text
stringlengths 102
11.9k
| query
stringlengths 2
806
| summary
stringlengths 22
3.99k
|
|---|---|---|
berlin (cnn) a string of arson attacks has hit the german capital, with vandals burning dozens of cars this week, including an additional 11 overnight, authorities said friday at least 50 cars have been torched since monday, authorities said authorities described 30 crimes are 'politically motivated,' with police spokesman guido busch saying friday that the motive has changed during the week 'while the first attacks were concentrated on the district of charlottenburg, more and more copycats are now trying to imitate the arson attacks in various other parts of the city,' busch said the vandalism has heightened fears in normally quiet, gentrified districts of berlin 'in my opinion, it is vandalism, and we must hope that the offenders don't cross the line to terrorism,' dieter wiefelsputz, a home affairs expert for the german social democratic party, said thursday german police say they still have no clear idea who the perpetrators are they are offering a 5,000 euro reward, just over $7,000, for any leads that might result in arrests a government official said the attacks are unprecedented 'right now, we have reached a new peak of arson attacks in berlin,' said ehrhart koerting, the senator for domestic affairs who's responsible for berlin's police force 'i don't know what's going through the heads of the people doing this,' he said the founder of a website called 'burning cars in berlin' believes that class envy is the reason for the attacks the website, which is run by the ceo of a travel company, documents incidents across the city 'the burning mostly occurs in districts like kreuzberg, berlin mitte or friedrichshain its inhabitants don't like their rich neighbors, so they set their cars on fire,' said uwe frers, who runs the website berlin neighborhoods have been transformed in recent years as wealthy people move into areas that used to have high unemployment, and low housing and living costs but german sociologist klaus hurrelmann says the motivation for the attacks has changed over time the attacks now are dominated by 'youngsters who are searching for the london kick,' he said 'setting cars on fire is cheap and easy,' said hurrelmann, a professor at the university of bielefeld the vandalism has found its way into modern culture in his song 'cars are burning,' frankfurt based rapper real jay asks: 'what are you going to do, when the cars are set on fire?' at least 135 cars have been torched this year, compared with 54 in 2010, authorities said 'right now there are about 100 extra police officers out on the streets of berlin each night to arrest the attacker or attackers,' police spokesman thomas neuendorf said despite the large police presence, busch said it will be hard to contain the crimes 'even if we would have 1,000 extra police staff out on the streets, we couldn't stop the offenders from burning cars berlin is just too large,' busch said | 5,000 euro berlin | new: at least 50 cars have been torched since monday, police say . police offer 5,000 euro reward for information leading to arrests . the vandalism heightens fears in normally quiet and wealthy districts in berlin |
(cnn) southwest airlines is working with federal and local officials to determine who is responsible for vandalizing its planes with strange markings, a statement from the airline said tuesday the unauthorized markings surfaced in february, spokesperson whitney eichinger said in the statement eichinger would not comment on the number of planes vandalized, where the incidents were reported or give specific details about what the markings were cnn affiliate knxv in phoenix reported that multiple sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the company, have said 'the markings appear to be arabic words' but those same sources said they believe the markings are the work of 'an employee or group of employees joking around,' knxv reported southwest had planned to handle the situation as 'an internal vandalism issue,' a memo from mike van de ven stated, but a company employee called in a tip to abc15, after information about the investigation was posted in a memo on the company's internal blog 'we are asking your help to stop this and to report those responsible,' the memo from mike van de ven read 'if you are aware of anyone involved in marking or tagging our aircraft, please notify our leader, ' the memo states it also said 'the issue is taken very seriously,' and that the company plans 'to work in cooperation with both local and federal law enforcement agencies until the issue is resolved' | southwest arabic | employees received an internal memo about markings on planes . southwest is working with local, federal officials to find vandals . sources tell local media, 'the markings appear to be arabic words' |
(cnn) wednesday is the 100th anniversary of richard nixon's birth he remains a controversial figure, and not just on the political left last year, i was covering the conservative political action conference in washington when i came across a stall selling old political pins unable to resist, i bought one with a picture of tricky dick giving his best crocodile smile beneath the classic slogan 'nixon's the one!' i slipped it on at a party later that evening and was surprised by the results none of the young conservative activists had a nice word to say about nixon and many were quite hostile to them, he was the archetypal republican in name only a liberal in conservative clothing while most americans probably remember him only for watergate or vietnam and many liberals still revile him as a war bating, divisive anti communist from a conservative perspective his politics were disappointingly moderate he's a reminder of an older, more centrist kind of republican, the kind you don't see very much these days it feels today like the republican party is fighting a series of rear guard actions on the fiscal cliff, on guns and on obama's nominations that's partly a reflection of political reality; they lost the presidential election and only control the house but a common theme running through each of these battles is 'inflexibility' they seem unwilling to yield either to president obama's post election authority or to the popular mood of course, principle is an admirable quality but it won't necessarily win the white house in 2016 a lesson in the benefits of adapting to circumstances might be taken from the life of richard nixon in domestic policy, nixon bowed to the liberal consensus of his era he supported the equal rights amendment, founded the environmental protection agency and was a proponent of the poverty fighting measure of guaranteed income he also established the first federal affirmative action program the philadelphia plan, which required government contractors in philadelphia to hire minority construction workers as was so often the case with nixon's public compassion, this served a private purpose of outflanking his opponents his environmentalism was designed to deny the issue to liberals; his support of affirmative action divided them the philadelphia plan was opposed by many democrats, not just by southern conservatives but also by labor leaders who saw it as a challenge to seniority programs it set unions and civil rights activists against each other, while the president grabbed a little credit for being progressive even on foreign policy, the record is a complex mix of hawk and dove nixon said he wanted 'peace with honor' in vietnam, which meant concluding the conflict in such a way that didn't undermine american military or political credibility this translated into a perverse policy of extending the war to end it bombing cambodia to a point of social anarchy that would lead, inexorably, to the genocide of the khmer rouge opinion: gop's obstructionism is suicide strategy but nixon won re election in 1972 partly on a reputation as a peacemaker with whom the democrats could not compete his visit to china began the slow process of integrating the forbidden kingdom into the rest of the world, and it put pressure on the soviets to go further on detente in 1973, the administration helped israel resist an arab invasion by (belatedly) supplying arms when that war was concluded, nixon was widely regarded as having saved the world from a superpower confrontation in the middle east and he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds in egypt but, by that point, his reputation at home had been so scarred by his involvement in the watergate break in that he couldn't capitalize on his image as a global problem solver nixon was his own worst enemy beyond his foxing of opponents, nixon was not without a personal manifesto he was saving his more conservative policies for after his re election had watergate not reduced his political capital so early in 1973, there's a chance nixon would have pushed ahead with his agenda of a new federalism and undone much of the liberalism of his first term the new federalism was similar to what would later become reaganism: tax cuts, more power to the states, welfare reform nixon, then, was a mix of ideals and prejudices, but all tempered by a respect for the possibilities and limitations of power aside from watergate, that's why he's so unpopular with the contemporary conservative movement while it's true that the republican party continues to nominate moderates (from george hw bush to mitt romney), in recent decades they've been expected to pass a test of ideological purity put to them by a restive base that invariably shifts the candidates' platform to the right nixon also did his best to court conservatives, but his instinct was always to anchor himself in the rhetorical center as president, his ambition to build a permanent new majority depended upon walking a line between the radicalism of the left and the racialism of the far right his strategy wasn't built entirely upon pursuing southern racists, as many liberal critics have suggested had it been so, he wouldn't have been re elected in 1972 by winning every single state but massachusetts the fact is that nixon was often very popular with a lot of regular americans in 1968, he even took 36% of the black vote, a much stronger performance than mitt romney's paltry 6% today, it's difficult to talk about nixon as a model for contemporary republicans because his political reputation is so tarnished but he does offer an interesting alternative electoral strategy to that pursued by the contemporary right and embodied by the mythically consistent ronald reagan (the gipper was more moderate than his fans admit) and the test of how well nixon's pragmatism worked is measured in his electoral victories despite his two memorable defeats in 1960 and 1962 ('you won't have nixon to kick around anymore'), he won election as a house representative, a senator, a vice president and a president considering that record, moderate republicans in pursuit of the white house have every cause to get misty eyed when they hear the name richard nixon the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of timothy stanley | timothy stanley wednesday 100th richard nixon gop nixon era epa watergate | timothy stanley: wednesday is 100th anniversary of richard nixon's birth . he says gop could take a page from nixon on adapting nixon was good at getting elected . he says nixon was politcially strategic: backed era, poverty fighting measures, founded epa . stanley: without watergate, he'd likely still be popular |
washington (cnn) black ice road ice virtually invisible to drivers played a 'significant role' in last month's fatal bus crash in oregon, an attorney for the bus company said wednesday night attorney mark scheer also said bus driver haeng kyu hwang had had 7 â½ hours of sleep the night before the crash, suggesting that fatigue was not a factor, and said there is 'no indication' that drugs and alcohol were involved on tuesday, the federal motor carrier safety administration barred mi joo tour & travel ltd, a canadian company, from operating in the united states, saying in an order that hwang had worked 92 hours in the seven days leading up to the crash, far exceeding the 70 hours allowed it also said that the bus company had not conducted required post accident alcohol and drug tests on the driver an agency spokesman wednesday night declined to comment on the black ice claim or on the driver's sleep history, citing the ongoing investigation by the national transportation safety board the deadly accident occurred december 30 as the large motor coach was returning to vancouver, british columbia, from las vegas the bus skidded on interstate 84 near pendleton, oregon, crashed through a guardrail and tumbled down a steep embankment nine passengers were killed and 39 people were injured, including the driver 'i can say conclusively that black ice was involved from all reports we have of the accident,' scheer told reporters there were other accidents involving black ice near the crash site, he said scheer said hwang was properly licensed, had previously worked as a school bus and truck driver and had extensive experience driving in the west hwang had slept 7 1/2 hours the night before the crash and had been on the road only 2 1/2 hours that day, including a rest stop, he said he declined to comment on the claim that hwang had violated work hour rules that week, saying he was not familiar with the driver's itinerary in its 10 page order tuesday, the motor carrier administration said mi joo tour & travel poses an 'imminent hazard to public safety' because of its failure to ensure that its drivers are properly rested 'mi joo does not monitor its drivers' hours of service to ensure that its drivers do not violate' work hour restrictions, it said further, mi joo does not require its drivers to maintain driver logs, as required by law, it said the ntsb and the oregon state police are investigating the accident fmcsa also is conducting a compliance review of the company, which caters to korean tourists in 2010, the fmcsa cited mi joo for 11 violations and gave the company a 'conditional' rating, meaning it was in jeopardy of losing its ability to operate in the united states in 2011, the agency cited mi joo for eight violations and gave it a 'satisfactory' rating | oregon canadian us | 'black ice was involved' in oregon crash that killed 9, hurt 39, attorney says . driver had 7 1/2 hours of sleep the night before, attorney says . canadian bus company had record of violations in us before fatal wreck |
(ewcom) first the good news: paramount's $5 million found footage horror sequel 'paranormal activity 4' easily led the box office with $302 million in its first three days now for the bad news: that's 43 percent less (ie $224 million less) than 'paranormal activity 3' earned in its debut frame, and 26 percent less ($105 million) than 'paranormal activity 2' managed fortunately for paramount, the tiny cost of the paranormal films still make them highly profitable, but the sharp drop off from 'pa3' to 'pa4' could spell trouble for the franchise 'paranormal activity 4,' which received a 'c' cinemascore grade from polled audiences, has received the worst reviews of any entry in the series, yet paramount chose to open it earlier than its predecessors the film was released on thursday night at 9 pm — 'pa2' and 'pa3' opened at midnight — and perhaps negative word of mouth spread faster and earlier, thus limiting its weekend prospects also making matters difficult was direct competition from sinister, the similarly themed horror title that opened to $18 million last weekend one thing is certain: 'paranormal activity 4' is going to have a front loaded run the picture fell by a whopping 38 percent from friday ($151 million) to saturday ($94 million) — never a sign of box office longevity furthermore, horror movies — and especially horror sequels — are typically some of the most front loaded films of any genre due to young audiences (60 percent of pa4's audience was below the age of 25), who rush to the theater on opening weekend 'pa2' and 'pa3' each finished with about twice as much as they earned on opening weekend, grossing $848 and $104 million respectively, but 'pa4' will be lucky to score $60 million total still, this isn't a shameful result — the film only cost $5 million, and its $8,851 per theater average was the best in the top 20 — but it's certainly an underwhelming one if 'paranormal activity 4's' box office take felt less than impressive, 'argo's' sophomore frame seemed just the opposite warner bros' $45 million ben affleck directed spy thriller dropped only 15 percent in its second weekend to $166 million, thereby lifting its total to $432 million after 10 days the oscar front runner, which earned an amazing 'a+' cinemascore grade last weekend, has a decent shot at breaking $100 million at the domestic box office if it can keep scoring remarkable holds like this one third place went to 'hotel transylvania,' which is demonstrating impressive staying power as halloween approaches sony's $85 million kiddie flick dropped 22 percent this weekend to $135 million, giving the film a terrific $119 million total in just a few days, 'hotel' will become the young sony pictures animation's most successful film ever domestically, surpassing 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs'' $1249 million gross in fourth, 'taken 2' dropped by 39 percent (a better hold than last weekend's 56 percent decline) to $134 million after 17 days, fox's liam neeson vehicle has grossed an impressive $106 million, and although it appears likely that taken 2 will fall a bit short of the $145 million domestic finish that the original 'taken' earned domestically, fox certainly isn't worried the studio spent just $45 million on the film, and it is a hit around the world — it took two weeks to outgross its predecessor overseas and has now grossed $2409 million globally — and talks have reportedly already begun for 'taken 3' summit's alex cross fared badly in fifth place the thriller, which stars the oft cross dressing madea director tyler perry in the title role, grossed $118 million, the worst debut ever for a film starring perry and the worst debut ever in the alex cross series morgan freeman formerly played the action star, based on a popular character in james patterson's series of novels, in 1997′s 'kiss the girls' and 2001′s 'along came a spider,' which opened with $132 million and $167 million, respectively alex cross, which cost summit and qed entertainment about $23 million to make, played to a typical tyler perry crowd audiences were 60 percent female, 68 percent above the age of 35, and 74 percent african american, and although relatively few people saw the film, those that did liked what they saw, issuing it an 'a' cinemascore grade maybe if the film had been called tyler perry's alex cross, it could have started a bit better 1 paranormal activity 4 $302 million 2 argo $166 million 3 hotel transylvania $135 million 4 taken 2 $134 million 5 alex cross $118 million two more box office shout outs 'looper' has quietly grown into a solid mid level hit after four weekends, the tristar sci fi thriller has earned $578 million and it will pass $60 million this week meanwhile, oscar contender 'the sessions' opened successfully in limited release in new york and los angeles this weekend, taking in $121,000 from four theaters, giving it an impressive $30,250 per theater average the film will add nine theaters to its run next weekend check back next week for full box office coverage of 'chasing mavericks,' 'fun size,' 'cloud atlas,' and 'silent hill 2,' and follow me on twitter for more box office analysis and up to the minute updates! see original story at ewcom click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc all rights reserved | roke shedlike cellules | no related information |
(cnn) and then there were two one is identified with the ethnic tajik group from northern afghanistan and is a former foreign minister who later became a critic of afghan president hamid karzai the other is close to the president and belongs to his pashtun ethnic group both are technocrats who campaigned on a message of change and each hopes to lead their turbulent nation into a brighter future preliminary results from afghanistan's landmark presidential elections show former foreign minister abdullah abdullah getting the most votes but not the majority needed to avoid a runoff with ashraf ghani ahmadzai the two men will face each other in a runoff slated for june 7, according to afghanistan's independent election commission the preliminary results will be finalized may 14 after investigations into fraud complaints, according to commission it's the third election since the fall of the taliban in 2001, and marks the first democratic handover of power in the fragile country incumbent hamid karzai is constitutionally bound to step down karzai was once the darling of the west but has long since fallen out of favor amid cries of corruption and cronyism with nato troops scheduled to pull out of afghanistan by the end of the year, and following the refusal of karzai to sign a bilateral agreement the so called status of forces agreement with the united states to keep some troops in country, afghan security is in the hands of the next man to be sworn in cnn takes a look at the two contenders to be afghanistan's next leader abdullah abdullah an ophthalmologist and former northern alliance medic in a previous life, abdullah was a vocal critic of the taliban during their years in power, and although he was a previous karzai ally, serving in his government as foreign minister, he has in later years been a thorn in the side of the man who has ruled afghanistan since the fall of the taliban in 2001 the urbane politician, known for his eloquence and his elegance took on karzai in 2009's election but dropped out after the first round in protest to what he saw as large scale voter fraud his campaign this time around has been wracked with violence, with three separate attacks by militants on abdullah campaigners in the weeks before the election, according to the afghan news agency, khaama 'the environment is not risk free, but when i look at the enthusiasm of the afghan people to participate in the elections that is part of it is encouraging it is highly encouraging,' he told cnn's christiane amanpour earlier this year as with many countries, both democratic and otherwise, loyalty along ethnic lines matters a great deal in afghanistan pashtuns make up more than half of the population in this multi ethnic country, with tajiks the second largest group, and a number of minor turkic and other ethnic groups part tajik and part pashtun, abdullah is considered a relative outsider given his background he is generally associated with his tajik side, giving him a possible advantage in reaching out to non pashtun voters, but which may work against him in a runoff if the other candidates back his pashtun challenger he is seen as a relatively liberal candidate and advocate of women's engagement in public life, telling britain's independent newspaper, 'if you want to see this country or any other country even being able to deal with the challenges and develop, it cannot happen without the role of half the population' he has signaled his intention to sign the status of forces agreement with president barack obama in an effort to offer his constituents some security following nato''s planned withdrawal at the end of 2014 ashraf ghani ahmadzai a former academic who previously taught at berkeley and johns hopkins university in the united states, arshaf ghani emerged as the dark horse candidate a former us citizen who gave up his passport to run for the afghan presidency in 2009, he's known as having an impatient, fiery temper but also of being incredibly detail oriented another ex karzai man, ghani served as both an adviser to the current president and also as finance minister in his cabinet he was working at the world bank in washington, dc during the september 11 attacks, and used the tragedy as a springboard for his re engagement in afghan politics, returning to his home country just months after the event considered a moderate, he says he has seen positive signs while campaigning around the country '(at) rally after rally people are responding to a message of moderation, to message of reform, to message of transformation, to peace, stability and cooperation,' he told cnn's anna coren watch: cnn's christiane amanpour interviews ashraf ghani his experience in the development agency was invaluable during his time in karzai's government, reconstructing the country, and he hopes voters will be convinced that it will stand him in equally good stead for the top job a shrewd operator, ghani, who is pashtun, has enlisted the support of ex warlord general abdul rashid dostum, a native uzbek, as his running mate however, his many years in the united states especially while his countrymen were suffering, first under the yoke of soviet imperialism and later the strictures of the taliban may impede him as he is seen as an outsider with strong ties to the united states, which is seen by many as merely the latest foreign invaders of afghan soil | abdullah abdullah ashraf ghani hamid karzai | abdullah abdullah, ashraf ghani will be in a runoff slated for june 7 . the two candidates won the most votes in field of 11 . historic presidential election for war torn country . incumbent hamid karzai constitutionally must step down |
atlanta, georgia (cnn) it was the music of rebellion and youth artists traded witty improvisations onstage chronicling the pain and the promise of being black in america, inspiring inner city and rural southern audiences alike in nightclubs and on street corners atlanta based jaspects fuses rap with jazz in hopes of preserving both genres and appealing to young people that music was jazz today, jaspects, an atlanta based group of young musicians who were born in the hip hop era, fuse rap and jazz melodies to introduce younger audiences to jazz and the broader ideas regarding african american society for jaspects, whose music has appeared in the movie 'hustle & flow' and recently was featured in the cnn documentary series 'black in america,' the lessons of jazz go beyond its artistic merits to questions about the ownership and control of black music in general veteran saxophonist jimmy heath, who has performed with nearly all the jazz greats of the last 50 years, says that the music called jazz today began as a voice of the repressed 'the history of jazz comes with the history of african american people because whenever they were permitted, they always sang and played their music when they were in their own quarters, and eventually i think, when instruments were available, they started to play music on those instruments,' heath says jazz was born a raw and energetic rebuttal of what was musically acceptable at the time, and became the voice of a generation of african american youth watch as jaspect fuses hip hop and jazz » terrence brown, pianist and musical director for jaspects, says hip hop shares the same roots 'these people wanted to do more than just bach and beethoven they didn't want to play history; they wanted to make history,' brown says 'i guess when jazz [and] the harlem renaissance began to give birth people really felt the need to express themselves and that is similar to how hip hop was created' as jazz started to gain popularity outside of black america in the 1940s and gained an international following, many say the music became distanced from its cultural origins in his exhaustive work on the african american experience, 'africana,' harvard university professor henry louis gates jr writes that while black musicians were the principal innovators during this era, white musicians often reaped the fame and benefits and that 'the black musicians who found greatest favor with whites were those with a happy go lucky air and a ready grin' with the exception of groups such as jaspects, jazz today is considered by brown and some others to be a 'museum piece' that aged instead of evolving brown says hip hop is following a similar route, and he says a major reason is a lack of ownership of the music 'hopefully, there will come a time where a lot of african americans who do have money and do have the resources take over some of these corporations and not just have the no 1 hit record on the charts, because that in itself will allow the community to give back to itself,' brown says rapper nas, whose real name is nasir jones, made a provocative declaration with the release of his 2006 album, 'hip hop is dead,' that the genre 'is dead because we no longer have the power' at the same time, there has been a rise of prominent black music executives such as sean 'p diddy' combs, jay z, russell simmons and jermaine dupri jay z and p diddy, who earned $34 million and $32 million, respectively, in 2007, were named hip hop's cash kings by forbes magazine dupri, owner of record label so so def records and producer of hits for recording artists tlc, usher and mariah carey, disagrees that corporate ownership is affecting black music for the worse 'they [corporations] have their input, but if you let the money guide you then, that's how you let them control you,' says dupri, who released his first book in 2007, 'young, rich and dangerous: the making of a music mogul' 'if you are driven by money, then the backers that are giving you the money tell you what to do' dupri says that there are not enough african americans who are in control of the music business, and that education has a lot to do with it 'that's a lot of the problem it's always been something that lot of people can get in quick without really doing anything, without learning, but you have to learn everything about it,' dupri says brown says he's hopeful that the rise of black leadership in music will have a positive impact on the community 'we need to get to a place where we own our own things as african americans and a place that the things we do generate money for our own communities,' brown says 'not only that, but that we generate a sense of culture, style and substance for our community' jaspects and groups like them are hoping to change things a little using hip hop, the music of rebellion and youth in 2008, they are introducing jazz to a new generation to tell its story, preserve its artistry and learn its lessons | atlanta jaspects jermaine dupri | atlanta based group jaspects fuses rap, jazz to attract younger audiences . hip hop, like jazz, is at risk of not evolving due to lack of ownership, some say . producer jermaine dupri says there aren't enough black execs in music business |
camden, maine (cnn) want to help save the humpback whale? pick up a camera and start taking pictures, says gale mccullough, a 'fluke matcher' at allied whale, a research group mccullough is a citizen scientist a do goodery term for volunteers who help collect data about the natural world who uses the photo sharing site flickr to catalog photos of whales not just any photos, though she's specifically interested in the humpback's fluke, or the tail on humpbacks, the underside of the fluke carries unique identifying information in the form of a splotchy black and white pattern this can be used to tell one whale from another, much the way fingerprints work for humans mccullough spends time looking through these whale tail photos and matching them to each other combining that data with dates, she and other scientists can track a particular whale's movement over time, giving each of these enormous marine mammals a story that otherwise would be unknown to learn more about the whales, however, more photos are needed 'if you go whale watching, take a camera,' she said in an interview on a boat off the coast of maine, where she was speaking to a group of people attending the annual poptech conference 'and then put it on flickr i'll find it' the conclusions scientists draw from these amateur photos are not insignificant last year, for example, mccullough a spry, gray haired woman who wears tinted glasses that nearly cover her face and an orange jacket bright enough to make onlookers wish they had tinted lenses of their own did a casual flickr search and noticed that a particular humpback whale, no 1363 in the official whale catalog, had been spotted by a man who was on vacation in madagascar two years before that photo was taken, the same whale was seen off the coast of brazil, some 6,000 miles away that migration route was longer than any that had been recorded for a single humpback, according to a journal article that cited the finding 'this observation is altogether unprecedented,' peter stevick, a marine biologist at college of the atlantic, and author of that article, told wired science 'there are only a few humpback whales that have been seen in more than one breeding ground before this, and they moved to relatively nearby areas eastern to western australia, eastern to western africa, for example' 'we have to rearrange the way we feel about the ocean now,' mccullough said in 2010 with more photos to comb through, more discoveries could be made, she said she encouraged anyone who goes on a whale watching trip to try to take photographs of the whale's fluke wait much longer than you think you should to click the shutter, though, because the fluke becomes visible just before the whale dives back down into the ocean, she said if you upload the photos to a public photo sharing website flickr is just one of many and tag them with a date and location, then scientists may be able to use that photo to track the whale on its journeys through the ocean mccullough said photos of whales in south africa and madagascar are particularly needed taking a photo of a whale can be the start of a lifelong learning experience, she said 'whales are a great way to take people down into the ocean' | flickr gale mccullough | volunteers match and analyze whale photos on flickr . citizen scientist discovers record migration on photo sharing site . gale mccullough: more whale photos could lead to new findings . researchers need photos of the underside of whales' tails, or flukes |
(cnn) like millions around the world, i owe my early career choices to the beatles as a 6 year old, i stayed up 'late' one sunday night to watch the fab four explode onto the world stage on 'the ed sullivan show' there were the saturday afternoons i walked to the plaza theater in downtown glasgow, kentucky, to watch 'help!' and 'a hard day's night' i thank ringo for my love of percussion, which manifested itself via paint brushes and coffee cans until i could get real drums fast forward a number of years, and i was an honest to goodness musician, touring the world with a number of recording artists i had a gold record on the wall december 8, 1980, was an off day on the road with jazz grass fiddle wizard vassar clements, we were somewhere in pennsylvania we stayed the night there so a tv crew could follow us the next day as we arrived in new york for a series of shows the hotel room tv was on 'monday night football' when the world changed sportscaster howard cosell told us that john lennon had been shot and killed that night in new york share your own memories of that day our trip to new york took on a different meaning it was dreary and rainy and cold the next morning as we drove toward the city fitting, really after sound check, the road manager and i took the subway up to columbus circle and began walking up central park west toward the dakota, the apartment building where john lennon lived and where he was shot as we walked along the sidewalk, it was like someone had thrown a sad, gray, wet blanket on the city there was traffic on the streets, but the streets were quiet there were people talking as they scurried, but the air was mute and as we approached the dakota, we noticed a flock of birds circling above the building not venturing anywhere just circling as if they were standing guard, mourning 'american morning's' john roberts on lennon then, from around the corner, we heard the serenade of 'give peace a chance' and 'imagine' from the hundreds of fellow fans some holding candles some holding flowers all holding memories we joined them there was so much sadness that day, so many tears, yet it was overshadowed by peace and love and memories and music i'll never forget it when my son was born in 1987, we named him dakota some years later, i traded in life on a tour bus for a different seat, watching history i traded in the recording studio control room for the cnn control room thirty years later, the beatles, and john lennon, live on so does the music so does the legacy so does the hope that someday the world will give peace a chance imagine | gasking feminate dragonfish | no related information |
deutschneudorf, germany (cnn) digging has resumed at a site in the southeastern german town of deutschneudorf, where treasure hunters believe there are almost 2 tons of nazi gold and possibly clues to the whereabouts of the legendary amber room, a prize taken from a russian castle during world war ii treasure hunters use modern technology to try to locate the lost nazi gold heinz peter haustein, one of the two treasure hunters and a member of germany's parliament, said: 'we have already hit a hollow area under the surface, it's filled with water and we are not sure if it is the cave we are looking for' digging was stopped more than a week ago amid safety concerns, as authorities and the treasure hunters feared that the shaft might collapse and that the cave if it is there may be rigged with explosives or poisonous booby traps at a news conference friday, christian hanisch, the other treasure hunter, said that geological surveying equipment had located a possible cave about 30 feet under the surface containing 'precious metals that can only be either gold or silver the instruments would not have reacted to any other metal like copper' see photos from hunt for lost nazi gold » hanisch pointed out that his father, who was a navigator in the luftwaffe, the nazi air force, was one of the troops said to have been involved in hiding art, gold and silver as the nazis realized that they would lose the war he said that when his father died, he left coordinates leading to the spot in deutschneudorf 'it's not about getting the reward,' hanisch said at the site 'i just want to know if my father was right and if my instincts were right' haustein, who is paying for the expedition, said he hopes that finding the gold could lead to the amber room, whose interior is made completely of amber and gold it was looted by the nazis from a castle in st petersburg, russia, after adolf hitler's forces invaded the soviet union in 1941 the room looked so majestic, many called it 'the eighth wonder of the world' it disappeared after the war, and today a replica stands in its place in st petersburg although parts of the amber room have resurfaced, the vast majority remains missing haustein has been looking for the room for more than 12 years watch hunt for nazi gold at german mountain » 'i am certain that large parts of the amber room are buried somewhere here,' he said he said he has collected much circumstantial evidence suggesting that the nazis hid the amber room in old copper mines around deutschneudorf, but he has no proof haustein said the nazis began bringing valuables including art, gold and silver to the region around deutschneudorf as early as summer 1944 deutschneudorf is in germany's ore mountains, and the mountain where the treasure hunters claim to have found the nazi gold was a copper mine until the 19th century although the mine was shut down in 1882, geologists found evidence that soldiers from hitler's wehrmacht the german armed forces had been there the machine guns, parts of uniforms and explosives are on display at the town's museum though both treasure hunters say they are certain they will find cultural goods, both admit that they fear disappointment 'of course, if you embark on something like this, you ask yourself: 'what if we find nothing again? what if i was fooled?' ' haustein said 'but every man has to go his own way, for better or for worse' if they do find the treasure, haustein says, it would legally belong to germany, although he would recommend that germany give any amber room parts back to russia treasure hunters have typically received rewards of 10 percent of the value of the goods found, but hanisch says there are no laws dictating the reward amount e mail to a friend | auchlet paladins sonnetising | no related information |
washington (cnn) america's first female four star general has been nominated, the pentagon announced monday lt gen ann e dunwoody was nominated to be america's first four star female general president bush nominated lt gen ann e dunwoody to serve as head of the army's supply arm by law women are excluded from combat jobs, the typical path to four star rank in the military 'this is an historic occasion for the department of defense and i am proud to nominate lt gen ann dunwoody for a fourth star,' said defense secretary robert gates 'her 33 years of service, highlighted by extraordinary leadership and devotion to duty, make her exceptionally qualified for this senior position' the senate must approve the nomination dunwoody, a native of new york, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1975 after her graduation from the state university of new york in cortland she also holds graduate degrees in national resource strategy and logistics management she became the army's top ranking woman in 2005 when she received her third star and became deputy chief of staff for army logistics 'i am very honored but also very humbled today with this announcement,' said dunwoody 'i grew up in a family that didn't know what glass ceilings were this nomination only reaffirms what i have known to be true about the military throughout my career that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform' the army materiel command handles all material readiness for the army during her career, dunwoody has been assigned to the 82nd airborne division, 10th mountain division and the defense logistics agency she served with the 82nd airborne in saudi arabia during the 1991 persian gulf war she has been awarded the distinguished service medal, defense superior service medal, the legion of merit, the meritorious service medal, the army commendation medal, the army achievement medal, master parachutist badge and the army staff identification badge the first woman to become a general officer in the us armed services was brig gen anna mae hays, chief of the army nurse corps, who achieved the rank in 1970 and retired the following year elizabeth hoisington, the director of the women's army corps, was promoted to brigadier general immediately after hays she also retired the following year maj gen jeanne m holm, the first director of women in the air force, was the first woman to wear two stars, attaining the rank in 1973 and retiring two years later in 1996, marine lt gen carol a mutter became the first woman to wear three stars mutter retired in 1999 currently, there are 57 active duty women serving as generals or admirals, five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals, the navy's three star rank, according to the pentagon | bush ann e dunwoody army dunwoody 33 years 2005 | bush nominated lt gen ann e dunwoody to be head of army's supply arm . by law women are excluded from combat jobs, the typical path to four star rank . dunwoody has served 33 years, and became army's top ranking woman in 2005 . there are 57 active duty women serving as generals or admirals |
eldorado, texas (cnn) ambulances rolled into a texas ranch that's home to members of a polygamist sect, as authorities continued their search saturday night for possible victims of physical and sexual abuse authorities are seeking dale barlow, 50, seen in a mugshot from a 2005 arrest on child sex charges the emergency vehicles were called for as investigators prepared to search the group's temple, law enforcement officials said the sect is a rogue branch of the mormon church, which forbids nonbelievers from entering its temples authorities wanted medical backup 'in case they're involved in sensitive areas that could escalate into a negative reaction,' a law enforcement source said a police helicopter also had begun circling the ranch saturday night earlier, dozens more children and young women were removed from the compound a total of 183 people, including 137 children, have been taken away since law enforcement officers raided the compound thursday night, said marleigh meisner, a spokeswoman for the texas child protective services division the children most of them girls were being interviewed by special investigators, she said 'we're trying to find out if they're safe,' she explained 'we need to know if they have been abused or neglected' eighteen of the girls have been taken into state custody authorities believe that they 'had been abused or were at immediate risk of future abuse,' said child protective services spokesman darrell azar the others were taken to a nearby civic center meisner described them as doing 'remarkably well' watch a report on the latest developments » authorities continue to search the 1,900 acre yfz ranch, occupied by followers of imprisoned polygamist sect leader warren jeffs, and at least one man is being sought by police according to the search warrant, authorities are looking for dale barlow, 50, whom they suspect of having married and fathered a child with a 16 year old girl watch an eldorado neighbor talk about the raid » law enforcement agencies raided the ranch thursday night after receiving a report monday that a 16 year old girl had been 'sexually and physically abused,' azar said watch buses take girls from compound » the warrant cited an 'immediate need' for authorities to have access to the 16 year old and an 8 month old child with either the last name of barlow or the girl's last name it instructs law enforcement officers to look for any records showing that barlow and the girl were married and any evidence of them having a child barlow is in arizona and does not know his accuser, his probation officer told the salt lake tribune 'he said the authorities had called him [in colorado city, arizona], and some girl had accused him of assaulting her, and he didn't even know who she was,' bill loader said barlow pleaded no contest last year to conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, the associated press reported he was ordered to register as a sex offender for three years, according to the ap his lawyer in that case told the ap he had not spoken to barlow in a year jeffs, the 52 year old leader and 'prophet' of the 10,000 member church, was convicted in utah last year and sentenced to 10 years on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, charges related to a marriage he performed in 2001 he faces trial in arizona on eight charges of sexual conduct with a minor, incest and conspiracy jeffs' fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter day saints bought the land near eldorado four years ago and built the ranch, which they call the yfz ranch the letters are said to refer to the words yearning for zion it is home to as many as 400 members who relocated from their arizona and utah compounds state and local law enforcement agencies set up roadblocks around the ranch thursday evening, preventing journalists from seeing what was happening on the property, according to randy mankin, editor of the eldorado success weekly newspaper 'this came totally out of the blue,' mankin said there were no indications of violence around the ranch, he said when cnn crews have visited the ranch, it was guarded by armed men equipped with night vision gear and other high tech surveillance tools to prevent intruders when cnn flew over the ranch in a small plane last year, the crew saw a massive temple, the three story housing units where jeffs' chosen followers live, the water tower, the school and community center, the dairy and cheese factory and a massive concrete mill the church openly practices polygamy in two towns straddling the arizona utah state line hildale, utah, and colorado city, arizona but members living on their texas ranch rarely venture into eldorado, four miles to the south critics of the sect say that it arranges marriages for girls as young as 13 and that competition for brides may be reduced through exiling young men if male followers are excommunicated, the critics claim, their wives and children can be reassigned to someone else e mail to a friend cnn's bill kirkos contributed to this report | jeffs arizona | new: ambulances called in as investigators prepare to search temple . number of people removed from ranch grows to 183, including 137 children . authorities served search, arrest warrants to members of polygamist sect . jeffs in arizona jail awaiting trial; sentenced to 10 years in prison last year |
(cnn) a 30 year old dolphin at sea world has died after colliding with another dolphin while performing aerial tricks, the orlando, florida, amusement park said monday the incident occurred about 4:30 pm saturday at the discovery cove area of the park, according to a statement by sea world spokeswoman becca bides the animals were in the center of the lagoon and not near guests, she said the dolphin who died was named sharky the other dolphin, tyler, is being watched by veterinarians but appears to be fine, bides said 'this is an unfortunate, random incident,' bides said in a written statement 'while it is not unusual to have two animals performing aerial behaviors at the same time, we are reviewing the situation to ensure even such a random incident does not occur again' e mail to a friend | sea world dolphins | collision with another dolphin proves fatal to sea world animal . dolphins were in center of lagoon, away from guests, when collision happened . park statement calls collision 'an unfortunate, random incident' |
london, england (cnn) they first met in the autumn of 1979; she playing the role of the lovelorn terrorist, he dressed as a rather sloppy ayatollah khomeini pamela stephenson first met billy connolly on the set of a comedy show in 1979 they married in fiji in 1990 it may not have been love at first sight on the set of british comedy show 'not the nine o'clock news,' but love, marriage and children eventually followed australian comedienne, now psychotherapist, pamela stephenson, describes being captivated by billy connolly's wildman looks, his mane of grey hair and devil may care demeanor she tells cnn's revealed about her first impressions of her husband, his unique ability to keep audiences entertained and what she learnt about his addictions and childhood abuse while writing his best selling biography, 'billy' cnn: take us back to the beginning how did you meet billy connolly? pamela stephenson: i'm not quite sure what billy's version of how we met is like because he was very drunk i met him when i was a performer on 'not the nine o'clock news' and he was a guest he was just shaggy and some kind of terrible beastie but i was attracted to him immediately, maybe because he was so unusual i think what i picked up on was his dichotomy that beastiness and the underlying sensitivity that he has i think that's something that audiences relate to, you're aware of all the toughness, but underneath you just know that there's philosophy and this poetic, celtic nature that speaks to people also his pain, his underlying sadness and the pain of his childhood when i first met him i think i connected with that he played the ayatollah khomeini in a scene on 'not the nine o'clock news' and i played a demented fan singing a love song to him, it was in days when you could do stuff like that, i suppose and then we did an interview, i pretending to be british tv personality janet street porter, with giant fake teeth which kept falling out of course, he could never keep a straight face; i thought he was dreadfully unprofessional because he just kept laughing, especially when my teeth fell out my fake teeth fell out cnn: what's it like being married to him? ps: people always think that being married to billy means that i get non stop billy connolly concerts it's not nearly as exciting as that, although he's adorable but it's boring sometimes and he would say the same there are moments when i wish he would go and make me a cup of tea, which he does very often actually, billy is quite a quiet person he's a little reclusive and i don't think it's necessarily his personality with the highs he experiences on stage he needs to be very quiet when he's not billy connolly takes cnn's revealed on a tour of his home » cnn: what made you write a biography of his life? was it the first time he opened up about his childhood? ps: when i wrote 'billy,' it was the first time that billy really looked at his childhood in a chronological order and with depth it was a painful process, but cathartic the book gave me the opportunity to understand a lot more about him just putting some of this together, the sexual abuse, for example, that he received from his father, the physical abuse he received from his aunts, helped me understand why there's a part of him that's very closed off watch billy recall his troubled childhood » his learning disability was never understood now we'd call it an attention disorder in those days, he had difficulty concentrating, for which he was beaten and taunted at school people told him he was stupid and to this day there's a part of him that thinks that's he's not as clever as other people and yet he is absolutely brilliant he's incredibly well read and very erudite cnn: can you tell us about billy's problems with alcohol and drugs and how you helped him? ps: billy was extremely famous in scotland, and you know what happens, especially with people who don't think they are very worthy as with billy, they don't handle fame because they don't feel they deserve it and they'll turn to alcohol and drugs it became very serious and by the time i met him he was on a very self destructive path at first, that was appealing to me, but later i realized i can't be with somebody like that because i don't want to watch him destroy himself i didn't tell him, 'you've gotta clean up your act,' i just said i can't deal with this i discovered you can't make anyone stop drinking or stop taking drugs, you have to just protect yourself and if they want to jump on the good train, they will fortunately it worked cnn: how would you describe billy's style of comedy? ps: billy doesn't have a style, because to have a style it would mean that there have to be other people with a similar way of working he goes on stage and it's like he's got these comedy angels whispering in his ear he makes this extraordinary connection with the audience, and of course he's very astute and funny about politics he sees the funny side of all kinds of things human nature, human behavior, world events, politicians he'll talk about that with such passion it's what many of us think but don't want to say billy will see something on television or notice something on the street or he'll just think something and it'll go into his computer of a brain and it'll stumble out when he's on stage see billy connolly perform on a recent tour of ireland » cnn: is he the same person on and off stage? ps: he's honest and real he's a man of the people, a working class hero it's a cliché, but people know that he has struggled; they know he's come from the tough part of glasgow billy just loves an audience, he loves speaking to people if they're nice to him, and they usually are when he's finished his show, he doesn't go home he stays in his dressing room and people will come and see him and he'll talk to them for another hour cnn: he says he's getting more and more nervous when he goes on stage have you noticed a change? ps: i don't think he's getting more nervous at his age, maybe he thinks that it should have become easier well, it's not going to become easier it's incredibly tough to go on stage in front of four or five thousand people and sustain [their interest] by yourself and one thing that really impresses me, again as a psychologist, is that i think he is really healing i think that people really have the opportunity to just laugh like that and it's so good for you i feel fantastic when i go to one of his shows and come out and i'm just sick with laughter cnn: how does he feel when he comes off stage? he says it can be tough and envies the audience they can go home and forget about it ps: most performers struggle with the letdown after a show, and billy's no exception it's tough because it takes time for adrenalin to leave the system that's actually one reason why a lot of comedians turn to alcohol, because it's a depressant and takes you down now that billy doesn't drink he's found another way he goes back to his hotel and stays quiet sometimes he likes to eat after the show but not very often he will just want to veg out, watch tv playing his banjo is a great way for him to relax watch a rare performance of billy on banjo » he doesn't like me being around when he's touring because he just likes to do his thing i want to have some food or go and do something he becomes a bit of a hermit, and that's appropriate for someone who expends that amount of energy and brainpower on stage cnn: billy says he finds the routine of touring increasingly tough do you think he will stop soon? ps: when billy's touring, he'll say, 'oh i don't want to tour anymore, i've had enough it's too hard on the road' but the truth is, when he's not touring, he wants to go back it's probably his happiest time i have been a comedian so i know a little bit about what it's like to be on stage and know that when things are working fantastically, and you're getting that appreciation from the audience it is an incredible high it's pretty hard for me as a wife or us as a family or any of his fans or friends to match up to that kind of adulation and so, you know, he deserves it and i have to remind him that it is a lot of fun for him cnn: how would you describe his dress sense? ps: billy is a fashion maven he spends most of his time in new york now so, you know, the new york 'black is the new black' is that's got to him a bit he's influenced by rock 'n' roll and vivienne westwood and edgy stuff but he just puts it together in his own unique way he also takes great pride in his body his closet is still extremely fun it's far more colorful than mine i have grey and black suits and things for work he loves colorful shirts it will be a shame if he tones himself down, but i don't think that will happen he borrows my clothes sometimes, if he sees something particularly mad we used to say, 'first up, best dressed,' which is the glasgow expression for a particularly fun brooch or hat | pamela stephenson scottish billy connelly british not the nine o'clock news billy stephenson | pamela stephenson talks about marriage to scottish comedian billy connelly . they met on the set of british comedy show 'not the nine o'clock news'. she says writing his biography, 'billy,' helped her understand him better . stephenson: 'it's like he's got these comedy angels whispering in his ear' |
