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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": "ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Some Florida amusement park visitors may enjoy space-themed roller-coasters, but the first vehicle they board at Orlando International Airport may be the most futuristic ride of their vacation. Four hydrogen shuttle buses are part of the fleet at the Orlando International Airport. The airport is testing four Ford shuttle vans equipped with internal combustion engines modified to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline. \"It's quiet, it doesn't shake like diesel, it doesn't have that diesel smell,\" said Rafael Sanchez, who has been driving the vans for a year. The quieter engine makes conversation inside the bus easier than in conventional vehicles. \"Hydrogen is one of the many technologies we are exploring, trying to become more of a green airport,\" said Ronald Lewis, director of airport operations. Vehicles powered with hydrogen engines are different from the many vehicles across the nation that run with the help of hydrogen fuel cells -- which are the gold standard of green machines. The use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines is far less efficient than in the fuel cells. The modified engines aboard the Ford E-450 shuttle buses are 6.8 liter V-10s. The airport's fleet also includes three gas-electric hybrid vehicles and 24 biodiesel buses. The facility also powers its maintenance equipment -- such as lawnmowers and tractors -- with biodiesel. But like many experiments with alternative fuels, the price is very high and the long-term outcome is unknown. Proponents of hydrogen technology have long had a chicken-and-egg dilemma over whether to build million-dollar fueling facilities or to wait until more vehicles are in use. Energy companies are reluctant to pour money into expensive fueling stations without a lot of hydrogen vehicles around, but consumers are not likely to buy a vehicle without adequate places to fill up. \"It is clear nothing is going to displace gasoline or diesel for 20, 30, maybe 40 years,\" said John Lapetz, who has been working on alternative fuels at Ford for more than 20 years. The Orlando project has several goals: To get average consumers acquainted with hydrogen and to acquire data on the buses' performance in a setting where they are in use almost nonstop. Lapetz said it's an effort to use a technology that customers take for granted (the internal combustion engine), while preparing for the day when drivers can complete the divorce from fossil fuels. At the Boggy Creek Hydrogen Fueling Station in Orlando, the hydrogen is produced on-site. \"We are doing a process called steam methane re-forming, which is natural gas to hydrogen,\" said Puneet Verma, manager of biofuels and hydrogen at Chevron Technology Ventures, one of the players involved in the project. During a careful fueling process, technicians check for leaks of the highly flammable hydrogen -- leaks both in the bus and the fuel pump. Because a fossil fuel, methane, is used to make the hydrogen, the buses are about 12 percent cleaner than gasoline or diesel when their entire carbon footprint is measured. \"We view the hydrogen efforts as a technical success,\" said Verma. \"This is the first time we have been able to demonstrate actual production of hydrogen at the station. It's not necessarily an economic success yet.\" \"The ultimate goal is hydrogen fuel cell cars,\" Verma said. \"The hydrogen internal combustion engine buses are much less expensive to manufacture, but they consume a lot more hydrogen.\" Verma said the buses are \"valid transition technology\" aimed at quickly building significant demand for hydrogen, which would then justify an expensive infrastructure. The hydrogen test project also includes the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Ford Motor Company, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Progress Energy and SeaWorld. Hydrogen buses began shuttling SeaWorld employees in February from the park's outer parking lots to their workplaces. \"The environment is really an important part of SeaWorld's culture here,\" said Kelly Bernish, director of environmental health and safety at Busch theme parks SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica. Bernish described the venture as another opportunity for \"employees to feel like they can impact the environment by using this kind of vehicle, that will lessen our footprint on the world.\" SeaWorld's Discovery Cove animal training supervisor Jay Tacey said \"somebody has to get the ball rolling. Until somebody takes that first step, there's always going to be the 'what if?' \" Airport Operations Director Lewis said being in on the hydrogen experiment early could pay off in the long run. \"We are hopeful that since they built the facility here, the only one in the southeast United States, that there will be a long-term usage for it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Orlando airport tests cleaner hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines .\nSmoother, quieter engines require million-dollar fueling stations .\nTesters hope to learn more by gathering data from nonstop shuttle usage .\nHydrogen engines cheaper than hydrogen fuel cells, but they use more hydrogen ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The U.S. military said it is investigating claims from Syria that U.S. helicopters based in Iraq killed eight people and wounded another Sunday in an attack inside Syria's territory Sunday. A U.S. army Apache helicopter flies over southern Baghdad, Iraq. Syria's state news agency SANA said four U.S. helicopters crossed the border and struck a farm about 8 kilometers (5 miles) inside Syria before returning to Iraqi airspace. The raid occurred about 4:45 p.m. (1345 GMT). The helicopters hit a civilian building under construction on the farm, killing a father and his four sons, a married couple and another man, SANA said. Syria's deputy foreign minister contacted the U.S. embassies in Damascus and Baghdad, SANA said. Military officials are investigating the claims, Sgt. Brooke Murphy, a U.S. military spokeswoman, told CNN. \"Unfortunately, we cannot confirm anything at the moment,\" she said. The attack occurred near the town of Al-Bukamal, which is home to a Red Crescent camp for Iraqi refugees. The town is across the border from the Iraqi city of Qaim, which has been a major route for Sunni Arab fighters battling U.S. troops in Iraq. Watch CNN's Cal Perry explain the implications of the possible attack » . Syria has said it has made efforts to secure the 600-km desert border, which is marked largely by a sand wall. But Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the U.S. commander in western Iraq's sprawling Anbar province, told reporters last week that much of the border remains \"uncontrolled.\" \"We still have a certain level of foreign fighter movement, not much, through Anbar, because of our activities out there,\" Kelly said. But he said Iraqi intelligence believes al Qaeda operatives and others \"live pretty openly on the Syrian side, and periodically we know that they try to come across.\" Syria demanded Iraq's government \"immediately investigate this serious violation\" and bar U.S. forces from striking Syria from its territory. The Syrian government summoned U.S. and Iraqi diplomats to the Foreign Ministry in Damascus to condemn the attack, SANA reported. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report, Nada Husseini, Mike Mount and Cal Perry contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "State news agency says 3 men, 1 woman, 4 children killed near Iraq-Syria border .\nSANA says 4 helicopters from Iraq crossed border about 5 miles into Syria, hit farm .\nSyrian government summons U.S., Iraqi diplomats to Foreign Ministry in Damascus .\nU.S. Military says it is investigating claims, cannot confirm anything right now ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England (CNN) -- In a tough job market, MBA graduates seeking top-tier jobs are turning to a career networking site created by and catering to young professionals. Doostang gets its name from the Latin for \"reaching for talent.\" Doostang is an online community that seeks to match the brightest new grads with what it says are the crème de la crème of positions in finance, consulting and tech. Exclusivity is the cornerstone of this network, which connects graduates from elite schools with top employers. The site offers its members access to selective jobs that are not really available on the open market, according to founder Mareza Larizadeh. It's able to do that because recruiting managers are drawn by the caliber of its members, which includes students from the top business schools, he says. Schools like The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business have formed partnerships with Doostang that enable their students to access the network's premium job listings for free. \"Our goal is to get great jobs in front of relevant people and relevant candidates in front of hiring managers,\" Larizadeh tells CNN. Larizadeh never intended to launch a career start-up. He was completing his MBA at Stanford University in 2005 when he got the idea for Doostang, which is a modified version of \"reaching for talent\" in Latin. Classmates were exchanging emails about career advice, and \"I thought, why don't we give this some structure?\" he recalls. Four years and a round of venture capital funding later, what started as a hobby designed to help friends share career information has turned into a network with approximately 600,000 members. Larizadeh estimates that roughly a dozen of the top 20 MBA programs have signed partnership deals with Doostang. While mostly U.S. focused, Doostang is also becoming more international and recently sealed a deal to provide job opportunities to INSEAD. In an age where social networking sites abound, Doostang sets itself apart by taking closely knit relationships developed offline in B-school and leveraging them online to make a better job searching experience, Larizadeh says. A member applying for a job at McKinsey, for instance, is able to connect with members of his or her Doostang network that may have a McKinsey link to gain an insider's perspective. Larizadeh believes it isn't just the quality of people and jobs that distinguishes Doostang from other careers sites like LinkedIn and executive search service The Ladders. Doostang is also distinctive in that it caters specifically to students in their 20s and 30s with most of the positions advertised geared towards people at the beginning or middle of their careers. Employers advertising positions on the site range from white shoe firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to Silicon Valley titans Google and Facebook. Users initially had to be invited to join the network, but now Doostang is open to everyone. Members, however, have to pay for access to the most exclusive job postings. This helps keep the membership selective, Larizadeh said. Generally, people won't pay for membership if they aren't qualified for the jobs being advertised, he explained. The fee for premium services, which gives access to the more exclusive job postings, ranges from $25 to $40 a month. The site, which has always featured jobs at hedge funds, private equity firms and investment banks prominently, experienced a surge when the financial crisis kicked off last fall. \"Even though the economy is not as bad as it used to be, we are still seeing a good uptake. Our traffic is still going strong,\" Larizadeh says." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Doostang is a career networking site geared towards 20 and 30-somethings .\nSince it was founded in 2005, its membership has grown to 600,000 .\nBusiness schools like Wharton and INSEAD have partnered with Doostang ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian militant groups including the armed wing of Hamas are committing war crimes when they fire rockets into Israel, according to a report by campaign group Human Rights Watch. Palestinian militants from the al-Ahrar Brigades march during a rally in Gaza City in July. Three Israelis have been killed and dozens more seriously injured in Palestinian attacks since November 2008 with rockets striking populated areas up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) inside Israeli territory and putting 800,000 Israelis in danger, the report said. Two Palestinian girls died in Gaza when a rocket fell short of its intended target while the attacks have also put Palestinian citizens at risk from Israeli counterstrikes, it added. Human Rights Watch urged Hamas, which controls Gaza, to hold those responsible for the attacks accountable. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union. Hamas militants have cut down on rocket strikes in the past few months, but the group has not denounced those targeting Israeli civilians, nor has it tried those behind the attacks, the New York-based watchdog said. \"Hamas rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians are unlawful and unjustifiable, and amount to war crimes,\" said Iain Levine, program director at Human Rights Watch. \"As the governing authority in Gaza, Hamas should publicly renounce rocket attacks on Israeli civilian centers and punish those responsible, including members of its own armed wing.\" A spokesman for Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, criticized the report, claiming Palestinians had the right to defend themselves against Israeli military operations. \"The report is not fair,\" he said. \"It should condemn the (Israeli military) crimes instead of condemning people who defend themselves. \"The international law gives them the right to defend themselves because they are occupied. We have the right to defend our land.\" During Israel's offensive into Gaza during December and January, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants claimed to have fired 820 rockets at Israel, the report said. Human Rights Watch said the use of homemade Qassam and Soviet-designed Grad rockets to strike at densely populated areas amounted to indiscriminate attacks on civilians because the weapons cannot be aimed with any reliability. The watchdog found no evidence that Palestinian armed groups had deliberately used civilians as shields in rocket attacks. But it said militants took insufficient precautions to avoid putting civilian lives in danger. \"Hamas forces violated the laws of war both by firing rockets deliberately or indiscriminately at Israeli cities and by launching them from populated areas and endangering Gazan civilians,\" Levine said. Human Rights Watch has also documented war violations by Israeli forces during its three-week offensive into Gaza. While Israeli military operations had been more harmful, killing hundreds of civilians with airstrikes, tank shelling and other assaults, \"violations by one party to a conflict never justify violations by the other,\" it said. \"Attacks targeting civilians are never permitted under the laws of war, which require armed forces to target only military objectives, and to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians from harm, regardless of the reasons for resorting to armed conflict.\" The United Nations is investigating violations by both sides and is due to report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in September." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Human Rights Watch: Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel are war crimes .\nHRW urges Hamas, which controls Gaza, to bring those reponsible to account .\nHamas spokesman: Palestinians have right to defend themselves .\nTwo Israelis killed, dozens injured in rocket attacks since last November ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Striker Carlos Vela has signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal, the English Premier League club have announced on their official Web site. The Mexican international signed for Arsenal after coming through the youth ranks at Guadalajara and has subsequently had loan spells at Spanish sides Celta Vigo, Salamanca and Osasuna. The 20-year-old made his Arsenal debut last season, bursting onto the scene with a Carling Cup hat-trick against Sheffield United in September 2008. Manager Arsene Wenger told the Web site: \"We're delighted that Carlos Vela has signed a new long-term contract with the club. Carlos is a fantastic talent and we have already seen glimpses of this during his performances.\" The Frenchman continued: \"Let's remember, he is still only 20-years-old, so there is still a huge amount to come from this boy. \"We have invested a lot of time in Carlos, as we put him in Spain for two years to get some good experience. \"Now he's back with us, we're working hard with him every day and he is a very exciting player. \"We're looking forward to seeing Carlos score many goals in an Arsenal shirt for a long time to come.\" Vela said: \"I'm very happy to sign a new contract and I'm very excited to be spending more years with Arsenal Football Club. \"I just want to work hard and help this great club win trophies. I want to stay here for a long time and it's a great responsibility. I will keep working hard to show the boss and all the fans why I'm here.\" Vela played against Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday but he was one of the biggest culprits as Arsenal squandered a number of chances. He is the 11th first-team player to commit his long-term future to Arsenal since the end of last season. Vela, Eduardo, Sanchez Watt, Alex Song, Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere have all recently signed new long-term extensions with the club." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mexican striker Carlos Vela has signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal .\nThe 20-year-old made his Arsenal debut last season, bursting onto the scene with a Carling Cup hat-trick .\nHe is the 11th first-team player to commit his long-term future to Arsenal since the end of last season." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(InStyle.com) -- Daring in her fashion choices and her roles -- this summer she plays Agent 99 in \"Get Smart\" -- Anne Hathaway is the perfect candidate to answer questions about developing your own unique personal style. Anne Hathaway wears a Valentino satin coat and La Crasia leather gloves at an InStyle photoshoot. Curvaceous and kooky, interesting and interested, Hathaway is a multidimensional gal. In an age of nonstop tabloid exhibitionism, she stands out as a beacon of confident allure. Within a short period of time, the young actress has graduated from fashion ingénue to a woman who navigates the designer realm with intrepid spirit and lashings of wit. Now that she has her bearings, Hathaway is ready to express her individuality. Watch how Anne Hathaway changes her style » . She arrives for our meeting looking well scrubbed, bohemian and totally incognito: Her navy jacket is from Et Vous in Paris; the jeans, True Religion; the flats, Lanvin; and the bag, Anya Hindmarch. An Yves Saint Laurent lapis lazuli ring and Ugandan handcrafted beads from Beadforlife.org are all the embellishment she needs. It seems to me that nowadays some stars confuse being stylish with dressing really slutty. What's your take? I've always been on the conservative side when it comes to showing skin. I'm from that school where you show one part of your body, not all of it. So compared to the girls you're talking about, I'm quite prim... [But] sometimes you just make mistakes. I once wore a see-through dress to an event, but I had absolutely no idea ... You didn't do the lighting test! And I have never not done the lighting test after that. At the end of the day, you have to dress in what you're comfortable in. If you're at ease in a bikini top and a miniskirt -- though I certainly wouldn't be -- go for it. Can you talk about your style philosophy? If you're going to be glamorous, it has to be tempered with eccentricity so that it incorporates your own personality. Dressing up is great, but you need a twist. And one of my biggest style influences has been Rachel Zoe, who introduced me to glamour. Now I'm kind of pushing her a little bit to explore the eccentric side. Lately, I've been having a lot more fun with how I dress. I am braving the idea of ending up on a worst-dressed list, but I'm also a lot happier with what I wear. What's the most tragic thing you wore in high school? So many things! I was still recovering from Clueless when I was in high school, so probably one too many baby-doll skirts with baby Ts, knee socks, mary janes and barrettes. Maybe the occasional pair of flannel pajama pants during finals week. I don't let myself get that slobby these days. What does the word \"chic\" mean to you? I instantly think of Audrey Hepburn -- she could do no wrong. Her style was revolutionary. She was ladylike without being stuffy. And I also love Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett and Selma Blair, who is so fabulous. Any other Hollywood icons lurking in your closet? I'm currently having a Gwen Stefani moment. I just bought some beautiful shorts from her fashion line, LAMB. Do you enjoy the whole red-carpet circus? For a while it was very new and very frightening, and I would just work myself up so in all my photos I looked like I was staring down the barrel of a gun. I don't beat myself up about it anymore. Did you care when the tabloids ragged on your white Valentino dress with the black bow at the 2007 Oscars? I consider it a good sign when you end up on best- and worst-dressed lists. If you're universally best, then you've been quite boring. Let's talk about \"Get Smart\": Is it retro, or did they update the groovy sixties vibe of Agent 99's look? It's groovy in a different way. There are some things that are very mod, but we're not making Austin Powers 4 -- it's not a spoof. It's more like a comedic Bourne Identity. Watch Hathaway, other stars talk about movie » . I wore a few body-hugging dresses, which was so fun since I'm not used to them. I did inherit 99's Chanel bag addiction, and I was very happy about that. I have a ton of action sequences, and I had to be able to fight in every single outfit. Beyond swinging a Chanel handbag, did you do anything in particular to get into shape for this role? I started working out about three months before the film began. I wanted to be curvy and muscle-y. I took my body inspiration from Jessica Biel. I didn't quite get those results, but she's great. David Kirsch, my trainer, has made sure that I am no longer self-conscious about my thighs. Eventually my knees are going to be all wrinkly and I'm not going to be able to wear things like short skirts, so I take pleasure in wearing them now. Next you play a bridezilla opposite Kate Hudson in \"Bride Wars.\" Did you get to wear show-stopping bridal gowns? I really can't say too much, but there's a fantastic scene where we're both in our dresses and we do absolutely terrible things to each other. Get a FREE TRIAL issue of InStyle - CLICK HERE! Copyright © 2009 Time Inc. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anne Hathaway plays Agent 99 in the movie \"Get Smart\"\nThe actress says she's more conservative than most in her style .\nAudrey Hepburn and Gwen Stefani are among her style icons .\nHathaway started working out three months before filming the movie ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England -- Malaria is one of the world's worst health problems and one of its biggest killers, with half a billion people affected every year, according to the Roll Back Malaria partnership. Around half a billion people are infected with malaria every year. Ninety percent of those cases are in Africa. Saturday marks World Malaria Day, when the world commemorates global efforts to eradicate the disease. Below CNN's Vital Signs has produced a complete A - Z guide to how malaria spreads, the symptoms to look out for and how to protect yourself. A is for Anti-malarial drugs The history of anti-malarial medicine has been marked by a constant struggle between evolving drug-resistant parasites and the search for new drugs. Currently, anti-malaria experts are focusing on therapies that combine several drugs for better effects. B is for Blood stream Once a mosquito has bitten and the malaria parasites reach the liver, the parasites divide and create thousands of mature parasites. These are released into the blood and infect red blood cells. At that point, typical malaria symptoms such as fever and anemia develop. C is for Chloroquine Until recently, Chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, was the first option for many people because of its relatively low price and effectiveness. However, resistance to Chloroquine in many parts of the world has rendered the drug ineffective. D is for Diagnosis After noting your symptoms and travel history, your doctor will likely obtain a sample of your blood for observation. Two blood samples, taken at six- and 12-hour intervals, can usually confirm the presence of the malaria parasite and its type. It is possible to be infected by more than one parasite at the same time. E is for Epidemic According to the World Health Organization (WHO), large and devastating epidemics can occur when the mosquito-borne parasite is introduced into areas where people have had little prior contact with the infecting parasite. These epidemics can be triggered by wet weather conditions and further aggravated by floods or mass population movements driven by conflict. F is for Fever The most common symptom of all types of malarias is high fever, which is why doctors often misdiagnose malaria for flu. The fever is a reaction to toxins in the blood. It is therefore advised to tell your doctor you have been to a malaria affected zone, even if symptoms arise months after the trip. G is for Genome In 2002, -- hundred years after it was discovered that mosquitoes transmit the malaria parasite -- the complete genetic codes of both the human malaria parasite and the mosquito that spreads it was cracked. This development brought scientists a step closer to developing drugs and vaccines to fight the disease, Nature magazine reported. H is for Hotspots Most cases and deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, many of them occurring among children. However, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected. In 2006, malaria was present in 109 countries and territories. I is for Immunity Travelers from malaria-free regions such as Europe and the United States, with little or no immunity, who go to areas with high disease rates, are particularly vulnerable. It is essential to take precautions by taking anti-malarial drugs prescribed by your doctor. J is for Julius Wagner-Jauregg Julius Wagner-Jauregg, a Viennese doctor, was the first to intentionally infect syphilis patients with malaria parasites. By controlling the subsequent malaria-related fever with an anti-malaria drug, the effects of both syphilis and malaria could be minimized. Jauregg received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1927. K is for Killer Malaria is a life-threatening disease but it is preventable and curable if the right steps are taken. Education in recognizing the symptoms has reduced the number of cases in some areas by 20 percent. Recognizing the disease in the early stages can stop the disease from becoming a killer. L is for Laser gun U.S. scientists say they are developing a laser gun that could kill millions of mosquitoes in minutes. The laser fires at mosquitoes once it detects the audio frequency created by the beating of wings, the lead scientist on the project told CNN. The project is being funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. M is for Mosquitoes Malaria is caused by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquitoes. The mosquitoes bite between sunset and sunrise and parasites from the mosquito are then injected into the person's skin and transported to the liver. About 170 species of such parasites exist, but only four cause malaria in humans. N is for Nets The distribution of mosquito nets with insecticide is a very effective method of malaria prevention, and it is also one of the most cost-effective methods. These nets can often be obtained for around $3. Earlier this month, actor Ashton Kutcher won a Twitter race against CNN to reach 1 million followers. Kutcher had pledged 10,000 mosquito nets to charity if he beat CNN, and 1,000 if he lost. CNN agreed to do the same. O is for Obstacles In many endemic areas, access to health facilities, as well as drug costs, still present major obstacles. Humanitarian agency Medecins Sans Frontieres estimates that the cost of treating a malaria-infected person in an endemic country was between $0.25 and $2.40 per dose in 2002. P is for Pandemic For malaria to become a pandemic (plague) in an area, several factors have to be present: high human population density; high mosquito population density; high rates of transmission from humans to mosquitoes and from mosquitoes to humans. Q is for Quinine Quinine was the first effective treatment for malaria in the 17th century. Since the 1940's, many other anti-malarial drugs have appeared on the market and have taken precedent over quinine. But quinine is still being used to treat malaria in some cases. R is for Repellent The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says inspect repellents with DEET (most common active ingredient in strong insecticides) in them should be used on exposed skin and flying-insect spray can be used to kill mosquitoes in the sleeping area. DEET may be toxic, however and should be used with care. S is for Symptoms Fever is not the only symptom of malaria. Other symptoms can include shivers, headaches and nausea. Sweating and exhaustion is also common and in some cases, it can affect the brain or kidneys. T is for Tablets Malarone is a common anti-malaria drug among many travelers. It is said to have a 97 percent efficacy with relatively few side-effects. It can be given just one day before arrival in a malaria endemic country and only needs to be taken for another week after leaving. U is for Unborn child According to the WHO, pregnant women are at high risk of contracting malaria. The illness can result in high rates of miscarriages and cause more than 10 percent of maternal deaths annually. This figure can rise to 50 percent in cases of severe disease. V is for Vaccine Despite intensive research, no effective malaria vaccine has been developed to date. But according to a report in April's New Scientist journal, a unique vaccine taken from the saliva of infected mosquitoes has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be tested in people. W is for World Malaria Day April 25 has become World Malaria Day to provide a global effort to control malaria around the world. The international malaria community only has two years left to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon. X is for X-ray X-ray microscopes are used to find the presence of malaria in red blood cells and see how they interact with healthy cells. One of the advantages of this type of microscope is that it produces very-high-resolution images of the cell structure. Y is for Yellow fever Yellow fever is another disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Some countries, such as Peru, require a certificate showing yellow-fever vaccination before you can travel there. Z is for Zanzibar Zanzibar, part of the African republic of Tanzania, has had relative successes in combating malaria; Africa's biggest killer according to the New Scientist journal. The achievements are due to the widespread use of treated bed nets, along with the switch to new anti-malarial drugs instead of Chloroquine in 2004." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "World Malaria Day on April 25 highlights the danger of malaria and calls for action .\nAccording to the WHO there were 247 million cases of malaria in 2006 .\n880,000 people died of malaria in 2006, a preventable and curable disease ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Ron Hassell stares at one really worn-out brown leather loafer. Ron Hassell has seen his share of heels. And soles. His grandfather taught him the shoe-repair trade. \"This is a shoe I don't want to tackle,\" he grimaces as his finger traces holes on the bottom. \"I tried to talk the guy out of fixing it, believe it or not.\" The cobbler grabs a tool to rip off the entire sole. \"Some guys get a favorite pair of shoes. ... as you can tell, this guy wore this one to death.\" He brings one of the shoes to a grinder that files down the last of the old sole and heel. \"It'll look brand new when I'm done,\" Hassell says. Hassell's shoe repair business, tucked into the corner of a three-story building in downtown North Attleborough, Massachusetts, is a trade and a tradition. The shop he now owns, North Shoe Repair, once belonged to his grandfather, who taught him everything he knows about being a cobbler. \"He was one of the best,\" Ron says, and he knows this because that's what all the salesmen -- the ones who sold products to all the local shoe repair shops -- would tell him. There are not a lot of cobblers left in the area, but Hassell's business has been steady and has even picked up in the last year. He sees the economy as one reason. It's far more economical to spend $12.50 on a pair of $125 shoes than to buy new ones. Hassell, however, sees another reason for being busy. With few young people entering the trade, customers seek out cobblers when theirs retire. \"I used to be the youngest that I knew of, because I started when I was twenty. Of course I'm close to fifty now, and I'm still probably one of the youngest around here.\" Watch the craftsman at work » . He continues to work on the really beat-up pair he didn't want to face. He uses special cutting and sewing machines to attach new leather to the bottom. Glue is pasted onto parts and the grinding machine is visited several times, both to sand off rough edges and later to polish them to a shine. He'll go back and forth to the various shoes that have been brought in and stop to wait on people bringing in his next challenge to repair. His customers seem satisfied with the results they get, and some have been loyal to his business for years. \"I came when his grandfather was here,\" says Inez Cavallaro, who had come to the shop to pick up a pair of sandals Hassell had fixed. \"I hope he always stays here, because he's great. \"He has done some magical things for me.\" The comments don't go unnoticed by Hassell. \"You know, what's pretty cool is, customers, they get pretty happy. You get that all the time, and it makes you feel good.\" Using an old shoe brush to polish what had started the day as a hopeless pair of old shoes, Hassell puts the final touches on what now look like shoes just bought from a store. \"Better than I thought they were going to come out,\" he says, looking them over one last time. Hassell says he enjoys his craft because he knows what he does is appreciated. As one customer leaves his shop and says goodbye, she stops in the door and turns around. She looks back at Hassell and says, \"Don't go out of business, now!\" As long as he can, that's something Ron Hassell has no intention of doing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shoe-repair business is a trade and a tradition in small Massachusetts shop .\nRepairman cites economic downturn as factor in current uptick in his trade .\nIt's far more economical to have shoes repaired rather than buying new ones .\nSome customers have been coming to shoe-repair shop for years ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- One summer night in 2004, 3-year-old Riley Fox lay asleep on a couch not far from her 6-year-old brother on a chair in the living room. Their father was sleeping in a nearby bedroom. The FBI joined the search for the killer of 3-year-old Riley Fox last month. Just before 8 a.m., Kevin Fox was awakened by his son. The boy told his father that Riley was missing from the sofa. Fox searched for his daughter for 40 minutes inside and outside their Wilmington, Illinois, home and then called police, according to authorities. His wife, Melissa, was in Chicago participating in a charity walk, and when she found out, she rushed home. Nearly 500 volunteers, along with police and family, searched for the little girl. Her body was found later that day in a river in Forked Creek, Illinois, just 4 miles from the family's home. She'd been bound and gagged with duct tape, raped and drowned, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office and the coroner's report. It was June 6, 2004, the start of a horrific ordeal for the family. Fox was arrested and charged with the killing, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence. More than five years later, authorities have yet to capture Riley's killer. Kathleen Zellner, Fox's attorney, said that the crime scene was brutal and that the theory is that Riley was snatched from her home, sexually assaulted and then thrown from the bridge overlooking the river where she drowned. Because her hands were bound and her mouth covered with duct tape, she was unable to swim or save herself, Zellner said. According to Zellner, Fox says that the night his daughter disappeared, he had gone to a street fair while the children's grandparents looked after them. On his way home, about midnight, Fox picked up his two sleepy children from their grandparents and put them to bed in the living room of the 500-square-foot cement box family home. Riley often fell asleep on the sofa and her 6-year-old brother on the chair near her while watching TV, Zellner said. Fox has said the front door was wide open when he awoke, Zellner said, as was the back door. He has said he locked the front door before he'd gone to bed. The back door's lock had been broken weeks ago; they typically propped a stack of laundry baskets against it to keep it shut. According to the family, those baskets had been removed and placed on top of the laundry machine by someone other than family members. \"From the beginning, we believed that someone was already inside the house waiting when Kevin got home with the kids that night, \" Melissa Fox said. \"But it was clear that police were looking at Kevin suspiciously.\" Indeed, five months later, Will County sheriff's officers arrested and charged Kevin Fox with the sexual assault and murder of his daughter. Zellner says the arrest came after authorities coerced a confession from him after 14 hours of relentless questioning. Fox spent eight months in jail, but DNA evidence from the rape kit conducted on Riley's body finally exonerated him. There was no semen found during the autopsy, Zellner says, but saliva of an unidentified male was found on the duct tape covering Riley's mouth and elsewhere on her body. In late 2007, the family won a $15.5 million wrongful-arrest suit against the sheriff's detectives. The Foxes believe that the perpetrator was someone in the community who had been watching and targeting their daughter for some time. \"For weeks before her disappearance, I couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness, strange noises at night outside our house, as if someone were lurking and watching us,\" Melissa Fox said. Zellner believes that another big clue was a red car similar to a Chevrolet Cavalier parked outside the Fox home that night, before Kevin Fox and his children returned home. \"It's only been in the last few weeks that investigators have actively begun pursuing this case again,\" Zellner said, \"even though Kevin was cleared nearly four years ago.\" Last month, the FBI joined the investigation at the request of Will County State Attorney James Glasgow. FBI agents combed Riley's neighborhood and talked with neighbors and other potential witnesses. \"The FBI is bringing unprecedented resources and expertise to this investigation,\" Glasgow said in a statement. \"We cannot allow this horrific crime against an innocent child to remain unsolved.\" The family is offering a $100,000 reward, and the FBI is offering $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Riley Fox's death. Anyone with more information is urged to call the FBI's Chicago office at 312-421-6700." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "FBI joins investigation into death of 3-year-old Riley Fox, slain in 2004 .\nRiley was reported missing from home; her body was found that day .\nAuthorities initially charged father in the killing, but DNA exonerated him .\nAttorney for family blasts law enforcement for lack of progress on case ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- An audio message purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has accused President Barack Obama of being unable to fulfil his election pledge to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. Osama bin Laden is seen in an image taken from a videotape that aired on Al-Jazeera in September 2003. The tape emerged on radical Islamist Web sites, just two days after the United States marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. \"To the American people, this is my message to you: a reminder of the reasons behind 9/11 and the wars and the repercussions that followed and the way to resolve it,\" the message said. \"From the beginning, we have stated many times ... that the cause of our disagreement with you is your support of your allies, the Israelis, who are occupying our land in Palestine. Your stance along with some other grievances are what led us to carry out the events of 9/11.\" The video plays the audio over a undated photograph of bin Laden. The video also shows a banner with the American flag as the backdrop and an image of the New York City skyline with the twin towers of the World Trade Center -- destroyed in the 9/11 attack -- still standing, said terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield. CNN could not independently authenticate bin Laden as the speaker in the 11-minute video posted on Sunday by As-Sahab Media -- al Qaeda's production company. Watch CNN's Octavia Nasr's analysis of the message » . Obama was \"a vulnerable man who will not be able to stop the war, as he promised, but instead he will drag it to the maximum possible extent,\" the message said. Though U.S. troops no longer patrol Iraq's major cities and a large number have left, tens of thousands remain in the country and are expected to stay for years to come. The message claims that the Obama administration is under the influence of the Republican White House it replaced, pointing out that the president kept Robert Gates as defense secretary -- a holdover from the Bush administration. \"Prolong the wars as much as you like. By God, we will never compromise on it (Palestine), ever,\" the message continued. Mansfield noted that the video brings no new images of the elusive bin Laden, who was last seen in footage two years ago on the sixth anniversary of the terror attacks. Bin Laden has released audio messages since then, most recently on June 9." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obama is \"vulnerable man who will not be able to stop the war as he promised\"\nMessage: \"By God, we will never compromise on it (Palestine), ever\"\nCNN could not independently authenticate bin Laden as the speaker in the video .\nAl Qaeda's production company, As-Sahab Media, posts the 11-minute video ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- US Airways Capt. Chesley \"Sully\" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles were reunited in the cockpit Thursday for the first time since Sullenberger safely landed a disabled passenger plane in the Hudson River in January. Thursday's flight was Chesley Sullenberger's first in his new role as an active management pilot for US Airways. \"It was great to fly with Jeff again. Being back in the cockpit felt very familiar. It was like coming home,\" Sullenberger said of the flight from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina. \"Even though several months had past since I've flown, it would seem like I had never left.\" It was the first time Sullenberger had flown the New York to Charlotte route since the water on landing on January 15. A bird strike in the engines forced Flight 1549 to make an emergency landing in the icy waters between New York and New Jersey. The landing made heroes of Sullenberger and the flight's crew, who managed to lead passengers to safety with only a few minor injuries. Watch Sullenberger talk about the flight » . Sullenberger has been honored with numerous awards, appeared on the \"Late Show With David Letterman,\" spoke before a joint session of Congress and even went to the Super Bowl. Sullenberger said that, after the incident, he wanted to be reunited in the cockpit with Skiles and complete the flight. Cheers filled the cabin when Sullenberger introduced himself, adding he had \"learned to wait\" for applause to die down before giving preflight announcements. Four passengers from Flight 1549 returned for Thursday's trip, putting their lives once again in the hands of the man they affectionately call \"Sully.\" Christie Spears, who survived the \"miracle on the Hudson,\" reserved the same seat for today's trip. \"What better flight to be on? What better captain to fly with? I wouldn't choose any other one,\" she said. Barry Leonard, a regular commuter on the New York-Charlotte route, said the flight was a healing process for him. Other passengers said they felt like they were taking part in a historic event. With \"Sully\" at the controls, Pat Martinez said she felt like she won the lottery. \"It was a smooth, calm flight -- just what you would expect from Sully.\" Thursday's flight also was Sullenberger's first in his new role as an active management pilot for US Airways. In addition to his flying duties, Sullenberger will join the airline's flight operations safety management team, which helps airlines assess potential risks and act to mitigate them, US Airways said. Both men took time off before returning to the cockpit, US Airways said, during which they completed requalification training. Skiles returned to work in April, US Airways said. Since then, he has flown more than 60 flights. Sullenberger completed his training September 11, and since the crash, he has flown two flights between Charlotte and Atlanta. Sullenberger said he plans to step back from his flying duties while he goes on a book tour in two weeks and starts teach other pilots at the flight training school. Skiles said that even after eight months away from the controls, Sullenberger did everything perfectly, even reaching over to his radio to change the frequency. Sullenberger said the clear skies and nice weather made Thursday's flight go smoothly. \"It was a beautiful day to fly,\" he said. \"This flight today was a lot longer than that one in January, and I was able to give [CEO Doug Parker] back his airplane without getting it wet first.\" CNN's Adam Reiss contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Four passengers from ill-fated flight in January make trip on same route .\nNEW: Passenger reserves same seat she had on Flight 1549 for Thursday's flight .\nSullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles reunite in cockpit .\nSullenberger: \"Being back in the cockpit felt very familiar. It was like coming home\"" } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel dismissed questions about whether President Obama is being overexposed with his recent media blitz, saying Tuesday that the American people want to hear what Obama is doing about a struggling economy. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says President Barack Obama is using the media to keep citizens informed. Speaking to CNN's Larry King moments after Obama finished a prime time news conference, Emanuel said people are talking about issues like jobs, education and health care, and want to know where their president stands. \"You can say maybe there's overexposure,\" Emanuel said. \"I think if you watch and see, there have been greater audiences for the shows he has been on to answer these questions, because these are the questions the American people are asking around their kitchen tables.