text
stringlengths 102
11.9k
| query
stringlengths 2
806
| summary
stringlengths 22
3.99k
|
|---|---|---|
(cnn) take it from president barack obama virginia's loudoun county is a must win swing district in a must win swing state 'we won last time in loudoun county, and if we win again, we win virginia,' obama declared at a rally in august 'and if we win virginia, we win the election' the final factor affecting many undecided voters in this wealthy washington exurb is sequestration massive, automatic cuts scheduled to start taking effect at the the beginning of 2013 after the failure of a supercommittee to come up with a deficit reduction plan loudoun county is emblematic of the new northern virginia upper middle class, fast growing and increasingly diverse over the past decade, the landscape has transformed from quiet farmland to rows of upper middle class houses as defense budgets boomed under president george w bush post 9/11, the industry expanded, and many new defense workers and contractors moved to loudoun the county now has the highest median household income in the united states $119,000 a year population doubled over the past decade, to 312,000 and the hispanic population has tripled this isn't old virginia; it's new virginia and these demographic factors helped obama become the first democrat to win the state since lyndon johnson in 1964 by a margin in loudoun county of just 11,509 votes four years later, the unemployment rate in loudoun county is strikingly low just 4% about half the national average but these looming automatic cuts are creating a clear and present danger to loudoun's economic well being that is resonating here news: energized obama touts new jobs report in virginia, ohio so sequestration weighs heavily on the minds of undecided loudoun county voters such as john dyer, co founder of a 2 year old small business ksh tech solutions that specializes in consulting to government agencies to increase efficiency dyer is a coveted swing voter whose votes in the past reflect the winner of virginia the voter that both campaigns are trying to reach in this final stretch he's a native virginian, raised in richmond, and he cast his first ballot for ronald reagan the first democrat he ever voted for was obama four years later, he's concerned that obama's run out of energy and the overall economy still hasn't improved as fast as he'd hoped he understands that the deficit needs to be dealt with but believes that abrupt sequester style cuts could be devastating to the local and national economy he'll be watching the next debates with these priorities in mind: 'i feel passionate about health care, that's for sure and the issues around the federal government spending, the dod (department of defense), and how it affects our business it is my lifeblood and my future' there's no question that the specter of sequestration has cast a chill in this community 'my neighborhood is full of subcontractors and contractors that work for or in the federal government,' dyer says 'some have already talked to their employees they have given notice that a storm could be coming, and they need to be prepared for layoffs' dyer's business partner is katie hammler, a former captain in the us army reserves, an independent voter who also serves on the leesburg town council 'this is going to be as serious a problem to our north virginia region as the fallout of the car industry was to detroit,' hammler says 'it will be small businesses like ours that are going to be hit the most two million jobs will be lost, half of which will be from small companies we'll be hit earliest and hardest' hammler blames sequestration on congressional division and dysfunction: 'it's as if there are certain factions within the parties who are setting things up where because of the pressure of the next primary, because of the pressure of the election, there's no incentive for compromise and collaboration to find meaningful solutions to complex problems' there's plenty of blame to go around for both parties, but hammler expresses special frustration with a particular group: 'those who oppose obama have done everything in their power to ensure that he fails' with sequestration as a final factor in this key swing county of virginia, the tea party rhetoric of 2010 won't necessarily work on undecided swing voters such as dyer 'people support the government here,' he says 'they work for the mission of the government even as a contractor, you work to fulfill that mission' news: with ryan by his side, romney rallies virginians in debate victory lap virginians have a contrarian streak in recent decades they have voted for a governor from the opposite party as the president just elected 'virginians are wary of too much government power in one party,' says leesburg mayor kristen umstattd 'they like the balance of power' but while both parties might be to blame for the failed supercommittee resulting in the scheduled sequestration cuts, they can vote for only one president the demographic changes in virginia and comparatively strong economy might give obama reason to believe that he can make history a second time by winning virginia, but it is far from a sure thing in this traditionally conservative corner of the country to convince dyer and other undecided swing voters in loudoun county, the two candidates will need to present a balanced plan to avoid the blunt edge of sequestration cuts and a practical strategy for avoiding this kind of high risk, hyper partisan brinksmanship in the future that's a final factor in winning this key swing district of this key swing state in the fight for the white house 2012 join us at facebook/cnnopinion the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of john avlon | epicardiac ladlefuls pavonian | no related information |
san diego, california (cnn) conditions that created what california gov arnold schwarzenegger dubbed 'the perfect storm for fire' eased wednesday, helping firefighters gain ground against devastating southern california wildfires a plane drops fire retardant on the fourth day of a wildfire pushed by winds through pauma valley, california winds that gusted as much as 101 mph on sunday dropped to about 30 mph wednesday evening meanwhile, the dry santa ana winds that have fanned the flames, changed direction and began blowing inland from the pacific ocean, increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area but the destruction was taking its toll on the men and women on the front lines of the fires 'it hurts us to have those homes lost it hurts us to have those injuries and it is frustrating for us to watch our community be devastated by this,' said firefighter andy menshek as conditions improved, officials allowed people to return to communities that had been off limits because of intense flames and dense smoke 'it was home,' said mark davis, whose two story rancho bernardo house burned to the ground 'it was us we had been there 28 years, and it had a lot of our flavor' the change in the weather also meant that firefighting aircraft grounded for most of the week by the winds could finally fly california department of forestry and fire protection capt scott mclean called the droning sound of aircraft the 'sound of joy' 'their drops are hitting their mark because the wind is not there,' he said the rate of burning had slowed significantly by wednesday still, the fire damage increased to 434,543 acres, said gov arnold schwarzenegger watch schwarzenegger give a progress report » that amounted to 679 square miles, or about 10 times the size of washington, dc by wednesday evening, the largest fire the witch in northern san diego county was 10 percent contained it burned about 196,000 acres before combining with the smaller poomacha blaze seven fires among the 22 counted wednesday were contained see where the fires are burning » others, such as the buckweed fire in los angeles county, were as much as 94 percent contained one large fire was a suspected arson the fbi and the orange county fire authority are investigating the santiago fire that has burned more than 19,000 acres all three of its points of origin have been declared crime scenes, said jim amornino, a spokesman for the orange county sheriff's department a $70,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for setting the fire the blaze was about 50 percent contained after destroying 17 structures watch the raging flames of the santiago fire » the smaller rosa fire in riverside county, 70 percent contained at just over 400 acres, was also a probably arson, state officials said as the fire danger eased, residents were allowed to return to several neighborhoods surrounding san diego: del mar highlands, encinitas, solana beach, carmel valley, chula vista and otay mesa helicopters were back in the air over the lake arrowhead, california, area after all air activity had been suspended because of extremely smoky skies in nearby running springs, cnn's ted rowlands stood in the midst of charred, smoldering rubble strewn with potentially deadly power lines 'it will be a while before these people will come back when they do come back, unfortunately they'll have this pretty much to look at,' he said wednesday watch rowlands describe a major battle with the flames » about 500 homes were lost in the mountainous region in san bernardino county east of los angeles see photos of the fires » 'yesterday we couldn't be here, because just this little flame and smoldering pieces of wood would be thrown by the intense winds now you can see the flames just basically burning themselves out,' said rowlands the fires have already destroyed 1,664 structures including 1,436 homes and they still threaten 25,000 more, schwarzenegger said wednesday the blazes have killed three people and left 40 hurt, he said the governor will fly over the area thursday with president bush, who signed a major disaster declaration wednesday watch bush emphasize the need to be responsive » it'll speed federal dollars to people whose property losses aren't covered by insurance and will help local and state agencies pay for the emergency response the cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in san diego county alone, an emergency official said federal help keeps arriving as officials promise a response based on lessons learned from hurricane katrina people left homeless by the fires can go online to apply for federal help at femagov, he said there were 76,000 people staying in the 42 shelters opened in san diego county wednesday morning, according to san diego emergency spokeswoman lynda pfieffer qualcomm stadium home to the nfl's san diego chargers housed 11,000 evacuees at the peak of the disaster, but that number dropped to 5,000 wednesday morning watch how evacuees are being taken care of at the stadium » e mail to a friend cnn's kate bolduan contributed to this report | wadmols skilletfish telekinetically | no related information |