london, england (cnn) harry potter author jk rowling is writing a prequel to her best selling series to be auctioned for charity but at just 800 words, it may lack some of the magic fans of the boy wizard might be hoping for autographed copies of jk rowling's work have fetched millions of dollars at auction rowling's hand written prequel, signed by the author, will be auctioned alongside works by other famous writers to raise cash for a dyslexia charity despite the brevity of the piece, experts believe it could fetch big money, since other autographed works by the blockbuster author have sold for millions of dollars 'we never dreamed that jk rowling would donate something so precious, and we're incredibly grateful,' said gerry johnson, managing director of waterstone's, the uk book chain organizing the auction 'i can't begin to guess how much it will raise at auction' a previous 93 word storycard from rowling, which referred to the book 'harry potter and the order of the phoenix,' sold in 2002 for $53,000 rowling later produced seven hand written copies of a new work, 'the tales of beedle the bard,' one of which sold for $39 million in 2007 'given the enormous interest we have seen in recent times for autograph work by jk rowling, the prospects for her storycard are good to say the least,' said philip errington, a specialist at sotheby's auction house, which is helping to organize the sale the card on which the story is written measuring 146 by 209 centimeters (575 by 825 inches) is signed 'jk rowling 2008' the author signs off with the message: 'from the prequel i am not working on but that was fun!' alongside rowling, 13 other authors invited to contribute to the june 10 auction include margaret atwood, sebastian faulks, nick hornby, and tom stoppard a book featuring all 13 cards will go on sale in august all profits from the book will benefit dyslexia action and english pen, a writers' association, waterstone's said | jk rowling harry potter rowling millions of dollars | author jk rowling pens harry potter prequel for charity auction . autographed 800 word piece will raise money for dyslexia charity . previous autographed rowling pieces have raised millions of dollars |
new york (cnn) it's been five years since carrie bradshaw journeyed to paris in search of true love on the series finale of 'sex and the city' she appeared to have found it in the arms of mr big, and she returned to new york and her now settled friends ready for a new start sarah jessica parker was a driving force in creating the 'sex and the city' movie then came the inevitable cry: that's it? what happens next? sarah jessica parker, who played carrie, wanted to find out as well but the situation had to be right, she said, which prompted a cascade of rumors as plans for a movie came together, fell apart and came together again now that the movie is out, parker who's a producer of the film as well as one of its stars talked about the journey to making a big screen 'sex and the city' with 'showbiz tonight' anchor aj hammer the following is an edited version of that interview cnn: i think a lot of fans, maybe a lot of people, and those of you among the cast, didn't think this day would actually ever come but here we are so how are you feeling deep inside, sarah? sarah jessica parker: i feel extraordinarily privileged i've spent the last two years cobbling this movie together it's a once in a lifetime kind of professional experience and one really shouldn't be greedy enough to ask for it twice watch the cast talk about the thrill of 'sex' » i have to say that, this last six, eight months, was better than those seven years [the show aired] and i think it's because we all recognize how lucky and unique those seven years were and that this is a story that you don't get to tell twice it has been, i must say, worth every obstacle and dead end, and fit and start, and every moment that was seemingly impossible it has been a dream cnn: and i imagine sitting down for the first time in that room together for the table read, which was, from my understanding, the first time you all actually were in the same room [together] regardless of how much you kept in touch tell me a little bit about that moment parker: i started putting [the] script back together in april of 2006 and that [table read] was a really extraordinary day, because just the perfunctory details of getting people to a table read were complicated kim [cattrall] had been away and kristin [davis] had been away and chris [noth] had been [doing] his other job, and this magnificent script had arrived and had been everything we hoped for and more it was basically like being in an alternate universe for about three hours it was a kind of reunion that is very, very special, because you really want to be there it's not the reunion where you're forced by your parents to meet your aunts and uncles that you see rarely it's the reunion that you want i think even more so was that first day on [the] set when we thought, good god, [writer/director] michael patrick [king] and i are actually making this movie, like we got it done, we're here, we're doing it what a privilege cnn: i think we as fans and viewers actually got a sense of what that feeling was like when we saw you all together on 'oprah,' because the energy was palpable but we're talking about the perceived drama around this whole project (rumors have abounded about friction between the stars) one of my producers said while we were watching the tv, 'are they going to sit near each other?' 'why are they putting chris in the middle of all of them?' hearing that, does it make you mad? parker: i find it slightly it's not that i'm mad i expect better from people i think it's really beneath me, to keep defending myself i have a 35 year career i have an impeccable character, i really pride myself in my work ethic and the way i treat people and i think kim would say the same and cynthia would say the same and i love kim, and i wanted her to be in this movie we couldn't have done it without her, we couldn't have done it without kristin, we couldn't have done it without cynthia [nixon], nor could we have done it without chris watch cattrall address the rumors » you know, this is a story that people like to tell about women why? i don't know is it that interesting? probably not so once again i just have to say it doesn't define the experience nobody can take the experience away it's far more interesting for me to talk about my affection for this cast than to start to deny a sad old beaten tale cnn: you seem to have what goes on in the media in perspective and you have to, being at the game as long as you've been to that end, one of the things that i've always admired about you and [husband] matthew [broderick] and i think a lot of people do, is how you've managed your public or your private life while being in the glare of the spotlight now i know one of the main reasons you guys are able to make it work is because you don't talk about your private lives, which is great and i applaud that that said, is there something that you can tell me about what it is about your relationship that enables you to make it work separate from that? parker: i wouldn't make any proclamations about why i have a marriage that, to me, is successful i would just say that we've chosen to live in a city where we are not the most interesting people this is a city that is about industry and finance and publishing and architecture and the arts and education and academia, and the movie industry fits into it in some small way, but there are a lot of people of important interest and i think that it's a conscious choice to live in a place where we're bumping up against humanity we run to the market on our own, we take the subway, and we integrate into our city, and we become a part of the fabric and i think it's really been to our benefit and certainly to our son does it mean that we are not scrutinized and that we don't have paparazzi every single day at our house? no, but it is a city where you can't live behind a gate, you can't drive up in a car and be protected you walk out the door and it is what it is so you reconcile those things and you make the best choices you can cnn: is it the end of 'sex and the city'? what does your gut tell you? parker: my gut tells me it's up to you and your colleagues and the critics and the people who show up the future is dictated not by us at this point, and i think michael patrick and i have been so focused at getting this movie up on the big screen, that we haven't thought about the future doing this was more than we could have asked for so anything beyond that is really kind of out of our hands in a perfectly wonderful way | sarah jessica parker sex and the city matthew broderick ny | sarah jessica parker: 'sex and the city' 'has been a dream'. rumors of friction? 'beneath me to keep defending myself'. marriage to matthew broderick works because pair lives normal ny life |
(cnn) even from the moment they were set down in the declaration of independence, thomas jefferson's immortal words 'all men are created equal' have always been awkward and challenging they're not awkward and challenging because they're incorrect on the contrary, they're some of the truest words ever put to paper instead, they're awkward and challenging because for a nation built by slaves, where only a fraction of the population owned land and even fewer could vote, where an entire gender was held at bay for centuries these words were the sand in our collective eye that urged us, always, to be better, fairer and more decent to one another stephen douglas, abraham lincoln's opponent in the historic debates of 1858, asserted that the declaration was a contract between englishmen only that excluded not only african americans and hispanics but also the italians, the swiss, the asians almost anyone but douglas and a few select friends lincoln retorted, 'why, according to this, not only negroes but white people outside of great britain and america are not spoken of in (the declaration) the french, germans and other white people of the world are all gone to pot along with the judge's inferior races i had thought the declaration promised something better' though he lost that race to douglas, a greater triumph awaited lincoln on his way to his presidential inaugural, lincoln stopped in philadelphia's independence hall and said, 'i have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the declaration of independence' we are now 237 years into the history of the document that lincoln so cherished, and even today, jefferson's words are still awkward and challenging we are still realizing the potential of 'all men are created equal' equality has come slowly less than a hundred years ago, women were finally constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote just five years ago, hillary clinton became the first woman to make a serious run at the presidency this march, the violence against women reauthorization act was approved some opposed it or obstructed it because of a provision that would give indian tribes authority by their own people to bring to justice a perpetrator of violence against a woman there was also opposition to extending the law to apply to lgbt people and immigrants yet despite that opposition, the law finally passed this week, the us senate at long last approved a law that has been before congress in one form or another for decades the employment non discrimination act is a simple bill that would outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, protections that are extended to all americans on the basis of race, age, religion and other categories the fact that this law does not already exist for the lgbt community will come as a surprise to many americans eighty percent of the public believes that it is already against the law to fire, or refuse to hire, someone because of their gender orientation or identification as americans, we trust that jefferson's words already apply to everyone, but that dream is not realized now, the senate has brought us one step closer to that goal, offering sweeping bipartisan endorsement to this bill that is supported by broad majorities of democratic, independent and republican voters alike but once again, it appears that the house of representatives is prepared to stand in the way of progress speaker john boehner said he will probably kill the bill by refusing to bring it to a vote boehner's office is offering three key arguments for stopping this civil rights legislation dead, and each one is more phony than the last he's called it a job killer (why, then, have more than 100 major corporations many in the fortune 500 endorsed it? and why is the chamber of commerce neutral?) he's said it will increase frivolous lawsuits (only if you believe that being able to challenge your boss if he or she fires you strictly because you're gay is 'frivolous') and his staff has said this problem is already addressed by existing law (this one's just flat out phony, and they know it more than half the states in the country lack these protections) contrast boehner to another republican, illinois sen mark kirk, who used his first floor speech since suffering a stroke in 2012 to address the issue of workplace discrimination his speech was halting, but he felt compelled to speak because he 'so passionately' believes in equal rights for all 'i think it's particularly appropriate for an illinois republican to speak on behalf of this measure,' kirk said 'in the true tradition of everett mckinley dirksen and abraham lincoln, men who gave us the 1964 civil rights act and the 13th amendment to the constitution' even now, in 2013, there are those in our society who, like douglas more than a century and a half ago, cling to a narrow and incomplete view of jefferson's immortal words and would prefer for only some of us to be granted the full light of equality but today i still have hope that folks like kirk on both sides of the aisle, as well as the broad majority of americans who support this bill, will stand up, like lincoln before them, and once again expand the circle of liberty to include everyone the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile | twigless placentomata maintainers | no related information |
(cnn) the wife of missing adventurer steve fossett has asked a court to declare him dead steve fossett and wife peggy in a february 2006 photograph fossett was last seen in early september, flying a single engine plane on a pleasure flight from a nevada ranch a month long search for the plane was unsuccessful 'as difficult as it is for me to reach this conclusion, i no longer hold out any hope that steve has survived,' wrote peggy v fossett in court documents filed monday with the cook county [illinois] circuit court she asked that the will of her husband of 38 years be admitted to probate at about 8:45 am on september 3, the millionaire took off on what he said was to be a solo pleasure flight over the sierra nevada mountain range he had planned to fly over the nevada desert for two to three hours, and was expecting to return for lunch to the nevada ranch, from which he departed he was carrying a single bottle of water and had no parachute, lawyers for mrs fossett said in the court documents at 3 pm, when he had not returned, a search began that ultimately included thousands of volunteers it continued until october 2 'no one involved in the search holds out any hope that fossett is still alive,' the petition said rick rains, a sheriff's supervisor of the san diego county sheriff's department, said fossett's plane was last spotted at 11 am less than 20 miles from the ranch's airport 'given the timeline and the sighting of fossett's plane, i believe he was within 20 to 25 miles of the ranch when he crashed,' rains said but, he noted, 'the terrain is very difficult to search, with many areas where the crevices, deep ravines and closely grown trees make it impossible to see from the air what is on the ground' 'if fossett was physically able to find water to survive on in the nevada desert, he would have been physically capable of signaling searchers, by doing something as simple as crafting a large x of sticks or rocks, or by starting a signal fire,' rains said in affidavits supporting his wife's petition, fossett's doctor described the 63 year old man as physically and mentally fit robert keilholtz, a captain in the california civil air patrol who was involved in the search, noted that the difficulty in finding wreckage was underscored by the fact that world war ii era plane wreckage was discovered last spring in the mountain range in the search for fossett, wreckage from eight other crashes was discovered, one of them from the 1960s, the lawyers said fossett made his money in the financial services industry, but is renowned for his daredevil exploits, which include nonstop, round the world trips aboard a balloon, a fixed wing plane and a boat at the time of his disappearance, fossett was working on a project to build a single man submarine and to build a vehicle capable of breaking land speed records by traveling at up to 800 mph, lawyers for his wife said e mail to a friend | steve fossett nevada 20 to 25 miles | steve fossett missing since september solo flight over nevada mountains . single engine plane last seen 20 to 25 miles from departure point, sheriff says . plane not found after month of searching . experienced aviator would have signaled rescuers if alive, sheriff says |
new delhi, india (cnn) vimlendu jha is the founder and head of swechha we for change foundation which is based in india's capital, new delhi 'for the rest of the world india is powerful, but for many residing in the countryside, india is still disempowered, hungry and naked' swechha started out as an organization to combat the pollution of the city's main waterway, the river yamuna today it deals with the environmental issues that affect several aspects of delhi vimlendu leads volunteers and local children to key sites around the city to tackle the ecological problems, as well as to raise awareness of the issues follow his efforts in his blogs and video diaries october 18, 2007 we traveled, along with 100 odd kids from one of new delhi's most progressive schools, the shri ram school, to the rural part of our country, to kempty village in uttaranchal the purpose of the visit was to expose these young minds (ages 15 17) to the existence of another india most of us have an illusion of india becoming a powerful nation and it is on a phenomenal growth trajectory we are not so much seen as a developing nation but a developed nation one wonders what actually makes a country developed, when most of the parameters of development are skewed, as is the case of our country for the rest of the world india is powerful, but for many residing in the countryside, india is still disempowered, hungry and naked up to 70 percent of indians still live in villages most of the time these villages are neglected and are centers of poverty development around india's cities has brought a flood of people from the rural areas who come in search of jobs this population comprises the 'urban poor' which is more vulnerable than the rural poor imagine, india still has more than 260 million people (26 percent of the population) living below the poverty line in the last 10 years, we have had at least 40,000 farmer suicides in the country indicative of the growing gap between the poor and the rich the purpose of this trip was to learn, and unlearn, about village stereotypes or notions we live with the village in uttaranchal wasn't as extreme an experience as other remote villages of india, but it was indicative of the hardships that people live with another reason for the trip was to celebrate the simplicity and generosity of the villagers vis à vis we, the insecure urbanites, and also to understand their hardships, due to our over consumption and false assumption that our wrongdoing does not necessarily influence the rural population when we know it does for many students, it was a first time, first hand experience of a village some were overwhelmed with the beauty and many were saddened by the villagers' plight the outing also gave them an opportunity to contribute in some way students worked in the fields, helped the villagers in agricultural work and breathed the clean air it was a wonderful experience, aimed at understanding the gap between the two exisiting worlds; to bridge the gap between these two worlds e mail to a friend | uttaranchal india indian vimlendu | vimlendu takes a group of children to see a village in uttaranchal . his aim was to show them the differences between india's city and village life . many of the children had never been to an indian village . vimlendu says they were 'saddened by the villagers' plight' |
beijing, china (cnn) when after many visits to doctors and hospitals tian huiping's son was finally diagnosed with autism, the only advice she was given was to make use of a loophole in china's 'one child' policy that allows parents with disabled children to have one more tian huiping considered suicide when she learned her son was autistic instead, she opened an autism school alone with her son after her husband divorced her, tian became depressed and desperate enough to consider killing herself and her son, yang tao 'i made a poison for me and my son,' she said but when she saw her boy smiling up at her happily, she says she couldn't do it 'i thought, i have no right to end his life, and i cannot kill myself and leave him' from that horrible moment 18 years ago, there grew an incredible resolve the kind of dogged determination borne of a mother protecting her child at one of the many hospitals she went to for help in beijing, tian came across a small brochure printed by the taiwan autism association, explaining a few basic concepts on how to teach kids with autism watch mom describe being near suicide with autistic child » she read it over and over again 'i just tried to work a little bit with my son and another boy we lived with,' she says 'and it worked a little bit but i saw hope' she rented space in a kindergarten and opened her own school at first, with just six autistic children she slept on the floor in a store room to save money two months later, the kindergarten closed her down 'we didn't make enough money for them,' she says but the children had shown progress, even though the teaching was based on a few simple concepts in a few pages of a brochure soon, the word was out and more parents with autistic children came to tian looking for help, all of them with the same fears 'if my son cannot go to school, what will happen with him? as a mother this is such a big worry' fifteen years later, tian and her stars and rain education institute for autism help more than 3,000 children a day through her school and its outreach program eighty children of all ages enroll in her school for an 11 week course with their parents many of whom travel hundreds of miles from small villages to get help for their children the parents then return to their villages to try to educate the local population interactive: autism 101 » the chinese government says there are only about 100,000 people with autism in the entire country, but unofficial estimates put the number between 1 2 million people, perhaps even more tian says her institute has a list of just 60 doctors nationwide who are capable of diagnosing autism fifteen years ago, she says there were just three because resources are scarce, the focus at her school is on teaching the parents how to educate their children they first help parents to accept their child's disability and teach basic information about autism awareness programs are individualized for each child, with teachers working on verbal communication, managing tantrums and other early intervention methods one of the parents is a woman named fu jing it took three years and countless wrong diagnoses, before she finally learned why her son ruoqi wasn't talking or playing with other kids, she said when fu leaned ruoqi was autistic, her world collapsed 'i thought about committing suicide with my son i could not imagine the pain he would suffer when he grew up all the unfair treatment from society and schoolmates,' she said 'as a mother, i felt so much pain' but now fu is learning how to communicate with her son, how to raise him, even how to love him 'the training here strengthens the acceptance of your kids honestly speaking, as an ordinary person, i get angry and even shout at him,' she said 'but here, they say we have to accept our kids as who they are i feel that i have changed' there are no government programs to help parents with autistic children and there is no government help for tian and her school 'i'm not used to requesting anything from government,' she says 'we have grown up in such a situation' for the past three years, stars and rain has been working with heartspring, a kansas based center for children with special needs teachers from beijing have been sent to wichita, kansas, for training; and teachers like connie coulter have come to stars and rain when she arrived in february, coulter found a school with almost no resources and without access to the latest research some parents, she said, would come up to her and ask about a magic pill or vitamin 'to cure their child' 'in the villages where they're coming from, they're just viewed as basically throw away children,' she said 'to tell [the parents] and be able to educate them, it was an exhilarating experience to talk to them about the basic understanding of autism' coulter described her time at the school as a 'life changing experience' 'there are things that they have taught me about value of family, the passion, the empathy, the sacrifice that i don't see as much in the united states,' she said it's a sacrifice these parents feel lucky to make because in china, if your child has autism and you want to help, there is almost nowhere else to turn e mail to a friend cnn's wayne drash contributed to this report | china 1 2 million | china estimates 100,000 people with autism; some say real number is 1 2 million . mom considered murder suicide with autistic son; instead started autism school . the school helps 3,000 children with autism every day despite no government aid . 'as a mother, i felt so much pain' |
los angeles, california (cnn) liv tyler doesn't like to be bothered by her agents at night but it's a good thing she took their call pitching her 'the incredible hulk' liv tyler plays betty ross, a colleague of edward norton's bruce banner, in 'the incredible hulk' 'my agent called me one night i had just put [son] milo to bed it was like 9 o'clock at night, and i always get grumpy with them when they call me really late,' she told cnn 'they said, 'marvel would like to fly you to los angeles tomorrow will you get on a plane to come and meet for 'the hulk'? and i said i can't come tomorrow, but i can come the next day' the flight turned out to be well worth it though tyler said she was discombobulated by the speed of it all 'i went and met with [director] louis [leterrier] and they offered me the part that day,' she said 'i was kind of floored because it just happened so quickly and i didn't get to read the script [but] it was kind of a no brainer' in the new 'hulk,' 'the lord of the rings' actress plays betty ross, a former colleague of scientist and hulk alter ego bruce banner (edward norton) she said working on the film brought back memories of her childhood watching the tv show starring bill bixby and lou ferrigno (ferrigno has a cameo in the new film) 'i loved the tv show when i was a kid,' she said 'i used to watch it all the time with my mom it was our favorite show' tyler, 30, said that she felt a tremendous sense of responsibility to the 'hulk' mythology, particularly since a 2003 film on the character met with mixed reviews watch tyler, norton and leterrier on the latest 'hulk' » 'well, a lot of people would say even i said 'oh, they're making 'the hulk'?' didn't they do that already?' she said but she added, 'the fans love this so much and there's so much detail to the story, i always feel quite stressed about that, like i really want to do the part justice i definitely feel that responsibility and want to do the best job that i can' cnn's kj matthews contributed to this report | liv tyler hulk tyler betty ross marvel bill bixby | actress liv tyler says 'hulk' role came unexpectedly . tyler plays betty ross in new film version of marvel superhero . tyler says she was huge fan of tv show with bill bixby |
washington (cnn) iraq is raking in more money from oil exports than it is spending, amassing a projected four year budget surplus of up to $80 billion, us auditors reported tuesday oil accounted for 94 percent of the iraq's revenue from 2005 to 2007, a us report says leading members of congress, noting that washington is paying for reconstruction in iraq, expressed outrage at the assessment one called the findings 'inexcusable' 'we should not be paying for iraqi projects while iraqi oil revenues continue to pile up in the bank, including outrageous profits from $4 a gallon gas prices in the us,' said sen carl levin, the chairman of the senate armed services committee 'we should require that us taxpayers be reimbursed for the cost of large projects' baghdad had a $29 billion budget surplus between 2005 to 2007 with the price of crude roughly doubling in the past year, iraq's surplus for 2008 is expected to run between $38 billion and $50 billion, according to a report from the us government accountability office the united states has put about $48 billion toward reconstruction since the 2003 invasion of iraq, auditors reported about $23 billion of that was spent on the oil and electricity industries, water systems and security iraq spent $39 billion on those sectors from 2005 through april 2008, according to the gao, the investigative arm of congress the ongoing fighting there, a shortage of trained staff and weak controls have made it difficult for the iraqi government to spend its surplus on needed projects, the agency's report concluded levin, a michigan democrat, has been an outspoken critic of the slow progress of reconstruction and an advocate of a us withdrawal from iraq his criticism tuesday was echoed by sen john warner, a virginia republican who is the former chairman and now a leading member of levin's committee 'despite iraq earning billions of dollars in oil revenue in the past five years, us taxpayer money has been the overwhelming source of iraq reconstruction funds,' warner said in a joint statement with levin 'it is time for the sovereign government of iraq, using its revenues, expenditures and surpluses, to fully assume the responsibility to provide essential services and improve the quality of life for the iraqi people' in its written response to the audit report, the treasury department said us officials are working with iraqis to address the issue, 'and we believe progress is being made' 'the report shows iraq's budget surplus is likely to grow significantly over the course of 2008, but it is equally important to realize that spending in iraq is also increasing,' deputy assistant treasury secretary andy baukol wrote to the gao prime minister nuri al maliki's government submitted a $22 billion supplemental budget to the iraqi parliament in july, including $8 billion in proposed capital expenditures, baukol wrote the issue raised the hackles of several members of congress earlier this year particularly because bush administration officials said on the eve of the war that iraqi oil money would pay for reconstruction in 2003, then deputy secretary of defense paul wolfowitz told the house appropriations committee: 'we're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon'' rep henry waxman, d california, said tuesday's report 'is going to make a lot of american families very angry' 'the record gas prices they are paying have turned into an economic windfall for iraq, but the iraqi government isn't spending the money on rebuilding,' said waxman, the chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee levin spokeswoman tara andringa said the senator hopes to tighten rules governing us expenditures on iraqi reconstruction efforts in the next pentagon authorization bill the iraqi surplus has piled up even though the country's oil production has only recently matched prewar levels, according to the brookings institution's latest iraq index the country spent about 80 percent of its $29 billion operating budget in 2007, including public services and salaries, but only 28 percent of its $12 billion investment budget, the gao found the export of crude oil accounted for 94 percent of iraq's revenues from 2005 to 2007, the gao reported | us washington iraq $80 billion | us lawmakers upset over surplus, noting washington is footing reconstruction . us taxpayers should be reimbursed, senator says . report says iraq's budget surplus from 2005 to 2008 could hit $80 billion |
(cnn) the mother of a missing toddler on monday was arrested in connection with an alleged theft from one of her friends, florida authorities said monday's arrest of casey anthony, mother of missing 3 year old caylee anthony, was her second relating to the theft case and her third since the child disappeared three months ago the latest charges passing a forged check, fraudulent use of personal identification and petty theft, according to an arrest affidavit released by the orange county sheriff's office related to a theft from casey anthony's friend amy huizenga, authorities said anthony and her missing daughter have garnered national headlines and served as fodder for nightly crime shows, which show pictures of the wide eyed toddler during their coverage watch nancy grace with the latest on the arrest » caylee disappeared in mid june, and her mother waited nearly a month before reporting the disappearance, authorities said since then, evidence has mounted that caylee is dead, authorities said anthony was first arrested on july 16 after she told detectives lies about her daughter's disappearance, according to police she was charged with child neglect, making false official statements and obstructing a criminal investigation while out on bail, anthony on august 29 was arrested on suspicion of forgery, fraudulent use of personal information and petty theft related to the huizenga case she remained in jail until early september, when her $500,000 bail was posted anonymously police have labeled anthony a 'person of interest' in the case of her missing daughter anthony initially said she didn't immediately report her daughter missing because she was conducting her own investigation later, she told police she gave caylee to a baby sitter but investigators said they soon learned that the address she gave them was an apartment that hadn't been occupied for months | 3 year old caylee anthony second casey anthony nearly a month | mother of missing 3 year old caylee anthony charged with theft . arrest is her second relating to alleged theft from friend . authorities: casey anthony waited nearly a month before she reported girl missing . casey anthony is 'person of interest' in disappearance, authorities say |
(cnn) despite periodic violence and continued unresolved issues, sudan's president on sunday authorized the reopening of all border crossings with south sudan, state news reported president omar al bashir ordered the reopening of all passages by land, water and air between his african nation and its newly independent neighbor south sudan, the official sudan news agency (suna) reported the president met sunday with foreign minister ali ahmad karti and mutrif sadiq, sudan's recently appointed ambassador to south sudan, to ask his help in carrying out the directives and make normalizing relations between the two countries a priority sadiq said after the meeting that he had been instructed by the president 'to work together with the concerned authorities' to reopen the borders, suna reported sudan was embroiled in a bloody two decade civil war that ended with a peace agreement in 2005 a referendum six years later led to south sudan's secession, which became official in july 2011 the two nations, however, have remained at odds since then on a number of hot button issues their leaders have faced international pressure, from the likes of the united nations and the african union, to resolve their disputes and come to a lasting agreement they made some headway toward that end late last month though the deal they reached failed to address a number of disputes sudan, south sudan reach partial agreement during talks in the ethiopian capital of addis ababa, al bashir and south sudan's president salva kiir agreed to resume oil exports and set up a demilitarized zone, as well as principles related to border demarcation yet they could not reach a deal on the status of abyei, a disputed region claimed by both countries, which has been a contentious issue since the south declared independence on july 9 of last year the partial agreement was applauded by, among others, un secretary general ban ki moon and us president barack obama photos: south sudan's gun culture sudan and south sudan have been under increasing pressure from the african union and security council to resolve the matter peacefully in april, sudan and south sudan slipped close to all out war with a series of tit for tat air raids and ground attacks that prompted the african union and security council to push the two sides to act still, the recent political progress has not stopped violence in the region peacekeepers die in darfur attack last week, four peacekeepers with the african union united nations mission in sudan's darfur region were killed and eight injured in an ambush by unidentified attackers unamid force commander and officer in charge lt gen patrick nyamvumba condemned what he called a 'criminal attack,' demanding sudan's government 'bring the perpetrators to justice' sudan military plane crash kills 15 supermodel's south sudan homecoming cnn's amir ahmed contributed to this report | selectivity cholinic imperceived | no related information |
(cnn) for decades, many african countries saw some of their most skilful young people take their talents to other parts of the world, lured by the financial prospects outside the continent but lately, as much of europe continues to shrink under the weight of austerity, an increasing number of africans are turning their backs on cash strapped western economies to return to their continent, seeking jobs and new economic opportunities one of these returnee africans known as 'repats' is nigerian joshua egba the 33 year old financial consultant left the west african country a decade ago to continue his studies in london, uk 'things weren't really happening in nigeria in about 2002,' he says 'people were going to the uk for better opportunities' but this picture changed completely in 2008, egba notes, when the global financial crisis hit britain, bringing with it a feeling of fear and job insecurity 'business are laying staff off, the government is laying staff off, so you're not safe,' he remembers 'i thought really it's time for me to go home because i'm hearing all these stories, all these success stories coming from nigeria, coming from africa' read more: the africans looking to make it in china for nigeria, 2008 was a turnaround year as a series of government reforms boosted the country's economy that has continued to grow since then: in the past three years, the oil rich west african nation has seen growth of more than seven percent while much of the western world remains mired in financial turmoil while the evidence over the returnee figures in africa is largely anecdotal, observers cite the continent's impressive economic growth, coupled with improvements in governance, a boom in telecommunications and the economic slowdown in the west, as the key factors for the apparent increase in the number of africans coming back to the continent read more: activists use web to fight back in anti corruption battle 'people who wouldn't have considered coming back in the first instance started looking at the possibility of actually going back to africa to look for better opportunities,' says funto akinkugbe, managing director of findajobinafricacom, an online platform that facilitates the connection between recruitment agencies, employers and jobseekers akinkugbe notes that his site, which he says receives around 43,000 45,000 visitors on a monthly basis, has recorded an increase of 35 40% in the last two years over the number of people applying for jobs in africa he adds that this increase is supported by the ever growing number of the africa focused job portals, which now number in hundreds akinkugbe says that the main areas of employment activity are the mining industry in central african countries like the democratic republic of congo, agriculture in west africa and the oil and gas sectors in countries such as uganda and ghana but part of this increasing interest, akinkugbe explains, is not only limited to africans 'you now also have europeans looking at exploring opportunities in africa because africa is an emerging market, the next destination,' akinkugbe says 'there's been a number discoveries within the last 10 years in the oil and gas sector, so you have a lot of countries that are willing to bring in experts so they can actually develop the local industry' jean philippe chauzy, a spokesperson for the international organization for migration, says african countries with growing economies have the potential to attract skilled profs back home 'those who are skilled and highly skilled are basically employable on the global jobs market, so they will tend to go where jobs are available,' says chauzy 'now, it might be in their country of origin if the country of origin has a growing economy for instance, think of angola where there is growth,' he adds 'so those migrants, because they have skills and they've got access to information, will weigh their chances whether it's better to stay in europe or whether there's more of a future going back home and creating an enterprise or a small business and basically trying to hone their skills' read more: how '99p' stores made african businessman millions but amid this brain gain boom, there are still millions more professionals in the african diaspora put off by the daily inconveniences of living in some parts of the continent problems such as traffic, power cuts, corruption and the general struggle to get things done quickly can act as a deterrent, especially among high skilled african migrants nigerian tunde ogunrinde, who returned to his country after spending some 20 years in europe, is today the chief operating officer of restaurant chain chicken republic he says he was lucky to return to a well established and organized industry but adds that more needs to be done to make it more appealing for professionals such as doctors, nurses and lecturers to come back to the country 'the government really needs to put more of an enabling environment for those industries to lure back, not just people like myself in the retail, hospitality industry, but also in those industries,' says ogunrinde victoria eastwood contributed to this report | africans europe west africa recent years | an increasing number of africans are leaving europe and the west to return to africa . they return to their continent seeking jobs and new economic opportunities . economic growth, better governance and technology boom are factors in rise of returnees . the economic slowdown in the west in recent years is also a factor |
(cnn) goalkeeper tim howard says the explosion of interest in soccer in the united states is 'mind blowing' off the back of team usa's surprise progression from the world cup 'group of death' to the last 16 few gave the us team much chance of finishing in the top two from the likes of germany, portugal and ghana, but it has defied the pundits to reach the knockout stages howard, who plays for everton in the english premier league, has been a key figure, making a string of fine saves to restrict group winners germany to a 1 0 win thursday it left team usa tied on four points with portugal, but qualifying for a match against belgium next tuesday because of a superior goal difference the 35 year old veteran of 103 internationals had also been in top form as the us tied portugal 2 2 in its second group match, building on its 2 1 win over ghana to start the tournament the huge support in brazil, an estimated four times as many us fans as followed england's under achieving team, plus unprecedented scenes across america with fans crowding to watch games on big screens, has come as something of a surprise to new jersey born howard 'the fact that it has really swept the nation is incredible for us as american players to see that,' he told cnn 'the interest has been mind blowing and we've enjoyed watching every second of youtube clips and instagram and twitter,' 'we've come so far in a short period of time you know, the sport in our country really isn't that old,' he added howard also believes coach jurgen klinsmann has been vindicated for his selections after coming under fire before the start of the world cup for leaving out fan favorite landon donovan and picking four german born players in his squad 'he's from day one made a lot of bold, powerful decisions some people call it cutthroat even,' he said 'but he's strong in his decision making, and that's what a leader has to be you can never waver' klinsmann said friday he was 'optimistic' striker jozy altidore will return from injury to play against belgium after sustaining a hamstring injury in the win over ghana another key player, midfielder jermaine jones, has also been cleared to play despite breaking his nose in the narrow loss to germany howard believes they can provide another upset to beat belgium, which won all of its three group matches, building on the momentum of earlier performances 'we have a lot of other things we want to do, starting with belgium, but you know we're proud of ourselves we worked hard 'it was the group of death, and people didn't give us a lot of a chance we have to believe we can do it,' he added howard who spent four years with manchester united before transferring to everton has become something of a cult hero, sporting a thick black beard in direct contrast to his shaven head he had first grown it during the last epl season and has changed his mind once or twice about its merits 'it was my strength i loved it, and then i cut it i just cut it because i was tired of it 'but i just decided to grow it back there's never a rhyme or reason when i decide to grow it it just happened' howard will be hoping it brings his side luck again when it faces belgium, looking to reach the quarterfinals of a world cup for the first time since 2002 | snowdrift dicyclist kyanise | no related information |
(cnn) three anti whaling activists were injured in a clash with japanese whalers off the coast of antarctica on wednesday when the japanese crew used grappling hooks against pursuit boats, the conservation group sea shepherd said in statement the environmental group claims two of its crew from the anti whaling ship steve irwin were struck in the shoulder with iron grappling hooks and one crewmember was struck twice in the face with a long bamboo pole the group said the incident occurred at about 3am (australian eastern daylight time) in waters 300 miles north of mawson peninsula in antarctica sea shepherd claims the japanese whaler yushin maru no 2 continued to tail the steve irwin which is in antarctic waters attempting to disrupt the japanese whalers 'our small boats were attempting to slow down the japanese harpoon vessel yushin maru no 2, which is aggressively tailing the steve irwin,' said captain paul watson the group said that american crewmember brian race, 25, from new york, was jabbed twice in the face with a bamboo pole receiving lacerations above his right eye and on his nose south african cameraman russell bergh, 35, and french photographer guillaume collet, 27, received deep bruising when the hooks struck them sea shepherd said two of the three harpoon ships had been assigned to tail the steve irwin and its pursuit boats, effectively putting two of the three killing boats out of action | sea shepherd's steve irwin japanese | conservation group claims crew were attacked with grappling hooks . two crew were struck with iron hooks, the group says . it claims a third crew member was struck twice in the face with a bamboo pole . sea shepherd's vessel steve irwin is attempting to disrupt japanese whaling ships |
london (cnn) foreign secretary william hague announced plans tuesday for the united kingdom to reopen its embassy in tehran, iran, which has been closed since an attack by protesters in 2011 triggered a dramatic breakdown in relations hague's announcement to parliament follows a series of steps taken by both nations in recent months to improve ties in a written statement to lawmakers, he said that, given the progress made, 'i have therefore now decided the circumstances are right to reopen our embassy in tehran 'there are a range of practical issues that we will need to resolve first however it is our intention to reopen the embassy in tehran with a small initial presence as soon as these practical arrangements have been made' hague said his two chief concerns in making the decision had been whether uk embassy staff would be safe and secure, and whether they would be able to work 'without hindrance' he added, 'there has never been any doubt in my mind that we should have an embassy in tehran if the circumstances allowed iran is an important country in a volatile region, and maintaining embassies around the world, even under difficult conditions, is a central pillar of the uk's global diplomatic approach' the assault by student protesters on the uk embassy and a separate diplomatic compound in tehran in november 2011 prompted outrage in the united kingdom and led britain to close the embassy's doors and withdraw all its staff from iran britain also closed the iranian embassy in london and ordered all iranian diplomats to leave the protest in tehran was sparked by anger at uk sanctions imposed against iranian institutions over iran's nuclear program the embassy buildings should have been guarded by iranian security officers since the election of iranian president hassan rouhani last year, there's been a more positive tone to iran's interactions with the west that relationship has taken on a new significance in light of the current crisis in iraq, where sunni militants have seized vast swaths of territory iran, a majority shiite nation, is an ally of iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki's shia led government and has said it would provide help if asked the united states, whose formal relations with iran ended after the 1979 takeover of its embassy there, now faces the politically unpalatable option of cooperating with tehran to stop gains by the militant group, the islamic state in iraq and syria (isis) the united states and iran held 'very brief discussions' about iraq and the threat posed by isis in vienna, austria, on monday, state department spokeswoman marie harf said deputy secretary of state william burns is in vienna for nuclear talks with iran cnn's carol jordan and elaine ly contributed to this report | william hague iran tehran hague 2011 britain the iranian embassy london iranian | foreign secretary william hague: 'iran is an important country in a volatile region'. 'the circumstances are right to reopen our embassy in tehran,' hague tells lawmakers . the embassy in tehran was closed after an attack on the site by protesters in 2011 . britain also shut the iranian embassy in london and ordered all iranian diplomats to leave |
