franken -- and 239 days after the election -- the newly dubbed senator-elect thanked his supporters in an at-times emotional speech on the steps of the state Capitol. \"It is, of course, technically true that this was Paul's U.S. Senate seat. But I don't think Paul saw it that way,\" Franken said Wednesday, again paying respects to Wellstone. \"This seat belongs to the people of Minnesota, and so did Sen. Wellstone, and so will I,\" he said as he thanked his wife, Franni, supporters, volunteers, campaign staff members and the people of the state he will represent. Now, Franken takes on what could be the most influential role of his life as he joins the Senate, giving Democrats their potentially filibuster-proof 60th vote. Senate Democrats are welcoming their newest with open arms, and although the months-long contest has reached a resolution, it's likely the division over Franken will follow him to Capitol Hill. \"The arrival of the man from Minnesota will make the Democrats move even more to the left. He will not only be one more vote for the left, but one more loud voice for liberal policies,\" John Feehery wrote in a commentary for CNN.com. Feehery is a former staffer for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other Republicans in Congress. \"When Franken first started in politics, he did so as the liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh. Imagine if Rush were the 60th vote for Republicans, with George Bush as president. Now, think how Franken will act as the 60th vote for President Obama,\" he wrote." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Al Franken defeated Norm Coleman in one of the longest Senate races in history .\nFranken was a fixture on NBC's \"Saturday Night Live\" for years .\nHe also is a best-selling author and former radio host .\nFranken gives Senate Democrats their potentially filibuster-proof 60th vote ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Blair MacIntyre imagines a world where tiny clouds of information -- Facebook statuses, business cards, Twitter posts -- float above all of our heads. \"Augmented reality\" can combine live video with data and information from the Internet. In some ways, it's not that far from reality. Advancements in mobile phone technology have cleared the way for a coming wave of \"augmented reality\" applications that merge the physical world with information compiled about people and places on the Internet. \"When the technology gets there, this stuff could be amazingly useful and mildly terrifying in some ways,\" said MacIntyre, an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who has taught classes in augmented reality for a decade. The idea of pairing digital information with our real, 3-D environments is not especially new -- think robot-human vision in the \"Terminator\" movies. MacIntyre even plodded about college campuses in the 1990s wearing a 40-pound backpack and nerdy goggles, trying to make something similar happen. But as mobile phones become better equipped with GPS systems, which use satellites to locate the phones; compasses, which tell the direction the phone faces; and accelerometers, which relay the device's tilt; the once-lofty idea of augmented reality is being put into the hands of consumers. Last July in the Netherlands, a company called SPRXmobile released a mobile browser, Layar, that lets people see pieces of this new info-reality through their phone screens. A Layar user sets his or her phone to video mode, aims it around and sees all kinds of information pop up on the screen: blinking dots on apartments that are for sale, the values of those units, pull-down reviews of the bar up on the corner or details about sales at a nearby retail store. Watch a video demo of the app . This makes information easier to find and helps people make better sense of the physical world around them, said Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, co-founder of Layar. \"I think it will actually get you out more than you would stay at home,\" he said. \"You're not at your couch anymore, you're not at your desk\" when you need to find information. Layar, which bills itself as the first mobile browser that features augmented reality, is only available in the Netherlands and only on certain phones, including Google's Android, T-Mobile's G1 and the HTC Magic. But Lens-FitzGerald said the company plans to announce a global expansion plan on August 17 and will develop an app for the iPhone if Apple changes policies that obstruct developers from creating such applications on that device. A range of other \"AR\" apps are in development or are on the market. One, called Nearest Tube, highlights subway routes in New York and London. Wikitude is an app that aims to show people encyclopedic information about nearby landmarks. Like Wikipedia, users can add information to the service. The idea could usher in an era of cell-phone tour guides. Total Immersion, a French company, developed an app that makes 3-D baseball players spring to life from baseball cards. Users can turn the card to see their favorite players, through a phone screen, from all angles. And at Georgia Tech, researchers are working on video games that may one day make it look like virtual zombies are chasing players down real-world streets. Alex Michaelis, CEO of Tweetmondo, a site that pairs Twitter posts with geographical information, said he has developed an app that will let mobile phone users see their friends' tweets through the video camera on their phones. He expects it to be available within the month. \"It adds information to your world, and this is what it's all about,\" he said. To picture how that service would work, think about walking into your living room in the evening. If a roommate had posted to Twitter from the couch, his or her Tweet would hover in that space when viewed through a mobile phone's video camera. Michaelis admits the model is a bit clunky for now. But he sees a future when the app will let people stand on a street corner, hold their phone up to their face, and see the Twitter posts of crowd members as they mill about. Phones would have to be able to communicate with satellites and computer services constantly, instead of only when someone posts a message, to make that possible, he said. \"I see this being resolved in the near future,\" he said, \"because, really, it's just a matter of really experimenting with this technology and pushing it to the limit.\" But there are doubts about augmented technology on phones. Lens-FitzGerald, of Layar, is concerned that augmented reality is being over-hyped and may create unrealistic expectations from consumers. \"It's a cool technology, but yeah, we need to see how much [funding and visibility] our companies will get,\" he said. \"It's getting a lot of press now without being proven, but do we make money, are we going to make people happy with it? We don't know. We're just starting.\" He added: \"It's like the first TV. We need to build an audience.\" MacIntyre, of Georgia Tech, said the technology behind today's augmented reality apps is crude. Mobile phone GPS isn't nearly accurate enough to make sure a Twitter post is tagged to a person, for instance, rather than the lamp post that's 50 feet away. Furthermore, the idea behind the information-reality mesh on mobile phones is off-base, he said. \"I don't see them answering a problem that needs to be solved,\" added MacIntyre, who believes two-dimensional maps can be used to display information much more easily with current technology. More functional problems exist as well. People don't necessarily want to walk around the world holding cell-phone screens in front of their faces. And the world's information has to be tagged geographically to make sense in an augmented-reality setting. But MacIntyre does see a bright future for augmented reality. Within a year, mobile phone applications will become much more functional, he said, and in the foreseeable future, augmented reality will move off of phone screens and onto futuristic sunglasses, whose wearers will see blips of information about everything around them, he said. If that happens, the \"Terminator\" vision will have truly arrived." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Augmented reality,\" a merger of the digital and virtual worlds, is coming to phones .\n\"AR\" apps put info -- like Twitter posts -- on top of live video captured by phone .\nSmartphone GPS and compass systems paved the way for the advance .\nSome say AR is in its infancy; others question its usefulness ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: Pedro A. Noguera is a professor at New York University and director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. He is editor of \"Unfinished Business: Closing the Achievement Gap in Our Nation's Schools\" and author of \"The Trouble With Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity and the Future of Public Education.\" Pedro Noguera says Obama needs to be wary of alienating teachers who can be his allies on education reform. (CNN) -- President Obama has made it clear from the earliest days of his presidency that he intended to make education a high priority for his administration. He reaffirmed that commitment Tuesday when he addressed schoolchildren on the topic. In one of his first presidential addresses, he made a special appeal to students at risk of dropping out: \"... [D]ropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country, and this country needs and values the talents of every American.\" The president's commitment to education is truly remarkable, considering the enormous array of policy challenges confronting the administration. From health care and the economic crisis, to global warming and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the administration is beset by controversies that will not be easily resolved. The fact that the president and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, have not allowed education to be ignored or placed on the back burner says a great deal about their recognition of its central importance to our nation. However, as the administration navigates its way into the policy debates that are swirling over the future of education, it would be wise for it to proceed with caution. The administration has already staked out positions on a number of issues -- charter schools and merit pay for teachers being two of the big ones -- which run the risk of generating additional controversy in the polarized debates over how to reform education. If these issues and the stimulus money being made available under the Race to the Top (RTT) program are not handled carefully, conflict and even paralysis are likely to ensue. The president may even inadvertently alienate an important core constituency that he will surely need in the years ahead -- public school teachers. The current policy debates over the direction of education are typically presented as battles between the reformers, led by school superintendents like Joel Klein of New York and Michelle Rhee of Washington, D.C., and the defenders of the status quo, most often presented as the powerful teacher unions and other elements of the education establishment. While anyone familiar with the current debates knows that the differences between the two sides are real and profound, a protracted battle over the direction of education reform is not a good thing either for the administration or for those who genuinely want to see improvement in public education. Instead of choosing sides, it would be wise for the administration to do all it can to find common ground between the opposing camps as it formulates new policy initiatives. For example, instead of requiring states to adopt some form of merit pay for teachers -- a measure to which both the teachers' unions, the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, have already declared their opposition -- the administration could encourage states to adopt school-based formulas that reward increases in student achievement. This is similar, though not identical, to the approach taken in New York City, one that encourages collaboration among teachers and recognizes the importance of evidence that children are learning. Similarly, rather than touting charter schools as the solution to public education, the administration should treat the best charters as models of innovation that provide educators with the flexibility to implement new strategies. This is a subtle but important distinction that has been lacking in many of the administration's pronouncements about charter schools. Unlike the public schools, many charter schools find ways to avoid serving the most disadvantaged students, and their teachers often work a longer day and longer school year without a contract. Moreover, many of the best charters are subsidized by private philanthropists and are able to spend considerably more per pupil than traditional public schools. These facts should not be used to negate the accomplishments of the excellent charter schools that have emerged in many large cities. In fact, it is far more likely that struggling public schools in these same cities would be more open to learning from the charters' accomplishments if they were not cast as competitors. Finally, the president has championed the idea of \"promise neighborhoods\" as a way to increase the availability of social services to children in high poverty communities, using as a model the Harlem Childrens Zone. If this initiative is to result in lasting benefits to children, it will need to be combined with creative approaches to reforming urban public schools that re-formulate how we think about standards and focus attention more intently on how to deliver quality instruction to children. With dropout rates at over 50 percent in several of our nation's cities, the administration must realize that tinkering at the margins with No Child Left Behind will not deliver the change we need. The president entered office promising to bring a new kind of politics to the nation, an approach that focused on finding common ground among diverse constituencies to solve the pressing problems of our time. In areas like health care, energy, the economy and foreign policy, this new approach has not yet gained traction. However, it is not too late for the president to unite the nation around a common effort to improve public education. For this to happen, he will need to keep above the fray and stay focused on a strategy that sends a clear message to all constituencies that working together to improve public education is in our national interest. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Pedro A. Noguera." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pedro Noguera: It's good that Obama is emphasizing education's importance .\nHe says president needs to be wary of taking sides on volatile issues .