potomac, maryland (cnn) to combat the depression and despair during her 105 day stint in iran's notorious evin prison, haleh esfandiari welcomed all distractions and blocked thoughts of her beloved home and family haleh esfandiari talks to iranian media in front of evin prison after her august 21 release the iranian american scholar, who was charged with espionage and endangering iranian national security during a december visit to her family, wrote a book in her mind, read newspapers, watched television and exercised voraciously 'i decided either i am going to succumb to despair or i am going to try to make the best of this condition, and the best of this condition was to have a disciplined day,' she said 'so i would exercise for many hours, i would read, i would walk a lot, some three to four hours a day even in the room, you know, i would pace up and down timing myself' the 67 year old grandmother of two said dwelling on her incarceration, and longing for her family, was disheartening 'so that's why i plunged into exercising, and i wrote a book in my mind on the history and life story of my grandmother as i would be walking, i would write chapters and edit them in my mind and rewrite it the next day' watch an 'elated' esfandiari explain how she passed the time » esfandiari said she was treated 'with respect' while at evin, but added, 'a prison is a prison' esfandiari was allowed to go home last week she returned to potomac, maryland, on thursday and discussed her arrest and captivity during a saturday interview though she said she's unsure why she was jailed in evin's political wing, esfandiari believes her iranian captors wanted to know more about the woodrow wilson center for international scholars, the washington based think tank where she heads the middle east program 'i think they were trying to found out more about the wilson center what it really does, were trying to find out about think tanks in america, foundations in america, the relationship between think tanks, foundations and the government,' she said on december 21, the dual iranian american national traveled to iran to visit her 93 year old mother, where she visited for nine days on december 30, she caught a taxi to the airport where she planned to fly home to washington those plans were altered by three knife wielding men who stopped her cab, threatened to kill her and stole her luggage and handbag, which contained both of her passports and her airline ticket esfandiari called her husband, shaul bakhash, back home in maryland and told him to cancel her credit cards and report the stolen passport the next day, she went to the authorities 'i went to the passport office, and they said that they would like to, somebody wants to talk to you and that was the beginning of the saga,' she said that somebody, according to the wilson center, was an official with iran's ministry of intelligence beginning on january 4, esfandiari was subjected to weeks of interrogations, sometimes as many as four a week and some lasting as long as eight hours, according to the wilson center the questioning, the center said, was 'unpleasant and not free from intimidation and threat' she was pressured to make confessions and falsely implicate the wilson center she once received a threatening phone call on january 18, she awoke from a nap at her mother's home to find her interrogator and two men one of them wielding a video camera staring into her bedroom, the wilson center said on february 17, the interrogations stopped, but in late april or early may she again began receiving phone calls from the iranian government on may 7, she was asked to go to the ministry of intelligence the following morning, according to the wilson center when she arrived, she was put in a car and taken to evin prison over the next two weeks, iranian media reported that esfandiari was accused of trying to topple the iranian government later that month, a judiciary spokesperson announced that she was charged with espionage, actions against national security and propaganda against the islamic republic 'it was puzzling for me at first,' esfandiari told cnn 'i think there is a concern among certain elements that the united states has planned some kind of velvet revolution in iran, and since they are bogged down in iraq and afghanistan, they won't do it through military they would do [it] through think tanks and foundations to create a network of people to undermine the regime i think that is their concern' the velvet revolution is the name given to the 1989 bloodless coup that saw czechoslovakia's communist regime overthrown in prison, esfandiari was interviewed for an iranian state television documentary, in which she allegedly linked us think tanks and nongovernmental organizations with a 'soft revolution' against the iranian government the wilson center quickly denounced the documentary as 'scripted, contrived, and completely without merit' the center's president and director, lee hamilton, who has served on the 9/11 commission and iraq study group, also issued a statement, saying the documentary took 'the fabrication of news to a new art form this is shameful it cannot be considered a 'confession' by any stretch of the imagination' hamilton had written letters to president mahmoud ahmadinejad and majlis speaker shouray e islami, to no avail on june 29, he wrote another letter to grand ayatollah ali khamenei, the supreme leader of iran, pleading for his help in esfandiari's case a week later, the former congressman met in new york with iran's representative to the un, who delivered a written response from khamenei the letter, which 'was positive and conveyed respect,' marked the first time the ayatollah had responded to an american leader, according to the wilson center esfandiari said she believes she owes her freedom, in part, to hamilton's letter the iranian government never said why esfandiari was allowed to go home, but on august 21 she was released on a bail of 3 billion iranian rials ($320,000) esfandiari picked up her passport september 1 and flew to vienna, austria, where her sister lives, the next day she arrived in the united states on thursday 'the first thing i did, i walked around, walked into the kitchen and started looking at things and say, 'ok, where is this? this shouldn't be here! that shouldn't be there!' ' she said 'and shaul goes, 'there she goes again' ' esfandiari said she is 'elated to be home' 'sleeping in my own bed after eight months, taking a shower in my own bathroom after eight months, walking around the garden,' she said 'to see my grandchildren who have grown since i last saw them in those eight months so it is a fantastic it is a fantastic feeling and looking back, i am glad this nightmare is over' e mail to a friend | haleh esfandiari iran iranian esfandiari wilson center ayatollah american | haleh esfandiari says she read, walked, wrote a book in her mind while in prison . scholar arrived home thursday after iran forbade her to leave for eight months . iranian government never said why they released esfandiari from jail last month . wilson center: ayatollah's letter marked first ever response to american leader |
khartoum, sudan (cnn) a sudanese court found a british teacher guilty of insulting religion and sentenced her to 15 days in prison thursday for allowing a teddy bear to be named 'mohammed,' british authorities and her lawyer reported an undated amateur photo of gillian gibbons, who has been found guilty of insulting religion gillian gibbons also faces deportation from sudan after her prison term, her lawyer told cnn he said that he was 'very disappointed' with the verdict and that gibbons planned to appeal gibbons was not convicted of two other charges brought against her inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her lawyer said gibbons, 54, was arrested sunday after she asked her class of 7 year olds in khartoum to name the stuffed animal as part of a school project, the british foreign office said she had faced charges under article 125 of sudan's constitution, the law relating to insulting religion and inciting hatred although there is no ban in the quran on images of allah or the prophet mohammed, islam's founder, likenesses are considered highly offensive by muslims watch latest developments in the case » appearing somber and dazed, gibbons arrived at the central courthouse in khartoum for her closed hearing early thursday a staff member from the british embassy in khartoum and defense lawyers attended the hearing with her the courthouse was heavily guarded by police, who kept journalists and, for a while, even one of her attorneys away gibbons could have faced a sentence of 40 lashes, a fine, or a jail term of up to a year, according to the foreign office, which expressed britain's dissatisfaction with the verdict 'we are extremely disappointed that the charges against gillian gibbons were not dismissed,' foreign secretary david miliband said in a statement issued shortly after the verdict was announced 'as i said this morning, our clear view is that this is an innocent misunderstanding by a dedicated teacher our priority now is to ensure ms gibbons' welfare, and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her i have called in the sudanese ambassador, omer siddig, this evening to explain the decision and discuss next steps' watch a report on reactions to the verdict » the foreign office said gibbons would be given credit for the four days since her arrest, meaning that the she has 11 days remaining on her sentence earlier, miliband had met with siddig, who was summoned to the foreign office in london 'i explained to him that we were very concerned by the case we believe that this was an innocent misunderstanding,' miliband said in a statement released thursday after the meeting 'the sudanese ambassador undertook to ensure our concerns were relayed to khartoum at the highest level he also said he would reflect back to khartoum the real respect for the islamic religion in this country,' the statement added on the first floor of the courthouse, around 25 police linked arms and forced journalists and british officials away from the court entrance police detained some journalists, and confiscated a camera belonging to a freelance cnn cameraman four vans filled with riot police were waiting outside the courthouse, but there were no signs of street disturbances or protests staff from gibbons' school, including robert boulos, the head of unity high school, were present the staff members refused to comment on their colleague's predicament on wednesday, boulos said he was 'horrified' when he found out that the complaint about the naming of the bear came from a member of his own staff not from a parent, as originally thought defense counsel later confirmed that the complaint came from sarah khawad, a secretary at the school gibbons has been working at the school popular with wealthy sudanese and expatriates since august, after leaving her position as deputy head teacher at a primary school in liverpool, england, this summer, boulos said he said gibbons asked the children to pick their favorite name for the new class mascot, which she was using to aid lessons about animals and their habitats e mail to a friend journalist andrew heavens contributed to this report copyright 2007 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | british sudan gillian gibbons gibbons uk | british teacher in sudan found guilty of insulting religion . gillian gibbons, 54, arrested after her class named teddy bear 'mohammed'. gibbons was not convicted of two other charges brought against her . uk consular staff, gibbons' defense team initially refused access to the court |
(cnn) the owner of a north carolina beach house where seven college students died in a weekend fire said monday that his family's 'lives were just changed forever' by the tragedy chip auman said his 18 year old daughter survived the fire but was hospitalized and in stable condition because of complications from smoke inhalation 'the thought of losing a child is unimaginable to me, and as a father my heart goes out to the families that lost a loved one in this situation,' he said auman said the situation was 'hard to fathom' 'there's just no words to describe what we've been going through,' he said, asking for prayers for survivors and the families of those who died 'we're numb, we're confused, we're heartbroken' two college campuses mourned monday six university of south carolina students and a clemson university student died in the fire early sunday morning in ocean isle beach, north carolina six other south carolina students were able to get out of the house in time the six were treated and released from nearby brunswick community hospital, but auman's daughter was hospitalized again in hartsville, south carolina authorities from the state bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives are leading the investigation into the cause of the fire ocean isle beach mayor debbie smith said the house was 'engulfed' in flames when the fire department arrived on the scene, about five minutes after being notified the flames shot into the sky and ultimately left little more than portions of the framing fire officials do not believe foul play was involved watch a neighbor's video, fears of fast burning fire » dennis a pruitt, the vice president for student affairs for the university of south carolina, said investigators have said it would be tuesday or wednesday before the identities of the victims are confirmed publicly it could be as much as a month until investigators know the cause of the fire, pruitt said the university did not cancel classes on monday, but pruitt said arrangements had been