(cnn) a sudanese christian woman who had been sentenced to die for refusing to renounce her faith and her husband were released from custody late thursday, the two told cnn mariam yehya ibrahim and her husband, daniel wani, said that they were freed on bail but are prohibited from leaving the country the pair had been detained after they arrived at an airport in khartoum with their children on tuesday she is accused of two criminal counts, traveling with falsified documents and giving false information, according to ibrahim's legal team ibrahim was trying to leave the african country for the united states with her family, her legal team said wednesday daniel wani was being held as an accessory, the lawyers said the family was stopped at the airport after what ibrahim's lawyers described tuesday as an alleged 'irregularity with her documentation' the us state department said tuesday that ibrahim and her family had been 'temporarily detained at the airport' for questioning over issues relating to their travel and documentation 'she and her family are in a safe location, and the government of sudan has assured us of the family's continued safety,' us state department spokeswoman marie harf said thursday, confirming that ibrahim had been released on bail harf said that the us embassy 'remains highly engaged' in the woman's case, saying 'we will provide more information as it becomes available consistent with privacy laws' sudanese authorities said ibrahim had been detained because of the documents she submitted sudan's national intelligence and security services said that she had south sudanese travel documents despite not being a citizen of south sudan, and she was heading to the united states, which is not her native country 'this was considered illegal by the sudanese authorities, who have summoned both the us and south sudanese ambassadors,' the agency said in a message posted on its media facebook page early wednesday the airport detention came a day after ibrahim's legal team announced the 27 year old woman had been released from prison after weeks of international controversy over her conviction on apostasy and adultery charges according to her lawyer, the case began when one of ibrahim's relatives, a muslim, filed a criminal complaint saying her family was shocked to find out she had married wani, a christian, after she was missing for several years the sudanese court considered ibrahim a muslim because her father was muslim, but she said she was a christian and never practiced islam she was charged with adultery, because a muslim woman's marriage to a christian man is illegal in sudan, and with apostasy, accused of illegally renouncing what was alleged to be her original faith woman's 'brother' says she should repent what does christian woman's death sentence for faith say about sudan? why marrying for love should never mean death journalist muhammad osman contributed to this report | mariam yehya ibrahim cnn the united states ibrahim | mariam yehya ibrahim and her husband say they were freed on bail . they tell cnn they are prohibited from leaving the country . the couple and their two children were planning to travel to the united states . ibrahim had been sentenced to death for apostasy, then released on appeal |
jerusalem (cnn) yitzhak shamir, a political hard liner who served two terms as israeli prime minster, died saturday, the prime minister's office said shamir, 96, served as premier from 1983 to 1984, and from 1986 to 1992 he also was israel's foreign minister from 1980 to 1986 born in poland, shamir moved to palestine and fought for israeli independence he joined the likud movement, serving as a member of israel's parliament, and also worked for the mossad, israel's intelligence service shamir succeeded menachem begin as prime minister in 1983 'yitzhak shamir belonged to the generation of giants who established the state of israel and fought for the freedom of the jewish people on their land,' said israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, a fellow likud member it was during shamir's second term as prime minister that the gulf war broke out, leaving him with the question of how to respond to iraqi scud missiles falling on israeli soil israeli government and military officials pressed him to retaliate and the united states urged him not to, and shamir ultimately assured washington he would not strike back shamir also presided over negotiations with egypt on the post treaty normalization process, and started diplomatic relations with several african countries that had severed relations with israel after the yom kippur war, according to a biography of shamir on the prime minister's website shamir ordered operation solomon, the airlift rescue of thousands of ethiopian jews following a regime change in 1991 during the operation, which took less than 48 hours, 14,000 jews boarded israeli planes to emigrate to israel, according to the israeli government in september 1991, shamir represented israel at the international peace conference in madrid israeli president shimon peres called shamir a 'brave warrior' 'he fought with courage against the british mandate in the days of the underground and his incredible contribution to the state of israel during his time in the mossad will remain forever enshrined in the tales of bravery of our nation,' peres said in a statement shamir was a leader of the jewish zionist underground group that fought the mandate in the 1940s us secretary of state hillary clinton said shamir dedicated his life to israel 'from his days working for israel's independence to his service as prime minister, he strengthened israel's security and advanced the partnership between the united states and israel,' she said in a statement cnn's guy azriel contributed to this report | shimon peres shamir netanyahu israel gulf war iraqi | shimon peres calls shamir a 'brave warrior'. the 96 year old politician was involved in key foreign policy initiatives . netanyahu says he 'belonged to the generation of giants' that established the state . shamir led israel during the first gulf war, when iraqi missiles fell on israel |
(rollingstonecom) many have speculated about what apple's big announcement tomorrow morning will be, and the wall street journal claims that it has the answer: the beatles' catalog will finally be available on itunes citing 'people familiar with the situation,' the paper says that the deal was being negotiated as recently as last week between apple, representatives for the beatles and their record label, emi the source also said apple could still change its plans at the last minute rolling stone: rare photos of the band's 1964 us tour spokesmen for apple, emi and paul mccartney declined to comment to the paper apple and the group have had a long and often fraught relationship, and not just because the computer giant and the beatles' custom label share a name (which was the cause of the first legal action between the two companies, in 1978) due to the complexities of the beatles' finances, the group has been late to many developments: its catalog was not released on cd until 1987, and boxed sets of unreleased material were not released until the mid 1990s when the group's catalog was finally remastered and released last september, a press release simply said: 'discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue there is no further information available at this time' copyright © 2010 rolling stone | balatronic deliquiesce squatted | no related information |
editor's note: the staff at cnncom has recently been intrigued by the journalism of vice, an independent media company and web site based in brooklyn, new york vbstv is vice's broadband television network the reports, which are produced solely by vice, reflect a very transparent approach to journalism, where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process we believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our cnncom readers refugio aviarios del caribe, costa rica (vbstv) sloths are fantastically weird animals, the junkies of the jungle who seem to spend their lives either nodding off or scratching and occasionally eating a bean or two before drifting back to what looks like a blissful sleep i've always been a fan of sloths they're wonderfully freaky, yet perfectly adapted to their slow arboreal lifestyle their nerves have even evolved to react slower so they don't flinch at loud noises, making them nature's most chilled out animals they have very few natural predators and the only time they're vulnerable is when they leave the trees once a week and descend to the ground to poo this behavior has befuddled scientists for many years one of the theories is that their solitary lifestyle affords few chances to hook up with the opposite sex and these toilet stops are a good way to meet other sloths see the rest of 'sloths!' at vbstv but evolution didn't prepare sloths for the power lines and roads that now crisscross costa rica's jungles the babies of mama sloths who have been run over or zapped by electricity wind up at the aviaros del caribe sanctuary in costa rica it's the world's only sloth orphanage, home to more than 100 very sleepy urchins whose lives have been saved by legendary sloth whisperer judy arroyo if you fall for these animals like i did then you can join the sanctuary's volunteer program trainee sloth wranglers get to feed the sloths and help exercise and potty train the babies the sanctuary runs on donations and volunteers, so you can do your bit by helping these vulnerable creatures whose jungle home, some say, is being slowly destroyed by pesticides, sold off to us real estate agencies, and sliced up by roads and power lines | costa rica's aviaros del caribe | sloths have very few natural predators . costa rica's roads and power lines threaten its sloth population . aviaros del caribe is the world's only sloth sanctuary |
(cnn) need a break from shopping and celebrating the holidays? there will be lots of offerings at your local cinema as hollywood is releasing a crop of new films through the end of the year now playing 'burlesque' plot summary: a small town girl goes to california to perform in a burlesque musical revue starring: christina aguilera, cher, stanley tucci and kristen bell 'faster' plot summary: an ex con out to avenge his brother's murder must also deal with a hit man and a police officer hunting him starring: dwayne johnson, billy bob thornton and maggie grace 'love and other drugs' plot summary: a pharmaceutical salesman begins a relationship with a woman who has parkinson's disease starring: jake gyllenhaal, anne hathaway and judy greer 'tangled' plot summary: love inspires the long haired princess rapunzel to leave her tower in this reboot of a beloved fairy tale starring: voices of mandy moore, zachary levi and donna murphy 'the legend of pale male' * limited release in new york plot summary: documentary about a red tailed hawk who becomes a famous resident of new york starring: n/a 'the nutcracker in 3d' * limited release; wide release december 3 plot summary: the classic story of girl whose gift comes to life one christmas eve gets a modern, 3 d twist starring: elle fanning, nathan lane and john turturro friday 'the king's speech' plot summary: an australian speech therapist tries to help king george vi of britain overcome a speech impediment starring: colin firth, geoffrey rush and helena bonham carter 'london boulevard' plot summary: a parolee battles with a gangster for the affections of a movie star starring: keira knightley, colin farrell and jamie campbell bower december 3 'all good things' * limited release in new york plot summary: inspired by one of the most notorious unsolved crime cases in new york history, the film is part murder mystery, part love story starring: ryan gosling, kirsten dunst, kristen wiig and frank langella 'the assistants' * limited release in los angeles plot summary: a group of hollywood assistants struggle to get a film made starring: joe mantegna, jane seymour, stacy keach and chris conner 'black swan' plot summary: a thriller in which a ballet dancer finds herself pitted against a newcomer as they both compete for the ultimate role starring: natalie portman, mila kunis and vincent cassel 'i love you phillip morris' plot summary: a con man meets the love of his life behind bars starring: jim carrey, ewan mcgregor and leslie mann 'dead awake' plot summary: a young man attempts to unravel a past that is haunting him starring: nick stahl, rose mcgowan and amy smart 'meskada' * limited release plot summary: a detective's investigation of a boy's murder leads him back to his hometown starring: nick stahl, rachel nichols, kellan lutz and jonathan tucker 'night catches us' * limited release in new york; new jersey; philadelphia, pennsylvania; and west hollywood, california plot summary: in 1976, a young man returns after years of being away to the race torn philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up starring: anthony mackie, kerry washington, jamie hector and wendell pierce 'the warrior's way' plot summary: a master swordsman seeks sanctuary in an american town after refusing a mission starring: jang dong gun, kate bosworth and geoffrey rush december 10 'the chronicles of narnia: the voyage of the dawn treader' plot summary: lucy, edmund and their cousin eustace are drawn to narnia again starring: georgie henley, skandar keynes and ben barnes 'the company men' plot summary: three men try to survive during a year in which their company undergoes corporate downsizing starring: tommy lee jones, ben affleck and chris cooper 'the fighter' plot summary: the story of the early years of boxer 'irish' micky ward and his brother before the former went pro in the mid 1980s starring: mark wahlberg, christian bale and amy adams 'garden of eden' plot summary: promising american novelist david bourne travels across europe with his wife and her italian girlfriend starring: jack huston, mena suvari and richard e grant 'the tourist' plot summary: an interpol agent draws a tourist into a web of intrigue starring: angelina jolie, johnny depp and paul bettany 'you won't miss me' plot summary: a troubled young woman is released from a psychiatric hospital and lashes out at the world with a series of self destructive acts starring: stella schnabel, simon o'connor, zachary tucker and borden capalino 'the tempest' plot summary: based on shakespeare's play, a vengeful sorceress unleashes her powers against shipwrecked enemies starring: helen mirren, russell brand, djimon hounsou and alfred molina december 17 'and soon the darkness' plot summary: two american girls bike in a remote part of argentina when one disappears and the other must find her before it's too late starring: odette yustman, amber heard, karl urban and adriana barraza 'how do you know' plot summary: a woman is caught in a love triangle involving a baseball player and an old acquaintance starring: reese witherspoon, owen wilson, paul rudd and jack nicholson 'rabbit hole' * limited release; wide release january 14 plot summary: a man and his wife struggle to come to terms with the accidental death of their 4 year old son starring: nicole kidman, aaron eckhart, sandra oh and dianne wiest 'yogi bear' plot summary: a documentary filmmaker travels to jellystone park where he discovers yogi and boo boo starring: voices of anna faris, dan aykroyd and justin timberlake 'tron: legacy' plot summary: a man is haunted by the disappearance of his father, a world renowned video game developer starring: garrett hedlund, jeff bridges and olivia wilde december 22 'little fockers' plot summary: the focker family prepares for the arrival of a baby starring: robert de niro, ben stiller and teri polo 'somewhere' plot summary: a hollywood bad boy re examines his life after an unexpected visit from his young daughter starring: stephen dorff, elle fanning and chris pontius 'true grit' plot summary: a teenager enlists the aid of a boozy, trigger happy lawman to find her father's killer starring: jeff bridges, matt damon, josh brolin and hailee steinfeld 'gulliver's travels' plot summary: a shipwrecked travel writer is a giant in lilliput, land of little people starring: jack black, emily blunt, jason segel and billy connolly december 25 'the illusionist' plot summary: an aging magician bonds with a young fan who believes his tricks are real magic starring: voices of jean claude donda, eilidh rankin and didier gustin december 29 'another year' plot summary: a happy middle aged couple are hit with life's highs and lows over the span of four seasons, including embracing their son's newly discovered partner and enduring an unexpected death in the family starring: david bradley, jim broadbent, karina fernandez and oliver maltman 'biutiful' plot summary: a crook with a terminal illness tries to set his affairs in order starring: javier bardem, maricel álvarez, hanaa bouchaib and diarytou daff 'casino jack' plot summary: kevin spacey stars as washington lobbyist jack abramoff, whose greed and corruption get him in a heap of legal hot water starring: kevin spacey, barry pepper, jon lovitz and kelly preston 'the debt' plot summary: past events haunt a former mossad agent when she returns to eastern europe to investigate the apparent reappearance of a nazi war criminal she thought was long dead starring: helen mirren, sam worthington, jessica chastain and jesper christensen 'the way back' plot summary: this drama follows a group of soldiers who escaped from a siberian gulag in 1940 starring: colin farrell, jim sturgess, saoirse ronan and ed harris 'wild target' * limited release plot summary: a respected hit man is thinking about retirement and starting a family when he meets a beautiful thief who may shake up his plans starring: bill nighy, emily blunt and rupert grint december 31 'blue valentine' plot summary: a love story centered on a couple who try to save their marriage amidst the romantic memories of their past starring: ryan gosling, michelle williams and john doman | hollywood 2010 angelina jolie johnny the tourist'. garrett hedlund | with a crop of new releases, hollywood hopes 2010 will go out with a bang . angelina jolie and johnny depp tangle in 'the tourist'. garrett hedlund gets pulled into the cyberworld of tron in 'tron: legacy' |
(rollingstonecom) 'le noise' is neil young with eight new songs and no band, accompanying himself on guitars with maximum fuzz and electronics, manipulated by producer daniel lanois the result is one of young's weirdest studio records and that's saying something in a decade that includes the eco opera 'greendale' and the chunky rock songs about alternative fuel on 'fork in the road' 'le noise' is also the most intimate and natural sounding album young has made in a long time: just a songwriter making his way through a vividly rendered chaos of memoir, affection and fear it's as if you hear the songs on the verge of creation, the way young first hears rhyme and noise in his head on his current tour, where young has played most of these songs, you can buy a t shirt that reads 'i said solo they said acoustic' even with lanois thickening and f ing with the atmospheres, 'le noise' is as solo as it gets that is not obvious at first 'walk with me' opens with arguing layers of iron jangle that sound like they barged in from metallica's 'death magnetic' the last minute is muddy guitar drone and beeping sound effects, like bits of young's 1982 hippie kraftwerk fling, 'trans,' dropped into one of the crazy horse freakout codas on 1991's 'weld' but earlier in the song, young sings with chantlike force 'i feel your love/i feel your strong love/i feel the patience of unconditional love' like he's testing variations on his theme then he gets specific: 'i lost some people i was traveling with/i miss the soul and the old friendship' his voice is receding into the drone, but recent passings like those of his friends and collaborators larry 'la' johnson and ben keith cut through the din like heartbreak the reflection is strong here the riff in 'sign of love' has the repetitive charge of 'cinnamon girl'; there's some 'mr soul' in the guitar hook of 'someone's gonna rescue you'; 'hitchhiker' is in the tradition of extended parables like 'crime in the city' images of a life unraveling and repaired that, at points, may be young's ('then came paranoia, and it ran away with me') but the most personal thing about 'le noise' is the sense of a restless master caught in the pursuit of ideas, shaping their expression 'peaceful valley boulevard,' one of two acoustic guitar songs, is a detailed american history lesson from indian wars to electric cars yet in one line ('a mother screamed, and every soul was lost'), young's voice cracks on the peak note an impulsive, moving flaw and in 'love and war,' young his creaky whisper and acoustic guitar buoyed by lanois' watery treatments confesses an uncertainty hard to believe in one of rock's most driven stars: 'when i sing about love and war/i don't really know what i'm saying' but then the conviction comes back he only has that one way forward, through the music: 'i sang in anger, hit another bad chord/but i still try to sing about love and war' 'le noise' is, ultimately, an extreme simplicity: the sound of a man who won't give up copyright © 2010 rolling stone | le noise young | 'le noise' is the most intimate and natural sounding album young has made in a long time . the artist has played most of these songs on his current tour . 'le noise' is, ultimately, an extreme simplicity: the sound of a man who won't give up |
ann arbor, michigan (cnn) 'we did not have a right to choose where we lived freedom of speech, or freedom of actions the traffickers had keys to our apartment they controlled all of our movement and travel they watched us and listened when we called our parents they didn't let us make friends or tell anyone anything about ourselves we couldn't keep any of the money we earned we couldn't ask anyone for help' lena lena was an athletic student from eastern europe yearning to visit the united states through a study abroad program at her college she had visions of learning english and returning home to share her experiences with her family but the human traffickers who ensnared her had a different vision for lena, shipping her to america and exploiting her in the sex industry for profit they met her at the airport with news that her study abroad placement had been changed she was given new bus tickets and sent off to detroit, michigan once there they took her passport and her freedom after almost a year of enslavement, lena risked her life to make a daring escape she is smart, resilient and funny, and i have been honored to be her attorney through the human trafficking clinic at the university of michigan law school unfortunately there are thousands of adults and children like lena who have not been able to escape their traffickers these victims, especially the children, are in the same position lena was: they're being exploited and can't ask anyone for help the data on human trafficking is sparse, but what is known is terrifying it's already the second largest criminal industry in the world behind only the trade in illegal drugs and it's growing fast the global commercial sex trade exploits one million children annually at least 100,000 and perhaps as many as 300,000 children in america are victims of sex trafficking each year the grim reality of child sex trafficking in the united states is this: human traffickers are selling sex with children in big cities and small towns throughout america child sex trafficking has been illegal in the united states since 2000 with the passage of the trafficking victims protection act under this law it is illegal to recruit, harbor, transport, provide or obtain a person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of a commercial sex act since the passage of the tvpa many states have passed their own human trafficking laws children who are selling sex in the united states are then, by definition, victims of human trafficking despite this, child victims of sex trafficking are frequently viewed as criminals rather than as victims according to the department of justice in 2006, six years after the passage of the tvpa, 1,600 children were arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice the children victimized by sex trafficking are often very young on average, girls are first exploited for commercial sex between the ages of 12 and 14 for boys the average age is even younger between 11 and 13 but being a victim of sex trafficking does not have to be a life sentence victims can become survivors and build new lives and while lena is no longer the young college student she once was and it is too dangerous for her to return home, her speech and actions are now her own she can choose where she wants to live she is free through my work with lena and other clients in the human trafficking clinic we have identified a number of ways to fight sex trafficking raise awareness within your community: one of the biggest barriers to helping victims of sex trafficking is the lack of awareness about the issue human traffickers profit when we think human trafficking only happens in foreign countries • human trafficking happens everywhere, and sex trafficking cases involving children have been found in all regions of the country no community is immune to the horrors of human trafficking • communities must prioritize the fight against human trafficking including providing enough resources to law enforcement change the conversation: children who by law are too young to consent to having sex obviously cannot consent to selling sex, so: • victims should not be described as entering into prostitution; they are being exploited and should be described as victims of human trafficking • law enforcement officials often arrest and detain child victims of sex trafficking on either prostitution charges or other charges, such as truancy or curfew violations law enforcement must be trained about human trafficking • sellers of sex, especially when they are children, should not be guilty of a criminal violation buyers and pimps should be the only individuals at risk of criminal penalties this would ensure that no victims are arrested or jailed reduce demand: the reality of sex trafficking must not be neutralized or glamorized • individuals who travel abroad to purchase sex from children are demonized in the media and identified as sexual predators, yet individuals who stay in the united states and pay to have sex with children are given the anonymous title 'john' and frequently aren't even charged with a crime • individuals who pay for sex with children in the united states should be punished the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of bridgette carr | imperialization fissiped puggle | no related information |
(cnn) as tens of thousands of people cheered barack obama's presidential victory at his home base in chicago, illinois, others were celebrating near his future house people celebrate the victory of president elect barack obama outside the white house early wednesday at least 1,000 people gathered on washington's pennsylvania avenue in front of the white house late tuesday night, shouting 'obama! obama!' and 'yes we can!' uniformed secret service officers were overheard, saying they'd never seen anything like it in boston, massachusetts, thousands of people many of them college students hit the streets to celebrate the election of the country's 44th president the sound of car horns could be heard across the city, cnn affiliate wcvb reported ireportcom: see, share your reaction boston police said the celebrations were peaceful, but they closed some streets to control the crowds, wcvb reported in chicago's grant park, where police estimated at least 200,000 had gathered to hear obama claim victory, the crowd erupted in cheers and screams after news organizations projected him the winner watch obama address the crowd » one of them, brian braddy of chicago, said he is a republican turned democrat 'i believe in [obama] because he's younger, so he sees things differently, i hope,' braddy said talk show host oprah winfrey was also among the thousands in attendance at the chicago celebration 'it feels like hope won,' winfrey said 'it feels like it's not just victory for barack obama it feels like america did the right thing 'it feels like there's a shift in consciousness it feels like something really big and bold has happened here like nothing ever in our lifetimes did we expect this to happen it feels like anything is now possible' in harlem, new york, hundreds had gathered to watch election returns on a large screen in a plaza near the apollo theater many cheered or started making calls to relatives and friends when obama's victory was announced many there said they couldn't believe an african american had been elected president in their lifetimes people were celebrating in the streets into the night in other cities, including san francisco, california and seattle, washington ireportcom: obama win celebrated in antarctica in atlanta, the rev bernice king, youngest daughter of civil rights leader dr martin luther king jr, hailed the first african american president elect when asked what obama's victory meant to her, she said it meant 'that the work that my mother and father sacrificed for was not in vain' 'i was very touched tonight and moved to tears when i heard the announcement, and i know that this is something that my father would be proud of america for,' king said 'he would be proud of the many young people who turned out at the polls to make this possible, and it's a new dawning in america' sen hillary rodham clinton, obama's main rival for the democratic nomination for president, said obama's win is a 'historic victory for the american people' see what people are saying about obama's victory » 'in quiet, solitary acts of citizenship, american voters gave voice to their hopes and their values, voted for change, and refused to be invisible any longer,' she said sen edward kennedy, d massachusetts, said 'americans spoke loud and clear and demanded change by electing barack obama as our next president' 'they understood his vision of a fairer and more just america and embraced it,' kennedy said 'they heard his call for a new generation of americans to participate in government and were inspired they believed that change is possible and voted to be part of america's future 'barack obama is my friend and tonight, i'm very proud to call him my president i look forward to working with him and joe biden on the many challenges facing our country here at home and around the world' us house republican leader john boehner of ohio congratulated obama for 'an achievement that is an important milestone for our democracy' 'president lincoln, the first and greatest republican president, envisioned an america in which the blessings and opportunities of liberty were truly and equally available to all citizens, regardless of race or creed,' boehner said in a statement 'the party of lincoln stands together with all americans tonight in heralding this historic achievement for freedom, and also in thanking sen john mccain for his decades of patriotism and service to our nation' cnn's elaine quijano, alina cho and jason carroll contributed to this report | jigged unusurped polymeric | no related information |
tbilisi, georgia (cnn) russian forces appeared to be in control of two key georgian cities early friday, and there were reports of tanks on the move again a woman outside a bombed apartment block in gori, georgia, on thursday russia said thursday that its withdrawal of gori would be complete within hours, and the us said it looked like the russian military was gearing up to leave, but cnn's michael ware confirmed that russian troops were comfortably in control of gori in the early hours of friday the town was a base for the georgian military and is near the breakaway south ossetia province where the conflict began meanwhile, there are reports of russian vehicles on the move towards poti, a port city in the west of georgia georgia's president mikheil saakashvili said that more than 100 tanks and other vehicles are traveling in convoy between the cities of senaki and kutaisi cnn has not independently confirmed the claim 'i appeal for the help of every civilized person in the world to stop this uncivilized, barbarian, inhuman, treacherous, absolutely outrageous behavior, and to save innocent lives,' saakashvili said he estimated that russian soldiers control about one third of his country and said his government has received 1,400 reports of brutal attacks on thursday, about 200 russian troops were in gori, just outside south ossetia, the us defense official said a russian general confirmed troops were in gori, but said they should be withdrawn within hours watch russian troops on the road to tbilisi » the us official said there were also troops in poti, having been put ashore in the black sea port several days ago russians have been accused of bombing targets in poti, including a military installation and ships russian foreign minister sergei lavrov denied wednesday that there were russian troops in poti but a cnn crew that tried to drive to poti on thursday found the road blocked by russian soldiers us defense secretary robert gates, who has been charged with a major humanitarian mission to georgia, warned that us russian relations could be hurt 'for years to come' but ruled out any us military action in the region the conflict in georgia began late last week, when tbilisi launched a military incursion into south ossetia in an effort to rout separatist rebels watch some of the destruction in south ossetia » russia which supports the separatists, many of whom claim russian citizenship responded the next day, sending tanks across the border into the province the conflict quickly spread to parts of georgia and to abkhazia, another breakaway region concern beyond georgia's borders prompted european leaders, spearheaded by french president nicolas sarkozy, to mediate a cease fire deal and us president bush to offer humanitarian support us secretary of state condoleezza rice is in france a senior state department official familiar with the negotiations said she will be going to tbilisi with a cease fire document that allows russia to keep some troops in georgia, but it will not be the final version of the document watch the latest on rice's mission » international agreements signed in the early 1990s allow russian peacekeepers to maintain a presence in south ossetia and abkhazia as part of a force including georgians and south ossetians analysts see the conflict as a gamble initiated by georgia, which is seeking eu and nato membership, to test the strength of its western allies in the face of russia's unwillingness to see the west encroaching on its doorstep in five days of fighting, both sides accused the other of targeting civilians, with casualty reports in the thousands many more people have fled the fighting into russia and georgia, leaving heavily bombarded towns and cities deserted despite tuesday's cease fire deal, accusations of ongoing hostilities have continued on both sides, and russia's incursion into undisputed georgian territory has adding to confusion fueled doubts that a quick solution to the conflict can be found watch as a reporter is grazed by a bullet » russian gen nikolai uvarov said russia had invaded gori because it is georgia's main military base and an arms munition storage there had been left unattended ireportcom: ask ex soviet leader mikhail gorbachev about the crisis meanwhile, russia's deputy chief of general staff, col gen anatoly nogovitsyn, said that a withdrawal plan to pull troops from the breakaway region had yet to be approved by russia's defense ministry or its president, dmitry medvedev during a moscow visit by the leaders of south ossetia and abkhazia, lavrov said that georgia's current borders were 'limited,' an indication that the two breakaway regions may never agree to rejoin it all three voiced their unity against what abkhazian leader sergey bagapsh called 'those aggressors from georgia' south ossetian leader eduard kokoity compared georgia's initial assault on the region's capital tskhinvali, which prompted the russian invasion, to germany's attempt to seize stalingrad during world war ii ireportcom: are you reminded of past wars? do you remember the cold war? 'tskhinvali has become the stalingrad of the caucusus,' kokoity said at a joint news conference saakashvili suggested earlier that russia invaded his country to establish control over the former soviet republic, where a major oil pipeline passes through view a map of the region » 'the fact that the biggest number of bombs fell on purely economic and civilian targets clearly indicated that was a premeditated thing and it had nothing to do only with abkhazia or south ossetia,' saakashvili said russian peacekeeping troops were also in the western georgian city of zugdidi, just outside abkhazia video showed the russians, clearly wearing the blue helmets that signify their peacekeeper status, at the official government residence in the town ireportcom: how is the russia georgia conflict affecting you? us officials said russia is thought to have 15,000 or more troops in the region, between 5,000 and 7,000 more than when the fighting began russia's lavrov said russia's operations were about 'peace enforcement' in respect of georgia, which 'violates all of its obligations' copyright 2008 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | russian georgia senaki kutaisi cnn south ossetia | russian military appears in control of two key georgia cities . georgia says more than 100 tanks, vehicles moving between senaki and kutaisi . source tells cnn draft peace deal could see some russian stay in georgia . conflict began when georgia launched action against rebels in south ossetia |
watertown, south dakota (cnn) sen barack obama linked sen john mccain friday with what he called 'the failed policies' of the bush administration, accusing the presumed republican presidential nominee and the white house of 'bombastic exaggerations and fear mongering' in place of 'strategy and analysis and smart policy' 'what we've done over the last eight years does not work,' the democratic front runner said obama accused mccain of supporting a track record from the bush administration that included the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in iraq, a longer and more expensive war in iraq than was initially projected, the continued freedom of september 11 mastermind osama bin laden and the strengthening of iran after the us led invasion of iraq 'the american people are going to look at the evidence,' he said 'we don't get a sense that this has been a wise foreign policy or a smart foreign policy or a tough foreign policy this has been a policy that oftentimes revolved around a lot of bluster and big talk, but very little performance, and what the american people want right now is performance' in a speech at the annual meeting of the national rifle association in louisville, kentucky, on friday, mccain defended his foreign policy positions, saying the united states has a realistic chance of success in iraq after four years of costly mistakes mccain called some of obama's ideas 'reckless' and questioned his understanding of america's standing in the world watch mccain take on obama's comments » 'it would be a wonderful thing if we lived in a world where we don't have enemies,' the arizona republican said 'that's not the world we live in and until sen obama understands that reality, the american people have every reason to doubt whether he has strength, judgment and determination to keep us safe' the verbal sparring took place a day after president bush suggested in a speech before the israeli knesset that those who want to shift american policy to include direct talks with what he called 'terrorists and radicals' were appeasers and delusional watch more of the controversy surrounding bush's speech » 'i don't take what bush says personally, but i was offended by what is a continuation of strategy from this white house, now mimicked by sen mccain, that replaces strategy and analysis and smart policy with bombast, exaggerations and fear mongering,' obama said watch more of obama's comments » 'the speech yesterday was not about an actual policy argument it was about politics and scaring the american people, and that's what will not work in this election,' he said obama said he would offer 'tough diplomacy' to the leaders of iran, syria, venezuela and north korea 'without preconditions, although with preparation, and i would present to them very clearly what my expectations would be in terms of them changing their behavior' on thursday, mccain spoke warily of obama's willingness to meet with dictators and 'state sponsors of terrorists' 'i have some news for sen obama,' mccain told the nra friday 'talking, not even with soaring rhetoric will not convince iran to give up its nuclear program it is reckless to suggest that unconditional meetings will advance our interests' speaking to reporters earlier, mccain said he disagreed with obama's desire to talk with iran's president 'what you do, if you sit down face to face, as sen obama wants to do, is you legitimize a regime that's dedicated to the extinction of israel, supports terrorist organizations and is responsible for deaths of brave young americans,' mccain said mccain also said he would not meet with representatives of hamas, the palestinian organization listed as a terrorist group by the united states and israel, which won elections in 2006 and now controls gaza while us friendly president mahmoud abbas controls the west bank obama agreed with that position, calling hamas a terrorist organization that has vowed to destroy israel but obama said mccain and bush have to answer for iran's benefiting from the invasion of iraq, hamas' gaining control of gaza and iran's continued funding of terrorist organizations, all of which, he said, have affected us security 'that's the bush mccain record on protecting this country,' he said at a watertown, south dakota, town hall meeting 'those are the failed policies that john mccain wants to double down on' 'i am happy to have a debate with john mccain and george bush about foreign policy,' obama said 'i believe that there is no separation between george bush and john mccain when it comes to our middle east policy, and i think their policy has failed' in kentucky, mccain said he would also welcome a debate about 'protecting america' 'no issue is more important,' he said 'sen obama claimed all i had to offer was a quote 'naive and irresponsible belief' that tough talk would cause iran to give up its nuclear program he should have known better' cnn's associate political editor rebecca sinderbrand and political producer ed hornick contributed to this story | mccain obama nra bush | mccain blasts obama's comments in nra speech . obama slams bush over attack 'that alienates us from the rest of the world'. he blasts mccain for 'embracing' bush's attacks |
(cnn) charges against actress lindsay lohan in an alleged manhattan nightclub fight 'are not ready to proceed at this time,' her attorney said monday after a hearing at new york criminal court lohan did not attend the hearing because there was nothing for her to plead to, said her attorney, mark heller 'it's my opinion that this case will ultimately be declined for prosecution, but it will be several weeks before the district attorney makes that decision,' heller said lohan: the reality show we don't want to watch lohan was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly punching a woman early in the morning of november 29, 2012 she is accused of hitting tiffany mitchell, 28, of palm beach, florida, at the trendy avenue lounge in manhattan's chelsea district heller said lohan didn't hit anyone lohan heads to court again 'all she did was verbally request her privacy,' he said he accused mitchell of 'seeking her 15 minutes of fame' and predicted lohan would be exonerated the case is the latest legal trouble for the 26 year old actress, whose struggle with drugs and alcohol has seen her bounce in and out of court 19 times and to five rehabilitation facilities since 2007 lohan is scheduled to appear at a probation violation hearing on january 15 in california she was on probation for a 2011 conviction on charges related to the theft of a necklace, but that probation was jeopardized in november 2012 when the city attorney in santa monica, california, filed four charges against her in connection with a car crash last summer in the santa monica case, lohan is accused of giving false information to a police officer, obstructing or resisting a police officer in the performance of his duty, and reckless driving, according to the city attorney's office the charges, all misdemeanors, stem from a car crash while lohan was on her way to the set for the filming of 'liz & dick,' a lifetime movie that aired last year 'liz & dick' producer talks the risky business of hiring lohan cnn's michael martinez in los angeles contributed to this report | poleaxes rhadamanthine nodule | no related information |
(cnn) three russian tanks and other military vehicles crossed the border into ukraine on thursday, prompting a skirmish between ukrainian and russian forces, acting ukrainian interior minister arsen avakov said the russian foreign ministry told the bbc that the claim was 'another fake piece of information' according to avakov, tanks crossed the border at a checkpoint controlled by pro russian separatists in the luhansk region of eastern ukraine armored vehicles and artillery were part of the columns, avakov said, citing ukrainian intelligence two of the tanks split off and headed in the direction of gorlovka, also known as horlivka, and were attacked by ukrainian military forces, avakov said part of that column was destroyed, he said cnn has not independently confirmed the incidents the countries have been engaged in a tense stand off since march, when russia annexed crimea and massed troops along its border with ukraine us officials said in late may that thousands of russian troops had withdrawn from the border thousands more who remained appeared to be preparing to depart, us officials said at the time western leaders have accused moscow of fomenting instability in eastern ukraine russian leaders say ukraine has failed to move to implement a framework for peace worked out in geneva, switzerland, in april they say ukrainian leaders have carried out a campaign of violence against people living in the largely pro russian east also on thursday, ukrainian president petro poroshenko and russian president vladimir putin 'held a substantial and long phone conversation,' the ukrainian president's media office said, but it was unclear if that conversation occurred before or after the reported tank incursion the leaders discussed poroshenko's peace plan to resolve the situation in the east of ukraine, the media office said | nemophily coccothrinax discussionis | no related information |
washington (cnn) opponents of a bill that would overhaul the 1978 foreign intelligence surveillance act blocked consideration thursday of the controversial bill until after the july 4 recess sen russ feingold, d wisconsin, says the fisa overhaul legislation is 'deeply flawed' senate democratic leaders announced the delay because of a filibuster spearheaded by sens russ feingold, d wisconsin, and chris dodd, d connecticut but the measure is expected to pass by a large margin with the support of both major parties' presumptive presidential nominees, sen barack obama and sen john mccain language that appears likely to let telecommunications companies escape lawsuits over the bush administration's warrantless surveillance program has drawn sharp opposition from liberal democrats such as feingold and dodd 'i'm pleased we were able to delay a vote on fisa until after the july 4 holiday instead of having it jammed through,' feingold said 'i hope that over the july 4 holiday, senators will take a closer look at this deeply flawed legislation and understand how it threatens the civil liberties of the american people it is possible to defend this country from terrorists while also protecting the rights and freedoms that define our nation' 'i'm pleased that consideration of the fisa amendments act has been delayed until after the 4th of july recess,' dodd said 'i urge my colleagues to take this time to listen to their constituents and consider the dangerous precedent that would be set by granting retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies that may have engaged in president bush's illegal wiretapping program 'when and if fisa does come back to the senate floor, i will offer my amendment to strip the retroactive immunity provision out of the bill i implore my colleagues to support the rule of law and join me in voting against retroactive immunity' the house of representatives voted last week to overhaul fisa, which requires a secret court to sign off on domestic electronic surveillance in intelligence cases the law was passed in 1978 in response to watergate era wiretapping abuses the bush administration and the bill's supporters argue that modern technology requires that the law be updated to allow intelligence agencies to spy on phone or internet traffic overseas that might be routed through switches in the united states 'as telecommunications technology has changed, intelligence agencies have been presented with collection opportunities inside the united states against targets overseas,' said sen jay rockefeller, the democratic chairman of the intelligence committee 'yet because of the way fisa was written in 1978, they could not take full advantage of these new opportunities' supporters say the new bill requires court oversight of communications intercepts and will prevent presidents from launching another program like the one the bush administration acknowledged in 2005 obama, who had said he would oppose any bill that would toss out lawsuits against the phone companies, has said he will support the new proposal he said it makes sure that in the future, 'somebody's watching the watchers' 'given that all the information that i've received is that the underlying program itself actually is important and useful to american security, as long as it has these constraints on them, i felt that it was more important for me to go ahead and support this compromise,' obama said wednesday in chicago, illinois president bush acknowledged in 2005 that he ordered the secretive national security agency to intercept communications between us residents and people overseas suspected of having ties to terrorism the administration insists that the program was authorized when congress approved military action against al qaeda after the terrorist network's 2001 attacks but democrats and some leading republicans in congress say it violated fisa, which required intelligence agencies to get court approval before spying on americans the revelations led to several lawsuits against the phone companies that cooperated with the program by people who suspect they were targets of the wiretaps the bush administration has refused to share records of the program with federal courts, invoking a 'state secrets' privilege | dihydrite ruinator phasis | no related information |
(cnn) a new york facility says it's ready to care for jahi mcmath, the 13 year old girl on a ventilator who was declared brain dead by doctors in california after tonsil surgery 'at this time we're named as the potential facility that jahi and her family will be coming to, but we will know more details in a couple of hours, and we'll certainly be happy to let you know as we know,' said allyson scerri, founder of the new beginnings community center in medford, new york on its website, the facility bills itself as an outpatient rehabilitation center for patients with traumatic brain injuries and says it plans to open a long term care facility according to her online biography posted on the facility's website, scerri worked as a hair stylist for 25 years and founded the facility after her father sustained a traumatic brain injury in a motorcycle accident 'we are aware of jahi mcmath's dire situation, and we are willing to open our outpatient facility to provide 24 hour care as an inpatient, long term facility for jahi with the required and appropriate medical staff that she depends upon,' scerri said in a letter included in court documents last week omari sealey, jahi's uncle, declined to comment on scerri's remarks to cnn sunday he told cnn affiliate kgo saturday that the family is closer than ever to securing the teen's relocation 'we're moving in the right direction,' sealey said 'we've had small victory after small victory, and it's all leading to the right direction' at a court hearing friday, jahi's family and hospital officials agreed on a protocol for the release of the girl to another facility, but didn't specify where or when she'd be transferred by court order, jahi will stay on a ventilator until 5 pm tuesday the teen was declared brain dead on december 12, three days after doctors removed her tonsils, adenoids and extra sinus tissue as a fierce court battle unfolded between devastated family members fighting to keep her on the ventilator and doctors arguing she'd already died, the case has drawn national attention and fueled debate doctors and a judge have declared her brain dead and said there's no chance jahi will come back to life 'overall, unfortunate circumstances in 13 year old with known, irreversible brain injury and now complete absence of cerebral function and complete absence of brainstem function, child meets all criteria for brain death, by professional societies and state of california,' dr paul fisher, chief of pediatric neurology at stanford university, said in a medical report on the case medical ethicists, meanwhile, say the high profile case fuels a misperception: that 'brain death' is somehow not as final as cardiac death, even though, by definition, it is but family members have said they're holding out hope and want to transfer jahi to another facility so far the family has raised more than $47,000 on gofundmecom to move her according to the site, more than 1,300 people have donated money in nine days scerri told cnn sunday that the girl just needs to be given a chance to recover 'her brain needs time to heal it's a new injury,' scerri said 'we believe in life after injury, all of us here at new beginnings have first hand experience because we have a loved one that was in the same situation as jahi' on friday, the alameda county coroner issued a death certificate for jahi the certificate, which still needed to be accepted by the health department to become official, listed december 12 as her date of death family attorney christopher dolan had accused the hospital of being 'hell bent' on ending jahi's life jahi's family said last week that the hospital had 'refused to agree to allow us to proceed' in transferring jahi to a new york facility the hospital denied the accusation 'we have done everything to assist the family of jahi mcmath in their quest to take the deceased body of their daughter to another medical facility,' hospital spokesman sam singer said cnn's martin savidge, janet digiacomo, greg botelho and elizabeth landau contributed to this report | new york jahi mcmath children's hospital oakland 13 year old 5 pm tuesday | a new york facility says it's willing to accept jahi mcmath . jahi mcmath is on a ventilator and has been declared brain dead by doctors . her family wants to move her to another facility besides children's hospital oakland . the 13 year old will be kept on machines through 5 pm tuesday, under a court order |