\" In the past week, Obama has appeared on CBS' \"60 Minutes\" and NBC's \"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,\" the first appearance by a sitting president on a late-night talk show. He fielded questions for an hour at Tuesday's news conference and also appeared last week on ESPN filling out his bracket for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Some analysts say the president risks diluting his message in the public's mind by being visible so frequently. Some Republicans and other critics have accused Obama of maintaining a campaign mentality when he needs to be governing. But Emanuel said a public anxious about the economy has largely rejected those notions. \"I think in this troubled time ... the American people expect the president to talk to them, walk them through his thinking -- why he makes the decisions he makes, what are the tradeoffs to those decisions -- and carry them through this process,\" he said. \"I think they're very engaged in this conversation. If you look at the data, they are involved in this conversation and interested in this dialogue and appreciate an adult conversation with them about the changes they're making and the changes their government and their elected leaders are making on their behalf.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says president using media to spread message .\nEmanuel says Obama wants to keep Americans aware of his economic plan .\nSome say president risks diluting his message by being visible so frequently .\nEmanuel: In troubled time, Americans \"expect the president to talk to them\"" } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's note: David B. Givens is Director of the Center for Nonverbal Studies in Spokane, Washington. He is the author of \"Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship\" (St. Martin's, New York, 2005), \"Crime Signals: How to Spot a Criminal Before You Become a Victim\" (St. Martin's, 2008), and the forthcoming \"The Body of Work: Sightreading the Language of Business, Bosses, and Boardrooms.\" His online Nonverbal Dictionary is used around the world as a reference tool. Barack and Michelle Obama celebrate winning the Democratic nomination with a fist bump in 2008. SPOKANE, Washington (CNN) -- The H1N1 swine flu virus is putting our most familiar gesture of greeting -- handshakes -- at risk. As an anthropologist who watches people for a living, I can tell you that human beings touch their own faces with their own fingertips hundreds, if not thousands of times a day. Repeated face touching -- especially finger contact with eyelids, lips, and nostrils -- is as predictable as blinking. You'll observe hand-to-face gestures in every culture and society, as well as in our closest primate relatives, the monkeys and apes. There's nothing wrong with face touching. Nothing, that is, unless you're afraid of germs. And today, many of us around the world are terrified by these tiny organisms, especially ones that cause swine flu. Merely by shaking the hand of someone infected by the swine-flu virus, we risk infection each time we inadvertently reach up and touch our faces. Physicians urge that we wash right after shaking hands. But since the anthropologist in me knows that, as a primate, you'll touch your face before washing, germs will inevitably visit unsuspecting lids, lip, and noses. The human handshake itself, meanwhile, is a widespread gesture used for meeting, greeting, and sealing a deal. It's a ritualized gripping of another's hand, with one or more up-and-down (or, in Texas, sideways) motions followed by a quick release. Since the fingertips and palm of the hand are exquisitely sensitive, the shake itself can be deeply personal. We instantly feel the warmth or coolness, dryness or moistness, and firmness or weakness of another's grip. Sensory input from a hand's thermal and pressure receptors to the brain's sensory cortex and then to deeper, emotional brain areas can be intense. If you travel to France, be prepared to shake hands dozens of times a day. Office workers in Paris, for example, may shake in the morning to greet, and in the afternoon to say goodbye, to colleagues. Outside vendors and technicians will handshake with everyone present when they enter or leave an office. The risk of hand-carried flu virus is thus greater here than it is in the United States, where handshaking is far less frequent. Contrast this to the Japanese practice of giving fewer handshakes, still, in favor of polite bows of the head. In all three nations, casual face touching is frequent, but germs in Tokyo are less apt to spread through handshakes. In Islamic nations, it is strictly taboo for men to shake hands in public with women. So, Muslim couples are less likely to exchange swine-flu germs through manual contact than are business men and women in, say, Seattle, Washington. Since in much of the world a handshake is both a visual and a tactile index of your concern for other people, it's hard to hold one back. In North America, Latin America, and Europe, when someone holds out a hand, it's difficult not to just take a step forward and shake. You don't want, after all, to seem rude. In Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, handshaking may be more nuanced than in the West, or even absent. An Asian namasté, with your palms and fingers pressed together in front of your chest, given with a slight bow -- or a Muslim salaam, in which your right hand touches your forehead, also given with a slight bow, may be proffered instead of a handshake. While you'll see the same incidence of facial touching -- to wipe a lip, relieve tension, or scratch an itch -- the fingertips themselves won't carry germs born of handshakes. So, what are we face-touchers in the rest of the world to do? Are we doomed to spread flu germs through our practice of ritually of gripping each other's hands? The short answer is no. Thanks to a pair of the planet's most well known human primates, we now have a healthier hand sign with which to meet and greet. Since the Obama-Lama \"fist bumps\" have been so well publicized of late, I'm sure you've seen it in newspapers and magazines and on Web sites and TV. Primates are the most imitative of all of Earth's animals, so don't be surprised if you find yourself bumping fists -- a lot -- in the weeks and months ahead. On September 22, 2009, the Dalai Lama was welcomed to Memphis, Tennessee, not with a handshake but with a fist bump from interim Memphis Mayor Myron Lowery. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader balled up his fist and reached it forward to make friendly contact with the mayor's own proffered balled-up fist. From his smiling face, I could tell the Dalai Lama enjoyed his new greeting ritual. It looked as if he were playing with the cue. Though it was unclear if either of the fist-bumpers had flu phobia, that they touched with the knuckles instead of the fingertips rendered disease transmission far less likely. A year earlier, on June 3, 2008, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama tenderly fist bumped with his wife Michelle, in what The Washington Post called \"the fist bump heard 'round the world.\" That a U.S. president publicly performed the fist bump -- a gesture that originated partly from the sportsman's palm high-slap of victory and partly from the Black Power fist of the 1970s -- has given the gesture staying power, even though some people were critical of its use. It will last considerably longer than Andy Warhol's \"15 minutes of fame.\" Thanks to Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, and the swine flu, the fist bump will surely show up at a greeting near you. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Givens." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "David Givens: H1N1 flu is prompting focus on how we greet each other .\nHe says handshakes create risk of spreading the flu virus .\nFist bumps are a less risky way of greeting people .\nGivens: Obamas and Dalai Lama have popularized the fist bump ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "San Juan, Puerto Rico (CNN) -- Investigators don't know if the massive fire at a fuel storage facility near San Juan was deliberately started or was an accident, the agent in charge of the FBI's San Juan office said Monday. The blaze, which started with an explosion at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. facility in Bayamon municipality early Friday, was extinguished Sunday, firefighters said. Some of the tanks continued to smolder and crews stood ready to fight any flare-up. \"We don't know if it's a crime scene,\" said FBI Special Agent Luis Fraticelli. \"We don't know if it's an accident, so we're not making any determinations at this point until our experts do their work, do their analysis and then provide input to us as to what they feel happened here.\" Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. The FBI is investigating graffiti found on two San Juan tunnels that referred to a fire, Special Agent Harry Rodriguez said Friday. A spray-painted message on the tunnels, less than three miles apart, said: \"Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf, Soul, ACNF.\" Caribbean Petroleum owns the Gulf Oil brand, but Rodriguez said he did not know what ACNF referred to. Hundreds of firefighters battled the blaze, which began with an explosion early Friday morning. That explosion shook the ground with the force of a 2.8-magnitude earthquake, authorities said. Flames shot into the air while plumes of thick, black smoke hovered over the region. Agents from the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were investigating to determine whether the explosion was an act of sabotage or an accident. Seventeen tanks were destroyed by flames and the initial explosion. Puerto Rico's governor, Luis Fortuno, said the main priority of his government is to counter any long-term effects of air and water pollution caused by the disaster. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency have been checking air quality near the fire. \"We're not finding levels that would be of concern,\" said Bonnie Bellow, EPA spokeswoman. She said the fire had been so intense because it was \"burning off chemicals that are part of the fuel.\" About 600 displaced people stayed in shelters on Sunday night, but many were being sent home. Dr. Lorenzo Gonzalez, Puerto Rico's health secretary, tests conducted on the air and water showed no reason for concern. Because they were placed in close proximity in the facilities, everyone in the shelters and all the emergency personnel were vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus as a precaution, Gonzalez said. President Obama declared an emergency in Puerto Rico, which frees up federal aid. Fortuno said the blaze has cost the island at least $6.4 million. The governor sought to allay fears over gasoline supplies. Caribbean Petroleum owns 200 gas stations in the island and several inland distribution facilities, and supplies much of the island's fuel. Puerto Rico will receive 3.6 million gallons of regular gasoline, more than 1 million gallons of premium gasoline and more than 1 million gallons of diesel fuel to help make up for what may have been lost, Fortuno said. The company has been cited for violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the main law in the United States that deals with the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, according to EPA spokeswoman Bellow. Caribbean Petroleum is under a corrective-action plan, she said. CNN's Rafael Romo and Arthur Brice contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blaze started with massive explosion early Friday .\nGraffiti found in two San Juan tunnels made reference to fires .\nPuerto Rico to receive fuel imports to make up for what burned ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- What's it really like to be a new member of the world's most powerful legislature? Two new U.S. representatives are teaming up with CNN.com to report their \"Freshman Year\" experience through videos and commentaries. Jason Chaffetz and Jared Polis are taking video cameras with them as they negotiate their way in the 111th Congress, both inside and outside Washington. They both won convincing victories in November in neighboring states, yet they are world's apart. Utah's Chaffetz is a conservative Republican married father of three who is sleeping on a cot in his congressional office to save money. Democrat Polis from Colorado is a former Internet entrepreneur who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and the first openly gay male to be elected to the House of Representatives as a freshman. You can follow their stories regularly on CNN.com. Watch the action in Congress from the point of view of the Congressmen » . Here are their biographies: . • Jason Chaffetz . Rep. Jason Chaffetz is a freshman Republican congressman representing the 3rd District of Utah. He was elected in November, winning two-thirds of the vote against a Democratic challenger. Chaffetz, 41, got the Republican nomination in an upset victory over Rep. Chris Cannon. He ousted the six-term incumbent in a low-budget campaign in which he said Cannon was not conservative enough for the district, particularly in fighting illegal immigration. Chaffetz grew up in California, Arizona and Colorado and was recruited to Brigham Young University to be a placekicker by football coach LaVell Edwards. He set two school records as the starting placekicker and earned a degree in communications. After college, Chaffetz joined the local business community and worked as a spokesman for Nu Skin International. Chaffetz stayed at Nu Skin for nearly 11 years, as managing director of marketing and product development and general manager for Australia and New Zealand. Watch the reports from Week One » . Chaffetz managed Jon Huntsman Jr.'s campaign for governor of Utah and after Huntsman took office in 2005, he became his chief of staff. He has been married to Julie Johnson for 18 years and they have three children. • Jared Polis . Rep. Jared Polis is a freshman Democratic congressman representing the 2nd District of Colorado. He was elected in November to the seat held by Mark Udall, who ran and won for U.S. Senate. Polis defeated his Republican opponent, gaining 62 percent of the vote. His campaign stressed environmental issues, education reform, withdrawing troops from Iraq and repealing Bush administration tax cuts for the highest-income earners. He is the first openly gay male to be elected to Congress as a freshman. Polis, 33, was born in Boulder, Colorado, and grew up in Colorado and Southern California. He was a student at Princeton University when he co-founded a company providing Internet access and Web hosting. Growing up in his family's Boulder-based greeting card and publishing business, Blue Mountain Arts, he succeeded his grandmother as sales manager in 1996 and helped start bluemountainarts.com, an online greeting card Web site. In 1998, he launched ProFlowers.com, a Web company to sell flowers direct from growers to consumers; its parent company was sold to Liberty Media Corporation in 2006. Jared won statewide election in 2000 to the Colorado Board of Education and served for six years. He started a foundation and two charter schools to support improvements in education and received numerous awards for his philanthropic work. Immediately before running for Congress, Polis served as superintendent of New America School, a charter school he founded to help 16-21-year-old new immigrants learn English and gain a high school diploma." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two freshman representatives document their experience for CNN .\nRep. Jared Polis is a Democrat representing Colorado's Second district .\nRep. Jason Chaffetz is a Republican representing Utah's Third district ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal officials will travel to Standish, Michigan, on Thursday to tour a state prison that could be used to house terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. government officials said Wednesday. The prison in Standish, Michigan, is slated for closure but would stay open if Guantanamo detainees are sent there. Among those who will check out the facility, the officials said, will be representatives from the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons. One administration official stressed no decision has been made about where to relocate Guantanamo detainees. Multiple options are under consideration. That official added Thursday's visit is simply to gather information about the prison. The prison in Standish is a maximum security facility slated for closure. Some local officials would like to see Guantanamo prisoners brought there as a way to keep the prison open and preserve jobs in an area with more than 20 percent unemployment. Jerry Nelson, mayor pro tem of Standish, told CNN earlier this month that the area would lose 350 jobs if the prison closes. \"I think most people are for this,\" Nelson said. \"Anything to keep the prison open.\" Another location often mentioned for housing Guantanamo prisoners is a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Republican Sen. Sam Brownback and other officials vehemently oppose placing prisoners there. \"This local community has spoken loud and clear repeatedly,\" Brownback said in a news conference in Kansas this month. \"They don't want the detainees here.\" Administration officials have said they are looking at installations that could hold courtrooms for federal criminal trials as well as military commissions. President Obama announced plans early in his presidency to close the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay by January. The center has 229 detainees." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Michigan prison seen as place where Guantanamo detainees could be relocated .\nOfficial: No decision on where to move Gitmo detainees has been made .\nMayor of Standish, Michigan: Move would keep prison open, keep jobs in area .\nPresident Obama aims to close Guantanamo detention center in January ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Clouds of black smoke from burning plastic hang over the sites of Nigeria's vast dumps, as tiny figures pick their way through slicks of oily water, past cracked PC monitors and television screens. Toxins from dumped electronics in developing countries has been seen as a growing problem. But it isn't just a cut from broken glass these mainly young scavengers are risking. Much of the discarded electronic kit contains tiny -- but valuable -- quantities of aluminum, copper, cadmium and other minerals, all of which can be sold on, if they can be recovered. However they also contain highly toxic materials, which have been linked to reproductive problems and cancers. \"People living and working on and around the dump sites, many of whom are children, are exposed to a cocktail of dangerous chemicals that can cause severe damage to health, including cancer, damage to the nervous system and to brain development in children,\" Kim Schoppink, Toxics Campaigner at Greenpeace, told CNN. \"The open burning creates even more hazardous chemicals among which are cancerous dioxins.\" No studies have been done on the extent of the chemical pollution of such sites in Nigeria, but in 2008 a Greenpeace report on similar dumps in nearby Ghana confirmed that high levels of lead, phthalates and dioxins were present in soils and the water of a nearby lagoon. A Chinese academic report published in \"Environmental Health Perspectives\" in 2007 confirmed that children living in the same area had higher levels of toxic metals in their blood than other children living nearby. There is increasing evidence that this new health and environment problem is arriving in shipping containers from Western countries. Nigeria is one of the principal global destinations for \"e-waste\" -- the catch-all term for discarded consumer electronics. Some of this may have been legitimately handed in to be recycled in an EU or U.S. city, but lax enforcement, vague legislation and a lack of political will has meant that it instead passes through a network of traders keen to profit from developing countries' hunger for hi-tech and a burgeoning second hand market. According to the United Nations Environment Program around 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste are generated worldwide each year. In 2008 a Greenpeace study, \"Not in My Backyard\", found that in Europe only 25 percent of the e-waste was recycled safely. In the U.S. it is only 20 percent and in developing countries it is less than one percent. Extrapolating out from these figures the report concluded that a massive 80 percent of e-waste generated worldwide is not properly recycled. Some is burnt in Western incinerators or buried in landfill sites. But much is exported to developing countries including India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ghana. When it arrives, a further percentage may be repaired and sold on to populations desperate for affordable technology. But anything beyond the skills of local traders will end up dumped. It's a profitable business, and is already attracting the attention of organized crime. A report issued by the United Nations in July said that the criminal gangs behind much of the drug trade in West Africa were becoming involved with e-waste trading. The volume of material on the move is staggering. In 2005, more than 500 containers full of e-waste entered Nigerian ports every month, according to the Basel Action Network, a U.S. NGO campaigning on issues surrounding toxic waste. Each one contains 10 to 15 tons of e-waste, totaling 60,000 to 90,000 tons per year. These figures are likely to have increased in recent years. There seems little doubt that much of this waste is finding its way to Africa from Western countries. The Basel Action Network and Dutch NGO Danwatch have traced equipment from Europe to Nigerian dumps and earlier this year Greenpeace placed a radio tracking device in a broken TV handed in for safe recycling in the UK, but followed it to a Nigerian market. \"Greenpeace is disappointed especially by U.S. and EU authorities,\" said Schoppink. \"It is toxic waste from the U.S. and EU countries that is causing serious environmental and health problems in Nigeria, a country without the means to deal with this problem. \"The U.S. and EU must play the biggest role in stopping the spread of e-waste; they are most responsible for the problem and have the resources to tackle it. The export of e-waste from the EU is illegal under the Basel Convention and the Waste Shipment Directive, but the laws are not being sufficiently implemented. In the U.S., there is no such law banning this practice. \"In Nigeria the government is talking about stopping imports, but there has been no progress on this to date.\" Signs of progress . There are calls from environmental groups likes Greenpeace for electronics producers to do more to phase out their use of hazardous substances, and there are some signs of progress. Several electronics companies already make products using fewer hazardous substances, and others, including Nokia, Philips and Samsung are setting up voluntary collection and recycling systems in countries where they are not legally obliged to. Apple claims its products are now almost entirely free of the worst toxic chemicals. \"If producers continue to use hazardous chemicals in their electronics and to fail to take responsibility for the safe disposal of their products, e-waste will continue to be dumped in developing countries,\" said Schoppink. \"The pollution and related health problems in countries where e-waste is dumped will increase massively as the amount of electronics used worldwide is growing exponentially and the number of countries used as dump sites will grow.\" But while the developing world needs the U.S. and EU to take responsibility for their waste, it also needs their discarded computers to train and build a 21st century workforce. \"Nobody is arguing that Africa should be denied access to computers,\" said Tony Roberts, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Computer Aid International, a charity licensed by the UK Environment Agency, which provides recycled computers to developing countries to improve education and healthcare. \"Technical colleges and universities are always short of resources. It is, of course, essential to developing economies escaping poverty to have access to affordable modern technology.\" Computer Aid works to close the digital divide between the north and southern hemispheres and offers corporations, including Coca Cola, as well as individuals, a positive way of disposing of electronics. They also believe learning about responsibility for that technology is a crucial part of the exchange. \"Computer Aid argues that, in addition to the PCs, it is essential to also build the skills, knowledge and operating capacity in every country to manage responsible re-use programs and environmentally sound end-of-life recycling.\" In the end, this is about everyone involved -- particularly the developed nations -- taking responsibility for their waste. \"It is clear that companies have a moral obligation to treat Africa in exactly the same way that they do, say, Germany,\" said Roberts. Until then, toxic black smoke will continue to cast a shadow over lives across the developing world." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Export of electronic products for recycling creating health and environment problems .\nDeveloped nations that export e-waste criticized by many for lack of responsibility .\nStudy from Greenpeace suggest only around 20 percent recycled safely .\nOrganized crime involved in e-waste trading according to UN report in July ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- David Lance Arneson, who helped trigger the global phenomenon of role-playing games as co-inventor of \"Dungeons & Dragons,\" has died at the age of 61. A statement on the game's official Web site, wizards.com, said Arneson died Tuesday evening \"after waging one final battle against cancer.\" Arneson \"developed many of the fundamental ideas of role playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures, and that personality is as important as combat prowess,\" the statement said. The game's co-creator, Gary Gygax, died last year. In 1974, Arneson and Gygax created \"Dungeons & Dragons,\" which allowed players to assume roles in a magical world. They could be fighters or wizards, elves or dwarfs. \"As characters journey through various lands, they search for hidden treasures while battling menacing monsters with their own brains and brawn,\" a description on wizards.com says. Some games would last days or weeks -- or even longer. \"Game campaigns are as limitless as the player's imaginations,\" wizards.com says. What began as a hand-assembled print run of 1,000 games quickly sold out. Young people all over the world started buying up the game. By 1982, sales broke the $20 million mark. Arneson filed a series of lawsuits against Gygax insisting he was not being given credit or proper royalties for his work creating the game. The suits were settled. \"Dungeons and Dragons\" spawned video games, novels, a cartoon, and a movie. The franchise saw a surge this decade after \"The Lord of the Rings\" and \"Harry Potter\" movies took off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "David Lance Arneson has died at the age of 61 .\nHe helped trigger phenomenon of role-playing games .\nStatement: Arneson died \"after waging one final battle against cancer\"\n\"Dungeons and Dragons\" spawned video games, novels, a cartoon, and a movie ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- There was no trauma visible on the \"completely skeletonized\" remains of slain toddler Caylee Anthony, but there were overlapping pieces of duct tape over her mouth, according to the autopsy report released Friday. Caylee Anthony was last seen June 16, 2008. Her mother, Casey Anthony, is in jail awaiting a murder trial. The tape was still attached to head hair, and the skull was separate from the other body parts, said Dr. Jan Garavaglia, chief medical examiner for Orange County. \"This duct tape was clearly placed prior to decomposition, keeping the mandible in place,\" she says in the report. Garavaglia said animals had scattered the bones after decomposition began. The cause of the child's death is listed as \"homicide by undetermined means.\" Caylee Anthony's remains were found in December in woods less than a mile from her grandparents' home. Her mother, Casey Anthony, is charged with murder. She could be sentenced to death if convicted. The mother was arrested July 16, 2008, while Caylee was still missing. Earlier Friday, a judge denied a request from the child's grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony, to keep the autopsy report from the public. Last week, their attorney filed a motion saying the report should be sealed because its release would cause the family great anguish. Holding back tears, George Anthony on Friday asked the judge not to release the report until Casey Anthony's trial. \"Our family's memory of precious Caylee Marie is all we have left of her,\" he said as his wife appeared visibly shaken. Judge Stan Strickland said George Anthony's testimony was not lost on him, but according to the law he had no choice. \"Their pain means a great deal to me. I don't like the ruling I'm making, but it's one that I legally have to make,\" he said. George Anthony, angry after the ruling, left the courtroom before the hearing ended. The autopsy report contains no X-rays or photos of the remains. Watch Nancy Grace's take on the coroner's findings » . According to Garavaglia, intermixed with Caylee Anthony's skeletal remains were two plastic garbage bags, a canvas laundry bag and a baby blanket with a Winnie the Pooh print. A pair of partially decomposed, multi-colored shorts were among the clothes, the doctor said. Two sets of cloth letters were found intermingled with plant material and debris. Garavaglia said the first set spelled \"big\" and the second group appeared to spell \"trouble.\" \"The roots growing into the vertebrae and bags indicate the body was placed there months prior to being found,\" Garavaglia said. \"There is nothing inconsistent with the body being placed there soon after the date of [Caylee] being last seen alive.\" George Anthony said he saw his granddaughter leave his house with her mother for the last time on June 15, 2008. Officials allege Caylee was killed by her mother a short time later. Since her arrest in July, Casey Anthony, 23, has remained behind bars in Orlando. The search for Caylee ended December 11, when a meter reader brought out a bag containing a skull from the woods. He said he had contacted police three times in August to report a suspicious bag in the area. A deputy was ultimately fired for not properly searching the area. The remains were confirmed through DNA testing to be those of Caylee Anthony. CNN's Natisha Lance and John Couwels contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Autopsy report, released Friday, says remains of slain toddler \"skeletonized\"\nCause of death listed as \"homicide by undetermined means\"\nJudge denied grandfather George Anthony's request not to release report ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Two hundred thousand boats sat idle in Japan, as fishermen across the nation took to the streets on Tuesday to protest skyrocketing fuel prices. Fishermen rallied in Tokyo on Tuesday against skyrocketing fuel prices. The strike -- the first ever by the country's fishermen -- hopes to convince the government that without its intervention, rising fuel costs will kill the fishermen's businesses. Across Japan's fishing ports, fishermen simultaneously blew their whistles in a symbol of solidarity, and operations ground to a halt. Thousands of others rallied in downtown Tokyo, marching in circles around the fisheries ministry and chanting, \"We're dying,\" through bullhorns. The protesting fishing unions say fuel once accounted for 10 percent of a business' operating cost. It now accounts for 30 to 50 percent. Watch the unions protest in the streets » . They want the government to provide subsidies to make up for the price hike. The demonstration was the latest in a wave of protests around the world over fuel prices. Masatoshi Wakabayashi, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, told reporters Tuesday morning that he \"understands the frustration of the fishermen.\" He urged reforms within the fishing industry to decrease its reliance on oil, adding it would be \"difficult to compensate them for the hike in the price of oil.\" The deep-sea tuna fishermen's association told CNN it might suspend operations for two to three months later this year, due to fuel price hike. Marine life has long been a staple food source in Japan. Last week, nearly 400 taxis brought traffic to a halt in Berlin, Germany, as drivers drove through the city in a protest over high fuel prices. Truckers in Vienna, Austria, also staged a protest last week. And earlier this month, hundreds of British truckers drove past Parliament to voice their anger about the high cost of fuel. India, France, Spain and South Korea have had similar protests." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Thousands in Tokyo marched in circles around the fisheries ministry .\nFishing unions want the government to provide subsidies to make up for price hike .\nMinister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries says he \"understands the frustration\"\nDemonstration is the latest against fuel prices around the world ." } ]
[ { "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 store owner in New York who is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a 4-year-old boy from a burning building said he plans to visit the child in the hospital Friday. Horia Cretan climbed up a fire escape and helped save a boy through the window of a burning building. Horia Cretan, who owns an electronics store in the Bronx structure where the fire broke out, also hopes to meet Christopher's parents for the first time, he told CNN's \"American Morning.\" The boy is expected to recover, Cretan said. The child was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where a nurse said she couldn't provide his condition. Cretan, who moved to the United States from Romania 15 years ago, said he was inside his store Wednesday when he heard a child's screams. It was about 4 p.m., he said, about the time children play outside after getting out of school, but he said the screams he heard were \"totally different.\" He reached a fire escape and climbed to the fourth floor, where a firefighter handed the boy to him through a smoke-clouded window, video from the scene shows. \"What I was worried about is, is he still alive? Because his head just dropped, and he wasn't helping himself or helping me,\" Cretan said. \"He just couldn't hold his weight and he was unconscious.\" While the firefighter was handing over the boy, other crew members were trying to get into the building's main entrance to make their way to the apartment where the fire was, the store owner said. Cretan covered himself and the boy with a blanket or curtain to shield themselves from falling debris and glass, which cut the boy on the leg. Watch Cretan describe the rescue » . During the rescue, the boy's brother stood below, yelling, the rescuer said. Christopher was given oxygen on the ground and taken to the hospital. Cretan said it wasn't the first time he rescued someone. He said he rescued his sister from a fire in Romania that killed their father. The 33-year-old Cretan said he was 12 years old at the time. \"It was a sad story, a tragic moment at the time,\" he said, referring to the Romanian incident. \"And you know, it had an impact on people around the neighborhood like it does right now. It's amazing. This just skyrocketed.\" Cretan said he's received messages across the globe about the Bronx incident. \"This has become famous because somebody happened to be on the corner with the camera pretty much. You don't do things like this for merit. The merit in itself is you save somebody,\" Cretan said. \"And the whole community's just being great. Adopting me like a son, and I'm a part of a big family and I'm happy to have them in my life.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Horia Cretan says he was working in his store when he heard a child's screams .\nThe boy is expected to recover, says Cretan, who plans to visit the child .\nHe says he has received messages from around the world .\nCretan says at 12 he rescued his sister from a fire in which his father died ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The French spend more time eating and drinking than anyone else among the world's wealthy nations, a new study reveals. The study, by the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), found that the average French person spends nine hours sleeping every night, and spends two hours a day eating. On the other end of the spectrum, the average Japanese gets seven hours of sleep and also spends longer at work -- and getting to work -- than on leisure activities. And when it comes to food, Mexicans spend the least time: just over an hour a day. The survey looked at 18 countries among the organization's 30 members to see how people use \"that most fundamental of resources:\" time. The results were released Monday. Among the organization's findings: . The lowest obesity rates? South Korea and Japan with less than 4 percent of the population exceeding a BMI of more than 30." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Average Japanese spends longer at work and getting to work than on leisure .\nSouth Korea and Japan have the lowest obesity rates .\nSurvey looks at 18 countries among OECD's 30 members to gauge use of time ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- One of America's pre-eminent political power couples made a rare joint appearance Friday, when Bill and Hillary Clinton took the stage at the former president's Clinton Global Initiative conference. Bill Clinton says his wife Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the \"best public service our family has ever produced.\" \"I want to begin by expressing my extreme indebtedness to the Clinton Global Initiative, to all of you who participated, for giving me the first chance I have had in a week to see Hillary,\" Bill Clinton told the audience of social activists and business leaders at the closing session of CGI, a week-long conference designed to find solutions to global problems through public and private partnerships. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was at the session to unveil a new State Department initiative on food security. As he introduced her, the former president was effusive in his praise for his wife, saying that her approach to food security -- helping farmers around the world grow their own food to earn income and alleviate poverty -- was much smarter than the decades-long policy of simply giving humanitarian aid and food to countries. Watch Clinton pay tribute to his wife » . \"It was a wrong-headed policy. It persisted through Democratic and Republican policies alike, including mine. We were all wrong, and she is determined to reverse it,\" Bill Clinton said. Watch portion of Anderson Cooper's interview with former President Clinton » . \"Most of what I know about what I do today, I learned from her and she has become the best public servant our family has produced,\" he added. \"I am very proud of her and honored that she came here.\" Hillary Clinton, who received a standing ovation, had equally kind words for her husband. \"It won't surprise you to hear that I am very proud of my husband, and I think what he has invented and brought to life here is extraordinary,\" she said, adding that the new State Department food initiative, in part, was an idea she developed by seeing the kinds of partnerships the Clinton Global Initiative produced. The Clintons posed for a photo-op with State Department officials and executives from General Mills and other organizations, who pledged at the conference to start a program to help farmers around the world. And then, for fans of the former first couple, a rare treat. As she walked off the stage, Bill Clinton drew some more cheers when he gave his wife a kiss. Bill Clinton continued to read off the million-dollar commitments he received at the conference for additional social programs. Hillary Clinton left to meet with 15 ministers from the Caribbean." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bill Clinton praises wife's approach to food security at global issues conference .\nHillary Clinton wants farmers worldwide to grow own food to earn income .\nClinton admits \"wrong-headed\" policy toward humanitarian aid ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(The Frisky) -- When I try to explain my ardor for HBO's trashy-fabulous soap opera \"True Blood\" to my dude friends, they either shrug and change the topic, or question whether I've been writing for ladyblogs for too long and am suffering from a form of Stockholm Syndrome. Dudes just don't dig bloodsuckers, since vampires pretty much look like girls. We prefer zombies, because we love chainsaws, flamethrowers, and samurai swords. And because, on some level, we know that besides being vehicles for sperm, our other important, if lesser, genetic imperative is to defend our loved ones from hordes of unthinking, flesh-eating metaphors for current social anxieties. To most guys, vampires are the monster movie equivalent of that sensitive man-sponge in college who plays acoustic guitar in order to seduce chicks. They're what you get when you cross your average Renaissance Fair enthusiast with a mosquito. And what's with their greatest weaknesses being most kinds of Italian food, Sunday school, and the sun, which helps flowers grow? Really? Why women find date-rapey parasites who wear capes compelling must have something to do with deeply primal fears. A vampire is a monster, who looks, acts, and talks like a man. Who is passionate, romantic, and tortured. To surrender to this character is to play with fire. The vampire, in many ways, is the prototype of the bad boy. Women love bad boys - they're exciting, and the chance to change him, to break him like a horse, must be an irresistible challenge. If self-destruction weren't seductive on some superficial level, then no one would ever need rehab. But I am like most guys in that I am a fan of zombie flicks. \"28 Days Later\" may possibly be my favorite movie ever. I'm also a fan of alien and robot movies, but more often than not, it seems women are more adept at dispatching those. Zombie movies indulge male power-fulfillment fantasies. We enjoy pretending to be dragon-slaying knights or bad-guy-perforating cowboys or Bruce Willis, saving our ex-wife from a skyscraper full of terrorists. The Frisky: Compliments guys take as insults . Before any feminist blood vessels burst, let me explain that this fantasy goes hand-in-hand with a male-specific fear that speaks to ancient genetic programming. That for all our swagger, testosterone, and machismo, we cannot protect those we love. The disaster call for women and children to evacuate first isn't chivalry, inasmuch as it's evolutionarily smarts. The women and children will continue the species; the men are disposable. We fear being useless, especially once we have issued forth our baby-making essence. The Frisky: Where all the good guys are . In \"True Blood,\" the vampire Bill has decided to change himself, to fight his ferocious nature. He struggles to be a better, um, corpse. He rejects the cold, bloodthirsty vampirism of his peers, and tries to embrace those human virtues he once had: selflessness, mercy, kindness, and justice. In some ways, he's less a vampire and more a superhero. Then he falls in love with someone he is told he shouldn't. And his love for Sookie, a human woman, is a choice he has made, regardless of the scorn heaped upon him by the undead and the living alike. He protects her, despite his fears that he is completely impotent, powerless to defend her from a world that despises them both. And she returns the favor, despite her fears that underneath sweet words and passion is an animal waiting to pounce. A little bit for men and women. The Frisky: Ways men try to impress women . I watch \"True Blood\" because chicks will dig it when I can talk about Eric and Maryann and Action Stackhouse; it's how I \"open\" a pick-up artist-style \"set.\" My knowledge of \"True Blood\" will help me convince turbo-hotties to come back to my sweet fourth-floor walk-up in Queens, where I will love them forever, or until I have to call the unemployment office at 10 a.m., whichever comes first. Sigh. Oh forget it. I love this show, without condition. I love that Alan Ball followed up his twee meditation on mortality, \"Six Feet Under,\" with a show that's just about hot sexing and gratuitous gore. It's a soft-core comic book, nothing more, nothing less. I fully accept that there's a part of me that will always be a pear-shaped teenage goth girl. I mean, I'm reading the \"True Blood\" books, for the love of Godric. Horror movies, books, and television shows reflect our collective fears, and \"True Blood\" is awesome because it sneaks male fears into a female-oriented program. Also: because all the women are hot and sometimes they show their chest. TM & © 2009 TMV, Inc. \| All Rights Reserved ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Writer says the vampire, in many ways, is the prototype of the bad boy .\nWomen love bad boys and the chance to change him, writer says .\nZombie movies indulge male power-fulfillment fantasies, columnist says .\nWriter says av ampire is a monster, who looks, acts, and talks like a man ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(The Frisky) -- About a year ago, a group of my closest friends got together in a basement apartment in Queens. It was a Saturday night in the dead of winter, and most of us were broke (the economy was crashing) and lazy (we didn't feel like trekking to a bar in the city). As we cracked open a bottle of wine and ate fresh-baked zucchini muffins, one of my friends decided to play us some records on the record player he had recently inherited from his parents. It turned out to be one of the best nights of our lives. In sharing great music, great food and great fun, a tradition was born: Record Party. The New York Times is finally catching on to something my friends and I discovered that night; vinyl is back in a major way. The stats say that CDs are becoming just about as obsolete as cassettes and 8-tracks. Sure, iPods are fun if you're on the go, but really the only way to devour your favorite music (other than to hear it live) is to listen to it on vinyl. It's like hearing the music again for the first time -- rich and layered. Mike Jbara, a bigwig at Warner Music Group, said, \"It is absolutely easy to say vinyl doesn't make sense when you look at convenience, portability, all those things. But all the really great stuff in our lives comes from a root of passion or love.\" [New York Times] . That's what Record Party is really all about. But don't take my word for it. Here are five tips for throwing your own rocking Record Party. • Yes, you need a record player. I know you're thinking, \"Where on earth do I get a record player? The antique shop?\" Try eBay or Craigslist. There are so many used record players that need a good home. From bottom of the line models to high-end turntables, you wouldn't believe how many people have record players. If you're an electronics idiot like me, you may want to consult a knowledgeable person. I always ask my super-geeky musician friends about makes, models and features. If you don't have a music nerd in your life, do a little research online or find a specialty store in your area. Also, don't forget to get some great speakers so you can hear all the natural flava of your records. • Starting a record collection isn't as hard or as expensive as you think. It's always fun to go to a local record store and pick out some delicious vinyl. Many record stores have used records, which can save you some money. Take the record out and make sure that it's the right record -- one time I got \"A Chorus Line\" record in a \"Stevie Nicks\" jacket. Also, make sure that the record is not terribly scratched. If you're a bargain hunter like me, go to your local thrift store and pick through. You may have to search for a while, but it's not uncommon to find some $1 gems. Also, flea markets are a great place to find some hot, cheap vinyl. • Keep the guest list small. The best thing about Record Party is reveling in your favorite music and breaking out your finest dance moves. This is always most fun with close friends who have similar tastes in music. But part of the fun is also learning about new music, so you may want to require guests to bring some records of their own. • Food and drinks are a must. It's hard to throw a great record party without food and beverage. Have everyone contribute. Snacks and drinks will be much appreciated when guests step off the makeshift dance floor. • Establish some rules and traditions. At our Record Party, we've established a couple of rules in order to keep the good times rolling: 1. Everyone must write all requests down on our request list. 2. No more than two songs played at one time per person. After everyone has put in a request, the cycle starts over. 3. Everyone gets one \"Yoinx\" per night. A \"Yoinx\" is when you have a great song that you feel like you need to push to the top of the list. Develop your own rules and traditions to ensure that everyone is able to share in the music. Enjoy. TM & © 2009 TMV, Inc. \| All Rights Reserved ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Record Parties are a great way to get together with friends .