\nHe says merit pay and charter schools could alienate key allies .\nNoguera: Obama needs teachers on his side to improve schools ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- A European Union delegation met Saturday with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who said the parties had established a \"good rapport.\" President Mugabe and his wife, Grace, arrive for a ZANU PF party youth conference on Friday. \"There was no animosity, it was quite friendly,\" Mugabe said. Gunilla Carlsson, the Swedish minister for International Development Cooperation, said the parties \"definitely made some progress.\" \"Of course we didn't agree with everything Mr. Mugabe said, but it was a correct meeting and we exchanged views,\" Carlsson, who is heading the mission, told CNN's Rosemary Church. The delegation met with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai later on Saturday. Carlsson spokesman Peter Larsson had said earlier that \"there was no sense of any hostility from Mugabe.\" Larsson was referring to remarks the Zimbabwean president made Friday, when he condemned \"bloody whites\" for meddling in his country's affairs. Carlsson is heading the mission to Zimbabwe. \"Sanctions or no sanctions, Zimbabwe remains ours,\" .Mugabe told his ZANU-PF party's youth conference in Harare on Friday. \"Who said the British and the Americans should rule over others? That's why we say, down with you. We have not invited these bloody whites. They want to poke their nose into our own affairs. Refuse that,\" he said. The European Union imposed travel bans on Mugabe and his representatives in 2002. The bans were imposed after accusations of human rights violations and election fraud. In addition to travel restrictions, the European Union has frozen the assets of more than 200 Zimbabweans for allegedly violating human rights, according to Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU this year. On Saturday, Mugabe again addressed \"sanctions,\" saying he was dismayed that they were not lifted after meeting with the EU delegation. \"I have always been disappointed with sanctions on Zimbabwe,\" he said, adding that the EU delegation \"thought things were not working, yet we did all the things we were asked to do\" under a power-sharing agreement signed in September last year. Larsson said there was no discussion about the restrictions at the meeting. Under the agreement, which was to end months of turmoil and violence that followed the country's March 2008 presidential elections, Mugabe retained his office, and opposition leader Tsvangirai became prime minister. The agreement -- the Global Political Agreement-- spelled out a number of fundamental democratic reforms, but so far there has been no progress toward them, Carlsson said in a statement ahead of the meetings with Mugabe and Tsvangirai. \"There have not yet been clear positive developments in all areas. I am still concerned at the lack of democratic development,\" she said then. After meeting with Tsvangirai, Carlsson told CNN that \"Tsvangirai's government is working hard towards the implementation of the political agreement.\" She added, \"After such a long time of oppression, it is of course hard to move forward and change will take some time. But the EU is committed to follow up on this progress and encourage change.\" CNN's Per Nyberg in London, England, contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Of EU meeting, Mugabe said \"there was no animosity, it was quite friendly\"\nEU officials in Zimbabwe to ease relations, push progress on political reforms .\nEuropean Union imposed travel bans on Mugabe, his representatives in 2002 .\nPresident Robert Mugabe says West tries to impose its rules on Zimbabwe ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: This is an excerpt from \"Zeitoun\" by Dave Eggers, a nonfiction account of a Syrian-American immigrant and his extraordinary experience during Hurricane Katrina. Eggers is the author of five other books, including \"What Is the What,\" a finalist for the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award. Eggers is the founder and editor of McSweeney's, an independent publishing house based in San Francisco. Dave Eggers writes that Abdulrahman Zeitoun dreamed of fishing on the Syrian coast as Katrina approached. (CNN) -- FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005 . On moonless nights the men and boys of Jableh, a dusty fishing town on the coast of Syria, would gather their lanterns and set out in their quietest boats. Five or six small craft, two or three fishermen in each. A mile out, they would arrange the boats in a circle on the black sea, drop their nets, and, holding their lanterns over the water, they would approximate the moon. The fish, sardines, would begin gathering soon after, a slow mass of silver rising from below. The fish were attracted to plankton, and the plankton were attracted to the light. They would begin to circle, a chain linked loosely, and over the next hour their numbers would grow. The black gaps between silver links would close until the fishermen could see, below, a solid mass of silver spinning. Abdulrahman Zeitoun was only thirteen when he began fishing for sardines this way, a method called lampara, borrowed from the Italians. He had waited years to join the men and teenagers on the night boats, and he'd spent those years asking questions. Why only on moonless nights? Because, his brother Ahmad said, on moon-filled nights the plankton would be visible everywhere, spread out all over the sea, and the sardines could see and eat the glowing organisms with ease. But without a moon the men could make their own, and could bring the sardines to the surface in stunning concentrations. You have to see it, Ahmad told his little brother. You've never seen anything like this. And when Abdulrahman first witnessed the sardines circling in the black he could not believe the sight, the beauty of the undulating silver orb below the white and gold lantern light. He said nothing, and the other fishermen were careful to be quiet, too, paddling without motors, lest they scare away the catch. They would whisper over the sea, telling jokes and talking about women and girls as they watched the fish rise and spin beneath them. A few hours later, once the sardines were ready, tens of thousands of them glistening in the refracted light, the fishermen would cinch the net and haul them in. They would motor back to the shore and bring the sardines to the fish broker in the market before dawn. He would pay the men and boys, and would then sell the fish all over western Syria -- Lattakia, Baniyas, Damascus. The fishermen would split the money, with Abdulrahman and Ahmad bringing their share home. Their father had passed away the year before and their mother was of fragile health and mind, so all funds they earned fishing went toward the welfare of the house they shared with ten siblings. Abdulrahman and Ahmad didn't care much about the money, though. They would have done it for free. Thirty-four years later and thousands of miles west, Abdulrahman Zeitoun was in bed on a Friday morning, slowly leaving the moonless Jableh night, a tattered memory of it caught in a morning dream. He was in his home in New Orleans and beside him he could hear his wife Kathy breathing, her exhalations not unlike the shushing of water against the hull of a wooden boat. Otherwise the house was silent. He knew it was near six o'clock, and the peace would not last. The morning light usually woke the kids once it reached their second-story windows. One of the four would open his or her eyes, and from there the movements were brisk, the house quickly growing loud. With one child awake, it was impossible to keep the other three in bed. Kathy woke to a thump upstairs, coming from one of the kids' rooms. She listened closely, praying silently for rest. Each morning there was a delicate period, between six and six-thirty, when there was a chance, however remote, that they could steal another ten or fifteen minutes of sleep. But now there was another thump, and the dog barked, and another thump followed. What was happening in this house? Kathy looked to her husband. He was staring at the ceiling. The day had roared to life. The phone began ringing, today as always, before their feet hit the floor. Kathy and Zeitoun -- most people called him by his last name because they couldn't pronounce his first -- ran a company, Zeitoun A. Painting Contractor LLC, and every day their crews, their clients, everyone with a phone and their number, seemed to think that once the clock struck six-thirty, it was appropriate to call. And they called. Usually there were so many calls at the stroke of six-thirty that the overlap would send half of them straight to voicemail. Kathy took the first one, from a client across town, while Zeitoun shuffled into the shower. Fridays were always busy, but this one promised madness, given the rough weather on the way. There had been rumblings all week about a tropical storm crossing the Florida Keys, a chance it might head north. Though this kind of possibility presented itself every August and didn't raise eyebrows for most, Kathy and Zeitoun's more cautious clients and friends often made preparations. Throughout the morning the callers would want to know if Zeitoun could board up their windows and doors, if he would be clearing his equipment off their property before the winds came. Workers would want to know if they'd be expected to come in that day or the next. \"Zeitoun Painting Contractors,\" Kathy said, trying to sound alert. It was an elderly client, a woman living alone in a Garden District mansion, asking if Zeitoun's crew could come over and board up her windows. \"Sure, of course,\" Kathy said, letting her feet drop heavily to the floor. She was up. Kathy was the business's secretary, bookkeeper, credit department, public-relations manager -- she did everything in the office, while her husband handled the building and painting. The two of them balanced each other well: Zeitoun's English had its limits, so when bills had to be negotiated, hearing Kathy's Louisiana drawl put clients at ease. This was part of the job, helping clients prepare their homes for coming winds. Kathy hadn't given much thought to the storm this client was talking about. It took a lot more than a few downed trees in south Florida to get her attention. \"We'll have a crew over this afternoon,\" Kathy told the woman. Kathy and Zeitoun had been married for eleven years. Zeitoun had come to New Orleans in 1994, by way of Houston and Baton Rouge and a half-dozen other American cities he'd explored as a young man. Kathy had grown up in Baton Rouge and was used to the hurricane routine: the litany of preparations, the waiting and watching, the power outages, the candles and flashlights and buckets catching rain. There seemed to be a half-dozen named storms every August, and they were rarely worth the trouble. This one, named Katrina, would be no different." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dave Eggers: Abdulrahman Zeitoun grew up in a Syrian fishing town .\nHe says Zeitoun emigrated to America and settled in New Orleans .\nZeitoun and his family thought little of Katrina as it approached the Gulf Coast ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 33,000 items of old denim -- jeans, hats and jackets -- were sent to Washington in a recycling effort that will benefit disaster-struck homes, officials said. Erek Hansen donated five pairs of his own outgrown jeans to the cause and collected almost 1,700 pairs. National Geographic Kids magazine encouraged readers to donate their old denim instead of throwing it away. The resulting 33,088 pieces of denim clothing set a world record, verified Wednesday by a representative from Guinness World Records, according to the magazine's blog. The thousands of pairs of jeans, which are on display at Union Station for two weeks, will be turned into housing insulation for homes affected by natural disasters. According to the magazine, there will be enough material to provide insulation for 60 houses. The jeans will be turned over to Cotton Inc., which collects used denim for natural fiber insulation made without carcinogens or chemical irritants. Paula Rosario, vice president of consumer marketing for the company, said that the new record \"certainly attests to the civic-mindedness of today's children.\" The ceremony unveiling the denim display also honored 9-year-old Erek Hansen, who collected nearly 1,700 jeans. The elementary school student from Curtice, Ohio, said that his friends and classmates \"were happy to help the environment.\" Hansen donated five pairs of his own outgrown jeans. The display also includes a pair from actor Ben Stiller." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "National Geographic Kids magazine encouraged readers to donate old denim .\nMore than 33,000 items of old denim -- jeans, hats and jackets -- sent to Washington .\nMaterial will be turned into housing insulation for homes affected by natural disasters .\nErek Hansen, 9, of Curtice, Ohio, collect almost 1,700 pairs of jeans ." } ]