vienna, austria (cnn) iran has accepted a draft agreement that calls for some uranium produced in iran to be sent abroad for further enrichment, an iranian diplomat said wednesday mohamed elbaradei says the agreement is a 'balanced' approach to the problem 'in principle we have in fact accepted this offer for this tehran reactor in spite of the fact that we are capable of producing the fuel,' ali asghar soltanieh told cnn's matthew chance in vienna 'but we decided to welcome this offer in order not only to show our transparency and cooperation but prove that all activities are for exclusively peaceful purposes' soltanieh is iran's ambassador to the united nations' nuclear watchdog, the international atomic energy agency he spoke shortly after concluding three days of discussions at the iaea's headquarters here with representatives from the un, france, russia, and the united states the draft agreement is 'the summary of the discussions that we have had' since monday, which soltanieh described as 'elaborating on all aspects of this project for fuel for tehran's reactor,' soltanieh said he and the other representatives from france, russia, and the united states are taking the draft agreement to their respective governments for approval iaea chief mohamed elbaradei has given all the representatives until friday to say whether they will sign the agreement, which elbaradei described as 'a balanced approach to the problem' soltanieh would not elaborate on the draft agreement until it is finalized, but he told cnn that iran plans to continue its uranium enrichment program at its bushehr nuclear power plant the delegates hammered out the details of a tentative deal reached in early october which calls for low enriched uranium produced in iran to be sent abroad for further enrichment and then returned for use in medical research and treatment tehran says its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes but many in the west believe iran is pursuing nuclear weapons capabilities the obama administration is working on a substantial sanctions package against iran in case current diplomatic efforts to curb its nuclear program fail, top officials told congress earlier this month from cnn's matthew chance in vienna, austria | iranian iran vienna iaea tehran | iranian nuclear envoy: iran accepts uranium processing draft deal 'in principle'. three days of talks on iran's nuclear program wrap up in vienna . iaea chief says draft deal is 'balanced approach to the problem'. tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes |
lebanon (cnn) the unhcr has announced that we have reached the one millionth syrian child refugee mark it is a terrifying statistic if you really digest it and don't just read it as a sanitized account of a tragic war i've been working with mercy corps responding to the syrian refugee crisis for over a year and have met hundreds of refugees, many of them children recently i was at one of our activity centers in baalbek, lebanon, where we work with traumatized children most of the kids were participating in the organized games and activities, but on the sidelines i saw a little boy sitting alone and staring at nothing i approached him to see if he was ok, but he didn't look at me as i came closer i saw his hair had patches of grey at the temples he was frail and his brows furrowed with worry he was clearly a boy, but looked very old he told me his name was mustafa when i first asked him to tell me what had happened in syria he didn't answer me he just looked away and pretended not to hear his eyes were dark and unreadable he seemed to be holding terrible secrets inside i tried another tack and asked him if he had any brothers or sisters slowly mustafa replied that he had six siblings after some coaxing, mustafa opened up and told me a little more he was 12 years old and lived in aleppo, syria, before he came to lebanon with his family six months ago in syria, mustafa lived in a home on a large plot of land he spent his days at school with his friends, and then came home and took care of his lambs he was raising six lambs and caring for them was his favorite part of the day the family home in aleppo was near a weapons factory that was under the control of the government forces for the first two years of the conflict, there wasn't any significant fighting in the area, so the family hadn't made plans to leave but six months ago, the free syrian army (fsa) began an attack to try to take over the weapons factory without any warning, the family found themselves in the middle of a war zone mustafa recalled how the bombs started falling near their house and the ground shook under his feet he remembered his mother screaming and his sisters crying finally his parents told the children that they had to leave immediately mustafa tried to go out to the field to gather his lambs, but his father forbade him at this point, mustafa stopped speaking he sat silently, holding back a flood of tears his elder sister, fatima, joined us and helped to complete his story the family started to run from the house, toward the village she pulled mustafa away from the house as they fled every time she let go of his hand, he kept trying to run to get his lambs, even as the bombs were coming closer and closer the family managed to flee the village and spent two days on a cramped bus to reach lebanon they had to cross many checkpoints along the route some were run by government troops, others by rebel militias or fsa at each checkpoint the bus would stop and men with guns would force some of the passengers to get off the bus, and then the bus would go on without them fatima didn't remember anyone speaking during the long trip it was as if everyone was holding their breath, but at night she could hear people crying in the dark the family arrived in baalbek with only the clothes they were wearing they didn't have any friends or relatives in lebanon and there are no official refugee camps, so they rented part of a house to live in the family of nine members is crowded into two rooms that serve as their kitchen, living area, bathroom and sleeping quarters during the winter it was cold and damp and the roof leaked now, in the blazing summer heat, the small space is like an oven since arriving in lebanon, mustafa and his siblings have not attended school like most refugee kids, they face language barriers as syrian children are educated in arabic, while in lebanon education is provided primarily in french or english the school is overcrowded and they don't have money for buses and school supplies mustafa spends most of his days helping his parents he misses his lambs and says he is lonely and hasn't made any friends yet mustafa is not an isolated case mercy corps has conducted regular assessments of the psychosocial health of refugee children in lebanon and found that more than 55% of the youth assessed experience constant fear that something bad will happen and are unable to express their feelings about the conflict almost half (46%) feel disconnected from others and have trouble making friends, and more than two thirds (70%) have trouble sleeping or wet the bed as the number of refugees forced to flee syria's civil war continues to grow rapidly, one number stays the same more than half of them are children every day, thousands more are ripped from their homes and schools, left with painful memories of violence and confusion over what they've lost many of them live in constant fear and uncertainty and have lost hope for the future mercy corps has been focused on protecting these youngest refugees since the start of the crisis we created safe spaces and developed constructive activities where they can heal from trauma, build friendships and develop critical life skills we are helping meet their families' basic needs, while continually finding new ways to ensure their emotional health and development are not forgotten the reality is that we don't know when this crisis will end but when it does, these children will be the ones left to rebuild their lives and their country today, was mustafa's first time attending a mercy corps youth program he started the day out alone on the margins of the activities but after some counseling and a lot of encouragement from our staff, he joined the other children i watched him throughout the day and saw him start to relax, make friends and even laugh a few times and as he was leaving, he promised me he'd be back for the next session the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of cassandra nelson | syrians lebanon mercy corps cassandra nelson nelson | thousands of syrians have fled into neighboring lebanon where they face hardship . mercy corps aid worker cassandra nelson says many of the refugee children live in constant fear . when the crisis ends these children will be the ones left to rebuild their lives and their country, says nelson |
mexico city, mexico (cnn) the mexican military has arrested the son of a top drug cartel lieutenant, the government said thursday authorities present suspect vicente zambada niebla to the press thursday in mexico city vicente zambada niebla, known as 'el vicentillo,' was arrested wednesday along with five subordinates, mexico's defense department and attorney general's office said in a joint release the men were acting suspiciously and had military grade weapons, officials said zambada is the son of ismael zambada garcía, known as 'el mayo' the elder zambada is a top lieutenant in the sinaloa cartel, headed by joaquin 'el chapo' guzman, officials said senior defense official luis arturo oliver cen and jose ricardo cabrera gutierrez, a top official with an attorney general's task force on terrorism and security, announced the arrest in mexico city guzman, the alleged cartel leader who escaped from a mexican prison in 2001, was named in this year's forbes magazine report on the world's billionaires he ranked 701 authorities on both sides of the us mexico border blame sinaloa and other cartels for a surge in violence in the region mexican attorney general eduardo medina mora expressed outrage at forbes for listing a major drug suspect about 6,500 people died in the drug war in mexico last year, mexican president felipe calderon said last week defense official oliver said authorities confiscated three rifles, three luxury automobiles, 67,480 pesos ($4,845) and $866 in us currency a video on the universal newspaper web site shows a dark haired zambada and other men being led away in handcuffs zambada sports long sideburns, beard stubble, a black sports coat and a striped shirt cnn's melanie whitley contributed to this report from atlanta, georgia | vicente zambada niebla zambada ismael zambada garcía sinaloa | vicente zambada niebla and five subordinates arrested, government says . zambada is son of ismael zambada garcía, lieutenant in sinaloa drug cartel . authorities blame sinaloa and other cartels for a surge in violence in the region |
(cnn) ok, go ahead and get the 'where's my global warming?' jokes out of your system with the us midwest trudging through its second blizzard in a week, we understand but while it may seem contradictory at first, scientists say bigger blizzards fit the pattern they expect to see from a changing climate the immediate meteorological cause of the back to back snowstorms is a colder than normal mass of air that's been hovering over the central united states, combined with an amped up jet stream that's been dipping south from canada that makes conditions ripe for major snowstorms after a warmer than normal january for most of the lower 48 'once you get into a pattern that sets up these storms, they can repeat themselves,' national weather service director louis uccellini told cnn the 21 inches that fell on wichita, kansas, in february just broke a monthly snowfall record set in 1913 amarillo, texas, saw 19 inches of snow on monday alone, a total greater than its annual average and smashing a daily record of 12 inches that had stood since 1893 as researchers are quick to point out, weather is different than climate weather is what happens today, while climate involves trends in temperature and precipitation over decades but global average temperatures are up about 15 degrees fahrenheit (08 degrees celsius) since the 1880s, according to nasa, and because warmer air holds more moisture, a cold snap is likely to leave more snow on the ground 'we have to keep in mind that in any given winter, you're going to have some big snowstorms,' said marshall shepherd, a research meteorologist at the university of georgia 'but we're loading the dice or stacking the deck toward more intense blizzards' while the idea of long term climate change is a controversial notion politically, it's accepted as fact by most researchers the warming trend is expected to continue if heat trapping carbon dioxide a byproduct of fossil fuels continues to build up in the atmosphere sarah kapnick, who studies snowfall patterns and climate at princeton university, said the overall trend for snowfall in the western united states is down kapnick said her recent research points to more snow at high elevations and the arctic, but the rest of the country would see less 'the seasonal cycle is changing, and less of it accumulating,' kapnick said shepherd said scientists can't attribute any one storm to the effects of climate change, any more than they can point to a single home run as evidence that a baseball player has been using steroids 'but when we get blizzards, they'll be stronger,' he said | kansas texas | a warming climate will mean worse storms but less snow overall, scientists say . warmer air holds more water, 'loading the dice' toward bigger storms, one says . back to back blizzards have broken snow records in kansas and texas |
(cnn student news) january 14, 2011 download pdf maps related to today's show: • arizona • brazil • nevada transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: it's the best day of the school week and you're about to get a front row seat to world headlines without a single commercial in other words, cnn student news i'm carl azuz! first up: arizona shooting azuz: first up: the giant american flag was recovered in the aftermath of the september 11th attacks in new york city that was a little over nine years ago, the same day that christina green was born she was one of the victims of a shooting last saturday in tucson, arizona so the flag was raised in christina's honor with those who knew and loved the girl walking past it, on the way to a service to remember her five other people were killed in the shooting speaking at a memorial service for all of them on wednesday night, president obama said he wanted america to be as good as christina envisioned it us president barack obama: here on earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit may god bless and keep those we've lost in restful and eternal peace may he love and watch over the survivors and may he bless the united states of america azuz: arizona representative gabrielle giffords is a survivor of the shooting she's one of six people still in the hospital, and the only one in critical condition wednesday, giffords opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting and gave her husband a sign she could hear him brazil floods azuz: australia isn't the only country dealing with ravaging floodwaters right now we're gonna take you to brazil, south america, a nation in its summer rainy season rains that are out of hand in some places we want you to look at this families that are in 'extreme risk' of being washed away this includes people in the mountains, and people near riverbeds, as landslides, mudslides, and rising waters leave thousands homeless around 400 people have died, many are missing some families are living in schools and gyms in some spots, the only dry areas you can see are roofs and tree tops and more rains are in the forecast the country's government is taking some heat for poor disaster planning and allowing people to build homes in dangerous, mountain areas etna erupts azuz: this is what happens when europe's most famous volcano gets active tremors started rumbling in italy's mount etna on tuesday by wednesday, you can see what was going on the volcano's on the island of sicily, about 18 miles from the nearest town it may be spewing ash, but it doesn't seem to be threatening anyone at the moment that wasn't the case in 1669, the date of etna's most violent eruption, which killed 20,000 people id me cnn student news: see if you can id me i was born in atlanta, georgia in 1929 my name was changed from michael king when i was five years old in 1964, i became the youngest person at the time to win the nobel peace prize i'm dr martin luther king jr, one of the most famous figures in the us civil rights movement mlk day azuz: many consider martin luther king the face of the civil rights movement between 1957 and 1968, king traveled over six million miles and gave more than 2,500 speeches his message: equality through non violence dr king organized boycotts and protests he worked with presidents on creating civil rights laws and in 1963, he helped lead the march on washington where dr king gave his famous 'i have a dream' speech in that, he discussed his vision for a world where people would be judged by their character, rather than their skin color on april 4th, 1968, dr martin luther king jr was assassinated in memphis, tennessee four days later, the idea of a federal holiday honoring him was first introduced in congress that proposal became law in 1983 and the first nationwide observance of the martin luther king holiday was in 1986 the holiday is on the third monday of january every year, which is this coming monday, january 17th many people use it as an opportunity to help out with community service projects for everyone, it's a chance to remember king's dream and the legacy that he left in his work to achieve it school lunches azuz: pizza sticks, tater tots, and hot dogs: the government wants those off your school lunch menu and replaced with foods like chef salad, baked sweet potato fries, and whole wheat spaghetti it's a new proposal from the us department of agriculture and part of the obama administration's efforts to cut down on childhood obesity healthier foods often cost more, so the government plans to help poorer schools pay for the changes critics say it shouldn't be up to the federal government to decide what schools are allowed to serve that it's a state or local issue the rule would limit calories for school breakfasts and lunches if it takes effect, you could see changes several months down the road shoutout cnn student news: today's shoutout goes out to mrs goodman's journalism students at grassfield high school in chesapeake, virginia! what is the atomic symbol for gold? you know what to do! is it: a) ag, b) au, c) go or d) hg? you've got three seconds go! the latin word for gold is aurum; that's why its symbol is au that's your answer and that's your shoutout! how gold is mined azuz: gold, money and dreams: a dangerous combination that has been the downfall of many and the success of a few the california gold rush of 1849 doesn't scratch the surface of gold's historic lure ancient egyptians and etruscans wore it entire currencies were based on it but why gold instead of other metals? well, it doesn't tarnish or corrode it's easy to work with and shape and it's very hard to destroy poppy harlow takes us far underground, where modern miners cash in on methods their predecessors, didn't even dream about (begin video) unidentified male, barrick chief safety officer: your self rescuer is going to go probably on your right hand side poppy harlow, cnnmoneycom anchor: we're gearing up to go two miles deep into one of the biggest gold mines in the country i can't believe we're two empire state buildings down below the surface of the earth and we still have quite a ways to go hunting for gold goes all the way back to 4,000 bc and today, the obsession continues here, in barrick gold's cortez mine in rural nevada, more than one million ounces of gold were mined last year alone that's over $1 billion worth dave bundrock, gold miner: geology has figured out where the pot of ore is, then they just point us toward it harlow: but finding gold these days is much more complex and expensive than just, well, panning for it in fact, you can't even see the gold in this mine i mean, it's amazing to me to think that this is gold, but it is randy hager, gold miner:yes harlow: it's right here hager: yes you can't see it it's microscopic harlow: miners have to drill and blast through layers and layers of rock to reach the gold hager: there's gold in this and what i'm going to do is turn this into a pile of muck harlow: it looks like dirt, but muck is actually gold ore tiny particles of gold that will eventually make up a gold brick hager: i'm going to get about 10 truckloads out of here about 10 ounces of gold 10 to 15 ounces of gold at $1,400 an ounce and we'll do this several times during a day's work harlow: not bad money hager: not bad money harlow: so, after the gold ore is mined, about 400 tons of it goes in massive trucks just like this one of that, only four ounces is pure gold it's taken, it's crushed, then it's taken to a mill and then it's refined julius stieger, process division manager, brarrick cortez: after of the ore is crushed and ground, we leach the gold out from there we put it into a pressure cooker environment, high temperature and pressure with various chemicals, and that pulls the gold out this is the final step before pouring the gold bar harlow: barrick mines gold for around $300 an ounce, and gold is selling for record highs, around $1,400 an ounce those big margins mean jobs something desperately needed in nevada, a state struggling with the highest in unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country john alexander, shovel operator: i can provide for my family you know? and i don't know any other job in this world that can i get paid for what i get paid and survive now these days, the way the prices are hager: there's job security here with gold that high not going to run out of work (end video) before we go azuz: with snow falling and daily temperatures in the 20s this time of year, ideas for outdoor activities can come to a stalemate but not for a pair of local artists in grand rapids, michigan someone had this kingly idea for them to sculpt an ice chess set! don't know how long they pawn dered the proposal, but it took over a month and a half for them to piece this together and let the game begin goodbye azuz: it's something people can play by day, and by knights a board to keep freedom in check, mate! i'm carl azuz, and our next move is gonna be january 18th! enjoy the martin luther king holiday, and we'll see you on tuesday! | brazil mt etna us newsquiz cnn student news | brazil is ravaged by heavy rains and deadly flooding . mt etna roars to life with tremors and ash . the us government proposes healthier school lunches . use the weekly newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on cnn student news |
(cnn) sarah murnaghan, a 10 year old pennsylvania girl with cystic fibrosis whose family fought to have young children prioritized for adult organs, received new lungs wednesday, her family told cnn her surgery took about six hours, and there were no complications resizing or transplanting the adult lungs, according to family spokeswoman tracy simon a statement said the family was elated and that the doctors say sarah's prognosis is good 'we expect it will be a long road, but we're not going for easy, we're going for possible and an organ donor has made this possible for her,' the family said, calling the family of the deceased person who donated the lungs 'true heroes' sarah 'did extremely well' and was in intensive care after the procedure, simon said the parents' push for an organ transplant policy change has thrust the issue of who gets donated organs into the national spotlight earlier this week, the organ procurement and transplant network's executive committee approved a one year change that makes children younger than 12 eligible for priority on adult lung transplant lists sarah received lungs donated by an adult, according to simon, meaning the lungs needed to be modified an optn news release said monday that since 2007 only one patient younger than 12 had received adult lungs sarah has been in and out of hospitals her entire life, but her condition worsened this year her lungs had been deteriorating rapidly over the past few months much faster than anyone in her family expected in may, doctors told her mother, janet murnaghan, that sarah had less than five weeks to live with just weeks left, sarah fights the system for life saving pair of lungs 'we knew at some point, she would need new lungs,' her father, fran murnaghan, said in may 'we had hoped it would be much further down the road, but the disease has progressed' at that time, sarah had been on the waiting list for new lungs for 18 months the murnaghans were under the impression that the transplant would happen any day, since she was the first candidate on the priority list for children in her region but children's organs rarely become available in 2012, there were just 10 transplants in sarah's age group, according to the united network for organ sharing comparatively, there were more than 1,700 adult transplants in the same year only people 12 years and older qualified for the adult lungs doctors previously have said they believe modified adult lungs could save sarah's life last week, the murnaghans contacted a lawyer, who petitioned health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius to change the rules that keep children under 12 from being prioritized for donated lungs sebelius had previously told the family that she didn't have the authority to intervene in a particular case, but she did also call for a policy review any change in the policy, though, could take up to two years time the murnaghans didn't have so in the letter last week they argued the rule was making it all but impossible for sarah to receive a lung; every adult on the list would have to turn down the lung to let the little girl have it 'the under 12 rule is unfair, arbitrary and capricious, inconsistent with the statute and regulations, and stands in the way of sarah potentially receiving a set of lungs that she needs to live,' wrote stephen g harvey, the family's lawyer dying girl's plight sparks fight over organ transplants 'we have never, ever asked that sarah get special attention or be placed in front of anyone more severe than her,' her father said at the time 'so if there is another adult who is more severe, who has a higher lung allocation score, they will still get their lungs first' several factors determine someone's place in line on the adult list: distance from donor to potential recipient, a lung allocation score determined by a patient's diagnosis and test results, and a patient's blood type sarah's parents said her score was a 78 it went up to a 91 this week, according to a family spokeswoman anything above 60 is considered a high score, according to the optn's ranking system, and means a transplant need is particularly urgent several lawmakers also got involved urging sebelius to act rep patrick meehan and sen pat toomey, two pennsylvania republicans, co signed a letter sent to hhs it read: 'you have the ability and authority to intervene to allow for sarah and other children under the age of 12 to become eligible for adult organs' on june 5, the murnaghan family asked a federal judge to issue a restraining order to block sebelius from having the agency that oversees transplants apply the policy the judge granted the injunction and ordered sebelius to direct the organ procurement and transplantation network to waive the rule in sarah's case a letter from sebelius was sent to the optn the following day directing them to comply with the judge's order optn created a second candidate record for murnaghan that fudged her birth date so the system would treat her as a 12 year old allowing her to wait on the adult transplant list her original record as a 10 year old also was kept, allowing her to remain first in line for a pediatric lung donation, as well on the same day he granted the injunction in sarah's case, judge michael baylson also granted a similar injunction in the case of 11 year old javier acosta, making him eligible for adult lung mother who lost one son fights for the other to get new lungs on monday, the optn took further action, with the group's executive committee approving the change for children under 12 cnn's jen christensen, sarah hoye and zain asher contributed to this report | sarah murnaghan's six hours sarah organization monday under 12 | new: sarah murnaghan's family says there were no issues during her lung transplant . new: surgery took six hours, sarah did 'extremely well,' family spokesman says . her family fought to change the policy for children's lung transplants . organization overseeing transplants ruled monday to make children under 12 eligible for priority on adult lists |
(cnn) new zealand's national airline announced the world's first scheduled route for boeing's 787 9 dreamliner on thursday as the latest dreamliner's first customer, air new zealand will be flying the launch aircraft from auckland, where the airline is based, to perth, in western australia starting in october 2014 a cabin mock up was revealed as part of the announcement at the opening of the airline's customer innovation and collaboration centre in auckland latest features the launch aircraft will offer 302 seats total, with the business premier cabin housing 18 lie flat seats, a premium economy cabin with 21 seats and two economy cabins with 263 seats total the plane will also have 14 skycouch rows a design unique to the kiwi airline that turns a row of three economy seats into a three seater 'couch' new features also include a slimmer seat back due to more compact inflight entertainment monitors, allowing more personal space for the passenger following the auckland perth route, air new zealand will be flying its fleet of 10 787 9 aircraft on auckland tokyo and auckland shanghai routes more on the dreamliner the 787 9 is a bigger version of its predecessor, the 787 8 able to hold 40 more passengers, the 20 foot longer dreamliner also has a greater range of 8,000 8,500 nautical miles, compared to the 787 8's range of 7,650 8,200 marketed for its fuel efficiency it uses 20% less fuel than other aircraft of its size the new plane also offers lower seat mile costs (the cost to fly a single seat one mile) so far, orders for the 787 9 have accounted for 40% of all 787 orders, with 26 customers ordering 396 aircraft boeing announced on thursday that the second 787 9 aircraft had completed its first flight from everett, washington to seattle | bemixing plethysmogram taxgatherer | no related information |
new york (cnn) a hasidic nypd recruit is planning a lawsuit after being dismissed for refusing to trim his beard for religious reasons, his attorney said sunday fishel litzman, 38, was asked to leave the police academy on friday, his attorney, nathan lewin, told cnn he began the police academy in january, he said, was in the top 1% of his classes and is 'highly regarded' by his peers the dismissal, lewin said, is a clear example of 'religious discrimination' 'we are planning to bring a lawsuit,' the attorney said 'this should not be a practice of the nypd' nypd deputy commissioner paul browne said in a statement the department 'makes reasonable accommodations in this regard' beards for religious purposes are to be kept to 1 millimeter in length, he said, adding that there are other hasidic and orthodox uniformed members who observe the accommodation litzman 'did not comply with the nypd's reasonable accommodation to keep his beard trimmed,' browne said 'he did not keep it trimmed to 1mm and he stated that it was his intention to never cut or trim his beard' but litzman said as an orthodox hasidic jew, 'i have left my beard natural all my life it's the law of the torah' in a march 18 statement to nypd officials, provided to cnn by lewin, litzman wrote, 'it is absolutely forbidden in my religious beliefs to cut or trim my beard in any way' when litzman received the phone call that he was accepted into the police academy, it was the 'happiest day of my life,' he said 'the impact you can make in the community in a neighborhood and a people you can truly make a direct impact on a whole entire community as a police officer' litzman wrote that after receiving a 976% on his entrance exam last year, he 'inquired about keeping my naturally short beard intact' and filled out a religious accommodation form he received a short letter saying the matter would be addressed when he became a recruit after being selected for the 2012 class, the father of five said he resigned his job 'since i had applied for an exemption before i was accepted and had already been photographed, i believed that the nypd was aware of my religious needs and accepted me knowing i needed to keep my beard intact,' he wrote while in classes, litzman three times was told he would have to cut or shave his beard, he said each time, he refused, citing his religious beliefs, lewin said he was also punished with the loss of two vacation days, according to litzman's memo he noted that other officers have beards, adding, 'i was told many times in the academy, 'cut your beard, after the academy you'll never have to,'' litzman said 'it's an unenforced rule' 'i cannot, as a matter of religious conscience, follow that instruction because i may not trim my beard even temporarily to complete the academy,' he wrote 'one of the points that has been drilled home during my short time at the academy is the need to represent the nypd with integrity,' litzman wrote to police officials 'although not knowing whether i will be punished for maintaining my religious beliefs has been very taxing on me and my family, i will not waver in my firm belief that i can be a successful member of the nypd and an orthodox (hasidic) jew at the same time' he said that as his academic and physical scores show, 'i am focused on dedicating myself to being the best probationary police officer i can be' asked if other factors could have contributed to litzman's dismissal, lewin said, 'i don't think it's anything else he would will be, i believe an outstanding police officer' manhattan borough president scott stringer said in a statement sunday he was 'deeply troubled' by the reports litzman was fired for refusing to trim his beard 'the nypd has done a commendable job in recent years of building a police force that tries to reflect the populations that they serve,' stringer said 'fishel litzman should be no exception i urge the police commissioner to reconsider this case as well as the nypd's rules about religious accommodation more broadly and, in so doing, to make a clear statement in support of religious expression for all' cnn's chris dignam contributed to this report | friday litzman orthodox hasidic nypd | fishel litzman was asked to leave the police academy friday, his attorney says . litzman is an orthodox hasidic jew . the nypd says it makes reasonable accommodations for beards |
(cnn) 'the killing' was amc's real zombie show netflix has struck a deal with fox television studios to resurrect the rainy crime drama for a fourth season that's right: 'the killing,' a show that's been canceled twice, is coming back to life for a second time amc axed 'the killing' after its second season last year, only to pick it up again after talks between the studio and netflix sparked interest in another round the third season aired this summer on amc to fairly modest ratings (ending with 15 million viewers) in september, amc cancelled the increasingly ironically titled 'the killing' — again but apparently those cable executives didn't execute a proper double tap to the head because netflix is bringing 'the killing' back with a six episode fourth and final season stars mireille enos and joel kinnaman are on board, and so is showrunner veena sud 'the rich, serialized storytelling in 'the killing' thrives on netflix, and we believe that it is only fitting to give sarah linden (enos) and stephen holder (kinnaman) a proper send off,' said cindy holland, vice president of original content for netflix 'we are looking forward to offering fans — both existing and new — a series that we know is perfectly suited for on demand viewing' netflix previously revived fox's cult favorite 'arrested development' for a 4th season, and is often a company that studios call when their shows are axed to see if there's any interest the move could be a smart play for netflix since it gives the company an exclusive lock on the conclusion of the show without a big episode commitment (amc is not part of the deal) whenever viewers stream 'the killing' for years to come, if they want to see how the series concludes, they'll have to watch it on netflix (or a company that makes a distribution deal with netflix) unless of course this is not really the end of 'the killing' a netflix rep assures this order will conclude of the show, but unless the final shot of season 4 is linden and holder skewered on top of the space needle, there's always going to be a few fans wondering if the killing could rise again, rainier and more murderous than ever click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc all rights reserved | the killing netflix amc a final season arrested development | twice canceled tv show 'the killing' is coming back again . netflix revived the amc series for a final season . the streaming company previously revived fan favorite 'arrested development' |
washington (cnn) with his presidency at a crossroads, president barack obama delivered his health care 'fix it' message with a healthy dose of reflection and contrition: 'i think i said early on when i was running, i am not a perfect man and i will not be a perfect president' cnnmoney: obama offers fix for canceled plans at the moment, the challenge is to get back to being a productive president, and those who see a difficult path ahead include veteran democrats the president counts among his most trusted friends and allies 'can obama come back?' a veteran democratic strategist asked 'yes but like carter and (george w) bush, his downfall is his handling of the job' this party sage framed the stakes this way: 'the next few months will tell us whether he will be remembered in the pantheon of successful/consequential presidents in the last 60 years or whether he will be a flawed president whose skills did not match the times' after the president's lengthy appearance in the white house briefing room thursday, republicans were scathing in making the case it was too little too late and proof, to them, obamacare was collapsing predictable, but an argument that has more weight now is that the president, using his terms, 'fumbled' the rollout of his signature domestic initiative at an ohio event later thursday, the president promised to vigorously fight any effort to 'gut' the law, and as that debate continues, it is the mood among his fellow democrats that is most important obama: 'i'm going to see this through' initial reaction was hardly reassuring to the white house democrats in both the house and senate mixed praise of the president's intentions with promises to not trust the administration to fix the problems without guidance from congress senate dem leaders holding off on legislative 'fix' for insurance promise this is the new political reality: the president himself acknowledged the rollout was hurting his party's standing heading into the 2014 midterm election season while he promised to work hard to turn the political tide, democrats hoping to be in washington beyond the end of 2016 meaning beyond the obama years will be less and less reluctant with each passing day to trust their fate to his plans and instincts especially because of those polls the president suggested he doesn't read for democrats, especially given the timing, the numbers are numbing: whether you look at the low obamacare enrollment figures or president obama's declining poll standing, what you see is a white house and a presidency at a crossroads, facing persistent questions about credibility and competence borger: how could obama not have known? the question now consuming washington is whether this is just a temporary bad turn or a tipping point in a more sympathetic take, a senior veteran of both obama presidential campaigns and the first white house term put it this way: 'i feel for him and my old colleagues tough when you're in the penalty box' that view assumes the penalty clock expires, and the president rallies republican missteps in the past like the government shutdown give many democrats hope the president's critics will overreach again and create an opening for a rebound poll: approval of health care law drops less sympathetic, though, was another seasoned democrat, this one a veteran of the bill clinton white house 'they don't have the time, or the self awareness,' to objectively study and learn from recent mistakes, this longtime democratic operative said of the president and his second term team 'what they do not appreciate is how far away they are from the end of the second term we had not even had (monica) lewinsky yet at this point,' the operative said, referring to clinton's white house affair with an intern noting the sagging poll numbers and increasing public complaints from the president's fellow democrats, this source, speaking only on condition of anonymity, predicted a rough stretch ahead: 'there will be a ton of stories about the need for new and fresh staff and how obama needs to open his circle up to people who he does not know, or at least not well' new polls showing the president at new lows in several categories are only increasing a case of democratic jitters that began once it was clear the obamacare rollout was going poorly, and that any political advantage democrats gained from the government shutdown was fading obamacare promises: where things stand the latest quinnipiac university poll found just 39% of americans approve of how the president is handling his job; 54% disapprove those numbers are similar to president george w bush's standing at this point in his second term in an especially troubling turn, that same survey found even though congressional approval ratings are at an all time low voters trust republicans in congress as much or more than the president on big issues like health care and the economy in the past, the president's strong personal standing with voters has helped him through stretches when voters question his job performance but there are signs he cannot, at least at this delicate moment, count on that traditional safety net the quinnipiac poll, for example, found for the first time more voters say the presidency is not trustworthy the timing is what makes this rut even more complicated and potentially consequential for the president and his second term every day brings the 2014 midterm elections closer, and with the president's standing low, loyalty within his own party becomes harder to maintain house democrats cool down after obamacare meeting evidence of that is abundant, from the senate democrats pushing for obamacare changes, to meetings between congressional democrats and white house officials this week that turned testy as lawmakers aired their complains about the obamacare rollout and how it was hurting the party politically in obama's 2008 campaign, he ran as much against the struggling bush administration as he did against the gop nominee back then, questions about the iraq war and the federal response to hurricane katrina had put front and center the questions president obama now faces about credibility and competence boehner: obamacare 'a rolling calamity' 'there is a very tender and important period for the president,' said the veteran democratic strategist instead of a katrina analogy, this democrat looked for a parallel within his own party the carter presidency 'health care could become his energy shortage,' the strategist said health care reform was the signature initiative and achievement of the president's first term, yet the continuing debate over the program, and the administration's rollout, is now holding his second term agenda hostage a look back at the state of the union address from the beginning of this year is a reminder that the president has realized nothing from his wish list, which included news jobs programs, an increase in the minimum wage and major immigration reforms getting things done in the second year the midterm election year in which obamacare is certain to be the central issue would be difficult even if the president found a path to improve his political standing especially if democrats lose faith in the white house as republicans did with george w bush and his team cruz talks about 'vindication' with rocky obamacare rollout obama: healthcaregov needs more than technical fixes | democratic white house obama george w bush's every day | administration facing persistent questions about credibility, competence . democratic veteran questions whether white house learns from mistakes . obama's poll numbers at same place as george w bush's at this point in his presidency . timing of crisis is key every day brings midterm elections closer, loyalty harder to maintain |
(cnn) princess anne's suggestion that britons need to reconsider their reluctance to eat horse meat was 'brave' and reflects a sad decline in horses' value, the head of a horse welfare charity says addressing the world horse welfare conference thursday, princess anne queen elizabeth ii's daughter and the organization's president suggested that making horse meat more valuable might lead to better treatment of the animals the olympic equestrian referred to the transport of horses from countries such as poland, the source of some horse meat, saying many horses left looking 'absolutely wonderful' but suffered in transit 'it's worth noting transport of horses itself is the problem not the horses or indeed the way they were brought up,' she said 'if that's true then and they value their horses they look after them well because they're in the horse meat trade and it's the transport that's the problem, should we be considering a real market for horse meat, and would that reduce the number of welfare cases?' the princess suggested that 'our attitudes to the horse meat trade and the value of horse meat might have to change' 'i chuck that out for what it's worth because i think it needs a debate,' she said she noted that britain's attitude to horse meat was not universal 'as i was reminded, not so long ago, by somebody who'd traveled in france, the most expensive piece of meat in the local butcher was a fillet of horse meat,' she said 'the value of the animal to every individual is slightly different, but if it has real financial value, then you look a little bit further ahead in the way in which you look after your animals' world horse welfare chief executive roly owers said the princess royal had made her point 'within the context of the equine crisis we're currently in' when ponies are being sold for as little as â£5 ($8) 'around 7,000 horses are currently at risk of abandonment and neglect and charities like ours are struggling to cope as winter approaches,' owers said in a statement 'the economic downturn has driven prices for horses and ponies to rock bottom, and the sad fact is that from a purely economic perspective, they can now be worth more as meat 'many in the horse world have known this for a long time our president has been brave enough to say this openly in hopes of generating a thought provoking debate' overbreeding in britain the underlying problem, owers told cnn, was the issue of overbreeding in britain 'there are too many horses and too few homes' owers said he believed anne was caring but also practical 'she wasn't actually saying, 'get out there and buy horse meat' she was saying, 'we should be open to the debate about it and if the horse goes into the food chain, will it reduce welfare problems?' ' owers said the option of sending a horse to a slaughterhouse was one that should be available to people 'the issue is not those horses going to an abattoir it's not that they're going to slaughter that's the problem it's that they are simply not fit and healthy when they reach there,' he said owers said he knew of people delaying euthanizing horses because they couldn't afford the expense to call out a vet and to dispose of a carcass emotional issue britain has a different attitude toward horses than some of its european neighbors, with the idea of eating horse meat an emotional one, he said 'on the continent they are viewed as farm animals to a far greater degree; here they are seen as pets, leisure or sport animals' the debate would be different if horses were regarded in the same light as pigs, sheep or cows, he said 'as a country we have eaten horse meat in the past we did in the second world war, but you could argue that it was a time of crisis,' owers said britain's royal society for the protection and care of animals said it welcomed any debate on horse welfare issues 'our centers, and those of other charities, are overflowing with horses which have been abandoned, neglected and abused, and we are struggling to keep up with the demands for our help,' it said in a statement 'the killing of horses for meat is an emotive subject as many see them as companion animals rather than a food source, a sentiment the rspca has great sympathy with 'however, the society's primary concern for all animals killed for meat and otherwise is that they are cared for, handled and transported in a way which safeguards their welfare at all times' | anne britons world horse welfare | princess anne has suggested that britons reconsider their reluctance to eat horse meat . she says an increase in the value of horse meat might lead to better horse welfare . the ceo of world horse welfare says there are too many horses and too few homes . this problem has caused a decline in the value of horses and their treatment, he says |
(cnn) seven months of pregnancy down, 15 to go that's the good news the oklahoma city zoo shared publicly after an ultrasound and other tests confirmed their 18 year old asian elephant, ahsa, is pregnant the average gestation for elephants is 22 months, the zoo wrote in a press release 'it looks like a unicorn,' posted one of the zoo's facebook fans after viewing the photo 'so much better than a unicorn,' the zoo replied 'how wonderful!' posted fan amanda lenzo 'i'm glad i'm not an elephant i'm five months with my first i am impatient with my nine months i couldn't imagine 22 months i think i know what i will be planning for my daughter's first bdaymaybe a zoo trip' this is the the second pregnancy for asha her first calf, malee, was born two years ago, the zoo reported the father is a 43 year old named rex, who is from the african lion safari in cambridge, ontario he has sired five offspring previously, according to the oklahoma city zoo 'asha has proved to be a great mother she's diplomatic, setting boundaries when she should while giving malee the appropriate freedom to explore,' said nick newby, the zoo's pachyderm supervisor | oklahoma city zoo's asian ahsa | oklahoma city zoo's asian elephant is pregnant for second time . ahsa is estimated to be about seven months along in her pregnancy . average gestation for elephants is 22 months |
(cnn) iraqi authorities executed 17 people, including an egyptian man and two iraqi women, most of whom were convicted of terrorism, iraq's ministry of justice said in a statement released monday 'the ministry carried out the executions against the terrorists after it was approved by the presidential council,' the ministry said in the statement the prisoners were put to death in what appears to be the latest of several executions carried out by authorities in recent months, despite a united nations call for restraint nearly 70 people were executed in iraq in 2013, according to cnn tally, and human rights watch reports that more than 120 people were executed between 2011 and 2012 the executions come as iraq smolders with sectarian tension and political infighting violence in iraq surged in may, with 1,045 deaths, the united nations assistance mission for iraq announced that had been the deadliest month since 2008 in june, terrorism and other violence claimed 761 iraqi lives and in july, the death toll hit 1,057, unami said insurgent attacks against civilians and security forces persist in the country, though violence has dropped dramatically since the peak of sunni shiite clashes in 2006 and 2007 baghdad's shiite dominated government has blamed the recent attacks on sunni insurgents with ties to al qaeda | egyptian iraqi united nations | an egyptian man and two iraqi women are among those executed, a statement says . it says most of them had been convicted of terrorism . this appears to be the latest of several executions in recent months . they come despite a united nations call for restraint |