\nInstead of an iPod, get better sound with a record player, available on eBay or Craigslist .\nRecords can be inexpensive: $1 gems aren't too rare to stumble upon .\nBring snacks and a playlist ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "MOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- Chaos and death on the streets of Mogadishu: unfortunately, it's nothing new in the Somali capital. Casualties are taken into Mogadishu's hospital on stretchers. Government forces are fighting against insurgents on this day in September in a bloody battle that leaves 30 dead. Dozens of wounded Somalis are taken out of the danger zone, some of them in the back of insurgents' pick-up trucks. One of the trucks races through the streets, zig-zagging to the echoing booms of the ongoing shelling. The truck comes to an abrupt halt, stopping at a rare sight in the Somali capital -- an ambulance, waiting at the heart of the chaos to ferry the dead and the injured to the hospital. The wounded are transferred onto the ambulance. People shout and run as the mortar attacks continue. One woman screams over and over for her son. The ambulance is one of seven medical vehicles paid for with donated funds from local and expatriate Somalis. Residents can simply call for the ambulances without charge, and the vehicles will be dispatched to the scene. \"It is amazing,\" said Rufai Salad, one of the founders of the ambulance service in the Somali capital. \"We have this toll-free number, 777, that you dial. Someone is giving you a free call and then coming and giving you free help. \"People here find it hard to believe it is real.\" Life Line Africa, a local Somali charity, started its ambulance service in Mogadishu in December, bringing a small amount of order to the lawless country that is in the midst of a brutal Islamist insurgency. Apart from the short-lived rule of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006, there has been no genuine central authority in Somalia since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's repressive regime in 1991. Now, the United States and other Western powers are propping the U.N.-backed transitional government forces in their attempt to fend off the insurgency, particularly Al-Shabaab -- a Somali militant group that has ties to al Qaeda. Watch Nima Elbagir's report on the humanitarian crisis in Somalia » . Basic amenities in Somalia, like electricity, water and sanitation - and even luxuries such as wireless Internet facilities -- are provided by enterprising businessman, which is partly how the ambulance service came to life. In the Somali equivalent of a public-private partnership, clan elders and local businessman donated the money to fund the ambulance service, helping fulfill a crucial need. The ambulance drivers are well compensated, earning about U.S. $200 a month in a country where the average yearly income is $130, according to the United Nations. Life Line Africa's monthly budget for its Mogadishu ambulance service is $3,200, including fuel, running costs and the salaries of the 10 drivers. They hope to increase their driving staff to 14. Salad, 24, is an information technology officer for the Somali president's office, but volunteers his time to help keep Life Line Africa running. His enthusiasm about the ambulance service obscures the very real danger he and his drivers face. Part of the problem, he explains, is trying to stay neutral in a war zone. \"We did have one driver killed by Al-Shabaab,\" he admits. \"They told us that it was because we were carrying government soldiers to hospital. But I said to them that this is what we do - we are working for all of you.\" And it's not just the insurgents that Salad and his drivers fear. \"We had to take the body of a Syrian ship captain who had been killed by pirates to the airport,\" he said. \"The government and African Union soldiers opened fire on the ambulance. We were later told they'd received information that the insurgency was planning on using an ambulance to stage a suicide attack.\" \"But what can you do?\" he asks. \"Our driver ran away and then later was allowed to come back for his ambulance.\" Salad says the relatively high pay is not the real reason his drivers are willing to take the risks they do. \"If you go to the area of the fighting then the combatants [from both sides] say 'You must carry us to the hospital or we will kill you,'\" he says. \"It is so dangerous but when we see the problems of the people, we're trying to find a way somehow, to keep on working.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Volunteer ambulance service ferries wounded civilians and fighters to the hospital .\nDrivers face problems from both sides of the conflict in the capital, Mogadishu .\nAmbulance drivers earn $200 a month; national average annual salary is $130 .\nU.N.-backed transitional government forces are fighting Islamist insurgents ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Happy birthday, Catherine Zeta-Jones. You are turning 40 this month, joining an exclusive club of women in show business who are marking the same milestone this year. Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives at a Hollywood event earlier this year. She turns 40 on September 25. Think big names like Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Cate Blanchett. It's a birthday many actors -- but especially female stars -- in Hollywood would once dread, hide and agonize over. At an age where men could comfortably play heroes and lovers in the prime of their life -- and could do so for many years to come -- women often found themselves starting to be cast in different roles. (One example: \"The Graduate,\" where 36-year-old Anne Bancroft played a frustrated \"older woman\" trying to seduce Dustin Hoffman, who was just six years younger than she at the time.) No wonder some stayed mum about their age, but this generation of 40-something female entertainers is different. They're holding birthday bashes, embracing the big four-oh and staying as busy and famous as ever. Their faces grace magazine covers, their bodies are the envy of women decades younger and their careers seem to be going strong. See photos of stars who are 40 and still hot » . Zellweger herself has said she hasn't noticed good parts getting scarce. \"I don't see it. I don't know. I'm so spoiled with respect to the experiences I've had and the opportunities I've had that I don't see it,\" she said, according to published news reports. So has anything changed for women hitting 40 in a business obsessed with youth? Industry observers say stars like Zeta-Jones, Zellweger and Aniston have more options than ever to have long, distinguished careers thanks to independent films and television, but opinions are mixed on whether they can sustain a big Hollywood presence. \"These women are still among the most bankable, biggest stars in the industry and turning 40 isn't going to change that,\" said Kathy Heintzelman, entertainment director for More, a magazine geared toward women over 40. Watch a report on the most rich and famous women over 40 » . Importance of box office . But others argue that the opportunity to land lead roles in major studio films for actresses like Aniston, Zeta-Jones and Zellweger is running out. It's all about the global box office for Hollywood, which right now is most interested in making comic book movies or big-action, special-effect films in which women are mostly decorative, said Leah Rozen, film critic for People magazine. That often leaves few lead roles in big-budget Hollywood films for established female stars as they get older. \"They're going to work, but the entire movie will not be built around them. It will not be a Renee Zellweger vehicle or a Catherine Zeta-Jones vehicle, unless it's an indie film,\" Rozen said. \"I'm not saying anything about the quality of the movies they're making or their validity as actresses,\" Rozen said. \"I am saying that viewed as box office -- or can they open a movie? -- the answer would be no right now.\" Zellweger's most recent project, \"My One and Only,\" which Rozen called a \"very sweet little film,\" has grossed less than $1 million since it premiered last month (it opened in wide release last Friday.) Earlier this year, her film \"New in Town\" grossed about $16 million domestically, according to Boxofficemojo.com. Zeta-Jones' last big Hollywood role was in the 2007 movie \"No Reservations,\" which earned $43 million in the United States. Aniston has had a better run. Last year's \"Marley & Me\" took in $143 million domestically and more recently, \"He's Just Not That Into You\" earned $93 million. Men are viable as box office leads far longer than most women, Rozen said. Think Harrison Ford, who was still the action hero at 66 in last year's \"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull\" (which earned $317 million domestically) or Sean Connery, who at 69 was paired with a then-30-year-old Zeta-Jones in 1999's \"Entrapment\" ($87 million domestic gross). A big exception to this trend has been Meryl Streep. Watch a report on women over 40 who make us laugh » . Streep, 60, has a great track record at the movies with films including the recent \"Julie & Julia\" and last year's \"Mamma Mia!\" She's part of a very successful run of female-centric movies that have starred women over 40, said Jane Fleming, president of the nonprofit organization Women In Film. \"That proves if you have an audience base that wants to see you, they're going to keep coming out to see you regardless your age,\" Fleming said. \"What's been nice about the last two years is that there's been economic proof that that audience exists and that given the right form of entertainment, it will be very lucrative for the studios.\" Fleming believes this is a good time to be turning 40 in Hollywood, with popular films like \"Sex and the City,\" \"Marley & Me\" and \"The Proposal\" starring 40-and-over actresses. Watch a report on women over 40 who rock » . TV, indie films offer new options . It may be a big improvement over the options available to female stars not too long ago. \"There are only three ages for women in Hollywood: babe, district attorney, and 'Driving Miss Daisy,'\" Goldie Hawn's character famously exclaimed in the 1996 comedy \"The First Wives' Club.\" Actresses like Sandra Bullock are redefining those stereotypes by playing lead roles in romantic comedies well into their 40s, sometimes paired with younger men. Just this year, Bullock, 45, has starred in \"The Proposal\" and \"All About Steve.\" Watch a report on women over 40 who've had work done » . Many actresses over 40 are also finding a new home on television, where there are many complex characters to choose from. Glenn Close, 62; Kyra Sedgwick, 44; and Holly Hunter, 51, are just some of the stars who have made the move from the big screen to the small screen, earning critical and popular success. \"Cable has opened up enormous possibilities. In feature films, you're still lucky if you're not the girlfriend or the wife,\" Katey Sagal, 55, who stars in the TV series \"Sons of Anarchy,\" recently told Oprah.com. But she was also glad to note that there are more opportunities in general for female stars over 40. \"I don't know why it's changed, but I'm really grateful it has. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we're all living longer and suddenly it's OK to get older. Maybe there's a broader audience for these characters. The stories you can tell about older women are deeper,\" Sagal said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Aniston, Cate Blanchett have turned 40 this year .\nStars appear to be going strong in an industry famously obsessed with youth .\nSome doubt Hollywood is interested in making 'vehicles' for top female stars .\nTelevision, independent films offer more options than ever for actors ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Nearly 130 people were killed and more than 400 wounded early Tuesday when a string of five suicide car bombings hit government buildings, a neighborhood and a commercial district in Baghdad, Iraqi authorities said. Iraq's Finance and Labor ministries and a courthouse were the targets of three of the terror attacks, which shattered a two-month period of relative calm in the capital. By evening, Interior Ministry officials put the toll at 127 dead and 448 wounded, the worst since twin car bombings killed and wounded hundreds of people in late October. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said the attacks were aimed at undermining Iraq's upcoming elections, now set for March after a lengthy impasse in the country's parliament. \"The timing of these cowardly terrorist attacks in Baghdad today, after the success of Iraqi Parliament in overcoming the last obstacle in the election procedures, shows that the enemies of Iraq and its people are aiming to create chaos in the country and prevent any progress in the political process and to disrupt the procedures of the coming elections,\" he said. The first of the vehicles blew up in southern Baghdad's Dora district at about 10 a.m. (2 a.m. ET), followed by four more car bombs about half an hour later. Three of the explosions struck at the heart of the Iraqi capital, detonating a few minutes apart. One hit the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, while another hit the new site of the Ministry of Finance near al-Qashla Square. The ministry's former building was destroyed in a bombing in August. Another bomb exploded in the busy commercial district of Nahdha, and the fifth bomb blew up outside the Karkh Civil Court in western Baghdad's Mansour district. The sounds of sporadic gunfire and emergency sirens could be heard immediately following the attacks, and smoke from the blasts billowed into the morning sky. Suicide bombers carried out the five attacks, Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command, told CNN. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks and offered his \"heartfelt condolences\" to the families of those killed, according to a statement from his office. \"The Secretary-General appeals to the people of Iraq to remain steadfast in the face of these attacks and to continue their determined efforts to achieve national reconciliation,\" the statement said. \"The United Nations remains committed to supporting them.\" And the human rights group Amnesty International said there was \"absolutely no justification\" for the bombings, noting that indiscriminate attacks on civilians are war crimes under international law. Suicide bombers were also blamed for the two bombings October 25 in Baghdad, which killed 160 people and wounded 540. Those bombs detonated in quick succession at mid-morning on a Sunday, the first day of the workweek in Iraq, in the Salhiya district of central Baghdad. The location was close to the Foreign Ministry. Government officials, including Baghdad's governor, questioned how the bombers were able to penetrate the area's security, which was supposed to have been improved in the months leading up to the attacks. Authorities subsequently detained more than 60 people responsible for security in the district where the bombings took place. And Tuesday's attacks sparked debate among Iraqi lawmakers about the capability of the country's security forces. Noor Aldeen al-Haiali, a member of Iraq's parliament from the country's largest Sunni Arab party, said al-Maliki's government \"failed in taking the measures to protect the targeted Iraqi citizens, who are shocked and getting slaughtered on a daily basis.\" Ali al-Adeeb, a senior member of the prime minister's Dawa party, said security has improved in recent years. But Kurdish lawmaker Mahmood Othman told CNN that more attacks could be possible \"because the people against the political process, against the elections and against stability in Iraq\" will try to disrupt the elections. And he said stepped-up security measures won't be enough to deter them. \"There should be some political stability, political reform, reconciliation,\" he said. \"These are also very, very important to provide security.\" CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Four car bombs explode in central Baghdad, killing nearly 130 and wounding hundreds .\nFirst of the vehicles blew up in southern Baghdad's Dora district .\nThree other car bombs struck at heart of Iraqi capital, detonating a few minutes apart .\nFifth bomb blows up outside the Karkh Civil Court in western Baghdad's Mansour district ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- For most Americans, mosquitoes are pests whose bites leave behind itchy bumps. But in other parts of the world, mosquitoes carry a disease called malaria that kills more than a million people each year. Mosquitoes, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, may transmit malaria to humans. A new malaria vaccine that's about to begin human clinical trials is dependent on mosquitoes -- a whole lot of them. Bioengineers have been growing millions of mosquitoes in a sterile environment, letting them feed on malaria-infected blood, irradiating the bugs, extracting the disease-causing parasites and storing them for use in vaccines. The announcement of the Food and Drug Administration's approval for clinical trials comes just days before World Malaria Day, which is Saturday. Check out the World Health Organization's site about malaria goals worldwide . The vaccine is unique among other candidates in that it uses the entire parasite and not just parts of it, said Dr. Stephen Hoffman, chief executive and scientific officer at Sanaria Inc., the Maryland-based biotechnology firm developing the vaccine. This technique was first shown to be effective in the 1970s, but the technology didn't exist to mass-produce it for the millions of people who need it, said Dr. Kirsten Lyke, principal investigator in the clinical trial site at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. At that time, people were immunized by being bitten by the irradiated mosquitoes. \"That is the only effective vaccine that anyone has ever really developed that works and does complete protection,\" said John Dame, chair of Infectious Diseases and Pathology at the University of Florida, who is not involved with the Sanaria trials. The vaccine takes the same basic approach as standard vaccines in use for diseases such as measles and polio. In those vaccines against viruses, weakened bacteria is injected, creating an immune response without causing illness. In the Sanaria vaccine, the body recognizes the malaria parasite as a foreign material, Lyke said. It goes to the liver, where a lot of the immune response is generated, but does not develop into a disease because the mosquito was irradiated, she said. Clinical trials will begin in May, Hoffman said, and will include 80 immunized individuals and 24 controls. About 3,000 mosquitoes were used to produce the vaccines for the first clinical trials, he said. If these trials are successful, researchers will initiate trials on adults in Africa, and then children. Among other vaccines in clinical trials currently, the one that is furthest along is RTS,S, developed by GlaxoSmithKline PLC. The company announced in December that this vaccine, based on a recombinant protein that uses part of the malaria parasite, was safely administered to African infants, with an efficacy of 65 percent in a three-month follow-up. Both the Sanaria and the GlaxoSmithKline projects receive support from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, a program at the nonprofit PATH established through an initial grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dame, who used to be involved with the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine, said he would guess the Sanaria vaccine will be more effective, but clinical trials will provide more information. He also noted that mass distribution to developing countries would require appropriate infrastructure, and may be more difficult depending on how long the immunization lasts. Each year, 350 million to 500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people who die from the disease are young children in Africa south of the Sahara. Symptoms of malaria include fever, chills and flu-like illness, the CDC said. Although preventive measures exist, such as insecticide-treated nets and medications, there is no licensed vaccine on the market. Moreover, effective treatments are largely too expensive for the people who need them in poor countries. The parasite has become resistant to cheaper treatments, Lyke said. \"Individuals living on $1 or $2 a day can't even afford $8 medication,\" Lyke said. The U.S. military also has a keen interest in a malaria vaccine. The antimalaria drugs available have side effects such as stomach aches, said Dr. Tom Richie, director of the Navy component of the U.S. military malaria vaccine program, who provides oversight to the clinical trials. \"Malaria has been one of the most significant infectious threats to our military personnel when we deploy to tropical areas,\" Richie said. The disease was the leading cause of casualties in the South Pacific theater during World War II, and also a major problem in the Vietnam War, he said. There are five species of the malaria parasite known to infect humans. One called Plasmodium falciparum causes the vast majority of cases. Malaria was eliminated in the United States in 1951, but there are still cases in the country, mostly from people who acquired it in high-risk countries. In 2002, there were 1,337 cases of malaria in the U.S., and all but five had been acquired abroad. An international team at the Malaria Atlas Project recently published what researchers say is the most comprehensive map ever illustrating global malaria risk. Researchers told CNN the map offers hope that it is possible to eradicate the disease in many parts of the world. Hoffman, former head of a U.S. Navy malaria vaccine team, started the Sanaria effort himself in the breakfast room of his house in 2003. The company now has a more official corporate headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. \"I thought that the world needed a malaria vaccine, there was no question this was the best way to make one,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sanaria Inc. is developing a malaria vaccine that uses the whole parasite .\nConcept is akin to live virus vaccines, such as those for polio and measles .\nThe method had been tried in the 1970s but wasn't feasible on mass scale .\nThe most advanced malaria vaccine, by GlaxoSmithKline, has been tested in Africa ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A soldier who reported for duty with her children in tow has been granted her request for a discharge, her lawyer said Monday. Lisa Pagan was recalled to the Army after being honorably discharged four years ago. Lisa Pagan, of Davidson, North Carolina, reported for duty Monday morning at Fort Benning, Georgia, with her two preschool children. She had been honorably discharged from active duty at the rank of specialist nearly four years ago but was recalled as part of the Individual Ready Reserve program. The former Army truck driver asked for a reprieve from deployment because her husband travels for business and they would have no one to care for their children if she was sent overseas. Until Monday, her request had been denied. Late Monday afternoon, Pagan's lawyer told CNN the Army would grant her request and begin the process of discharge again, this time for good. \"We are definitely heading in the right direction for Lisa and her family and her children,\" said Mark Waple, Pagan's attorney. \"She has been told by her chain of command they plan on doing everything they can within reason to do this as expeditiously as possible.\" Pagan enlisted in 2002 and was honorably discharged from active duty in June 2005. She was never deployed. Before she left for Fort Benning, Pagan, 27, told CNN affiliate WCNC that her relatives weren't able to care for her children for various reasons, including her relatives' health. She said her family couldn't afford having her husband give up his job. They would lose their house, she told the Charlotte, North Carolina-TV station. \"I'm a human being. I need to take care of my children. They don't have anybody else,\" Pagan told WCNC. Since September 11, 2001, the Army has recalled about 25,000 soldiers. Nearly half requested a delay or a full exemption. Some just wanted to finish their school semester before reporting. Others had financial or medical problems that made it difficult to report for duty. The Army says it granted nearly nine out of 10 delay requests and six out of 10 requests for exemption." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Soldier reported for duty in Georgia on Monday with her two preschool children .\nShe had been discharged four years ago, but was recalled .\nLisa Pagan argued no one would be able to care for kids if she was sent overseas .\nLawyer: Army granted request for reprieve, and she will be discharged for good ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Saad Hariri, the leader of Lebanon's Sunni-dominated \"March 14 coalition,\" claimed victory hours after the polls closed in Sunday's crucial election. \"March 14\" coalition leader Saad Hariri claims victory after polls close Sunday. Results were not expected until midday Monday. \"What happened today proved again that Lebanon is doing well,\" said Hariri in a televised victory speech. \"The Lebanese proved again that they are holding on to their freedom and the democratic system, so congratulations to Lebanon, congratulations to freedom and to every voter who participated in this election. In this election, there is no winner or loser, democracy won today and the biggest winner is Lebanon.\" Hezbollah officials did not challenge Hariri's speech. Al-Arabiya television network cited Hezbollah sources as predicting Hariri's March 14 coalition would win 70 seats, and that the Hezbollah-dominated \"March 8 alliance\" would win 58 seats. The election -- with 128 seats in parliament at stake -- was crucial in determining whether the Arab nation, scarred by war and political instability, picked the coalition led by Hariri or an alliance backed by the militant group Hezbollah. Watch Hariri's victory speech » . Turnout was high among the country's 3 million registered voters during the 12 hours that polls were open Sunday. About 50,000 troops were on the streets, but the run-up to the balloting had been free of violence. Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jimmy Carter on Sunday said the United States should work with whichever coalition wins -- even though it considers Hezbollah, supported by both Syria and Iran, to be a terrorist organization. Carter was in Beirut as part of more than 200 international observers monitoring the election. Two senior Obama administration officials -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden -- have visited Lebanon in recent months, signaling concerns over a possible Hezbollah victory. Hezbollah grew in popularity after its militant wing claimed victory over Israel after a 34-day military conflict in 2006. Since then, it has been more widely perceived by its supporters to be the \"defenders\" of Lebanon. In Lebanon's unique power-sharing government, the presidency is reserved for Maronite Christians, the speaker of parliament is always a Shia Muslim, and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim. The law was created to balance power among Lebanon's three main religious groups. Resident Georges Azzi, who cast his ballot early Sunday morning, hoped the elections bring about a smooth and healthy transition to a new government and the continued support of the West -- whatever the results. \"I think it would be seen as a punishment to everybody if it doesn't,\" Azzi said. \"We should accept the results whatever they are. That's how democracy works.\" CNN's Cal Perry and Saad Abedine contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Hezbollah officials did not challenge Hariri's victory speech .\nResults not expected until midday Monday .\nAt stake were 128 seats in parliament .\nCarter in Beirut as part of more than 200 international election observers ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Newark, New Jersey (CNN) -- A Transportation Security Administration officer has been reassigned after Sunday's security breach at Newark's Liberty International Airport, according to the TSA. \"The TSA is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident, and we are making an assessment as to what disciplinary action will be taken against [the] officer posted at the exit in question,\" TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said. \"For now, that officer is performing non-screening duties while we look at what happened.\" Davis confirmed Monday that the TSA had not been able to locate the individual who breached security, but there was no indication that the individual presented a serious threat, she said. \"We were able to eliminate that he was a risk to the airport by rescreening everyone and re-combing the airport to make sure he didn't introduce anything to the environment or hand anything off to anyone,\" she said. The incident Sunday evening forced the closure of a terminal for hours while authorities rescreened thousands of passengers. The security breach happened about 5:20 p.m. at Terminal C when a man walked through an exit on the public side to the secure \"sterile\" side for passengers who had cleared screening, according to the TSA. All passengers had been rescreened by early Monday, according to the TSA. Flights from Terminal C were grounded until the process was completed. Authorities reviewed video from airport cameras but were not sure whether the man was once on the sterile side and went back or whether he never went through screening, Davis said. The incident caused arrival delays and mainly affected Continental Airlines, which is the airport's largest tenant. iReport: Passenger photographs massive crowd . CNN's Alina Cho, who arrived at the airport Sunday night on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, described a hectic scene, saying many passengers who had boarded outgoing flights had to get off planes to be rescreened. \"I just saw one woman pleading with a gate agent, saying that she had two small children and a heart condition -- that she simply could not take this,\" Cho said. \"But of course, there will be no exceptions.\" Newark Liberty International Airport, about 15 miles from Manhattan, is the second-largest hub for Continental. The airport handles approximately 35 million passengers a year. CNN's Susan Candiotti, Ross Levitt and Jamie Guzzardo contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Security breach Sunday evening forces closure of Terminal C for hours .\nOfficer posted in area that was breached has been reassigned .\nMan improperly skirted security screening; he was never found ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- The leaders of Lebanon and Syria vowed to improve cooperation between their two countries Sunday, tying up a meeting aimed at thawing frozen relations. \"We want to open new horizons between the two states,\" Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said at a news conference at the end of the two-day meeting, which happened in Damascus, Syria. \"We had good and excellent discussions based on mutual clarity and honesty,\" he added. \"We are betting on a better future for both countries and peoples, in economy, trade as well as all other levels.\" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not at the news conference. Official Syrian news agency SANA reported that both al-Assad and Hariri \"saw the visit as a starting point to restore cooperation between the governments of Syria and Lebanon.\" \"Both sides agreed that the institutions and ministries in both countries directly coordinate and communicate to remove all obstacles to the cooperation on all levels,\" SANA reported. Hariri has previously blamed Syria for the 2005 assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese leader who was a prominent figure opposing Syria's continuing presence inside Lebanon. A United Nations investigation found indications of Syrian involvement, but Syria denies responsibility. A U.N.-backed tribunal has been created to investigate the killing. The two leaders did not discuss that issue or the assassinations of other anti-Syrian figures in Lebanon, Hariri said Sunday. They also did not discuss requests by a Syrian court to question Lebanese officials. Asked whether any guarantees were exchanged regarding the Lebanese-Syrian relationship, Hariri responded, \"I don't want to go into details.\" He added that the meeting proves \"a relationship is being built in both countries' interest and in the benefit of future openness.\" A popular uprising after the elder Hariri's killing in 2005 helped lead to the withdrawal of Syrian forces after almost 30 years of military and political domination of Lebanon. Under international pressure, Syria opened an embassy in Beirut almost a year ago, and a Lebanese ambassador arrived in Damascus a short while later. It was the first time the two foes established diplomatic ties since their independence more than six decades ago. The United States, which also accused Syria of involvement in Rafik Hariri's assassination, withdrew its ambassador four years ago. President Obama decided to make an effort toward reconciliation and announced earlier this year that he was returning a U.S. diplomat to Damascus." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Lebanese leader: \"We are betting on a better future for both countries and peoples\"\nLebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Syria .\nRelations between neighboring Arab nations collapsed after 2005 assassination of Hariri's father ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- More than 400 people have been killed in a spate of violence in northern Nigeria, the president of a human rights group said Tuesday. More than 150 alleged militants were arrested by Nigerian police after clashes. The violence has pitted Islamic militants against government police and troops in the north-central part of the nation, officials said. Attacks continued Tuesday in the suburbs of the northern city of Maiduguri, said Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress, a human rights organization based in northern Nigeria. People there are seeking refuge in police and military barracks and in hospitals, he said. Police and troops were dispatched to the militants' hideouts after they began attacks on government establishments Sunday, said police spokesman Moses Anegbode. As authorities exchanged fire with the militants, 41 people, including a soldier and a policeman, were killed, Anegbode said Monday. In addition, some 176 people were arrested in Bauchi, he said. Besides Bauchi, militants also staged attacks on the nearby states of Yobe and Borno on Sunday and Monday, said Emmanuel Ojukwu, spokesman for the national police. Yobe's police commissioner, Alhaji Muhammed Abbas, said that 23 suspected militants were arrested in connection with a bomb attack at a police station in Potiskum that killed a policeman and a civilian and wounded seven people. The official News Agency of Nigeria reported that as many as 100 members of a religious sect led by Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf may have been killed in a confrontation with police. In Borno, police spokesman Isa Azare said that two policemen were killed in an attack on police headquarters late Monday. \"The religious fanatics took the police unawares,\" Azare told the government-affiliated New Nigerian newspaper. \"That was why they succeeded in killing all the officers on night duty.\" Panicked residents stayed inside in all three states, and businesses shut down, even though officials said the situation was under control. The militants used guns, bows and arrows and machetes in the attacks, officials said. The militants disagree with the government's teaching of Islam in the region, maintaining that the government allows itself to be influenced by Western values, and have been attacking government offices and Islamic clergy. There is a history of religious violence in central Nigeria, where majority-Muslim north Africa meets largely Christian sub-Saharan Africa. Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 1,000 people were killed in riots in 2001. The human rights organization alleged last week that police and soldiers killed at least 133 people during two days of riots between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria last year. Most of the victims were young Muslim men, often unarmed, the group charged in testimony before a state commission examining the riots and in a separate report. More than 700 people died in the violence, the organization said, citing local religious authorities on both sides of the divide. CNN's Christian Purefoy contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As many as 400 people killed in Nigerian violence, group says .\nMilitants disagree with the government's teaching of Islam .\n176 people also arrested, according to police ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Steroid test results and notes and calendars from his then-trainer are among the evidence federal prosecutors have amassed in their perjury case against baseball home-run king Barry Bonds, according to documents unsealed Wednesday. Barry Bonds, shown at his most recent court appearance, is accused of lying to a grand jury. The 223-page stack of documents unsealed by a federal judge represents much of the government's case against Bonds, who is accused of obstructing justice and lying to a grand jury investigating the use of steroids in professional sports. Prosecutors say the test results show Bonds was using performance-enhancing substances -- including a then-undetectable designer drug -- at a time he denied knowingly using any. Bonds' attorneys are seeking to keep much of that evidence out of court. The 44-year-old former San Francisco Giants slugger holds Major League Baseball's single-season and all-time home-run titles, but his achievements have been shadowed by allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds pleaded not guilty to the perjury and obstruction of justice charges and has been free on $500,000 bond. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday. The charges stem from his 2003 appearance before a federal grand jury probing the distribution of steroids by the San Francisco-area Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative, or BALCO. Bonds told the grand jury that his former personal trainer, Greg Anderson, gave him a cream that he said was flaxseed oil to use on his arm in 2003. Anderson spent three months in prison after admitting distributing steroids and was later jailed for refusing to cooperate with prosecutors. The case against Bonds will include calendars kept by Anderson that prosecutors say were used to keep Bonds and other athletes on a doping regimen -- an assertion expected to be bolstered by the testimony of other athletes, they said. Evidence will include a recording of a phone conversation with an associate in which Anderson \"describes injecting the defendant, having the ability to obtain and utilize inside information about MLB's random drug testing to the defendant's benefit and the undetectable nature of what Anderson had been doing,\" according to documents. Bonds won seven National League MVP titles during his 22-year career, 15 years of which was spent with the Giants. The team released him after the 2007 season, just weeks after he broke Hank Aaron's career home-run record." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Bonds' attorneys are seeking to keep many of the documents out of court .\nNEW: Evidence will include phone conversation about \"injecting the defendant\"\nNEW: Hearing in the perjury case is scheduled for Thursday .\nSteroid test results and notes from ex-trainer among documents unsealed ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bronze statue of Helen Keller was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers praised her as a trailblazer and an inspiration for those with disabilities. The Helen Keller statue depicts the moment when Anne Sullivan spelled \"W-A-T-E-R\" into the child's hand . \"Some are still dismissed and cast aside for nothing more than being less than perfect,\" Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said at the unveiling ceremony. \"The story of Helen Keller inspires us all.\" The statue shows Keller -- who lost her sight and hearing to illness when she was 19 months old -- standing at a water pump as a 7-year-old, a look of recognition on her face as water streams into her hand. It depicts the moment in 1887 when teacher Anne Sullivan spelled \"W-A-T-E-R\" into one of the child's hands as she held the other under the pump. It's the moment when Keller realized meanings were hidden in the manual alphabet shapes Sullivan had taught her to make with her hands. \"W-A-T-E-R,\" said Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. \"Five simple letters that helped rescue 7-year-old Helen Keller from a world of darkness and a world of silence. \"It is this defining moment that we celebrate today. And in time, this moment so vividly depicted by this statue helped the world to understand that all of us, regardless of any disability, have a mind that can be educated, a hand that can be trained, a life that will have meaning.\" Keller learned to speak and earned a degree from Radcliffe College and the women's branch of Harvard University. She traveled the world as an adult, wrote 12 books and championed causes including women's suffrage and workers' rights. Carl Augusto, president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind, told the crowd he thinks Keller, who worked for the foundation for the last 44 years of her life, \"would have loved this impressive statue of herself and the symbolism attached.\" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and others assisted Augusto as he ran his hands over the statue. The foundation, Augusto said, still considers Keller \"our guiding light. She embodies the American spirit of limitless possibility ... her biggest desire was to leave the world a better place than she found it, and ladies and gentlemen, that's the legacy she leaves all of us.\" More than 40 of Keller's descendants attended the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. Students from the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind sang a medley of patriotic songs. The statue, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will \"always remind us that people must be respected for what they can do rather than judged for what they cannot.\" The statue is also the Capitol's first depicting a child, Riley's office said. Since 1864, each state has been allowed to place two statues in the Capitol. In 2002, Congress changed the law to allow states to change their statues. Riley, then a U.S. representative, suggested the state place a statue of Keller, and the state Legislature passed a resolution asking Congress to accept a statue of Keller as a gift. A committee with Alabama first lady Patsy Riley serving as honorary chairwoman raised private donations and selected Utah bronze sculpture artist Edward Hlavka to create the piece. The 600-pound statue is made of bronze with a base of Alabama marble, Riley's office said. In 1997, a Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial that opened near the National Mall drew complaints from disability advocates because the statue of the president, who suffered from polio, did not show him in a wheelchair. In 2001, President Clinton unveiled an addition to the memorial including a new statue of the four-term president sitting in a wheelchair. \"By placing this statue in the Capitol, we appropriately honor this extraordinary American, and will inspire countless children who will come to understand that with faith and with courage, there truly are no limits on what can be accomplished, and there is no obstacle that can't be overcome,\" Riley said. Keller's statue will replace one depicting Jabez Curry. Curry, who has represented Alabama in the Capitol since 1908, was a Georgia native who served as president of Howard College, which later became Samford University in Birmingham. The Curry statue is being sent back to Alabama for display at the university. The other statue representing Alabama is of Joseph \"Fightin' Joe\" Wheeler, a Confederate general during the Civil War who, three decades later, volunteered to serve in the Spanish-American War at age 62 and attained the same rank in the U.S. Army, the only one of 425 Confederate generals to do so, according to a biography of him posted on the Fort Sam Houston Museum's Web site. His statue was donated by the state in 1925, Riley's office said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing to illness when she was 19 months old .\nStatue depicts when teacher Anne Sullivan spelled \"W-A-T-E-R\" into the child's hand .\nShe traveled the world, wrote books, championed women's and workers' rights ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A Singapore-flagged container ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia was released Monday, according to the European Union Naval Force Somalia. The Kota Wajar, with a crew of 21, was the second hijacked ship released in as many days. A Chinese bulk carrier, the De Xin Hai, and its crew of 25 were released on Sunday, NAVFOR said. Both ships were hijacked in October. NAVFOR said the De Xin Hai and its crew were in good condition and \"heading to a safe port.\" The Chinese carrier was hijacked about 350 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles, NAVFOR said. The Kota Wajar was hijacked about 300 nautical miles north of the Seychelles. Regarding the Kota Wajar, NAVFOR said it was \"monitoring the situation.\" The Canadian warship HCMS Fredericton was providing medical and logistical assistance to the ship, it said. NAVFOR did not say how either ship was released, but the Chinese Marine Search and Rescue Center said the De Xin Hai and crew were rescued, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The ship is under the protection of a Chinese naval escort fleet, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told Xinhua Monday. The De Xin Hai was carrying about 76,000 tons of coal from South Africa to India when it was hijacked. NAVFOR is \"a military operation to help deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia,\" according to its Web site." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hijacked Chinese bulk carrier De Xin Hai released off coast of Somalia .\nSingapore-flagged Kota Wajar also released .\nThe De Xin Hai, with crew of 25, was hijacked in October by pirate group in Indian Ocean ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Washington (CNN) -- African-Americans are extremely supportive of President Obama, but their enthusiasm appears to have dramatically dropped from earlier this year, according to a new national poll. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, released Tuesday, also indicates that Obama's presidency appears to have made blacks more optimistic about race relations, but less than one in five believe the new president has ushered in a new era of race relations in the country. More than nine in 10 blacks questioned in the poll approve of the job Obama's doing in the White House, far higher than 42 percent of whites who approve of his performance as president. But when asked how they personally feel about Obama's presidency, only 42 percent of black respondents say they're thrilled, with nearly half of those questioned saying they are happy but not thrilled. The 42 percent who are thrilled is down from 61 percent in January, when Obama was inaugurated. \"African-Americans are still big fans of the first black president in U.S. history, but the thrill is gone,\" said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. According to the poll, 51 percent of African-Americans say Obama's presidency has brought some improvement in race relations in the U.S., but only 18 percent feel it's the start of a new era. Another 23 percent say they've seen a real change in race relations over the past 11 months and 7 percent say things have gotten worse. The survey indicates that three-quarters of blacks believe race relations will improve eventually, which is up from 49 percent of blacks who felt that way a year before Obama was elected. \"Whites take a dimmer view of Obama's effect on race relations, with a third believing that the new presidency has not changed race relations in the country and 15 percent of whites saying that Obama has made race relations worse,\" Holland added. \"Not surprisingly, whites are less supportive of Obama, although for a notable number of whites, their negative view of the president is due to the perception that he's not been liberal enough.