[ { "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) -- Los Angeles firefighters and city crews worked for several hours Tuesday to rescue one of their own: a 22-ton firetruck that was nearly swallowed by a water-logged sinkhole. Two firefighters crawled out of the truck's windows after it sank Tuesday morning. No one was injured. The incident happened after four firefighters took the truck to the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Valley Village, where flooding had been reported after a water main break, just before 6 a.m. PT. After seeing running water in the road, a fire captain instructed the rig's driver to back up and had two firefighters get out of the truck to direct it. That's when the ground gave way and the front of the truck began quickly sinking. The driver and captain crawled out of the truck's windows to escape. The four firefighters were not injured. Workers had to simultaneously pull and lift the truck to get it out of the sinkhole. Watch workers pull truck from sinkhole . CNN's Carey Bodenheimer contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Los Angeles firetruck nearly swallowed by sinkhole Tuesday morning .\nFirefighters in truck were responding to flooding call when incident happened .\nTwo firefighters escaped truck through windows; no injuries reported ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(MENTAL FLOSS) -- College admissions are competitive, and not just from the student's side. Sure, sometimes it's hard to get into the college of your choice, but the schools are fighting just as hard to lure in top applicants. Davidson college students don't have to visit laundromats because they enjoy the luxury of a free laundry service. While some colleges boast about class sizes, graduate fellowships, and endowment growth rates, this sort of info is likely to bore the 17-year-old students they're wooing. Instead, some schools try to come up with unique perks that appeal to students, often in the form of free services. While the cost of these \"free\" perks is undoubtedly built back into tuition bills, when a family's spending upwards of $40,000 a year for school, it can't hurt to help them feel like they're getting something for nothing. Here are a few you might be jealous of: . 1. Free laundry . Nothing's more maddening for a college student than wanting to study, party, or sleep, only to be confronted with a massive mound of laundry. Most of us know that if left unchecked, these piles of dirty clothes can grow until they're on the brink of becoming sentient beings, but students at Davidson, an elite liberal arts college in North Carolina, don't have to worry about it. Their college does the laundry for them. Since 1919, Davidson has been operating a laundry facility that allows students to drop off their laundry and pick it up once its clean and smelling of dryer sheets. At the Lula Bell Houston Laundry, students' dress shirts and blouses are even pressed and put on hangers for them. The laundry clears about six tons' worth of dirty clothes and linens a week, but if students prefer to keep their filthy T-shirts to themselves, the school also offers free self-service washers and dryers in the dorms. As if that's not enough, Davidson was even more generous when its basketball team made a miraculous run to the NCAA's Sweet 16 last March. The school shelled out the cash for free bus transport to the venue in Detroit, two nights' lodging, and a free ticket to the game for any student who wanted to go cheer on their Cinderella in person. Mental Floss: 8 tuition-free colleges . 2. Free skiing . Michigan Technological University offers a pretty standard slate of majors for its students, but it also has a real estate holding that might lure in applicants. The school owns Mont Ripley, a ski slope on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. While normal lift-ticket prices run at around $35 a day, Michigan Tech students can hit the slopes without dropping a dime. 3. Free computers . At my undergrad alma mater, Wake Forest, one of the chief perks is that when you showed up for freshman orientation, the school gives you a fully loaded IBM Thinkpad and a printer. Students keep this laptop for two years, then trade it in for a new model before their junior year. Students then take this one with them when they graduate. While there was a downside to the system (if profs know everyone has a laptop, they're not the least bit shy about making you tote it to class), it really upped the on-campus computing efficiency. Any program you needed for a class was already loaded on the laptop, and since everyone on campus was operating one of only two types of machines, tech support could diagnose problems and fix them really quickly. Mental Floss: 12 college classes we wish our schools offered . 4. Free theater tickets . Nothing irks actors and theater owners quite so much as playing to an empty house, so if tickets are moving slowly, why not fill the seats with college students? NYU's Ticket Central can wrangle Broadway and Off-Broadway tickets for up to 75 percent off their face values, but sometimes, the school can get lucky students into theaters for free to help fill otherwise thin crowds. Ticket Central also boasts that it can get students into Knicks games for as little as $12 and into Mets games for just $3. Of course, the way those teams have played in the last year or so, that offer might scare off more prospective students than it entices. 5. Personalized birthday cakes . College birthdays are often all sorts of debauched fun, but at least in my experience, they were often sorely lacking in quality cake. Sure, sometimes you'd get a pan full of Betty Crocker-ed good intentions cooked in a dorm oven, which are precisely calibrated to burn cakes' edges while leaving the center liquid, but it was rare to see a real birthday cake. Ohio University's dining services can fix that, though, by allowing students' parents to join the Birthday Club. For $18, parents can make sure their kid gets a personalize birthday cake and all of the plates, napkins, and forks they'll need to share it with their friends. 6. Cheap golf . College students who want to golf on a tight budget often have to resign themselves to finding the rattiest municipal course they can find and hoping they survive the ordeal. Students at Stanford, though, have access to the Stanford Golf Course, a legendary course that's hosted such greats as Tom Watson and Tiger Woods since it opened in 1930. Only students, alumni, faculty, and their guests can enjoy the course's picturesque views of San Francisco, and for guests the price is pretty steep, up to $110 a round. Students, though, get a great deal on greens fees; they can get in a full round for just $25. Mental Floss: 12 star-powered college roommate pairs . For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some colleges have come up with unique perks to lure students .\nStudents at Davidson College can do their laundry for free .\nFree computers and theater tickets are given out at some colleges .\nOhio University offers discount personalized birthday cakes ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed \"the house of horrors.\" Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February. The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years. The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN. Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old. The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said. The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a \"house of horrors\" by the Indian media. Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said. Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed. Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Court acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher for the killing of a teen .\n14-year old was one of 19 children and young women murdered .\nPandher and a domestic employee sentenced to death in February by lower court ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A man authorities believe has robbed at least 10 banks in at least four states was arrested in Missouri after a retired state trooper saw him and learned he was wanted, authorities said Sunday. Schaffner is seen in a police mug shot after his arrest Saturday in Kingdom City, Missouri. Chad Schaffner, 37, was arrested in Kingdom City, Missouri, about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, said Missouri State Highway Patrol radio operator Paula Price. Sam Lakey, a retired Missouri State Highway Patrol officer said he alerted authorities to Schaffner's whereabouts after seeing him at a motel in Kingdom City, about 100 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri. Lakey didn't know who Schaffner was at first, but said he felt something wasn't right after seeing Schaffner and his car, partly because Schaffner didn't make eye contact with him. Watch how ex-cop's hunch brought arrest » . Lakey, who was staying at the motel, said he remembered seeing news reports about a man sought in a string of bank robberies, so he looked on the Web site of the television show \"America's Most Wanted\" to check a vehicle description in the case. A license plate number on the site matched that of the car outside the motel, he said. \"I felt my goosebumps raising,\" he said. Lakey told CNN that after calling his old colleagues at the Missouri State Highway Patrol, he packed up his family from their room at the motel and watched the arrest from across the street. Schaffner faces charges including bank robbery in Tennessee; burglary in Indiana; armed robbery in Illinois; and receiving stolen property in Ohio, Price said. He also faces drug charges in Missouri, she said. Schaffner is suspected of robbing banks in states including Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to the FBI. Schaffner is suspected in 14 robberies of various types in six states, FBI Special Agent Brian Truchon told CNN on Sunday. A spokeswoman for the Callaway County Jail, in Fulton, Missouri, said Schaffner was booked into the facility about 8 p.m. Saturday. No bond has been set, she said. Schaffner will appear in court Monday in Jefferson City, Missouri, according to Bridget Patton, spokeswoman for the FBI's Kansas City, Missouri, office. Schaffner was identified as a suspect last month after investigators posted surveillance photos from the robberies on electronic billboards throughout the South. In the photos, a man was seen sneering and holding a pistol sideways. The robberies began in May. While no one was harmed, the FBI said they considered the suspect dangerous. \"This guy has made no effort to hide the gun,\" said FBI agent Kevin Keithley last month. \"He has threatened the use of it in every bank robbery he has committed. He has put the gun in the faces of the tellers, threatened to use the gun against them. So we want to get this guy in custody before he harms anyone.\" A woman in Morristown, Tennessee, also told authorities Schaffner hid in her apartment in August and threatened to kill her children if she revealed his whereabouts, according to documents filed in federal court. When Schaffner was identified, the FBI said he was released from an Indiana prison last year following an armed robbery conviction. He also has several other convictions in Indiana, for crimes including burglary, resisting law enforcement, and purchase of a handgun without a license, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. The last bank robbery Schaffner is suspected of committing occurred in Caseyville, Illinois, on Wednesday, according to CNN affiliate KMOV. Two bank robberies occurred in Morristown and Jefferson City, Tennessee, on August 18, authorities said. The billboards began showing images from the robberies on August 24, and the next day, a man told the FBI that Schaffner was in the Morristown area at the time of the August 18 holdups. The man said he'd known Schaffner for about two months, according to a federal criminal complaint. FBI agents also interviewed a Morristown woman after hearing she'd had a brief relationship with Schaffner, the complaint says. During the first interview, she spoke to agents outside her apartment and denied knowing him, the complaint said. But the next day she told authorities she knew Schaffner and that he had been in her apartment with her children while she talked to police outside. He had threatened to kill the children if she told agents he was there, the woman said. CNN's Marylynn Ryan, Chuck Johnston and Justin Lear contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Ex-trooper checked \"America's Most Wanted\" site after becoming suspicious .\nChad Schaffner apprehended by police Saturday in Kingdom City, Missouri .\nSchaffner named suspect in at least 10 bank robberies in at least four states .\nIdentification came after surveillance images posted on billboards in the South ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON -- For the second time since resigning the Alaska governorship more than a month ago, Sarah Palin is adding her voice to the fiery debate over health care. Sarah Palin says in a new op-ed that big government is not the solution to health care reform. This time, Palin is hitting the pages of the Wall Street Journal to counter President Obama's latest efforts to reform the nation's health care system. \"The answers offered by Democrats in Washington all rest on one principle: that increased government involvement can solve the problem. I fundamentally disagree,\" Palin writes in the 1,110-word opinion piece in Wednesday's edition of the paper. \"Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones,\" the former Republican vice presidential candidate continues. \"Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy.\" Palin, whose initial Facebook posting on \"death panels\" last month is credited with spurring heated opposition to the House Democratic health care proposal, again raises the claim -- now widely debunked -- that a government panel could determine which senior citizens receive vital treatments. \"Is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by -- dare I say it -- death panels?\" she writes. \"Establishment voices dismissed that phrase, but it rang true for many Americans.\" Watch more on the health care debate » . Ultimately, Palin says, \"Congress will likely reject a wrong-headed proposal to authorize end-of-life counseling in this cost-cutting context\" because Americans made their voices heard in the contentious town halls last August. \"But the fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death health-care matters. Such government overreaching is what we've come to expect from this administration,\" she says. Palin also takes issue with the president's assertion that Democrats' heath care proposals will rein in costs and eliminate waste and inefficiency in the system. Citing the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Palin says currently proposed health care legislation will do little to bring down costs, but will instead cause the federal deficit to skyrocket by more than $200 billion over the next decade. \"Only in Washington could a plan that adds hundreds of billions to the deficit be hailed as a cost-cutting measure,\" writes Palin. Instead, Palin argues the true solution to health care lies in \"market oriented, patient-centered, and result driven\" measures such as providing tax benefits for those who get health care coverage from their jobs, providing seniors on Medicare vouchers to buy their own coverage, and allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sarah Palin blasts Democrats' health care reform proposals in newspaper op-ed .\nPalin: Public outcry led Congress not to authorize \"end-of-life counseling\"\nShe takes issue with Obama's view that Democrats' plans will rein in costs .\nPalin says the true solution is a \"market oriented, patient-centered\" approach ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KAMPALA, Uganda (CNN) -- At least four people have been killed in two days of rioting in Uganda's capital after radio broadcasts encouraged listeners to violently take to the streets against the government, officials said Friday. Residents of the Kasubi suburb, west of Kampala, try to flee from violence as a soldier takes photos. The rioters heard \"sectarian\" broadcasts on Thursday that \"systematically incited the listeners to cause chaos and destruction wherever they could,\" said a statement issued by Minister of Information and National Guidance Kabakumba Masiko. It described those who took part in the rioting in Kampala and its suburbs as \"marauding thugs.