(cnn) grocery store shelves are bare food left in refrigerators has rotted in the absence of electricity houston and galveston are hungry ashia turner and her family, from galveston, wait at a shelter for a bus that will take them to a hotel on tuesday the houston food bank is 'utterly overwhelmed with people asking for help,' its president, brian greene, said tuesday the food bank needs 500,000 pounds of food a day for the next six weeks to satisfy the 'staggering' needs of texans who have no food or water after the storm, he said 'people don't grasp just how many people live here,' said greene, who was executive director of new orleans' food bank when hurricane katrina struck the gulf coast in 2005 he lost his home in katrina, and lived at the new orleans food bank for weeks using a garden hose as a shower most of the houston food bank's volunteers' homes were damaged and they don't have power 'it's a very similar situation that i saw following katrina: when the caregivers themselves [are] victims, it just becomes difficult on a far larger scale than you would think,' he said ireportcom: how are you getting by after ike? he pointed out that while katrina's devastation was spread over a greater area, more people have been affected by hurricane ike greene said the food bank normally distributes aid through local charities, churches and other faith based organizations but many were wiped out by the storm or are unable to function because of the lack of electricity or phone service the federal emergency management agency has said several times that they are constantly shipping two days' worth of food every day to make sure supplies do not wane fema has established at least 60 distribution sites across the region to give away water, ice and food there are long waiting lines at those stations crowded with thousands of people ireportcom: long lines for help gov rick perry on tuesday issued an emergency order that authorized public utilities to lay temporary power lines to restore electricity to 15 million customers houston mayor bill white spoke at a 9 pm news conference about food distribution 'if we could figure out how to get a big block of ice on your doorstep, we'd do it,' he said the city is working to get people refrigerated food, but he cautioned, 'there's a limited number of [fema] trucks' that contain supplies fuel is being shipped back to the region, he said motorists should stop topping off their tank and only pump the amount of gas they need thousands of people remain in shelters throughout the state fema said it was instituting a transitional sheltering program, allowing some evacuees who are unable to return home to stay in hotels or motels fema will pay for the lodging directly to hotels and motels, the agency said ireportcom: ike evacuees get help in austin galveston was so ravaged that city officials told the 15,000 to 20,000 people who stayed on the island during ike to leave for those who evacuated, the message was: stay away there's not enough clean drinking water and if people came back it would result in a 'downward spiral' that officials cannot handle right now, galveston city manager steve leblanc said monday 'sometimes the aftermath of the storm is worse than the storm itself,' galveston mayor lyda ann thomas said monday 'there's nothing to come here for right now please leave' watch how ike wiped out neighborhoods » in houston, a curfew remained in place, banning citizens from the streets from 9 pm to 6 am ireportcom: shattered houston buildings a bottled or boiled water advisory for the houston area was not lifted as had been hoped with the exception of bellaire, which gave the ok for its tap water tuesday houston city officials said water in one location was being retested harris county, which includes houston, said it had crews working to clear roads in downtown houston, and said most streets were passable, while some were blocked because of glass and debris 'businesses are reopening gradually, and the situation is returning to normal,' said a statement from the harris county homeland security and emergency management 'it's a tough situation on the coast,' president bush told reporters in a hangar at houston's ellington field, where he had arrived to tour houston and galveston 'it may be hard to imagine a better galveston or a better orange [county], or some of these other communities that have been affected, but i know, with proper help from the federal government and state government, there will be a better tomorrow' watch what the feds are doing to keep aid flowing » bush said the federal government will pay 100 percent for debris removal and emergency preparedness measures that state and local governments have put in place, without requiring matching funds from the state 'people have been moved out of their homes, and i know a lot of people are anxious to get back in,' he said 'i urge you to listen to state and local authorities before you come back' ireportcom: facing the deadly storm leslie johnson came home tuesday to strewn boxes, water stained walls and soggy, ruined furniture in her first floor apartment in bayou vista, texas 'nothing there is usable everything is damaged,' she told cnn affiliate ktrk tv in houston, sitting on the steps outside her apartment in the small waterfront community in galveston county inside, a television remained where it had been thrown face down on the floor, its wires still connected to a cabinet 'i didn't think this would really happen, you know,' she said, inhaling deeply 'i thought it was just going to be like rita, just a little bit of damage, everything will go back to normal i never thought i would come back and it would look like this' the texas coast bore the bulk of ike's power, and areas lay in ruins tuesday at crystal beach, a resort community on the bolivar peninsula, swaths of land where houses had stood were reduced to debris laden beaches, with only a few houses dotting the flattened landscape see the aftermath of ike » oak island, north of the peninsula, looked like it had been 'bombed,' said former chambers county auditor jimmie moorhead, according to the houston chronicle 'i doubt there are any homes that are livable, and some are just cratered i even saw someone's little pet goat [dead] in a tree,' moorhead told the newspaper chambers, which includes oak island, has sustained 'widespread damage,' a message on the county's emergency telephone line said the area has 'many unsafe things,' no electricity and sewer problems, the message said, urging people not to return home ike's trail stretched into the midwest, where roads were flooded and thousands of people were without electricity tuesday ike dumped as much as 8 inches of rain over the weekend, according to the associated press some rivers in missouri were more than 15 feet above flood stage and rising, and flooding already was occurring at several towns along the missouri and mississippi rivers, including st louis, missouri, the ap reported flooding had closed the street in front of the gateway arch and a casino on the st louis waterfront, the ap said copyright 2008 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | graybearded diatonical ultrasolemn | no related information |
los angeles, california (cnn) pop star britney spears was resting at ucla medical center on thursday, her mother said, hours after police escorted her to the hospital from her hollywood home britney spears, left, and her mother lynne spears pose at the 2000 mtv video music awards in new york a long convoy of police and a los angeles fire department ambulance transported the 26 year old singer to the hospital after midnight, acting on what the los angeles times reported was a 'mental evaluation hold' it was the second hospitalization for spears this month the police operation was planned far in advance and, according to the la times, followed a phone call to police from spears' psychiatrist asked if her daughter was resting, mother lynne spears said 'yes' to a throng of reporters as she departed the medical center watch scene at spears' home » the pop star's father jamie spears and her manager sam lufti also appeared at the hospital, neither choosing to speak to reporters the latest incident in the troubled performer's saga began about 12:55 am on thursday when the north hollywood police department sent about eight officers to spears' hilltop house in studio city, california, according to a law enforcement official, who asked not to be identified because he's not authorized to comment publicly see spears timeline » the group at spears' house included plainclothes officers, motorcycle police, ambulance crews and some police 'brass,' the official said it took the better part of the day to arrange the transport plan, the officer said on january 3, spears was taken to cedars sinai medical center, where she reportedly underwent a psychological evaluation watch how mental evaluations work » andrew blankstein, a los angeles times reporter who was at the scene of thursday's incident, told cnn that a police convoy, stretching the length of a football field, accompanied the ambulance as it drove down coldwater canyon boulevard in part to keep the paparazzi from getting too close watch police motorcade at spears' home » spears was whisked out a side entrance to her house 'you couldn't really see what was going on [when officers first swept into the residence] but on the police radio, there was some reference to 'the package is on the way out,' 'we're leaving now go, go, go,'' blankstein said a few hours earlier, two officers were sent to investigate a report of a large group gathered outside the singer's home, said david grimes, watch commander for the west division of the los angeles police department the two officers found 20 to 25 people near the house around 11 pm wednesday and they asked them to leave, he said abc tv host barbara walters reported on monday's 'the view' that she had been contacted by spears' manager and 'good friend,' lufti, who told her the pop star has seen a psychiatrist and 'is suffering from what he describes as mental issues which are treatable,' according to the associated press watch experts discuss spears' behavioral issues » during spears' earlier hospitalization, in addition to the psychological evaluation, she was examined for possible influence of alcohol or drugs police had been called to her home that night to mediate a custody dispute a day later, a california court refused to grant spears visitation rights with her two children sean preston, 2, and jayden james, 1 at least until mid february spears has been in a heated dispute with ex husband kevin federline over custody of their sons federline, spears' former backup dancer, holds primary custody of the children spears has been in trouble with the court earlier concerning her compliance with court orders in the custody case after filing for divorce in november 2006, spears was frequently seen enjoying hollywood nightlife her behavior became increasingly erratic; in february 2007, she shaved her head as paparazzi looked on, then spent a month in rehab e mail to a friend cnn's saeed ahmed and ninette sosa contributed to this report copyright 2008 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | la times britney spears spears times | troubled pop star resting, mom says, after large police escort . la times: britney spears placed on 'mental health evaluation hold'. hold prompted by call police got from spears' psychiatrist, times reports . incident is second time in weeks the singer has been taken to a hospital |
london, england (cnn) two men accused of failed car bomb attacks in london and a car bombing at glasgow international airport last year went on trial thursday mohammed asha, a doctor, is accused of conspiracy to murder and cause explosions bilal abdulla and mohammed asha, both doctors, are charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions their trial at london's woolwich crown court is expected to last up to 12 weeks the case stems from the discovery in june 2007 of two explosives filled mercedes sedans in central london one of the cars was parked across the street from a packed nightclub near piccadilly circus and the other was towed from an underground car park at hyde park an ambulance crew notified police about the first car after they saw smoke coming from it the second car was towed for a parking offense but drew suspicion because it smelled of gasoline officials said both cars cars were filled with fuel, gas canisters, and nails police managed to defuse them the following day, with attention still focused on the averted attacks in the capital, a jeep sped through the barriers outside glasgow international airport and slammed head on into the terminal the jeep, filled with propane gas, burst into flames and created a fireball the driver and passenger jumped out of the car one set himself on fire and later died in the hospital; the other was identified as abdulla, an iraqi doctor who had been practicing medicine in scotland later that day, police arrested asha as he was driving with his wife on a highway in cheshire, england police said asha, a doctor of palestinian descent who grew up in jordan, conspired with abdulla to carry out the explosions the incidents happened just days after british prime minister gordon brown took office a third man charged in the case, sabeel ahmed, pleaded guilty in april to failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism he was ordered to be deported to india | london glasgow bilal abdulla mohammed asha | men accused of failed car bomb attacks in london and glasgow go on trial . bilal abdulla and mohammed asha charged with conspiracy to murder . the men, both doctors, also charged with conspiracy to cause explosions |
washington (cnn) virginia hasn't backed a democrat for president in 44 years, but economic concerns and changing demographics are giving sen barack obama a chance to steal the once reliably red state from republicans sen barack obama waves as rain falls on a rally in fredericksburg, virginia, in late september polls earlier this year showed sen john mccain, the republican presidential nominee, leading obama, his democratic rival, in virginia by a healthy margin a virginia commonwealth university poll taken may 12 18 had mccain leading 47 percent to 39 percent but as the financial crisis has shaken voters' confidence in the economy, obama has begun to open a lead in the state, as he has done in other battleground states the latest cnn poll of polls has obama leading mccain 49 percent to 45 percent a cnn/time/opinion research corporation poll conducted september 28 30 shows obama with an even bigger lead over mccain, 53 percent to 44 percent the cnn poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points polls show that voters have more confidence in obama to handle the economic crisis than they do in mccain, and are more likely to blame republicans for the recent turmoil than democrats beside an advantage on the economy, obama is also benefiting from a demographic shift that has reshaped virginia politics for the last 10 presidential elections, republicans have been able to bank on virginia delivering its 13 electoral votes to the gop president bush won virginia by 8 percentage points in both 2000 and 2004, and president bill clinton was never able to capture the state when he ran in 1992 and 1996 but the explosive growth of northern virginia in the last decade has changed the state's electorate drawn by government jobs in nearby washington and high tech jobs in the dulles corridor, the growing population in northern virginia is more liberal than the mostly rural southern portion of the state, which has remained reliably republican in 2000, bush carried northern virginia 49 percent to 47 percent, but in 2004, sen john kerry, the democratic presidential nominee, carried the area 51 percent to 48 percent virginia 'is not as red as people think,' said doc thompson, a conservative talk show host for wrva radio 'a third of the population in northern virginia is pretty liberal a lot of people are buying into [obama's] notion of change' virginia democrats have been able to exploit the changes in the electorate into statewide electoral success after years in which the republicans had a virtual lock on the state in fact, virginia republicans have not won a statewide race since mark warner, a former mobile phone company executive, captured the governorship for the democrats in 2001 by emphasizing economic growth democrat tim kaine, who was warner's lieutenant governor, succeeded warner in 2005 and in what may have been the most surprising result of the 2006 election cycle, democrat jim webb defeated the incumbent republican george allen in the race for one of virginia's seats in the us senate the trend favoring the democrats is expected to continue this year, which is expected to help drive virginia democrats to the polls the extremely popular warner is almost certain to win this year's race against another former governor, republican jim gilmore, to replace virginia's long standing republican senator, john warner, who is retiring (the two warners are not related, and john warner was unopposed in 2002) a washington post abc news poll conducted in late september found warner leading gilmore by 30 points, and warner's victory would give democrats control of both of virginia's seats in the us senate for the first time since 1970 while conservatives may be demoralized by gilmore's poor showing, mccain may also face eroding support from virginia conservatives for his recent proposals for the government to become heavily involved in the us economy, said thompson, the radio talk show host during tuesday night's presidential debate, mccain suggested that the government directly buy up to $300 billion in home mortgages to help homeowners facing foreclosure thompson said that proposal, along with his support for a $700 billion bailout package to help wall street firms that mccain voted for last week, are two signs that mccain is breaking from the free market principles that virginia conservatives support and not stopping 'the march toward socialism' that has begun since the economic crisis started 'they missed a real opportunity, certainly, in virginia with my listeners who say they want someone who is fiscally conservative,' said thompson, who added that he's considering voting for a third party candidate 'they could have come out and said, 'no more spending' ' cnn's scott anderson contributed to this report | obama mccain 49 percent to 45 percent washington virginia conservatives | poll of polls has sen obama leading sen mccain 49 percent to 45 percent . rapid growth of suburbs around washington has made virginia more liberal . conservatives angered by mccain's support for bailout, mortgage buyouts |
los angeles, california (cnn) the california public utilities commission banned texting on the job thursday after it was shown that a metrolink train engineer involved in last week's deadly collision near los angeles sent text messages from his cell phone it was unclear what 46 year old robert sanchez was doing at the time of the crash friday the national transportation safety board is investigating claims that he was sending text messages when his commuter train slammed into a union pacific freight train in chatsworth twenty five people were killed, including sanchez, and at least 130 were injured investigators subpoenaed the phone records of the engineer and determined that he 'had sent and received text messages on the day of the accident, including some while he was on duty,' according to an ntsb statement wednesday investigators were trying to determine at what time the messages were sent the commission's emergency order passed unanimously thursday in pushing for the ban, commission president michael peevey said that cell phone use by engineers 'may have been a factor' in train accidents this year in san francisco and sacramento, california he did not elaborate on details of those incidents thursday's order is temporary until the state commission decides whether to make it permanent metrolink prohibits cell phone use by engineers on the job, but peevey emphasized that there is no federal or california regulation barring cell phone use by engineers while trains are moving the ntsb had determined that the brakes on the metrolink train were not applied before the collision and that stop signals at the scene were working properly, said kitty higgins, an ntsb member assigned to the investigation metrolink has said its train, carrying about 220 passengers, failed to stop for a red signal watch expert tell what it's like to drive a train » twenty four bodies were found at the scene after the head on collision during rush hour friday in the northwest los angeles suburb a 25th victim, a man in his 50s, died at a hospital more than 130 people were injured the agency has said it also has been in contact with the two teenagers who told a local television station they were exchanging text messages with the engineer just before the crash occurred higgins said investigators have interviewed the metrolink train conductor, who had worked with sanchez since april the conductor 'had no issues of his time working with the engineer and on how the engineer operated the train,' she said watch as callers to 911 describe the crash » the engineer took a two hour nap during his midday break on the day of the collision, the conductor told investigators sanchez was a subcontractor who worked for another company | california public utilities commission robert sanchez | new: california public utilities commission passed ban thursday . phone records show engineer texting during work hours on day of crash . engineer robert sanchez was among 25 people killed in friday's crash . investigators determined the brakes on train he was driving were not applied |
los angeles, california (cnn) jorge fernandez strolls across the used car parking lot littered with dozens upon dozens of sport utility vehicles the size of small tugboats suvs like these are having a tough time selling with gas prices at all time highs with gas at $4 a gallon, many have sat there since last summer 'the cars are literally just sitting, and it doesn't matter how much you sell them for,' fernandez says of the suvs and trucks nobody wants anymore 'it's amazing i've never seen it this bad ever' fernandez, a wholesale auto dealer who has been in the business for more than 20 years, says suv owners are hit especially hard the really large ones with v 8 engines that can get as little as 12 miles per gallon in the city like the cadillac escalade, ford expedition and chevy suburban are dropping in value by the thousands watch the sinking value of guzzlers » the no 1 reason for the sales slump is soaring gas prices, says peter brown, the executive director of automotive news, the trade newspaper for the north american car industry for the first four months of this year, truck and suv sales are down a collective 248 percent suv sales plummeted 328 percent while pickups dipped 199 percent, he says 'if gas prices stay where they are at or continue to rise, the body on frame suv is an endangered species and the pickup truck as a personal car is an endangered species,' brown says how do owners react when they're told their once $40,000 plus vehicles are now worth less than half that? 'when they find out what you think their truck is worth, they think you're trying to rip them off or something,' says fernandez 'small cars are gone within a week; suvs are sitting here since last summer' david lavi, the owner of a toyota tacoma pickup, is feeling that pinch he put his truck on the market several weeks ago in hopes of downsizing he bought it brand new in 2006 when gas prices were much lower 'once i do sell it, i'm going to get a smaller car maybe a nissan maxima or something smaller,' he says he's hoping to get $23,000 for the fully loaded truck, which is higher than the estimated kelley blue book value of $15,000 to $19,000 depending on how many amenities it has 'no one has offered what i want,' he says automakers have noticed this trend to downsize ford announced thursday it was shifting production away from its longtime hallmark of pickups and suvs in favor of smaller cars in making the decision, ford said it believes gas prices will remain in the range of $375 to $425 a gallon through the end of 2009 'we saw a real change in the industry demand in pickups and suvs in the first two weeks of may,' ford chief executive alan mulally said thursday 'it seems to us we reached a tipping point' brown of automotive news said he wouldn't be surprised if general motors and other automakers follow suit according to aaa, gas prices reached another all time high friday, with the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $387 seven states are now over $4 a gallon, aaa says how much do you need to work to pay for your gas? » stories of owners ditching larger vehicles for smaller ones have started to become widespread owners say they're tired of spending as much as 80 to 100 bucks to fill up their tanks some cnncom users recently shared their stories of buying used geo metros the oft maligned, snail sized car from the 1990s that gets gas mileage similar to a hybrid of today for a fraction of the sticker price 'i used to be a car snob, and i used to be too vain to drive anything that doesn't shine,' said marci solomon, an electrician who has a 100 mile commute to and from work 'but now it's about, do i want to eat, or do i want to make it to work? i want to do both' but some auto experts caution owners against trading in their suvs and trucks to save money at the pump because it may not be the wisest financial decision owners might owe $20,000 or more when the vehicle is now worth $12,000 it's similar to an upside down mortgage, and it may not make sense to try a trade in 'what they might be doing is spending thousands of dollars to save hundreds,' says jack nerad, the executive director of kelley blue book's kbbcom 'because if you make a trade, you're most often going to spend more to make that move than you would just sucking it up and paying the extra gasoline prices' back at the los angeles lot, fernandez says he thinks the trend away from suvs and pickups is here to stay 'just when you think that it's going to change any day now, it doesn't it just continuously gets worse,' he said cnn's wayne drash and cnn money's chris isidore contributed to this report | aaa friday | car dealer says suvs are tough sells now: 'i've never seen it this bad ever'. aaa says average gas price hit another all time high friday . truck owner says he can't get the price he wants for his vehicle |
chicago, illinois (cnn) an outraged sheriff in illinois who refuses to evict 'innocent' renters from foreclosed homes criticized mortgage companies thursday and said the law should protect victims of the mortgage meltdown cook county, illinois, sheriff thomas j dart says too many renters are being evicted for landlords' problems sheriff thomas j dart said earlier he is suspending foreclosure evictions in cook county, which includes the city of chicago the county had been on track to reach a record number of evictions, many because of mortgage foreclosures many good tenants are suffering because building owners have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, he said thursday on cnn's 'american morning' 'these poor people are seeing everything they own put out on the street they've paid their bills, paid them on time here we are with a battering ram at the front door going to throw them out it's gotten insane,' he said watch dart slam mortgage companies » mortgage companies are supposed to identify a building's occupants before asking for an eviction, but sheriff's deputies routinely find that the mortgage companies have not done so, dart said 'this is an example where the banking industry has not done any of the work they should do it's a piece of paper to them,' dart said 'these mortgage companies don't care who's in the building,' dart said wednesday 'they simply want their money and don't care who gets hurt along the way 'on top of it all, they want taxpayers to fund their investigative work for them we're not going to do their jobs for them anymore we're just not going to evict innocent tenants it stops today' dart said he wants the courts or the state legislature to establish protections for those most harmed by the mortgage crisis in 1999, cook county had 12,935 mortgage foreclosure cases; in 2006, 18,916 cases were filed, and last year, 32,269 were filed this year's total is expected to exceed 43,000 'the people we're interacting with are, many times, oblivious to the financial straits their landlord might be in,' dart said 'they are the innocent victims here, and they are the ones all of us must step up and find some way to protect' watch sheriff announce he won't evict innocent tenants » the illinois bankers association opposed the plan, saying that dart 'was elected to uphold the law and to fulfill the legal duties of his office, which include serving eviction notices' the association said dart could be found in contempt of court for ignoring court eviction orders 'the reality is that by ignoring the law and his legal responsibilities, he is carrying out 'vigilantism' at the highest level of an elected official,' it said 'the illinois banking industry is working hard to help troubled homeowners in many ways, but sheriff dart's declaration of 'martial law' should not be tolerated' dart was undeterred thursday 'i think the outrage on my part with them [is] that they could so cavalierly issue documents and have me throw people out of homes who have done absolutely nothing wrong,' dart said 'they played by all the rules 'i told them, 'you send an agent out, you send somebody out that gives me any type of assurance that the appropriate person is in the house, i will fulfill the order' ireportcom: how hard have foreclosures hit your neighborhood? 'when you're blindly sending me out to houses where i'm coming across innocent tenant after innocent tenant, i can't keep doing this and have a good conscience about it' | thomas dart cook county illinois bankers association this year | new: sheriff: 'i can't keep doing this and have a good conscience about it'. sheriff thomas dart says he is suspending foreclosure evictions in cook county . illinois bankers association opposes plan, says sheriff could be found in contempt . cook county on pace to exceed 43,000 foreclosure cases this year |
(cnn) a professor who compared some victims of the al qaeda attack on the world trade center to nazis was fired tuesday by the university of colorado's board of regents professor ward churchill wrote that some 9/11 victims were 'little eichmanns' ward churchill raised hackles with a 2002 essay that argued the september 11, 2001, attacks were a justified reaction to us policies in the middle east, and said the hijackers who killed nearly 3,000 people in new york, washington and pennsylvania had 'the courage of their convictions' but the regents said churchill's firing was unrelated to the essay, which went largely unnoticed for three years instead, it cited 'deliberate and repeated research misconduct' a university investigation had found cases of plagiarism and falsification in previous papers by churchill allegations that surfaced after his essay became widely known 'the board of regents affirms that its decisions in this matter have been made solely on the basis of the allegations of research misconduct against professor churchill and have not been influenced or motivated by extrinsic considerations, professor churchill's political and social views or a desire to punish professor churchill for expression of his political or social views,' the university announced cu interim chancellor phil distefano recommended churchill's dismissal in june 2006 after a university committee completed its investigation churchill's essay drew little notice until a 1,800 student college in upstate new york invited him to take part in a 2005 forum on prisons and native american rights the invitation was rescinded after criticism from then new york gov george pataki, then colorado gov bill owens and hundreds of relatives of those killed in the attacks created a media firestorm the piece had called some of those who died in the world trade center 'little eichmanns' a reference to adolf eichmann, the gestapo officer who was one of the chief architects of the holocaust arguing they were 'a technocratic corps at the very heart of america's global financial empire' churchill, who had tenure, stepped down from his post as head of cu's ethnic studies department amid the flap but remained on staff he had no immediate reaction to tuesday's decision e mail to a friend | ward churchill us mideast university of colorado | ward churchill said 9/11 attacks were justified reaction to us mideast policies . university of colorado says 9/11 essay not reason he was fired . dismissal due to plagiarism, falsification in other papers, university says |
(cnn) amy winehouse's attempt at a european concert tour ended in belgrade, serbia, with a train wreck of a performance saturday night in which she staggered around the stage and stumbled through several songs the audience eventually chased winehouse off the stage with loud boos several numbers into what was supposed to be the opening show in a 12 date tour a representative for winehouse said her next two concert dates have been canceled winehouse representative tracey miller did not directly confirm that the 'rehab' singer, who has a history of battling drugs and alcohol, had fallen off the wagon winehouse only recently left a british rehab program that a representative said was intended to prepare her for the european concerts 'yes, amy has cancelled appearances in istanbul and athens for the coming week,' miller told cnn sunday 'despite feeling sure that she wanted to fulfill these commitments, she has agreed with management that she cannot perform to the best of her ability and will return home' video clips of the musical disaster, recorded by concert goers' cell phone cameras, were quickly posted on youtube they showed winehouse failing in every attempt to sing more than a few slurred lines of her songs audience members could be heard filling in the gaps, along with her back up singers 'she would like to apologize to fans expecting to see her at the shows but feels that this is the right thing to do,' miller said when winehouse entered a rehab program at london's priory clinic last month, a representative told cnn that 'she wants to be ready for performances in europe this summer and decided to seek an assessment' cnn's denise quan contributed to this report | nosism atrabilaire imprisoner | no related information |
(cnn) a slaughterhouse that has been accused of mistreating cows agreed sunday to recall 143 million pounds of beef in what federal officials called the largest beef recall in us history officials said this is the largest recall in the united states, surpassing a 1999 recall of 35 million pounds keith williams, a us department of agriculture spokesman, said investigators have found no cases of illness related to the recalled meat but dick raymond, the undersecretary of agriculture for food safety, said there was a 'remote probability' that the meat from the westland/hallmark meat packing company in chino, california, could cause illness in humans the amount of beef 143 million pounds is roughly enough for two hamburgers for each man, woman and child in the united states the largest us meat recall before sunday came in 1999, when about 35 million pounds of product possibly contaminated with listeria were ordered off shelves usda officials said that was class i recall, involving a known risk to human health sunday's action was a class ii recall, under which authorities say there is little risk of illness raymond said cattle that had lost the ability to walk since passing pre processing inspections were slaughtered without an inspector having examined them for chronic illness a practice he said violated federal regulations and had been going on for at least two years watch video of cows being abused » federal regulations are aimed at preventing the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or bse the scientific name for 'mad cow' disease it's important to keep downed cattle out of the food supply because they also may pose a higher risk of contamination from e coli or salmonella because the animals tend to wallow in feces and have weaker immune systems, according to ap raymond said the average age of the cattle involved is 5 7 years, meaning they were likely born long after a 1997 ban on ruminant feed, and that the incidence of bse in us cattle is 'extremely rare' 'we do not know how much of this product is out there at this time we do not feel this product presents a health risk of any significance,' he said 'but the product was produced in non compliance with our regulations, so therefore we do have to take this action' about 37 million pounds of the meat went to school lunch programs and other federal nutrition programs since october 2006, said ron vogel, of the usda's food and nutrition service the recall dates back to february 1, 2006, and raymond said 'the great majority' of the meat has probably been eaten already usda officials have begun tracing the products covered by the recall, he said 'a lot of this is fresh, raw product and with ground beef, etcetera, that has a very short shelf life and refrigerator life,' he said most of the beef was sent to distribution centers in bulk packages the usda said it will work with distributors to determine how much meat remains, the ap reports in january, the humane society of the united states accused westland/hallmark of abusing 'downed' cattle, releasing video that showed workers kicking cows, jabbing them near their eyes, ramming them with a forklift and shooting high intensity water up their noses in an effort to force them to their feet for slaughter federal inspectors halted operations at the plant earlier this month after finding 'clear violations' of usda regulations california prosecutors on friday announced animal cruelty charges against two former employees of the plant in a statement issued february 3, westland meat president steve mendell said the company was cooperating with the usda and called the practices depicted in the humane society video as 'a serious breach of our company's policies and training' 'we have taken swift action regarding the two employees identified on the video and have already implemented aggressive measures to ensure all employees follow our humane handling policies and procedures,' mendell said e mail to a friend cnn's jen pifer contributed to this report | about 37 million pounds usda westland/hallmark meat packing company | about 37 million pounds of the meat went to school lunch programs . usda official: there is 'remote probability' beef could cause illness in humans . westland/hallmark meat packing company employees accused of cattle abuse . hidden video shows animals unable to walk being dragged, carried by forklifts |
(cnn) the chairman of the australian radio network at the heart of a hoax call targeting prince william's pregnant wife has called the apparent suicide of one of the nurses duped by the prank 'truly tragic' 'it is too early to know the full details leading to this tragic event and we are anxious to review the results of an investigation,' southern cross austereo's max moore wilton wrote sunday in a letter to the head of king edward vii's hospital in london the hospital, where a nurse apparently committed suicide after being duped by two djs from australian radio station 2dayfm, has condemned the radio station in a strongly worded letter the djs, impersonating queen elizabeth and prince charles, called the hospital tuesday and gained information about the condition of catherine, duchess of cambridge which they subsequently played on air on friday, the nurse who transferred the call through to the ward, jacintha saldanha, was found dead opinion: why airing the prank call was wrong london's metropolitan police have contacted australian authorities in relation to the call, but 'are not discussing about what or with who' they're talking, a spokesman told cnn a spokeswoman for new south wales police in australia told cnn: 'as the investigation into the death of london nurse jacintha saldhana continues, new south wales police will be providing london's metropolitan police with whatever assistance they require' southern cross said all advertising had been pulled from 2dayfm until 'at least the end of business monday' after several large advertisers pulled out ben barboza, saldanha's husband, expressed grief over his wife's death in a post on facebook: 'i am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife jacintha in tragic circumstances, she will be laid to rest in shirva, india' saldanha's daughter posted a photo of herself with her mother and wrote: 'i miss you, i loveeee you jacintha saldanha' the chairman of the hospital where the pregnant duchess of cambridge was a patient slammed the australian radio station's decision to broadcast the recorded prank call as 'truly appalling' on saturday, 'king edward vii's hospital cares for sick people, and it was extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way through to one of our patients, let alone actually make the call,' wrote hospital chairman lord glenarthur 'the immediate consequence of these premeditated and ill considered actions was the humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses who were simply doing their job tending to their patients' 'the longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words' lord glenarthur called on the radio station to take steps 'to ensure that such an incident could never be repeated' the fallout from saldanha's death has stretched from britain to australia with questions being raised about how far is too far in the effort to find out details about catherine's pregnancy the two australian djs behind the practical joke, mel greig and michael christian, have come under fire, with some using the phrase 'blood on your hands' to condemn their actions on the sydney based radio station 'pranksters face world fury,' screamed the front page of the uk's daily mirror on saturday, while daily telegraph columnist bryony gordon said it was 'not so funny to hear two grown adults call up a hospital ward full of sick people to try to scam information about one of them' read more: nurse's death casts glare on 'shock jocks' the djs have since apologized, and 'mutually decided' to go off the air for an undetermined period, rhys holleran, ceo of the southern cross austereo media group, said saturday during a news conference but he defended the legality of the station's action, saying he was 'very confident that we haven't done anything illegal' 'this is a tragic event that could not have been reasonably foreseen, and we are deeply saddened by it,' he said the australian communications and media authority, the country's media regulator, has not yet commented on the case however, it will be 'engaging with the licensee, today fm sydney, around the facts and issues surrounding the prank call,' said the regulator's chairman, chris chapman news of saldanha's death broke friday, with the hospital saying she 'was recently the victim of a hoax call' london's metropolitan police said that saldanha, 46, had living quarters in central london provided by her workplace police said they were notified friday morning that a woman was found unconscious at the address she was pronounced dead at the scene police are treating the death as 'unexplained' a postmortem examination will be held next week, police said a spokesman for prime minister david cameron said saturday that he 'thinks this is a very sad case and his thoughts are with her family and colleagues' throughout the controversy surrounding the hoax, authorities did not identify the nurse her identity was released after her death audio of the call posted online suggests a woman spoke briefly to the djs before she put the call through early tuesday morning to the ward where the duchess of cambridge was being treated for acute morning sickness 'they were the world's worst accents ever we were sure 100 people at least before us would've tried the same thing we were expecting to be hung up on we didn't even know what to say when we got through,' greig told listeners thursday off the air, greig and christian tweeted about the practical joke on thursday and earlier friday, promising 'more on the #royalprank' the pair's twitter accounts were taken down late friday some listeners applauded the prank, like one who identified himself as guido on the station's facebook page and wrote, 'it is only a joke people! it was great i love it!!!' others were outraged, with negative comments outnumbering positive ones on 2dayfm's facebook page even before the nurse's death 'your stunt was done at a time in this country where there is paranoia about the intrusion of the media into people's lives,' gary slenders wrote 'i know you will say it is harmless fun, the management of 2dayfm will say that it won't happen again, but this is exactly where the phone hacking scandal started' the outcry grew exponentially after the hospital confirmed saldanha's death, leading the coles supermarket chain to remove all its advertising from 2dayfm 'this death is on your conscience,' reads one facebook post several accused the two of having 'blood on your hands' saldanha's family released a statement asking for privacy and directing questions to police she is survived by her husband and two children 'we as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved jacintha,' said the statement, released by police saldanha worked at king edward vii's hospital for more than four years, and she was described as an 'excellent nurse,' well respected by co workers, the hospital statement said the hospital 'had been supporting her throughout this difficult time,' it said a st james' palace spokesman said: 'the duke and duchess of cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death 'their royal highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at king edward vii hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with jacintha saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time' separately, a palace spokesman told cnn: 'at no point did the palace complain to the hospital about the incident on the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times' the hospital said wednesday that it deeply regretted the call had been put through cnn wires and cnn's nick thompson contributed to this report | london australian jacintha saldanha catherine | 'we are anxious to review the results of an investigation,' radio network chief writes . london police contact australian authorities in relation to djs' prank call to hospital . hospital chairman slams 'truly appalling' decision to air the prank call on 2day fm . nurse jacintha saldanha was found dead after taking the prank call on catherine |
mexico city, mexico (cnn) mexico's tourism director on wednesday downplayed the risk of violence facing tourists, despite warnings for travelers to think twice about visiting the country a cliff diver jumps from 'la quebrada' cliff in acapulco, mexico the diving is a popular tourist attraction 'in all parts of the world, you have to be careful with what you do,' oscar fitch told cnn en espanol 'what i am saying is there are very safe zones and there are zones that are not safe' in recent days, the united states, canada, france, italy and germany have issued alerts about travel to mexico, where drug violence was blamed for more than 5,400 killings last year the warnings appear to have had little effect, according to mauricio baranda, mexico country manager at carlson wagonlit travel 'for our part, we have detected no significant drop because of that type of situation,' he said 'much more significant is the reduction [in travel to mexico] because of the financial crisis' in an unusual move, the us state department issued a travel alert last month targeting spring break travelers, for whom mexico is a popular destination 'the situation in ciudad juarez is of special concern,' the alert said 'mexican authorities report that more than 1,800 people have been killed in the city since january 2008 additionally, this city of 16 million people experienced more than 17,000 car thefts and 1,650 carjackings in 2008' watch as troops roll into juarez and officials say it's working » some students appeared to be paying attention 'i think that, if there is a big problem in mexico, they [students] should go somewhere else, because you never know what is going to happen,' said nereida solis, a student 'i think it would be a good idea to consider security things,' added karen velasquez, another student but student aaron cutler was more fatalistic 'that's life,' he said 'there is violence in israel, there is violence in india i don't know much about the situation and how it has turned out i can't comment much, but if people want to go, people are going to go' mexican authorities said the country remains a preferred destination for us vacationers, but acknowledged that the warnings may lead some of the 18 million who typically visit their neighbor south of the border to find another place to go this year | recognize apricate downshore | no related information |
weimar, germany (cnn) a long narrow road winds through a thick forest up a hill called the 'ettesberg,' on the outskirts of weimar in central germany the ovens where tens of thousands of bodies were cremated are restored and working the road goes on for miles through the forest, but every once in a while you see an old railway station, a tower, or an old structure withering in the german rain this road was named 'the trail of blood,' by inmates of the infamous concentration camp buchenwald, because of the death marches they were forced to undertake as they were deported to work as slave laborers for nazi germany's defense industry from 1937 to 1945 'the trail of blood' leads straight to the entrance gate of the former concentration camp a structure with a huge iron gate in the middle, a tower with a clock above, and arrest cells in the building's wings us troops saw the horror of the nazi regime first hand when they came through this gate on april 11, 1945, and found camp inmates starved to the bone, many too weak to stand 'we couldn't even show our joy at this moment, which we had been waiting for so long,' said former inmate zeev factor, recalling the day american troops came to liberate the camp now the camp is getting ready to host president obama, who has a special relationship with buchenwald his great uncle charlie payne, 84, helped liberate a sub camp here when he was an infantryman fighting in world war ii 'the survivors see president obama almost like a grandson of theirs,' said the director of the buchenwald memorial, volker knigge, speaking just outside the front gate 'the president is related to one of the brave men who came here and saw the nazi horror first hand the soldiers only had vague knowledge of what concentration camps actually were, but here they saw people too weak to survive, even after having been liberated' historians estimate that of the 20,000 inmates who were liberated by us troops, 1,000 died shortly after because of exhaustion and the effects of years of starvation it is easy to see why every building in the buchenwald complex radiates death, suffering and evil in the crematorium, where tens of thousands of bodies were burned, the ovens have been restored and are fully functional in a cellar below the cremation room, meat hooks in the walls were used by ss guards to hang and strangle more than 1,000 inmates, many of them women and children obama will see these testimonies to the barbarism of the nazis when he takes a tour of the camp with german chancellor angela merkel he will also meet some of the survivors who volker knigge says feel so close to this president | obama buchenwald concentration camp germany friday wwii | president obama visits buchenwald concentration camp, germany, on friday . his great uncle helped liberate one of the complex's sub camps during wwii . director of buchenwald camp memorial: survivors see obama as a grandson . obama will meet some camp survivors during his visit |