\" The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted December 16-20, with 1,160 adult Americans, including 259 African-Americans and 786 whites, questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points and plus or minus 6 percentage points for the African-Americans sample. CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this story ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll released Tuesday .\nPoll: More than nine in 10 blacks approve of the job Obama is doing .\nBlack respondents saying they're \"thrilled\" down 19 points from January .\nApproval rating more than twice as high among blacks than among whites ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The wife of al Qaeda's second-in-command has purportedly issued a message urging women to raise their children to love holy war and defend Muslim lands. The message from Omaima Hassan Ahmad Mohammad Hassad, wife of Osama bin Laden advisor Ayman al-Zawahiri, said that since women could not fight, they should dedicate themselves to so-called holy warriors, or mujahedeen. \"I ask you to raise your children to obey Allah and love jihad [holy war] and to defend the Muslim lands,\" she said, in a message released by As-Sahab Media -- al Qaeda's production company. \"Fighting is not easy for women because they need a male guardian by their side. ... But we can place ourselves in service of the mujahedeen and do what they ask of us. We can help by supporting warriors with money or information or even by a martyrdom operation.\" CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the document, which appeared on multiple radical Islamist Web sites. Hassan also asked that Allah grant her and her Muslim sisters \"patience and persistence until death,\" especially in the Palestinian Authority, and in Iraq, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Somalia. CNN's senior editor for Middle East affairs, Octavia Nasr, said it is not a usual practice for women linked to al Qaeda to release messages. \"It signals that al Qaeda seems to be aggressively reaching out to the female population, whereas in the past their focus was mainly on men,\" she said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Omaima Hassan Ahmad Mohammad Hassad is wife of Ayman al-Zawahiri .\nPurported message says women should not fight, but encourage their children .\nMessage from woman would be unusual move for al Qaeda, CNN analyst says ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Washington (CNN) -- Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas admits he drew guns in the team locker room in a highly publicized December 21 incident, but says he was only kidding around. \"I took the unloaded guns out in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate,\" Arenas said in a statement released Monday. \"Contrary to some press accounts, I never threatened or assaulted anyone with the guns and never pointed them at anyone. Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong.\" Citing NBA sources last month, the New York Post reported that Arenas and Javaris Crittenton both brandished firearms in the team's locker room. Authorities continue to investigate the incident. Crittenton's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told CNN Monday that his client \"hasn't done anything wrong. I'm extremely confident he'll be exonerated.\" Asked if Crittenton brought a gun into the Verizon Center that day, Bartelstein said, \"I'm not going to get into details.\" He said Crittenton has not met with authorities, nor has such a meeting been requested or scheduled. Arenas, a three-time NBA All-Star, spent Monday afternoon in a voluntary meeting with federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington and with D.C. metropolitan police about the incident, according to his attorney, Kenneth L. Wainstein. \"From the outset of this incident, Mr. Arenas has been fully cooperative with the investigation,\" Wainstein said in a statement, noting that Arenas relinquished the guns to Wizards security officers and met with authorities to \"tell the full story.\" \"Over the course of a two-hour interview this afternoon, Mr. Arenas answered every question asked of him,\" Wainstein said in Monday's statement. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on Arenas' statement, citing the ongoing investigation. Arenas said he told authorities that he stored four unloaded guns in his locker the Verizon Center to keep them away from his children. Arenas said he told authorities that he stored four unloaded guns in his locker the Verizon Center to keep them away from his children. \"I brought them without any ammunition into the District of Columbia, mistakenly believing that the recent change in the DC gun laws allowed a person to store unloaded guns in the District,\" he said in the statement. He offered a public apology to the league, his teammates and his fans, saying, \"I promise to do better in the future.\" NBA spokesman Tim Frank declined to comment on Arenas' comments, deferring to an earlier statement: \"There is an active investigation by DC law enforcement authorities, which we are monitoring closely. We are not taking any independent action at this time.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "New York Post: Washington Wizards teammates drew guns on each other .\nGilbert Arenas, Javaris Crittenton argued over gambling debt, paper says .\nAuthorities say they are investigating incident but gave no details ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Commercial office space, warehouses or factory facilities are not required to launch a successful business. At-home enterprises have turned many business people into full-fledged celebrities. Grammy award-winning musicians OutKast started in a basement recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Apple, Google and Microsoft all were born at home-based facilities. See more famous businesses that started at home » . Culinary queen Paula Deen started her media empire by making bag lunches in her own kitchen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At-home startups prove commercial facilities aren't required for success .\nOutKast, Google, Microsoft, Spanx and other famous names started in homes .\nPaula Deen's kitchen bag-lunch operation led to her media empire ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel will bring a \"tough-minded\" and \"pragmatic\" approach to the White House when he becomes President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, according to people who know the Chicago, Illinois, native. Rep. Rahm Emanuel has experience in the White House, on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill. Emanuel, a former top aide to President Clinton, has accepted the position in the new administration, Obama confirmed in a statement Thursday. \"I announce this appointment first because the chief of staff is central to the ability of a president and administration to accomplish an agenda,\" Obama said. \"And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel.\" In the job, Emanuel would oversee the White House staff. The chief of staff is usually involved in all the major decisions that the president makes and is responsible for making sure the administration carries out the president's wishes. Watch Emanuel call himself \"fortunate\" » . The chief of staff also often is involved in negotiations with congressional leaders when major legislation is under consideration. Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, called Emanuel: \"An excellent choice.\" \"Rahm knows the Hill. And he knows the White House. He is a brilliant strategic thinker and someone who knows how to get things done,\" Manley said. Manley also rejected the idea that Emanuel is a true partisan that could not work with Republicans. \"That's ridiculous. Rahm understands politics is the art of compromise. He's got a deeply held set of views but he also understands to get things done you have to compromise,\" he said. After leaving the Clinton White House, Emanuel, 48, was an investment banker on Wall Street and later was elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 from a heavily Democratic Chicago district. He quickly rose to become the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House. Watch what Emanuel brings to the White House » . It is Emanuel's combination of experiences -- plus his strong personal relationship with Obama -- that would make him a strong chief of staff, said CNN political analyst Paul Begala, a fellow Clinton veteran. \"He has spent more time in the White House than President-elect Obama has. That matters a lot. It is a special place with its own rhythms,\" Begala said. See who Obama may be considering for his Cabinet » . \"But, maybe most importantly, he's got the relationship. He has known Barack and Michelle Obama for a number of years.\" Before reports emerged that he had accepted the position, Emanuel told WLS-TV in Chicago that he had to consider the possible impact on his family. Watch how Obama is starting his transition » . \"I have a lot to weigh: the basis of public service, which I have given my life to, a career choice. And most importantly, what I want to do as a parent,\" Emanuel said in an interview that aired Wednesday. Emanuel added: \"This is not a professional choice. This is a personal choice about what my wife and I want to do for our family, as much as what to do with my career.\" Emanuel's at-times blunt approach would ensure the White House runs smoothly for the new president, said Mack McLarty, Clinton's former chief of staff. Watch as McLarty calls Emanuel an \"excellent choice\" » . \"Rahm is high energy. He's direct. He's a tough-minded pragmatist. So I think the years have been good to him in that regard,\" McLarty said. \"I think the high-energy directness will serve him well. \"Rahm, like a lot of us, made mistakes, but he quickly corrected them.\" However, the lawmaker's direct style has ruffled a number of feathers in Washington, and Emanuel is known as one of the toughest partisan fighters on Capitol Hill. After reports that Emanuel had agreed to be Obama's chief of staff on Thursday, the top Republican in the House, Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, questioned the president-elect's pick. Election T-shirt: Obama inspires historic victory . \"This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center,\" Boehner said. According to a 2006 profile of Emanuel in Fortune magazine, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma warned his fellow Republicans of Emanuel's ferocity in a letter two years ago. \"He's dangerous,\" Cole told Fortune then. \"He has a closing intensity. When he's got a political kill in sight, he's absolutely relentless.\" But David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst who has worked in five administrations, said the contrasting styles between Obama and Emanuel could help the new president get things done in Washington. \"They are obviously setting up a good cop/bad cop routine in the White House. ... Barack Obama can be the good guy,\" Gergen said. iReport.com: Who should be in Obama's cabinet? Emanuel has made a career of being the tough guy. In the 2006 Fortune profile, Begala described Emanuel's aggressive style as a \"cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache.\" \"I love Rahm, but that's a small group of us,\" he told Fortune. CNN's Ted Barrett and Don Lemon contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Rahm Emanuel will be White House chief of staff, Barack Obama says .\nEmanuel's direct style has ruffled some feathers on Capitol Hill .\nHouse minority leader calls pick \"ironic\" for candidate who ran on change .\nEmanuel is a veteran of Clinton White House, Wall Street and Congress ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Billionaire oil man T. Boone Pickens is shelving plans to build the world's largest wind farm. T. Boone Pickens says the capital markets will not support his plans to build the world's largest wind farm. The chairman of BP Capital Management announced Tuesday that his plans for the Pampa Wind Project, designed to generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity using thousands of wind turbines, is on hold. \"I had hoped that Pampa would be the starting point, but transmission issues and the problem with the capital markets make that unfeasible at this point,\" Pickens told CNN's Ali Velshi. \"I expect to continue development of the Pampa project, but not at the pace that I originally expected.\" The Pickens Plan was an attempt to wean the United States off foreign oil and switch to wind and natural gas. The project was to be set in four Texas Panhandle counties. Pickens said he faced hurdles in routing the power from Texas to a distribution system. His plans were also stymied by a plunge in natural gas prices and a tightening credit market. \"The capital markets have dealt us all a setback, and I'm less aggressive with the Panhandle project than I have been,\" Pickens said. Watch Pickens respond to criticism that the U.S. can't shake it's oil addiction » . He said he was still committed to 667 wind turbines that he has already ordered and would find homes for them. The Texas billionaire pushed The Pickens Plan in television commercials and lobbying efforts that started last summer. Pickens had hoped to complete his $12 billion plan in 2014 and provide enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes. Renewable energy is the source of only a small portion of electricity used today, but in 2008, the United States became the world's leading provider of wind power. Pickens, 81, made his fortune in oil production and trading and is listed in Forbes magazine as the 117th richest person in the United States with a net worth of about $3 billion in 2007." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "T. Boone Pickens shelves plans for building world's largest wind farm .\nPampa Wind Project in Texas Panhandle was to have powered 1.3 million homes .\nPickens says transmission issues, capital markets make project unfeasible .\nIn 2008, United States became world's leading provider of wind power ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian forces that seized an Iraqi oil well have withdrawn from the installation but remain on Iraqi territory, a top Iraqi official charged Sunday. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government deployed more troops to Maysan province where oil well number 4 is located, Iraqi security officials said. They said workers returned to the well Sunday morning, escorted by the Iraqi army. Negotiations to resolve the diplomatic standoff are ongoing, said Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abawi. Iran, however, dismissed Iraq's allegations of the takeover. \"Our forces are on our own soil and, based on the known international borders, this well belongs to Iran,\" the armed forces command said on the Web site of Iran's state-run Arabic-language Al-Alam TV. The Iraqi government had issued a strong statement deploring the act after al-Maliki attended an emergency meeting of Iraq's National Security Council to discuss the situation. Iraq demanded the Iranians withdraw remove an Iranian flag hoisted from the well tower in the takeover on Thursday night. Senior Iraqi government sources initially referred to the Iranians as security forces, but the official Iraqi government statement later called them an armed group. Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, also rejected Iraqi allegations, blaming the international media for distributing propaganda intended to harm relations between Iran and Iraq. Drilled in 1979, the well near the city of Amara is within the province's Fakka oil field, which includes a number of wells, the Iraqi government said. The diplomatic scuffle, a manifestation of existing tension between the two neighbors, prompted discussions between Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari on Saturday, Iran's state-run Press TV reported. Iraq and Iran share a long border, and high-ranking committees from both countries handle all border matters, an Iranian Embassy official said. Political, economic, cultural and religious ties between Iran and Iraq, which are both majority Shiite Muslim nations, greatly improved after the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003. At the same time, there has been widespread concern among Iraqi and U.S. officials that Iran has been providing Iraqi insurgents with material for roadside bombs during the Iraq war. And Iraq and Iran fought a bloody eight-year war that ended in 1988 in a cease-fire with no clear victor and parts of the border under dispute. The report of the oil-well incident comes just after the oil ministry's two-day auction of oil fields. Aimed at increasing Iraqi oil production, deals were struck for seven of the 15 fields offered. Iraq, however, was forced to halt its exports from northern oil fields due to an attack -- the fourth in two months -- on a main pipeline Saturday about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Baghdad, Oil Ministry spokesman Assim Jihad said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Iranian forces that seized Iraqi oil well withdraw from facility but remain in Iraq, says Iraqi official .\nIran, however, dismissed Iraq's allegations of takeover, saying well is in Iranian territory .\nNegotiations to resolve diplomatic standoff are ongoing, says Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister .\nThe two countries fought 8-year war that ended in 1988 with parts of border under dispute ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Benjamin Wallen, self-proclaimed biggest fan of HBO's \"The Wire,\" thought it was well worth a $300 flight home to watch the highly anticipated series finale of the acclaimed crime drama with his best friends -- and fellow series diehards -- Sunday night. The finale of \"The Wire\" has raised intense interest -- all the more so because it's not available on demand. Though the season finale is not scheduled to air nationally until Sunday, HBO has made episodes of the series available through certain cable providers' on-demand feature up to a week before their national air dates. But when Wallen and his friends huddled around the television and switched on the cable box at 12:03 a.m. Monday, their hearts sank: The new episode wasn't listed. They tried an old trick, turning the cable box power switch on and off, hoping the episode would eventually appear. Finally, something did show up -- but not the finale. In the place where the show should have been, Wallen, 24, and his friends found a one-minute preview of the finale that ended simply with a title screen bearing the date \"March 10,\" the day the show will be available on demand. Like thousands of other \"Wire\" fanatics who had similarly flocked to the presumed early screener Sunday night, the group sat stunned. \"It completely killed the whole weekend,\" Wallen said. \"We are diehard fans who have watched it every week -- a week early. We didn't think this week would be any different.\" The finale of \"The Wire\" has earned intense interest from fans who have followed the Baltimore-set show zealously since its premiere in 2002. The critically lauded show has never matched the audience of other HBO programs, such as \"The Sopranos,\" but its viewers are a particularly passionate lot, following the show's motley crew of cops, drug dealers, struggling children, politicians and journalists with deeply probing blogs and running commentary. Gallery: Get to know the characters of \"The Wire\" » . They want to delve deeper into the show's portrayal of what creator David Simon has described as \"what it feels like to live in the American city.\" Monday morning, the official HBO Web site confirmed that the series finale would not be made available early, but would premiere during its regularly scheduled 9 p.m. Sunday time slot. While the decision to not release the show early was a surprise to fans, it was one made back at the beginning of the final season at the urging of Simon, executives at HBO said. HBO vice president Dave Baldwin said that in seasons past, spoilers about season finales and the episodes themselves had leaked onto the Web, so Simon requested a change in the schedule. Baldwin acknowledged that there were many angry fans -- some of whom are calling HBO liars -- but attributed their rancor to their passion for the show. But what could he say? \"Forgive us, we thought we were doing the right thing,\" Baldwin said. \"And anything else that a husband would say to his wife [in] begging for forgiveness.\" The curtain of secrecy around \"The Wire\" finale is one Simon intends to keep tightly drawn until the show begins Sunday night. Aaron Barnhart, TV critic for The Kansas City Star, found out just how tightly guarded Simon intended to keep it when he posted an entry to his blog about the advance copy of the finale he received. Barnhart told CNN he intended not to spoil the show for fans, only discussing small details of the finale. But what Barnhart thought was a small detail -- the finale's closing song -- turned out to be otherwise for Simon. Less than three hours after the blog entry was posted, Barnhart received a voice mail from someone identifying himself as Simon, imploring him to take the post down, because there is a great deal of anticipation and betting on what the song will be. Barnhart said he had no idea the closing segment was such a big deal, saying it hadn't made a big impact on him in the past, but he realized that doesn't mean it isn't a huge deal to other fans. \"I think it is a token of the strong bond that this show has to its small niche of fans,\" he said. \"[Simon] wants to reward the devotion of those fans with a moment like that. He's decided it's important, and the fact that it's not important to me doesn't entitle me to spoil it.\" While some \"Wire\" fans who were duped out of an early release ranted on HBO message boards, Facebook and MySpace, Wallen said he and his friends decided to find the positive in it all. \"I guess the consolation is that we have five extra days to be excited and talk about the show before it's over,\" he said. HBO is a division of Time Warner, as is CNN. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Wire\" has been available on demand, but not Sunday's finale .\nShow has a hard-core audience of passionate fans .\nHBO show, set in Baltimore, wraps up five-season run Sunday ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday admitted he made a mistake in handling the nomination of Tom Daschle as his health and human services secretary, saying Daschle's tax problems sent a message that the politically powerful are treated differently from average people. President Barack Obama is interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday. Daschle, the former Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, withdrew earlier Tuesday as news that he failed to pay some taxes in the past continued to stir opposition on Capitol Hill. \"I think I screwed up,\" Obama said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. \"And I take responsibility for it and we're going to make sure we fix it so it doesn't happen again.\" Daschle had apologized Monday for what he said were honest mistakes, calling them an embarrassment. The series of errors included improperly reporting $15,000 in charitable donations, failing to list $80,000 in lobbying income due to what Daschle said was a paperwork error, and not reporting as income a car and driver loaned to him by a friend and business associate. Watch Obama admit mistake » . Daschle recently filed amended tax returns and paid more than $140,000 in back taxes and interest for 2005 to 2007. Those tax issues, as well as questions over whether work he did after his stint in the Senate amounted to lobbying, gave critics ammunition to question Obama's call for a change of culture in Washington. \"Ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics,\" Obama said. \"And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards -- one for powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.\" Watch the full interview with Anderson Cooper » . Obama defended Daschle's original appointment, saying \"nobody was better-equipped to deal both with the substance and policy of health care.\" \"He understands it as well as anybody, but also the politics, which is going to be required to actually get it done,\" Obama said. Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insisted Daschle's decision to withdraw was made on his own, not as a result of any prodding from the administration. In a written statement, Daschle acknowledged the political problem he had created for the administration. Still, Obama insisted the mistake was his. Read how CNN analysts assess the situation » . Obama also said he's going to crack down on businesses using taxpayer money to excessively pay executives. He plans a Wednesday announcement of mechanisms to keep that from happening. \"I'm going to be talking about executive compensation and changes we're going to be making there,\" he said. \"We've now learned that people are still getting huge bonuses despite the fact that they're getting taxpayer money, which I think infuriates the public.\" Watch Obama discuss getting tough on executives » . The president also spoke about the struggling economy, the use of the label \"war on terror,\" and lighter topics, including the family dog and his efforts to stop smoking. Thinking about the nation's faltering economy keeps him up at night, Obama said. He also addressed criticism that there is too much spending in the current stimulus package bill written by House Democrats. iReport.com: Was Daschle properly vetted? \"Look, the only measure of my success as president when people look back five years from now or nine years from now is going to be, did I get this economy fixed. I have no interest in promoting a package that doesn't work,\" Obama said. Cooper also asked Obama about reports that he is not using former President Bush's phrase, \"war on terror,\" to refer to the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan. \"Words matter in this situation because one of the ways we're going to win this struggle is through the battle of hearts and minds,\" Obama said. \"I think it is very important for us to recognize that we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations, but that those organizations aren't representative of a broader Arab community, Muslim community.\" Watch Obama talk about the phrase \"war on terror\" » . Moving on to lighter topics, the president said the first family hasn't decided what type of dog to get, but will wait until spring. Obama, an intermittent smoker, also said he has not smoked on the White House grounds. \"Sometimes it's hard. But, you know, I'm sticking to it,\" Obama said. iReport.com: 'People should give him some slack' Asked about the greatest lesson he'd learned about the presidency from studying about Abraham Lincoln, Obama said: . \"You know, when I think about Abraham Lincoln, what I'm struck by is the fact that he constantly learned on the job. He got better. You know, he wasn't defensive. He wasn't arrogant about his tasks. He was very systematic in saying, 'I'm going to master the job, and I understand it's going to take some time.' \"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obama tells CNN's Anderson Cooper: 'I take responsibility for it'\nPresident says message was sent that the politically powerful are treated differently .\nDaschle apologizes for what he says were honest mistakes involving taxes .\nObama also discusses declining economy and fight against terrorist groups ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Sunset) -- An insider shares five top experiences in Sausalito, California, you won't read about in guidebooks. Waldo Point Harbor is one of several scenic houseboat communities in Sausalito. Off-the-path pier . You'll want a bike or a car to get to the Fort Baker fishing pier, which sits in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge and has unbeatable views across the bay to San Francisco. In summer, foghorns bellow loudly from here, but in December, fishermen and pelicans are more the order of the day. A short walk north is eco-luxe Cavallo Point: The Lodge at the Golden Gate, which was big news in town when it debuted last summer. Even if you don't stay there, stop for a glass of wine in the clubby Farley Bar. Locals' beach . Schoonmaker Beach is a bit farther from downtown, but still doable on foot and well worth finding. My son and I have whiled away many sunny mornings here, wading in the bay and watching sailboats. The beach bumped up to our number one favorite in April with the addition of Le Garage, a French bistro steps from the sand and, hands down, the best new restaurant in town in ages. Grab a seat next to the roll-up glass garage door and definitely try the mussels Provençale. Sunset.com: 20 perfect summer trips . Undiscovered hike . You can't spend time in Sausalito and not make it to the Marin Headlands, just a mile outside town -- it'd be like going to Yosemite and missing Half Dome. So join the parade of cars winding up twisty Conzelman Road to Hawk Hill, but don't stop there. Drive a bit farther to the beach parking area on your left, and you'll see signs for the trail to Black Sands Beach. The 0.75-mile hike down (slightly rickety) steps is sure to put the rosy in your cheeks, and the narrow strip of beach is windy, wild and stunning. My secret? Instead of starting from the beach parking area, I like to drive past the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, turn right on Bunker Road, and start at the historic rifle range. It's worth the extra 1.5 miles over the ridge for the views you'll have all to yourself. Sunset.com: Our amazing national parks . Best shopping street . There's more to Sausalito shopping than the chintzy souvenir shops that line the main drag downtown. Just a 10-minute walk north of the waterfront lies leafy Caledonia Street, home to several locally owned galleries and framing shops, plus Flying Oliver Books, where we always find deals on used cookbooks. I love to look at the black-and-white photography at Sausalito Picture Framing and pick up letterpress holiday cards and fashionable ribbons and papers for present wrapping at Pinestreet Papery. And one block to the east on Bridgeway is McCloud Design, with streamlined modern container gardens, handcrafted fountains and outdoor furniture. Sunset.com: Outdoor dining rooms . Hidden harbor . Sausalito wouldn't be Sausalito without its houseboats. Among several houseboat communities in town, Waldo Point Harbor stands out for its hilarious, only-in-Sausalito message board at the harbor entrance. On my all-star list: \"Lost: Plywood dinghy, battered blue\" (alongside a charmingly rakish drawing of the poor lost boat) and \"Want to exchange your houseboat with mine in Paris for a week?\" Impressive feats of container gardening -- succulents, roses, lemon trees -- line the boardwalk, and residents are often out watering plants in the early morning. Truth be told, I did once catch a minibus of Japanese tourists being let off in this area, but that was in the height of summer, and they seemed to walk right past Issaquah Dock, our favorite spot. Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright 2004-2009 Sunset magazine. All rights reserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Wade in the bay and watch sailboats at Schoonmaker Beach .\nStroll through Waldo Point Harbor, one of Sausalito's houseboat communities .\nShop Caledonia Street, a 10-minute walk north of the waterfront ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Editor's Note: The following story contains spoilers regarding the show \"House.\" If you'd rather not know what happens, stop reading now. Kal Penn, left, with Peter Jacobson on \"House,\" is joining the Obama White House. LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- When Dr. Lawrence Kutner killed himself on the latest episode of \"House: MD,\" it was the beginning of a new career for actor Kal Penn. The demise of Penn's character cleared the way for the actor to move on to another \"House,\" the White House. Penn, 31, will be an associate director for the Obama administration's Office of Public Liaison. \"It seemed like something I would enjoy doing,\" Penn said. \"I figured it was something to do.\" He's not retiring from acting, just pursuing a longtime desire for public service that was rekindled when he campaigned for Barack Obama's election, Penn said. Penn played a teen terrorist on Fox's \"24\" before joining the network's \"House\" two years ago. He's also known as Kumar Patel in the \"Harold & Kumar\" movie series. The White House job likely ends his Kumar roles, he said. In fact, he will not consider any acting jobs until he leaves the Obama administration, he said. Penn will take a big pay cut to work for the government, but he has committed to at least one or two years in the job, he said. His focus will be as a liaison for the arts community and the Asian-American community, he said. He filled a similar role in the Obama presidential campaign, he said. \"We want to make sure that everyone's concerns are heard and they are familiar with the president's plans and proposals,\" he said. Penn said he spoke briefly with Obama after the election about \"trying to find the right fit\" for him in the administration. He said he has bittersweet emotions as he leaves Hollywood to search for an apartment in Washington next week. The writers' decision to have Dr. Kutner commit suicide ensures Penn will not return to the show, although he said he leaves on good terms. He felt \"more than a little bit of shock and loss\" to learn that his character would die in his final episode. Even though he spoke no lines in the episode -- and only his legs are seen when his body is found -- he was on the set for the filming, he said. CNN's KJ Matthews contributed to this story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"House\" actor Kal Penn is leaving the show to join the Obama White House .\nPenn will become part of Office of Public Liaison .\nActor says working on campaign last year re-ignited desire for public service ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish court convicted 11 Islamic militants Monday of membership in a terrorist group, but acquitted them of a \"specific\" conspiracy to carry out an attack on Barcelona's metro subway system, as prosecutors alleged. The court instead said there was a more general decision by the group, linked to al Qaeda, to use explosives against Barcelona's metro, but that a specific date and place had not been determined, nor had a sufficient amount of explosives been assembled, according to a copy of the sentence viewed by CNN. The judges ruled the alleged Barcelona plot had \"not advanced sufficiently\" to constitute a crime of conspiracy under Spanish law. The alleged plot in January 2008 had raised alarm bells in Europe because Spanish authorities said there were to be a series of attacks, starting with suicide bombings on the Barcelona metro, and then other attacks in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal and Great Britain, if successive demands from a Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda were not met. The trial against 10 Pakistani men and an Indian national was held last month. All proclaimed their innocence and many refused to answer prosecutors questions. The three-judge panel at the National Court ruled on Monday that all 11 belonged to a terrorist group. Two of the 11 also were convicted of possession of explosives, but nine others were acquitted on that charge. The 11 face prison terms of eight to 14 years. But Jose Maria Fuster-Fabra, a private prosecutor representing victims in the case, told CNN the sentence sets a precedent in Spain because the 11 defendants were convicted for terrorist group membership almost solely on the basis of a key police informant, known as F1 to protect his identity. F1 testified he was selected by the group's leader to be a suicide bomber, and that he quickly made a secretive call from a bathroom at a Barcelona mosque to warn a friend in France about an impending terrorist attack. Hours later, police swooped to make arrests in January 2008 in Barcelona. The protected witness denied on the stand that he worked for French or any other secret service. Defense lawyer Jacobo Teijelo, on the team representing all 11 defendants, said the sentence lacked judicial merit and he vowed to appeal to Spain's Supreme Court. About 30 members of Barcelona's large Pakistani community watched the trial almost daily in a bulletproof basement courtroom at the high-security National Court in central Madrid. A community leader told CNN the defendants were innocent and that the Pakistani community in Barcelona was hardworking and law-abiding. More than 300 suspected Islamic extremists have been arrested in Spain since the Madrid commuter train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800 on March 11, 2004, Spain's interior minister has said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Court convicts 11 Islamic militants of belonging to terrorist group, but acquits them of conspiring to attack Barcelona's metro .\nJudges ruled alleged Barcelona plot not advanced to constitute crime of conspiracy .\nAlleged plot in January 2008 raised alarm bells with Spanish authorities fearing series of attacks across Europe ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- For Pittsburgh International Airport, the Group of 20 summit is like the Sunday after Thanksgiving: the busiest flying day of the year, with world leaders instead of holiday travelers. Officials greet Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, left, on Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport. After weeks of logistics and planning, the airport and the adjacent Air Force Reserve Base will see 23 heads of state arrive in the space of a few hours. President Obama is hosting the G-20 summit -- a two-day meeting of representatives of the world's largest economies -- Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh. \"This is unprecedented,\" Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said. \"We've never seen anything like it.\" The county runs the airport and coordinated the arrivals along with the White House, U.S. State Department and law enforcement officials. The arrivals will take place away from the commercial passenger terminals on the huge airport property. With different areas being used, some of the presidents and prime ministers will show up at the same time. Watch Pittsburgh's security preparations for protesters » . \"It is all scheduled. No one will be sitting out\" on the tarmac waiting, Onorato said. There are no welcoming ceremonies planned at the airport. The leaders quickly will get into separate motorcades and be whisked to downtown Pittsburgh. A formal greeting will take place Thursday evening at a conservatory in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. The heads of state invited to Pittsburgh include the leader of the European Union and the prime ministers of the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Many leaders are bringing hundreds of delegates and support staff with them as well. At least two countries are bringing jumbo jets into the airport. Members of Saudi Arabia's delegation landed Wednesday evening. The leaders are arriving from New York, where they attended the U.N. General Assembly. Airport officials say the VIP landings will not mean delays for passengers, though they warn trips to and from the airport could take extra time because of road closings for motorcades. It's Obama's second trip to Pittsburgh in nine days. He addressed the AFL-CIO Convention on September 15 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where the G-20 summit also is being held. This time, Air Force One will have plenty of company." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Representatives of world's largest economies meeting for two days in Pittsburgh .\nTwenty-three heads of state arriving in the space of a few hours at airport .\nLeaders' arrivals will take place away from commercial passenger terminals .\nDelegates and support staff also on hand; airport says there won't be any delays ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Being the leader and second-richest person in one of the most beautiful and cultured nations on Earth might sound cushy, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is having a rough year. Already the subject of intense criticism over his personal life and management style, Berlusconi took another blow Sunday when a man police are calling \"mentally unstable\" smacked the Italian prime minister in the face with a souvenir replica of a cathedral. Berlusconi, 73, who was in his hometown of Milan stumping for a political ally, suffered broken teeth and a fractured nose. His alleged assailant, Massimo Tartaglia, is being held by Milanese authorities, who believe he acted alone. As he has done in the past after nonphysical attacks, Berlusconi blamed political opponents. \"What I can tell you is that there has been such a buildup of hatred toward the premier, and this is not good,\" Berlusconi spokesman Paolo Buonaiuti said. \"This campaign of hatred has been building quite rapidly recently, and I am not surprised that what happened tonight took place.\" The prime minister scores highly in polls gauging Italian popular opinion, though he has been tried on various charges 17 times since taking office in 1994. The charges include corruption, false accounting and tax fraud. Berlusconi has said he did nothing wrong and accused magistrates of conducting a witch hunt. He also noted that he has never been convicted. In some cases, he was found guilty but won on appeal. Berlusconi was elected to his third term as premier in April 2008, about two months after his trial on corruption charges was postponed until after the election. His ability to maneuver through political crises has prompted a prominent journalist to liken him to a puppeteer, saying he is popular because he's a skilled populist. Berlusconi is \"a man who pulls the most elementary strings of the public opinion -- a public opinion, which in Italy in these times, prefers simple paths,\" said Giulio Anselmi, chairman of ANSA, Italy's leading news wire. Even by Berlusconi's standards, 2009 has been a tumultuous year, as his second wife has filed for divorce and allegations of corruption and infidelity continue to surface. This month's Rolling Stone Italy cheekily declared him \"Rock Star of the Year.\" Editor Carlo Antonelli released a statement saying the prime minister made rockers Keith Richards and Rod Stewart look like \"schoolboys.\" \"This year the choice was unanimous for his obvious merits due to a lifestyle for which the words, rock 'n' roll, fall short,\" Antonelli's statement said. Watch how Berlusconi was hit at a rally . The prime minister's second wife, Veronica Lario, whom he married in 1990, filed for divorce in May after news reports that he attended a birthday party for 18-year-old Neapolitan model Noemi Letizia, with whom he was accused of having an improper relationship. Berlusconi called the allegations \"slander\" and the girl's family, longtime friends of the prime minister, also deny there was anything improper. Lario, the mother of three of Berlusconi's five children, is asking for about $70 million a year from the prime minister, whom Forbes magazine ranked this year as No. 70 on its list of richest people, with an estimated net worth of $6.5 billion. More allegations followed the divorce filing, including claims that women were paid to attend parties at the prime minister's various homes. Berlusconi denied those allegations, telling the Italian magazine \"Chi\" he would never pay for sex because it would dampen the \"the pleasure of the conquest.\" In June, he went to court to block the publication of hundreds of photos from his seaside villa in Sardinia, saying they posed \"an aggressive intrusion into my private life.\" A Spanish paper ran some of the photos, showing scantily clad women at Berlusconi's villa and reporting that the premier was the subject of an investigation into whether he used official Italian aircraft to ferry guests to his villa. Berlusconi admitted using government airplanes to ferry guests, but an investigation found no wrongdoing on the premier's part. In October, old allegations of political scandal re-emerged when Italy's Constitutional Court overturned a law that shielded presidents, prime ministers and the leaders of both houses of parliament from prosecution. The court said the constitution requires all Italians to be equal before the law. Berlusconi had pushed for the immunity law after his 2008 re-election, and the court's action opened Berlusconi to prosecution on allegations that he paid British tax attorney David Mills $600,000 to provide false testimony in two court cases in the 1990s. Mills was convicted, but is appealing. The Constitutional Court's ruling also lifted Berlusconi's immunity from prosecution on charges that his company, Mediaset, failed to pay $45 million in taxes between 2000 and 2003. The latter case was postponed until January because the prime minister was unable to attend hearings, but Berlusconi has been outspoken in his defense against all of the allegations. He said he believes he is on trial for political reasons and has called magistrates \"communist bullies.\" He also has declared himself the most persecuted man \"in the entire history of the world.\" The Italian leader has often blamed Italy's ills on the left wing. He doesn't enjoy leading the country, he said, \"because very often there is a lot of dirty dealing.\" He leads out of a sense of sacrifice and duty and because he is the \"only leader able to hold the center-right together,\" he has told CNN. But Berlusconi seems aware that his popularity and populism allow him to continue to hold sway in this nation of about 58 million. Though his popularity recently has seen a slight dip among women, he routinely garners approval ratings of 50 percent or higher. \"When I go around, it's embarrassing to see the affection showered upon me,\" Berlusconi told CNN in October. \"I know that people can change their opinions ... but I must say that I just note the fact that I am close to the heart of many Italians and they show this to me very often.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has blamed political opponents for physical, nonphysical attacks .\nRolling Stone Italy: PM makes rockers Keith Richards, Rod Stewart look like \"schoolboys\"\nDivorce sought, corruption and infidelity alleged as court lifts immunity from prosecution .\nSpokesman says he's not surprised PM was attacked amid \"campaign of hatred\"" } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Tenants of apartments in Pacifica, California, were under evacuation Thursday after erosion threatened the cliff on which their building sits, a city official said. Authorities have been watching the seaside building for years and were waiting for the erosion to reach a 12-foot safety zone behind it, said Doug Rider, a building official for Pacifica. The problem has reached that zone, he said, so officials notified the building's management and tenants began evacuating. The building is stable, so tenants are able to remove belongings from the apartments, Rider said. Police, fire and other local authorities are assisting residents, along with the city's Building Department, he said. All residents of the 12-unit building must be out by 5 p.m. PT Thursday, he told CNN affiliate KGO-TV in San Francisco, California. KGO reported a large chunk of land fell from the cliff into the Pacific Ocean about 5:30 a.m. PT Thursday. Two nearby buildings also face questions about their structural reliability but are not being evacuated, the station reported. Pacifica is about 15 miles southwest of San Francisco. CNN's Sara Pratley contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Residents of 12-unit building must be out by Thursday afternoon, CNN affiliate reports .