\" The broadcasts aired in the Buganda Kingdom, said police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba. Ethnic and political tension between the kingdom and the central government had been escalating over the past few weeks. Police and army officers were injured and police-owned property also was damaged along with other vehicles and shops, said the nation's police chief, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura. In Natete-Ndeba, a southwest suburb, a police station was looted of its ammunition and prisoners set free before rioters burned the prison, Nabakooba said. A curfew has been declared in the suburb, and in Kampala the army is providing support to police, said Kayihura. A doctor at a Kampala hospital said more than 50 people had sought care there, most with broken bones, but others had cuts and gunshot wounds. About 60 people were arrested in Kampala, but arrest totals in the surrounding areas were not available, Nabakooba said. Four radio stations were ordered shut down, Masiko said. Many of the rioters were Baganda between the ages of 18 and 35, Nabakooba said. The Baganda are Uganda's dominant ethnic group, making up about 16.9 percent of the population, according to The CIA World Factbook. The kingdom is one of the oldest monarchies in Africa. The people live mostly in central Uganda and along the shoreline of Lake Victoria. Tension between the Buganda Kingdom, headed by King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni had been increasing recently over land laws, sovereignty and political power, issues over which the two sides have been in talks for years. The Uganda government sees Mutebi as a traditional leader only and does not allow him to participate in politics. Further estranging the two is a breakaway faction of the Buganda Kingdom, the Banyala. Some interpreted police forces' breaking up a group of Baganda amid preparations for festivities as support for the Banyala, especially after a Banyala demonstration opposing the Buganda Kingdom prompted no police action. It is unclear why the police broke up the Baganda group earlier in the week. Riots broke out after the incident, and again when radio announcers pushed Baganda to take to the streets again. Museveni said in a broadcast statement that he tried to contact Mutebi to discuss the issue as \"mature people\" but he could not reach him on the phone. The president also said that he had intelligence reports showing that the Buganda Kingdom has received foreign funding to carry out a hate campaign against the government. Asians, mostly of Indian origin, suffered severe losses when their business were attacked and looted, Nabakooba said. Although officials said the broadcasts encouraged listeners to put into action their contempt for the government, during such outbreaks of violence Asians are often targeted. Some view Asians as being most protected by the government because of special holidays or tax benefits they may get. In addition, reports of Asians mistreating natives have fueled tension between the groups. None of the four people killed were Asian or of Asian descent, Nabakooba said, but in the northern suburb of Kawembi about 30 Asians had fled to a police station for protection on Thursday and remained there Friday. Samson Ntale contributed to this report for CNN." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Radio broadcasts encouraged violent street action against the government .\nGovernment statement describes Kampala rioters as \"marauding thugs\"?\nDozens seek care, many with broken bones, says doctor at Kampala hospital .\nTension between splintered kingdom and Uganda's president has been on rise ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Mary J. Blige has sung her way to nine Grammy Awards and sold 40 million albums worldwide. \"I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting,\" Mary J. Blige said. With music credentials like that, the \"Queen of Hip-Hop Soul\" needed a new challenge. So Blige decided to stretch her range to the big screen. The singer stars in the new Tyler Perry film \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\" alongside Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Perry and Gladys Knight. Being in the film allows Blige to test her acting chops and sing as well. Her character, Tanya, is a club owner who takes the mic at least twice in the film. And whether she's in character or not, Blige's ability to communicate a song can take your breath away. CNN spoke with Blige about Tyler Perry, her acting angst and music. The following is an edited version of that interview: . CNN: What does the title of the film \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\" mean? Mary J. Blige: Well, the title \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\" is basically saying \"I don't need anyone to help me do worse or feel worse than what I already feel.\" So if you're coming with negative energy, please keep it moving, you know? If you're coming with negative deposits, you've gotta go. That's basically what it's saying. CNN: Were you nervous about acting in this film? Blige: I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession, so I had to go and get an acting coach and really figure this thing out. It helped a lot. It relaxed me to have a little more information about it. And I find that actors are highly underrated; they don't get all the credit they deserve, because this is a hard job. That's a hard job. CNN: Were you bitten by the acting bug? Blige: Well, I'm gonna be open to scripts, and I'm ready to receive more scripts from anywhere. I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting. I was definitely bitten by the acting bug. CNN: Did you feel any pressure to write songs for this film, as opposed to writing for one of your albums? Blige: There's not any pressure in writing songs. Writing a song for the movie versus writing songs for my album because ... you get it all from inspiration from somewhere, you know? I got all the lyrics from the actual movie, and I got all the lyrics for my songs from my life so, and other people's lives. CNN: Do you want to hear poetry in your lyrics? Blige: I would love to hear poetry in my lyrics. CNN: Tell me about Tyler Perry. Blige: Wow, working with Tyler Perry was -- it's always a treat. He's the most kind, generous, you know, supportive professional man. He's a really good person to have in such a tough business. It's like a pillow for your head. ... You just get to lay on it after laying on rocks for so long. CNN: What is the link between spirituality and music in the film and in life? Blige: Well, I think the link with the spirituality and the music is that we all have a place where we need to go to heal, and most of the time people go to music to heal. Whether it be gospel or secular, but it all comes from some song that pulled you through your life or helped you through college or something like that. CNN: Do you think this film is about redemption? Do you think people can really change? Blige: I definitely feel this film is a lot about redemption. You saving yourself first of all, and believing you can be saved and wanting the help. I think it takes time for people to heal from whatever wounds they're healing from. But in order to get free, what I learned is that you have to release it, because you'll stay stuck for the rest of your life. What if this person is enjoying their lives and you hate them? So it's just best to release. Easier said than done, please believe it. CNN: What do you think about the music industry these days? Blige: Well, I mean, the music industry has moved with the times. You know, I mean we are in the age where technology has taken over and music is technology now, so it's not hands-on. It's a little sad that there isn't any more record stores." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Singer Mary J. Blige stars in new Tyler Perry film \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\"\nFilm allows Blige to test acting chops and sing as well as owner of club .\n\"I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession,\" Blige says .\nBlige: Movie is about redemption, saving yourself and healing from wounds ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Mental Floss) -- Fantasy football drafts are firing up, and workplace productivity will soon grind to a halt as half the office spends half the day managing their rosters in an attempt to get the next Steve Slaton off the waiver wire. Just because you're not a football fan doesn't mean you have to be left out of the fantasy mania, though. There are all sorts of alternative fantasy leagues you can join. Why not try one of these? Pick your breed of dog, then allocate your \"funds\" to help train and groom it into a champion on Showdog.com. Fantasy music league . If you spend more time listening to the radio than watching sports, the Fantasy Music League might be right up your alley. In this league your job is to compile a roster that has more real-life chart movement and album sales than other owners' \"labels.\" You shell out a certain salary to sign the acts you think have the most promise, and if they out-earn your competitors, you'll earn the fantasy world's equivalent of a Grammy. The label that's at the top of the standings for this season, Jenny Baird Records, boasts a roster that includes Fall Out Boy, Daughtry, Justin Timberlake and Fergie. Fantasy dog shows . If fantasy leagues come any more adorable than this, we don't want to see them. Showdog.com allows you to enter a virtual simulation dog show league. You pick your breed of dog, then allocate your \"funds\" to help train and groom it into a champion. Your simulated dog can take on other owners' pooches in a dog-eat-dog competition to help ascertain the best way to breed a champion show dog. All of the glory, none of the fetch! Mental Floss: America's most lavish dog spas . Fantasy water skiing . Water skiing is great fun, but it takes some practice before you can do it well. Why not skip all of those embarrassing spills and noses full of water by just joining a fantasy skiing league instead? Pick your professional skiers, then get points according to how many buoys your slalom skiers pass, how many points your tricksters pile up, and how far your jumpers soar. Never again will you and your buddies just have to argue in vain about which one of you is really the most hardcore water skiing fan! Fantasy pro wrestling . Like the violence of football but wish you had a fantasy league that stuck to a script? Try fantasy pro wrestling. Web-based E-wrestling federations allow you to draft a stable of grapplers and then receive points for their performance in the ring and appearances on broadcasts. (We're guessing the Undertaker is the fantasy wrestling equivalent of Peyton Manning: maybe not the top guy every year, but you know you're going to get consistently solid production out of him.)Mental Floss: Where are they now? WWF superstars . Fantasy bass fishing . The only thing more exciting than watching someone else fish is beating your friends at predicting who will get the nicest bass in their livewell! ESPN.com offers a Fantasy Fishing Challenge that allows angling fans to create a team of their favorite pro anglers while working under the constraint of a $100 salary cap. Each angler has a set \"salary\" that he earns, and when you sign one to your team they score you points according to their performances in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Fantasy Congress . Just because you prefer C-SPAN to ESPN doesn't mean you can't find a way to waste several hours on a fantasy league each week. Try out Fantasy Congress. Although the game's Web site is currently down, FantasyCongress.com launched in 2006 to allow politics junkies to draft their favorite legislators and then rack up points according to how their Congressmen's proposed legislation fared, how often they voted, and their willingness to cross party lines to up their \"Maverick Score.\" Fantasy eating . Do you watch the Nathan's hot dog eating contest each Fourth of July and find yourself feeling pangs of jealousy because you can't match the competitors' gluttony? Now you can life vicariously through them! Krystal Square Off offers fantasy eating leagues for four to seven teams that allow you to score points based on how many mini hamburgers your roster can wolf down. (Hot tip: I sat next to \"Humble\" Bob Shoudt and his adorable daughter on their flight home from Shoudt's winning performance at the Nashville Krystal Square Off in 2006. Not only did the man look like he could down some burgers -- his world record is 28 in two minutes -- but he was also maybe the most doting, sweetest father I've ever seen. Pick against this guy at your own risk.) Mental Floss: 10 foods that are aphrodisiacs . Fantasy bowling . You might not be able to pick up a 7-10 split, but that doesn't mean you can't destroy your friends at fantasy bowling. The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour has its own fantasy league, and it sounds intriguingly easy to play. Your squad scores points based on how your bowlers finish in individual tournaments, so if you've got a guy who piles up strike after strike, you're going to be tough to beat. According to the league's Web site, the number four overall pick is a guy named Rhino Page. Do you really want to pick against a guy named Rhino? For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Showdog.com allows you to enter a virtual simulation dog show league .\nWeb-based E-wrestling federations allow you to draft a stable of grapplers .\nKrystal Square Off offers fantasy eating leagues for four to seven teams ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- A Taiwan court early Tuesday ordered ex-President Chen Shui-bian, who is facing corruption charges, back to jail after deeming him a flight risk. Former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian speaks to reporters on December 12 in Taipei. Chen had been free on bail, but prosecutors sought his return to state custody. After 12 hours of deliberation, a panel of three district court judges approved the request at 3 a.m. Taiwan time. Chen was immediately taken to jail. The island's first former president to ever face prosecution, Chen was freed earlier in December after spending a month in jail while prosecutors prepared his indictment on several corruption charges, including embezzlement and accepting bribes. Judges ordered Chen released after the indictment was formally presented, saying they did not believe he was a flight risk. However, Taiwan's high court was not satisfied with the decision and assigned a new judge to the case. Chen's attorney, Jen Wen Long, told reporters after the court order: \"We question the work of the Taipei district court. Changing the judge is an interference with the justice system.