(cnn student news) january 12, 2011 download pdf maps related to today's show: • arizona • gulf of mexico • haiti transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: it's a pleasure to welcome you to this midweek edition of cnn student news we're bringing the world, without commercials, to your classroom and i'm your captain, carl azuz first up: arizona discourse azuz: doctors are keeping a close watch on arizona representative gabrielle giffords three days after a gunman tried to assassinate her at an event in tucson, giffords was responding to doctors' commands and giving hopeful signs, though her condition remained critical experts say if she survives, her recovery could take anywhere from several months to a year and a half meantime, president obama was scheduled to fly to tucson today the white house says he'll probably attend a memorial service and meet with some families of the shooting victims six people were killed and 14 wounded in the attack there's a national conversation building around part of this story, and we're gonna include you in it here's what's going on: this man you're about to see here, an arizona sheriff named clarence dupnik, has been talking about the arizona shooter, and what might have influenced him to attack here's part of the sheriff's opinion: clarence dupnik, sheriff of pima county, arizona: when the rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates, and to try to inflame the public on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has impact on people, especially who are unbalanced personalities to begin with azuz: the sheriff, who's a democrat, is suggesting that conservative talk show hosts and media coverage of people who are angry at the government somehow influenced the arizona shooter but police have not discussed an official motive for the attack and another sheriff, joe arpaio, another arizona sheriff, says all the evidence so far suggests the gunman had no clear political motives that he's just a deeply troubled and mentally unstable person what do americans think? well, a new national poll by cbs shows most americans, 57 percent, don't think angry political speech contributed to the shooting 32 percent think it did here's where you come into the conversation what are your thoughts on the arizona shooting? are there any lessons to be learned from it? our blog is always open at cnnstudentnewscom! what's the word tomeka jones, cnn student news: what's the word? a type of storm with extremely strong winds that blow from the northeast nor'easter that's the word! winter storm update azuz: chances are, if you live on america's east coast and haven't yet been socked in by snow and ice, your turn is coming the storm that smacked the southeast is now heading north forecasters expect it to merge with another system from the midwest what does all that mean? another foot of snow possible for new york city you see new york here, earlier this year, reeling from storms then another foot of snow is possible for boston, massachusetts at least 30 states were under some sort of winter storm watch or warning yesterday and the south? still crippled by chaotic conditions the snow that covered the streets froze into a hard sheet of ice monday night driving was out even walking was dangerous in some spots rob marciano stepped outside cnn center to show us why this is such a big deal for the southeast rob? (begin video) rob marciano, cnn weather anchor: check it out, carl snow and ice on the sidealks of downtown atlanta yeah, it's happened before but not sticking around for days at a time what an amazing, incredible ice storm this was, and snow storm, across the south, especially for atlanta we seem to have been right in the core of the heaviest snow and then, bam! the freezing temperatures and the freezing rain coming on top of that just really crippling this entire metropolitan area from downtown to the interstates we had jack knifed tractor trailers all over the place on that 285 loop which is designed to take the tractor trailers out of the downtown area, well, that didn't help entirely too much so, the other thing that's not helping is the storm cranking up the northeastern seaboard that's bringing in even more cold air even though we get times where it gets above freezing during the day at night the temperatures drop well below freezing you got to look at this and say to yourself, atlanta's mentality for snow removal is let it melt well, we may have to wait for quite some time, carl? (end video) oil spill report azuz: thanks, rob if we don't take drastic action to prevent this in the future, it could happen again that's the word from a final report on last summer's catastrophic oil spill in the gulf of mexico it started with this, an explosion on the deepwater horizon drilling rig that later sank and caused the worst oil spill in american history the clean up is still going on for this! the 'national commission on the bp deepwater horizon spill and offshore drilling' says the government and the oil industry need to research more, invest more money, and keep better tabs on safety and knowledge of how to contain oil spills shoutout john lisk, cnn student news: today's shoutout goes out to mrs huber's exploratory class at loveland middle school in loveland, ohio! port au prince is the capital of what country? if you think you know it, shout it out! is it: a) cuba, b) dominican republic, c) haiti or d) venezuela? you've got three seconds go! port au prince is the capital of the caribbean nation of haiti that's your answer and that's your shoutout! haiti then & now azuz: it's been exactly one year since that capital and much of haiti were violently shaken to the ground by a tremendous earthquake flooding and disease outbreaks have further slowed down haiti's recovery still needed there: safe water and sewage systems, training for health workers, money to help get rid of diseases moni basu describes how one year after the quake, not much has changed (begin video) moni basu, cnn correspondent: my name is moni basu i'm a journalist for cnn when i came to haiti last january my heart broke i've covered difficult stories before but this one was particularly difficult for me and i had hoped that when i came back a year later i would see a lot more progress than this i'm sitting here in the notre dame cathedral in port au prince as you can see it pretty much looks like it did last january 12 every sunday thousands of people come here still for services there's no building left here so the priest preaches outside in a small park the building was shattered but their faith was not shattered their faith is stronger than it ever was i think the most iconic image that came out in the days after the earthquake was the national palace it was destroyed to the point where it had been slated for demolition but very little work has been done on it since last january and it's a constant reminder to the people of what happened here this is the champs de mars plaza in port au prince, the central plaza in the city slowly in the days and weeks after the earthquake, a tent city sprung up here, and the more the time went by people realized, 'we're not going anywhere, we're going have to make new homes, new lives for ourselves right here' there's a grocery store, there's a cyber cafe, even the tent city has become a little city within the larger city of port au prince it's pretty shocking to see that a year later people are still living like this i'm always amazed when i come back to haiti to see how much strength the people here have it's just incredible to me how they are able to go on i just can't imagine having to live through something like this day after day after day (end video) promo azuz: remarkable images in that report we want you to intro our show! and at cnnstudentnewscom, we have a video that explains how you can send us a video! you just scroll down our home page, which you see right here find the 'how do i' box it's on the left side and click on 'how do i send cnn student news my ireport?' yours truly will pop up with a totally different haircut, and give you step by step instructions on sending your footage to us before we go azuz: well, i used to read jack london in high school, maybe that's why i picture sled dogs as huskies, dragging wood and steel through the yukon this is a different kind of animal a slack dog, not a pack dog a coaster, not a boaster a chiller, not a thriller! he and his owner show the other side of atlanta's icy conditions: the fun shared by man and beast, when you've got nowhere to go but downhill goodbye azuz: just hope he stayed warm without a sweater, a hot dog can quickly turn into a pup sicle please join us again tomorrow cnn student news only has ice for you bye bye! | arizona southeast northeast haiti | a national conversation builds in the aftermath of an arizona shooting . the storm system that paralyzed the southeast now threatens the northeast . haiti is still reeling one year after a devastating earthquake . use the daily discussion to help students understand today's featured news stories |
editor's note: malaak compton rock is founder and director of the angelrock project, 'an online e village promoting volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change' one of her initiatives, 'journey for change: empowering youth through global service,' will be seen as part of cnn's 'black in america 2' her first book is being published by broadway books in may, 2010, titled, 'if it takes a village, build one: how i found meaning through a life of service to others and 100+ ways you can too' malaak compton rock says focusing on problems facing african americans is difficult but necessary (cnn) in the words of my mentor and america's foremost child advocate marian wright edelman, founder and president of the children's defense fund, it's time to 'raise a ruckus people, it is time to raise a ruckus!' cnn's 'black in america' raised many critical issues facing african american people in this great country of ours it was not pretty, it was not flattering, but it was very, very frank the show delved into the negative issues that have plagued the african american community for generations, ie, crime, education, single parent families, drug abuse and the like people got mad people sent many e mails and letters to soledad o'brien and cnn and cried foul people said 'black in america' was not consistent with the lives of many african american people and was one sided blogs and web sites popped up all over the place where people 'raised a ruckus' about the content of the show i read a lot of these comments as a matter of fact, i was obsessed with people's views for many weeks after the documentary aired and the more i read, the more i got angry the more i read, the more i wanted to 'raise my own ruckus' but i was frustrated and upset for a very different reason than most i was almost apoplectic with the amount of criticism for 'black in america' without critical, thought provoking commentary about how each person can do their part to make a difference to change the very startling and distressing issues facing most african american children and adults in america on a typical day in the lives of black american children: and on a typical school day for black children in america: and consider that in america, [statistics are from the children's defense fund's child research data] this is serious stuff people and it is the cold hearted truth so, it is okay to comment that the documentary did not represent your life it is okay to comment that it was upsetting to see images of black men in jail, children dropping out of school, and unwed mothers it is okay because the truth hurts, especially when it is seen by 16 million people in fact, most of the images shown in 'black in america' do not represent my personal life or the lives of my children but because these issues face my brothers and sisters in my collective african american family, they concern me, they hurt me, they belong to me, and i will own them we know that as african americans we have come a long way we know that we are doctors, lawyers, ceos, philanthropists, politicians, and even the president of the united states of america and yes, it would do our children a lot of good if these images were portrayed more frequently in the media but this does not change the very real issues facing african american people portrayed in 'black in america' and frankly, with so many of our people struggling, we can't just celebrate our achievements we must make it a priority to work on the most critical and urgent matters in our community as i always say, 'the blessed and the best of us, must take care of the rest of us' so why did the criticism make me so mad? because so much of it was unaccompanied by real ideas, thought provoking suggestions, plans of action, or inspiring initiatives or solutions how can you complain if you are unwilling to join the fight? how can you get mad, if you are disinclined to make a difference in someone else's life? and why would you take the time to write an accusatory e mail to soledad o'brien instead of writing a letter to your representative in congress demanding health care for all children and pregnant women, increased funding for schools, or new initiatives to increase black owned businesses in black neighborhoods? 'black in america 2' will offer many solutions to the ills facing african american people i think it will make the naysayers happy but it will only make me happy if the naysayers 'raise a ruckus' by joining the fight to better the lives of all black folks the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of malaak compton rock | yonic stereornithic corrive | no related information |
new delhi, india (cnn) the indian navy captured 23 piracy suspects who tried to take over a merchant vessel in the gulf of aden, between the horn of africa and the arabian peninsula, indian officials said piracy suspects raise their hands in surrender as an indian navy boat approaches in addition to the 12 somali and 11 yemeni suspects, the indian navy seized two small boats and 'a substantial cache of arms and equipment,' the military said in a statement among the seized items were seven ak 47 automatic rifles, three other automatic weapons and 13 loaded magazines; a rocket propelled grenade launcher along with rockets, cartridges and grenades; up to three outboard motors and a global positioning system receiver pirate attacks in the waters off somalia have increased this year, with armed men staging increasingly bold attacks on ever larger targets this year, pirates have attacked nearly 100 vessels off somalia's coast and hijacked nearly 40, the international maritime bureau said map: see where incidents have been reported » the indian warship mysore, which carried out saturday's operation, is on anti piracy patrol in the gulf of aden, the release said the mysore received a distress call saturday morning from the mv gibe, a merchant vessel sailing under an ethiopian flag the gibe reported that two boats were firing small arms at it the merchant ship, which was 13 nautical miles from the mysore, fired back with small arms onboard the vessel the mysore changed course toward the gibe and launched an armed helicopter, the indian military said upon seeing the helicopter and the mysore closing in, the attackers broke off and tried to flee, the release said the warship caught up to the boats, the larger of which was described as a 24 to 30 foot dhow, a traditional arab sailboat the dhow, identified as bearing the name salahaddin, was towing a smaller skiff indian sailors boarded the salahaddin, the military said, and the 23 suspects surrendered peacefully the suspects, weapons, ammunition and equipment will be handed over to authorities, and the mysore will return to patrol duties, india said last month, the indian navy said it had sunk a pirate 'mother vessel' in the gulf of aden the ship's owner said the sunken vessel was a thai trawler that was being seized by pirates when an indian warship fired on it sixteen crew members were aboard the ship, said wicharn sirichaiekawat, owner of the ekawat nava 5 two have been accounted for one crewman was found alive after six days adrift in the gulf of aden, and one is confirmed dead, the ship's owner said indian authorities insisted that their ship, the frigate ins tabar, had acted against a pirate vessel that had threatened to attack it 'we fired in self defense and in response to firing upon our vessel,' commodore nirad sinha, a navy spokesman, told cnn 'it was a pirate vessel in the international waters, and its stance was aggressive' he said the ship the tabar fired on was laden with ammunition all sorts of vessels freight and cargo ships, cruise liners and private yachts have been attacked in the waters off somalia in many hijackings, pirates take the crew and passengers hostage and demand a ransom just this month, somali pirates captured two yemeni fishing boats and 22 yemeni fishermen in the gulf of aden, yemen's official news agency saba reported a day earlier, the german cruise liner ms columbus said it would fly its 246 passengers and most of its crew over the gulf of aden instead of through it to avoid any pirate attack the united states is reportedly circulating a proposal in the un security council that would allow military forces to enter somali territory in 'hot pursuit' of pirates the pentagon said friday, however, that there are no plans for us forces to go ashore in pursuit of pirates in somalia | gulf of aden india africa this year | suspects caught in gulf of aden after failed hijacking, india says . boats, weapons, ammo, equipment also seized, officials say . piracy off horn of africa has sharply increased this year |
(cnn) venezuela announced wednesday it is breaking diplomatic relations with israel over the conflict in gaza, joining bolivia, which did the same thing earlier in the day bolivian president evo morales announces wednesday that he is severing diplomatic ties with israel in the announcement issued by the venezuelan foreign ministry, the government cited 'the gravity of the atrocities against the palestinian people' the statement accused the israelis of having 'ignored, systematically, calls from the united nations, violating in a repeated and shameless manner the resolutions approved by the overwhelming majority of their members and placing themselves ever more on the margin of international law' it described '19 days of continuous bombardment, the assassination of more than 1,000 people and the destruction of the infrastructure of the population of gaza,' calling it 'a human catastrophe that is unraveling before the eyes of the entire world' it further accused israel of participating in 'state terrorism' against 'the most weak and innocent human beings: children, women and the aged' the statement called for israeli leaders be tried before an international court for crimes against humanity the move is a ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries that have simmered since january 6, when venezuelan president hugo chavez expelled the israeli ambassador from caracas venezuela's announcement came hours after bolivian president evo morales announced that bolivia was breaking diplomatic relations with israel and urged that israeli president shimon peres and prime minister ehud olmert be declared war criminals more than 1,000 palestinians have been killed and nearly 5,000 wounded in the israeli military operation, which started december 27, palestinian officials said wednesday israel said wednesday that 10 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed and more than 100 soldiers have been wounded israel, which did not immediately respond to the diplomatic moves, has defended its actions in gaza as a response to years of shelling into its territory from hamas gloria carrasco contributed to this report | venezuela israel bolivia israeli | venezuela accuses israel of participating in 'state terrorism'. bolivia urges that israeli leaders be considered war criminals . israeli government has no immediate reaction to the moves |
(cnn student news) november 18, 2010 download pdf maps related to today's show: • washington, dc • dominican republic / haiti • kobe, japan transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated joyce joseph, cnn student news: that paper airplane can only mean one thing: it's time for a new edition of cnn student news! carl is at an anti bullying conference this week i'm joyce joseph first up today, the halls of congress first up: leaders in congress joseph: the 112th us congress won't start until january, but it's picking its leaders this week! these are the men and women who will guide the members of their political parties in the senate, things will look very familiar democratic senator harry reid is the current senate majority leader he'll hold onto that title the democrats lost some seats in the midterms, but still have a majority on the other side of the senate aisle, republican mitch mcconnell, who is the current senate minority leader, will continue on in that role control of the house of representatives changed hands in the midterms; the republicans will be in the majority when the new session starts they unanimously picked representative john boehner to continue as their leader he's now in line to be the new speaker of the house democrats voted for the current house speaker, nancy pelosi, to become the house minority leader but not all of them of the 193 house democrats who will be part of the next congress, about 25 percent voted for someone other than pelosi to be leader security hearing joseph: that's not the only thing congress is doing this week a senate committee is talking with the head of the transportation security agency about security checks at airports this is something you've been talking about on our blog: the advanced scanning machines and security checks the holiday travel season is almost here, so this is getting a lot of attention the question is, how do you find a balance between privacy and security? sen george lemieux, (r) florida: i'm, frankly, bothered by the level of these pat downs i've seen them first hand in airports in florida i also understand that you would like to do everything possible to keep american people safe, but there are limits there has to be a balance here what can we do to right this balance? i think we've gone too far afield john pistole, tsa administrator: we know that there are additional things that we could be doing to detect things and we know, based on pat downs and ait, we have detected dozens and dozens of, let's say, artfully concealed objects that could pose a risk to aviation new home construction joseph: let's talk about the economy for a second experts look at a lot of things to figure out how it's doing that includes the stock market, unemployment numbers and the housing industry a new report just came out about housing starts that's the number of new homes that are being built, and it's down during the month of october, housing starts dropped nearly 12 percent in fact, they're at their lowest level in 18 months analysts expected the number to fall, but they were a little surprised by how much it dropped shoutout tomeka jones, cnn student news: today's shoutout goes out to mr macias's 6th grade humanities class at michael e fossum middle school in mcallen, texas! you're looking at the island of hispaniola it's made up of haiti and what other country? is it: a) barbados, b) dominican republic, c) jamaica or d) trinidad? you've got three seconds go! haiti takes up about one third of hispaniola; the dominican republic takes up the rest that's your answer and that's your shoutout! protests in haiti joseph: the dominican republic is under a maximum health alert we've talked about the cholera outbreak that's going on in haiti well, dominican authorities have been worried it might spread to their country, and it looks like it did cholera doesn't work like the cold or flu; it usually doesn't get passed from person to person but officials say a haitian who works in the dominican republic brought the disease back over the border after he went home to haiti recently he's the first confirmed case of cholera in hispaniola's other nation back in haiti, the cholera outbreak has led to violence in one town we reported on that yesterday ivan watson went there to check out the situation (begin video) ivan watson, cnn correspondent: roads leading into the city blocked by burning tires, torched cars and even a coffin machete wielding locals patrol the streets scenes of chaos less than two weeks before haiti is supposed to hold presidential elections we've seen some crowds of young men out on the street we're told that they're protesting against un peacekeepers they want them to leave haiti and cap haitien they blame them for the cholera epidemic in this country the peacekeepers can do little more for now than put out fires and face off against an angry population terrified by the deadliest cholera epidemic to hit haiti in more than half a century moses valcy, taxi driver: we got so much people sick right now, so the people very, very, very, very scared about cholera right now watson: the un peacekeepers are effectively under siege, targeted by angry locals who almost went after us the protesters are mostly armed with rocks and bottles they clearly control most of the streets right now as the sun set on a second day of riots, tear gas and smoke from dozens of fires continues to rise, over haiti's second largest city (end video) cnn heroes joseph: cnn heroes: everyday people who are changing the world tune in for the all star tribute on thanksgiving night that's one week from tonight it airs at 8 pm eastern on cnn before that, head to cnnstudentnewscom; look for our spotlight section you're seeing that right here that's where you'll find our cnn heroes teacher and parent guide it has questions and activities that help students identify heroes in history and in their own lives what's the word? john lisk, cnn student news: what's the word? it's an adjective that means relating to or about a city; it's also the opposite of rural urban that's the word! the urban brain joseph: according to the united nations, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas if you live in a city, you know there's a lot going on, a lot to keep track of what you might not know is that all of that could affect your brain doctor sanjay gupta explains how and what you can do about it (begin video) dr sanjay gupta, cnn chief medical correspondent: life in the concrete jungle, that's what they call it and if you live in a city, you are probably used to something like this problem is, with so many different distractions, it's very hard to focus on one particular thing it's called controlled perception, toggling back and forth between so many things and it can leave you feeling mentally exhausted there's no question that living in a city has a lot of advantages shops are open all hours of the day, you can buy things, there are also lots of cultural attractions but what we're finding more and more is that all of that comes with a price there's an impact on the brain, as well in fact, here in japan, it's a big topic of discussion they are talking about the fact that mental illness is one of the biggest health problems here, and they attribute it to this complex, high tech environment the thing is, more people live in cities than ever before, and they are living in cities longer than ever so, all of this is expected to get worse and here's why: all that stimulation, well, it can cause spikes to the stress hormone known as cortisol and as a result, it can be very difficult for the brain to hold things in memory, reduces your self control, dull your thinking, it may even speed up cognitive decline just from living in a city think of it as your brain more rapidly aging but here's the part i like in all this: getting away from the stress associated with the chaos in a big city can be as simple as finding a place like this in fact, recent studies have shown that just glimpses of green areas can make a huge difference in your overall cognitive function makes you less distracted, less stressed, and more relaxed in fact, just a few minutes away from bustling kobe, japan, we found this place: a very old park a lot of people come here for a few minutes a day there are shrines, and there are good opportunities to find green space, and that really seems to be the key: find green spaces in your city and make sure to use them as much as possible (end video) before we go joseph: finally, have you ever sat in math class and wondered: when am i gonna use this? well, this is when check out this incredible video from gawker tv if she makes 128 shots in 60 seconds, how many shots does she make per second? around two let me say that again: she's making two shots every second! and in case you hadn't noticed, she doesn't miss a single one you might call her a show off goodbye joseph: we think she's just a hot shot here's my question: since she's doing this in an arcade, do you think she had to pay for the game, or did they give her a free throw? you might call that pun a foul, but we'll bounce right back with more tomorrow for cnn student news, i'm joyce joseph | 112th congress haitian today | find out who the leaders will be in the 112th us congress . journey through a haitian town where riots have broken out . consider the potential impact of city living on the brain . use the daily discussion to help students understand today's featured news stories |
(hlntvcom) an ohio man who confessed in a viral video that he killed a man while driving drunk kept his word wednesday, pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence matthew cordle, 22, appeared in a columbus, ohio as he told franklin county common pleas court judge david fais that he wanted to change his original plea, entered on september 11, from not guilty to guilty 'yes, your honor,' said cordle, confirming his plea to the judge fais asked cordle, who wore handcuffs and a khaki jail uniform at the hearing, multiple times about his decision making on june 22, the date of the accident cordle told the judge he did not remember the events of that night because he 'blacked out' from drinking too much cordle also told fais that he has not drunk alcohol since the night of the accident, and he attended a two week alcohol rehabilitation program cordle made headlines after a video was posted to youtube on september 3 in which he confessed to driving while drunk and killing 61 year old vincent canzani in the video, he promised he would plead guilty and 'take full responsibility for everything i've done to vincent and his family' he also begged people watching the video not to drink and drive several days after the video appeared, cordle surrendered to authorities and was charged for his involvement in the wrong way crash canzani was driving a jeep when he was struck by a wrong way driver on interstate 670 near columbus, according to the columbus dispatch fais said in court monday that he had not seen the video of cordle's confession cordle will be sentenced october 10 ron o'brien, the attorney who is prosecuting the case, told cnn that cordle faces a maximum sentence of 8â½ years in prison for his charges opinion: online confessions morally admirable, legally damaging youtube confession: sincere or slick manipulation? | gainage overjump declivous | no related information |
tehran, iran (cnn) from bakery to barber shop, cafe to carpet store, iranians stroll their capital with a renewed step, uplifted by how their newly elected president seeks something remarkable after decades of cold war like relations between their country and the west iran wants to talk with the united states with europe with everyone who's been skeptical of the country and iran is willing to discuss its nuclear program, president hassan rouhani says 'i just feel it it's not like i've seen anything, but i feel it,' said retiree syed ali akbar 'it's the best thing to do we've been hurting ourselves for years' international economic sanctions against iran have strained day to day living in iran, making essential goods such as medicine expensive and hard to come by that punishment has taken a toll 'the sanctions have hurt us prices have gone up there are things you can't find,' said hossein mohamadi at the barbari bread shop to many iranians, rouhani seems to be really advancing the 'hope and prudence' slogan he used during his successful campaign to become president in june, posturing as a centrist and reformer against hardline conservatives that characterized previous president mahmoud ahmadinejad rouhani had been iran's national security council chief and its lead nuclear negotiator 'with mr rouhani here, we've become more hopeful that things will improve,' mohamadi said ramin atouri, 28, is a part of the young generation to whom rouhani appealed in his stump speeches atouri dislikes political isolation and applauds diplomacy 'everything is solved through friendship war and sanctions and conflict never solve anything,' atouri said one day, us and iranian president might shake hands a new sense of optimism without doubt, the long years of hostility between iran and the united states leave many iranians wary and distrustful of western countries those feelings endure and were captured by an open microphone that cnn set up wednesday on a busy street in tajrish square, inviting passers by to send a personal sound bite around the world 'i say hello to all america,' said one woman named zahra 'your behavior is not very good your politics is about war and it's terrifying don't create so many restrictions for us don't impose on us so many sanctions let us make progress' in general, however, there's a whiff of euphoria for the first time in many people's memory that was also expressed at the open mike 'america is a great county and we want to have good relations with america, and our government is working to make that happen,' said reza, who didn't give her last name 'we hope american politicians understand the circumstances, and through positive talks we can thaw this relationship that has been frozen for 35 years, so we can live side by side as friends' a tehran based author and political analyst also sensed change in the air 'so far he has done more than we expected,' sadegh zibakalam said about the new president 'ever since the elections, there is a mood of optimism there is a mood of hope wherever you go in iran, you can see people happier' zibakalam went so far as to say iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, also has altered his rhetoric, joining the prevailing hopefulness 'i cannot fail to detect some changes with regard to the attitude of the supreme leader ever since the elections,' zibakalam said wherever iranians gathered and did business, they spoke to how new ground was being broken and whether they believed it was for real at a carpet store, sadegh kiyaei, 50, believed a new day was dawning 'he's the hope of the future of iranians, especially the way he's talking to the world and especially to america,' kiyaei said of the new president 'we believe the two nations iran and america they believe they need each other and like each other they feel it's the right time to get together and start talking at least' one mother, however, didn't endorse that sentiment she is going to press ahead with her efforts to leave iran if there's a better future for her and her son, it's outside iran, she said 'in my view, i don't think you can get anywhere here in iran,' said the mother, khoshvakht, who declined to give her last name 'i haven't lost hope i just don't think anything has changed i'm just not that optimistic' her son, omid, didn't like her mother's plan to leave 'i want to stay,' he said 'my friends are here' rouhani calls for 'constructive' dialogue, end to 'unhealthy' rivalries wishing for an easier life at the open microphone, several speakers didn't need prompting to broach perhaps the biggest subject on the international community's mind whether iran is building nuclear weapons iran says its controversial atomic program is for peaceful energy purposes but several western countries want iran to fully comply with a united nations agency's inspectors looking into whether the nuclear development is to build a bomb 'hi, america,' said one man named mohsen 'as far as i'm concerned, i don't think they're making bombs' then, he added, 'with all the sanctions they put on us, it's like putting a gun on someone's head 'you respect our civil rights and we'll respect yours it's just humanity,' he concluded hassan ahmadi has been a barber for 30 years and has three kids he wants affordable medicine for his family 'there's been a lot of tough times and rising costs,' ahmadi said 'one hundred percent, i want to see better relations, so we can live a little easier 'i'm hopeful that change will happen so we can escape all the worry,' he added those who held contrary opinions were equally effusive 'i don't have hope because i don't think rouhani is everything in iran he still has someone over the top of him,' said ali ahadi at a newspaper stand that superior is the ayatollah a coffee shop owner agreed 'the final decider is the supreme leader maybe if things change, then he'll change his mind so in the end, i'm not optimistic,' proprietor amin, who declined to give his last name 'we just want to live in peace that's my only wish to live in peace' perhaps the most commonly shared view on tehran streets was rejection of how western leaders harshly characterize the country 'i know they call us terrorists, but you show me which one of us is terrorists?' ahadi said at the newsstand 'iranians are (hospitable) and kind and honest' rouhani brings 'charm offensive' to un cnn's reza sayah contributed to this report from tehran michael martinez wrote from los angeles | iranians western cnn tehran | throughout the capital, iranians sense a new future in the air . 'it's not like i've seen anything, but i feel it,' one retiree says . the new president's outreach to western countries resonates . optimists express themselves at a cnn open microphone in tehran, but so do pessimists |
(cnn) dry ice in a plastic bottle exploded in an employee restroom at los angeles international airport, causing a brief shutdown of one terminal, the fbi said the restroom is an area of terminal 2 not open to the general public, fbi spokeswoman laura eimiller said in a statement the fbi and other agencies 'will investigate the incident to determine the individual or group responsible,' eimiller said no injuries were reported, and terminal 2 resumed operations after a brief evacuation terminal 2 is the airport's 'secondary international terminal,' airport spokesman nancy castle said | fbi | new: small explosion happened in employee restroom, fbi says . new: fbi, other agencies seeking 'individual or group responsible'. terminal 2 serves international flights |
(cnn) a passenger who landed at tokyo's narita airport over the weekend has ended up with a surprise souvenir courtesy of customs officials a package of cannabis sniffer dogs failed to find the cannabis after it had been slipped into a passenger's bag a customs official hid the package in a suitcase belonging to a passenger arriving from hong kong as part of an exercise for sniffer dogs on sunday, reuterscom reported however, staff then lost track of the drugs and suitcase during the exercise, a spokeswoman for tokyo customs said customs regulations specify that a training suitcase be used for such exercises, but the official had used passengers' suitcases for similar purposes in the past, domestic media reported tokyo customs has asked anyone who finds the package to return it | afraid heyrat battleward | no related information |
washington (cnn) as a bill that would expand education benefits for veterans has become a flash point in the early sparring between sens john mccain and barack obama, some republicans admit that the democrats may have outmaneuvered them on the issue sen john mccain has sided with president bush on opposing a popular gi bill in congress mccain has defended his opposition to the bill that would expand education benefits for veterans, saying it would hurt the military that he hopes to lead the bill, which passed the senate last week 75 22, would expand education benefits for veterans who served at least three years in the military after the september 11, 2001, attacks a former navy officer and prisoner of war during vietnam, mccain says the bill would hurt military retention by 16 percent and be a disincentive for service members to become noncommissioned officers, which he called 'the backbone of all the services' democrats cite the congressional budget office, whose figures say the expanded benefits would boost enlistment by 16 percent watch more of mccain's comments » 'i think john mccain has been outmaneuvered,' said gop strategist ed rollins, who had served as former arkansas gov mike huckabee's presidential campaign chairman 'sometimes in politics, there are intellectual issues and emotional issues' 'john mccain is going against veterans groups; he is going against a constituency that should be his but i think he is on the wrong side of this issue,' rollins said 'a lot of republicans are voting for this, and i think to a certain extent as it moves forward there will be more and more there will be tremendous pressure from veterans groups past and present and i think you will see a lot of bipartisan support for this as well' over the weekend, obama, who appears to be the likely democratic nominee, again tried to tie mccain to bush by noting that both of them oppose the gi bill expansion 'i revere our soldiers and want to make sure they are being treated with honor and respect,' obama said saturday in puerto rico 'i think the gi bill is one way for us to do that, and i hope that john mccain and george bush decide they believe the same thing' watch more of obama's comments » obama hasn't served in the military 'it is really probably barack obama's shining moment in this campaign the way he phrased this debate, the way he framed the issue,' said robert zimmerman, a democratic superdelegate who supports sen hillary clinton's run for president watch analysts weigh in on the issue » 'intellectually, john mccain may be right, the president may be right emotionally, you are on the wrong side, you can never win an emotional battle in an intellectual argument,' rollins added rollins also said that despite mccain's war hero status, history has shown veterans who run for president don't always capture the veteran vote 'i think the bottom line here in the statistic that was astonishing to me is george bush's father was a war hero lost the veterans' vote to bill clinton who did not serve in a war,' rollins said 'same way with bob dole, a war hero lost the vote' mccain, along with sens lindsey graham of south carolina and richard burr of north carolina, has introduced an alternative bill that would increase education benefits on a sliding scale based on an individual's years of service the gi bill was created in june 1944, when president franklin d roosevelt signed into law the servicemen's readjustment act of 1944 it was designed to help educate and train military veterans returning from wwii according to the department of veterans affairs, 78 million of 16 million troops who served in wwii received educational or vocational training from the gi bill soldiers, marines and airmen, speaking at a capitol hill rally on april 29, said they are not given enough funds from the bill to cover college expenses as they were promised todd bowers, who served two tours in iraq, told a crowd of veterans, 'i came home proud, very proud of my service, with a purple heart on my chest and a navy commendation medal with a 'v' for valor' 'but i didn't come back to the education i was expecting i came back to three different types of student loans, two of which had gone to collections' najwa mcqueen said she joined the louisiana national guard in 2004 on what she thought was a promise to help pay for her college education 'they kind of sell you a dream,' she said after the rally 'you think you're going to get all of this stuff, and in reality, you don't get that' cnn's ed hornick, alexander marquardt, ed henry, eric marrapodi, mary snow, deirdre walsh and robert yoon contributed to this report | senate mccain bush ed rollins | senate passes an update to the gi bill, extending education benefits to veterans . sen mccain and president bush oppose it, citing retention problems . ed rollins: mccain's 'outmaneuvered' and 'on the wrong side of this issue' |
amstetten, austria (cnn) josef fritzl, who austrian police say has confessed to imprisoning his daughter for 24 years and fathering seven of her children, twice holidayed in thailand while she remained trapped in a cellar below his house, according to german media reports josef fritzl appeared in court after admitting raping his daughter and fathering her seven children germany's bild newspaper quoted a holiday companion, identified only as paul h, who said he and 73 year old fritzl traveled to thailand together twice and spent time in each other's homes 'he went [to thailand] without his wife; apparently she had to look after the children once he had a very long massage from a young thai girl at the beach he really loved that,' paul h told the newspaper, which featured video of fritzl laughing and receiving a massage in thailand on its web site 'once i saw how josef bought an evening dress and racy lingerie for a very slim woman in pattaya [thailand] on the beach he got really angry when he realized i saw him then he told me that he has a girlfriend on the side the items were meant for her he told me not to tell his wife' watch footage of fritzl on vacation at a thai beach resort » the pair had also ventured to oktoberfest paul h said he had visited fritzl's house three times, the last in 2005 'we sat out on the terrace and had a really nice evening the kids were well behaved, however; they had a great respect for their father they were never allowed downstairs into the cellar, but we never thought anything of it,' he told bild 'now that i think of the dungeon down there, i feel really sick in the stomach' paul h said fritzl was a diy 'genius,' constantly extending and building on to the house meanwhile, family members at the center of the incest and imprisonment case have held an 'astonishing' reunion, medical officials said 'they met each other on sunday morning,' clinic director berthold kepplinger said tuesday 'and it is astonishing how easy it worked, that the children came together, and also it was astonishing how easy it happened that the grandmother and the mother came together' investigators say fritzl held his daughter, elisabeth, captive in a cellar for 24 years he raped her repeatedly, they say, and eventually fathered seven of her children elisabeth and two of her children were reunited sunday with three of her other children and her mother, kepplinger said tuesday the three children and her mother lived in the home above the cellar elisabeth's eldest child, 19 year old kerstin fritzl, remains in hospital a seventh child died years ago, shortly after birth fritzl told police he burned the infant's body in a furnace the story of the family's imprisonment began to unravel a week ago, when kerstin fell seriously ill with convulsions and was hospitalized austrian police wednesday denied reports that they were investigating possible links between fritzl and the unsolved murder of a woman franz polzer, director of the lower austrian bureau of criminal affairs, said fritzl had owned an austrian hotel near where a woman was found murdered decades ago however, they were not investigating the incident at this stage meanwhile, an austrian girl who was held prisoner in a basement for eight years said the family faced a long period of adjustment see how austrians are troubled by the case » natascha kampusch was 10 years old when she was kidnapped on her way to school in march 1998 she escaped from a bunker below the house of wolfgang priklopil in a suburb of vienna in august 2007 priklopil killed himself by throwing himself under a train only hours later 'although they are now in a secret location, i believe it might have been even better to leave them where they were, but that was probably impossible,' she said of the fritzl family tuesday 'yes, because that was of course the environment they were used to, and now they're somewhere else pulling them abruptly out of this situation, without transition, to hold them and isolating them to some extent, it can't be good for them' officials said tuesday that dna testing had confirmed fritzl fathered the children his dna also was found on a letter sent to the fritzl family that was made to look like it was from his daughter, elisabeth, polzer said see inside the 'house of horrors' » authorities said fritzl sent other letters over the years, leading the family to believe that elisabeth was a runaway who had abandoned three of her children on their doorstep he dictated at least one of the letters to his daughter, they said authorities said it did not appear that fritzl's wife, rosemarie, knew about her husband's activities reports have surfaced in the times of london and austria's presse that fritzl was convicted of sexual assault in the 1960s, but there is nothing in his record to confirm this, said district governor hans heinz lenze he added, however, that records were expunged after a certain number of years prosecutors were checking archives to find the information, said gerhard sedlacek, prosecutor for the state of poelten the times of london quoted a 50 year old neighbor who said that when he was 10, he remembered 'how we children were afraid to play near mr fritzl's house because of the rumors that he had raped a woman and spent some time in jail for it' watch a report of how the case unfolded » fritzl led police to the cellar sunday a day later, he confessed to raping his daughter, now 42, and keeping her and their children in captivity, police said fritzl was able to convince social service workers, friends and family that elisabeth had run away in 1984, when she was about 18 the father, who police described as an authoritarian figure, forbade anyone from entering the cellar in the cellar with elisabeth were kerstin and two sons, aged 5 and 18 e mail to a friend cnn's phil black, nadine schmidt and eileen hsieh contributed to this story | thailand austrian decades first josef fritzl 24 years fritzl tuesday | incest dad twice holidayed in thailand while daughter remained in cellar . austrian family terrorized by decades of incest meet for the first time . josef fritzl kept daughter imprisoned under home for 24 years, police say . fritzl, who appeared in court tuesday, has admitted guilt and faces 15 years| |
(cnn) german logistics giant deutsche post said monday it was cutting 9,500 jobs as part of a major program to restructure its loss making dhl delivery service in the united states dhl's restructuring is expected to result in heavy job losses deutsche post said it would discontinue its us ground and air delivery operations based out of wilmington, ohio, following an outsourcing agreement with ups dhl express will continue to operate between the united states and other nations, the company said in a statement dhl's 9,500 job cuts are on top of 5,400 job cuts announced earlier this year the statement said dhl was shutting down all ground hubs and reducing its number of stations to 103 from 412 the company said it was making the cuts to improve profitability and 'to prepare the company for the economic challenges ahead' dhl express is owned by the german company deutsche post world net officials in ohio had been hoping to prevent layoffs state senator sherrod brown sent a letter sunday to dhl express chief executive officer john mullen and urged employment officials in washington for emergency funds to assist workers and communities affected in may, deutsche post announced plans to outsource air services with ups brown says the plan would mean shutting down dhl's hub in wilmington and cutting at least 8,000 jobs brown testified at two congressional hearing this year that centered on the proposal prior to the announcement, wilmington mayor david razik said he was preparing for the worst 'given the state of the economy and the world wide economic collapse we know it can't be good news,' he told cnn sunday night 'freight is down significantly, dhl is losing customers, they have laid off sales personnel in other locations we really think it's certainly not going to be good for wilmington' | german dhl owner deutsche post us ohio | german owners of dhl announce 9,500 job cuts . owner deutsche post says us air and ground operations to wind up . officials in ohio had hoped to prevent job losses |
(cnn) german logistics giant deutsche post said monday it was cutting 9,500 jobs as part of a major program to restructure its loss making dhl delivery service in the united states dhl's restructuring is expected to result in heavy job losses deutsche post said it would discontinue its us ground and air delivery operations based out of wilmington, ohio, following an outsourcing agreement with ups dhl express will continue to operate between the united states and other nations, the company said in a statement dhl's 9,500 job cuts are on top of 5,400 job cuts announced earlier this year the statement said dhl was shutting down all ground hubs and reducing its number of stations to 103 from 412 the company said it was making the cuts to improve profitability and 'to prepare the company for the economic challenges ahead' dhl express is owned by the german company deutsche post world net officials in ohio had been hoping to prevent layoffs state senator sherrod brown sent a letter sunday to dhl express chief executive officer john mullen and urged employment officials in washington for emergency funds to assist workers and communities affected in may, deutsche post announced plans to outsource air services with ups brown says the plan would mean shutting down dhl's hub in wilmington and cutting at least 8,000 jobs brown testified at two congressional hearing this year that centered on the proposal prior to the announcement, wilmington mayor david razik said he was preparing for the worst 'given the state of the economy and the world wide economic collapse we know it can't be good news,' he told cnn sunday night 'freight is down significantly, dhl is losing customers, they have laid off sales personnel in other locations we really think it's certainly not going to be good for wilmington' | german dhl owner deutsche post us ohio | german owners of dhl announce 9,500 job cuts . owner deutsche post says us air and ground operations to wind up . officials in ohio had hoped to prevent job losses |
(cnn) a 19 year old gunman who killed eight people and then himself wednesday at the westroads mall in omaha, nebraska, left a suicide note, police said police have identified the gunman as robert a hawkins, 19, of nebraska five other people were injured, and two of them were in critical condition, hospital officials said chief thomas warren of the omaha police department called the shooting 'premeditated,' but said it 'appears to be very random and without provocation' surveillance cameras may have captured the shooting, warren said 'we'll be here throughout the night; it's a very extensive crime scene,' he said police identified the gunman as robert a hawkins of nebraska they have recovered an sks assault rifle and the suspect's vehicle debora maruca kovac, hawkins' landlord who found the suicide note, said he wrote he was sorry for everything and did not want to be a burden to anyone any longer watch landlord describe phone call from shooter » hawkins said in the note he loved his friends and family, but 'he was a piece of s all his life, and now he'll be famous,' she told cnn she said hawkins was a friend of her sons and 'reminded me of a lost puppy that nobody wanted' he came to live with her about a year and a half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of 'some issues with his stepmother and him' she described hawkins as well behaved, although 'he had a lot of emotional problems, obviously' the shootings began about 1:42 pm seven people were found dead at the scene by officers arriving six minutes later; two others, a male and a female, died after being transported to creighton university medical center, said fire chief robert dahlquist a creighton spokeswoman said a second female was undergoing surgery and was in critical condition wednesday afternoon three other people were taken to the university of nebraska medical center one, a 61 year old man who sustained a chest wound after being shot in the armpit, underwent surgery and remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit wednesday night, said hospital spokeswoman maggie o'brien learn more about the victims » the other two a 34 year old man who was shot in the arm, and a 55 year old man who fell and struck a clothing rack as he was trying to escape were treated and released, she said maruca kovac told cnn that hawkins left home wednesday about 11 am, and called the house about two hours later, sounding upset 'he just said he wanted to thank me for everything i'd done for him and he was sorry,' maruca kovac said he told her he had gotten fired from his job, she said 'i said, 'come home and we'll talk about it,' ' she said 'he said, 'it's too late' he said he'd left a note explaining everything' witness jennifer kramer told cnn she heard at least 25 shots watch witnesses describe the ordeal » 'he just kept firing,' she said she said she called 911 on her cell phone, whispering into it out of fear of being heard a dispatcher told her other calls had been received and help was on the way, but she said it seemed to take 'a long time' for them to arrive 'it was just so loud, and then it was silence,' she said 'i was scared to death he'd be walking around looking for someone else' she said as she was being escorted out by police, she saw a man lying injured by the escalator where she had been previously 'all of us were slightly confused because we didn't know what it was,' said mall employee charissa tatoon about the first burst of gunfire 'immediately after that, there was a series of maybe 20 to 25 more shots up on the third floor 'i was in the women's shoe department and there was a gentleman coming down the escalator that was very near the shoe department, and he was heard saying that he was calling 911, and immediately after that, the shooter shot down from the third floor and shot him on the second floor' warren, the police chief, said the victims included five females and three males, not including hawkins 'we believe there was one shooter, and one shooter only,' he said maruca kovac said she was unaware hawkins had any guns, although she said he knew a lot about them, as did his stepfather 'when he first came to live with us, he was in the fetal position and chewed his fingernails all the time,' she said but she said she thought he was improving, as he had gotten a job, a haircut and a girlfriend however, she said hawkins and his girlfriend had broken up in the last couple of weeks, and he had taken it hard she said late wednesday that authorities were searching her house for evidence 'my kids are devastated,' she said 'we're all in shock' hawkins' former school district released a photo of a youth with glasses and long black hair a spokeswoman said he attended papillon la vista high school until he withdrew in march 2006 witnesses described chaos and frantic shoppers running away from the von maur store, where the shooting began just before 2 pm 'you're in such shock, it's hard to think i was hoping god would spare us,' said a woman who was clutching a rosary in her trembling hand after the shootings 'we had to put up our hands and follow the police to the outside' others described scenes of horror as they fled the mall see a map of where the shooting took place » some shoppers and mall employees hid in clothes racks, dressing rooms and bathrooms after hearing the shots most of the victims were shot inside the von maur store, sgt teresa negron said watch police talk about the shooting » president bush had visited omaha wednesday before the shooting 'the president is deeply saddened by the shootings in omaha, nebraska, earlier today,' white house press secretary dana perino said 'his thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families this evening having just visited with so many members of the community in omaha today, the president is confident that they will pull together to comfort one another as they deal with this terrible tragedy' as news of the shooting spread, people gathered outside the mall, checking on loved ones who were inside the shopping center will be closed until at least thursday, police said the shooting was at least the fourth at a mall or shopping center so far this year, following incidents in salt lake city, utah; kansas city, missouri; and douglasville, georgia e mail to a friend | landlord robert a hawkins 19 | landlord says shooter called and told her: 'it's too late'. police: surveillance cameras may have captured the shooting . police identify the shooter as robert a hawkins, 19 . two of the wounded are in critical condition |