\nChunk of land fell from cliff into Pacific Ocean earlier, TV station says .\nBuilding is on seaside cliff in Pacifica, California, near San Francisco ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Washington (CNN) -- An Amtrak train traveling from New York to Washington struck and killed a 14-year-old girl Tuesday morning, the rail operator said. Details on how the accident occurred were not immediately available, and the girl was not named. Baltimore County Police Lt. Robert McCullough said there were other children at the scene who knew the victim. Nearly two hours after the fatality occurred, emergency management officials in Washington announced that one out of four railroad tracks between Washington and Maryland had been \"cleared for reduced speed service.\" Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said trains were traveling in both directions but had to take turns using the single set of tracks. Amtrak halted all trains through the area near Essex, Maryland, to give investigators access to the scene. Authorities said the teen was hit at 9:02 a.m. ET. Connell said the incident occurred 11 miles north of the Baltimore, Maryland, rail station. Both Baltimore County Police and Amtrak were investigating." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "14-year-old struck by train headed from New York to Washington .\nAll trains halted throughout area during investigation .\nOne track was reopened at 10:45 a.m." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama's transition team announced several key appointments to his communications team Saturday. Robert Gibbs will have one of the most highly visible roles in the Obama administration. Robert Gibbs, an Obama campaign spokesman who also has acted as spokesman for the transition, will become Obama's press secretary, one of the most highly visible roles in the administration. Gibbs, an Auburn, Alabama, native who has worked for Sen. Fritz Hollings, the Democratic Senatorial Committee and Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign, was communications director and then a senior strategist for the Obama campaign. Ellen Moran, executive director of EMILY's List, will serve as Obama's communications director. Moran worked for the AFL-CIO, coordinating \"Wal-Mart corporate accountability activities,\" before returning to EMILY's, an organization dedicated to helping Democratic women get elected to office. It had endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president. See who's on Obama's short list for cabinet posts » . Dan Pfeiffer, current communications director with the transition team, will be Obama's deputy communications director. He began work with the Obama campaign in January 2007 as traveling press secretary before returning to Chicago, Illinois, to work as communications director. Unlike Gibbs and Pfeiffer, Moran is not already on Obama's communications team. \"These individuals will fill essential roles, and bring a breadth and depth of experience that can help our administration advance prosperity and security for the American people,\" Obama said in a written statement. \"This dedicated and impressive group of public servants includes longtime advisors and a talented new addition to our team, and together we will work to serve our country and meet the challenges of this defining moment in history.\" On Friday, sources indicated that some of Obama's Cabinet posts were close to being filled. Two sources close to the transition team said New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner is \"on track\" to be offered the Treasury secretary post. Watch CNN's Anderson Cooper discuss Obama's choices » . Transition officials told The Associated Press on Saturday that Obama planned to announce Geithner's appointment on Monday, along with that of Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council. Summers is a former president of Harvard University and served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton. Two sources said Friday that Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico is a serious contender for commerce secretary but that he could be chosen for another senior post. Geithner has played a large role in the government's efforts to wrangle the credit crisis, which has damaged markets and economies worldwide. Although a number of those efforts have been controversial, Geithner remains a well-regarded figure from Wall Street to Washington. Geithner began working with the Treasury Department in 1988 in the International Affairs division. In 1999, he became under-secretary of the Treasury for international affairs. Geithner would be charged with restoring stability to the financial markets, the banking system and the housing sector through oversight of the controversial $700 billion financial rescue package, of which about half is still available for use at the discretion of the Treasury secretary. Watch CNN's John King discuss the posts with panelists » . The Dow Jones industrial index staged a late rally Friday after traders heard news of Geithner's possible appointment, rising by almost 500 points shortly before the market's closing time. The two sources close to the transition team said they do not consider Richardson's appointment to the Commerce Department to be a done deal. Richardson, 61, was a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Currently in his second term as New Mexico's governor, he served as ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration. Richardson is also considered to be a possibility for the secretary of state post. Also Friday, Sen. Hillary Clinton's camp shot down reports that she had agreed to accept the secretary of state position. \"We're still in discussions, which are very much on track,\" said Philippe Reines, Clinton's senior adviser. \"Any reports beyond that are premature.\" The New York Times reported that Clinton would give up her Senate seat and accept the Cabinet post, citing two confidants, who said the decision was made after further consultation with Obama about the nature of her role and his foreign policy plans. A senior Obama aide told CNN there has been no development on a possible Clinton appointment since they informed CNN Thursday that she is \"on track\" to be nominated for secretary of state. Obama's transition team also appears close to choosing a national security adviser to the White House. Retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones has emerged as the president-elect's leading choice for the position, two sources close to the Obama transition team say. The sources said Jones has been given the impression by Obama that the job is his if he wants it. But the officials said that private discussions are under way and that no final decision has been made. The discussions are focused on precisely how much power Jones will have in the staff job, since he is used to being in a command role. Among his many posts, Jones served for several years as the operational commander for NATO." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Timothy Geithner to be announced as Treasury pick, AP reports .\nRobert Gibbs, an Obama campaign spokesman, will be press secretary .\nEllen Moran, EMILY's List executive director, will be communications director .\nDan Pfeiffer named Obama's deputy communications director ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Every year, I take at least one vacation out of the country to get my international travel fix. And this time, I'm taking you with me. The travel bug is a forever-itch that leaves you longing to wake up in a foreign country, Jarrett Bellini says. No, not literally. Sit down. This year, YOU can weigh in on where I go and what I do once I get there. We're calling it: Let's Ruin Jarrett's Vacation! By adding your comments below or sharing your ideas on CNN.com Live's Facebook page, you can send me to either Argentina, Greece, South Africa or Turkey. The destination that gets the most positive response is where I'll go. And to make it more fun, I won't even find out where I'm heading until I actually get to the airport this Sunday, August 30. There, I will tear open an envelope, read the results for the first time, and then head to my departure gate -- hopefully with at least a few articles of appropriate clothing. Once I get to wherever it is you send me, I'll be blogging on CNN.com and and checking in from time to time on CNN.com Live. By sharing your ideas on Facebook, you'll be able to guide many aspects of this vacation. You call the shots. And I'll cry myself to sleep at night wondering why I agreed to work on vacation and let other people plan it. I suppose, now, you might want a little background on why I'd actually want to do this. I mean, besides the fact that clearly, I'm a glutton for punishment. Really, though, I think I just like a challenge. In the fall of 2003, after an entire month of fruitlessly waiting by my phone to hear back about an entry-level position with CNN, I finally gave up hope and took my apparent job snub as some sort of cosmic sign from the Slacker Gods. I decided, then, that the only reasonable course of action was to buy a plane ticket to Europe to spend the next three months running around with my backpack, trying -- again, quite fruitlessly -- to meet foreign chicks. Though not quite a rucksack Casanova, I did come back from these magical three months with a far greater ability to entertain myself in a completely new place among absolute strangers. (Granted, for me, this can be accomplished by the presence of shiny objects.) Amazingly, the day after I returned from Europe, CNN called and offered me the position. It took four long months, but the timing was remarkable and I couldn't have been happier. But, as I started my new professional life, I was sick. I had the travel bug. Now, this is not to be confused with bed bugs, which, FYI, I painfully fell victim to in Copenhagen at a horrible, bomb-shelter-of-a-hostel they call Sleep in Heaven. Apparently, Heaven smells like mildew and leaves you with a rash. No, this was the travel bug -- the forever-itch that leaves you longing to wake up in a foreign bed in a foreign country, rising to face new ideas and new people beneath an unfamiliar sky. Of course, that's just my poorly poetic way of saying: The world is huge and amazing. It's so good! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jarrett Bellini offers readers opportunity to decide where he's going on vacation .\nReaders can choose either Argentina, Greece, South Africa or Turkey .\nBellini will blog on CNN.com and appear on CNN.com Live from the country .\nBellini says he has the \"travel bug\" for international vacations ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate confirmed by unanimous consent retired Adm. Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence Wednesday. Retired Adm. Dennis Blair answers questions at his confirmation hearing last week. The confirmation followed the resignation of former director Michael McConnell, who left the post Tuesday after nearly two years on the job. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama nominated Blair to be chief of intelligence. McConnell had been expected to remain as DNI until Blair was in place, but a delay in Blair's confirmation prompted him to announce his resignation sooner than that. Blair's confirmation hearing was held last week. The retired admiral will continue to advise Obama, however, having agreed to serve on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. The defense consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton announced Tuesday that McConnell will return to the company as a vice president. He left the firm in February 2007 to become the nation's second director of national intelligence. In a farewell letter obtained by CNN, McConnell thanked his colleagues for their hard work and touted some of the accomplishments during his tenure. At the top of his list: passage of legislation revising the law governing intelligence community eavesdropping and updating the presidential order that outlines the power and authorities of the community. \"These documents lay a foundation to provide the IC the structure and the tools needed to continue our work, while expanding privacy and civil liberties protections to all Americans,\" wrote McConnell. The office was created in late 2004 as part of the effort to improve intelligence gathering after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the faulty intelligence on Iraq weapons of mass destruction." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Retired Adm. Dennis Blair confirmed by unanimous consent .\nConfirmation comes after previous director Michael McConnell resigned .\nEarlier this month, President Obama nominated Blair as chief of intelligence ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The search for two missing hikers on Oregon's Mount Hood has moved from a search operation into a recovery operation, authorities said Wednesday. \"It was our hope that we might get a window today to take a last look,\" Clackamas County, Oregon, Sheriff Craig Roberts told reporters. \"Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.\" Anthony Vietti, 24; Luke Gullberg, 26; and Katie Nolan, 29, set out about 1 a.m. Friday on what was to have been a fairly easy \"semi-technical\" hike in which they would have descended the south side of the mountain, Sheriff's Deputy Scott Meyers has said. Gullberg was found dead Saturday from hypothermia. Authorities said Tuesday they were suspending the search, citing the threat of avalanches. Roberts said Wednesday the mountain was experiencing 60 mph winds and the weather is not expected to clear anytime soon. However, the Sheriff's Office will continue to monitor weather conditions and will launch an organized recovery mission when conditions improve, he said. \"God has given me a peace about Katie,\" Nolan's father, David Nolan, told reporters Wednesday. \"He's given me strength.\" \"I think there needs to be a time of meeting with my family, and we're going to talk, and we're going to cry, and we're going to hug one another, and then we're going to turn around and praise God that we know Katie is in heaven,\" he said. \"We are confident ... she has led a life that's been exemplary.\" \"This has not shaken our faith,\" said John Vietti, Anthony Vietti's father. \"This has strengthened our faith.\" On Tuesday, authorities said there was little hope the two would be found alive. \"Could they be alive? Yes,\" said Dr. Terri Schmidt, physician supervisor for American Medical Response in Clackamas County. \"Is it very likely? No.\" A specialist in emergency medicine, Schmidt noted that \"at about 48 hours -- two days -- the chances of finding somebody alive after that go down to about 1 percent.\" Operations coordinator Nate Thompson hypothesized that the hikers may have been involved in an accident and that Gullberg, the most experienced of the three, may have broken away from the others and begun to backtrack in an effort to seek help. Above his body rescuers found a water bottle, a helmet, a harness, a camera and camera case and a mitten belonging to Nolan. \"Maybe Katie lost a mitten in an accident,\" Thompson said. If Gullberg did indeed seek to return for help and Nolan lost one of her mittens in an accident, he may have left his gear, his pack and his supplies and gloves with her, taking the lone mitten, he said. But descending can be more difficult than climbing in some places. \"If there was some form of an accident and Luke did downclimb, this is a much more difficult descent,\" he said. Vietti's home is Longview, Washington; Nolan's is Portland, Oregon. Gullberg was from Des Moines, Washington. Mount Hood rises 11,239 feet above sea level, with a base that stretches across 92 miles (148 km). It is the highest mountain in Oregon, a dormant volcano with steam constantly spewing from holes, according to the Web site mthood.org." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Could they be alive? Yes,\" expert says. \"Is it very likely? No\"\nAnthony Vietti, Luke Gullberg, Katie Nolan, started hike about 1 a.m. Friday .\nGullberg was found dead Saturday from hypothermia .\nHe may have been trying to get help for others after an accident, searcher says ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Walk into any sleek West Elm store, and the first thing you're likely to see is a giant red banner emblazoned with a white peace symbol. Peace is pretty. Browse Pottery Barn Teen, and you'll be dazzled by backlit peace signs and multicolored peace-sign bedding. Peace is cool. Visit the ubiquitous Gap store and find peace within reach on T-shirts and bracelets. Peace is accessible, at least as an accessory. Where are the protesters passionately waving hand-drawn peace signs at marches, calling for an end to war? What happened to \"Give peace a chance\" rather than \"Give peace a place in your wardrobe\"? The notion of peace has been corroded to the point that it's as fragile as a Christmas ornament. Or as dubious as a prize doled out to a president at war. Fittingly, President Obama's Nobel speech acknowledged the paradox of being honored for contributing to world peace while sending more young Americans to kill and die in Afghanistan. Rationalizing the contradiction, he apologetically characterized humanity as caught in the throes of our own evolution, from who we are to who we ought to be. But what will spark that progress, from waging war to living peace? It's difficult to expect peace to take root beyond symbols and words if the symbols lose their meaning and the words ring hollow. How will we ever evolve if we always choose pragmatism and fear over idealism and hope? When will peace truly have its season? For starters, we must know what peace is and what it's worth. And we must practice it rather than wait for its miraculous arrival. We must stop viewing \"peace\" as the cry of the weak and \"war\" as the act of the strong. We must not envision peace as isolationist inaction or the mere absence of conflict. Peace is a proactive choice we make in our personal lives every day. We must do the same as a nation. In order to embrace peace, we must believe it's worth doing so. Ponder all the lives lost at war. Consider the sacrifice endured by our brave soldiers and their families. Weigh the enormous cost to our struggling economy. Not only would thousands of lives be spared by peace, but millions more would benefit by the constructive use of the vast resources squandered on war. Diseases might be cured. World hunger might be eliminated. Prosperity and fulfillment might replace poverty and suffering around the globe. Peace is worth it. And it's certainly not for the weak but rather for those courageous enough to take a risk. Evolution begins with one mutation that turns out to be better, higher, smarter, stronger. Making the leap requires faith in our own ability to lead the world by example through this evolutionary process. Peace is a bold but calculated risk, a brave and noble choice. Gandhi said, \"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.\" Pacifist A.J. Muste once declared, \"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.\" Martin Luther King Jr. said, \"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.\" What I take from these wise thinkers is that peace starts with us and our actions. Peace is not passive. It's not something we can put off forever. We must practice peace in order to attain it. As citizens, we must demand it. Only then will elected officials -- and others around the world -- follow our lead. So when we purchase peace signs, let's honor their meaning: . The peace symbol, created in 1958 by designer Gerald Holtom, combines the signals in semaphore for the letters \"N\" and \"D,\" standing for nuclear disarmament. By the 1960s, it was adopted by anti-war protesters of the baby boom generation, perhaps explaining its now nostalgic allure in boomer-frequented retail establishments, where the only conflict is whether to pick a throw pillow in sage, cranberry or chartreuse. Just as we must not allow peace to become a meaningless trinket, we mustn't allow the prize to become a parody. Instead, we must remember the passion with which that peace sign was first hoisted at marches on capitols and on campuses. We must recall the fervor and nobility with which Nobel laureates like Gandhi and King gave their lives pursuing nonviolent solutions. And we must stand for peace, in our actions, in our expectations of our leaders, and in our votes. We cannot simply consume peace as an illusion. We must stop talking about peace in terms of who we ought to be and start making it who we are. Because the day we stop fighting for peace is the day peace will be ours. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Rudy Ruiz." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Rudy Ruiz writes that \"peace\" has been reduced to meaningless symbol .\nPeace is not for weak; not just isolationist inaction or absence of conflict, Ruiz says .\nHe writes that peace is noble, contagious action practiced by those with higher purpose .\nRuiz says Americans must stand for peace in actions, in expectations of leaders, in votes ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Al Qaeda in Iraq is trying to foment sectarian tensions by attacking and killing Iraqi civilians, a government spokesman said Monday. Iraqi women gather near the site of an attack in the village of al-Khazna, near Mosul, on Monday. Explosions across the country have killed 50 and wounded 231 others, most of them civilians in Shiite areas, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf. \"Most of the terrorist attacks carried out by al Qaeda in Iraq were against civilians and not Iraqi security forces,\" Khalaf said. \"This is an indication that al Qaeda in Iraq cannot face the Iraqi security forces.\" Monday's deadliest attack happened near the northern city of Mosul when two truck bombs destroyed 32 homes, killing 30 people and burying others in the rubble, officials said. The bombs targeted al-Khazna village, which is inhabited by a Shiite Shabak ethnic group. The village is an area disputed between Kurds and Arabs. Car bombings and a roadside bomb in Baghdad killed 18 others on Monday, most of them Shiites. \"This is the card that al Qaeda in Iraq is now playing by targeting mostly Shiite areas and neighborhoods to agitate the sectarian violence,\" Khalaf said. \"But this will not happen because Iraqi security forces and Iraqi people in general are aware of this losing game and they will not fall into this trap.\" On Monday afternoon, two children -- brothers aged 5 and 9 -- were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near them as they played in a yard in northern Tikrit, about 99 miles (160 km) north of Baghdad, a police official said. The attacks come after a series of bombings in Iraq on Friday, mostly aimed at Shiite targets, which killed 50 and wounded 154 others. Friday's deadliest attack happened when a suicide car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque where a funeral was taking place, killing 38. Last week's attacks occurred at the end of a Shiite Muslim celebration marking the birthday of Imam Mohammed al-Mehdi, the last of 12 historic imams revered by Shiites. Pilgrims participating in such celebrations have been the target of similar attacks by Sunnis. The bombings sparked fears of sectarian violence and called into question the ability of Iraqi forces. The United States pulled back its combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns on June 30, leaving security responsibilities to the Iraqis and remaining only in a training and advisory capacity. The U.S. military continues to conduct combat operations in areas outside cities and towns. Khalaf said the recent attacks are part of \"an escalation of violence\" over the past two months ahead of national elections in January. \"The enemy of Iraq wants to bring down political progress in the country,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dozens dead, 231 wounded, houses destroyed from bombings .\nSeries of bombings appears to target mostly day laborers .\nMost of attacks scattered across Baghdad; two truck bombs reported in Mosul .\nAttacks fuel fears sectarian violence could re-ignite in Iraq ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Global warming concerns took center stage Monday as two organizations held rallies to draw attention to an issue that President Barack Obama has promised to place near the top of his agenda. Demonstrators stand outside the Capitol Power Plant in Washington on Monday to protest the plant's use of coal. A group of young protesters gathered in front of the Capitol to rally on behalf of legislation to reduce carbon emissions, decrease dependence on coal and oil, and speed a national drive toward \"clean\" energy. Later Monday, hundreds of representatives of a coalition of environmental, public health, social justice and other advocacy organizations marched around Capitol Hill and encircled a Washington coal-fired power plant to highlight the issue of climate change. The group, protesting the Capitol Power Plant's use of coal, stood in front of the plant's gated entrances. The plant powers the heating and cooling systems in the Capitol, as well as roughly a dozen other federal office buildings on Capitol Hill. \"The Capitol Power Plant, sitting just blocks from Capitol Hill, symbolizes the stranglehold coal has over our government and future,\" the group said on its Web site. \"It's not the largest or the dirtiest power plant in the country, but as the plant that is actually run by and for Congress it serves as an incredibly iconic symbol of what is wrong with our country's energy and climate policy.\" No arrests were made as a result of the protest, which \"didn't affect the operations of the power plant,\" Capitol police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a letter Thursday calling for the plant to convert to 100 percent natural gas by the end of 2009. \"Taking this major step toward cleaning up the Capitol Power Plant's emissions would be an important demonstration of Congress' willingness to deal with the enormous challenges of global warming, energy independence and our inefficient use of finite fossil fuels,\" they wrote. Several members of Congress and environmental leaders addressed the earlier rally, which was held at the conclusion to Power Shift '09, a four-day environmental summit organized by the Energy Action Coalition. The coalition describes itself as an umbrella organization of 700 groups fighting for \"clean energy solutions and the creation of a new green economy.\" It's time to \"turn up the political heat in Washington so we can turn down the heat on Mother Earth,\" Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, told the crowd. \"The science tells us that the time for talking about this problem is over. The time for action is now.\" The concept of \"clean coal\" is a \"dirty lie,\" added environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy. \"The most important thing you can do is not to change your light bulb but to change [members of Congress who have been] corrupted by ... dirty, filthy industry.\" America needs to be freed from the \"carbon cronies,\" who are part of the \"biggest threat to civilization,\" Kennedy said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two protests on global warming issues hit Washington .\nGroup rallies for legislation to reduce carbon emissions, back \"clean\" energy .\nSeparate group protests Capitol Power Plant's use of coal .\nGroup: Plant \"symbolizes the stranglehold coal has over our government and future\"" } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- This week on Inside Africa . It's one of the most sacred acts of the Zulu people. We take you inside an ancient wedding ceremony played out in modern times. Africa gains two seats on the United Nations Security Council, but should those seats be permanent, and what will Nigeria do with this two-year opportunity? Plus, Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys takes us on her eye-opening trip to Africa and talks about how the experience changed the way she wrote her next album. Alicia Keys in Africa . She's traveled the world on tour but for singer Alicia Keys nothing spoke to her like a visit she once took to Africa. It moved her to help create a charity and influenced her next album. CNN's TJ Holmes sat down with the singer to find out what caused the profound effect. Liberia Photo Exhibit . Tim Hetherington is a photographer who has witnessed the violent life behind rebel lines in Liberia's 2003 civil war. He takes us through photos he took during his time there, now on display in London. World Food Prize . There is a weed so powerful in sub-Saharan Africa that it can destroy hundreds of thousands of hectares of crucial crops. It's a problem that has puzzled researchers for ages. But now, thanks to one man, a breakthrough is on the horizon. We reveal why Dr. Gebisa Ejeta is the recipient of this year's World Food Prize. Interview with Ojo Maduekwe . The United Nations has recently voted in its newest members to the Security Council, the new five out of 15 who will serve for the next two years. Nigeria and Gabon received the two African seats, making this the third time Gabon has served on the council and the fourth time for Nigeria. CNN's Isha Sesay spoke with Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe about what he'd like to accomplish in the next two years and how it felt to be the one to bring this success to Nigeria. Traditional Wedding . A view of ancient times. These were images sent in by an iReporter of one of the most sacred acts of the Zulu people: a traditional wedding. Our correspondent Errol Barnett caught up with the iReporter behind these photos." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inside Africa reports on Africa's seats in the United Nations Security Council .\nCNN's TJ Holmes sat down with Alicia Keys to talk about her visit in Africa .\nPhotographer Tim Hetherington shows us his Liberia photo exhibit .\nPlus, World Food Prize and Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pago Pago, American Samoa (CNN) -- When an earthquake-triggered tsunami cascaded into this tiny island in late September, the result was 34 lives lost and untold millions in property damage. But a CNN investigation to air on tonight's \"AC 360\" has uncovered an array of unsettling facts that point to a single conclusion: this natural disaster was in many ways a man-made tragedy. Public records show that the Department of Homeland Security had awarded millions of federal dollars in grants for disaster preparedness here, including the construction of an island-wide siren warning system. But all the federal funding was frozen in early 2007 after DHS inspectors found that the local American Samoan government had been diverting millions of those dollars for its own uses. Birdsall Alailima, director of American Samoa's territorial office of Homeland Security from 2003 through 2007, now lives in southern Illinois, not far from St. Louis, Missouri. He showed CNN on a map exactly where on the island the sirens were to have been placed. Thirty towers in all, he said, with 30 sirens that could have been activated by the push of a single button. \"You're saying that the systems should have been in place?\" CNN correspondent Drew Griffin asked him. \"Absolutely,\" Alailima said. \"And people died as a result?\" \"Yes.\" He's not the only one who thinks so. Federal sources told CNN they believe that had the warning system been built, the death toll would likely have been lower. In American Samoa, however, territorial Gov. Togiola Tulafono, told CNN that he knew of no viable plan for the siren system. \"There was a study, I believe, but never a plan for a system,\" the governor said. \"I was trying to get verification of what happened to that system, but I could not get the definite information.\" Alailima said he was fired by the governor when the federal funding was frozen, and that the governor was aware of the preparations. \"I'm not going to fault them for freezing the funds,\" Tulafono said. \"These are federal funds that they have oversight responsibility for and they saw fit to freeze the funds.\" The governor told CNN he had tried to correct the problem by firing his entire homeland security staff. But, he said, that failed to solve the problem. \"All I'm saying is we have tried to work with them and have tried to get partial releases (of the money), and so far that hasn't happened.\" A federal official calls the governor's statement \"nonsense.\" American Samoa would have access to the frozen funds if it had agreed to pay back even some of the money it misused, said the official. The government and the governor refused, and the tsunami siren system was stopped, according to the official. A spokesman for the governor's office later declined comment on the nature of the negotiations. American Samoan government officials said they purchased another warning system -- radios that would have triggered alarms across the island. But during the CNN interview, Tulafono conceded that the system \"was not in place\" when the tsunami struck. CNN has learned that the FBI is now conducting an investigation into exactly what did happen to the federal preparedness dollars sent to American Samoa. It was launched, sources tell CNN, by the Interior Department as its Insular Affairs office has federal administrative responsibility for the island. The FBI investigation is only the latest and most recent attempt by the federal government to try to track what one federal official told CNN was \"endemic\" corruption on the island. Here are only a few instances of the alleged corruption: . • Both the current Samoan lieutenant governor and a former state senator are under federal indictment on allegations of fraud, bribery and conspiracy. A trial is pending in Washington because there are no federal courts on the island. Attorneys for both men have refuted the indictment in court filings and say their clients are innocent of all the charges. • An inspector general's report by the Department of Homeland Security issued in May 2007 cites numerous examples of American Samoan officials misusing federal grant money. The report's findings include the purchase of six flat-screen televisions for more than $25,000; purchase of executive leather chairs for $4,000; spending $77,000 on equipment no auditor could find; and extensive travel and entertainment charges, including money spent in Las Vegas, Nevada, by a Samoan official for a conference he was scheduled to have attended in Colorado. • The DHS letter freezing its funding was sent on January 12, 2007. The action was taken because \"we have found that Homeland Security Grant funds have been diverted to uses by State government offices for other than the intended use of Homeland Security funds. This is not only in violation of public trust but In Lieu of agreement as well.\" In the Samoan villages destroyed by the tsunami, stories of corruption are not new. \"The government here gets a lot of money from the U.S. federal government,\" Heinrich Tavai told CNN as he watched members of his Lofatonoa Pentacostal Church help in the clean up. \"Every year, they get millions and millions of dollars. As you see, we look like a Third World country when we should be looking more like a U.S. territory.\" In half a dozen villages either wiped out or badly damaged by the tsunami, CNN could find no visible evidence of local government assistance. Workers from a tuna fish processing plant were helping in one village; in another, students from an island community college were dredging rubbish out of a stream. Red Cross officials distributed tents in other villages. Children in another village were hauling furniture on their backs to help clear the debris. When asked about the seeming lack of local government assistance, the governor told CNN, \"Our departments are out there working and working very hard, and to say they haven't seen any assistance is totally false.\" Since 1995, American Samoa has received nearly $2 billion in federal grants from nearly every federal agency. On average the 65,000-population -- the size of a typical American suburb -- receives about $250 million in federal money each year. Congressional sources tell CNN that oversight has always been a problem because of Samoa's isolation and the expense involved in even mounting an investigation. \"They can do half a dozen investigations in Wyoming or California for the amount just one investigation would cost in Samoa,\" a source told CNN. Federal sources said they don't believe any official is getting rich off the U.S. Treasury. Instead, they said, federal funds -- including disaster-preparedness money that was to have gone to the warning system -- were instead used to create local government jobs in an economy almost totally dependent on U.S. federal grants. Moreover, the source added, each federal agency may have many employees whose jobs are to allocate federal funds, but only a relative handful whose jobs are to \"manage\" or account for that money. In an e-mail to CNN, an Interior Department spokeswoman said that in previous administrations \"there were real issues of neglect and failed oversight that must be addressed quickly, thoroughly and responsibly.\" \"We will help the islands rebuild and recover,\" said Kendra Barkoff, \"but taxpayer dollars will be invested with strong oversight and full accountability.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "34 people died in last month's tsunami that smashed into American Samoa .\nDHS inspectors say funds for a warning system were improperly diverted .\nInvestigators: Some funds used to pay for flat screen TVs and trips to Las Vegas .\nThe results of this special investigation on AC 360°, 10 ET tonight ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KANDARA, Kenya (CNN) -- Daniel Mungai's family keeps him locked in a room in a wooden shack that is just big enough to fit a bed, a cupboard, Daniel and his wheel-chair. His clothes and bed are soaked with his own waste -- and he's been living like this for 15 years. Daniel Mungai is kept locked away in a small wooden shack and has been for 15 years. Daniel, 35, started having seizures at a young age. He is sometimes given medicine for epilepsy and spent time at a mental hospital but his parents say they simply cannot afford to maintain proper care -- they are struggling to cope. Both his parents are also now too old to help him properly. They live in the same compound in Kandara, Kenya, but in a different building. His father, Ndung'u Joroge, said: \"We don't lock him out of bad will. We lock him up because people have become very bad. He may come out here and then he is caught by young men, that is why we lock him in the house.\" The desperate measures Daniel's family has resorted to are not rare. African health services are often underfunded and overwhelmed -- no more so in the field of mental health. Watch more about the story » . CNN visited rural Kenya -- a country where less than one percent of the health budget is allotted to mental health -- to investigate the extent of the problems. Edah Maina, who runs the Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped, says the mentally disabled in Kenya have few options for long-term care and support. \"The entire family is affected and especially when the mother sort of loses hope and resorts to locking up the child because they have to go out and earn a living or they have to chain them up because they might hurt themselves,\" said Maina. Social workers in Kenya searching for those in desperate need found a mother and child on the floor of a squalid kitchen hut. John is 17 and severely handicapped. He cannot speak and cannot properly hold his head up. He has been living like this his whole life. When CNN met with him, he and his mother were lying on a thin, filthy blanket. His mother, Jane, is mildly mentally disabled. She does what she can for her son, but John spends so much time on his side that he suffers from severe bedsores. They depend on help from their impoverished family and they haven't eaten for days. Maina said: \"I think that some of these social needs are beyond the family capacity to handle the normal day to day life needs, and as you can see the burden of disability increased for this particular family when the son to this girl with mental disabilities was also born with mental disability and then the severity of mental disability of the son became more severe because the mother ... is herself with mental disability.\" She added: \"First and foremost, nobody would want to live like this, it's inhumane, it is not what we want to see people live, it is not the lifestyle that anybody would want. What I am saying is that this home is suffering.\" Maina said that even with years of experience working with the vulnerable, the cases still shock her. Her poorly funded charity does what it can, sometimes acting on the tips of neighbors. The Director of Mental Health in Kenya told CNN that they were trying their best to help the mentally disabled and mentally ill, but that the needs were 'enormous' -- and the funding was far too little. Dr. David Kiima told CNN there are only 50 active psychiatrists in the country to serve a population of more than 30 million. It is hard to believe that 15-year-old Joseph could hurt himself or anyone else. But he is on powerful anti-psychotic drugs and his mother and grandmother struggle to handle him. Grandmother Prisca Njeri said: \"When the drugs finish he beats himself and he bites himself when the drugs finish.\" She does not know what they will do when Joseph gets bigger and they have no access to proper care. When his family leaves to work on their small patch of land, they lock Joseph up in a dark room. Here, too, the place reeks. They are a loving family and are conflicted about what they have to do. \"He is afraid of entering that room. We put him in when we want to leave to go to the farm because he will get lost if we leave him outside,\" Njeri said. Like so many families with limited means in Kenya, they feel compelled to make this awful decision: locking their loved ones away from society just to keep them safe from themselves and those who would do them harm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mental health patients in Kenya find themselves locked in shacks by their families .\nRelatives struggle to cope and get little government assistance .\nLess than one percent of Kenya's health budget is allotted to mental health .\nSenior health official says there's only 50 active psychiatrists in the country ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Organizers of a tennis tournament in Dubai, criticized for banning an Israeli player, said Tuesday they were trying to protect the woman from anti-Israel protests. Shahar Peer told CNN she learned of her visa ban Saturday, just before her scheduled flight to Dubai. \"The Tournament respects Ms. Shahar Peer as a professional tennis player on the Tour and understands her disappointment,\" the organizers wrote in a statement. \"Ms. Peer personally witnessed protests against her at another tournament in New Zealand only a few weeks ago. \"We do not wish to politicize sports, but we have to be sensitive to recent events in the region and not alienate or put at risk the players and the many tennis fans of different nationalities that we have here.\" Peer was scheduled to fly to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, but was informed on Saturday night by telephone that she would not be granted a visa. Watch Peer describe her disappointment » . This sparked a response from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour that it could drop Dubai from the World Tennis Tour calendar. \"I am confident that the Tour will take appropriate actions to ensure that this injustice is not allowed to occur in the future, and that the Tour will make sure I will not be further harmed in the short and long term,\" Peer said in a statement on Tuesday. \"There should be no place for politics or discrimination in professional tennis or indeed any sport.\" Peer has experienced a \"tremendous outpouring of support and empathy\" from fans, friends and fellow players, but agrees with the Tour decision to go ahead with this week's Dubai Open. WTA chairman and chief executive officer Larry Scott had said: \"The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour believes very strongly, and has a clear rule and policy, that no host country should deny a player the right to compete at a tournament for which she has qualified by ranking.\" Scott noted this is not the first time Dubai has taken this type of action. Last year an Israeli men's doubles team was denied entry while Andy Ram, a member of Israel's Davis Cup team, is scheduled to compete in next week's men's competition. World No. 6 Venus Williams told The New York Times: \"All the players support Shahar. We are all athletes, and we stand for tennis.\" On Tuesday in Dubai, Venus rushed to a 6-0 6-1 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova whose Russian compatriot and second seed Dinara Safina suffered a shock exit against Virginie Razzano, of France, 6-2 6-4. Top-seeded Serena Williams came from behind to oust Italian Sara Errani 4-6 6-2 6-0 and Serbian third seed Jelena Jankovic beat Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-3 6-2 in an earlier second round encounter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer denied entry for Dubai tournament .\nShahar Peer told night before tournament she would not be granted visa by UAE .\nTournament organizers: Player faced protests against her in New Zealand recently .\nWe have to be sensitive to recent events in the region, organizers add ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Two newlyweds are fighting for the dismissal of the justice of the peace who refused them a marriage license because they are of different races. A Louisiana justice of the peace refused to perform a marriage for Beth and Terence McKay. \"We've retained an attorney, and we're in the process of taking the next steps in order to make sure that (the justice of the peace) loses his job,\" Beth McKay told CNN's \"American Morning\" on Monday. She and her husband, Terence McKay, stepped into the national spotlight when Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward, refused them a license. They ultimately got a marriage license from another justice of the peace in the same parish. Despite a national uproar and a call by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for him to lose his license, Bardwell, 56, said he has no regrets. \"It's kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven't done wrong,\" he told CNN affiliate WAFB on Saturday. He insisted he is not racist and does not treat black people differently. He said he does not perform mixed-race marriages because he is concerned about the children of such marriages. Bardwell did not return calls from CNN. Beth McKay, 30, said she was speaking with Bardwell's wife by phone about getting a marriage license and was \"shocked\" to be asked whether they are an interracial couple. Watch how justice's decision shocked couple » . \"She said, 'Well, what's the deal? Is he black, or are you black?' And so I answered her question, and then she just said, 'Well, we don't do interracial marriages.'\" Terence McKay, 32, told CNN, \"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but he's absolutely wrong on all aspects of his stance.\" McKay added, \"If it wasn't for interracial couples today, we wouldn't have our president. So for him to take that outlook, that's still like 1800s or something.\" \"A lot of people have come up to us and said, 'You know, we're in interracial relationships as well,' not just black and white, and just encouraged us to stand up for our rights and to speak out against things like this,\" Beth McKay said. The incident \"caught us completely off guard,\" said Terence McKay, \"and we're just trying to live our lives.\" The National Urban League called for an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, saying in a statement that Bardwell's actions were \"a huge step backward in social justice.\" The U.S. Supreme Court tossed out race-based limitations on marriage in the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia case. In the unanimous decision, the court said that \"Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Couple were denied marriage license because they are of different races .\nJustice of Peace Keith Bardwell said he was concerned for kids of biracial marriages .\nLouisiana couple eventually got married by different justice of the peace .