made for those who need to go home or stay out of class at the 28,000 student campus pruitt said meetings had been held sunday with members of delta delta delta sorority and sigma alpha epsilon fraternity the south carolina students were affiliated with those houses, he said, although he stressed that the weekend was not an official greek function he also said counselors and ministers were available to help students deal with the loss of their classmates the university president, dr andrew sorenson, contacted the families of those who died in the fire to express the condolences and support of the university community jay laura, student president of the usc chapter of sigma alpha epsilon, said the campus would pull together after the tragedy 'if any place can come together to help in the healing process and the aftermath of an event like this, it is south carolina,' laura said at a monday afternoon press conference fire survivor tripp wylie, a 20 year old south carolina sophomore, said he jumped out of a third story window into a canal to escape the flames and was unable to get back in to help his friends 'i could see a buddy of mine off to the left who had gotten out he was just yelling at me to jump and stuff,' wylie told cnn affiliate wyff 'the smoke was pouring out, couldn't really breathe, so i had to make a quick decision [i] just kind of leaned out the window and luckily i jumped far enough to make it into the canal' neighbors flocked to see the fire as firefighters battled and ultimately got the blaze under control see the scenes of devastation » george smith, who lives across the street from the house, said he heard sirens between 6:30 and 7 am and went outside to see 'the whole sky lit up' 'the whole house was completely engulfed in flames, up to about 20 feet,' he said 'i have never seen [a fire] move so fast' george smith said the house's occupants were 'partying in there yesterday and into the night' after about 10:30 pm saturday they quieted down, he said linda sing said she was walking her dog when she saw the fiery destruction she noted that firefighters had saved an adjacent house by spraying it down with water 'we knew there were people in there, but we hoped and prayed they'd gotten out,' sing said 'this is the worst thing i've ever seen we've had hurricanes, but this is worse' ocean isle beach is a popular resort destination along north carolina's southern coast the year round population of the 7 mile long island is about 425, but it swells to about 25,000 during the summer season, according to the town's web site e mail to a friend | heartbroken university of south carolina | 'heartbroken' house owner's daughter among six survivors hospitalized . one survivor jumped out of a third story window into a canal to escape . university of south carolina mourns deaths of six students |
editor's note: the staff at cnncom has been intrigued by the journalism of vice, an independent media company and web site based in brooklyn, new york motherboardtv is vice's site devoted to the overlap between culture and technology the reports, which are being 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 approach is worthy of sharing with our cnncom readers brooklyn, new york (motherboardtv) in april of last year the deepwater horizon semi submersible mobile offshore drilling unit exploded in the gulf of mexico, killing 11 men, injuring 17 others and triggering what is generally recognized as one of the greatest human errors ever made and officially the largest unforeseen marine oil catastrophe since people started drilling for oil by the time the leak was capped in july 2010, enough oil to fill 49 million barrels covered the gulf in a toxic slick see the rest of 'sailing drone' at motherboardtv enter cesar harada after visiting the oil spill in june 2010, the young engineer decided to leave mit in boston to develop an open source oil spill cleaning robot, protei our current array of oil spill skimming technologies — mostly private boats retrofitted with skimming equipment and skimmers maintained by the us coast guard — are only able to collect three percent of the oil in the gulf of mexico and carry health risks to humans and heavy economic costs protei is unmanned, autonomous, relatively inexpensive and open hardware (anybody can use, modify and distribute its designs), making it a potentially powerful weapon in the battle to clean up the gulf of mexico while preserving the safety of the workers who would otherwise be exposed to the toxic mess already harada imagines other uses for the sailboat drone, like oceanography and surveillance in the first episode of our 'upgrade' series, motherboard goes to rotterdam to watch harada's ragtag team of scientists and engineers as they hustle to assemble the first protei prototype and dodge the dutch harbor patrol for their first water test | cesar harada mit gulf harada protei | engineer develops robotic sailboat to clean up oil spills . cesar harada left mit to pursue the project after visiting the 2010 gulf oil spill . motherboard visits harada's team as the assemble the first protei prototype |
(cnn) police in southern california have arrested the husband of a slain iraqi woman whose death authorities first thought could have been a hate crime on suspicion of her murder shaima alawadi, 32, died from her injuries in march after she was brutally beaten at her home a note beside the body told the family to go back to iraq and called them 'terrorists,' her daughter said at the time, authorities did not rule out the possibility her death could have been a hate crime, though they said then they were examining other possibilities as well 'after months of hard work by el cajon police department detectives, we determined that this homicide was the result of domestic violence and not the result of a hate crime,' said city police chief jim redman alawadi's husband, kassim al himidi, was arrested thursday and booked at the san diego central jail on suspicion of murder, he said according to authorities, al himidi, 48, is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court tuesday for an arraignment it was not immediately clear whether he had retained an attorney his wife's death drew international attention iraqi prime minister nouri al maliki provided a plane that flew alawadi's body back to iraq, where the mother of five was buried dozens of people attended the funeral, including her husband alawadi and al himidi moved to the san diego county area in 1995 and then briefly lived in dearborn, michigan, before moving back to california el cajon, where the family lived, and dearborn have sizable iraqi communities among the nation's largest us state department spokeswoman victoria nuland called the attack on alawadi an 'absolutely brutal beating' she said in march that 'authorities are continuing to search for motives behind this attack, but the united states has no tolerance for wanton acts of violence like this' | kassim al himidi iraqi shaima alawadi alawadi | kassim al himidi is in custody on suspicion of murdering his iraqi wife . shaima alawadi, 32, died in march after she was attacked at her home . a note beside the body called the family 'terrorists,' her daughter said . police say now alawadi's death was the result of domestic violence, not a hate crime |
washington (cnn) on the day he shot president ronald reagan, 25 year old john hinckley jr left in his hotel room a letter addressed to young actress jodie foster, with whom he was infatuated the letter began: 'dear jodie there is a definite possibility i will be killed in my attempt to get reagan' see letters hinckley sent to foster but on march 30, 1981, hinckley survived his gun empty after he fired six shots at the president in less than two seconds, hinckley was tackled by police and secret service agents he was rushed away and all but disappeared into custody for the past three decades on wednesday, a federal judge will begin a week and half of hearings on whether hinckley eventually should be released from the mental hospital where he has been a patient since his 1982 trial ended in a jury verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity doctors at st elizabeth hospital, a federal mental facility in washington, have petitioned the court for approval to grant hinckley convalescent leave if all goes well in series of extended visits to his mother's home hinckley is now 56, his hair turning gray in the last court hearing two years ago, us district judge paul friedman acknowledged hospital doctors' testimony that his mental problems were in remission the court has steadily granted hinckley greater freedoms over the years the government's response for the hearing describes hinckley as 'a man capable of great violence' and argues that there are still concerns 'that this violence may be repeated' his mother, joann hinckley, a widow who is now 85 but in good health, lives in a gated resort development near the james river in historic williamsburg, virginia hinckley has been allowed several visits in recent years a next door neighbor, signing as t richardson, wrote a month ago in a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, the virginia gazette, that upon moving in during the 1980s, mrs hinckley phoned to say that 'they would never bring john to williamsburg' yet, the letter writer said, hinckley had been allowed to roam the streets alone on long walks during those recent visits hinckley's proposed release, the writer concluded, 'is not terribly reassuring to me living next door' much of the eight day hearing will involve contrasting testimony from psychiatrists on either side, as did hinckley's trial hinckley did not testify then, and whether he will do so this time remains in dispute the us attorney's office has told the judge that if hinckley does take the stand at the hearing, it wants the right to question him hinckley's lawyer, barry s levine, replied that hinckley will testify only if the judge does not allow any cross examination the hospital motion for hinckley's eventual release was filed under seal, unavailable to the public however, in answering that, the government said the motion proposes a series of eight new visits of 17 to 24 days each to hinckley's mother's home after that, the government said, the hospital wants 'the sole discretion to place hinckley on convalescent leave' and to do so 'without any further review by this court' no immediate decision is expected during the court hearing in the past, the judge has taken some time before issuing a written ruling hinckley came within an inch of killing reagan: that's how close the last bullet came to penetrating the president's heart the president lost half his blood supply as his left lung was flooded had the secret service not gotten reagan to a hospital within minutes, doctors said, he might well have died watch agent show where bullets struck the presidential limo hinckley wounded a police officer, a secret service agent and press secretary james brady before his sixth and final shot ricocheted off the presidential limousine and struck reagan beneath his left armpit as agents shoved him into the back seat of the vehicle brady, shot in the head, survived against the odds but was so severely injured he was never able to return to his white house duties hinckley had left numerous letters and notes for foster, a freshman at yale university, after seeing her in a breakthrough role as a child prostitute in the movie 'taxi driver' one of his last notes, shoved under her dorm door a few weeks before he shot reagan, echoed a line from that movie: 'just wait i'll rescue you soon' the day after the shooting, foster said she did not even know who hinckley was | arise softened pickerels | no related information |