(cnn) in china, the 'little emperors' may have no clothes, at least when it comes to economic risk taking and being conscientious workers that's the finding of a new study that looks at the effects of china's one child policy on the current generation of young adults in the world's second largest economy china enacted strict rules mandating that families in urban areas be limited to just one child in 1979 in an effort to curb a rapidly rising population since then china's economy has taken off, while its population growth has slowed, and wages and living standards have soared but china's young people may be in search of security and office jobs now and less likely to become a new generation of stockbrokers, business starters or high risk managers in a paper published in the latest issue of science, a team of researchers from australia studied a group of 421 individuals born both right before and right after the implementation of china's one child policy they tested them with a series of games involving trading money with each other that measured how trusting they were and how willing they were to go after 'winning' transactions one of the authors, professor lisa cameron of monash university, said that the groups of children born after the policy were considerably more risk averse, less trusting and trustworthy, pessimistic and less competitive than children born before the policy the study concluded that 'the causal impact of the one child policy is to reduce the probability of choosing a risky occupation (defined to include private firm managers, stockbrokers, people who are self employed or freelancing) by 227 percent' 'these were quite large differences,' cameron said from melbourne, australia 'it was eye opening how much more nervous and less trusting they were and implies that these behaviors could have wide ranging economic and social implications' the study found that 27% of the children born before 1979 were from single child families, while 82% of the individuals born by 1983 studied were only children the subjects were all from beijing and were better educated than the average citizen, but the authors believe that the results should be similar in other chinese cities and populations and rather than getting better, the study found that as a new generation of children of only children grows up, the effects they found are likely to 'magnify' as fewer chinese grow up with extended families the authors said that much of the outcome of the study could be explained by the effects of the one child policy on family values in china many opinion pieces in chinese media criticize what is seen as a selfish wave of young people who have always gotten whatever they want from doting parents, causing them to be nicknamed 'the little emperors' | stalkily superequivalent understeer | no related information |
new york (cnn) new york suspended all construction crane activity in the city friday after a crane collapse on the upper east side killed two construction workers crane wreckage lies on manhattan's upper east side on friday in a photo by ireporter michael schuman acting buildings commissioner robert limandri announced the suspension, in effect until monday, and unveiled a $4 million plan to assess high risk construction activities, including crane operations, and make recommendations to improve safety 'this year we have seen an increase in accidents and injuries related to high risk construction activities,' limandri said 'we must make sure that as construction activity in the city continues to increase, the department's ability to hold the construction industry to higher safety standards keeps pace' friday's accident was the second deadly crane collapse in the city in less than three months seven people were killed and 24 were injured in march when a construction crane toppled, plowing through several residential buildings crane operator donald leo, 30, died in the initial collpase friday morning construction worker ramadan kurtij, 37, died friday afternoon of cardiac arrest after being rushed to the hospital another construction worker remained critically injured, a city official said new york mayor michael bloomberg said the cranes in the two incidents were different types 'two crane collapses in a short period of time look like a pattern, but there's no reason to think that there's any real connection,' he said on a radio program friday, bloomberg vowed that an investigation would be conducted and changes would be made if necessary 'i don't need any developer or union leader or anybody else telling me about the consequences of slowing things down,' he said 'nobody wants this economy to grow more than me but we're not going to kill people' the accident happened shortly after 8 am bridget barrett, who lives two buildings away, said she was just leaving for work 'we heard a loud crash as i was walking down my stairwell i went to the front door of the building, and it was all white smoke everywhere,' she said 'the crane had fallen in the middle of the street and was on fire there was water spewing out of the apartment building all over the place and i dialed 911' see photos from the scene of the collapse » witnesses said the cab and the arm of the crane crashed more than 20 stories to the ground, smashing the penthouse on a building across the street and gouging chunks out of balconies all the way to the ground 'it sounded like a large metal structure slowly falling on itself, sounded like a prolonged car accident,' said ireport contributor daniel miranda, who lives a block away 'construction workers were peering over the edge some of them were crying out in grief' a pedestrian had minor injuries, bloomberg said at a news conference, adding that nearby buildings with about 160 apartments were evacuated 'strictly as a precaution' watch how latest crane collapse raises questions » the collapse occurred a day after a building inspector rescinded a partial stop work order that had been issued april 24 the order was issued after an inspection found that employees had been working without a permit and operating a crane in an 'unsafe manner,' according to the city's building department no other details were available the collapse left a pile of wreckage at the foot of the azure, an apartment building under construction at the northwest corner of east 91st street and first avenue, a mainly residential area on the city's upper east side the falling crane also damaged the electra, a 20 plus story building on the southwest corner see where the crane fell » michael schuman, another ireporter, said he heard a loud crash, grabbed his camera and went to the scene, about five buildings away 'i got there before the emergency vehicles it looked like the crane had broken into three or four large pieces i saw water pouring out of one of the apartments,' schuman said florence diamond, a bus driver who was approaching the corner when the accident happened, said the crane's operator appeared to have been in the cab when the rig fell watch as diamond describes what she saw » 'i just saw all the crane come down in the middle of the street it was like something out of a movie,' diamond said 'i couldn't believe the crane had fell, and i also saw the guy that was operating the crane go down with it it was just one guy' appearing at news briefing with bloomberg, new york gov david paterson said that 'we're going to have to take a look at all these crane accidents' 'there's no need to speculate now on how this happened that will all be investigated,' he said 'but certainly, these types of accidents are all too frequent' barrett said she had worried about construction sites since the march crane disaster 'it's just kind of baffling that this happened again,' she said 'i've seen that crane for the past couple months, and of course i thought about, 'what if it fell on my building or buildings around me?' i just kind of dismissed it because [i thought] there's no way that could happen after it had already happened once,' she said a construction worker at the site identifying himself only as anthony said he didn't know what happened friday, but he called it 'a scary thing' 'everything goes through your head when you start seeing things like that happen,' the worker said 'you think about your family, your wife, your kids just, thank god, you know, whoever is alive is alive' cnn's amy sahba and laura batchelor contributed to the this report | second manhattan less than three months | new: city suspends all construction crane activity, unveils assessment plan . death toll rises after second construction worker dies of cardiac arrest . one person remains critically injured in manhattan crane disaster . collapse comes less than three months after seven killed in similar accident |
hong kong (cnn) amid exotic trees in a garden setting rest hong kong's extraordinary and ordinary, those who died heroically in wars, ignominiously in drunken brawls, or suicide; victims of accidents, pestilence, and pirates; barkeepers, prostitutes, children, and luminaries whose names are today borne on street signs it's a far cry from the highway overpass outside the gates charting the 8,500 or so names and weaving their stories together into a 624 page book, 'forgotten souls: a social history of the hong kong cemetery,' is patricia lim, who spent about a decade on the project the cemetery had only a record of graves which date from 1841 to 2007 identifying them by section but not with precise locations, while the earliest graves had no information, lim said a 'fanatical friend' from the uk spurred her on to the cemetery project after lim had dedicated a chapter of her last book, 'discovering hong kong's cultural heritage: hong kong and kowloon' to the happy valley cemeteries the friend was none other than susan farrington who has recorded graves in the himalayan foothills of pakistan she came to hong kong to help when she left, lim couldn't stop 'since i was in it, i might as well finish,' she explained with inscriptions as a starting point, lim and a host of volunteers recorded each grave into a database, assigning it a section, row and number then she pored through now defunct newspapers like the china mail, the friend of china, the daily press personal and travel accounts, histories and every book on hong kong she could get her hands on 'it seemed such a waste of opportunity and stories not to link them,' lim said 'if you just go through the cemetery, plot by plotno one would have taken any interest it seemed imperative to link, if people were going to get to know them' out of it emerged a social history of, if not hong kong, then of the cemetery whose names have included the 'protestant graveyard' and the 'colonial cemetery' adjacent to it are separate cemeteries for catholics, jews, parsees, and muslims, while hindus were given land for their temple the chinese, on the other hand, 'were always at the bottom of the pile' despite being the majority, said lim 'they weren't trusted, and they weren't accorded respect of other nationalities here' although some 225 chinese are buried in the hong kong cemetery, chinese didn't get their own permanent cemetery in aberdeen, on the south of the island until 1915, decades after other groups got theirs hong kong was 'a hard, unhealthy place to live,' lim said 'it was a gamble you sacrificed health for wealth but that was maybe why they were so wealth conscious it was very important you knew you were sacrificing, that you'd probably die' the cemetery opened at its current location in 1845 after its former spot just east of where the office tower pacific place 3 now stands overflowed beyond capacity hong kong had become a british colony only three years earlier read about a floating cemetery concept particularly prominent at the time were doctors, two of whom dr william aurelius harland and dr william morrison have the cemetery's biggest monuments and most appreciative epitaphs, according to lim they were among four colonial surgeons who died within a 12 year period of malarial fever in hong kong hong kong wasn't really 'happy' or a place for european women, lim said with a high ratio of lonely bachelors in a transient population, brothels and bars were in high demand 'there were german taverns, english taverns, american taverns,' including edward thomas' uncle tom's cabin, which opened in the 1850s after its namesake novel was published, said lim thomas, a new yorker buried in section 9, died at age 29, leaving his widow to run the business among the 465 graves that belong to japanese are ship crewmen, shop owners, employees of trading firms as well as prostitutes, according to lim one monument to kiya karayuki bears the signatures of 58 girls, suggesting she was either a much loved prostitute or a brothel keeper also buried at the cemetery are the first to not only make their fortunes in hong kong but also give to it: financier and developer sir catchick paul chater, who transformed hong kong and kowloon waterfronts; sir kai ho kai, founder of the medical school that would evolve into the university of hong kong; and robert ho tung, who built a commercial empire others meanwhile died without a trace except for the inscription on their tombstones, lim said old graves were difficult to read, requiring multiple trips under different light conditions 'some i never managed to read' she said there were also family members who had the same names and then there were chinese who went by as many as three or four names during the course of a lifetime, whether it was during school, used for family purposes or attained upon wealth in the late 19th century, the botanical garden staff helped the cemetery evolve from a simple graveyard to a lush cemetery garden inspired by those in europe, like pere lachaise in paris and glasgow's necropolis, according to one landscape architect the experimentation with exotic plants helped enrich the cemetery's landscape, turning it into a habitat for dozens of butterfly and moth species, said ken nicolson, who wrote 'the happy valley: a history and tour of the hong kong cemetery' for lim's husband, po chye, cemeteries are for ceremonies, not for idle strolls 'you don't go there for recreation' lim, who is 'over 76,' has had some close calls she once tripped, cutting her knee on a metal railing with jagged points; another time she got locked in the cemetery after hours and had to climb out through a government building she also once borrowed somebody's grave to rest while suffering what a doctor later diagnosed as 'broken heart syndrome,' an incident similar to a minor heart attack 'not everyone is willing to do all this hard work and then put it out in the open for everyone to benefit from,' wrote david bellis, who has listed the names, graves and inscriptions compiled by lim on his website, gwulo, which is dedicated to historic hong kong 'the database gives the basic details, but the book adds the stories that bring the people to life,' he said stella loterijman, who's based in the uk, had been trying to find her grandfather's first wife, mary constance reilly, since 1979 all she knew was that reilly was born in 1869, married dr charles william reilly and died at age 20 of dysentery, while he was on a tour of duty with the royal army medical corps in hong kong then last month, loterijman was resuming research into her family tree when she found mary's information on gwulo: 'in loving memory of mary constance reilly, wife of captain reilly' in section 18 in an e mail to cnn, loterijman described being 'thrilled and elated' craig bissell also credits lim and gwulo for helping solve a years long mystery over miller robb dickson, the favorite brother of his scottish grandmother, who has always said he went off to canada to join the hong kong police force and died unexpectedly even so, bissell, who lives in toronto, canada, could never find evidence of dickson's ever being in hong kong until it suddenly appeared on gwulo one day 'it was a marvelous breakthrough,' bissell wrote, adding, 'it solved a mystery no one else seemed terribly concerned about' dickson's listing identifies him as a police sergeant for the hong kong police force from dundee, scotland, and who died in 1928 at the age of 30 nicholas belanovsky and his wife, tatiana, are among 108 russians buried in the cemetery all that was known of him for decades was that he had escaped for china after the russian revolution, said his grandnephew, dmitry belanovsky, in an e mail from moscow then in 2004, dmitry typed 'belanovsky' into a browser and to his 'amazement' discovered that nicholas' name appeared as an engineer for the russian orthodox cathedral of the surety of the sinners in shanghai during the 1930s with the help of a russian priest, he found the grave and subsequently learned that nicholas' work with the british cigarette company had taken the couple to hong kong in 1948 he lived to the ripe old age of 88 on the second floor of a kowloon apartment building, surviving tatiana by nearly 30 years and leaving his entire estate to his longtime amah, or maid having been regarded as 'stateless' and the 'people's enemy,' nicholas had never gotten in touch with his family in russia apparently fearing harm would come to them, said dmitry he has since posted the info on gwulo in hopes of learning more about nicholas belanovsky's life 'it's full of stories, this cemetery,' said lim, who now splits time between hong kong and england 'they are like old friends, yes' for now, the food and environmental hygiene department operates the cemetery, which has yet to attain heritage status | patricia lim hong kong | patricia lim charts 8,500 graves, weaves stories in 624 page book . she pored through now defunct newspapers, accounts, old records, histories . out of it emerges a social history of hong kong and the cemetery . doctors were prominent, fever was high; brothels, bars very popular |
(cnn student news) december 16, 2010 download pdf maps related to today's show: • washington, dc • boston, massachusetts transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated unidentified female: we're seniors at tulare union high school, and you're watching entire group: cnn student news! woo! carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: want to thank my seniors for that very energetic introduction i'm carl azuz this is cnn student news and in our penultimate program of 2010, we present some perspectives on privacy but first though, we're headed to washington, dc first up: senate tax vote azuz: 81 yays; 19 nays so, the tax cut plan passes in the us senate this is the compromise that president obama and republican leaders came up with that would extend a series of tax cuts for another two years yesterday, the senate approved the plan which would cost more than $850 billion now though, it has to go through the house of representatives some of the democratic members there aren't happy with parts of this plan, so this is not a something that is set in stone oil spill lawsuit azuz: the us government is filing a lawsuit over this year's massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico the suit is aimed at bp and eight other companies who were involved in the spill when he made the announcement yesterday, attorney general eric holder said 'we intend to hold them fully accountable for their violations of the law' the lawsuit, which accuses the companies of failing to prevent or control the spill, is one of nearly 80 suits that are all being combined together ceo meeting azuz: and a meeting brings together politics and big business president obama got together yesterday with the heads of 20 of america's biggest companies, including google, american express and pepsico here, you can see the president walking to the meeting at blair house just across the street from the white house he said the goal was to find ways to boost the economy and increase hiring the group talked about energy, taxes and trade with other countries one ceo who was at the meeting said he hoped it would provide the opportunity to figure out some plans to help the economy shoutout john lisk, cnn student news: time for the shoutout! which of these ships was involved in the boston tea party? if you think you know it, shout it out! was it the: a) dartmouth, b) merrimack, c) mayflower or d) pinafore? you've got three seconds go! the dartmouth was one of the ships involved in the boston tea party that's your answer and that's your shoutout! boston tea party anniversary azuz: that famous protest happened 237 years ago today a group of colonists disguised themselves as native americans, went on ships in boston harbor, and dumped hundreds of chests of tea overboard what they were protesting against was the british tea act remember, the american colonies were controlled by great britain back then some colonists were angry about the taxes being created by the british government the british parliament was furious about the boston tea party and set up more laws in boston all of this helped to eventually lead to the american revolution shoutout extra credit michelle wright, cnn student news: time for a shoutout extra credit! who is the founder of facebook? you know what to do! is it: a) bill gates, b) shawn fanning, c) steve jobs or d) mark zuckerberg? another three seconds on the clock go! zuckerberg started the social networking site when he was a student at harvard university that's your answer and that's your shoutout extra credit! person of the year azuz: that was back in 2003 in 2010, mark zuckerberg is time magazine's person of the year time is owned by time warner, the same company that owns cnn other people who were considered for this year's award: the chilean miners, the tea party movement, and the founder of wikileaks time said that it chose zuckerberg because his social networking site has had a huge impact on how we communicate and do business the magazine pointed out that facebook has linked one twelfth of the entire world into a single network if facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country on the planet what you share online? azuz: nearly half of all americans have a facebook account we know a lot of you do when you post something online, even if it's meant to be private, there's a good chance it can end up being public i talked with some atlanta area teens and their parents recently about how much privacy they expect to have when they log on (begin video) azuz: as far as phones go, and sharing your numbers, how many of you expect your numbers to remain private? and have you ever gotten a text or a call from a number you didn't recognize? group: yes adam vrtis, student: but that's normally from someone that's given my number to someone else, not that i approved it so, never mind, hand goes down! katherine thornburgh, student: i tell my friends not to give away my phone number, but it still happens azuz: these suburban atlanta teenagers may want their phone number to be private, but i found their expectations were very different when it comes to the internet do you expect what you post online to be private? vrtis: no, i don't azuz: why not? vrtis: everyone sees it, the internet it's the world wide web; everyone can get to it i'm pretty careful about what i put on it hannah galt, student: i know nothing's really private azuz: so, how does that affect what you post on facebook? galt: i don't say anything that i don't want anyone to hear azuz: it's a caution instilled by their parents how much privacy do you give him on facebook? lori vrtis, parent: very little if they do want privacy, they can get a journal, they can write in it, keep it in their desk drawer i will never read it but when you're posting something that everyone can look at, i'm going to look at it also karen thornburgh, parent: anything you're willing to put out there in a written form, be willing to stand up in front of the whole high school and announce this aria galt, parent: well, i teach in a school, so we deal with a lot of these issues each day and so, i sometimes talk about situations that i've encountered at work and hoping that maybe something would be learned from those as well azuz: and while all three students said they'd texted something they wished they could take back, they were far more reserved in their internet behavior, largely because of their parents' involvement joe vrtis, parent: professing the ignorance of it and not monitoring it, i think you're setting yourself up for failure as a parent i think the kids definitely need guidance (end video) career connections azuz: it's time for another edition of career connections our own tomeka jones joins me here tomeka, i hear you're focusing on the investigative side of journalism today tomeka jones, cnn student news associate producer: that's right, carl amber lyon is an investigative reporter and correspondent for cnn before she started working here, she moved to central america to help improve herself as a journalist amber credits her mother for helping her decide what career path she wanted to take and she says she's successful because she has a passion for journalism and knew she couldn't fail at it (begin video) amber lyon, cnn correspondent: the reason i love being a journalist is that you can really make a huge difference in society a video, i say, can say a million words general assignment is more you do the breaking news, the quick turn stories that feed the daily news they're very important you'll find a lot more general assignment reporters than you ever will investigative reporters investigative is more like, we find one issue and maybe spend sometimes an entire year looking into it and getting down to the bottom of it it's more documentary style one thing you'll have to learn in news more than anything is that, how can you make your story different, how can you get the public's attention? my whole goal with backpack reporters is to be able to bring them on stories with us let them experience the story, kind of, we're going to be taking a journey and i'm going to bring you with me so, with the backpack, i look at it as, okay, i'm going to throw on my backpack and come with me; we're going to go on a journey to find the story and i just try to make it really intimate with viewers so that they can connect to it a lesson to everybody, whether you're a journalist or any other type of career, is be willing to take risks because if you're truly passionate about it, follow your passion and success will follow, and it will pay off in the end (end video) promo azuz: we've been making career connections all semester now, we want to hear from you students, go to our blog at cnnstudentnewscom tell us what careers have sparked your interest and teachers, check out the cnn teachers' lounge and share how you address careers in your classrooms the blog, the teachers' lounge: they're both at cnnstudentnewscom! before we go azuz: before we go, we've got a tail that takes a long time to tell say, 25 years that's how long misty here has been around that would make her 175 in dog years and if the folks at the record books can confirm that, she will officially be the oldest dog in the world misty's owner has to provide the proof, and that includes the seven years before he adopted her goodbye azuz: you know, the part of her life that he mist y hey, at least we didn't make a joke about an old dog needing to walk with a cane ine or about misty being the mutt of a bunch of jokes? we'll roll over and try again tomorrow for cnn student news, i'm carl azuz | bryaceae showy rowdyish | no related information |
(cnn) the environmental protection agency finalized new federal standards on toxic pollutants and mercury emissions from coal power plants wednesday, a move being praised by environmentalists but criticized by others, who predict lost jobs and a strain on the nation's power grid epa administrator lisa jackson, at an event at the children's national medical center in washington, announced that for the first time us coal and oil fired power plant operators must limit their emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants 'i am glad to be here to mark the finalization of a clean air rule that has been 20 years in the making, and is now ready to start improving our health, protecting our children, and cleaning up our air,' jackson said 'under the clean air act these standards will require american power plants to put in place proven and widely available pollution control technologies to cut harmful emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases in and of itself, this is a great victory for public health, especially for the health of our children' epa rules in place since the 1990s target acid rain and smog forming chemicals emitting from power plants, but not mercury, a neurotoxin known to damage developing fetuses and children senate panel examining how chemicals in daily life affect kids' health despite federal limits on emissions of mercury from other sources, such as waste incinerators, there have been no limits on coal fired power plants, which the epa says constitute the single largest source of mercury emissions 'these standards rank among the three or four most significant environmental achievements in the epa's history,' said john walke, clean air director of the national resources defense council 'this rule making represents a generational achievement' the new regulations are among the most wide reaching to come from the epa during barack obama's administration they include separate limits for mercury emissions, acid gasses, and other pollutants from several metals opinion: we must stop allowing mercury pollution specifically, the epa will impose numerical emission limits for all existing and future coal plants and propose a range of 'widely available, technical and economically reasonable practices, technologies, and compliance strategies,' to meet the new demands according to an epa analysis, the larger economic benefits of the reduced pollution will more than pay for the short term clean up costs the epa also predicts more jobs will be created than lost as power plants invest million of dollars in upgrades it also estimates the new regulations, by reducing people's exposure to these toxins, will prevent 11,000 premature deaths each year and trim health costs 'epa estimates that for every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants, the american public will see up to $9 in health benefits the total health and economic benefits of this standard are estimated to be as much as $90 billion annually,' the agency said in a news release but the epa also acknowledges the regulations will result in increased power grid strain: by its estimate, 147 gigawatts of power supply will be eliminated from the us power grid when the rules take effect by 2015 that figure enough to power well over 10 million us households is overly optimistic, according to other industry analyses several industry groups and some republicans also disagree about the economic impact the new regulations will have reps darrell issa and jim jordan, chairmen of the house oversight committee and subcommittee on regulatory affairs, respectively, sent a letter to the white house earlier this week claiming the 'epa has failed to perform a proper analysis of the rule's impact on job creation' and 'consider the rule's impact on grid reliability' the new rules have also made their way to the republican presidential campaign trail, with jon huntsman recently predicting increased brownouts during the summer and rick perry declaring the epa is a 'job killing' agency and the us chamber of commerce, a group traditionally sympathetic to republicans, has aired ads urging listeners not to 'let the epa turn out the lights on the american economy' but the obama administration has found an ally in new york city mayor michael bloomberg, who argued in a recent op ed for the huffington post that the new standards are gravely needed 'we can stop this,' bloomberg wrote of mercury poisoning 'we can spare children this tragic injustice and the pain it brings their families we can spare adults from losing years off their lives and we can spare taxpayers the enormous health care costs that come with mercury related illnesses' environmentalists, who earlier his fall were outraged with obama over his refusal to push for ozone emission standards the epa supported, are also strongly on board 'this bold new announcement means less contaminated fish and more protections for kids who are at risk of developing learning disabilities and other problems that have been linked to mercury poisoning,' the sierra club said in an e mail to cnn 'this is a big public health victory, 20 years in the making it's one of the most important anti pollution measures in recent memory' mary anne hitt, director of the beyond coal campaign, said, 'as a mom, i'm especially excited to know that millions of mothers and babies will now be protected from mercury poisoning we all teach our kids the simple rule that if you make a mess you should clean it up and now polluters will have to follow that same rule' the new rule requires that the vast majority of mercury contained in coal be captured and prevented from releasing into the air when burned for energy, and would require operators to shut down or upgrade the least efficient power plants power plant operators have three years to comply with the new standards, but plant operators may be granted additional time to install the necessary emissions improvement technologies if they are able to demonstrated a valid need once airborne, mercury enters bodies of water through precipitation, becomes methylmercury, and accumulates in the food chain the epa and the food and drug administration jointly recommend that pregnant women and young children limit their consumption of fish and shellfish to two meals a week because of the methylmercury contamination cnn's william hudson contributed to this report | antipriestcraft unhalted tuberculotherapy | no related information |
new orleans, louisiana (cnn) fema gave away about $85 million in household goods meant for hurricane katrina victims, a cnn investigation has found these items, stored by fema, were meant for katrina victims but were given to state and federal agencies the material, from basic kitchen goods to sleeping necessities, sat in warehouses for two years before the federal emergency management agency's giveaway to federal and state agencies this year james mcintyre, fema's acting press secretary, said that fema was spending more than $1 million a year to store the material and that another agency wanted the warehouses torn down, so 'we needed to vacate them' 'upon review of our assets and our need to continue to store them, we determined that they were excess to fema's needs; therefore, they are being excessed from fema's inventory,' mcintyre wrote in an e mail he declined a request for an on camera interview, telling cnn the giveaway was 'not news' photos from one of the facilities in fort worth, texas, show pallet after pallet of cots, cleansers, first aid kits, coffee makers, camp stoves and other items stacked to the ceiling watch dismay over 'out of touch' fema » fema said some of the items were donations from companies after katrina, but most were purchased in the field as 'starter kits' for people living in trailers provided by the agency and even though the stocks were offered to state agencies after fema decided to get rid of them, one of the states that passed was louisiana martha kegel, the head of a new orleans nonprofit agency that helps find homes for those still displaced by the storm, said she was shocked to learn about the existence of the goods and the government giveaway 'these are exactly the items that we are desperately seeking donations of right now: basic kitchen household supplies,' said kegel, executive director of unity of greater new orleans 'these are the very things that we are seeking right now fema, in fact, refers homeless clients to us to house them how can we house them if we don't have basic supplies?' watch the great fema giveaway » kegel's group works with fema and other local organizations to rehouse victims of katrina, the 2005 hurricane that flooded new orleans and killed more than 1,800 people along the gulf coast community groups say thousands of people are still living in abandoned buildings in the city, though fewer than 100 people remain housed in tents kegel said fema was told in regular meetings that unity was desperate for household supplies and that the group has been forced to beg for donations but she said fema never told unity and other community groups that it had tens of millions of dollars worth of brand new items meant for storm victims she said she learned of it from cnn, which found that those items never made it to people such as debra reed 'an honest person like me didn't get nothing,' said reed, 54, who recently moved from a tent beneath a new orleans bridge to a home with the help of kegel's group 'i'm gonna turn, 'cause i'm gonna cry i didn't get nothing i fought to get my money, but they wouldn't give it to me so i ended up going under the bridge' fema confirmed that it had kept the merchandise in storage for the past two years and then gave it away to cities, schools, fire departments and nonprofit agencies such as food banks in all, general services administration records show, fema gave away 121 truckloads of material mcintyre said that most of the items given away were not 'standard issue type supplies' that fema would have distributed after other disasters he said that using the gsa, which manages federal property, to get rid of those stockpiles was 'standard process' asked whether fema believed that katrina victims no longer needed the items, mcintyre wrote: 'if the state did not request the supplies, then fema would not know' watch kegel describe 'the needs are just overwhelming' » pallets at the fort worth warehouse were piled high with boxes of buckets, boots, cleansers, mops and brooms there were stacks of tents, lanterns and camp stoves for people still displaced, as well as clothing, bedding, plates and utensils meanwhile, kegel said, unity's clients can take only 'one fork, one spoon, one knife; they can only take one plate we don't have enough to go around' but fema said the items were no longer needed in the stricken region so it declared them 'federal surplus' and gave them away federal agencies such as the bureau of prisons, postal service and border patrol got first dibs on the material when fema started giving it away other agencies that received items include the national guard, us marshals service, the air force and navy and the departments of agriculture, veterans affairs and homeland security, according to a list the gsa provided to cnn these items also were offered to all states yet louisiana, where most of the people displaced by the storm live, passed on taking any of them john medica, director of the louisiana federal property assistance agency in baton rouge, said he was unaware that katrina victims still had a need for the household supplies 'we didn't have anybody out there who told us they wanted it,' medica said instead, 16 other states took the free items 'louisiana recovery authority director paul rainwater is taking the lead on determing where this serious breakdown in communication occured and is working to pursue options for the state to still make use of these important supplies,' said michael diresto of the division of administration diresto said rainwater has already taken up the issue with a fema official kegel said she could not understand how medica could not be aware of the need in the new orleans area she said she had not heard of the agency and was not registered with them, but after cnn's interview, the agency contacted her about registering unity of greater new orleans so it could qualify for available supplies in the future | recappable libertyless chawan | no related information |
(cnn) a 36 inch underground natural gas pipeline exploded into flames monday in johnson county, texas, killing one and injuring at least five people before officials were able to shut the flow of gas, officials said cleburne fire chief clint ishmael said all 13 workers on the crew at the site when the blast took place were accounted for and that one was dead 'there was a crew working on the line, and they apparently ruptured it somehow and caused an explosion,' cleburne city manager chester nolen said nolen originally said that three people had been killed in the blast but later retracted that statement flames were visible eight miles away, he said video showed the site of the fire cattle country in the center of a patch of scorched grassland no one was evacuated because no buildings were nearby, nolen said the line is owned by enterprise products out of houston, he said no one at the company answered a telephone call the blaze was so fierce that crews could get no closer than 600 yards to the source of the fire, ishmael said five people were taken to glen rose medical center in glen rose, texas, where they were in stable condition, ceo gary marks said the pipeline erupted around 2:40 pm (3:40 pm et), and the shaking lasted about 10 minutes, said laura harlin, who lives about a mile away 'our house shook, glass shook,' she said 'we watched this huge plume of smoke or steam rising above our neighborhood' but by 5 pm (6 pm et), fire officials had turned off the valves that were feeding gas to the fire | johnson county 36 inch | new: 1 dead in gas pipeline blast . johnson county blaze is out . 36 inch underground natural gas pipeline exploded . crews working on the line ruptured it, official says |
(cnn) islamist fighters battling for control of somalia have threatened to close mogadishu's only airport, warning all airlines to stop flights into the somali capital by early tuesday african union peacekeepers keep guard recently at the international airport in mogadishu, somalia's capital 'any plane which uses or lands at the airport, we will consider it a military plane and we will not be held responsible for what happens to it,' the al shaabab militia said in a web posting the statement said the airport would be closed at 1 am tuesday (6 pm et wednesday) the statement was posted on wwwkataaibnet, a web site frequently used by al shaabab a graphic posted along with the statement shows a plane about to land at mogadishu's international airport as the plane approaches, a man with a shoulder fired missile appears and a red circle target is placed over the plane the somali word for 'warning!' flashes at the same time nairobi, kenya based daallo airlines, which operates flights four times a week into mogadishu, is 'monitoring the situation,' the company's chief executive officer told cnn 'we haven't received any warning directly,' howard leedham said he said he was made aware of al shaabab's warning through the local media, and would not say if any of the four weekly flights would be canceled or rescheduled as a result 'all i can say is we're monitoring the situation very closely,' leedham said 'we have employees down there, and so we're monitoring the situation' maj barigye ba hoku, a spokesman for african union forces in somalia many of whom are based at mogadishu's airport said he has not received an official warning from al shaabab about the airport's closure, but 'we take the warning seriously' 'we have taken precautionary measures, but that's all we can do,' ba hoku told cnn al shaabab is an islamic militia that has launched a bloody battle to seize control of somalia and oust ethiopian forces, which are helping somali government forces try to rout the islamic fighters it is a splinter group of the islamic courts union, which pushed out somalia's transitional government in 2006 the icu was deposed in december of that year following ethiopia's military intervention in its statement, al shaabab said it has been forced to shut down the airport because it is being used by a variety of 'infidel forces,' including ethiopia, burundi, and uganda burundi and ugandan forces make up the bulk of the au mission in somalia al shaabab also said us and israeli security officials 'regularly' land at the airport 'so based on all these issues, we al shaabab fighters are notifying all business people in mogadishu, particularly to those of the airlines, that the airport is officially closed from the date on 16th september,' it said journalist mohamed amiin adow contributed to this report | hordary manicole parsonize | no related information |
(cnn) five people were injured three seriously enough to require hospital treatment when an escalator at a commuter rail station in new jersey suddenly went into high speed reverse monday morning, authorities said the incident occurred at the exchange place station in jersey city, and the three injured and taken to hospitals had possible back or neck injuries, according to ron marsico, spokesman for the port authority trans hudson (path) service alex rodriguez, 30, was on his way to work when he saw the malfunction on the opposite escalator and immediately took out his phone to capture a video 'everyone started looking around and then it starts to go down at an accelerated rate,' rodriguez told cnn 'at that point, people started piling up towards the bottom and couldn't get off the escalator fast enough' rodriguez's video footage showed commuters struggling to climb up the fast moving escalator rodriguez said the escalator finally stopped after a minute 'you could hear people screaming, people were jumping off the sides,' said rodriguez 'people lined up against the wall at the bottom (were) crying after they got off' path officials are investigating whether the effects of superstorm sandy played a role in monday's incident, according to a path statement neither the statement nor marsico specified why officials think the storm's after effects might manifest themselves in an escalator accident 'as a precaution, path has suspended escalator service at exchange place through (tuesday) morning,' said marsico 'in addition, workers are reviewing all path escalators throughout the system' while that station's escalators are out of the service, the station remains open, with customers directed to stairs and elevators rodriguez, the witness, said that since sandy, the jersey city path station hit by monday's incident has had major issues 'to see something like that happen was really icing on the cake,' he said the conditions of those injured, including the three taken to hospitals, could not be determined monday afternoon | semicynical sextillions leishmanial | no related information |
(cnn) chelsea have one foot in the champions league semifinals after fighting back from going a goal down at anfield to beat premier league rivals liverpool 3 1 in their quarterfinal first leg on wednesday chelsea players celebrate branislav ivanovic's equalizer on their way to a stunning win at anfield the london side knocked liverpool out of the competition at the last four stage last year and they look set to repeat that feat this season, despite going behind to an early goal from fernando torres with just five minutes on the clock, dirk kuyt fed alvaro arbeloa with a clever back heel and when the full back delivered his low cross an unmarked torres applied the perfect finish didier drogba squandered a gilt edged chance to equalize seconds later fellow ivorian salomon kalou slipped the ball into his path but drogba's shot was kept out by goalkeeper pepe reina drogba wasted another clear chance to level in the 28th minute after michael ballack's low cross had allowed the striker to shake off jamie carragher but he blazed the ball high over the bar from just eight yards out chelsea continued to press forward and their effort paid off in the 38th minute when branislav ivanovic equalized with an unmarked header from florent malouda's corner the second half saw much of the same with liverpool on the back foot as chelsea pressed forward and they nearly added a second in the 51st minute when frank lampard's pass put drogba clear again this time the striker's shot beat reina but carragher managed to scamper back to clear the goal bound effort for a corner liverpool briefly threatened when torres fired over the bar from an acute angle and chelsea suffered a blow when captain john terry received a yellow card for a late challenge on reina, meaning he will be suspended for the second leg at stamford bridge next week however, guus hiddink's side may not now need their inspirational leader after two goals in six second half minutes stunned the home supporters in the 61st minute, the liverpool defense again went missing to allow ivanovic to socre a carbon copy header, this time from lampard's corner then in the 67th minute, a quick break from malouda saw his superb low left wing cross turned home by drogba from close range from then on, chelsea were in cruise control and a dispirited liverpool could have fallen further behind had malouda and salomon kalou converted last chances for the visitors with barcelona thrashing bayern munich 4 0 in wednesday's other match, a chelsea v barcelona semifinal looks assured unless liverpool manage an unlikely win next week liverpool manager rafael benitez acknowledged it will be 'very difficult' for his team to overturn the deficit at stamford bridge he told sky sports: 'clearly it will be very difficult but anything can happen we have to play well and score three goals and have a very good game against a very good team' the spaniard continued: 'i felt we started really well but after the goal we didn't pass the ball properly we were giving the ball away, and they were passing it well' | dipleurogenetic floodage hevea | no related information |