\nBeth, Terence McKay hire lawyer, want judge to lose job ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- It was the kind of phone call military families dread receiving from Iraq and Afghanistan -- not from Texas. Peggy McCarty's daughter called Thursday afternoon to say she had been wounded by a gunshot in her left shoulder. Keara Bono, 21, assured her mother that she was OK, but McCarty's heart skipped. She knew she had much to fear when Bono, an Army specialist, arrived at Fort Hood to prepare for an early December deployment to Iraq. But McCarty never thought she would have to worry about her child getting wounded on American soil. \"I thought I was more worried about her going over to Iraq than here, just doing training in Texas. She just got there yesterday,\" McCarty told CNN affiliate KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri. Bono was one of 30 people hurt when a soldier opened fire on a military processing center at Fort Hood, the place where soldiers report before they head to war. They get medical and dental checkups there. They settle finances and even make out their wills. Thursday, the center turned into a killing field, and 13 lives were abruptly cut short. America watched in horror the news of the shootings, the deadliest ever on a military base. Some of the victims, such as Bono, were preparing to head to Iraq or Afghanistan. They were felled instead in the place they called home. When the shouts of \"Shots fired! Shots fired!\" started, one soldier pushed and shoved people to get out the back of the readiness center. And run. The soldier, who did not want to be identified, heard more screaming. Soldiers were dragging bodies away from the shooter. They snatched tablecloths off tables, cut up their own sage-green digital combat uniforms, even their tan undershirts, and turned them into tourniquets and pressure bandages. Everyone tried to render CPR and medical aid. Some were medical personnel. Others were simply friends helping friends. They were soldiers, after all, and trained as combat lifesavers, though they could not have imagined having to use their skills at home. But soldiers never abandon wounded comrades on the battlefield. Most of the injured were awake and alert, witnesses recalled. They just weren't talking. About a mile away at Darnall Army Medical Center, Army medic Spc. Eric Blohm waited for mass casualties. If the emergency rooms filled up, Darnall would put victims in rooms where usually babies are brought into the world. It felt too much like Blohm's tour of Iraq. \"I'm pretty shocked and bewildered,\" he told CNN's Anderson Cooper. \"Going to war and experiencing combat overseas and then ... to have your sense of security shattered, that's just kind of unreal.\" Watch Blohm describe the scene . The shooting suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was a psychiatrist who had an office at Darnall. Now, the hospital was taking in the doctor's alleged victims. Sirens, installed after the September 11, 2001, attacks, sound routinely at Fort Hood during emergency drills. Pam Stephenson, the wife of a Judge Advocate General officer, was used to the blaring noise. Early afternoon, she was about to make a quick trip to the grocery with Megan, her 5-year-old who stayed at home sick on Thursday. But then she heard the whirring of choppers overhead and warnings on the loudspeakers: \"Take cover. Stay away from windows. Lock your doors.\" Her husband called and told her not to leave the house. She turned on the television and learned the grim news. The gunman, she discovered, was a soldier. \"When you hear it's soldiers gone crazy -- you don't know what kind of ammunition or guns they have,\" she said. She wanted to fetch Patrick, 2, stuck at day care, but the sprawling post was under lockdown. No one knew then if there were killers on the loose. The streets were deserted. A mass of cars, waiting to get out, piled up at the gates. Loved ones waited on the other side, desperate for news of their soldiers. Stephenson checked Facebook and read a message from a military friend serving overseas. Deployed soldiers from Fort Hood were in a panic not knowing whether their families were safe. She checked on the soldier's wife and worried about Patrick. Finally, at 7:15, she was able to see her baby. Many miles away in Punta Gorda, Florida, Roxanne Johnson was chitchatting with her son, Justin, on the phone. He was a young track vehicle mechanic who was heading to Afghanistan come January. Mother and son joked and laughed, like they always did. And then she heard a strange noise: \"Dosh, dosh, dosh.\" What was that? she wondered. \"At first I thought he was just kidding around and turning up the video game, and then I said, well, maybe it's a training exercise,\" Johnson told CNN affiliate WINK News in Fort Myers, Florida. She pressed the phone to her ear and listened. She heard the screams and the crying. Wow, she thought. It sounds so real. Her son's voice was gone. She refused to hang up until she could hear Justin again. She heard people shuffling about and muffled voices. Where was Justin? Had he been hurt? What was going on? \"Justin, call home!\" she said aloud. Hours passed before Johnson learned the fate of her son. He was one of the shooting victims. But Justin Johnson was one of the lucky ones. He underwent surgery and was recovering Thursday night. Roxanne Johnson breathed a sigh of relief and was able finally to disconnect her phone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Parents worry about dangers overseas, not in Texas .\nSoldiers use battlefield medical training on home soil .\nMother worries about son in day care as post is locked down .\nWatch a CNN investigation on the shootings at Saturday 8 p.m. ET on CNN TV ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NEW YORK (CNN) -- Coagulated sheep's blood. Pig knuckles. Snake bile. Fried crickets. Sound like ingredients you might see bubbling away in a caldron, right? Zane Lamprey raises a toast to alcoholic beverages the world over. Well, these are just some of the unusual items Zane Lamprey has eaten -- yes, eaten -- during the course of his day job. No, he's not a human garbage disposal. Lamprey is a comedian who hosts a TV program about drinking, \"Three Sheets.\" The show follows him all over the world as he samples local libations. Lamprey also claims to be in search of the ultimate hangover cure, which is why he's often called upon to ingest the indigestible. Not that the drinks are any better. Anyone for a shot of Belize rum that's had a dead snake fermenting in it for about a year? If the locals drink it, so will Lamprey. \"I'll try anything once,\" he said, adding that \"there's certainly a lot that I won't drink twice.\" Watch Lamprey use sword to open champagne » . Gross stuff aside, Lamprey has what many consider to be a dream job. And although he occasionally gets a little bleary-eyed, the Californian maintains that it's not a show about getting inebriated. \"I drink to try new things, to learn about drinking cultures or new drinks,\" Lamprey said. \"Sometimes levels of inebriation are the by-product of my job, but I'm certainly not going out looking to do that. If I did I think I'd be the wrong person for the job.\" We caught up with Lamprey in New York's Bubble Lounge, where he was preparing (soberly, mind you) to use a sword to lop off the end of a champagne bottle, glass neck and all. It's a ritual he says started in the Napoleonic era as a way to celebrate victories at battle. While Lamprey might not be as battle-scarred as Napoleon's men, he does have a victory to celebrate: \"Three Sheets\" has a new home after being put in limbo for several months after its original network went off the air. The show now airs on the Fine Living Network, which has just popped the cork on \"Three Sheets' \" fourth season. New episodes air Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET and repeat throughout the week. Besides demonstrating how one sabers champagne, Lamprey talked to CNN about dealing with thumping hangovers, staying in shape and other challenges of hosting a TV show about alcohol. The following is an edited version of the transcript. CNN: Do you consider yourself a professional drinker? Zane Lamprey: I get paid to drink. If I got paid to play baseball, I'd be a professional baseball player, right? Yeah. So I guess I am a professional drinker. CNN: By now you must have discovered a cure for a hangover. Lamprey: There is no cure. Actually, there's two. Either don't drink, or don't stop. Once you break one of those, you get into trouble. We've found remedies, things that'll make it a little easier. I've jumped in freezing water, I've done just about everything, and nothing has wiped out my hangover. CNN: Where were you when you had your worst hangover? Lamprey: Oddly enough, I was in a place that I was promised by several people I would not get a hangover: Champagne, France. They said if you drink good champagne, you can drink as much as you want, and you won't get a hangover. So I put it to the test, and the next day, I had the worst hangover yet. It was horrible. Oh. So bad. CNN: In Iceland, you drank something called \"Black Death,\" the same name given to the pandemic that nearly wiped out Europe centuries ago. Taste good? Lamprey: I'm sure it tasted better than the plague, but not by much. It tasted like something that people shouldn't want to drink, like vodka mixed with black licorice and dirt. When I stepped off the plane, I was dying to try it. Then once I tried it, I was dying to drink something to get that taste out of my mouth. CNN: You've said that one of the worst things you've had to drink was viper rum in Belize, which had a dead snake soaking in it. What does a snake taste like? Lamprey: A dead snake tastes like what a dead snake smells like. When I actually had to smell the shot, which I was told not to do, I almost hurled. I managed to get it down, and I think I chased it with a piece of watermelon rolled in sugar. CNN: What does your doctor say about the state of your liver? Lamprey: I have one. It's sitting on my counter at home, and it's completely fine. ... When I finished this last season, I did go and get a full checkup, and I'm completely fine. CNN: How do you stay in shape while shooting \"Three Sheets\"? Lamprey: I don't. Go look at a clip of me doing the show. I'm probably about 23 pounds heavier. I have taken my shirt off, and when I watch that sometimes I get a little, \"Oh, God.\" But that makes me an everyman. People want to see an everyman. They don't want to see some guy who's all put together, which clearly I'm not. I don't profess to know anything about booze. I learn it from the people that show me. CNN: Do you find that generally everybody's attitude toward drinking is the same the world over? Lamprey: Absolutely. Everyone drinks to enjoy themselves. Everyone goes out with their friends because they're looking to have a good time. That's the same everywhere. CNN: You spend all this time in bars around the world ... your crew must be tempted to drink. Lamprey: Tempted to drink? Fact: I cannot keep up with my crew. CNN: So your camera operator has shot you drunk? Lamprey: I would say yes. CNN: That explains why sometimes you look blurry. Lamprey: I'm generally a very blurry-looking person." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Zane Lamprey hosts \"Three Sheets\" on Fine Living Network .\nOn show, Lamprey drinks things like \"Black Death\" and viper rum .\nFor all that, his liver's in good shape, says Lamprey ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- A wildfire in Yellowstone National Park has grown to 9,300 acres and closed a section of the main road through the park, but Yellowstone is still open and National Park Service officials said Monday there was no danger to travelers. Lightning started the fire on September 13. Snow could fall this week at Yellowstone, which sprawls across parts of three states, and end the park's fire season, officials said. National Park Service officials said the lightning-sparked wildfire started on September 13, but wasn't noticed until 10 days later in the Arnica Creek area east of Old Faithful, the geyser that is the park's main attraction. Last week the fire increased in size and by this weekend had charred 6,500 acres. National Park Service spokeswoman Linda Miller said there was no danger for guests. \"We don't anticipate it affecting any buildings,\" she said. Miller said Monday that 90 percent of the fire was in Wyoming, with the remainder in park areas in Idaho and Montana. Facilities at Yellowstone were open Monday, and Miller said visitors were still welcome. \"But there's going to be smoke,\" she said. \"Where there's smoke, there's fire. The vistas won't be as clear as even just a week ago.\" Still, she said, \"We don't want to scare people into not coming.\" Rick Hoeninghausen, director of sales and marketing for Yellowstone National Park Lodges, said the fire was causing cancellations at the parks. But he said \"some tourists already in the park are are just changing their plans and working around it.\" He said the fire is more of an inconvenience than a danger. \"It's a natural part of this environment. It's part of the ecology and it's a natural attraction for some people,\" Hoeninghausen said. The Arnica fire has closed Grand Loop Road, the main road through Yellowstone. Visitors wanting to get from one end of the wilderness area to the other will have to take a 280-mile detour. Yellowstone National Park has nine lodges and about 2,200 hotel rooms. At least two of those facilities close each year after Labor Day. Hoeninghausen said the fire \"may be a little disconcerting for East Coasters not used to wildfires, but travelers and tourists can call the park and check the Web sites for updates on the fires.\" A Park Service press release cautioned that \"the smokey conditions are affecting air quality in the park.\" \"People with weakened immune systems and those with heart and lung conditions may have trouble breathing,\" the press release said. The Arnica fire was becoming more active Monday as gustier winds and low humidity fueled the flames, said Tom Kempton, fire information officer for the park service. The National Weather Service in Wyoming predicted snow would fall by Wednesday morning. Kempton said 230 firefighters, 15 fire engines and five helicopters were helping keep flames away from any historic structures at Yellowstone. Lightning starts an average of 22 fires every year in Yellowstone, according to the park service. Most of the naturally started fires in the 2.2 million-acre park extinguish on their own. Yellowstone is a fire-adapted ecosystem, and fire plays a major role in maintaining the health of the area's wildlife and vegetation by clearing old underbrush and allowing for new growth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Fire no danger to visitors, but they'll notice smoke, park service says .\nThe Arnica fire started September 13, wasn't noticed until 10 days later .\nFire has prompted closure of main road through park .\nLightning sparked fire, officials say ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Afghan government will change a law that critics say legalizes rape within marriage for Shia Muslims, President Hamid Karzai told CNN Thursday. Critics had feared that Afghanistan's new Shiite law would set the nation backward. Karzai told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that he and others were unaware of the provision in the legislation, which he said \"has so many articles.\" Karzai signed the measure into law last month. \"Now I have instructed, in consultation with clergy of the country, that the law be revised and any article that is not in keeping with the Afghan constitution and Islamic Sharia must be removed from this law,\" Karzai said. The president's comments came one day after several hundred demonstrators faced off over the law, which critics say prevents women from declining their husband's request for sexual intercourse and essentially legalizes marital rape. The measure applies to the 20 percent of Afghans who are Shia Muslims. It was part of a nearly 270-page piece of legislation that was written to solidify the identity of the Shia minority in Afghanistan. The bill languished in the country's parliament for a year-and-a-half before it was recently pushed through in what one legislator called a \"chaotic\" vote. Women from various parts of Afghanistan marched in the capital Wednesday to protest the law, which has also been criticized by human-rights groups and Western leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama. Watch Karzai react to controversial law ahead of Thursday's comments » . When the demonstrators reached a mosque housing a school run by a conservative Shia cleric who helped implement the law, students came out yelling and cursing and pelted the women with gravel, said Fawzia Koofi, a female member of the Afghan parliament. Koofi said police did little to protect the women, but a spokesman for the country's interior minister disputed that. \"Police played a completely neutral role,\" said spokesman Zamarai Bashiri. \"The police were able to control the demonstrations very well.\" About 300 to 500 women protested the law while 600 to 700 demonstrators marched in support of it, he said. The marchers who opposed the law included several female members of Afghanistan's parliament. \"Both sides were able to express their thoughts and expressions,\" Bashiri said. The law has drawn much criticism. Watch a report on the law » . \"I think this law is abhorrent,\" Obama said recently. \"We think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture, but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle.\" French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also weighed in. \"We very much hope that the draft piece of legislation is to be withdrawn,\" Merkel has said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Afghan law appears to let a man to have sex with his wife even when she says \"no\"\nKarzai tells CNN he, others unaware of the provision due to the amount of legislation .\nComments came one day after several hundred demonstrators faced off in Kabul .\nMany Western leaders, including U.S. president, have criticized the planned law ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Washington (CNN) -- A State Department employee who resigned last month in protest over America's war in Afghanistan said Friday he has received an outpouring of support from Afghan-Americans and U.S. active-duty military. \"I've had a lot of Afghan-Americans contact me and say, 'Matt, you get it,' \" Matthew Hoh told CNN. \"You understand -- yes, there is a civil war going on. You understand how Afghan society works. You understand this split within the Pashtuns. You understand valley-ism, or whatever you want to call it.\" The 36-year-old former Marine Corps captain resigned on September 10 over what he termed a \"cavalier, politically expedient and Pollyannaish misadventure.\" Since then, even active-duty military have supported his decision, he said on CNN's \"Fareed Zakaria GPS,\" scheduled to air at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on CNN. \"I have received many many e-mails from active-duty military and some guys who just separated from the service,\" Hoh said. \"Some guys are here in the States. I've gotten many e-mails from guys in Afghanistan. Some are people I know. But a lot are people I do not know. Men and women who are saying, 'Thanks for doing this. Keep it up. We don't know why we're here. We're not sure why we're taking these casualties. We don't know what it's accomplishing.'\" In his letter, the senior civilian representative in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, said he was resigning because \"I fail to see the value or worth in continued U.S. casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is, truly, a 35-year-old civil war.\" He concluded the letter by saying that he had \"lost confidence\" that the \"dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished and promised dreams unkept.\" \"I believe that the people we are fighting there are fighting us because we are occupying them,\" Hoh told CNN earlier this week. \"Not for any ideological reasons, not because of any links to al Qaeda, not because of any fundamental hatred towards the West. The only reason they're fighting us is because we're occupying them.\" After Hoh submitted his resignation, Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special representative in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, made a plea for Hoh to change his mind. Hoh refused. \"The offer was to join his staff and be put in a position where I could continue to write and try to influence policymakers from within the administration,\" Hoh said Friday. \"Two things: One, if I believed in the mission, if I believed it was worth our guys dying for, if I believed that 60,000 troops in Afghanistan would defeat al Qaeda somehow -- which it won't -- I would have stayed in Zabul Province,\" he said. \"However, the other part of it, too, was that I realized that the administration was going to make its decision shortly and then I would be stuck. And if I don't believe in it, if I don't believe this cause is right, if I don't believe it's justified, then there's no reason to take that position.\" CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen disagreed with Hoh's assessment of Afghanistan. \"It's not that our presence there is causing the problem,\" he said. \"Quite the reverse: It is that we are not doing what we said were going to do, which is bringing a measure of security and a measure of prosperity.\" But Afghanistan's lack of infrastructure and \"human capital\" make it an especially difficult mission, said Hoh, who served two tours in Iraq as a Marine. \"In Iraq, even though it was stuck in the '80s, it had infrastructure, it had human capital,\" he said. \"It had doctors and lawyers and educators. And they had an established system of government, they had an infrastructure we could build on. Afghanistan has none of that.\" In his letter, Hoh -- who signed on in March for a yearlong, noncareer position with the State Department -- said the cost of a war with no end in sight and no clear mission was too much to bear. \"I do not believe any military force has ever been tasked with such a complex, opaque and Sisyphean mission as the U.S. military has received in Afghanistan,\" Hoh wrote. News of Hoh's resignation came as the administration continues to deliberate whether to change course in an eight-year conflict once dubbed a \"war of necessity\" by President Obama. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, reportedly has submitted a request for as many as 40,000 additional troops. McChrystal's request is being weighed against a backdrop of spiraling U.S. military fatalities. There have been 58 American military fatalities in October, making it the deadliest month for U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan since the war began in October 2001. More troops is not the way to go, Hoh said Friday. \"Increasing troops is only going to fuel insurgency. We need to stop our combat operations in areas where we are fighting people only because they are fighting us. Otherwise, it's going to be 2013, we're going to look back four years and we're going to say, \"What did we accomplish? What did we get? What was this worth? What did we get out of this?\" State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the administration respects Hoh's decision. \"We take his opinions very seriously,\" Kelly said. \"Senior officials on the ground in Afghanistan and here in Washington have talked to him, have heard him out. We respect ... his right to dissent.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Matthew Hoh says Afghan-Americans, active-duty military members have shown support .\nHoh resigned after saying he didn't believe in the war, which was essentially a civil war .\nHoh believes increasing troops is only going to fuel insurgency, not help the problems .\nHoh says he believes insurgents are fighting U.S. because we are occupying their land ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Torrential rains and flooding since June have affected 600,000 people in 16 West African nations, the United Nations reported Tuesday. People walk in the flooded streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, last week. The worst hit have been Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana and Niger, said Yvon Edoumou, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. So far, 159 people have died, he said. Sierra Leone has also been hard hit, according to the U.N. Edoumou said removing water from flooded areas is a top priority, but powerful pumps are in short supply. \"Some people refused to leave their homes so they are living in floodwaters,\" he said. The United Nations has not yet received reports of waterborne diseases, but Edoumou said a real threat exists of diarrhea or, worse, cholera. The U.N. World Food Programme said Tuesday it has begun distributing food to tens of thousands of homeless flood victims. WFP has set a goal of feeding 177,500 people, mainly in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, where 150,000 people have been affected and key infrastructure -- including a central hospital, schools, bridges and roads -- has been damaged. The flooding in Burkina Faso is the worst in 90 years, WFP said. Many of those in Ouagadougou most needing help were already receiving aid from WFP, but those rations were lost in the floodwaters, the U.N. reported. \"It is always the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most from floods like these as their few remaining assets are swept away, leaving them hungry and destitute,\" WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said. Roads and buildings have been ruined from Mauritania to Niger, the U.N. reported. In Agadez, Niger, a town about 458 miles (738 km) north of the capital, Niamey, close to 988 acres (400 hectares) of vegetable crops and hundreds of livestock were washed away. Herve Ludovic de Lys, head of OCHA in West Africa, said natural disasters have a lasting effect that unravels years of progress against poverty. \"The situation is very worrying,\" he said in an OCHA statement issued Tuesday. The rainy season in West Africa begins in June and continues through late September. In 2007, 300 people died and 800,000 were affected by the storms. This year, fears abound that more heavy rain will fall in already waterlogged areas. Despite the misery, Edoumou said the rains are a mixed blessing for countries dependent on agriculture. The harvest this year will be more bountiful, he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "U.N. begins distributing food to tens of thousands of homeless flood victims .\nU.N. says 159 have died due to flooding; key infrastructure damaged .\nWaterborne diseases like cholera are a concern, U.N. official says .\n\"It is always the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most from floods,\" official says ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fred Hassan is chairman of the board and CEO of Schering-Plough Corporation. Fred Hassan, chairman of the board and CEO of Schering-Plough . Prior to joining Schering-Plough in April 2003 and assuming his current position, Hassan was chairman and CEO of Pharmacia Corporation. He joined the former Pharmacia & Upjohn in May 1997 as CEO and was elected to the Board of Directors. In February 2001, Hassan was named chairman of the Board of Pharmacia, the company created through the merger of the former Monsanto and Pharmacia & Upjohn companies. Previously, Hassan was executive vice president of Wyeth, formerly known as American Home Products, responsible for its pharmaceutical and medical products business. He was elected to Wyeth's Board of Directors in 1995. Earlier in his career, Hassan spent 17 years with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals (now Novartis) and headed its U.S. pharmaceuticals business. Hassan received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology at the University of London and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Hassan is the past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and is the immediate past chairman of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey. He is currently president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of Avon Products, Inc. (www.schering-plough.com) E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hassan was the former chairman and CEO of Pharmacia Corporation .\nHe was responsible for Wyeth's pharmaceutical and medical products business .\nHe is former chairman of HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, PhRMA board ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Move over, Edward Cullen. Tell those bayou bloodsuckers from \"True Blood\" to step aside, too. More than 112 years after he first climbed out of the coffin, the world's most famous vampire is back -- and he's bloodier than ever. \"Dracula the Un-Dead,\" released this month in the United States, is a sequel to Bram Stoker's 1897 classic written by Dacre Stoker, the original author's great-grandnephew. The book, co-written by Dracula historian Ian Holt, picks up 25 years after the Victorian-era monster is supposedly killed in the original and is based in part on 125 pages of handwritten notes that Bram Stoker left behind. But while many of the original characters are here -- troubled couple Jonathan and Mina Harker and vampire hunter Van Helsing among them -- the horror has gotten a 21st-century update. The sex and violence that Stoker deftly alluded to in the original are, at times, front and center in his descendant's sequel. \"You've got to keep in mind the perspective,\" said Dacre Stoker, a native of Montreal, Quebec, now living in Aiken, South Carolina. \"The degree of sex and violence he had, in this very stuffy and conservative Victorian society, was cutting edge at the time. Even the exposure of a woman's flesh, the piercing of the flesh, was a metaphor for the sex act.\" And with authors from Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris to Stephen King and Poppy Z. Brite having crafted their own, sometimes lurid, reworkings of the vampire legend, Stoker said he knew that the new book couldn't just be a straight continuation of the first. \"We've got to keep up with what other people are doing,\" he said. \"Otherwise, our story would be toast.\" Of all the books, movies and other tales to use Dracula's name throughout the decades, the novel is the first since the 1931 Bela Lugosi movie to have the Stoker family's endorsement and input. After Bram's death, his widow, Florence, sold the story's rights, and eventually, the most iconic character in the history of horror slipped into the public domain. Dacre said that before now, the only thing he'd ever received for his ancestor's work was the occasional Halloween wisecrack. \"We knew of the legacy of Bram Stoker, but as kids growing up in Montreal, it wasn't that big a deal,\" he said. \"Every now and then at Halloween you'd get joked: 'Is it safe to come to the Stoker house? Are we going to get candy or bitten in the neck?' \" It was a college writing project that revived his interest in his novelist ancestor, a native of Dublin, Ireland, who'd moved to London, England, by the time the book was written. Then, he was contacted by Holt in 2003. The historian said he wanted to work on a sequel and wanted to have a member of Stoker's family involved. Along the way, they uncovered a rare find at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Bram's own notes. It wasn't a plot outline, Dacre said, \"but what I did was find information, characters, little ideas -- plot threads that he had in mind 112 years ago that didn't make it into his story.\" Among the seeds for new plotlines was Bram's mention of a police investigator who plays prominently in \"Dracula the Un-Dead.\" Dacre said he'd always wondered at how the first book was full of murder but no police were involved. The notes also prompted the inclusion of Jack the Ripper, whose gruesome exploits gripped London around the time the elder Stoker was writing his novel and who is believed by some historians to have helped shape its plot. True fans of the vampire genre will find another historical figure they're likely familiar with gracing the book's pages and an even more unlikely appearance: Bram Stoker himself. \"Part of our plan was to paint a realistic picture of Bram Stoker,\" Dacre said of the author, who spent time as a reporter, theater critic and manager of London's Lyceum Theater. \"Everybody knows Dracula. Not many people know Bram Stoker.\" Response to and reviews of the book have been largely positive. \"This daring sequel captures the essence and gothic glory of the original,\" USA Today's Carroll Memmott wrote. Dacre, who is touring the United States in support of the release, said he was prepared for the inevitable backlash from pure-blood purists who don't think the original should be sullied with a follow-up. \"I have heard just a bit of it,\" he said. \"People say it's better to leave some of these mysteries alone; let's not solve them all. Believe me, when you read our story, you'll know we don't solve them all.\" And he has some other advice for those diehards: Lighten up. \"This is entertainment. Go with it,\" he said. \"If you don't want to read it, you don't have to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Dracula the Un-Dead\" written by Bram Stoker's descendant Dacre .\nVampire tale is more overtly violent, sexy than the 1897 original .\nBook has prompted good reviews, handful of bitter purists .\nJack the Ripper, Bram himself incorporated into new story ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Jury selection was under way for a second day Tuesday in the trial of a man accused in the rape and beating death of an Arkansas television anchor a year ago. Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, would face the death penalty if convicted of charges including capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft in the October 2008 death of Anne Pressly, 26. He has pleaded not guilty. Pressly, the morning news anchor for Little Rock, Arkansas, television station and CNN affiliate KATV, was found badly beaten and unconscious in her home and died five days later. Vance was linked to the killing through DNA, and police told CNN last year they are \"110 percent\" sure he killed Pressly. Vance has given several statements to police, including one saying he was at her home and another admitting to her slaying. Defense attorney Steve Morley told CNN affiliate WREG that such evidence presents an obstacle for them to overcome, but he said he hopes an emotional closing argument will persuade jurors to spare Vance's life. \"Literally, you can affect an individual, and by affecting that individual you affect the outcome,\" Morley told the station. Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, told NBC last year her daughter fought for her life -- so much so that her left hand was broken. \"I found my daughter beyond recognition with every bone in her face broken, her nose broken, her jaw pulverized so badly that the bone had come out of it; I actually thought that her throat has possibly been cut,\" Cannady said. \"Her entire skull had numerous fractures from which she suffered a massive stroke.\" DNA evidence has also tied Vance to a rape in April 2008 in Marianna, Arkansas, about 90 miles east of Little Rock, police said in December. Police have said they found no previous link between Vance and Pressly and do not believe her being on television played a role in the slaying. \"I think he saw her someplace, probably followed her home with the intention of robbing her,\" Lt. Terry Hastings, spokesman for Little Rock police, told CNN in December. \"And then went from there.\" Pressly's purse was taken, police have said. Parties in the case are hoping to finish jury selection Tuesday, according to the Pulaski County Circuit Court clerk's office." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Man accused in rape, beating death of Anne Pressly, 26, a year ago .\nCurtis Lavelle Vance, 29, has pleaded not guilty, would face death penalty if convicted .\nVance was linked to killing through DNA, has given conflicting statements to police .\nParties in the case hope to finish jury selection Tuesday, county circuit court clerk's office says ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Organized crime gangs are exploiting a new target for illegal profit: Medicare and Medicaid. Experienced in running drug, prostitution and gambling rings, crime groups of various ethnicities and nationalities are learning it's safer and potentially more profitable to file fraudulent claims with the federal Medicare program and state-run Medicaid plans. \"They're hitting us and hitting us hard,\" said Timothy Menke, head of investigations for the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services. \"Organized crime involvement in health care fraud is widespread.\" One hot spot for health care fraud is Los Angeles, California, where Russian, Armenian and Nigerian gangs have been caught by federal agents. Recent cases include crime boss Konstantin Grigoryan, a former Soviet army colonel who pleaded guilty to taking $20 million from Medicare. Karapet \"Doc\" Khacheryan, boss of a Eurasian crime gang, was recently convicted with five lieutenants of stealing doctor identities in a $2 million scam. Two Nigerians, Christopher Iruke and his wife, Connie Ikpoh, were charged October 15 with bilking Medicare of $6 million dollars by fraudulently billing the government for electric wheelchairs and other expensive medical equipment. The two, allegedly members of an organized crime ring, entered pleas of not guilty and are being held in a federal detention center. \"They deny any allegations of wrongdoing,\" said their attorney, James Kosnett. Defrauding government-run health care programs involves stealing two types of identities: those of doctors, who bill for services, and patients, whose beneficiary numbers entitle them to medical care and necessary equipment. Criminals are expert at collecting both. Watch doctor tell what happened when his identity was stolen . \"That information is very, very valuable to these crooks. And the doctor may work at one clinic but he won't know about the second and third clinic that they've already set up using his identification,\" said Glenn Ferry, special agent in charge of the Los Angeles region for the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. \"They are definitely well-organized, well-schooled on how to commit Medicare fraud.\" Dr. Gianfranco Burdi had his identity stolen when he was recruited to join what appeared to be a new medical practice near Koreatown in Los Angeles. After the managers failed to show a business license and proof of malpractice insurance, Burdi pulled out. Two years later, the FBI came calling. Agents questioned Burdi, a psychiatrist, about whether he had prescribed $800,000 worth of electric wheelchairs for Medicare patients. \"I said no. I am a psychiatrist. Why would I prescribe an electric wheelchair?\" said Burdi. \"It was shocking.\" A jury found Leonard Uchenna Nwafor guilty of using Burdi's identification to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment. \"I was naive enough to provide them my medical license, my other data,\" said Burdi. Patient beneficiary numbers are easy to buy along Los Angeles' Skid Row. Impoverished residents of shelters there tell CNN they've accepted cash from recruiters -- known as \"cappers\" -- to go to bogus medical clinics where they share what they call their \"red, white and blue\" -- the tri-colored Medicare card that has a beneficiary number for billing the government. \"People down here need to eat. Somebody who comes up on a quick hustle, quick money, they going to jump on. I'm one of them, I will,\" said a man who identified himself as Scott. \"They're just defrauding the patients, defrauding the government.\" Jimmy Rodgers of San Bernadino, California, tells CNN he went to a clinic three times a week, receiving $100 per visit but little medical care. \"This is just like Carte Blanche,\" said Rodgers, holding his Medicare card. \"Matter of fact, better than Carte Blanche. Carte Blanche has limitations on it.\" The clinics, he concedes, were clearly fronts for collecting beneficiary data. \"They were no doctors. They were just somebody who had their hand out,\" said Rodgers, who later cooperated with federal investigators. \"And they just ripping the system off and using me as a means to rip the system off.\" Once criminals have doctor and patient identification numbers, they begin filing false claims. The Khacheryan gang told Medicare that health services were being provided on the 10th floor at 754 South Los Angeles Street. But there is no doctor's office in that decrepit industrial building -- only a mail drop, where the Khacheryan group collected checks from the U.S. government for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The inspector general's office of the Department of Health and Human Services estimates it is on track to recover about $4 billion this year by breaking up health care fraud schemes perpetrated by all types of criminals, from organized rings to corrupt doctors. That amount, though, is only about 5 percent of the annual health care fraud cost in the United States, according to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. Because government health programs operate on the honor system, law enforcement officials say it's easy for organized crime rings and average criminals to cash in at the taxpayer's expense." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gangs make millions by getting ID numbers of doctors, patients .\nThen they file fraudulent Medicare, Medicaid claims for care that never happened .\nOne doctor had his ID stolen, learned it was used to bill $800,000 for wheelchairs .\nGovernment to recover $4 billion this year -- but that's just 5 percent of fraud cost ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee told Ling's sister they were treated humanely in North Korea, and they believe they weren't sent to hard-labor camps because they have medical conditions, Lisa Ling said Friday. Lisa Ling, left, and her sister, Laura, center, speak to their father Wednesday after Laura arrived in California. The sister, speaking on CNN's \"American Morning,\" did not elaborate on the medical conditions, but said her sister will soon tell her story. \"Laura is eager to tell the story about what happened. I want to let her do so, but right now, she's really getting reacclimated. The processes are slow. She's very, very weak,\" Lisa Ling said, adding that the stories she's heard so far are \"jaw-dropping.\" Laura Ling and Lee were working for California-based Current TV, a media venture of former Vice President Al Gore, when they were arrested in March for crossing the border between China and North Korea. Watch Lisa Ling share her sister's story » . Lisa Ling said that before they left the United States, the pair never intended to cross into North Korea. They have acknowledged that they briefly did, however, and they were convicted of entering the country illegally to conduct a \"smear campaign\" against the reclusive Communist state. They were sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, pardoned the women Tuesday after meeting with former President Bill Clinton. They arrived home the following day. Lisa Ling said her sister was allowed to call the family on four occasions during her five months in captivity. On the last call, Laura Ling specifically requested that Clinton intervene. \"She said that in her opinion -- quote, unquote -- it would have to be President Clinton. It could only be President Clinton to secure the release of herself and Euna. We immediately jumped into action and alerted Vice President Gore,\" Lisa Ling said. When their release was secured, they promptly boarded a plane home. Clinton wanted them to rest because they were clearly tired, \"but the two of them were chatting away and comparing their experiences,\" Lisa Ling said. Laura Ling and Lee went to see doctors Thursday, the sister added. Laura Ling is \"doing well,\" and Lee is \"skinny,\" Lisa Ling said, joking that her mother tried to force-feed Lee on Thursday \"because she's just become so diminutive.\" The women also are slowly working to assimilate to their freedom. They were kept at opposite ends of the same North Korean detention facility, and though Laura Ling had two guards in her room at all times, she would sometimes go weeks without talking to anyone. Watch as Lisa Ling describes the pair's condition » . \"So even communicating is a challenge because she sometimes yesterday was even having a hard time getting full sentences out, so it's a slow adjustment,\" Lisa Ling said. On Thursday, Lisa Ling told CNN that her sister was \"incredibly emotional\" and didn't want to be left alone after months of \"relative isolation.\" \"Yesterday, she was so exhausted and she wanted to take a quick nap. She kept asking me: 'Are you going to be here when I come back?' \" the sister said Thursday. Emotions have run high in Lee's home as well, Lisa Ling said. Watch the journalists' family reunions » . \"I hear from Euna's husband, Michael, that Hana, their 4-year-old daughter, has not wanted her mother to leave her sight,\" she said. \"She just keeps following her around from room to room because she doesn't want her mom to leave.\" Lee and her husband went to Laura Ling's house Thursday night for their first pizza since being released, Lisa Ling said Friday. \"The thing that was so wonderful to see was little Hana,\" she said. \"I have never seen her so happy, and we all sort of remarked that it was just a beautiful thing.\" Lisa Ling said her sibling will soon share her \"powerful\" story, perhaps in an op-ed piece, but she needs space right now. Lisa Ling, meanwhile, is elated that her sister and Lee are safe. She said she always knew they would come home. \"I believe in the fundamental goodness,\" she said. \"I knew in my heart that at some point, Laura and Euna would be returned back to us. I didn't know when it would happen, but I never lost that hope.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NEW: Sister: Euna Lee \"skinny,\" Laura Ling struggling to talk because of isolation .\nNEW: Laura Ling told family, \"It would have to be President Clinton,\" Lisa Ling says .\nLaura Ling plans to detail what transpired, sister says .\nEuna Lee's daughter keeps following her, Lisa Ling says ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LONDON, England -- A new drug for melanoma has been shown to rapidly shrink malignant tumors in an early trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York. New drug inhibits BRAF, the main driver of mutation in over 50 percent of melanomas. Among 27 patients whom the experimental new drug was tested on, \"19 showed a 30 percent or greater reduction in tumor size,\" Dr. Paul Chapman, the lead researcher told CNN from a cancer conference in Berlin. Melanoma develops in cells that produce melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color, and is the most serious type of skin cancer. Currently the standard treatment for metastatic malignant melanoma is chemotherapy, which has only a 15 percent success rate, Chapman explained. In his trial using PLX4032 over 70 percent of patients had a response to the drug. \"Without reservation we can say this is a breakthrough in melanoma. We haven't seen a major breakthrough in this disease in the last 40 years,\" said Professor Alexander Eggermont, President of the European Cancer Organization. Seventy-five percent of the patients who were treated with PLX4032 had already received multiple treatments of other cancer drugs, all of which had failed. Two-thirds of those patients also already had what Eggermont described as \"very widespread metastatic disease.\" \"There were patients who were on oxygen or on continuous morphine who were off the morphine after one or two weeks of treatment,\" Eggermont told CNN. Two patients, he said, even showed complete remission, such that all detectable melanoma \"melted away.