(cnn) the promoter for famed filipino fighter manny pacquiao says he expects to swiftly resolve a dispute with the country's tax authorities that have led to the boxer's assets being frozen in his homeland the 34 year old pacquiao, who is also a second term philippines congressman, announced tuesday his domestic bank accounts had been frozen, along with his wife's, over allegations he had evaded paying $50 million in taxes on highly paid bouts in the united states the move has prevented the boxer from following through on a pledge to help victims of super typhoon haiyan on the back of his comeback win over american brandon rios in macau over the weekend pacquiao dedicated his victory to those affected by the disaster, tweeting after the fight: 'yesterday's victory wasn't about my comeback but a symbol of my people's comeback from a natural disaster and a human tragedy' the fighter told reporters in his hometown, general santos city, that he had paid the correct taxes in the united states, and was not required to pay additional tax in the philippines under a treaty preventing double taxation 'i am not a criminal or a thief,' he said 'the money is not stolen this came from all of the punches, beatings, blood and sweat that i endured in the ring' pacquiao's promoter, bob arum of las vegas based top rank, said in a statement that pacquiao had paid the necessary taxes to the united states government from the period under scrutiny, which included pacquiao's boxing heyday from 2008 9 'filipino authorities confirmed that manny is not required to pay double tax,' he said he said top rank had paid monies owed from pacquiao's earnings 30% of fight purses to the us internal revenue service (irs) via electronic funds transfer (eft), and had submitted copies of deposit acknowledgments to the philippines bureau of internal revenue (bir) as proof of payment but the tax authorities had rejected the documents as proof 'the bir received the documents but directed manny to obtain 'certified' documents directly from the irs itself,' he said 'as i am sure people appreciate, obtaining certified copies of documents from the irs takes time manny made the formal request to the irs and we have every expectation that the necessary documents will be furnished to the bir very soon' pacquiao's unanimous points victory over rios was seen as reviving his career following a knock out loss to mexico's juan manuel marquez in december 2012 the win in macau raised spirits in the philippines, where thousands of fans in the city of tacloban, one of the hardest struck cities, gathered to watch the fight in public spaces | filipino pacquiao philippines $50 million us | filipino boxer pacquiao has had his assets in his homeland frozen . philippines tax authorities are seeking proof he paid $50 million in taxes on us earnings . pacquiao's promoter says he is seeking documentation from us tax authorities . the freeze has delayed the boxer from delivering promised typhoon relief |
london (cnn) charles dickens is one of the world's best loved writers, whose books and the countless film and tv adaptations they inspire still keep readers (and viewers) on the edge of their seats now, 200 years on from his birth, his genius is to be feted with a host of events marking the bicentenary of one of britain's most famous sons dickens 2012 will see everything from readings to royal visits, celebrating the man who gave the world 'oliver twist,' 'david copperfield' and 'great expectations' in london, the special events will begin with a celebrity performance, by actors simon callow and joanna lumley, at the dickens family's graves in highgate cemetery on monday and on tuesday, the anniversary of dickens' birth, the prince of wales will lay a wreath at dickens' grave in poet's corner, westminster abbey, while actor ralph fiennes, dickens' biographer claire tomalin and the author's great great grandson, mark dickens give readings there are more commemorations planned across the country, and around the world, so what is dickens' secret? and why, above all others, is his work still revered, so many years after his death? clare pettitt, dickens specialist at king's college london, puts his continued popularity down to his modernity 'everybody says this about absolutely every author ever, but dickens really was a peculiarly modern writer, very attuned to what was new; he was writing at the beginning of the industrial revolution which, effectively, we are still in 'he would have been fascinated by twitter, for example he loved the telegraph, the railways, all sorts of modern communications technology, he was very 'on the button'' adrian wootton, co director of the dickens 2012 celebrations, insists that almost 150 years after his death, the 'oliver twist' author still has something to say: 'dickens is not some fusty historical figure, but still an ultra relevant, dynamic innovator 'he rewrote the style, form and substance of the novel; changed the process and dissemination of the printed word; wrote the way a camera saw before film had ever been invented, and he remains the most cinematic of writers' 'a critic of the young dickens once said the writer 'would go up like a rocket and come down like a stick,'' said florian schweizer, director of the charles dickens museum 'in 2012, one thing seems to be sure: that rocket will not come down again '175 years after he first shot to fame at the age of 25, charles dickens continues to be regarded as one of the world's finest authors and storytellers, and one of the most influential figures britain has ever produced' but the dickens 2012 celebrations are not limited to the uk and fittingly so 'dickens' fame and appeal spreads well beyond britain,' says pettitt 'he has huge global reach, well beyond the bounds of this island he's been taken up by bollywood, set in the south seas, in 'mr pip,' and on and on' the bicentenary will kick off in australia, with the first part of a 24 hour dickens read a thon to be staged in 24 countries across the world, from albania to zimbabwe, with readings from 'oliver twist' in india, and 'a christmas carol' in kazakhstan susie nicklin, director of literature at the british council, which has organized the event, agreed such a worldwide celebration was truly appropriate, given dickens' international fame and his passion for performing 'reading aloud bringing characters to life was a crucial part of dickens' life,' she said, adding that the event would be a 'truly global homage to a great british literary giant' and while many of the festivities are centered on february 7, others will be much longer lasting one of the biggest commemorations of dickens and his works in 2012 is the dickens and london exhibition at the museum of london (until june 10), which celebrates the author's links with the city, and explores how it inspired so many of his novels it features items from dickens' own life including the desk he wrote at, his bank ledger, and the manuscripts for some of his most popular novels alongside items evoking life in london in the 19th century, from playbills, pub signs and theatre costumes to heartbreaking evidence of the extreme poverty dickens knew well from his own childhood london's other big draw for dickens fans, the charles dickens museum, housed in his former home, is perhaps surprisingly to close for a large part of the bicentennial year, as part of a major refurbishment program, but it is expected to reopen just in time for christmas 2012, when a further round of dickens celebrations are planned | charles dickens wales dickens westminster abbey | several events planned to mark bicentenary of birth of charles dickens . on tuesday prince of wales will lay wreath at dickens' grave in westminster abbey . dickens specialist puts author's continued popularity down to his modernity . dickens 2012 celebrations also planned elsewhere in the world |
(cnn) let the naming and shaming begin china will start to point the finger at its top ten most air polluted cities each and every month in the hopes that national humiliation will push positive environmental action a parallel list of the nation's ten cities with best air qualities will also be published beijing's political and very public pressure on its most polluted cities comes within a year of the capital reporting its worst air quality levels in recorded history and an asian development bank study showing seven of the world's top ten most air polluted cities were in china 'we must put air quality control as an ecological red line for economic management and social development,' said china's vice premier zhang gao li, in a statement on wednesday, he announced the new policy at the 18th air pollution control conference in beijing 'air pollution control is a long, arduous and complex mission we need to highlight the control of major polluted cities and strengthen the reduction and management of various polluters,' added zhang chinese officials did not say when the first list would be announced, but the northern megacities of beijing and tianjin, as well as the surrounding provinces of hebei, shanxi, inner mongolia and shandong have signed onto an official plan to speed up air pollution control measures this past august, an official environmental assessment found these six regions to be china's most polluted 'i think the policy is a very good inspirational mechanism, especially for those cities on the 'shaming' list, so that they can work to get off the list quicker,' said huang wei, climate and energy campaigner at greenpeace china, to cnn 'however, it is not enough to rank those cities it's also important to control energy, especially coal consumption some cities didn't clarify how much they are going to reduce their coal consumption the lack of a number makes us worried that there won't be any dramatic change in terms of air quality' earlier this month, the central government said it would stop approving coal fired power plants in more heavily polluted industrial areas it also announced a national blueprint to lower the concentration of harmful particles in the air much of it caused by the burning of coal by at least 10% between 2012 and 2017 levels in heavily polluted areas, including china's north, targets will be more stringent beijing, tianjin and hebei, all signatories to this week's new air pollution control plan, aim to cut particles by 25% in southern china's pearl river delta, across the border from hong kong, the goal is 15% 'we know high ranking officials really want to tackle the (air pollution) problem but in reality how much does this help?' said sum yin kwong, ceo of the clean air network in hong kong, to cnn 'it all might be more symbolic because when you look at the regional or local level, growth is measured by gdp, not by how environmental the city has become i'm not too optimistic,' added kwong china is the world's largest consumer of coal by volume and will continue to be for years, relying on the fossil fuel for 70 80% of its energy needs, according to various experts and the world coal association much of that energy goes towards electricity for factories and for winter heating beijing says it hopes to reduce the nation's coal consumption to 65% by 2017 in comparison, australia draws about 75% of its electricity from coal, according to the australian coal association the united states generated 37% of its electricity from coal in 2012, according to the us energy information administration as people in china have grown wealthier, they have increased demands on the government for a cleaner environment this past july, a landmark study by chinese and international academics revealed that severe pollution and toxic air slashed an average of five and a half years of life expectancy for residents of northern china according to a recent greenpeace report, 83,500 people died prematurely in 2011 from respiratory diseases in shandong, inner mongolia and shanxi china's top three coal consuming provinces | china chinese beijing tianjin adb | china to name and shame top ten worst polluting cities each month . 'air quality control is ecological red line,' says chinese vice premier . beijing, tianjin, cities in northern provinces have signed plan to speed up air pollution control . seven of world's top ten most air polluted cities in china, says adb report |