(cnn student news) december 3, 2010 download pdf maps related to today's show: • russia • qatar • washington transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: fridays are awesome on cnn student news! and on this friday, we're talking about sports; we're talking about politics; we are doing it all with absolutely no commercials i'm carl azuz cnn student news starts right now! first up: tax cut extension azuz: first up, tax cuts from 2001 and 2003: should they stay, or should they go? when they were passed, these cuts lowered everyone's taxes but the debate has been whether these cuts should be extended for everyone yesterday, the house of representatives voted to extend the tax cuts, but only for families that make less than $250,000 a year if you make more than that, your taxes would go up democrats argue that the government can't afford to continue the tax cuts for wealthy americans republicans say that not extending those cuts could hurt the economy even more even though the vote happened, the debate still isn't over the senate has to vote on this, and sources have said that both parties and the president are trying to work out a compromise that could mean an extension of the tax cuts for everyone how bad could it get? azuz: another big issue facing congress is the federal debt that is how much money the us government borrows to pay its bills earlier this week, a bipartisan commission announced some of its ideas about how to cut the debt we reported on that yesterday but what if nothing happens? what if the debt just keeps getting bigger? mary snow examines some of the possibilities (begin video) mary snow, cnn national correspondent: as european countries are roiled by spending cuts to stave off bankruptcy, the focus turns to us debt with a bipartisan panel commissioned by the president warning, 'if the us does not put its house in order, the reckoning will be sure and the devastation severe' at stake: a national public debt of nine trillion dollars panel member david cote, the ceo of honeywell, spells it out like this: david cote, ceo, honeywell: so, to put it into perspective, if you had spent a million dollars a day since jesus christ was born 2,010 years ago, you would still not have spent a trillion dollars snow: while there's debate over what and how to cut, to do nothing carries the risk of a collapsed economy requiring an international bailout like what happened recently in countries like greece and ireland the question is, could the same thing happen to the us? even leading fiscal experts say it's impossible to predict, but maya c macguineas, new america foundation: the whole world is watching right now and the folks on wall street and who lend the us money from around the world are watching what we are doing and seeing if we get our fiscal house in order snow: and maya macguineas, the head of the nonpartisan committee for a responsible federal budget, says the us doesn't have a lot of time to act the risk is tied to us dependence on foreign lenders, especially china if those lenders don't see the us as a safe haven, they could pull back but greg ip, us editor of the economist, says the rest of the world has no interest in seeing the us collapse into bankruptcy greg ip, economist: in the case of the chinese, they're not buying treasury bonds as some charitable act they're doing it to prop up the us dollar because that actually makes it easier for them to export stuff to the us snow: bottom line is, it affects everybody if the us has to pay more to borrow money, it trickles down to higher interest rates for everything to mortgages to business loans and ultimately, that hurts economic growth mary snow, cnn, new york (end video) shoutout tomeka jones, cnn student news: today's shoutout goes out to mrs herman's social studies classes at marion high school in marion, iowa! which of these terms is a form of political punishment? is it: a) gerrymander, b) reconciliation, c) censure or d) filibuster? you've got three seconds go! a censure is an official reprimand of someone who's done something wrong that's your answer and that's your shoutout! rep rangel censure azuz: might not sound that bad, but in political terms, a censure is a big deal yesterday, the house of representatives voted to censure new york democratic representative charlie rangel rangel, whom you see here, has served in the house for nearly 40 years last month, he was found guilty of violating house ethics rules, including failing to pay some taxes he apologized, but says he hasn't done anything corrupt and asked the house for fairness before it voted on the censure yesterday as part of his punishment, rangel has to stand on the house floor while the censure against him is read out loud world cup hosts azuz: all right, kicking it over to sports, now who is going to host the world cup, the world's biggest soccer tournament? we already know it's brazil in 2014 as for the one after that sepp blatter, fifa president: organized in russia azuz: russia will play host to the tournament in 2018 it'll be the first time that the country is home to the world cup blatter: the winner to organize the 2022 fifa world cup is qatar azuz: and the middle eastern nation of qatar will be host in 2022 it'll be that country's first time hosting, as well soccer officials said one reason they chose qatar was because they're trying to help soccer grow around the world touchdown controversy azuz: from futbol to football, american football what a player did during a washington state high school playoff game is getting a lot of attention check this out: ronnie hastie followed up this touchdown run by kneeling for a quick prayer and pointing to the sky but then a flag comes flying in the ref said it was unsportsmanlike conduct for excessive celebration ronnie's done this same kneel and point after every touchdown this season never gotten a flag before but the rule is that players have to give up the ball immediately after a touchdown, and they can't draw attention to themselves ronnie says he wasn't; he was drawing attention to jesus but he also says that the refs are in charge, and he isn't planning to point to the sky after future touchdowns, at least on the field blog promo azuz: what a story, what a controversy, what an opportunity for you to sound off on our blog do you agree with the penalty? and if this had happened to you, would you have stopped praying after scoring touchdowns? our blog at cnnstudentnewscom is anxiously awaiting your comments! i am anxiously awaiting the chance to report on them! id me john lisk, cnn student news: see if you can id me! i was built between 1792 and 1800 i have two wings and 132 different rooms i'm located at 1600 pennsylvania avenue i'm the white house, and i've been home to more than 40 families! first family decorations azuz: well, they say there's no place like home for the holidays, even when you live in one of the most famous houses on the planet the white house is decked out in christmas decorations, and an estimated 20,000 people will be invited to events there during this holiday season first lady michelle obama opened up the doors at 1600 pennsylvania avenue to give everyone a look michelle obama, first lady of the united states: in many ways, this is really what the white house is all about and i say this all the time, it is the people's house it's a place that is steeped in history, but it is also a place where everyone should feel welcome here at the white house, we have 19 christmas trees in every corner of the white house we have a giant bow made out of pipe cleaners we have 350 pounds of gingerbread house that you'll get to see, that took our wonderful pastry chef bill yosses and his team an entire month to create over the last few days, nearly 100 volunteers from all over the country have been working so hard they've been making all of the ornaments, they've been hanging the lights and transforming these rooms into breathtaking works of art that spirit of kindness and generosity is really what the holiday season is all about and it was the idea behind this year's theme, which is simple gifts, because in the end, the greatest blessings of all are the ones that don't cost a thing the time that we spend with our loved ones, the freedoms we enjoy as americans, and the joy we feel from reaching out to those in need education makeover azuz: knock, knock who's there? your principal, and he's here to check on your homework! doctor steve perry, a high school principal, is dropping in on one family to try to whip them into shape it's a special program called education makeover, and it airs tomorrow at 2:30 and 4:30 eastern on cnn check it out! before we go azuz: finally today, you know that expression 'bend but don't break'? this little lady is finding out exactly what that means the doorstop she's fighting ain't going nowhere! yeah, it's an adorable animal youtube video and you have to give the puppy points for persistence emma is displaying some dogged determination here, even if her opponent in this epic battle seems lifeless we'd suggest that the bulldog take on a doorstop her own size goodbye azuz: but it's possible that she'd just recoil in fear we've reached the tail end of our show, but we'll spring back with more cnn student news next week hope you have a great weekend for cnn student news, i'm carl azuz | us first the white house's weekly newsquiz cnn student news | explore what could happen if the us doesn't take action on the debt . consider the penalty for a football player's post touchdown prayer . join the first lady for a tour of the white house's holiday decorations . use the weekly newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on cnn student news |
jerusalem (cnn) israeli airstrikes on gaza continued for a fifth day wednesday, as the jewish state's defense minister mulled a truce proposal to allow humanitarian aid into gaza a column of israeli armored vehicles is deployed in a farmer's field tuesday near the gaza border the air assault overnight into wednesday struck the office of hamas prime minister ismail haniya and the hamas interior ministry, among other targets, the israeli defense forces told cnn the airstrikes followed a mission tuesday that leveled at least three buildings in a hamas government compound the israeli air force also blasted away at a series of tunnels linking gaza to egypt through the rafah crossing meanwhile, israeli defense minister ehud barak was considering the truce proposal originally raised by french foreign minister bernard kouchner and would bring it to prime minister ehud olmert for consideration, a defense ministry official said tuesday however, israeli defense forces denied earlier media reports saying it would advise olmert to adopt a two day truce israeli daily newspaper haaretz had reported 'the goal of the temporary calm would be to see if hamas can abide by the truce and cease firing rockets at israel' kouchner called olmert tuesday afternoon about the proposal, french foreign ministry sources said france, which holds the rotating european union presidency until thursday, had brought together foreign ministers in paris to address the situation in gaza and in southern israel french president nicolas sarkozy's office said israeli foreign minister tzipi livni will meet sarkozy in paris on thursday the israeli military says it was targeting only hamas militants, blaming them for rocket fire into southern israel hamas has vowed to defend gaza in the face of what it calls continued israeli aggression each side blames the other for violating an egyptian brokered cease fire, which formally expired december 19 but had been weakening for months learn more about gaza's political history » meanwhile, us president george w bush called palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas and prime minister salam fayyad to discuss a 'sustainable cease fire,' white house spokesman gordon johndroe told reporters in crawford, texas and the middle east quartet comprised of the united states, the united nations, russia and the european union conferred on a conference call about the situation however, gaza is controlled by hamas considered a terrorist group by israel and the united states neither will negotiate with hamas leadership, which seeks an islamic fundamentalist palestinian state a hamas spokesman said he didn't consider a temporary truce feasible now 'there is nowhere to talk about just the 48 hours cease fire,' hamas spokesman osama hamdan told cnn's 'situation room' on tuesday 'we have to talk about an end for this attack, israeli attacks against the palestinians and opening all of the borders for the palestinians to have aid either medical aid or another other kind of support and then we can talk about the politics' the united nations has called for both sides to end the violence, and un secretary general ban ki moon has roundly condemned both sides: hamas for the rocket fire and israel for its 'excessive use of force' in retaliating despite the rumblings on a potential truce, olmert warned earlier tuesday the airstrikes were only the beginning of a wider military operation, telling peres, 'we are currently at the first stage of the operation,' israeli government officials said of the 375 palestinians killed, most were hamas militants, palestinian medical sources said tuesday un officials said at least 60 civilians were among the dead watch why the un is frustrated » among the dead were two girls, ages 4 and 11, who were killed early tuesday, as they rode in a donkey driven cart in beit hanoun, sources said on the israeli side, three civilians and a soldier have been killed in rocket attacks from gaza on southern israel since the campaign began saturday, military officials and police said 'they are committed to our destruction,' former prime minister benjamin netanyahu said of hamas 'they're firing missiles at our civilians they're hiding behind their civilians that's a double war crime right there' palestinian parliament member mustafa barghouti, however, has called the raids a 'war on the palestinian people' and said the incursion is politically motivated the armed wing of hamas, the izzedine al qassam brigades, said it would continue launching rockets into israel if 'the aggression continues,' a masked spokesman said in televised comments the spokesman said the group had 'so far' launched 250 rockets into israel israel also has moved tanks to the outskirts of gaza and called up at least 2,000 army reservists sparking fears of a ground incursion into the palestinian territory on tuesday, the israeli cabinet approved a defense request for an additional 2,500 soldiers to be called up if needed watch how israel is sitting on gaza's border » the escalating violence in gaza triggered worldwide demonstrations for both sides a group of students stormed inside the british embassy in tehran on tuesday, the state run fars news agency reported see world leaders' reactions to gaza invasion » protests also took place in the us cities of miami and new york watch pro palestinian and pro israeli demonstrators in miami » in the mediterranean sea, an israeli patrol vessel struck a boat carrying medical volunteers and supplies to gaza early tuesday as it attempted to intercept the vessel, witnesses and israeli officials said watch cnn's karl penhaul describe the collision » israeli foreign ministry spokesman yigal palmor called allegations that the boat was deliberately rammed 'absurd' and countered that the volunteer vessel was trying to outmaneuver the israeli boat israel has allowed dozens of trucks carrying relief supplies into gaza also, the rafah border crossing to egypt was opened temporarily tuesday to allow aid workers and medical supplies into gaza and to transport injured palestinians to hospitals in al arish, about 19 miles from the border, egyptian journalist shahira amin said doctors in al arish said they were treating 36 wounded palestinians, at least six of whom were critically injured and being transferred to a hospital in cairo, egypt, for treatment cnn's kevin flower and michal zippori contributed to this report | versableness dare spartiate | no related information |
(cnn student news) november 12, 2010 download pdf maps related to today's show: • south korea • new york, new york transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: fridays are awesome! and we're not the only ones who think so you're gonna meet some other people who totally agree in just a few minutes i'm carl azuz cnn student news starts right now! first up: g 20 summit azuz: and we begin today at the g 20 summit, where there is talk of war! but not the type of war most of us think of no guns, no missiles this is a currency war, a war over money it has to do with something that both china and the us are accused of: currency manipulation this is when a country changes the value of its currency on purpose usually, it means making your currency weaker why would someone want to do that? well, if your currency's less valuable, then your exports, the products that you make and sell to other countries, are cheaper cheaper products usually means more sales, which means more money for the country thing is, if one country is selling more products, that means other countries are selling fewer products stan grant looks at how a couple cases of currency manipulation are causing tension in the global economy right now (begin video) stan grant, cnn correspondent, beijing: currencies, the new economic battleground according to some analysts, it has now gone to a whole new level dong tao, credit suisse: this is not officially declared, but i do believe that the world is in a currency war grant: on one side, the chinese renminbi on the other, the united states dollar tao: in the past, it's been one way, us pushing china and now, we're going to see two way arguments grant: and in any battle, words are weapons the us has accused china of manipulating its currency, keeping it low to boost exports and take american jobs the us has embarked on another round of so called 'quantitative easing,' pumping an extra $600 billion into banks to stimulate lending it lowers the value of the dollar china looks at america's sluggish growth, financial woes and high unemployment and says, 'don't blame us' cui tiankai, vice minister of foreign affairs: if they get cold, they cannot ask china to take the medicine, because this will not cure their cold grant: in the middle, countries like australia: staunch us ally, but building its economy on the back of china growth australian foreign minister kevin rudd, recently in china, ever the diplomat kevin rudd, australian foreign minister: well, i think, as they say in the classics, it takes two to tango so, these questions are not as simple as that grant: at stake is the very future of the world economy western countries are no longer the engines of growth that belongs to emerging economies according to the international monetary fund, china grew 10 times faster than the global average last year and contributed almost 50 percent of world domestic demand rudd: where would we be if china had not generated phenomenal economic growth in the last 18 months? i tell you where we'd be: in a lot of trouble grant: with the world's number one and two economies facing off, there are fears of a rise of protectionism, putting national interests above the world's the answer ultimately is cooperation, not conflict (end video) impact your world honoring america's veterans azuz: cnn's impact your world page offers ways for you to make a difference today, it's focused on america's veterans writing a letter, volunteering your time, just saying thank you: there are many ways to pay tribute to these men and women learn more at cnnstudentnewscom veterans day azuz: all across the country and around the world, americans took time to honor their nation's veterans on thursday ceremonies, parades and concerts scheduled all over the us people honored the more than 23 million veterans who are alive today, as well as those who have fallen vice president joe biden was part of a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns in arlington national cemetery he called veterans the 'heart and soul, the very spine of this nation' ground zero waterfall azuz: this waterfall is part of a different memorial, one that honors some of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks you'll find it in new york, and it's part of the national september 11th memorial and museum engineers started testing it this week they've been working on it for years, and the president of the memorial said 'to see the water coming down was inspiring it was great' the memorial and museum are scheduled to open on september 11th, 2011 that is the 10th anniversary of the attacks disabled cruise ship azuz: ryan harlan says his recent vacation was really fun the worst part? 'being stranded in the middle of the ocean' yeah, that would put a damper on things ryan was one of 3,300 passengers who got stuck onboard this cruise ship for three days a fire in the engine room knocked out the power, so no lights, no air conditioning, no hot showers plus, the toilets overflowed and some of the food went bad thankfully, a us navy aircraft carrier showed up to help out it brought out some supplies, some extra food the cruise ship was eventually towed back into port, and all the passengers are safely back on land shoutout tomeka jones, cnn student news: today's shoutout goes out to mr schneider's and ms thompson's classes at westwood middle school in blaine, minnesota! in roman mythology, who was the god of fire? is it: a) vulcan, b) mars, c) mercury or d) cupid? you've got three seconds go! the roman god of fire was vulcan; he was also the god of metalworking that's your answer and that's your shoutout! erupting volcanoes azuz: vulcan: that's where the word volcano comes from these things form when molten rock and gases escape from under the earth's surface this year, we've talked about the effects of a volcano in iceland, and more recently about mount merapi in indonesia guillermo arduino tells us about some volcanoes you might not have heard about and why some people actually choose to live near them (begin video) guillermo arduino, cnn international weather anchor, atlanta: anywhere from 50 to 70 volcanoes erupt every year typically, we only hear about them when they impact human lives in iceland, a volcano erupted earlier this year with a large enough ash cloud to cause air travel delays throughout europe some scientists say the eruption has ended, since ash was last seen rising from the caldera in june in some areas of the world, locals are used to volcanic activity planchon peteroa in chile has had a plume of gas that rises from a small, steaming crater lake since its eruption in september of this year in october, a local mining company reported that the plume had changed from gray, which contains ash, to white, which is mostly steam as of october 27th, the plume reduced in size and the local alert level was lowered many people around the world choose to live near these volcanoes because they simply cannot afford to move away, while many stay for the mineral rich soil that yields better crops others profit from the tourism it provides tourism dominates the economy surrounding one of the world's most active volcanoes: kilauea, one of the five volcanoes on the island of hawaii earlier this year, lava flows threatened homes on the big island there are currently 14 active volcanoes that outline the pacific ocean three are in mexico, three in northeast russia, and one in japan and throughout the west pacific, many islands have formed over the years because of volcanic eruptions indonesia currently has three active volcanoes, with mount merapi located in one of the world's most densely populated areas not only is merapi spewing gas and ash and halting air traffic, at times it is releasing pyroclastic flows, gases that are so hot they kill anything in their path (end video) blog report azuz: the question: was this play we showed you earlier this week smart thinking or a cheap shot? the answers: 90 percent of you favor smart thinking; 10 percent say cheap shot from desmond: 'i'm in football myself; this was just smart thinking ever heard the saying 'desperate times call for desperate measures?'' from joel: 'i've seen many plays like this where the qb gets lit up because the other team's linebacker saw the trick on sportscenter the night before it was luck' camille said 'most plays and fakes are just part of the game, but this had nothing to do with skills or how well you could throw a ball, but just how sneaky you could be' before we go azuz: always appreciate your blog comments at cnnstudentnewscom we also appreciate the ireports that you send in we've been showing those at the beginning of our program, but the one we have today had a little something extra take a look chris golem, lourdes high school social studies teacher: every semester, my students here at lourdes high school in oshkosh, wisconsin dream of being on cnn student news and carl, let me tell you why they should be option a: that's where we watch student news every single day option b: the shoutout hall of fame you're looking at past champions each semester we compete for the shoutout belt two unidentified male students: we're not the only ones pumped for cnn student news class: carl azuz is awesome! unidentified male student: just like fridays! goodbye azuz: just like you guys that was fantastic! although i hope the pressure to win that shoutout belt doesn't make anyone buckle we've notched another full show at cnn student news, but we will be back to belt out some more next week have a great weekend for cnn student news, i'm carl azuz | discover americans weekly newsquiz cnn student news | learn about the tension caused by accusations of currency manipulation . discover how some americans paid tribute to their country's veterans . find out why some people around the world choose to live near volcanoes . use the weekly newsquiz to test your knowledge of stories you saw on cnn student news |
nairobi, kenya (cnn) it's a date etched in the minds of every kenyan september 21, 2013 at the upscale westgate shopping mall in nairobi, a youth cooking competition was underway, friends laughed as they sipped coffee and families strolled idly through supermarket aisles but the relaxing saturday afternoon was shattered when gunmen descended upon the five storey facility shooting shoppers indiscriminately the siege would last four days and the carnage would leave at least 67 people dead when the terror attack began, abbas gullet was one of the first people on the scene as the head of kenya red cross, he is on the front line of emergency response when disaster strikes in the country and this was no exception 'it's something that we never expected,' gullet says 'we always knew that something may happen, a terror attack i think there had been a heightened alert of terror possibility in the country in the last two, three years but what i can say is that when it did happen we acquitted ourselves very well from an emergency response point of view,' he adds 'it happened at about 12:30 and by about 1:15 we were there' gullet says that day changed his life forever taking lead on the scene, he coordinated teams of paramedics, life support ambulances and a psychosocial unit to offer support to families of those injured or killed during the terror attack community support is paramount in emergency situations, and during westgate gullet says that he couldn't have asked for a better response after setting up mobile blood donation clinics, kenyans banded together to help in whatever way they could 'they gave blood; they gave money; anything that they could give they were out there to give,' he says 'companies came on board, individuals came on board' six months on and the red cross secretary general is able to reflect on how the aid group can continue to improve following the westgate attack 'the lesson learned is that they need to be better prepared, better coordination with the security forces, with the government,' says gullet 'since then we've taken a backseat and now are working more closely with hospitals as the second line providers we know which hospitals can get what type of person, so today if this were to happen, i know where to take the patients and we're going to do more drills with this hospital 'but since then as kenya red cross, even our own fast response emergency ambulance services and training, we have moved on another level up from then to now' a life of dedication born in kenya's north eastern province of garissa, gullet lost both his parents when he was just five years old raised by his adoptive parents in the coastal city of mombasa, he says these early events instilled a need to give back, which is part of why he began volunteering with the red cross at 14 years old over 40 years have passed and the 55 year old humanitarian is still working as hard as ever on top of his leading role in kenya red cross, he is also the vice president of the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies, a position he holds since his election in november last year 'i would say what ticks me and what makes me continue doing this job is the ability and the opportunity it offers me to be able to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people who are vulnerable,' he says 'the ability to bring back hope to them, to give them back their dignity, to have a smile on their face, to have little kids who can have a basic normal life' during gullet's tenure in kenya red cross, the disaster response organization has grown from an underfunded society to one which now operates with more than $23 million in assets he has established response centers and increased the number of available emergency vehicles with specialized equipment for advanced life support run out of nairobi, the organization controls 53 ambulances, with another 75 arriving in june, and also leases emergency vehicles to counties that can't afford to purchase their own 'out of the box' ideas with so many life saving initiatives to finance, and an increasing number of international, regional and local ngos fighting also for the same pie, gullet is often having to get creative when it comes to working out where to get the money his operations require 'you have to think out of the box to see how you would take this to the next level,' he says, citing the 'crazy idea' of red cross opening three hotels, including the boma, a luxurious hotel in nairobi 'it's the first in this country, the first in the region, the first in many parts of the world that today the red cross owns and runs a five star hotel,' he says 'any surpluses or profits that the hotel may make, every penny then is brought back into the humanitarian work of the red cross' despite his many successes, gullet says there is still work to be done as he continues to strive for improvements in the emergency medicine field and for more locally generated funding schemes 'i want to see a day where there is less aid coming from outside and more being generated locally,' he says 'where the african governments would see their national institutions as the first port of call or their preferred choice of partners that can do as good, if not a better, job than what international ngos would do' read this: how westgate changed the lives of kenyans read this: rapping for respect in egypt | abbas gullet kenya red cross first westgate the international humanitarian organization 14 years old | abbas gullet is the secretary general of kenya's red cross . was one of the first emergency responders on the scene after the westgate terror attack . started volunteering with the international humanitarian organization at just 14 years old |
(cnn student news) november 8, 2010 download pdf maps related to today's show: • india • haiti • new york, new york transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: hope you're rested up and that you had a great weekend it was an hour longer at least! i'm carl azuz welcoming you to this november 8th edition of cnn student news! first up: president visits india azuz: president obama is on the road; he's taking a 10 day trip throughout asia; he's visiting india, indonesia, south korea and japan he arrived in the indian capital on sunday you see him here with the first lady and one of the first things he pushed for was increased trade between india and the united states us president barack obama: i'm here because the partnership between india and the united states, i believe has limitless potential to improve the lives of both americans and indians, just as it has the potential to be an anchor of security and prosperity and progress for asia and for the world azuz: but american critics are concerned about american jobs when it comes to india the president says that a healthy relationship between the two countries will create american jobs, but critics say it's actually the opposite when us businesses outsource jobs to the southeast asian country hurricane tomas impact azuz: hopelessness: that's the word that pretty much describes the feeling in many parts of haiti this is a small, and very poor, caribbean nation that has endured a catastrophic earthquake, spreading disease, and most recently this year, a glancing shot from hurricane tomas so it may not come as a surprise why many of the people in this report by paula newton seem to have just given up (begin video) paula newton, cnn correspondent: and then came hurricane tomas misery now overwhelms haitians, just as easily as the flood waters did charlie simolien, leogane resident [translated]: this water now came by and washed away anything we had left newton: young charlie simolien wades through filthy water only to return to his earthquake ravaged home this is leogane, the very epicenter of january's epic quake, and now, it has seen some of the worst flooding and yet for this, there is gratitude tomas spared them the worst this is what the estin family has been left with there is water all over their home and this muddy soot, they are thankful that the water has started to recede but now they're left with this muddy soot and so they try to clean up and recover once more many tell us, they've had it, their spirit broken the quake, the continuing threat of cholera, the indignity of scavenging to survive, and now more water jesner tells us he lost his leg to the earthquake, now tomas has taken everything else jesner, leogane resident [translated]: this is all i could save, my crutches newton: it's difficult to comprehend that in the shadow of homes crushed by the quake, haitians must now somehow survive so little has changed here since january outside haiti there is talk of donor fatigue, but inside haiti, they're sick of something else: all the attention they say it raises their expectations for help, and crushes them once more when it fails to turn up unidentified male [translated]: we always have foreigners come and talk to us and offer help, they take our stories, they take advantage of us and it's about time this ends newton: hurricane tomas' last lash may be behind them but many haitians tell us they no longer believe anyone can help them when the next calamity strikes (end video) is this legit? cnn student news: is this legit? a marathon is 131 miles long not legit! a marathon is twice this distance: 262 miles from start to finish! new york marathon azuz: temperatures in the low forties, 26 miles of non stop running: the new york city marathon isn't for the faint of heart or foot on the other hand, edison pena doesn't seem to be faint of anything he was one of the 33 chilean miners who spent 69 days trapped underground and he actually trained while he was down there, running miles through the mine tunnel every day! pena hit the new york pavement on sunday along with more than 40,000 other competitors the winners were also from abroad: an ethiopian man who'd never run a marathon before had a time of two hours and eight minutes and the women's winner, a kenyan, finished in about two hours, 28 minutes pena managed to finish the race in 5 hours and 40 minutes, which was a little faster than he expected discovery stays put azuz: this isn't where space shuttle discovery was supposed to be by now; it should have been docked at the international space station but its launch was delayed again on friday because of a hydrogen leak found near one of discovery's fuel tanks this happened after gas leaks, electrical problems and bad weather all that caused earlier delays of the 39th mission of the soon to be terminated shuttle program discovery is nasa's oldest, and most experienced, shuttle; its first mission was in 1984 after finding the hydrogen leak, scientists expect it'll be november 30th, at the earliest, before discovery flies again, on what is supposed to be its last mission this day in history (on screen graphic) november 8, 1793 the louvre, france's renowned museum, opens to the public november 8, 1837 mount holyoke seminary, america's first college dedicated exclusively to women, opens in massachusetts november 8, 1895 wilhelm conrad roentgen discovers x rays while researching electric current shoutout cnn student news: time for the shoutout! who said, 'nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work'? you know what to do! was it: a) booker t washington, b) benjamin franklin, c) george washington carver, or d) thomas edison? three seconds, and go! booker t washington was talking about raising money when he wrote these famous words that's your answer and that's your shoutout! career connections azuz: examples of how hard work pays off can be seen in our 'career connections' segment with our own associate producer, tomeka jones tomeka? tomeka jones, associate producer: carl, those words you mentioned 'hard work'? well, the professionals we've talked to strongly believe in it this week, the spotlight is on production assistant monique smith she says being a pa, well, it's all about what you make it and she knows it's putting her on the right path to achieving her goal of being a producer (begin video) monique smith, cnn production assistant: my role is to basically do whatever the producers need me to do that can include anything from logging to making sure i have all the stuff ready for the editors to go through first of all a sot is sound on tape logging is transcribing or writing down word for word what everybody is saying, so the reason that we're able to pick the pieces of sound that we do is that somebody has to actually go through and write down everything that was said in that entire piece of video creating a precut is getting that piece of video or that piece of sound that we plan on airing ready for the editor all the things you learn as a production assistant, none of your time is wasted you learn so many basic, good skills that you're going to have to use for the rest of your career so when you're a producer you basically make the judgment calls on what you're going to put in that show that day but you can also look back on your production assistant days, remember when you were doing all that logging and making all those numbers and you can think, hmm, now i know what all that stuff was for the advice that i would give is if your school has a broadcasting program make sure you are in that program find out what your passion is, because whenever you find out something that you really feel strongly about and you have a good background in it, whatever you decide to do it won't feel like work it will feel like something you're doing for fun because you're interested in it (end video) before we go azuz: historians don't know why there were so few honus wagner baseball cards wagner was a speedy shortstop nicknamed 'the flying dutchman,' played from 1897 to 1917, mostly with pittsburgh he was in the very first world series ever, had more than 3,400 hits, and appears on one of the rarest cards on the planet this particular card was left to a group of catholic nuns by one nun's brother they put it up for auction last week and the card brought them almost 263,000 dollars! goodbye azuz: that money will pay for their charity work in 35 countries so you can understand why the honus was on them to sell the card all right, if you didn't get that, or like it, we'll just have to take another swing tomorrow for cnn student news, i'm carl azuz | obama india new york city | learn what president obama talked about on his visit to india . see who ran through the streets of new york city in its annual marathon . hear from a production assistant about the skills needed to become a journalist . use the daily discussion to help students understand today's featured news stories |
donetsk, ukraine (cnn) it was a confident and forthright address by the new ukrainian president with his wife, maryna, and one of his four children looking on as well as us vice president joe biden petro poroshenko set a new course for ukraine, one that was unabashedly european but he also had a warning for anyone who threatened his country: 'any aggressor at the border of ukraine must recall the evangelical wisdom: he who comes with the sword will fall from the sword' in an address to parliament that lasted nearly 30 minutes, poroshenko, 48, frequently returned to the theme of peace, security and independence for ukraine, and vowed to preserve the territorial integrity of the country that integrity has come under threat in the last two months by what amounts to a rebellion in the eastern regions of luhansk and donetsk, one that's led by groups of pro russia separatists who have declared 'people's republics' in both areas the speech appeared intended both to rally his supporters, with parliamentary elections imminent, and offer an olive branch to opponents poroshenko said he was ready to talk to ukrainians of all viewpoints, and directed remarks in russian to the 6 million people living in the eastern donbass region he promised recognition of minority rights and the russian language, and support for previously announced decentralization reform, which was one of the earlier demands of protestors in the east but there would be a limit, he suggested 'new powers will be granted to local governments, but ukraine was, is, and will be a unitary state,' he said the new president struck a resolute note in dealing with armed groups in the east he promised amnesty for anyone who puts down their arms but repeated he would not negotiate with anyone who had blood on their hands people he described as 'gangsters and killers' he accused former president viktor yanukovych who fled kiev in february of financing terrorism in the east, which had been brought to the brink of disaster russians who had crossed the border with weapons would be granted safe passage home the message to russia and to president vladimir putin, whom poroshenko met on the sidelines of the d day commemorations in france on friday, was twofold ukraine could never be reconciled to the annexation of crimea 'which is and always will be part of ukraine,' he said, drawing a standing ovation from parliamentarians but at the same time, he acknowledged that 'citizens of ukraine will never enjoy the beauty of peace unless we settle down our relations with russia' poroshenko had said friday that he hoped negotiations would begin with russia as early as sunday to defuse the confrontation in the east putin responded that the ukrainian government should really be talking with its own people how those relations can be settled while ukraine steams ahead toward integration with europe will be poroshenko's greatest challenge but of his ultimate vision for the country, he left no doubt the association agreement and visa free travel for ukrainians to the eu were but the first steps 'towards fully fledged membership of ukraine in the european union' again, there was prolonged applause from his audience whether the european union is prepared for the cost and political risk involved in accepting ukraine as its 28th member is very much open to doubt but as an entrepreneur a billionaire who has made his fortune in the candy business poroshenko made clear that he believed only massive investment and a sustained war against corruption could create a 'modern, high tech and defensible' ukraine a plan that could only be accelerated by looking to europe he also promised a special program of investment aimed at eastern ukraine, which suffers from high unemployment, a declining coal industry and decrepit manufacturing plants but the immediate response from the self declared leaders of the eastern regions was dismissive a spokesman for vasily nikitin, prime minister of the luhansk people's republic, told cnn that there would only be negotiations with poroshenko's government when the ukrainian military left the region, a demand already expressed by his counterpart in donetsk, alexander borodai poroshenko later went to st sophia cathedral in kiev to receive a multi confessional blessing at a military ceremony outside the cathedral, he seemed briefly overcome by the occasion and perhaps the weight of office with tears in his eyes ukraine's president vows to defend territory 'no matter what' obama vows to stand with ukraine as he meets poroshenko in poland | ukraine european union petro poroshenko | ukraine's new president sets course toward european union . petro poroshenko made his fortune as the chocolate king . he talked tough on separatists in his inaugural address |
(cnn) 'the voice's' new winner has put usher on the scoreboard on tuesday night's 'the voice' finale, the r&b singer's mentee, josh kaufman, was crowned the winner of season 6 kaufman's victory came in spite of a technical glitch that made it difficult for fans to show their support of him on itunes, where his performance from monday night's show was available for download 'the voice' lets its viewers vote for their favorite singer through phone, e mail, text and by downloading songs from the show on itunes however, as kaufman warned his fans on twitter, his cover of adele's 'set fire to the rain' from monday's show wasn't showing up where viewers expected as a result, 'the voice' host carson daly said at the start of tuesday's finale that all of the itunes downloads from monday night's show were being tossed out, but the glitch didn't impact the final results kaufman was up against christina grimmie, the team adam levine singer who came in third, and jake worthington from team blake shelton, who placed second for the first time, neither adam levine nor blake shelton could boast coaching the season's winner, as kaufman sealed the championship for team usher (although, to be fair, kaufman was on levine's team first) kaufman was at the top of his game during the finale, as he performed a duet with robin thicke the pair of soulful crooners did a rendition of thicke's new song, 'get her back' and with this being 'the voice,' that was (obviously) far from the only performance the two hour season closer was packed with guest stars, and featured sets from ed sheeran, coldplay, tim mcgraw, onerepublic and alabama in the fall, 'the voice' will be joined by two new coaches, pharrell williams and gwen stefani, who will sit alongside mainstays adam levine and blake shelton | the voice josh kaufman christina grimmie jake worthington kaufman team usher | 'the voice' crowned josh kaufman as the winner of season 6 . he beat out christina grimmie and jake worthington . kaufman's win was the first for team usher |
(cnn student news) december 6, 2010 download pdf maps related to today's show: • afghanistan • south korea • albania • israel transcript this is a rush transcript this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated unidentified students: welcome to cnn student news with carl azuz! carl azuz, cnn student news anchor: now that is how you get a show poppin'! thank you gentlemen very much welcome, all of you, to a new week of cnn student news! i'm carl azuz, and we thank all our viewers from all over the world for tuning in first up: unemployment report azuz: the first friday of every month, the us government usually announces the current unemployment rate bad news: this past friday's announcement came as a surprise; the rate went up to 98 percent it had been 96 percent for several months some experts were predicting it would stay the same more than 15 million americans looking for work, not good news but there are some people who are actually encouraged by the increase the unemployment rate only counts people who are actively looking for jobs so if the rate goes up, it could mean that americans who'd stopped looking think they have a better chance of finding work, so they're back on the job hunt still, analysts say it is disappointing the overall job market hasn't gotten better afghanistan visit azuz: president obama is back in washington after a trip to afghanistan he made a surprise visit there on friday, meeting with thousands of us troops this is his second trip to afghanistan since he became president dan lothian has more on the president's time in afghanistan and why it didn't go exactly as planned (begin video) dan lothian, cnn white house correspondent: it was a secret trip the white house says was in the works for more than a month; flying into bagram air base for a little more than four hours to salute the men and women who are carrying out the administration's stepped up strategy in afghanistan barack obama, president of the united states: this part of the world is the center of a global effort where we are going to disrupt and dismantle and defeat al qaeda and its extremist allies, and that's why you're here lothian: but ahead of a mid december review, what is being called a comprehensive assessment to possibly tweak the president's policy there, challenges remain there's rampant corruption in the afghan government, highlighted by leaked state department cables in which ambassador carl eikenberry is said to be concerned about 'how to fight corruption when key government officials are themselves corrupt' and then there is the continued taliban threat obama: you're going on the offense i'm tired of playing defense targeting their leaders pushing them out of their strongholds lothian: mr obama had planned on flying to kabul to meet with president hamid karzai and visit us embassy employees but a storm rolled in with high winds, dust and low cloud cover, so his helicopter trip was canceled, and the karzai meeting became a 15 minute phone call the president did visit wounded troops at a base hospital, awarding five purple hearts, and met with members of the 101st airborne division who lost six members in a deadly attack earlier this week obama: there are going to be difficult days ahead progress comes at a high price lothian: thirteen hundred us troops have been killed in afghanistan since the war began this year was especially deadly the obama administration plans to start withdrawing troops from afghanistan in july 2011, and a stable, reliable government there is key to meeting that deadline as for whether or not those wikileaks documents could cause more problems for the obama administration, one top aide says that they've weathered these kinds of revelations in the past and that there's no secret about the challenges they're facing in afghanistan, especially when it comes to corruption in the government there dan lothian, cnn, the white house (end video) tax vote in senate azuz: moving to the legislative branch of us government and the debate over some tax cuts we've been talking about recently these are cuts that were made under president george w bush they are set to expire if they do, it means americans' taxes will go up everyone seems to be in favor of extending the cuts for families who make less than $250,000 a year the debate is over extending those tax cuts for families that make more money than that saturday, the us senate voted not to extend the cuts for anyone, but democratic and republican leaders are hopeful they they can still work out a compromise shoutout tomeka jones, cnn student news: today's shoutout goes out to mr study's social studies classes at shallotte middle school in shallotte, north carolina! which of these words means a fee that countries have to pay when they import something? is it: a) default, b) inflation, c) subsidy or d) tariff? you've got three seconds go! the fee or tax on products that are imported is called a tariff that's your answer and that's your shoutout! trade with south korea azuz: a new deal between the us and south korea would get rid of a lot of tariffs president obama announced the plan on saturday over the next five years, it would eliminate 95 percent of the tariffs on industrial and consumer products that south korea imports from the united states the president says this agreement will mean billions of dollars in american exports and support 70,000 american jobs other folks don't see it that way in fact, they argue that this trade agreement will actually cost us jobs the president had hoped to finalize the deal with south korea when he was in that country last month there were some disagreements about specific details that caused the delay albania flooding azuz: albania is a country in southeastern europe it's a little smaller than the us state of maryland, and it's home to about 3 million people 12,000 of them have had to leave their homes because of this: massive flooding caused by severe rain you can see some of the damage in these photos sent in by an ireporter huge areas of land are underwater thousands of homes have flooded officials have declared a state of emergency, and troops and police are helping out in the rescue efforts israel wildfire azuz: israel's cabinet has promised speedy relief to victims of a deadly wildfire in that country the prime minister, binyamin netanyahu, says he wants the people who were affected to be able to go back to their homes or to alternative housing within days the fire broke out on thursday it's killed at least 40 people and injured at least 17 others as of sunday, it was still burning in a few places, but authorities said the major sources had been extinguished israel is getting help from other countries, including the us, egypt and jordan and palestinians a group that's often at odds with israel are helping out here too sound check trent mitchell, shorecrest high school video teacher: you will see the kids walking, you know, kind of looking down and texting away, when there's 50 kids around them they could be talking to nicholi wytovicz, shorecrest high school student: i facebook after i get home from school, and then i do my homework, and then i facebook some more mara harris, shorecrest high school senior: i'm not on it 24/7, but i could cut back i know my mom would love it social experiment azuz: all right, if that sounds familiar, we're all guilty of this at some point or other as you can see from our stack of smartphones and cell phones right here, technology and social networking are everywhere but for one week, there's a school district in washington state that's going unplugged as part of a social experiment and this is what we mean by unplugged: more than 400 students, teachers and staff have promised to give up texting, twitter, facebook and cell phones! the teacher who came up with the idea says people are losing the ability to have face to face communication students have been promoting the experiment on facebook go figure all of it starts today the students who are taking part are on the honor system, but they've given their cell numbers to teachers who will use 'spies' to try and test them blog report azuz: we're covering this on our blog today; you probably guessed that already but about friday's blog on a high school football player who got flagged after praying in the end zone, rebecca says she would not stop pointing to the sky after scoring she would let go of the ball first, though, since that's supposedly what triggered the flag laurie's class agreed with dropping the ball first, writing that 'people of faith should be able to show it, but they still have to follow rules' salicia, like several of you, talked about the first amendment and said 'the player had every right to say a prayer' look at this: 93 percent of you thought ronnie hastie should not have been penalized for what he did jackson says it's offensive on the ref's part because it's like he's saying 'no following religion on a football field' ryan says 'the player wasn't celebrating; he was thanking god as a football player myself, they should get rid of that rule altogether' quick reminder for you: we only publish comments with first names; we only read first names on the show before we go azuz: all right, today's before we go segment is about someone who's just a giant baby a giant panda baby well, he's kinda cute now he only weighs about 2 pounds just wait 'til he's full grown and weighs 200 pounds! this little guy is just a month old we'd like to tell you his name, but he won't get that until he's 100 days old that's a tradition in china, where pandas are from this check up was to make sure he's healthy, in good shape, and eating well goodbye azuz: you know, all the bear essentials that about cub bers it for today's program we hope you have a great day for cnn student news, i'm carl azuz | obama afghanistan us south korea today | find out why president obama's trip to afghanistan didn't go as planned . hear how tariffs would be affected by a us south korea trade agreement . consider how a social experiment challenges one school district to unplug . use the daily discussion to help students understand today's featured news stories |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.