\" The other two major benefits of PLX4032 are that it can be taken orally as a pill and seems to have very mild side effects. The PLX4032 complex works by blocking the activity of cancer-causing mutation of the BRAF gene, which is implicated in more than half of all melanomas. Eggermont praised the drug for being highly-selective unlike traditional \"dirty\" cancer drugs that have a wide range of side-effects. \"The side effect profile looks very mild and we think it's because it's such a clean, super selective molecule and it's an oral drug, and that's a great asset,\" he said. Peter Hirth, CEO of the drug's maker Plexxikon explained that it is because PLX4032 is such a highly selective compound that \"doctors can adjust the dosage to really shut down tumors,\" whereas other cancer treatment drugs are frequently limited from working to their full potential because patients cannot tolerate their toxicity levels. PLX4032 is not a cure, but offers hope for alleviating symptoms and extending life. \"I've never seen this before in melanoma,\" Chapman said referring to the successful findings. \"One thing we don't know is how long these response are going to last,\" he added. The next step will now be to test the drug in a larger trial of almost 700 people, scheduled to begin this month and to be completed by the end of the year. Then a randomized test comparing chemotherapy treatment with PLX4032 therapy will need to occur before. Currently that is slated to take place across North American, Europe and Australia in the first quarter of 2010. \"We are working to make sure that within the shortest time possible we will satisfy the needs of FDA to get this drug available to melanoma patients as quickly as possible,\" Eggermont said. Early responses from peers have been supportive. In a statement Dr. Kat Arney said that \"Cancer Research UK and others have been investigating drugs that can block faulty BRAF, so it is interesting to see the results from a small-scale trial of such a drug. Melanoma is a very difficult cancer to treat and the results of this early-stage trial are promising, but larger trials need to be done before we know for sure how effective this treatment is.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Experimental new skin cancer treatment shows 70 percent effectiveness .\nPLX4032 inhibits BRAF, the driving mutation in more than half of melanomas .\nUnlike chemotherapy the drug can be taken orally and has mild side effects .\nLarger trials are needed to confirm results and test safety ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- He would surely make history. But would Sen. Barack Obama's election as America's first black president transform the nation? Obama says yes. \"The day I'm inaugurated, the country looks at itself differently. And don't underestimate that power. Don't underestimate that transformation,\" Obama told the crowd Friday at the National Urban League convention in St. Louis, Missouri. The Democrat from Illinois was answering a question about the racial polarization in America. Obama said \"race is still an enormous factor in our society. But economics can overcome a lot of racial division.\" The Democratic presidential hopeful also said that action, rather than high-minded discussions, is the way to end racial inequality. Obama said \"if we're doing the right thing and making sure that our young people are going to school, that they're getting good jobs, that they're starting businesses, that they're living in thriving neighborhoods and communities, that will do more to lessen racial tension, division and conflict than any set of roundtables and blue ribbon commissions are going to do.\" Two of Obama's main Democratic rivals, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, and former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, also spoke about racial inequality during the Urban League convention. Clinton told the crowd that she rejects \"a conversation about 1.4 million young men as a threat, as a headache, or as a lost cause. I reject the conversation about 1.4 million disappointments, failures, and casualties of a broken system. That is not who these young men are. I believe it is long past time for a new and different conversation. It is time for America to begin a conversation about 1.4 million future workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, community leaders, business executives.\" Edwards addressed affirmative action, saying \"I would ensure that my administration was a representation of what affirmative action can be. I would make sure that my administration looks like America, and I mean, from the top to the bottom, all the way through the administration.\" Edwards continued, saying \"I would ensure that judges that I appointed to the federal bench and justices nominated to the United States Supreme Court believed in real equality and believed in the concept of affirmative action.\" Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, also spoke at the National Urban League convention, but no Republican candidates came to the presidential forum. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee met with members of the league at a gathering Thursday night. This is the second forum with a large African-American crowd that the Democratic candidates attended this month. All of the Democrats showed up in Detroit on July 12 for the presidential forum at the NAACP convention. Black voters are crucial to the Democratic Party. \"Nearly nine in 10 blacks vote Democratic, making them the most reliable Democratic voting block in the country\" said CNN Pollster Keating Holland. And they'll play an important role in picking the next Democratic presidential nominee, especially in South Carolina and Florida, two early primary states. In CNN's most recent polls, Clinton and Obama are running neck and neck among black voters nationally, though Clinton was well ahead in South Carolina. But it's still early and many voters haven't made up their minds. \"I'm not feeling that at this point either candidate would be that much of a difference\" says Amy Johnson, an undecided black voter in New Orleans, Louisiana. E-mail to a friend ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Barack Obama: \"The day I'm inaugurated, the country looks at itself differently\"\nIllinois Democrat would be first black president if elected .\nHillary Clinton and Obama neck and neck in polls of black voters ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The music of Woodstock was a draw that attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the festival. Similarly, the name of Ang Lee is a draw that attracted a number of actors to his new film, \"Taking Woodstock.\" From left, \"Taking Woodstock's\" Emile Hirsch, director Ang Lee and Demetri Martin at the movie's premiere. \"Taking Woodstock,\" which is out August 28, features performers who were either not born or very young when the monumental festival occurred in 1969, but many were enticed to join the movie because of Lee's involvement. \"I'd read the Sunday paper for Ang Lee. I'd do anything. He's a filmmaker I've always admired and [was] sort of eager to work with,\" said Liev Schreiber, who plays a transvestite. \"So when he approached me, you know: Dress, shmess, I'll do whatever you want.\" Lee's work, which includes the renowned films \"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon\" and \"Brokeback Mountain,\" has garnered him three Oscar nominations. The lighthearted \"Taking Woodstock\" is a mild departure for a man whose films tend toward serious drama. The film's plot concerns Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), son of the owners of a fading Catskills hotel, who helped attract the Woodstock festival to the area. It's based on Tiber's memoir. The film also stars Emile Hirsch, Jonathan Groff and Eugene Levy. The 36-year-old Martin, who is best known for his standup, his contributions to \"The Daily Show\" and hosting \"Important Things with Demetri Martin,\" might have benefited the most from working with Lee. \"Taking Woodstock\" is his first film as star, and he's made only a handful of others. \"Ang is not really going to hold your hand and reassure you through the whole thing. He's going to be more like a sensei, kind of a tough-love thing,\" Martin said. \"He's like, 'Punch this wall,' and you'll be like, 'Why?' and he's like, 'Punch the wall, and do it.' \"And then it's like, 'Oh, good performance, great. I'm glad I punched the wall,' and you don't understand, but it's really a lesson in trust,\" he added. Jonathan Groff also came to \"Taking Woodstock\" with limited big-screen experience and was excited to work with Lee. \"He's your fearless leader. He's everything that you want to be when you grow up,\" Groff said. Woodstock may have been 40 years ago, but it's recent enough that a number of the principals are still alive. Groff had the opportunity to meet Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang, whom he plays in the movie. Lang opened his memories to Groff and also visited the set. \"He came to the first day on set, and that was a little nerve-wracking, but it then became comforting because as we would be between takes he would, you know, be giving you a little thumbs-up,\" Groff recalled. \"I'm sure it must have been a little out-of-body. I mean, I can't imagine watching someone playing me in a movie, from 40 years earlier.\" The 24-year-old Groff thinks Woodstock resonates today. \"Coming from my generation and looking back and seeing such innocence and seeing such passion and seeing such faith in each other, and the ability to come together and actually make something huge happen, is really inspiring,\" he said. Although there haven't been similar watershed events since, Schreiber and Groff said that the most similar event could be the 2008 election campaign, during which many young people rallied behind Barack Obama. \"Well, I gotta say that there is an air of optimism and potential in the election of Barack Obama,\" Schreiber said. \"I certainly feel a return to that sense of optimism and patriotism that I think people felt at perhaps the election of Kennedy and the beginning of the civil right's movement in America and the sexual revolution. ... It did feel somewhat timely.\" The movie also tested Hirsch's and Schreiber personal boundaries: In addition to Schreiber's dress, Hirsch was naked for one scene. \"It wasn't just photographed. I was filmed!\" Hirsch said. \"What was fun about it is it was kind of like this liberating [situation], but that's what Woodstock was.\" As for Schreiber, when his children saw him in a dress, they were \"terrified,\" and his partner, actress Naomi Watts, was \"pretty mortified.\" \"I think that was sort of the point. I think the message is one of acceptance,\" Schreiber said. Scaring the kids is one thing, but what about wearing the dress on the set in front of the cast and crew? \"It was exhilaratingly humiliating,\" Schreiber said. \"I think that's generally how men feel when they put on dresses. That's why they do it so often.\" CNN's Katie Walmsley contributed to this story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Taking Woodstock\" stars Demetri Martin, Liev Schreiber and Eugene Levy .\nThe film tells the story of how Woodstock festival came to fruition .\nThe actors said election of Barack Obama shares similiarities with Woodstock .\n\"Taking Woodstock\" is due out August 28 ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China is shutting down a pair of smelting plants suspected of sickening several thousand children with lead poisoning, according to state-run media. A Chinese boy gets treated for blood poisoning in Shaanxi province Aug. 15. At least 851 children living near a plant in northwestern China's Shaanxi province were found to have excessive lead levels in their blood, according to the Xinhua news agency. The Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. would cease operations no later than Saturday, Xinhua reported Wednesday, citing local authorities. County officials had agreed to relocate residents who live within 1,640 feet (500 meters) of the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. in three years, but the relocation is behind schedule, Sun Hong, the company's general manager, told Xinhua. The local government has pledged to speed up the relocation, Xinhua reported this month. A second smelter also was closed Wednesday in central China and two of its executives detained, a local official said, according to Xinhua, . Initial tests showed more than 1,300 children in the Hunan province town of Wenping have excessive lead in their blood from the Wugang Manganese Smelting Plant. A second round of testing has been ordered to confirm the results. The plant opened in May 2008 without gaining the approval of the local environment protection bureau, said Huang Wenbin, a deputy environment chief in Wugang City, Xinhua reported. The plant was within 500 meters (about a quarter mile) of three schools. The poisonings have occurred against the backdrop of China's rapid industrialization, which has produced economic success and wrought environmental havoc. Hundreds of millions of Chinese lack access to uncontaminated drinking water, and air pollution is blamed for myriad deaths and illnesses every year. Toxic air enshrouds cities across the country, one of the most polluted in the world. The government has stepped up anti-pollution efforts in recent years, but many companies flout such campaigns and laws." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A pair of plants suspected of sickening thousands of children is closed.\nAt least 851 children in Shaanxi province found to have lead poisoning.\nIn Hunan province, 1300 children near another plant were poisoned." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(LifeWire) -- Practicing the clarinet may be beyond tedious for teenagers forced into music lessons by their parents but for 70-year-old Joe Pedlosky it's a labor of love. Saxophonist Jerry Hendricks from Olympia, Washington, practices in Cambria, California, in March 2006 . \"From the time I was a little kid, I always wanted to play clarinet,\" says Pedlosky, a retired scientist in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. \"But we didn't have the money. Then ... I decided it was now or never.\" Pedlosky, who plays with a local band, is one of many seniors picking up a musical instrument late in life. Many can thank New Horizons International Music Association, which sponsors senior bands and orchestras in the United States and Canada. The group was founded by Roy Ernst, professor emeritus at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. When he formed the first senior-only band in 1991, it was a radical notion. \"It was widely believed that the window of opportunity for learning music was childhood,\" Ernst says. \"If you didn't learn then, you missed your chance.\" The senior bands prove otherwise. As a matter of fact, these novice musicians give new meaning to the conductor's command, \"Once more, with feeling.\" \"I remember conducting at a senior band camp in California, and we played an arioso by Bach,\" recalls Ernst. \"The second time through, two people were crying, they were so touched by the music. \"High school kids could never do what we do, because they haven't lived enough, they haven't seen enough joy or sorrow. We have a special ability to play music expressively and with feeling.\" Ernst, who sometimes refers to himself as the Johnny Appleseed of senior bands, made it his goal to bring seniors to music. From just one band in Rochester, New Horizons has grown to more than a hundred bands, plus offshoots from brass quintets to swing ensembles. Music for body and soul . Ernst's passion moved Professor Don Coffman of the University of Iowa to create his own senior band -- and to conduct research into how music can benefit older musicians. His findings: Benefits include social, emotional, physical and even spiritual growth. In part, Coffman found, seniors benefit from being part of a group that works together toward a significant goal. Other plusses can include better ability to focus, increased lung capacity and improved fine motor skills. Dinny Stamp would agree. She'd played trombone in high school; after retiring, she attended a performance of Coffman's Iowa City band and thought, \"I can do that!\" Playing in the band \"has been one of the most rewarding experiences of not only my retirement, but my life,\" says Stamp, who turns 78 this month. \"It's a joy to make wonderful music with new friends and to share this music with the community.\" Judy Schroeder, 62, another member of the Iowa City band, took up the oboe about three months before retirement. \"I find that playing music really keeps your mind agile ... and our band director wants to challenge us to do well, think hard, try hard. It's just so much fun.\" She's enjoying herself so much that she has taken up the bassoon as well. Getting started . If you're interested in getting involved with instrumental music, look for a band in your area on the New Horizons Web site. If there's no senior band available, or if you're interested in learning on your own, most teachers are willing to take on an older student. Pedlosky advises searching for the right kind of person so you're not quickly turned off. \"It's important, if you're going to start cold, to really find a good teacher -- someone who sets standards for you but is also mature enough to understand that it's unusual for an older person to take up something about which they know nothing.\" There are real differences between younger and older learners. \"Adults are often more analytical about their learning and more persistent, so some display more rapid growth than would a 10-year-old beginner,\" Coffman explains. \"On the other hand, the physical demands of some instruments may lead to a plateauing effect for adults.\" Some seniors, for example, may not be able to sustain high notes on a trumpet. Which instrument should you choose? If you've always had a passion for one instrument, Ernst says, go with your heart. But if you're not sure, ask for suggestions from the band director. \"If the group doesn't have a tuba player, you'd be quite the hero if you became one,\" he says. Who knows? You might even become a bit of a hero to yourself. \"Music is so demanding and compelling that once you start playing, everything else flies out the window,\" Pedlosky says. \"It gives you a deeper appreciation of music and musicians. And sometimes my music sounds really good to me, and that's wonderful.\" Roy Ernst: Saxophonist Jerry Hendricks from Olympia, Washington, practices with other band members at a New Horizons band camp in Cambria, California, in March 2006. Many of the musicians did not take up an instrument until retirement. Jon Beringer: Dinny Stamp, 78, played the trombone in high school. She took it up again when she joined a senior band in Iowa City, Iowa. E-mail to a friend . LifeWire provides original and syndicated lifestyle content to Web publishers. Lisa Jo Rudy is a freelance writer based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Her credits include books as well as print and online articles." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "More seniors are making music in their golden years .\nThey play an instrument they learned before or pick up new one .\nGroup sponsors senior bands and orchestras in U.S.\nBenefits: Social, emotional, physical -- even spiritual growth ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The commissioner of the Cambridge, Massachusetts, police department said Thursday he \"deeply regrets\" the arrest of prominent black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., but stands by the procedures followed by his department. Sgt. Jim Crowley said he has nothing to apologize for in regards to the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. \"I believe that Sgt. [James] Crowley acted in a way that is consistent with his training at the department, and consistent with national standards of law enforcement protocol,\" Commissioner Robert Haas said, referring to the officer who made the July 16 arrest at the professor's home. \"I do not believe his actions in any way were racially motivated,\" Haas said at a news conference. Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct after an exchange with the officer, who was investigating a report of a possible break-in at the house. The police department will create a panel of \"independent, notable professionals\" to provide an analysis of the incident, he said. The controversial arrest of Gates was criticized Wednesday by President Obama, who said the Cambridge police department \"acted stupidly.\" \"My response is that this department is deeply pained and takes its professional pride very seriously,\" Haas said. Cambridge authorities dropped the charges against Gates on Tuesday. In a statement, the International Association of Chiefs of Police expressed disappointment in Obama's remarks. \"Police chiefs understand that it is critically important to have all the facts on any police matter before drawing conclusions or making any public statement,\" said Russell B. Laine, association president and chief of the Algonquin, Illinois, police department, in the statement. \"For these reasons, the IACP was disappointed in the president's characterization of the Cambridge Police Department.\" Haas' comments followed a statement earlier Thursday from Crowley, who said he would not apologize for his actions. \"That apology will never come from me as Jim Crowley. It won't come from me as sergeant in the Cambridge Police Department,\" Crowley told Boston radio station WEEI. \"Whatever anybody else chooses to do in the name of the city of Cambridge or the Cambridge Police Department, which are beyond my control, I don't worry about that. I know what I did was right. I have nothing to apologize for.\" The mayor of Cambridge said she will meet with the city's police chief to make sure the scenario that led to Gates' arrest does not happen again. \"This suggests that something happened that should not have happened,\" E. Denise Simmons, Cambridge's mayor said on CNN's \"American Morning.\" \"The situation is certainly unfortunate. This can't happen again in Cambridge.\" Obama defended Gates Wednesday night, while acknowledging that he may be \"a little biased,\" because Gates is a friend. \"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.\" The incident, Obama said, shows \"how race remains a factor in this society.\" Crowley also said he is exercising caution and his previous actions clearly show he is not a racist. In fact, Crowley taught a racial profiling course at the Lowell Police Academy, said Deborah Friedl, deputy superintendent of the police department. Last year was his fifth year as a co-instructor of the course, Friedl said. \"He seems to be a highly regarded £instructor at the academy. He consistently received high praise from students,\" she said. Gates told CNN Wednesday that although charges had been dropped, he will keep the issue alive. \"This is not about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America,\" Gates told CNN's Soledad O'Brien. Gates said the Cambridge mayor had called him to apologize about the incident. Simmons, Cambridge's first black female mayor, confirmed to CNN that she apologized to Gates. Gates said he'd be prepared to forgive the arresting officer \"if he told the truth\" about what the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research said were \"fabrications\" in the police report. iReport.com: Join the conversation on racial profiling . Crowley wrote in the Cambridge police report that Gates refused to step outside to speak with him, and when Crowley told Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, \"Why, because I'm a black man in America?\" The report said Gates initially refused to show the officer identification, but eventually produced a Harvard identification card, prompting Crowley to radio for Harvard University Police. \"While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me,\" Crowley said, according to the report. Gates was arrested for \"loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space\" and was released from police custody after spending four hours at the police station. He said Wednesday that he and his lawyers were considering further actions, not excluding a lawsuit. Gates said that although the ordeal had upset him, \"I would do the same thing exactly again.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Officer: \"I know what I did was right. I have nothing to apologize for\"\nSgt. James Crowley said he was exercising caution during professor's arrest .\nCrowley tells newspaper he's not a racist, did CPR on black basketball star .\nCharges were dropped against professor Henry Louis Gates Jr." } ]
[ { "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) -- Watching the Dave Matthews Band moments before they take the stage is like watching a football team bursting out of the locker room before a big game. Dave Matthews says he bellieves strongly in the power of community. They slap hands. Bump fists. Jump up and down, exclaiming \"Feel the love, feel the love!\" The energy in the air is electric. And when they walk out on stage, the energy explodes into thousands of shining faces. People dance in the aisles. Others sing every word to every song. A few share funny cigarettes. For more than three hours, the jubilant atmosphere creates a sense of community between an amphitheater filled with strangers and the ethnically diverse musicians leading the charge on stage. But then DMB is all about community -- creating its own and giving back. BAMA Works Fund -- the group's charitable foundation -- has handed out $5 million in grants to worthy causes, including schools and victims of Hurricane Katrina. Watch Matthews sound off on the album -- and racism » . And despite the unexpected passing of saxophonist LeRoi Moore due to complications from an ATV accident last summer, the band members seem to be recharged. In June, DMB notched its fifth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard chart with \"Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.\" We caught up with Matthews just as news hit the Web that former President Jimmy Carter believed racism was the root of some of the negativity directed toward President Obama in recent weeks. The 42-year-old singer-songwriter offered a unique perspective, as a man who split his childhood between the United States and South Africa during apartheid. The following is an edited version of the interview. CNN: President Carter said he thinks that a lot of the animosity directed toward President Obama is race related. Dave Matthews: Of course it is! I found there's a fairly blatant racism in America that's already there, and I don't think I noticed it when I lived here as a kid. But when I went back to South Africa, and then it's sort of thrust in your face, and then came back here -- I just see it everywhere. There's a good population of people in this country that are terrified of the president only because he's black, even if they don't say it. And I think a lot of them, behind closed doors, do say it. Maybe I'm paranoid about it, but I don't think someone who disagreed as strongly as they do with Obama -- if it was Clinton -- would have stood up and screamed at him during his speech. (Shakes his head) I don't think so. CNN: Everything has gone to such a frenzied pitch. Matthews: I think a lot of it has to be on the press. We give the podium to a lot of people who shouldn't have the podium. The message that's delivered the loudest and in the most entertaining way is the one that we're going to put on because that's what we want. We want ratings more than we want to deliver information. That's just where the culture's gotten. There's no way that Walter Cronkite, as a young journalist, no way Ed Murrow would be hired to do news today. Not a chance. CNN: Because they're too low-key? Because they're not bombastic? Matthews: Because they're thoughtful, and they're patient, and they're tying to tell you a truly balanced story. They're trying to impart information. I don't think that's the goal [now] because it's not a good business plan. ... Everyone's outraged all the time. Why are you outraged? There's war -- there's always been war, as long as most of us have been alive. There have always been people being abused, there's always been horrible things in the world. Why are we outraged? We should just be quiet and figure it out, and work it out together. ... There's no solution in Washington as long as people are shouting like that. CNN: Before you went on stage at the Greek Theatre (in Los Angeles), we were talking to the crew -- and they couldn't wait to tell us how well they're treated by the Dave Matthews organization. ... It's like your own minicommunity out there. You even print your own tickets, right? Matthews: We have kept everything in-house. The core crew guys are the same guys we had when we were driving in a van, so they can always call \"bull\" on us if we start acting like prima donnas. It keeps a sense of community going when you travel a lot. There's a good vibe. ... I have friends who are famous, and friends that are not famous -- but there are those who stick out to me. Willie Nelson is one -- a really genuine person -- or Neil Young. Adam Sandler ... people who really try and keep a sense of unity, and camaraderie and equality around them. That's essential. That's it for me. I don't think socialism, and I don't think warmness and respect are necessarily bad words. CNN: Do you think you're competitive? A perfectionist? Matthews: I'm a very vicious critic of myself. CNN: So what do you think of this record (\"Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King\")? Matthews: I think that's a really good record. (Laugh) Our first three records were really good. We made good records after those first three -- really good records -- but I don't think they were necessarily the spirit of the band. I think this is the greatest record that we've ever made, and it captures the band like none of our records have. ... CNN: Before this album, weren't you burned out a little bit? Matthews: I insisted upon taking as much time to make this as I needed. And my manager would call -- my manager who I love, who's a dear friend of mine -- he'd call and say, \"Are you going to have it finished by the summer?\" \"No.\" \"Are you going to have it finished by Christmas?\" \"No.\" I practiced \"no.\" I need to work on \"no\" still, but I got better at it. CNN: What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Matthews: I want to figure out a way to not be stupid with money, then make a whole bunch of it, then I want to move to Outer Mongolia. I want to milk a yak. Maybe I'll just settle for a cow. Can you milk a bison? I have fantasies about being a farmer. I always wanted to be a fireman, but who didn't want to be a fireman? I just wouldn't tell anyone. I'd just go \"poof!\" Sometimes I like that idea. CNN: You don't tell people about a lot of things you do. There's no press release that goes out saying, \"Dave Matthews Band just donated $5 million to this cause or that cause.\" Matthews: We definitely use our fame and our celebrity to raise money for things we care about. ... What a luxury to be able to just do a show, and then look -- pow! ... I don't want to become a poster child. That's a whole different thing. I don't want to be the face on it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dave Matthews: \"I just see [racism] everywhere\"; not surprised at anger at Obama .\nNews media adds to anger, he says, in that it focuses on \"loudest\" messages .\nDave Matthews Band aims for community, active with charitable efforts .\nMatthews calls \"Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King\" their greatest record ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The National Archives -- a repository of important government documents, including the U.S. Constitution -- has lost a computer hard drive containing large volumes of Clinton administration records, including the names, phone numbers and Social Security numbers of White House staff members and visitors. The National Archives has lost a hard drive containing large volumes of Clinton administration records. Officials at the Archives say they don't know how many confidential records are on the hard drive. But congressional aides briefed on the matter say it contains \"more than 100,000\" Social Security numbers, including one belonging to a daughter of then-Vice President Al Gore. It also contains Secret Service and White House operating procedures, the staffers said they were told. The hard drive was last seen in the National Archive's complex in College Park, Maryland, sometime between October of last year and the first week of February. It was discovered missing in late March, prompting a thorough search for the small, 2.5 pound device, the Archives said. When it could not be located, the inspector general's office opened a criminal investigation. On Wednesday, the Archives announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to its return. The Archives said no national security information is on the hard drive, nor any original documents. But they said it does contain \"personally identifiable information,\" and they take the loss \"very seriously.\" U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, whose staff was briefed on the matter, said the House will hold a hearing Thursday on the incident. \"If they [the National Archives' staff] can't handle a hard drive that may be sensitive properly, we need to ask the question, will they handle the most secret materials properly?\" Issa said. The Archives Wednesday gave the following account of the disappearance: . Last October, the hard drive was moved from a \"secure\" storage area to a workspace where it was being used for routine recopying to ensure preservation of the records. But work was halted last year because archivists \"wanted to investigate using automated tools to generate inspection reports.\" Staffers were moved to other projects until an automated tool was found in mid-March -- that's when they found the hard drive was missing. The device is described as a two terabyte Western Digital MY BOOK external hard drive, measuring 6.5 x 2.1 x 5.4 inches. More than 110 4-millimeter tape cartridges were copied onto the hard drive. The records included records from the Clinton Administration Executive Office of the President. The archives said no original records have been lost, and the Archives has a backup hard drive that will enable them to determine what information is on the missing device. The inspector general said at least 100 people had access to the area where the hard drive was left unsecured, and that janitors, visitors and others also passed through the area. The Archives said it is reviewing the data on a copy of the missing hard drive and compiling a list of people whose personal information may be compromised. It will notify individuals of the potential breach and will provide them with a year of credit monitoring, the Archives said. \"Because of the extremely large volume of data on the drive, we do not know yet the number of individuals whose privacy has been affected,\" the Archives said Wednesday. \"As individuals are identified, they will be notified.\" The Archives also said it has taken steps to improve security, including both physical control of records and the treatment of personal information." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Officials say they don't know how many confidential records are on the hard drive .\nCongressional aides say \"more than 100,000\" Social Security numbers on drive .\nArchives announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to its return ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Queen Latifah has been on the hip-hop scene for so long that she has seen artists come and go and trends change. Queen Latifah remains one of the few female rap artists who garner attention in the music industry. But there has been one development that she said has disappointed her tremendously -- the lack of female rap stars. \"There are not enough female rappers out there right now,\" she said. \"The voice of the female is not strong enough in the game at all right now. It's almost nonexistent.\" While artists like Beyonce, Ciara and Rihanna have thrived in R&B and pop, high-profile success for female rap artists has been more elusive in recent years. From the beginning hip-hop has been viewed as a man's world, and discussions of sexism and inequality within the genre have come up often. In fact, many times such disrespect was the subject of the female rappers' tracks. Today, with the music industry struggling, there is a particular dearth of female rap artists taking center stage. It was a different hip-hop landscape when Queen Latifah first burst on the scene in the late 1980s. The all-female rap crew Salt-N-Pepa (whose DJ was also a woman) scored some hits. The arrival of Queen Latifah helped usher in artists such as Monie Love. Rapper MC Lyte was a teenager when she emerged, along with Queen Latifah, as one of the genre's first female superstars. Check out some of the more successful female hip-hop artists » . MC Lyte said the music industry is so focused these days on the bottom line that there is little emphasis on cultivating female talent. \"When you have this major business that has been kind of taken over by corporate hands, it's like, how necessary is the black woman's perspective?\" she said. \"Not unless she is talking about being that kingpin's main girl and she's wearing next to nothing and she's talking about nothing that is really going to nurture the people the way we are known innately as black women being able to do, there's really no space for that type.\" Alonzo Williams agrees. A founding member of the West Coast rap group the World Class Wrecking Crew, which also featured Dr. Dre of the group N.W.A., Williams said many female rappers are finding it hard to navigate today's industry. \"It's a lot of women trying to get into it, but most young women don't know what direction to take,\" Williams said. \"They don't know whether to be a gun moll for a gangster or a mother and they are confused as to what role they should take.\" Artists like Queen Latifah and MC Lyte have served as role models to rappers that came after them, Williams said. Having successful women in the industry also allowed for the rise of artists like Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, who express their sexuality with hardcore lyrics. But all of the dialogue about misogyny in rap, coupled with music executives' hesitancy to spend money grooming new artists, has left some female rappers floundering, he said. \"It can be hard for women to find an image that is street-marketable as well as radio-marketable,\" Williams said. \"For the most part, men can get away with a whole lot more because of the double standard that exists among the sexes, and so it's difficult for women to find a niche.\" Not that the talent isn't out there. MC Lyte said she has encountered several accomplished female lyricists on the Internet and through her work with Hip Hop Sisters, a network she founded. And to help women gain more exposure in the industry, Queen Latifah is going to the grass roots, as she returns to her musical roots. Her new album, \"Persona,\" marks her return to rap after having focused on her singing career for the past few years. Latifah, along with CoverGirl, for which she serves as a spokesperson, is sponsoring a contest titled \"Ignite Your Persona.\" Contestants can submit brief videos of themselves rapping, singing, dancing and/or performing as well as a short essay. A finalist from each city along her tour will be selected to open for her, Queen Latifah said. \"Hopefully I will be able to discover some new talent that I can bring to the forefront,\" she said. \"I feel like I have been so fortunate with hip-hop providing a door for the many opportunities I have had, and I want to give that to other women. Because when there are not enough females [in the industry], the balance is off.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Female rappers finding it difficult to break through in music industry .\nIn recent years few successful female artists have emerged in hip hop .\nRapper MC Lyte says business model doesn't support cultivation of talent .\nQueen Latifah using new album launch to discover new artists ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Legendary American boxer Muhammad Ali has visited the birthplace of his ancestors in Ireland, prompting thousands of well-wishers to line the streets of the town. Muhammad Ali on a nine-day visit to Europe that included a stopover to his ancestral home in Ireland. The scenes were reminiscent of a presidential visit as the 67-year-old former three-times world heavyweight champion traveled to Ennis, County Clare to see the hometown of his forebear. The visit was commemorated by the town council with the unveiling of a plaque at the home of his great-grandfather and by making Ali the first honorary \"freeman\" of the town. Abe Grady -- the grandfather of Ali's mother Odessa Lee Grady -- lived in the town of Ennis, before emigrating to the United States in 1860 where he married an African-American emancipated slave. Watch as Muhammad Ali visits Ireland » . Ali -- who was crowned Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated in 1999 -- had his Irish heritage uncovered by genealogists in 2002. \"Now that we know Muhammad is an Ennis man, we will be back,\" Ali's wife Lonnie told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. The small County Clare town of 23 thousand put on an open-air concert, closed schools early and had special screenings of the Ali versus George Foreman documentary \"When We Were Kings\" to welcome the \"Louisville Lip.\" Ali -- who has been a Parkinson's Disease sufferer since 1984 -- did not speak to those who had gathered but shadow-boxed to spectators and cameras before meeting his distant relatives. \"It was incredible. We've had so much rain, and yet today it was beautiful. The rain held off wherever Muhammad Ali went,\" Frankie Neylon, the town's mayor said. Ali fought in Ireland only once during his career, beating Al Blue Lewis in a non-title bout at Dublin's Croke Park in 1972. The visit to Ireland was part of a nine-day tour of Europe that Ali had undertaken to raise money to fight Parkinson's Disease and for the Ali Center." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Muhammad Ali visits his ancestral home of Ennis, Ireland .\nThe 67-year-old former world heavyweight champion unveils plaque in town .\nAbe Grady, Ali's great grandfather, emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. in 1860 .\nLonnie, Ali's wife, says the former champion will return to Ireland again ." } ]