(cnn) with her weight loss challenge, shape up vicksburg, linda fondren is helping her mississippi hometown banish the bulge through the group's free fitness activities and nutrition classes, vicksburg residents have lost nearly 15,000 pounds to date below are fondren's thoughts on being chosen as a top 10 cnn hero for 2010 q: where were you when you got the call that you'd been selected as a top 10 cnn hero? linda fondren: i had gathered my assistant together in my office [at my gym] to discuss the details of shape up vicksburg get healthy walk when i answered the phone and heard, 'this is cnn,' i thought, 'oh! a follow up of how things are going' it did not cross my overloaded mind about being a cnn top 10 hero but there was something different in the caller's voice my attention [was focused on] the present moment i wanted to do so much more and had been looking into grants, donations, anything to keep me going my eyes watered first as i clutched the phone a little tighter she explained something about the blue ribbon panel and said 'selected as one of the top 10' i had to contain my emotions, as my office has a glass door, so members of the gym can see me containing my excitement, i turned my chair away from the glass door and looked at the blue sky i was overjoyed, my heart sang with moments of 'thank you, thank you, thank you!' it was going pitter pat, pitter pat, but i know it's ok because i work out! q: what does it mean for the blue ribbon panel to select you as a top 10 hero? fondren: i feel like a gift has been given and i can really use it to help others who are struggling i feel like someone is paying attention, and i feel extremely honored the blue ribbon panel consists of heroes picking another hero i feel like [they] are celebrating and helping another person make a difference in the lives of many q: what do you want people to know most about your work? fondren: shape up vicksburg brought something magical to the community we learned others' life stories we planted something new in the state of mississippi that people wouldn't expect and, most importantly, we are healthier i hope that shape up vicksburg can show that we are all heroes when we are responsible we are heroes when we serve as examples and help each other | schizopodous proselytingly vibraharps | no related information |
kiev, ukraine (cnn) diplomatic wheels turned tuesday as much of the international community prepared to welcome and help support a new government in ukraine 'the united nations is committed to assist a ukrainian led, accountable and inclusive governance process, in a spirit of non violence and upholding the key principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, thereby creating a conducive environment for free and fair elections,' un spokesman martin nesirky told reporters in new york secretary general ban ki moon sent a senior adviser, robert serry, to kiev, where he met with senior officials and pledged the world body's commitment in washington, us secretary of state john kerry said us officials were 'deeply engaged in trying to help this extraordinary transition that is taking place in ukraine' in a joint news conference with british foreign secretary william hague, kerry said ukraine's alliances should not necessarily determine what happens to its people 'it is not a russia or the united states or other choices,' he said 'this is about people of ukraine and ukrainians making their choice about their future and we want to work with russia, with other countries, with everybody available to make sure this is peaceful from this day forward' their comments came as acting president oleksandr turchinov told parliament tuesday that an interim unity government in ukraine would be appointed thursday, raising the specter of continued instability here in the wake of the ouster of president viktor yanukovych at the same session, parliament voted to ask the international criminal court in the netherlands to investigate the 'illegal actions of the main members of the government' including yanukovych but the icc public affairs unit said in an e mail that it had received no communication regarding ukraine and that the icc has no jurisdiction over that country, because it is not a state party to the rome statute, the court's founding treaty in addition, it said, a state cannot ask the icc to investigate specific individuals in the parliamentary session tuesday, lawmakers also voted to hold mayoral and city council elections on may 25, concurrent with presidential elections one candidate has already been announced opposition leader and former heavyweight boxing champion vitali klitschko will run for the presidency, his press secretary oksana zinovyeva told cnn a dramatic sequence of political upheaval has unfolded in ukraine in recent days after months of anti government protests last week, bloody street clashes between demonstrators and security forces left more than 80 dead, the deadliest violence in the country since it gained independence when the soviet union collapsed 22 years ago the violence continued tuesday, when an ex presidential aide, andriy klyuev, was hospitalized after being shot in the leg, his press secretary, artem petrenko, told cnn amid the unrest, the united states has sent a team of marines to the us embassy in kiev to beef up security, an american official said the request was made by the state department and approved by the pentagon last week, parliament ousted yanukovych, the focus of protesters' anger, and authorities issued a warrant for his arrest over civilian deaths but his whereabouts were unknown lawmakers appointed turchinov to serve as acting president and fired several of yanukovych's ministers on monday, parliament named a new chief prosecutor, security service chief and central bank head those now in power in the capital face a raft of challenges: the division between the country's east and west; protesters eager for bigger changes in government; an economy riddled with corruption; and how to handle the intentions of russia, a vital supplier of natural gas and a key backer of yanukovych 'we were trapped': eyewitness to massacre in kiev leadership change the head of ukraine's electoral commission, konstantin khivrenko, said the campaign to elect a new president would begin tuesday, three months before the may 25 election date set by authorities but russia's foreign ministry criticized those elections monday, saying ukraine's parliament was acting rashly, and accused lawmakers of discriminating against ethnic russians, most of whom live in the eastern part of the country near the border with russia by excluding them from the reform process 'a course has been set for suppressing those who disagree in different regions of ukraine with methods of dictatorship and terror,' the foreign ministry said russia which pried ukraine away from the european union with a $15 billion loan in november has withdrawn that offer, and president vladimir putin's role in the formation of a new government was uncertain russia contends that yanukovych was driven out by an 'armed mutiny' of extremists and terrorists 'we have not only the internal enemies, but we have the external enemies, like russia,' member of parliament lesya orobets told cnn's christiane amanpour on tuesday from kiev 'we are afraid of military intervention, and putin is trying to find a pretext for that' russia's foreign minister has vowed not to intervene militarily, but tension is high between pro russian and pro european ukrainians clashes have broken out in the crimea region on the black sea orobets said one of ukraine's biggest challenges is getting its financial house in order 'we have to make unpopular steps, and we have to have this government taking those steps,' orobets said 'not just to have financial aid, but to have the plan of reforms to get outside of this economic crisis' 'this is not just the issue of ukraine this is the issue of the whole region's stability' winners and losers east west divide yanukovych's decision to scrap a european union trade deal in favor of one with russia prompted the protests, which began in november the country's new leaders have said kiev's return to european integration will be a priority but in doing so, they risk an end to the aid that the kremlin had bestowed on yanukovych interim finance minister yury kolobov proposed monday that an international donor conference be held within two weeks ukraine, he said, will need $35 billion in foreign assistance by the end of 2015 us treasury secretary jacob lew spoke sunday with arseniy yatsenyuk, of former prime minister yulia tymoshenko's batkivschina, or fatherland, party, and told him that once a transitional government has been established, an international monetary fund centered international aid package would have broad support, the us embassy in kiev said in a posting on its website 'secretary lew expressed that the united states, together with europe and others in the international community, are ready to supplement an imf program to cushion the impact of reforms on low income ukrainians,' it said 'however, secretary lew underscored the need to implement reforms that could be supported by an imf program' russian foreign minister sergey lavrov tuesday warned the united states and european union against turning ukraine against its neighbor 'the relationship is not always developing in constructive ways we have confirmed our position of not intervening in ukraine politics,' he said 'we hope all channels will be used to calm the situation in ukraine' lavrov said russia was working with eu officials in brussels, belgium 'it is not a good position to impose to ukraine that 'either you are with us or without us' but we hope it will become our full partner in the near future,' he added european commission president jose manuel barroso appealed tuesday 'to all our international partners, in particular russia, to work constructively with us to guarantee a united ukraine that can be a factor for stability in the european continent; a ukraine that will have good relations both with its western as with its eastern partners' 'people want to be united' yanukovych's base of support is in eastern ukraine, where russian culture and language predominate and where many people are suspicious of the europe leaning views of their counterparts in western ukraine, who were at the heart of the protests against yanukovych that filled central kiev for months yanukovych insisted in a televised address over the weekend that he was still the legitimate president but many senior ukrainian officials appeared to be turning their backs on their former leader ukrainian ambassador to the un yuriy sergeyev told cnn's christiane amanpour on monday that yanukovych and his government had 'betrayed' the ukrainian people but sergeyev said the country is not as divided as some observers suggest 'they don't want any civil war; people want to be united,' he said the old guard yanukovych's ouster was followed by the release over the weekend of tymoshenko, one of his most bitter political foes she spent 2â½ years in prison, most of it in a detention hospital she met tuesday with eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton in kiev on monday, ashton spoke with ukraine's three main opposition party leaders: yatsenyuk; klitschko of the udar party; and oleg tyahnybok, of the nationalist right wing party svoboda, or freedom tymoshenko, 53, a longtime opposition leader and ally of turchinov, has hinted she may be interested in running for the presidency she is considered a hero of the 2004 'orange revolution,' which successfully challenged the results of an election won by yanukovych but she is less well regarded for her performance as prime minister from 2007 to 2010, when she was ousted after losing to yanukovych in elections 'she was a very corrupt leader,' said julia ioffe, senior editor at the new republic 'she was part of the reason the 'orange revolution' failed' tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of abuse of authority over a natural gas deal negotiated with russia western governments said the case against her was politically motivated amid the changes now under way, those involved in the recent street protests have expressed a desire for a new, untainted generation of leaders to step forward 'a lot of people who made this revolution feel like this movement has created a lot of new leaders, a lot of young leaders that now it's their turn,' ioffe told 'cnn newsroom' over the weekend cnn's nick paton walsh reported from kiev, and tom watkins reported and wrote with jethro mullen from hong kong mick krever, karen smith, ralph ellis, azad safarov, khushbu shah and ingrid formanek contributed to this report | putin vitali klitschko turchinov thursday russian eu ukraine russia | new: putin 'is trying to find a pretext' to intervene, member of parliament says . opposition leader vitali klitschko says he will run for president . acting president turchinov delays appointing an interim unity government until thursday . russian foreign minister warns eu not to try to turn ukraine against russia |