\" Chen, whose term ended in May, is accused of embezzling about $18 million. A trial date has not been set in the case. Prosecutors allege he also took bribes, laundered money and illegally removed classified documents from the president's office. Chen, 58, has denied any wrongdoing and insists the charges are politically motivated. His party favors independence for Taiwan, while the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou favors closer ties with mainland China -- from which the island split amid civil war in 1949. If convicted, Chen faces 25 years or more in prison, although prosecutors did not seek any specific jail time in their indictment. Thirteen others, including Chen's wife, son, daughter-in-law and brother-in-law, also were indicted. Prosecutors have alleged that Chen's son has a Swiss bank account containing $22 million in what they believe is illegal proceeds. Journalist Andrew Lee contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chen, facing trial on corruption charges, had been free on bail .\nA court freed Chen in early December, but high court disagreed with decision .\nChen, whose term ended in May, is accused of embezzling about $18 million .\nHis trial date has not been set ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(WIRED) -- For the past three years some of the world's most resourceful software engineers and mathematicians have worked feverishly in the spirit of friendly, Darwinian competition -- and in pursuit of a $1 million prize -- to improve the Netflix movie recommendation system by 10 percent. Netflix says it will announce the winner of its $1 million Netflix Prize at an event September 21. It's been a long journey, but it's almost over. Netflix said Tuesday it would announce the winner at an event in New York on Sept. 21 -- where details about the Netflix Prize 2 sequel would also be unveiled. As things stand now, nobody outside of Netflix knows which team will win the million-dollar prize, but the winning entry will power Netflix's upcoming movie recommendation engine. Because nothing about the contest barred entrants from licensing their technology to companies other than Netflix, both qualifying teams could find plenty of licensees -- even if they come in second. And not much separates the two top teams. Teams Bellkor (AT&T Research), Big Chaos and Pragmatic Theory combined to form Bellkor's Pragmatic Chaos, the first team to qualify for the prize on June 26 with a 10.05 percent improvement over Netflix's existing algorithm. This triggered a 30-day window in which other teams were allowed to try to catch up -- and indeed, a team called The Ensemble, made up of lower-ranked contestants, submitted a higher score of 10.10 percent as time ran out -- a hair better than Bellkor's Pragmatic Chaos' final score of 10.09 percent. Before Sept. 21, Netflix must decide (assuming they haven't done so already) which of the two qualifying teams has the best algorithm based on how they score on various undisclosed tests. The company must also determine whether the winning team's results are reproducible, meaning that its algorithm handles new data as well as it did the test data. When we wrote about this last month, after the window for qualifying closed, Netflix declined to say whether it will reveal details about its methodology for picking the winner (whichever team loses, they're going to want to know how, exactly, that happened -- as will curious onlookers around the world). A Netflix spokeswoman told us, \"We are definitely going to touch on the methodology in the press conference,\" and offered to let us interview Netflix executives to find out more about how they picked the winner. Netflix vice president of communications Steve Swasey told us last month that the company is pleased with the results of the contest, and apparently, it hopes there's more where that came from. At the same New York event where it will announce the Netflix Prize winner, the company plans to unveil details about Netflix Prize 2. Writing on Netflix message boards, chief product officer Neil Hunt already offered some hints: \"The next contest will be a shorter, time-limited race, with grand prizes for the best results at 6 and 18 months. While the first contest has been remarkable, we think Netflix Prize 2 will be more challenging, more fun, and even more useful to the field.\" More than 40,000 teams from 186 countries competed for the first Netflix Prize. Some contestants doubted that any team would be capable of surmounting the 10-percent-improvement barrier, but two teams managed to do so. Clearly, Netflix has stumbled onto a winning formula here, and will walk away from the contest with a measurably improved movie recommendation engine -- and recommendations are a linchpin of its business. As the field of \"prize economics\" evolves, offering organizations increasingly efficient ways to solve their problems, we expect results like this to become more commonplace. Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here! Copyright 2009 Wired.com." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Netflix will announce the winner of its $1 million Netflix Prize on September 21 .\nPrize goes to team that improves Netflix's movie-recommendation system .\nNobody outside of Netflix knows which team will win the million-dollar prize .\nDetails about the Netflix Prize 2 sequel will also be unveiled that day ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- Melissa and Jackson Brandts knew right away that the photo from their recent trip to Canada was a good one. Melissa and Jackson Brandts were taking a photo of themselves when the squirrel popped up. However, it wasn't until the world -- and National Geographic -- took notice that they realized exactly how good. Now, after submitting it to the magazine's online \"Your Shot\" contest, the Minnesota couple's photo is set to grace the pages of the magazine's November issue. It's appeared on the Web sites of news outlets around the world, and the squirrel -- now dubbed \"Crasher Squirrel\" -- even has its own Wikipedia entry of the same moniker. Melissa Brandts and her husband Jackson were hiking in Banff National Park the last week in May when they decided to set up their camera and use their wireless remote shutter for a few shots of the two of them. They were getting situated on the rocky shore near Lake Minnewanka when the now-iconic critter stopped by for a visit. \"The little squirrel had been running around while we were getting the shot set up,\" Melissa Brandts said in a phone interview Tuesday. \"I was joking with my husband that I hoped he was friendly because he was getting awful close and kind of scampering around our feet and stuff.\" Friendly? You might say so. It was also a bit timid and perhaps even indecisive because it soon scurried away and then, just as quickly, rushed back again. \"Photogenic\" might also be a good word to describe it. \"All of a sudden he popped back up because he heard the shutter releasing, the clicking of the camera. The only thing we can figure is that he thought it was going to give him food or something,\" Brandts said. \"He popped right up and looked right into the camera, and we were laughing so hard because we were like 'get it, get it!' and we were trying to get the remote to fire. So we got a couple of pictures -- took a couple of pictures with him there, and then he ducked down and proceeded to run away.\" The resulting image exceeded all expectations. \"We didn't realize how good it was until we got back to the hotel that night and downloaded it to my husband's computer, and when we could see it on the full screen we were like, 'Whoa, are you serious?'\" \"We had no idea it was going to turn out exactly like it did with him being in perfect focus, us being out of focus, and then us just laughing in the background. We weren't sure if he'd be standing like in front of one of us or something like that.\" An international phenomenon . Brandts said she and her husband showed the photo to their friends and family and were subsequently incessantly prodded to \"do something\" with it. For months the two weren't sure what that something could be. That changed, however, when the latest issue of National Geographic arrived in the mail. \"I saw the 'Your Shot' contest, which of course I knew existed, but I had never thought of entering one of my own pictures into it,\" Brandts said. \"I thought, 'This is what I'm going to do!'\" Brandts said she submitted it on August 5 and by August 13 it was NationalGeographic.com's photo of the day. \"Things just kind of spun out of control from there.\" The photo was soon published in the pages of two national Canadian newspapers, and Brandts received calls from a friend in South Korea who'd seen it on a local South Korean news Web site. The couple has since appeared on NBC's \"Today\" show as well as the Twin Cities' local affiliate KARE. And now that it's been selected for publication in the November issue of National Geographic, the attention hasn't subsided. As of this writing, Brandts has received Facebook messages from random fans in 29 different countries. The Facebook group \"Nuts the Squirrel is a Legend\" comes complete with 5,300 fans and counting. The squirrel is also being used by Banff National Park in advertising on its Web site, and it has created a Banff squirrel Twitter account. There's even a Web site dubbed \"The Squirrelizer,\" which has apparently been created for people who feel their photos lack a certain \"squirrel charm.\" The site's tool will paste the squirrel cutout onto any picture uploaded. Other sites have pasted the squirrel onto various scenes from history, from the D-Day invasion at Normandy to the Apollo moon landing. And it hasn't stopped there. \"It keeps popping up everywhere, like at my husband's job,\" Brandts added. \"If people are giving him a presentation, all of the sudden they'll have a squirrel pop up.\" Authenticity assured . It was during their appearance on \"Today\" that host Matt Lauer raised questions about the possibility the photo could have been doctored. Brandts assured him, as she did once more for CNN, that the photo is \"completely authentic\" but said she understood the skepticism because people had originally thought the photo was taken simply with a timer -- as opposed to the remote shutter she used in actuality -- which, if it were the case, would have kept the couple in focus and blurred the squirrel. \"National Geographic looked at the full high-resolution [image, and] realized it was authentic,\" Brandts said, adding, \"You can't make this stuff up.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Couple had set up camera to take their photo with mountains as backdrop .\nSquirrel pops up in front of camera, is snapped .\nPhoto appears all over the Web, will be in National Geographic .\nOn question of authenticity: \"You can't make this stuff up,\" woman says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Authorities investigating the case of a boy who disappeared in Kansas almost a decade ago plan to search an undisclosed residence Wednesday, the Butler County sheriff said. An age-progression photo shows what Adam Herrman would like today, as a 21-year-old man. Sheriff Craig Murphy would not disclose details about the residence or why authorities want to search it. He said his department will also search on an area of the Whitewater River, in southern Kansas, on Saturday near where Adam Herrman was last seen. Adam was 11 when he went missing in 1999. He was living in a mobile home park in Towanda, a town about 25 miles northeast of Wichita, with his adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, authorities said. Wichita attorney Warner Eisenbise, who is representing Adam's adoptive parents, said the couple believed Adam had run away and didn't report him missing. They \"really rue the fact that they didn't\" report him missing, he said Monday. A few weeks ago, an undisclosed person contacted the Wichita-Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit, expressing concern about Adam, the sheriff said. The Herrmans told Eisenbise that Adam ran away frequently, the attorney said, and they believed he was either with his biological parents or homeless. Although the Herrmans did not report him missing, \"they were very worried about him,\" Eisenbise said. In an interview published Tuesday in The Wichita Eagle, Valerie Herrman said Adam ran away in May 1999 after she spanked him with a belt. She said she was upset but doesn't remember why, The Eagle reported. The couple never reported Adam missing, Valerie Herrman told the paper, because they feared authorities would take Adam and his siblings away because of the spanking. The couple adopted his two younger siblings as well, according to The Eagle. \"We love him, and we made a terrible mistake\" by not reporting him missing, Doug Herrman told The Eagle. The couple said they searched the mobile home park and other areas for two days after Adam left. \"Then we came to the conclusion that the police probably have him, and they're coming to us, probably to get us in trouble,\" Doug Herrman told the newspaper, but the \"police never came.\" Authorities have searched an empty lot in the Pine Ridge Mobile Home Park where the family lived. There, police found an \"answer\" to one of their questions, Murphy said Monday without elaborating. Eisenbise said that on December 15, authorities also searched the Herrmans' homes in Derby, outside of Wichita, and took the couple's computer, he said. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has released an age-progression picture that depicts Adam as he might appear now: a young man with blue eyes and light-colored hair. Adam had been placed in the Herrmans' care when he was about 2, Murphy said Monday. He had been named Irvin Groeninger III when he was born June 8, 1987, Murphy said, and it was not clear when his name was changed. His biological parents relinquished their rights as parents about two decades ago, and Adam and his siblings were put in foster homes, CNN affiliate KWCH reported. \"I thought what I was doing for them was in the best interest of the children, and evidently it wasn't,\" Irvin Groeninger, Adam's biological father, told KWCH. \"If he was still in my custody, this would have never happened.\" Adam's sister, Tiffany Broadfoot, 22, said she had last seen her brother about 14 years ago at a birthday party. \"He had the cutest little round face, little-bitty freckles right up here on the tip of his cheek,\" she told the station. CNN's Taylor Gandossy contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sheriff says his officers will search area near Whitewater River on Saturday .\nAttorney says parents \"rue the fact\" they didn't report him missing .\nAdam Herrman reportedly ran away when he was 11, after being spanked .\nParents tell paper they thought spanking would lead police to take other kids away ." } ]