[ { "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) -- Like all zombie movies, \"Zombieland\" has hundreds of zombies doing awful things, such as attacking and eating humans, but you could argue it's not a zombie movie. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson find themselves battling the undead in \"Zombieland.\" Zombie hordes do chase the main characters in a post-apocalyptic world, but the focus is on the comedy's stars, including two Oscar nominees -- Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin -- along with Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone. (Spoiler alert: A third Oscar nominee makes a remarkable cameo appearance, but this story will avoid spoiling the surprise by naming him.) \"We wanted to make a cool, kick-ass road movie about a dysfunctional family traveling across the country and zombies provide us the antagonists, the threat that our characters need to come together,\" said Paul Wernick, who wrote the screenplay with partner Rhett Reese. In fact, Wernick had only seen one zombie film before writing this script. Reese, who is a fan of the genre, kept the story on a track that would feed zombie fans' hunger for blood-and-guts action. \"[The] zombie genre is so well traveled, there is really no reason to get into it unless we could do it in a fresh, different way,\" Reese said. \"We were almost forced to think outside the box to make it an entertaining zombie movie.\" \"Zombieland\" is set in the United States months after a fast-moving virus begins turning most people into flesh-eating zombies. A handful of survivors come together to fight back. Wernick and Reese literally rewrote the rules for zombie films in this movie. Eisenberg's character is an obsessive-compulsive man who developed 47 rules -- such as \"fasten your seat belt\" -- designed to help him survive in Zombieland. While Eisenberg journeys to find his parents, he joins Harrelson, a zombie killer who is searching for the last Hostess Twinkie before its expiration date. Stone and Breslin play sisters who survive on their con artist skills. Their goal is to reach a California amusement park, which they think could be free of zombies. The cross-country trip these four characters share resembles \"National Lampoon's Vacation\" -- if written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Watch the stars of the film talk about zombie fans » . Wernick said they wanted to be \"very freewheeling.\" The movie \"gives the audience the thrill of the journey,\" he said. \"We wanted to take some wild turns.\" \"The rules that we lived by when writing this is in fact that there are no rules,\" he said. \"Zombieland\" may be to zombies what Tarantino's \"Inglourious Basterds\" is to Nazis. Wernick and Reese, who have been close friends since high school, often finish each other's sentences as if they were an old married couple. \"When we were trying to get 'Zombieland' off the ground back in the early days, we ...\" Wernick said. \"... assaulted Tarantino at an awards show, to try to get him to read the script,\" Reese said. \"That didn't work out,\" Wernick said in conclusion to their joint thought. \"He thought we were zombies coming after him.\" \"Zombieland,\" directed by Rubin Fleischer, offers many of the same elements as a Tarantino film. \"[Tarantino] is all about dialogue, character, irreverence, pop culture and we love all those things over the years,\" Reese said. \"We have always been inspired by him.\" The writers had to run through a number of actors before finding the person for the 10-minute cameo. Among them was Patrick Swayze, the writers' first choice. Swayze, who died just two weeks before the movie's release, turned down the role because of ill health earlier this year. Also asked: Joe Pesci, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dwayne \"The Rock\" Johnson, Matthew McConaughey, Mark Hamill, Kevin Bacon and Sylvester Stallone. They were asked, but either didn't want the role or were not available, according to Wernick and Reese. With just a few days before filming the scenes, they asked Harrelson to look in his cell phone for names and numbers. He came up with a man who's been an Oscar nominee and Emmy winner. And now, he's got a key role in a zombie film." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In new movie \"Zombieland,\" focus is on the stars and the comedy .\nMovie's performers include Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin .\nOne of film's writers had seen just one zombie film in his life .\nAmong movie's surprises: a cameo from an Oscar-nominated actor ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The father of Haleigh Cummings, a Florida girl who disappeared in February, plans to file for divorce from the girl's stepmother, a key witness in the case, his attorneys told HLN's \"Nancy Grace.\" Ronald Cummings plans to divorce his wife, Misty, his attorney says. The move follows weeks of reported tension between Ronald and Misty Cummings during the search for Haleigh, who was 5 when last seen. In papers expected to be filed Tuesday, Ronald Cummings, 25, cites irreconcilable differences in ending his short marriage to his 17-year-old wife, said Terry Shoemaker, Ronald Cummings' attorney. Haleigh went missing from her father's home in Satsuma, Florida, on February 9. Cummings has made several public pleas for information in her disappearance. Misty Cummings, then known as Misty Croslin, was the last person known to have seen Haleigh the night she disappeared from the family's rented mobile home. The teenager said she tucked Haleigh and her 4-year-old brother into bed about 8 p.m. and went to sleep herself two hours later, but awoke at 3 a.m. to find the girl missing and a cinder block propping open a back door. Ronald Cummings called police and reported his daughter missing when he returned from work at dawn. Investigators have said they do not feel Misty Cummings has told them everything she knows. \"The police have been telling me that I've been keeping Misty under my wing and that's why she hasn't talked to the cops,\" Ronald Cummings told a \"Nancy Grace\" producer Tuesday. \"So now, here you go, I divorced her. So now go find my baby.\" Watch Ronald Cummings speak to Nancy Grace » . The Putnam County Sheriff's office said in August that \"the evidence and investigatory effort has minimized the likelihood that Haleigh's disappearance is the work of a stranger.\" Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh's mother, are not considered suspects, police said. \"Investigators believe that Misty Croslin-Cummings continues to hold important answers in the case,\" the sheriff's office said in a written statement. \"She has failed to provide any sort of detailed accounting of the hours during the late evening and early morning of Haleigh's disappearance. Furthermore, physical evidence at the scene contradicts Misty's sketchy account of her evening activities.\" Shoemaker said his client told Misty Cummings he wanted a divorce on Sunday, and that the a divorce agreement was drawn up Monday. The agreement was sent to Misty Cummings' lawyer for her signature. \"He really didn't come to us and say, 'I want to file for divorce,'\" said another of Ronald Cummings' attorneys, Brandon Beardsley. \"My understanding is that this is something that he and Misty have been discussing for the last few days and they're contemplating it because they ultimately feel that it is in the best interest for both of them.\" Misty Cummings' attorney, Robert Fields, told CNN he has not talked with his client and doesn't know her thoughts regarding the divorce. Fields said he had received the papers via e-mail but had not had a chance to review them. Asked what he thought the divorce would mean for the search for Haleigh, he said, \"Probably nothing.\" \"You have to understand that ever since Haleigh went missing, they have been scrutinized,\" Beardsley said of the Cummingses. \"They can't go out to dinner, can't even go to the convenience store to get a drink. ... The pressure of everything that is going on, the allegations and speculation, has been a stress on the relationship. The two lived together for about six months before marrying in March. The divorce agreement provides no financial terms, according to Shoemaker. On Monday, Misty Cummings left Satsuma to stay with a friend in Orlando, 50 miles south, Shoemaker said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Haleigh Cummings' father plans to file for divorce from the girl's stepmother .\nHaleigh went missing from father's home in Satsuma, Florida, on February 9 .\nMisty Cummings was Ronald Cummings' girlfriend when Haleigh went missing .\nInvestigators said they think Misty Cummings has not told them everything ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- People who go to Daytona Beach, Florida, by car this weekend will probably wish they hadn't -- they'll definitely stand out in a crowd. Bobby Mitchell, left, and Sheila Justin enjoy Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Florida. The city is being taken over by half a million motorcycle enthusiasts enjoying Bike Week, which began Friday and will end Sunday. The economy may be in a recession, but bikers aren't passing up the chance to soak up some sun and rev up their engines for a few days in Florida for the biggest motorcycle event in the country. \"Every indication we've had so far is that this year's going to be a good one,\" said Kevin Kilian, senior vice president of the Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is the managing arm of the city's involvement in Bike Week, a 10-day event that Kilian said takes an entire year to prepare for. Events like Bike Week and its little brother, Biketoberfest, are what keep Daytona Beach running, Kilian said. With 8.5 million visitors each year, special events bring in about $1.3 billion. The two biker events alone generate $650 million of that, he said. The festival didn't always pack in a half-million people, though. In 1988, said Paul Crow, the Daytona Beach police chief at the time, the event had morphed into something very different from what it was when it started. He said he had to battle what he called \"the 1 percent problem\" -- the small group of gangs whose viciousness and threats against outsiders had allowed them to take over Bike Week. He decided he wouldn't have any more of their troublemaking, Crow said, so he created a task force that evolved into the office of special investigations for the Daytona Beach Police. Its specific purpose was to deal with the problem. Today, Bike Week has been restored as family-friendly event. The event has even drawn in other nearby Central Florida communities -- including Ormond Beach in the north and Port Orange and New Smyrna in the south -- giving bikers more events to attend and places to go. Bike Week caters to a wide demographic of people. \"These are people with a lot of disposable income,\" Kilian said. \"They can afford a $30,000 toy.\" Factors like the economy and this year's long hard winter probably got people more excited about Bike Week because it's a chance to get away, he said. \"Everybody needs a break.\" Ken Logan, 50, a radio producer from Orlando, Florida, has been going to Bike Week for four years. He said he goes to \"keep updated on motorcycle stuff as far as styles, what's done to them, meet people who enjoy bikes, to get patches and all the toy stuff, so to speak, and enjoy other people who enjoy the same thing.\" The ride from Orlando is only 35 minutes, and he said that's half the fun. \"Everybody should go -- whether you have a bike or not -- at least once, just to take it in and see what it's about,\" Logan said. Bobby Mitchell, 52, also a radio producer in Orlando, grew up in Daytona Beach and has been going to Bike Week his entire life. He said it's been more fun in recent years, though. \"It's more fun when you actually have a motorcycle,\" he said. \"You get out there and ride alongside people. You're part of the roar, the noise.\" Not only is Bike Week becoming more family-friendly, but it's more diverse as well, with more women participants, said Kathleen Tolleson, president and CEO of Roar Motorcycles. There's even a \"sisterhood bikeride\" in which 35 to 50 women ride together. Daytona Beach-based Roar Motorcycles specifically markets accessories and motorcycles for women. This year, Tolleson said, the company is unveiling a new motorcycle designed by women and made specifically for women and their needs. \"It's becoming more culturally acceptable, so more and more women are riding.\" she said. The bike has a lower seat so that a woman can use her legs and hips when picking the bike off the stand, and can put her feet firmly on the ground when stopped. Most bikes are designed for men, who have more upper body strength and longer limbs. \"Women,\" she said, \"need a lower center of gravity.\" The company is taking orders now, and the bikes will be available in six to nine months." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Florida, began Friday and ends Sunday .\nBike Week caters to a wide demographic of people .\nBike Week and Biketoberfest generate $650 million, official says ." } ]
[ { "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) -- Michael Jackson fans will get their first peek at the behind-the-scenes documentary of the pop star's final three months Sunday evening during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV said. Michael Jackson died in June at the age of 50, amid preparations for his This Is It tour. Janet Jackson \"will help open the entire show to honor Michael's celebrated career,\" the network said. No other details about her \"special appearance\" were released. The debut of the trailer for \"Michael Jackson's This Is It\" will come about four weeks after concert promoter AEG Live handed over to Sony Pictures about 100 hours of video captured between April and June, when Jackson was preparing for his concert comeback. Fans who miss the MTV show, which will air live at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, can preview the documentary at www.thisisit-movie.com beginning Sunday night, the network said. The trailer makes its big screen debut September 18 with the Sony Pictures Animation release of \"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.\" The Jackson documentary will run in theaters worldwide for just two weeks starting October 28, Sony Pictures said. Tickets will go on sale September 27. \"Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect and genius as he creates and perfects his final show,\" Sony said. Kenny Ortega, who was working with Jackson to create the This Is It concert, is also directing the documentary. \"As we began assembling the footage for the motion picture, we realized we captured something extraordinary, unique and very special,\" Ortega said. \"It's a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius's world.\" Ortega said Jackson's This Is It \"may go down as the greatest concert that no one got a chance to see,\" as the pop singer died June 25, three weeks before it was to debut in London, England's O2 Arena. \"But with this film, we get a rare portrait of Michael as he prepares for his final curtain call and what I believe was going to be his master work.\" Watch Jermaine Jackson talk about tributes to his brother » . A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last month approved allowing the special administrators of Jackson's estate to sign a contract with Sony and AEG Live to clear the way for the production. AEG Live also will conduct a three-city tour of a Michael Jackson memorabilia exhibition to coincide with the film's release. The cities have not been named." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Star's sister Janet will help open MTV awards show, in celebration of his life .\nFans can also preview documentary online .\nFilm will be shown worldwide for two weeks starting in October ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WESTERN DESERT, Iraq (CNN) -- The hot wind swirls around the human bones and cracked skulls that litter the forsaken desert lands in Western Iraq. The entrance to the bunker complex where al Qaeda terrorized enemies in Iraq. We are standing in the middle of what was an al Qaeda execution site, just outside an intricate bunker complex that the organization used to torture and murder its victims, the bodies left to rot or be eaten by animals. From the back of the police truck the opening to the first bunker is barely discernible in the distance. \"Al Qaeda came in as a massive force\" one of the officers says as we bump along the harsh terrain. \"They stole our cars, our personal cars. They kidnapped two of my brothers. They blew up the house over there.\" In the distance we can see his village -- a set of sand colored homes surrounded by parched farmlands. As we approach grubby children chase the truck and then stand to the side, despondent, as the officer points to their home. \"Their father was killed by al Qaeda,\" he says. In 2007 the U.S. military launched a series of airstrikes that drove out al Qaeda. As we enter the first bunker Captain Khaled Bandar tells us they found the floor littered with bodies. A gaping hole is evidence of the U.S. firepower. Insurgents used the layered and intricate labyrinth of passageways and hatches to carry out summary trials and executions. The police show us clothing and shoes, saying they are leaving them in place in case the families of the victims decide to come back. The stench of decay still lingers. Al Qaeda has been on the defensive in recent years, notwithstanding spectacular attacks attributed to the group like last week's blasts in the capital, including suicide truck bomb attacks on the ministries of foreign affairs and finance. At least 100 people were killed and more than 500 wounded. But the concerted security campaign against the group has forced it to change its structure and strategy. According to one man who has close connections to al Qaeda in Iraq and asked not to be identified, the group lost support because it lost the protection of the people. \"There is an old saying about the basics of war. Whoever wins the people wins the war. So when al Qaeda didn't win the people over, it lost its battles,\" he explains. \"Al Qaeda's strategy of taking control of areas has been abandoned for now. Their method is propaganda, instilling fear, terrorizing.\" He adds that the group stopped recruiting over the last six months because of a shortage in funding and increased infiltration. \"Al Qaeda is moving towards selecting the elite and condensing its forces rather than expanding. The Americans nearly defeated al Qaeda by cornering it and reducing its operations,\" he says. But those operations are still deadly, and the war is by no means over. \"No, the war is not over in Iraq, a type of battle is over, but there are new battles cloaked in politics. Now politicians try to pay militias, al Qaeda, or armed factions ...in order to eliminate political foes,\" the man with knowledge of al Qaeda says. And al Qaeda is still able to send a message to those who dare oppose them. The police officers show us blood stains in the desert near the bunkers and tell us how they found two beheaded bodies just a month ago. They were identified as being the brothers of two police officers from another city, Ramadi. Meanwhile, al Qaeda's global war has sifted to a place it believes it can still win -- Afghanistan. \"Al Qaeda in Afghanistan is made up of true believers, those who believe in jihad and fighting, and that's why they joined,\" the man with connections says. \"As for most of al Qaeda in Iraq's members, they are just looking to benefit themselves, or they join out of resentment for a certain sect or to avenge their families.\" As for Iraq's longterm stability, that very much still hangs in the balance. He says: \"Peace will not be achieved by a magic wand or the rhetoric of a politician. Peace will be accomplished through the will of the Iraqi youth. We have to wait for this generation to change ... so that a generation that hates (the violence) will emerge.\" Yousif Bassil and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Abandoned al Qaeda in Iraq bunker base littered with bones of its enemies .\nU.S. bombed bunkers in 2007 but stench of decay remains in desert base .\nSource close to al Qaeda says it lost in Iraq as it lost support of the people .\nHe says al Qaeda's focus is now Afghanistan ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cristiano Ronaldo is in the running to win the FIFA World Player of the Year for a second successive year after being named on a 23-man shortlist for this year's award. The Portuguese winger, who joined Real Madrid this summer from Manchester United for a world record transfer fee, heads a familiar cast of football's biggest names ahead of the annual gala in Zurich, Switzerland, on December 21. Champions League holders Barcelona boast six nominees -- defender Carlos Puyol, midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi, and strikers Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Former Barca star Samuel Eto'o, now playing for Inter Milan, also joins the nominations list. Spain's La Liga boasts 11 nominees altogether, in addition to the Barcelona contingent there is Valencia's David Villa, Sevilla's Luis Fabiano and Real Madrid's Kaka and Iker Casillas. The English Premier League follows with eight nominees; England internationals Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are among those up for the award. Nominees list: . Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain),Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Diego (Brazil), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Michael Essien (Ghana), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Steven Gerrard (England), Thierry Henry (France), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Kaka (Brazil), Frank Lampard (England), Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Carles Puyol (Spain), Franck Ribery (France), Wayne Rooney (England), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain), Xavi (Spain)." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "FIFA announce list of nominations for the World Player of the Year award .\nThe annual ceremony takes place in Zurich, Switzerland on December 21 .\nReigning holder Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid nominated once again ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea fired several short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, an act that the U.S. watched closely and South Korea called provocative. N. Korean army soldiers, back, look at a S. Korean soldier, center, in the demilitarized zone in June. Pyongyang fired six short-range missiles in less than seven hours, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. The missiles were apparently Scud-type, estimated to have a range of about 500 kilometers (310 miles), according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. South Korean intelligence estimates that North Korea has about 700 such missiles in its arsenal. Pyongyang test-fired four such missiles off the east coast Thursday, Yonhap reported. South Korea called the launches a provocative act, according to a government statement. North Korea had issued a warning to mariners to avoid an area in the Sea of Japan at certain times between June 24 and July 9 because of a \"military firing exercise,\" according to a U.S. military communication about the warning provided to CNN. The recent firings come amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea conducted a nuclear test in May, fired test rockets and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters. Watch S. Korea confirm firing of missiles » . The first two missiles were fired about 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., Yonhap reported. Another missile was launched about 10:45 a.m., the agency reported. A fourth one came some time after that. The U.S. Navy and other U.S. officials said they are ready to track any missiles. \"The United States is aware of possible missile launches by North Korea. We are closely monitoring North Korea's activities and intentions,\" a U.S. official said. \"This type of North Korea behavior is not helpful. What North Korea needs to do is fulfill its international obligations and commitments.\" Earlier this week analyst Daniel Pinkston said the reported test might be training for a future test but it could also just be a routine military exercise. \"It is worrisome to some degree, but it is different from a ballistic missile launch,\" said Pinkston, of the International Crisis Group in Seoul, South Korea. \"It's part of military training, but there seem to be no movements of troops or anything that would suggest preparations for military operations. \"So yes, people are watching it, the military is watching it here, but I don't think it's related to any plans or operations to attack anyone.\" CNN's Sohn Jie-Ah in Seoul, Korea, and Charley Keyes in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report ." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "North Korea five Scud-type missiles Saturday that can reach 400 to 500 km .\nSouth Korea has called the launches \"a provocative act\"\nU.S. diplomat: \"This type of North Korea behavior is not helpful\"\nPyongyang test-fired four such missiles off the east coast Thursday ." } ]
[ { "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 world's largest, fastest fully solar-powered boat is being built in preparation for a round-the-world challenge. 'Planet Solar' would be the world's fastest fully solar-powered boat and is projected to cross the Atlantic in two weeks. The futuristic-looking \"Planet Solar,\" which is 100 percent powered by sunlight, is the brainchild of Swiss engineer Raphael Domjan, a former paramedic with a passion for innovative design and renewable energies. The 30-meter vessel is currently being built in Kiel, Germany, and will be finished early next year. If all goes according to plan, the boat will begin sailing summer 2010 -- first in European waters and then around the world. The boat can travel at up to 14 knots (26k/m) and would be the first solar-powered boat to travel at such high speeds. It is projected to be able to cross the Atlantic in just two weeks. Domjan hopes his ambitious, $11.5 million (€8 million) project will prove that boats can travel at high speeds without emitting any carbon dioxide. \"[I] want to show that we can change, that solutions exist and that it's not too late,\" Domjan writes on his Web site. \"Using technology and our knowledge to better promote renewable energies is the way towards a lasting world.\" Planet Solar will be covered in 470 square meters of solar panels -- the equivalent of two tennis courts. This means it will have particularly high energy absorption. See more images of the solar-powered boat » . Twenty-three percent of absorbed sunlight will be converted into energy that the boat can run on, compared with 17 percent for average panels, according to Planet Solar's project manager, Danny Faigaux of Grand Chelem Management. \"The first man sailed around the world 500 years ago and Raphael thought it was about time we did it in a different way,\" Faigaux told CNN. But relying purely on solar energy may prove difficult in areas of the world where bad weather prevents sunlight from penetrating the clouds. Batteries on Planet Solar will be able to store enough energy gathered from the sun to allow the boat to sail in poor conditions for three days, said Faigaux. If cloudy weather persists for more than three days, the vessel will run into real difficulties. To avoid this eventuality, the team has partnered with the French meteorological institute, \"Meteo France.\" The institute will update Planet Solar's skippers on which routes to avoid. Famous French sailor Gerard D'Abouville will skipper the boat alongside Domjan. D'Abouville is the first man to have rowed across both the Atlantic and the Pacific and has long been involved with sustainable development. In April 2011 after a short tour of Europe, Planet Solar will embark on a round-the-world tour, stopping in dozens of cities along the way. Wherever the boat goes, Domjan hopes to teach people about alternative ways of consuming energy. At each port-of-call he plans to set up a portable \"educational village\" made from inflatable material. Up to 500 people at any one time will be will be able to visit the village's three inflatable \"spheres\" to learn more about Planet Solar, ecology and economy. \"This situation is also an opportunity,\" said Domjan. \"The dilution of our resources and fossil fuels and climate change forces us to rethink our societies.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "World's largest, fastest fully solar-powered boat is attempting round-the-world tour .\n\"Planet Solar\" has 470 square meters of panels -- equivalent to two tennis courts .\nVessel can travel at up to 26 k/h and is projected to cross Atlantic in two weeks ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Edwin Salau knew coming back would be hard. But he had to do it. The retired U.S. Army first lieutenant needed to know that his sacrifice was worth it. Retired Army 1st Lt. Edwin Salau says he sees progress in Iraq since he left five years ago. \"I wanted to make sure I didn't bleed in vain for the Iraqi people,\" Salau said. \"And what I found is I did not. I see the progress over five years. I see free Iraqis doing what Iraqis want to do in their country, and I see the U.S. taking a back seat.\" Salau left the battlefield in November 2004, after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire during an ambush close to the town of Tuz. Those injuries cost him most of his left leg; it was amputated above the knee and he now wears a prosthesis. Recently, he and seven other wounded American veterans returned to Iraq so they could heal emotionally. It was part of a nonprofit pilot program called Operation Proper Exit, an initiative started a little over a year ago by the Troops First Foundation, based in Maryland. The USO supports the mission. Watch Salau describe his feelings on returning » . Rick Kell, head of Troops First, traveled to Iraq with the soldiers and said the idea came from American troops. \"After spending much time at Walter Reed and Brooke Army medical centers, inevitably in any conversation, something reminds somebody that they want to go back. And the soldiers don't hesitate to tell you that,\" Kell said. \"They are soldiers and they want to come back primarily for several reasons, but they want to come back and let the troops here on the ground know that they are still part of them, they support them, and they would very much like to be with them, although they can't.\" It's an emotional journey for the returning veterans, a chance to visit bases where they were stationed, and, in some cases, the sites where they were wounded. Though other programs have allowed wounded American soldiers to return to the scene of their service and sacrifice, this is the first to allow them to do so while a war is still being waged. All in all, 13 soldiers have participated in the program so far -- eight this trip and five on a previous trip, which took place in June. The earlier trip was kept quiet because of fears that the experience would be too overwhelming for the participants. According to Kell, he encounters many soldiers who would like to return, but those who are selected are chosen carefully. \"Well, first of all, when we come in contact with someone who wants to come back -- and that's somebody who is thriving, that is mentally and physically moving forward in their life, they've demonstrated that they have a plan for what's next and they've begun to implement that plan,\" he said. \"So we feel pretty good about this person being squared away. And there are concerns, but it's a very personal decision. We only ask for one of three answers: yes, no or not now.\" Salau, who now works with other wounded soldiers at Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina, thinks he's become an ambassador for them. When Salau departed Iraq the first time, he couldn't do it on his own. That's why this trip was so important to him. \"My purpose for this trip was for my soldiers to have that last memory of me in Iraq walking out of here on my own power,\" he said. \"And I achieved that and it was closure.\" Salau and Kell think the program has been a success so far. According to them, the main reason for that is the support they've gotten from the military command in Iraq, particularly Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander there. Odierno's experiences with his son, who lost his arm in Iraq, helped the general better understand these soldiers' plight, Kell said. \"He has insight and perspective that a lot of leaders don't, thank goodness,\" Kell said, calling Odierno a very compassionate man. \"Gen. Odierno is ... he's a soldier's general,\" Salau said. \"He understands. It was clear when I met him the first day of our trip that he knew what the results would be at the end of our trip. I thank them for letting us come back.\" Whether the program will help the wounded soldiers psychologically has yet to be proven. Also in question is whether more soldiers will be able to participate. Troops First would like to include as many soldiers as possible, Kell said, but U.S. troops will not be in Iraq for much longer. \"We've got a short window,\" he said. \"We've got a formula down. We can only do six to eight on each trip, so we can make it a very personal experience and have it be meaningful.\" For Salau, it was extremely meaningful. Now he can go home on his own terms. \"Today, I packed my stuff and I dressed in a uniform ... and then I'm going to undress at home and not Walter Reed,\" he said. \"That feeling, it can't completely be put into words. I'm gonna get greeted at the airport by my wife and children. I'm not gonna be greeted at Walter Reed. And I'm gonna keep on living the dream.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Eight wounded U.S. veterans return to Iraq through \"Operation Proper Exit\" program .\nVeterans want troops on the ground to know they're still part of them, organizer says .\nRetired lieutenant says progress in Iraq shows he didn't \"bleed in vain\"\nProgram is run by Troops First Foundation, backed by USO ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns could potentially prove devastating for east African nations that have been water-starved for months, the United Nations has warned. A Turkana boy holds an empty cup in a village in northwestern Kenya. Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda are facing mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday. Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia could also be affected. The effects of flooding are expected to be exacerbated because so much greenery has disappeared in the drought. \"More than 23 million people in pastoral, agricultural and suburban communities, as well as internally displaced people and refugees in the region, are reeling from the impact of water and food shortages, pasture scarcity, conflict and insecurity,\" said John Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs who is coordinating emergency relief operations. \"While we cannot prevent these climatic shocks, we certainly can mitigate their disastrous effects through forward planning and the right funding from the donor community,\" he said. Uganda, hit by El Nino a decade ago, is planning to apply some of the lessons learned this time around, said Fred Opolot, a government spokesman. \"The government has allocated funds and resources to areas that will be affected,\" he said. \"Our disaster preparedness department is using press briefings, among other ways, to inform the public.\" Though the department is not very well-funded, he said, the government is working with groups such as the United Nations and international aid agencies to prepare for floods. \"It is a multifaceted effort ... we want to ensure citizens are sensitized to the dangers of El Nino and things such as bridges are in good condition.\" The rainy season begins in the Horn of Africa in mid-October and runs through the end of the year. Meteorologists have forecasted that this year's rains will be more intense than usual because of the El Nino phenomenon, caused by a rise in temperature in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Aid agencies are already buckling under the weight of helping millions of people who have suffered through months of failed crops, drought and erratic rains caused by climate change. In Somalia, 450,000 people in the Juba and Shabelle river basins could suffer, the United Nations estimates. In neighboring Kenya, some 750,000 people -- 150,000 of whom are refugees -- could be affected. The Turkana, a pastoral tribe in northeastern Kenya, is already reeling from a severe drought that has left scores of people dead and remains of skeletal cows strewn across the flat, arid land. The remote region has no access to resources, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods. CNN's Moni Basu and Faith Karimi contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "U.N. humanitarian agency: East African nations facing flooding, mudslides .\nWarning comes after months of drought in region which has decimated greenery .\nRainy season in Horn of Africa usually begins in mid-October, runs to end of year .\nKenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia set to be affected ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- Four men gathered in a parking lot were shot and killed Sunday in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and a warrant was issued for a suspect, police said. \"We don't feel that this was a random event, if that does help put the community at ease,\" Mount Airy Police Chief Dale Watson said at a news conference Sunday night. He refused to elaborate or identify the victims except to say, \"We do have an idea why they were there.\" Watson described the victims as \"four Hispanic males, all shot,\" from the surrounding Surry County area. He said two died at the scene while the other two were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Read local coverage from CNN affiliate WXII . The shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. ET in the parking lot of a store that sells satellite dish and cable TV equipment in the town, about 50 miles north of Winston-Salem. Watson said an arrest warrant charging four counts of murder was issued for a suspect he identified as Marcos Chavez Gonzalez, 29. He said police believe the suspect fled the Mount Airy area in a pickup. Watson said local and state authorities were searching for the suspect, who was considered \"armed and dangerous ... he may be in the possession of an assault rifle.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Four men gathered in a parking lot shot and killed Sunday in Mount Airy .\nPolice Chief Dale Watson: \"We don't feel that this was a random event\"\nArrest warrant issued for a suspect identified as Marcus Chavez Gonzalez, 29 .\nWatson said all four shooting victims were Hispanic males ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(CNN) -- The Australian cruiser met the disguised German vessel in the waters off western Australia two years after the two became enemies in World War II. The gun turret of the Sydney II was discovered with the rest of the vessel in March 2008. The Australian ship approached, trying to determine whether the vessel was friendly. It wasn't. What resulted was Australia's worst naval disaster: the sinking of the Australian ship and the loss of its entire crew of 645. The wreckage wasn't found until last year, leading to decades of conspiracy theories about what actually happened. On Wednesday a long-awaited report on the sinking of the Sydney II ended the mystery that began when it met its fate, November 19, 1941. Made to look like a cargo ship, the German vessel was in fact a military raider that fired on the Australians when they got close. The Sydney fired back and, in the end, both ships went down. More than 300 of the sailors on board the German vessel, the Kormoran, survived. But because they were the only witnesses to the disaster, some doubted their accounts, leading to various theories about the real fate of the Sydney. After the wrecks of both ships were located in March 2008, an Australian commission began an inquiry to formally close the book on the loss of the Sydney. The results confirm the accounts provided by the German sailors. They said the Sydney closed in on the Kormoran until it was parallel with the German ship, little more than 1,000 yards away. \"Sydney obviously thought the ship was friendly and was taken by surprise when, after she asked what she believed to be (a friendly ship) to give her secret call sign, the response was a number of salvos that destroyed Sydney's bridge and amidships superstructure and a torpedo strike that crippled the ship and her forward guns,\" the report said. The Sydney had given up its tactical advantage of speed and armaments by getting so close to an unknown vessel, the report said. While that may have been an error of judgment by the Australian captain, Joseph Burnett, the report accepted that other factors -- which may never be known -- influenced his decision. \"It can never be known what matters were, in fact, operating in Capt. Burnett's mind when he decided to take the Sydney to the position described. Nor can it be known what advice, if any, he sought from or was given by other officers on the bridge,\" the report says. \"What is known, however, is that, in trying to identify the sighted ship, Capt. Burnett was performing his duty as a commanding officer.\" The German ship inflicted \"enormous damage\" on the Sydney during a battle that is believed to have lasted about 35 minutes and left 70 percent of the Sydney's crew dead or incapacitated, said Cmdr. Jack Rush, the lawyer who presented the evidence gathered by investigators to a commission of inquiry led by a retired judge. It is likely that Burnett, the navigator, and all of the Sydney's senior officers were taken out on the first salvo, Rush said. A torpedo tore into the Sydney's bow, flooding the forward end of the ship, while the Kormoran fired an estimated 87 rounds from its 15-cm (5.9-inch) guns into the Australian cruiser. The Sydney limped away and sank sometime between 2 hours to 4 1/2 hours later, Rush said. During the battle, however, the Kormoran itself was hit by an Australian shell that damaged its engines and set the vessel ablaze. With hundreds of mines aboard, its captain ordered the crew to abandon ship, fearing the fire would set those off. Charges were set and the ship was scuttled. About 80 of the Kormoran's crew of nearly 400 were lost. A search began only five days after the battle, when the Sydney failed to return to port in Fremantle. And an 11-day delay by Australia's government in announcing the ship's loss fueled what a 1999 parliamentary report called \"a proliferation of theories\" about the fate of the crew -- that the ship was actually sunk by a Japanese submarine, that survivors were machine-gunned in the water or that the government hid bodies after they washed up on the beach. The commission thoroughly investigated all the theories and speculations surrounding the disaster and found no substance in any of them, said Terence Cole, president of the commission. Researchers found the Sydney's wreckage in the Indian Ocean, about 207 km (128 miles) off Australia's west coast. The commission was appointed in May 2008 and began its inquiry in January. \"For a long time our nation has struggled to understand how our greatest maritime disaster occurred. The unanswered questions have haunted the families of those brave sailors and airman that never came home,\" Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, the chief of the Australian Defence Force, said in a written statement." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Finding: Sydney's captain, senior officers likely to have died in first salvo .\nSinking of Sydney II and loss of crew of 645 was Australia's worst naval disaster .\nGerman vessel, the Kormoran, was made to look like a cargo ship .\nBoth ships went down; more than 300 on Kormoran survived; wrecks found last year ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Washington (CNN) -- A former U.S. government scientist who served in sensitive positions on classified aerospace projects pleaded not guilty to attempted espionage Thursday. He will be held without bond pending a jury trial. Stewart David Nozette, 52, appeared in U.S. District Court wearing a prison uniform with bold, horizontal black and white stripes. He smiled as his defense attorney greeted him, and he seemed relaxed during the proceeding. In arguing against bond, prosecutors played what they call an undercover videotape of a conversation just 10 days ago between Nozette and an agent. Nozette, sitting back in a chair or sofa at what appears to be a hotel room, is heard negotiating for a false passport and a means to get to a country with no extradition policy with the United States. \"I like the idea of an invisible identity,\" Nozette was heard saying in the recording. \"Can you actually get me that, that artificial name and stuff?\" He discussed gift cards under an alias, and a \"kitty\" that he could use for expenses. Prosecutors Thursday initially said they would present a witness to authenticate the videotape. But the judge accepted the government's claim and a transcript and allowed the eight-minute recording to be played. Authorities have said in a criminal complaint that Nozette, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, tried to deliver classified information to someone he thought was an Israeli intelligence official but who was actually an FBI undercover agent. Nozette, responding on the videotape to the agent's suggestion that arrangements would involve \"a lot of work,\" told the agent, \"This isn't just, you know, a few documents. ... I'm making a career choice.\" The camera in the undercover video is positioned over that agent's right shoulder, looking directly at Nozette. When the agent asked whether the negotiations were only for himself, Nozette said yes, and suggested his wife would not accompany him. \"She would ask too many questions,\" Nozette said. The wife, Wendy McColough, was not seen in the courtroom Thursday, but had been in the spectator gallery October 20 when her husband made his initial appearance. A transcript of the undercover video came out just hours before Thursday's proceeding. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion has said evidence will show Nozette disclosed to investigators information that was \"top secret, related to our national defense, that would cause exceptionally grave damage to national security\" if revealed to a foreign country. In an affidavit, the FBI sets out the case against Nozette, who received a doctorate in planetary sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nozette had a \"top secret\" clearance and served at the White House on the National Space Council for President George H.W. Bush, the affidavit says. Later, from early 2000 to early 2006, he did research and development for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Naval Research Laboratory, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, it says. The document says Nozette also acted as a technical consultant from 1998 until early 2008 \"for an aerospace company that was wholly owned by the government of the state of Israel.\" The company consulted with Nozette monthly, getting answers to questions, and he received total payments of $225,000, the affidavit says. In early September, Nozette was contacted by phone by an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer, but who really was an FBI undercover agent, the document says. They met in downtown Washington in front of a hotel, and over lunch, Nozette \"demonstrated his willingness to work for Israeli intelligence,\" it says. The undercover agent engaged in a series of meetings with Nozette, and eventually Nozette allegedly deposited \"secret\" information in a \"dead drop\" post office box. Some of the information, the affidavit says, was classified as secret. The criminal complaint does not accuse the government of Israel of any violations of U.S. law. Nozette next has a status hearing November 10 at U.S. District Court, before Judge James Robertson." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Stewart David Nozette appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court .\nJudge denied bond after seeing undercover video of Nozette and agent .\nNozette may have planned to leave wife behind if he fled the U.S.\nNozette willing \"to work for Israeli intelligence,\" complaint states ." } ]
[ { "from": "system", "value": "You are a summarization AI. Provide a succinct and relevant summary of the provided text." }, { "from": "human", "value": "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Mountainous terrain and harsh weather in remote parts of Afghanistan have proven a deadly combination for the U.S. military in its push to reduce mounting violence in the country. CNN obtained this photo of a U.S. helicopter above Forward Operating Base Keating in the Nuristan province. On Saturday, Taliban militants attacked American and Afghan troops in the Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan. Eight American troops and two members of the Afghan national security forces were killed, according to the Pentagon. It was the largest number of Americans killed by hostile action in a single day since July 13, 2008, when nine troops died, according to CNN records. The fighting was so fierce that at one point U.S. forces \"had to collapse in on themselves,\" a U.S. military official with knowledge of the latest intelligence reports on the incident told CNN. These revelations about the battle that engulfed Forward Operating Base Keating are a further indication of how pinned down and outmanned the troops were. Watch more on the attack in rural Afghanistan » . The base was scheduled to be closed in the next few days, CNN has learned. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, wanted to cede remote outposts and consolidate troops in more populated areas to better protect Afghan civilians. It's a point he reiterated over the summer. \"Practically speaking, there are areas that are controlled by Taliban forces,\" he told the Los Angeles Times in late July. Over time, McChrystal said, the command would \"reduce\" those areas, but the first priority will be to make sure populated areas are free of insurgent influence. The deadly attack over the weekend and the July 2008 attack in Wanat, just 20 miles away, serve to underscore, some say, that the reduction isn't happening. View an interactive map of the two attacks » . It's an assessment that one veteran military observer discussed in a column earlier this year. \"Screwups are inevitable in war. But there are serious questions to be addressed,\" Foreign Policy magazine's Tom Ricks wrote in a January 2009 online article. \"As one Army source put it to me, 'The paratroopers sent to Wanat knew they were in big trouble. ... [The soldiers] ran out of water and had little material to build up their defensive positions,' \" Ricks wrote. Peter Bergen, a CNN terrorism analyst, called the repetition \"a huge problem.\" \"It is suposed to be a lessons-learned exercise,\" Bergen said. \"And then, exactly 20 miles away from the event about a year ago, exactly the same kind of attack happened.\" In the Wanat fight, 49 U.S. troops were attacked by nearly 200 Taliban fighters, and the base was later abandoned. \"So, you have to ask yourself, what were the lessons learned? Or were the lessons not implemented? And these remote combat outposts, you know, are obviously sitting ducks,\" Bergen said. The Nuristan and Wanat fights add to the growing list of problems facing the Obama administration. The White House is in the midst of a comprehensive review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. McChrystal, who took over four months ago as the top U.S. commander in the country, has submitted an assessment in which, sources have told CNN, calls for additional forces to carry out a successful counterinsurgency strategy. But some in the administration, including Vice President Joe Biden, are advocating a counterterrorism strategy focusing on combating al Qaeda and the Taliban through the use of unmanned drones and special forces without involving additional troops. Watch more on the varying advice Obama is getting » . Others believe that a broader counterinsurgency approach -- requiring a larger military operation in the country -- is needed. Several top military leaders and opposition Republicans are pressing Obama to act quickly to increase the present 68,000-troop level by as many as 40,000. In March, Obama announced a plan to send more than 20,000 additional troops to the country to provide security for a national election. \"If we don't add more troops, you're going to see more of what happened yesterday,\" Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said on \"Fox News Sunday.\" \"The security situation's going to get worse. And any hope of better governance is lost, and the Taliban will re-emerge.\" Despite criticism, Obama said Tuesday that U.S. efforts in Afghanistan have had a major impact. \"Al Qaeda and its allies have not only lost operational capacity, they've lost legitimacy and credibility,\" he said. \"We're making real progress in our core mission: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and other extremist networks around the world.\" Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that the Taliban currently has the momentum in the country. He warned that a Taliban takeover of the country would empower the al Qaeda terrorist network. Watch more of Gates' remarks » . \"Because of our inability and the inability, frankly, of our allies to put enough troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban do have the momentum right now,\" he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour and former CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno in a panel discussion that included Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Gates said an eventual Taliban victory would provide \"added space\" for al Qaeda to set up in the country and enhance recruiting and fundraising, bolstered by the perception that, having driven out the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Muslim forces have won a second victory over a superpower. CNN's Barbara Starr, Atia Abawi and journalist Matiullah Mati contributed to this report." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "8 U.S. soldiers, two Afghan soldiers killed in attack in Nuristan province .\nSource: Fighting so fierce that U.S. forces \"had to collapse in on themselves\"\nAnalyst says lessons haven't been learned in operating in rural Afghanistan ." } ]

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