(cnn) manchester united claimed a controversial 2 0 victory at home to tottenham on saturday night to keep up the pressure on english premier league leaders chelsea united stayed within five points of the defending champions, who came from behind to beat blackburn 2 1 earlier in the day, following a bizarre incident late in the match at old trafford nani was allowed to put the ball into the tottenham net while goalkeeper heurelho gomes was trying to take a free kick, after the portugal midfielder handled when he went down having vainly claimed a penalty the linesman instantly flagged, but referee mark clattenburg over ruled him and awarded united a second goal to the fury of the visiting team who have been on the wrong side of several controversial decisions at old trafford in the past decade united boss alex ferguson said nani had correctly played to the whistle 'nani looked back and looked at the referee, and the referee said play on, so what can he do but put the ball in the net,' ferguson said 'you can look at the referee and look at the linesmen and blame them, but the goalkeeper should know better he's an experienced goalkeeper i thought he made a mess of it 'i thought it was a penalty first of all and i think nani felt he handled the ball but the referee didn't blow for it' fifth placed tottenham extended their historically dreadful run at united's home ground to 21 years without a victory, but had been in the match until the 84th minute incident park ji sung hit the base of the spurs post in the eighth minute, but dutch midfielder rafael van der vaart rattled his compatriot edwin van der sar's woodwork with an even more spectacular effort just after the half hour mark a day after the goalkeeper's 40th birthday united took the lead five minutes later as tottenham paid for poor defending, with serbia center back nemanja vidic stealing in unmarked to head home nani's curling free kick van der sar then did well to keep out a fierce shot from luka modric, but tottenham lacked the potency to equalize despite their smooth passing game, with boss harry redknapp bringing on roman pavlyuchenko and peter crouch to replace robbie keane and van der vaart chelsea, still missing injured england midfielder frank lampard, needed an 84th minute winner from branislav ivanovic to see off blackburn, who earlier in the week announced the club is poised to be the first in the premier league to have indian owners zimbabwean striker benjani mwaruwari had headed a 21st minute opener for his first goal for rovers, from el hadji diouf's cross, but former france striker nicolas anelka leveled three minutes before the break after didier drogba nodded down florent malouda's cross blackburn could have led again in the 81st minute but striker jason roberts missed a golden chance, and the londoners immediately pounced for the winner as serbian defender ivanovic headed home yuri zhirkov's cross 'blackburn could have scored before our goal and we were a little bit lucky,' chelsea coach carlo ancelotti told reporters 'to win here was important because they were better we were not great again blackburn put us under some pressure and we were not able to play our football' arsenal claimed second place on goal difference above manchester united after snatching victory at home to bottom club west ham, with alex song heading a late winner following an end to end london derby france midfielder samir nasri hit the crossbar with a long range free kick and england winger theo walcott struck the post after coming on as a substitute, while former england goalkeeper robert green kept the visitors in the game with a series of fine saves but cameroon international song finally broke the deadlock with two minutes to play with a diving effort from fullback gael clichy's cross arsenal manager arsene wenger told reporters that captain cesc fabregas should be available for wednesday's champions league trip to ukraine's shakhtar donetsk despite suffering a hamstring twinge however, manchester city's hopes of a first league crown since 1968 were dented by a second successive defeat, this time at lowly wolverhampton, which left the club eight points behind chelsea beaten 3 0 by arsenal last weekend, city went ahead in the 23rd minute with a penalty from emmanuel adebayor who was partnered up front by mario balotelli in the absence of injured captain carlos tevez but serbia midfielder nenad milijas equalized on half an hour and david edwards who headed against the post in the first period gave wolves a first win since the opening day of the season with a 57th minute strike but wolves remained second from bottom on goal difference below liverpool, who travel to bolton sunday everton moved up to seventh place with a 1 0 win at home to stoke city, with nigeria striker yakubu scoring his first goal since april in the 67th minute fulham climbed to eighth with a 2 0 victory against wigan, with us international clint dempsey netting both goals in the first half for the home side | manchester united third fifth tottenham second nani chelsea blackburn arsenal west ham | manchester united third on goal difference after beating fifth placed tottenham 2 0 . win marred by late controversy surrounding second goal scored by nani . chelsea earlier maintained five point lead with 2 1 victory away to blackburn . arsenal claim second place after snatching late 1 0 win at bottom side west ham |
washington (cnn) some marine corps families, mourning a son or daughter killed in action, received an unexpected surprise for the holidays: an ornament of the purple heart, a letter addressed to their fallen hero and even information about athletic reconditioning the marine corps was apologizing tuesday for sending the packages to families of the fallen instead of the marines wounded in action but still alive 'there are no words to express how very sorry we are for the hurt such a mistake has caused the families of our fallen warriors,' said col john l mayer, commanding officer of the marines wounded warrior regiment 'we always strive to honor the sacrifices these marines, sailors and their families gave to this country' mayer, alerted to the problem when families began phoning in monday, said there was no excuse for what happened 'we accept full responsibility for this error and are moving quickly to reach out to the families we have affected,' he said in a statement 'this initiative was meant to thank combat wounded marines and sailors for their service' mayer is calling some of the families who telephoned after they received the packages in error and all will receive a letter of apology more than 9,000 were sent out, but 1,150 went out to families of the marines who had died | marines | families of fallen marines received packages meant for injured veterans . the parcels offered information about athletic reconditioning . wounded warrior commander: 'we accept full responsibility for this error'. 1,150 packages went to families of marines who had died |
(cnn) president barack obama said he is not seeking 'regime change' in syria military action in syria, he said this weekend as he sought congressional approval, will be limited these assurances are meant to reassure those who fear a repeat of iraq but the idea of a limited intervention is an illusion once the united states becomes directly involved in syria, there can be no turning back the purpose of limited strikes would be to convey a message to bashar al assad: don't use chemical weapons but a us attack could potentially widen, rather than halt, the use of chemical weapons in syria syria, as a united entity, exists today only on the map on the ground, competing interests have fractured the country no party can claim to represent even a modest plurality of syrians, and no power can claim authority over a majority of the territory but a formidable arab state exists in damascus, and the numerous forces striving to seize it or bring about its demise are so hopelessly riven internally that they cannot possibly win without external support for more than two years now, they have attempted to incite western intervention by exhibiting evidence of the assad government's brutality is it 'high noon' for obama on syria? by intervening now to inflict limited punishment on al assad because chemical weapons have been used, the united states is erecting a precedent that could be exploited in the future by the more unscrupulous factions of the opposition looking to provoke further interventions the knowledge that washington will intervene if chemical weapons are used could create an incentive for their re use by those who would benefit from such an intervention by seemingly spurning meticulous multilateral investigations led by the united nations in a rush to fix the blame on al assad, the united states is signaling also that, in its opinion, only the regime is capable of carrying out large scale chemical attacks this template will produce deadly temptations as the novelist amitav ghosh, who spent long years studying insurgencies in asia, has observed, in civil conflicts 'the very prospect of intervention' often becomes a stimulus for the 'the escalation of violence' by the weaker side if limited use of chemical weapons can succeed in drawing the united states into the conflict in a way that 100,000 deaths by conventional arms could not, they could be viewed by al assad's adversaries particularly by the foreign fighters affiliated with al qaeda as a blessing rather than a scourge the effort to 'liberate' syria could become dependent for its success on the partial annihilation of syrians with chemical weapons since they are the only agents of murder that can trigger a us reaction we cannot be certain about the security of the chemical weapon stockpiles in the syrian government's custody its power structure has so far remained largely intact, but, as last year's suicide bombing in damascus that killed al assad's inner circle and maimed his brother demonstrated, the regime is not impregnable syria vote could have consequences for 2016 in a land shattered by war, loyalties are constantly shifting and obtaining fatal nerve agents may not be tremendously difficult in 1995, for example, an obscure japanese cult called aum shinrikyo managed to kill 13 passengers on the tokyo subway by releasing sarin gas developed from commercially available chemicals so what will the united states do the next time chemical weapons are used in syria? more than 1,000 deaths are prompting the united states despite the absence of conclusive evidence linking the assad regime to the crime to intervene can it refuse to live up to its own precedent if 10,000 syrians were killed in a fresh massacre after obama's 'limited' intervention has concluded? won't the voices that are now so stridently opposing patient investigations and diplomacy in favor of military action amplify their demands? but a deeper military involvement will be so self wounding as to be suicidal syria has become a catchment for foreign fighters from more than 60 countries their ambition is not simply to defeat al assad it is to establish a theocratic state in the most resolutely secular corner of the arab world it is the rise of these jihadists that has compelled syria's secularists and religious minorities, who at the beginning of the uprising in 2011 had marched alongside the opposition, to return to al assad's fold to rid syria of al assad's dictatorship and prevent it from falling into the hands of jihadists who are cut from the same ideological cloth as the men who drove the planes into the world trade center on september 11, 2001, the united states may have to commit itself to syria for more than a decade fighting the jihadists, subduing al assad and his allies in hezbollah, protecting israel and preserving lebanon's fragile peace after afghanistan and iraq, is there an appetite for such an enterprise anywhere? military has concerns about syria mission intervening in syria will perhaps pacify obama's conscience but in syria, there's every chance that it will escalate the conflict ultimately tantalizing the losing side in the syrian civil war with a brief, punitive, 'limited' entry on its behalf will only hasten the creation of conditions that will eventually suck america back into the conflict the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of kapil komireddi | bardesanist salm hepatogenic | no related information |