[ { "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 number of stray and abandoned dogs in the United Kingdom jumped by 11 percent in the past year -- the biggest surge in a decade -- possibly because of the financial crisis, a British dog charity said Wednesday. A dog looks through the door of its kennel at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London. Dogs Trust said local authorities picked up 107,228 stray and abandoned dogs from British streets in the past year. It called on the government to make microchipping compulsory for all dogs to help reunite owners with pets, whether lost or abandoned. \"The latest stray dog survey is very disappointing,\" said Clarissa Baldwin, chief executive of Dogs Trust. \"Even more tragically is the number of dogs that are being put down, which has gone up from 7,000 to just below 10,000, a very worrying trend.\" Has recession hit your pet? Send us your thoughts . The 11 percent rise is the highest yearly increase since recordkeeping began in 1997, Dogs Trust said. The rise may be due to the financial crisis, Dogs Trust said. Some households tighten their belts by giving up the dog. Another possible reason for the jump: England and Wales last year changed the law to make local councils, not police, responsible for taking in stray dogs, Dogs Trust said. Cash-strapped councils might lack resources to pick up or temporarily shelter dogs. \"You've got a lot of latchkey dogs that are just left to wander the streets,\" said Natalie Dexter, who works at the education center at Dogs Trust. \"Their homes aren't secure, gardens aren't secure, and so they're just left to wander around.\" Local authorities handle an average of 12 dogs each hour, Dogs Trust said. Only five are reunited with their owners -- a number that could increase if more dogs were microchipped, Dogs Trust said. A microchip is an electronic device, coated in plastic, that is the size of a grain of rice. It is implanted just under a dog's skin, beneath its shoulder blades, which causes no harm to the animal and cannot be felt, veterinarians and campaigners say. The microchip carries the owner's information, which can be updated. The information can be read by a scanner that works through a radio frequency." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Number of stray and abandoned dogs in UK jumps by 11 percent in past year .\nCharity urges government to make microchipping compulsory for all dogs .\nSome households tighten their belts by giving up the dog, charity says ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) -- President Obama reached out to Africa on Saturday with a wide-ranging address praising the continent's steady achievements, but he called its persistent violent conflicts \"a millstone around Africa's neck.\" President Obama speaks before Ghana's Parliament on Saturday. \"Despite the progress that has been made -- and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa -- we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled,\" Obama said in a speech to the parliament of Ghana, a western African nation seen as a model of democracy and growth for the rest of the continent. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan nation to gain independence, in 1957, and Obama continually cited the nation during his speech for its stability, political strides and painstaking economic progress. Its stability stands in contrast to other hot spots on the continent, such as Zimbabwe, where the society is in economic and political turmoil; Sudan, where fighting rages in the Darfur region; and Somalia, where a shaky transitional government is now battling an Islamic insurgency. Ghana, with a population of 24 million, was once a major slave trading center. Obama visited the Cape Coast Castle, a British outpost where slaves were held until shipped overseas, along with his daughters. Watch Obama's remark after touring Cape Coast Castle » . \"I think it was particularly important for Malia and Sasha, who are being raised in a very blessed way, that history can take some cruel turns,\" he said. \"And hopefully, one of the things that was imparted to them during this trip is their sense of obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears.\" Obama, whose father was Kenyan, compared the history to that of the Holocaust, Nazi Germany's efforts to exterminate the Jews of Europe during World War II. \"It's one of those things that you don't forget about,\" he told CNN in an interview scheduled to air Monday on \"Anderson Cooper 360.\" \"I think it's important that the way we think about it, the way it's taught, is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer, and that's the end of the story,\" he said. \"I think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant, is whether it's what's happening in Darfur or what's happening in the Congo or what's happening in too many places around the world, the capacity for cruelty still exists.\" Watch how Ghana is celebrating the Obamas' visit » . But he told lawmakers that Ghana now shows \"a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or the need for charity.\" While the nation-building the country exemplifies may lack \"drama of the 20th century's liberation struggles,\" he said \"it will ultimately be more significant.\" As he has in past remarks, including his Cairo address last month about U.S.-Muslim relations, Obama stressed the superiority of governments that \"respect the will of their own people,\" saying they foster more prosperity and stability than governments that don't. Watch Obama deliver speech to Ghanaian lawmakers » . \"No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt,\" he said. \"No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there.\" Even Kenya, his father's homeland, continues to struggle with tribalism and corruption, he said. That eastern African nation \"had a per-capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born\" and now, he says, it has been \"badly outpaced.\" But he said Kenya has restored stability after the violence that followed the disputed 2007 election. South Africa has had high voter turnout in recent elections, and Zimbabwe's Election Support Network has defended the right to vote. Watch report on Ghanaians' reaction to Obama's remarks » . \"Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions,\" he said. He said his administration will work \"to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do.\" As for the economy and opportunity, he said African nations need to stop focusing on one particular commodity, such as oil or cocoa, and \"promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled work force, and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.\" He cited \"our $3.5 billion food security initiative\" and said \"new methods and technologies for farmers -- not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa\" is what is needed. See where Ghana is located » . Obama also made reference to climate and energy challenges, saying the developed world should work with Africa to confront such problems. He said Africa has much potential to exploit its wind and solar power and geothermal energy and biofuels. As for disease, Obama said strides are being made in dealing with HIV/AIDS and malaria, but \"too many still die from diseases that shouldn't kill them.\" He also indicated that there need to be ways to keep African doctors and nurses from going overseas and creating gaps in primary care. \"When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made.\" He said his administration has committed $63 billion to fight disease, praising the \"strong efforts\" of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Watch Ed Henry's report Obama's emotional visit to Africa » . Obama welcomed efforts by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to help resolve conflict. He said the United States \"will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable\" and that the Pentagon's Africa Command will fight \"common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa and the world.\" Watch Obama's remarks as his visit to Ghana concludes » . \"We all have many identities -- of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century,\" he said. \"Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's children,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obama tells Ghana's lawmakers Africa needs \"opportunity for more people\"\n\"Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division\"\nPledges U.S. will help fight HIV/AIDS, tropical diseases, childhood illnesses ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Mary J. Blige has sung her way to nine Grammy Awards and sold 40 million albums worldwide. \"I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting,\" Mary J. Blige said. With music credentials like that, the \"Queen of Hip-Hop Soul\" needed a new challenge. So Blige decided to stretch her range to the big screen. The singer stars in the new Tyler Perry film \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\" alongside Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Perry and Gladys Knight. Being in the film allows Blige to test her acting chops and sing as well. Her character, Tanya, is a club owner who takes the mic at least twice in the film. And whether she's in character or not, Blige's ability to communicate a song can take your breath away. CNN spoke with Blige about Tyler Perry, her acting angst and music. The following is an edited version of that interview: . CNN: What does the title of the film \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\" mean? Mary J. Blige: Well, the title \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\" is basically saying \"I don't need anyone to help me do worse or feel worse than what I already feel.\" So if you're coming with negative energy, please keep it moving, you know? If you're coming with negative deposits, you've gotta go. That's basically what it's saying. CNN: Were you nervous about acting in this film? Blige: I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession, so I had to go and get an acting coach and really figure this thing out. It helped a lot. It relaxed me to have a little more information about it. And I find that actors are highly underrated; they don't get all the credit they deserve, because this is a hard job. That's a hard job. CNN: Were you bitten by the acting bug? Blige: Well, I'm gonna be open to scripts, and I'm ready to receive more scripts from anywhere. I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting. I was definitely bitten by the acting bug. CNN: Did you feel any pressure to write songs for this film, as opposed to writing for one of your albums? Blige: There's not any pressure in writing songs. Writing a song for the movie versus writing songs for my album because ... you get it all from inspiration from somewhere, you know? I got all the lyrics from the actual movie, and I got all the lyrics for my songs from my life so, and other people's lives. CNN: Do you want to hear poetry in your lyrics? Blige: I would love to hear poetry in my lyrics. CNN: Tell me about Tyler Perry. Blige: Wow, working with Tyler Perry was -- it's always a treat. He's the most kind, generous, you know, supportive professional man. He's a really good person to have in such a tough business. It's like a pillow for your head. ... You just get to lay on it after laying on rocks for so long. CNN: What is the link between spirituality and music in the film and in life? Blige: Well, I think the link with the spirituality and the music is that we all have a place where we need to go to heal, and most of the time people go to music to heal. Whether it be gospel or secular, but it all comes from some song that pulled you through your life or helped you through college or something like that. CNN: Do you think this film is about redemption? Do you think people can really change? Blige: I definitely feel this film is a lot about redemption. You saving yourself first of all, and believing you can be saved and wanting the help. I think it takes time for people to heal from whatever wounds they're healing from. But in order to get free, what I learned is that you have to release it, because you'll stay stuck for the rest of your life. What if this person is enjoying their lives and you hate them? So it's just best to release. Easier said than done, please believe it. CNN: What do you think about the music industry these days? Blige: Well, I mean, the music industry has moved with the times. You know, I mean we are in the age where technology has taken over and music is technology now, so it's not hands-on. It's a little sad that there isn't any more record stores." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Singer Mary J. Blige stars in new Tyler Perry film \"I Can Do Bad All By Myself\"\nFilm allows Blige to test acting chops and sing as well as owner of club .\n\"I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession,\" Blige says .\nBlige: Movie is about redemption, saving yourself and healing from wounds ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Facing the world after an isolating and traumatic experience is often stressful, especially for those who have been away for a long time. Jaycee Dugard, here at the 1991 Rose Bowl parade, was abducted later that year. Jaycee Dugard is reuniting with her close relatives for the first time in 18 years, after having been found on August 27. Dugard was 11 years old when she was abducted in 1991 from a bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, California. She allegedly was kept in a series of backyard sheds by a convicted sex offender and gave birth to two children in captivity. A bail review hearing is scheduled for Monday in El Dorado County Superior Court in Placerville, California, for Phillip and Nancy Garrido, who face charges related to Dugard's kidnapping. In Illinois, Shannon Wilfong is charged with child abduction, allegedly having forced 6-year-old Richard K. Wilfong Chekevdia to live in seclusion and be hidden, at times in crawl spaces and the attic, for nearly two years, according to court documents. In concealing the boy, Wilfong violated the terms of a court order that granted joint custody of the child to Michael Chekevdia, the documents said. The boy is staying with his father's family under child welfare supervision, according to CNN affiliate WSIL. The situations of Dugard and Chekevdia are extreme cases of people emerging from isolation and returning to the real world. The people who have been away often feel conflicted about leaving the situation they've acclimated to in order to rejoin the loved ones they've left behind, experts not connected to the cases tell CNN. Sometimes children involved in custody disputes are taught to hate their father or mother, and \"extreme tactics\" may be used, although usually not to the extent of hiding a child in crawl spaces, said Jay Lebow, psychologist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. \"While this case is obviously the rarest of things, other children are certainly exposed to many traumas that have meaning connected to this,\" Lebow said. The case of Dugard . Dugard is spending time in \"a secluded place, reconnecting\" with her mother and younger sister, said her aunt, Tina Dugard, in a statement on behalf of her family. \"This is a joyful time for my family,\" she said. \"Jaycee remembers all of us.