(cnn) kendrick johnson, the teenager whose body was found rolled in a wrestling mat in a south georgia high school in january died from blows to the neck and elsewhere, not from accidental suffocation, a newly released, independent autopsy report says the report, obtained exclusively by cnn, directly contradicts the finding of an autopsy conducted by the georgia bureau of investigation that determined johnson's death was the result of 'positional asphyxia' the lowndes county sheriff's office determined it was accidental the new report blames 'unexplained, apparent non accidental, blunt force trauma' johnson, 17, was found january 11 in a rolled wrestling mat in a lowndes county high school gym in valdosta inconsistencies in the initial official reports on the condition of johnson's body led the family and community to question the ruling on the cause of death the family's attorney, chevene king, has sent the independent autopsy report to the us department of justice's civil rights division, the georgia bureau of investigation, the us attorney for georgia's middle district and the lowndes county coroner for review the coroner has the power to call an inquest, a process that resembles a grand jury proceeding after reviewing evidence and testimony, a jury would decide the cause of death, although the findings alone would have no civil or criminal consequences 'coroner's inquests are not something you do every day i cannot tell you the last time a coroner's inquest was done in this office,' lowndes county coroner bill watson told cnn 'i want to do the right thing by the people and the county and all concerned, i'm just not sure we have enough information,' he said 'i'm not about to refute anybody's findings because i'm not a doctor' on may 1, a judge granted the johnsons' request to exhume their son's body for the purposes of a conducting an independent autopsy at their expense that autopsy, conducted june 15, found blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues 'consistent with inflicted injury' that supports the narrative of the initial patient care report, written january 11, the day johnson's body was discovered, citing 'bruising noted to the right side jaw' however, the january 25 report by the valdosta lowndes county regional crime laboratory cited 'no signs of blunt force trauma on johnson's face or body' the may 5 autopsy completed by the georgia bureau of investigation identified 'no significant injuries' a spokesperson for the georgia bureau of investigation told cnn it stands by its report after reviewing the findings of the independent autopsy us attorney michael moore said his office has been 'working on this for some time i'm sure at the appropriate time i'll speak with his pathologist' moore is reviewing the case but has not launched a formal investigation 'there are some members of the community that question the result i want to make sure members of the community and the family and everyone involved has confidence in my work and my decision,' moore told cnn there was no immediate response to cnn's request for comment from the justice department's civil rights division the johnsons' attorney told cnn he will respond at a later date | kendrick johnson lowndes county johnson | kendrick johnson was found dead in a wrestling mat in a lowndes county school . a newly released independent report says he died from being hit . the official determination was that johnson had accidentally suffocated . coroner: 'i'm just not sure we have enough information' for an inquest |
seoul, south korea (cnn) asiana airlines says it will proceed with its planned lawsuit against an oakland, california, television station, but it's not going to pursue legal action against the national transportation safety board over the weekend, the korean airline had said it would sue both entities after an intern at the ntsb mistakenly confirmed 'inaccurate and offensive' names as those of the pilots of flight 214, which crash landed nine days ago at san francisco international airport the bogus names that phonetically spelled out phrases such as 'something wrong' and 'we too low' were read during ktvu's noon broadcast friday the airline called the report 'demeaning' and said it was 'reviewing possible legal action' on monday morning, the airline seemed to have a partial change of heart, at least concerning the ntsb airline spokesman na chul hee said asiana has retained a us law firm to file a defamation claim against the tv station but, he said, the company didn't have plans to file a separate suit against the ntsb 'after a legal review, the company decided to file a lawsuit against the network because it was their report that resulted in damaging the company's image,' he said ktvu anchor tori campbell read the names friday the news station, a cnn affiliate, later apologized on air and on its website 'we sincerely regret the error and took immediate action to apologize, both in the newscast where the mistake occurred, as well as on our website and social media sites,' according to tom raponi, ktvu/kicu vice president and general manager 'nothing is more important to us than having the highest level of accuracy and integrity, and we are reviewing our procedures to ensure this type of error does not happen again' the key to a defamation case is to determine whether what was said damages an entity's reputation and causes injury, and what care was taken, if any, to prevent that, said ken paulson, president of the first amendment center and the dean of the college of mass communication at middle tennessee state university 'it's very difficult to conceive of a defamation suit prevailing here,' he told cnn 'everyone who heard this understood it was a prank and as ludicrous as the report was, at least the news station made a call to try to check' ktvu said the names it gave were confirmed by an ntsb official in washington before they were aired the ntsb apologized for the 'inaccurate and offensive' names, which it said were erroneously confirmed by a summer intern a government official with knowledge of the situation said monday the intern is no longer with the agency 'earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft,' the ntsb said friday in a statement paulson notes that the real names of pilots were not given in the news report 'where is the real damage? yes, it was tasteless and undoubtedly it caused some short term emotional distress, but nothing that rises to the level of litigation,' he said ntsb: 2 asiana pilots call for landing to be aborted it was not immediately clear who produced the fake names, but the ntsb said it was not the intern 'the names were presented, by the station, to the intern for confirmation,' ntsb spokeswoman kelly nantel said 'the intern did not make up the names and provide them to the station' the ntsb said it does not release or confirm the identities of crew members or other people involved in transportation accidents 'we work hard to ensure that only appropriate factual information regarding an investigation is released and deeply regret today's incident,' the ntsb statement said the ntsb did not identify the intern, but said, 'appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated' asiana identified the pilot at the controls of the boeing 777 that undershot its approach and clipped a seawall before crash landing on the runway as lee kang kuk there were two other pilots in the cockpit at the time of the accident asiana flight 214 was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members when it crash landed on july 6 on the runway after striking a seawall three passengers died, including a girl who died of her injuries friday morning more than 180 others were injured did asiana pilot have enough 777 experience? cnn's ashley fantz in atlanta and aaron cooper in washington contributed reporting | ntsb asiana ktvu the national transportation safety board us | new: the intern is no longer with the ntsb . earlier, asiana said it would sue ktvu and the national transportation safety board . 'it's very difficult to conceive of a defamation suit prevailing here,' expert says . the airline says it has retained a us law firm |
(cnn) venezuelan president hugo chavez said wednesday he is cutting all ties with colombia as long as alvaro uribe remains its president colombian president alvaro uribe withdrew his support for the venezuelan leader's mediation efforts with the farc 'i say before the world, while president uribe is president of colombia, i will not have any type of relation with him or with the government of colombia,' chavez said in an address broadcast on national television 'i can't, i can't, i can't' chavez noted that uribe had asked him to help secure the release of hundreds of hostages being held by the leftist rebel group armed revolutionary front of colombia (farc) and the national liberation army (eln) 'i went with my heart in my hand, and i was ready,' chavez told a group of supporters in the southwestern state of tachira 'i was prepared to go to the most dangerous forest in the country to help' but last thursday, uribe ended chavez's participation, citing his direct communication with uribe's top general, a move that uribe said broke protocol 'when we were at the point of succeeding, uribe comes and, without telling me anything, he didn't even call me on the phone or send me an emissary, just sent me a letter saying he was ending my mission,' chavez said 'that was a kick' without being specific, chavez accused uribe of having lied 'that's real ugly,' he said chavez also accused uribe of having bowed to pressure from washington 'to get rid of chavez' but the firebrand venezuelan president, who has called us president george w bush 'the devil,' said his arms are open to the colombian people e mail to a friend | snithe rhombencephalon nonprogressive | no related information |
editor's note: ann curley is the assignment manager for the cnn medical news unit she has been a type i diabetic for 40 years this is her story of life with diabetes ann curley uses a pump attached to a catheter in her body to monitor glucose levels and administer insulin (cnn) when i was 7 years old, my mom took me to the doctor because i had lost a lot of weight, despite a voracious appetite my family had just moved from the san francisco bay area to pasadena, california, and this visit to the doctor's office was my introduction to a man who would come to have a huge impact on my life his name was dr robert deputy, and he was the pediatrician who diagnosed me with diabetes he spoke to me directly, rather than to my mother, and he asked me questions: did i feel thirsty? did i need to urinate during the night? the answer to both questions was yes he asked for a urine sample and the result was immediate dr deputy told me and my mother that my body wasn't processing sugar properly i had diabetes that is how my 40 year journey with diabetes began i was checked into a hospital to learn how to test my urine for sugar, give myself injections of insulin, follow a diabetic diet and control my diabetes i spent several days in the hospital learning how to manage my disease, and then they sent me home dr deputy would call our house each afternoon to check on me and see how i was doing much to my parents' chagrin and to my delight he wanted me to be self sufficient and responsible for monitoring myself i refused to let my parents give me injections or test my urine this demand for self sufficiency turned out to be one of my best life lessons, and not just for managing my diabetes while some diabetics may feel their disease is a burden, i feel that being diagnosed with diabetes was a blessing in disguise it forced our family to eat healthily, and it taught me about good nutrition something i practice every day i know carbohydrate counts in most foods, and i understand dietary concepts that most people don't even care about being active is also a way to burn off high blood sugar, so when my urine tested positive for glucose, my older sister robin was