\" Watch for more on Dugard » . But a person in Dugard's situation would most likely have both positive and negative feelings about leaving the only environment she's known for 18 years and coming back to her family, psychologists say. \"She's going to have a lot of mixed feelings about returning to her family of origin because she's spent almost two decades with a different family,\" said Margo Napoletano, a child and family psychologist in San Diego, California. After allegedly being confined for 18 years, Dugard probably would find the outside world frightening, Lebow said. \"You get to know this world you live in -- it may be a terrible world, but it's the world you know,\" he said. Experts say Dugard may have developed what is known as Stockholm syndrome, in which kidnapping victims identify with their captors. Learning to live with and even like the perpetrator has survival value, Napoletano said, and also explains why someone like Dugard probably would feel somewhat torn about returning to her original family. Learn about other cases of missing children » . \"It's a concept that explains why a kidnapped victim would stay with a perpetrator even though they had an opportunity to leave,\" she said. \"They opt to stay because it's their comfort zone.\" But Johanna Tabin, a psychologist in Glencoe, Illinois, said Dugard's readjustment will depend on how she was treated in captivity. Police said Phillip Garrido, one of her alleged abductors, is believed to be the father of her two daughters, and his relationship to Dugard -- whether he framed their alleged sexual encounters as violent or seductive -- will influence her feelings about leaving that situation, Tabin said. It is also important to know how Dugard felt about her family before she was taken away, Tabin said. \"Did she secretly mourn them?\" Tabin asked. \"Did she feel she stepped on a different planet where she was all of a sudden a grown-up 11-year-old and wasn't being treated anymore like a child?\" Her family members may have constantly wondered what they could have done differently to prevent the kidnapping, Tabin said. At the same time, someone in Dugard's situation may have asked herself at the outset, \"Why did they let me get kidnapped?\" Lebow said. There is an infinite range of responses, but more information about Dugard's feelings growing up and in captivity would inform how she adjusts to her new life, Tabin said. The situation is likely also difficult for Dugard's two daughters, born to her in captivity, who have never met Dugard's family before, Napoletano said. \"It's basically like a wild child who may have had some contact with civilization, but basically is having to start life all over again, and that may be overwhelming to them at first,\" she said. Napoletano said she would suggest to a family like Dugard's to be accepting and supportive, and not ask a lot of questions. \"Go about your daily life as usual for the most part, and take the lead from the therapist, one small step at a time,\" she said. Lebow advises them against looking for some sudden moment of reconnection, but rather to be loving and patient. Coming back from combat . Dugard's reuniting with her family could also be likened to a soldier coming back from a \"hellacious war,\" Lebow said. A recent survey of military spouses of deployed Army soldiers with school-age children found that the return from deployment is the most stressful, according to three-quarters of respondents. Reunification brings excitement and relief, which is sometimes accompanied by emotional conflict, the surveyors said. Read more about the study . In the military, bonds of brotherhood form as people face dangers together, Tabin said. When service members come home, they may find life \"shallower,\" and feel that they are not the same people as when they left, she said. In a case where a husband has been away at war and returns to his wife, the desire to understand one another's feelings is fundamental, she said. \"She wants to be understanding, he wants to be able to shove it aside, then he has nightmares, and she says, 'you're not setting it aside,' \" Tabin said. \"Well, consciously he is -- he's not awake when he dreams.\" Don't force the person who has been away to talk about their experiences, Napoletano said. She also stressed that a family should try to normalize the life of the service member who has returned from war. Waking up in the morning, going grocery shopping, washing clothes and doing other day-to-day activities help create a stable, comforting environment, she said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jaycee Dugard, found August 27, is reuniting with her family after 18 years .\nPeople who return to their families after years away often feel conflicted about it .\nExpert: Don't force the person who has been away to talk about their experiences .\nIt's important to go about day-to-day activities, such as grocery shopping ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- He is iconic, there's no doubt. George Hamilton gets his life story on screen in \"My One and Only.\" With the elegant suit and tie, the impeccable grooming, the tan (Did I mention the tan?), George Hamilton is still a charmer, and he comes across like a born bon vivant. Sure, his acting may have taken a backseat to his bronzed visage years ago, but what did happen to him years ago? Well, there's a story there, one now coming to the big screen. Hamilton's formative years are loosely depicted in the film \"My One and Only,\" opening in wide release September 4. \"My One and Only\" has the style of a film produced during Hollywood's golden age, but the tale is easily relatable to today. In the film, Hamilton's mother, Anne, played by Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger, walks in on her bandleader husband and another woman. She hits the road in a brand new Cadillac Coupe de Ville with her two sons, George and Robbie, en route to find a new husband and a new life. Watch a preview of 'My One and Only' » . Hamilton, 70, spoke with CNN about the film, old Hollywood and his mother. The following is an edited version of the interview. CNN: There is a lot of heartache in this story. Why did you want to share it? George Hamilton: I don't know that I really did want to share it. It's a fictional story based on a real story loosely about me. And I went to the movie to hate it. And I looked at the movie and I thought, my God, [Zellweger] looks nothing like my mother, but she was able to portray the emotions just the way it was then. I couldn't speak. I was completely overwhelmed by what Renee did. That's a great actress. CNN: Do you think that your mother shaped your life more than your father? Hamilton: I think they're kind of like sand and a rock, kind of -- you keep rubbing up against them and they form you. I knew that I was the man of the family from the time I was 10, 12 -- you know, I had to be. But I knew I had to get away from it. So I signed onto military school. Then my mother said, if you're bad I'm sending you to your father, and I said, send me. I ... lived a whole year with my father -- I got to know him, I got to understand the two sides to the story. My mother didn't say bad things about him. I presumed that he was this foreign person who left and abandoned us. He didn't at all. And when I made it in Hollywood and I didn't want to be an actor, there they arrived. It was their triumph, not mine. I wanted to be a doctor. CNN: Now in hindsight, do you understand what your mom was doing? Hamilton: That's a very good question. No, I didn't, I didn't get her. What I knew was I would work -- I was ... with people who had millions of dollars, and they just accepted me, and I would go out and buy a tuxedo in the thrift shop, and go to the coming-out party of a very wealthy socialite, and they would say oh, now chic. You wore your grandfather's or your father's tuxedo. And I had bought it for $5. And I realized there was a whole reverse way of acting, and people just presumed you were old money, and I played that. That was my game. But when I looked at my mother I realized that she was born almost like a child, with the theory that we would be divinely supported. Always trust that, don't be afraid. Poverty, or [being] poor, is a mentality, it's like fog, it's all around you. My mother was broke, but that's just a temporary deal -- that's a bad hand in the poker game, if you're gonna sit through two more you can win. And that's how I looked at it. CNN: What was old Hollywood like? Hamilton: Well, it was mythological. It was a place [that] the first day, I saw Robert Mitchum sitting at a table and he looked at me and said, \"I know they say I don't know my lines. It's not true. I'm just too drunk to say them.\" And I thought, oh, that's an interesting man. Next Fred Astaire walks by, \"Hello,\" and I stopped: \"Hello, Mr. Astaire\" -- God I love that guy -- and I see Cary Grant sitting down. And he said, \"You've got a nice suntan. Do you like the sun?\" I said \"Well, yeah, I love the sun.\" ... He was so incredible. And I saw Gary Cooper, Ty Power, Clark Gable, and then they disappeared. You talk about \"Gone With the Wind,\" Hollywood disappeared! And I had envisioned this because I was the last of the contract players, and I wanted to be like them, but they were gone! And all the sudden I'm seeing Marlon Brandos, and Monty Clifts, and then a whole generation of soft young men, the Beat Generation or whatever. I couldn't relate to them then. Because I had related to what my mother and brother had seen years before. And that's all I ever wanted to be. CNN: There can never be another old Hollywood. Hamilton: No, but there can be older people in Hollywood, and that's where I am now. Just before death they turn you into an icon. And the other day I got a star on Hollywood Boulevard and I thought, God this is pretty good, and then it scared me because I thought, they give these things to you before it's all over. CNN: And did you learn to love acting? Hamilton: Acting has always been something for me that's been a romp. I just show up and I have a good time, and I hope that I get through the day and I can have lunch in the sun. I used to take the script and if it was heavy I'd give it to George Peppard and if it was nice and light, if it was a western, a few words, I'd take it. That's the way I looked at it. I wasn't a great actor, it wasn't my style. I just loved being an actor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "George Hamilton's formative years subject of \"My One and Only\"\nPerpetually tanned Hamilton fell into acting; he wanted to be a doctor .\nHamilton remembers thrill of old Hollywood, then one day it was gone ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The space shuttle Discovery was waved off from its first chance to land Friday afternoon because of unstable weather near Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said. The space shuttle's landing in Florida was delayed Thursday, shown. A first attempt Friday was called off, too. The shuttle will make another orbit of Earth, while NASA mission managers watch to see if extreme moisture and lightning threaten a safe landing. The next opportunity to land in Florida would come at 7:23 p.m. ET; however, Mission Control told the shuttle crew the forecast for that time \"looks about the same.\" Crews have been activated at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert in case NASA decides to land the shuttle there, where the weather is not considered an issue. There are two chances to land Friday evening in California. The space agency, however, usually exhausts all landing windows in Florida before sending the spacecraft to California. A landing on the West Coast adds a week to the turnaround time before the shuttle can be ready for another mission and it costs several million dollars. The landing could be delayed until Saturday when there are two more chances to land in Florida or California. Discovery initially was scheduled to return to Earth on Thursday, but poor weather in central Florida also forced a delay. The seven astronauts are wrapping up a 13-day mission to the international space station, where the crew made repairs and delivered supplies. The crew executed three spacewalks and dropped off a Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or Colbert treadmill. It was named after comedian Stephen Colbert. Weather and technical problems delayed Discovery's launch three times before blastoff." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Landing attempt for space shuttle called off because of bad weather .\nThe shuttle may attempt a landing in Florida later Friday .\nAttempts to land on Thursday also were called off because of bad weather .\nNASA is readying crews in the California desert as a backup plan ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Juan Almeida, a Cuban revolutionary who fought alongside former Communist leader Fidel Castro, died of a heart attack Friday evening, according to state media. Almeida, left, sits with President Raul Castro on January 1, the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Almeida, 82, was among only a handful of surviving Cuban leaders who still bore the title \"Commander of the Revolution.\" A vice president and member of the Communist government Central Committee, Almeida was among only a few black leaders in top government posts. He died of cardiac arrest late Friday evening, according Juventud Rebelde, Cuba's state-run youth newspaper. Widely admired among Cuban nationals, Almeida fought with Fidel and Raul Castro at the start of their campesino-led revolution, participating in the failed attacks on the Moncada army barracks in 1953 and later aboard the famed yacht, \"Granma,\" that carried the small group of Cuban rebels who would later topple U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Almeida's death highlights the mortality of an aging cast of Cuba's revolutionary leaders. Widespread speculation surrounding the health of Fidel Castro grew in 2006 after the former Communist leader underwent abdominal surgery and later ceded the presidency to his younger brother, Raul. The elder Castro has recently appeared in a series of photos and video looking healthier, though he has not appeared in public since 2006. Cuban state media reported that Sunday will be a day of national mourning and that flags will be flown at half-staff." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cuban revolutionary Juan Almeida died of a heart attack Friday evening .\nAlmeida, 82, was a vice president and member of the Central Committee .\nHe was among only a few black leaders in top government posts .\nAlmeida fought with the Castros at the start of their campesino-led revolution ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Below is an excerpt from HLN \"Morning Express\" anchor Robin Meade's new book, Morning Sunshine!: How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too published by Hachette Book Group. The following takes place when Robin was working as a weekend anchor in Chicago, Illinois. Robin Meade's book \"Morning Sunshine!: How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too\" hits shelves September 10. I looked down at the copy of the news story. My stomach clenched. My heart started palpitating. I think I held my breath without realizing it. The floor director gave me the cue, pointing at me as the camera came up on my face. I felt sweaty. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the set seemed to fade into a gauzy haze. My breathing was jagged. The words came, but my voice was quivering so much it sounded like a kid singing into a big box fan on a humid summer day: \"Bray-ay-ay-ay-king new-ew-ew-ews tonigh-igh-ight.\" My hands shook uncontrollably, and I was huffing and puffing as if I were running mile twenty five of the Chicago Marathon. These were not the controlled, measured tones of someone who had been doing this for a living for years. My heart pounded in my ears, and my face flushed. I was losing it, right there with who knows how many thousands of people watching. What the hell is happening? As I delivered the facts of the story, I didn't hear a thing that came out of my mouth. All I heard were my own thoughts. Oh, no, you're screwing up! Oh, no, your bosses are probably watching! You're going to get fired! How will you pay your mortgage? What will people think of you? And then, of course, Holy crapola, where is that sound bite? Can you see how the cause-and-effect relationship of my thoughts just engulfed me in doom and gloom? I couldn't keep my mind on the story. I totally slipped into imagining the future and the horrible repercussions of my screwup. CNN's Virginia Cha talks to Robin about her on-air anxiety and her upcoming book » . Because I'm writing this today, you can tell that somehow I lived to see the sound bite that evening. The whole looking-like-I-was-hopped-up-on-six-energy-drinks episode lasted only seconds. But it seemed like an eternity. Now Josh, the I'm-going-to-be-a-reporter-someday crew member, and Michael, the I-really-want-to-be-a-rock-star prompter operator, were around me, wearing the same expression you'd have after witnessing a car wreck. \"Robin, are you okay? Do you need a glass of water?\" Josh's eyes were wide open, as if he really wanted to shout, \"Dude!\" He didn't know what to make of this. \"Yeah, please,\" I croaked. My mouth was cotton. I wished I had a trough to douse my head in instead of a tiny Dixie cup of water. \"Everything okay out there?\" the producer chimed in on my IFB, the earpiece through which the producer and director talk to anchors during the show without the folks at home hearing it. What to say, what to say? \"Oh, sorry about that. Wow, that was weird! I lost my breath or something.\" I faked a half-laugh at the end of that statement for their benefit. When Josh handed me the glass of water, I was surprised to see my hands were still trembling. I noticed how incredibly weak I felt, and I noisily gulped down the water the way my dog does at his water bowl after he's been chasing squirrels for an hour. Get it together, Robin! Miraculously, by the time we came out of the video and I had to speak again, it was as if nothing had happened. Except for feeling wiped out, I was back to sounding authoritative and in control, even tilting my head and smirking sheepishly as if to say, You'll forgive me for that little freak-out I just had. The truth was, I was morbidly embarrassed -- the kind of embarrassed where you'd rather crawl under a rock than face people. It wasn't the kind of embarrassment you can laugh off, as I could so easily when I was in high school show choir. As the student body filed in for the Christmas assembly, I started jumping rope with a holiday garland. I was standing out on the gymnasium floor, and with each leap over the garland I felt a swish! After a few times, I realized the garland was catching my knee-length choir dress in the back and flicking the skirt hem waist-high, exposing my bum for the entire eighth grade seated behind me. And laugh I did! Wouldn't you know it? The school photographer caught the moment: there I am in the 1987 yearbook laughing with my mouth wide open, my eyes as big as saucers, and my hands behind me, having just pushed my skirt back down. I have no problem laughing at myself in situations like that. My point in telling you this embarrassing story is that you can see I don't have trouble laughing off most situations. But my job? That was another matter. No, I was not going to be able to shrug off the \"breathing problem,\" as I had called it, trying to minimize its impact, even though it had completely bamboozled me on the air. It was all I thought about after the show, driving down the darkened streets of Chicago's Streeterville to our condo, still gripped with humiliation. I felt as though every tourist lugging her shopping bags from the Magnificent Mile back to her hotel, every vagrant panhandling for handouts, and every pedestrian who called the city home knew I had just made a complete fool of myself. My brain should have been full of concussions, I was beating myself up so much. How badly was I cursing myself? I didn't care to stop for my usual Cheesecake Factory late-night treat, let's put it that way. My stomach was still in knots. I didn't turn my eyes to gawk at the car pumping the thump-thitty-thump-thump bass at the stoplight, and I barely noticed anything around me on the drive home. I couldn't even feign a smile for the friendly doorman as I entered our high-rise building. The ride to the thirty-seventh floor seemed to take forever. Every time the elevator halted and the door opened I held my breath, afraid the person joining me on the ride had seen the screwup and would ply me with questions. Tim met me at the door. He had seen the \"breathing problem\" on TV for himself. I learned later it bolted him upright from his viewing perch on the couch. \"Did you watch me?\" I asked, hoping he'd say, \"Oh, I sensed a little glitch on your part.\" Instead he just nodded, and I saw the worried look on his face. He didn't say much. He was waiting for me to go first. I hesitated. Finally, in the kind of voice you'd use to soothe a colicky baby, he asked, \"Honey, what happened? Are you okay?\" I didn't know the answer. Excerpted from MORNING SUNSHINE!: How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too by Robin Meade. Copyright (c) 2009 by Robin Meade. Reprinted by permission of Center Street, a Division of Hachette Book Group. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anxiety attacks threatened to stop Robin Meade's career in its tracks .\nHer compulsion to overachieve put Meade temporarily out of touch with herself .\nMeade shares how she got her confidence, and her spontaneity, back .\nRobin Meade's new book hits shelves September 10 ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Six men, including a police officer, are facing homicide charges in last week's killing of French filmmaker and photographer Christian Poveda in El Salvador, the attorney general's office said. Filmmaker Christian Poveda poses for a picture at a workshop in Mexico on August 29. The suspect accused of ordering the slaying, Nelson Lazo Rivera, was already in prison, according to a statement Wednesday from the agency. Officials gave no motive for the slaying and did not say why Lazo Rivera is incarcerated. El Diario de Hoy newspaper said he is in prison for several murders, including three slayings in 2003 known as the massacre of Samcap. Poveda, 53, had recently finished a documentary about a violent street gang, part of the Mara 18 criminal group in El Salvador. He was found shot to death September 2 in the town of Tonacatepeque, about 10 miles northeast of the capital, San Salvador, authorities said. Four of the suspects are members of the same Mara 18 gang that was the subject of Poveda's film, the attorney general's office said. Authorities identified them as Calixto Rigoberto Escobar (known as Toro), Jose Alejandro Melara (El Puma), Roberto Luis Romero (Tiger), and Miguel Angel Rosa (El Cholo). National Civil Police Officer Juan Napoleon Espinoza also was arrested, the attorney general's office said. Officials did not say what his involvement in the crime may have been. But El Mundo, Diario Co Latino, El Faro and El Diario de Hoy newspapers said authorities believe the officer told gang members Poveda was giving information on the group to police. According to El Diario de Hoy, police deputy director Mauricio Ramirez Landaverde said Espinoza was a Mara 18 member, who would drink with other members in his free time and also was involved in giving them weapons, ammunition and information. Authorities said the suspects will be charged with aggravated homicide, proposition and conspiracy in the homicide and illicit associations. Poveda's documentary, \"La Vida Loca,\" follows the lives of members of the Mara 18 gang. The documentary has been screened at a handful of film festivals and is slated for wider release later this month. His body was found in an area controlled by that same gang, officials said. The suspects had set up a meeting with Poveda on August 30, at which time they were supposed to kill him and bury his body, El Mundo and El Diario de Hoy reported. But Poveda did not show, heightening gang members' suspicions that he was an informant. He met with the suspects three days later and was shot by Romero, El Mundo said, but in their haste to get away the gang members forgot to bury his body. A funeral for Poveda was held Wednesday in San Salvador before his body was shipped to France. A photograph of a younger Poveda, with shoulder-length hair, and a 35 mm digital camera were placed on the altar, next to a communion chalice. \"This is a painful and brutal act. Unacceptable,\" said Monsignor Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the auxiliary bishop of San Salvador. \"God moved Christian with his work, awoke noble ideals. He tried to film with his camera in order to open the eyes of those whose eyes needed opening.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "French filmmaker Christian Poveda was shot to death in El Salvador last week .\nPoveda had just finished documentary on violent street gang .\n4 of those arrested are members of the gang, another is police officer, officials say .\nSalvadoran media report the gang suspected Poveda was giving info to police ." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some $700 million in economic stimulus money intended to upgrade baggage screening systems at airports will go further than originally expected, Department of Homeland Security officials said Wednesday. The new systems can process up to 500 bags an hour, compared to the 150 to 160 bags per hour on the older machines, the TSA said. The DHS said the money will now upgrade systems at 10 additional airports. Earlier this year the DHS announced funding for baggage screening at airports in 15 cities. The money will be used to speed up construction of in-line baggage screening systems, which take advantage of the airline's existing conveyor belt systems to check bags, eliminating the need for minivan-size bomb detection systems now found in many airport lobbies. Government auditors have long complained about existing systems, which the Transportation Security Administration rushed into place to meet congressional deadlines after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At airports with in-line systems, airline workers at the ticketing counters place the bags on conveyor belts, which pass through explosive detectors on their way to the aircraft. That is more efficient than stand-alone systems, which the TSA employees must staff. In addition, in-line systems can process up to 500 bags an hour, compared to the 150 to 160 bags per hour processed by stand-alone machines, the TSA said. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement that DHS was able to \"stretch our resources\" by managing the recovery money and by negotiating with airports. In addition to the $700 million intended for checked baggage systems, $300 million is being allocated for checkpoint technology, such as new X-ray machines, \"whole body imaging\" technology and bottled liquid scanners. The new airports expected to get stimulus money for in-line explosive detection systems are: . • Washington Dulles International Airport (Chantilly, Virginia) • Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (St. Louis, Missouri) • Yellowstone Regional Airport (Cody, Wyoming) • William P. Hobby Airport (Houston, Texas) • St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport (St. Petersburg, Florida) • Gallatin Field Airport (Bozeman, Montana) • Little Rock National Airport (Little Rock, Arkansas) • Tulsa International Airport (Tulsa, Oklahoma) • Charlotte Douglas International Airport (Charlotte, North Carolina) • Colorado Springs Airport (Colorado Springs, Colorado) Earlier this year, DHS announced funding for airports in the following cities: Atlanta, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Honolulu, Hawaii; Huntsville, Alabama; Jackson, Wyoming; Maui, Hawaii; New Orleans, Louisiana; Orange County, California; Orlando, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portland, Maine; and Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose, California. To learn more about the DHS Recovery Act projects, visit www.dhs.gov/recovery." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Department of Homeland security says stimulus money can be stretched .\nDHS identified 10 additional airports to receive in-line baggage screening systems .\nUpdated screening process is more efficient than stand-alone machines ." } ]