in charge of exercising me we had countless jump rope contests, bike rides and roller skating excursions, keeping me and my three sisters active and fit and i felt like a little mad scientist, using a test tube with drops of water, urine and fizzy tablets to see if there was sugar in my urine fortunately, over time, technology improved first, test strips were developed that could be dipped in urine to reveal whether sugar was present in it but the truth is, testing urine for sugar was a primitive method by the time sugar gets into the urine, it's a signal that the body doesn't have enough insulin to process sugar and the urine test didn't give an actual number for the amount of sugar in the urine it simply gave a color reading that corresponded with a range of how much sugar was present in the urine inaccurate was really an understatement when you talk about urine testing home blood glucose testing kits became available in the early 1980s, and they were a huge move toward precise control and management of diabetes with the kit, the diabetic uses a device to poke a finger and produce a drop of blood the blood is placed on a test strip that fits into a device that produces a reading of the blood glucose within seconds while i initially balked at the idea of pricking my finger several times a day, now i can't imagine not doing it in order to monitor what my blood sugar is doing the 1980s also saw the advent of the insulin pump this device is the size of a pager and contains a reservoir filled with insulin the reservoir connects to a tube that infuses the insulin into the body with a tiny plastic shunt so rather than taking multiple injections to mimic the body's insulin patterns, the pump drips insulin into the body to keep blood sugars constant, then gives extra amounts with meals another life altering development in diabetes, which i have discovered in the last year, is the continuous glucose monitor, or cgm this is a small device inserted into the tissue usually the abdomen, hip or leg and it has a tiny sensor that reads the glucose level of the body's fluids the data is transmitted to a receiver, and patients can see a constant reading of their blood sugar levels i have participated in clinical trials for three different cgm devices, and i found them all to be quite accurate some sensors transmit data directly to an insulin pump, so you can use the reading to adjust and fine tune the amount of insulin being pumped into the body the patient still has to test his or her blood sugar to confirm the sensor is properly calibrated, but it's amazing to be able to see constant readings and graphs of what your blood sugar is doing and better manage blood sugars cgm technology is a step toward the ultimate goal of controlling type i diabetes using what's called a 'closed loop system' this means diabetics someday will be able to wear a pump that gathers data from a sensor so precise that the pump can be programmed to act on its own and make adjustments all by itself the current systems are 'open looped,' meaning the diabetic controls when the doses are given the goal is to eventually create a pump that is more like a robotic delivery system, and all the patient has to do is wear it once that technology is perfected, this type of device would be implanted, which would be the next best thing to not having diabetes i mentioned to my sister robin that i had tracked down dr deputy for this article she told me something i didn't know when i was 7 forty years ago, before the advent of all of the cool diabetes technology such as insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors and blood sugar testing, parents were given a fairly grim prediction for how their child would fare dr deputy told my parents that i would probably only live to the age of 20 or 30, which apparently but not surprisingly had the whole family freaked out i spoke with dr deputy, who recently retired from his pediatric practice, and he seemed to remember me when i asked him about his dismal prognosis for my survival, he said sadly, 'at that time, that was what we told parents back then everything changes with time diabetes, leukemia technology has changed with the pump and the equipment' i think he was relieved that his prognosis was wrong i know that i certainly am in fact, i am hoping to live another 40 years! e mail to a friend | cnn medical unit ann curley | cnn medical unit assignment manager ann curley is a type i diabetic . she learned she had diabetes when she was 7 years old . testing progressed from fizzy tablets in urine to continuous glucose monitors . with changes in technology have come improvements in prognoses |
(cnn) between the presidential candidates and congressional races, at least $42 billion may have been spent on an election that ultimately ended up preserving the status quo in washington voters elected the same president and the same political parties the republicans in the house and the democrats in the senate will run congress did all that record spending really matter? at the presidential level, maybe not so much partial totals of what was spent so far show that between the candidate, his party and well heeled outside groups, the 'red team' spent more money on the effort to elect republican mitt romney than the 'blue team' did to re elect president barack obama, according to an analysis by the center for responsive politics, a nonpartisan group that monitors the influence of money on politics combined, the candidate, the national party, and outside spending groups, like conservative issue oriented nonprofits and super pacs, had spent more than $1 billion on romney's effort the liberal version of that combination of groups spent about $96 million less on the obama re election that number will change once the final accounting is completed there was a ton of last minute spending on attack ads and get out the vote efforts however, the obama campaign raised almost twice as much as the romney camp business group blows $29 million on election losers 'i'd be surprised if he left anything in the bank,' said bill allison, editorial director at the sunlight foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for greater government transparency no matter who spent more, allison worries that the amount of money involved in this election will dramatically change politics 'i think the most worrisome thing is that this is the first billion dollar plus presidential campaign, so what this means is this amount will become the benchmark,' allison said 'if you want to be a serious contender in the future, you will have to have those kind of resources and it gives an outsized role then to the outside groups who are able to raise unlimited funds' difference seen in congressional races allison believes money may have made the most difference in congressional races it seemed to have played a particularly big role when interests outside of a candidate's state got involved the center for responsive politics estimates that outside groups spent some $13 billion and counting on the election in 2008, they only spent $2627 million the difference this time was mainly due to a landmark court ruling two years ago that effectively permitted a sharp increase in outside spending, especially by corporations and unions 'at the presidential level, candidates are able to raise enough money to get their message out and drive their own narrative,' allison said 'down the ballot though, where you've got outside groups dumping $500,000 into a race and the opposition doesn't have the cash on hand to compete, that could make a real difference' in a cnn analysis of spending in a dozen key senate races, most of the candidates who won spent the most money one senate race that saw record amounts of outside money was in wisconsin senator herb kohl, a democrat who had held his seat since 1989, decided to retire this year both candidates who ran for his seat had strong name recognition in wisconsin american crossroads defends campaign spending to donors democrat tammy baldwin served seven terms in the us house she is well known nationally as the first publicly out lesbian to be elected to federal office her republican opponent, tommy thompson, was a popular wisconsin governor before becoming health secretary in the administration of george w bush after winning a bruising republican primary, thompson was seen as an early favorite partly because wisconsin has recently leaned much more 'red' in august, thompson had a nine point lead in the polls, but baldwin had fully turned the tables by the end of september thompson rallied and by election day, the race was too close to call the primary had left thompson cash poor while baldwin was able to outpace him in fundraising she spent virtually all of it $116 million as of the october reporting deadline thompson raised $736 million and spent $604 million, according to the center for responsive politics outside groups, super pacs spent more outside groups spent even more on the race than did the campaigns super pacs and special interest groups spent some $189 million on efforts opposing thompson and only $26 million in support of him the groups spent $155 million against baldwin, $12 million for her the biggest outside group that tried to hurt baldwin's chances created a slew of negative ads in them, republican operative karl rove's group, crossroads gps, called baldwin a 'rubber stamp' for the president, who was 'too extreme' for the state crossroads gps spent more than $6 million on this race, but lost 'you have to keep in mind though candidates don't win elections just because they spend more,' allison said 'a win is also based on how effectively a candidate spends their money and on just how effective a campaigner the candidate is' analysis: it's never too early to talk about 2016 in the senate race in indiana, for instance, republican richard mourdock outspent democratic opponent joe donnelley by about $7 million but mourdock lost mourdock ran a strong race, but took a hit in the polls when, at a debate, he made a controversial remark about rape and abortion in wisconsin, thompson's campaign also hit a few bumps along the way a low point may have been when thompson's son told an audience, 'we have the opportunity to send president obama back to chicago, or kenya' he later apologized for the remarks while the race remained tight throughout election night, baldwin defeated thompson 51% to 46% baldwin will become the first female senator to represent wisconsin and the nation's first openly gay person to win a senate seat 'i didn't run to make history,' baldwin said in her acceptance speech 'i ran to make a difference' it looks like the money she spent on the race may have made a difference, too | nonsequestered honorable comeupance | no related information |
(ewcom) nostalgia has been digitized in 'wreck it ralph's' byte size universe of arcade games, a pixelated panoply of characters (both copyrighted and made up) commingle each day after the final quarter has been dropped but for ralph, the bulldozer handed villain of the 1980s arcade relic fix it felix jr, life isn't all power ups and extra lives an 8 bit brute with a heart of gold, ralph (voiced with hangdog perfection by john c reilly) escapes his game on a quest to prove to the world that there's more to him than just being bad as the well meaning fix it felix jr (jack mcbrayer) and a rough and tumble space soldier (jane lynch) pursue him, ralph ends up in 'sugar rush,' a racing game set in a confectionary wonderland of cotton candy clouds, peppermint forests, and innumerable dessert puns of varying tastiness 'survivor' recap: malcolm's dirty laundry there, he encounters a young racer named vanellope (sarah silverman) whose glitchy nature invites the ire of the crazed ed wynn soundalike king candy (alan tudyk) mark hamill weighs in on the future of 'star wars' the story itself risks getting overly sweet at this point, but miraculously it never melts into a syrupy wash there are more videogame cameos and winks than you can shake a wiimote at — even the konami code, the gamer's paternoster, makes an appearance — but the real success of the film is its emotional core and the relationship between the two misfits it doesn't quite carry the heft of 'toy story,' but there's a lot of heart packed into these zeroes and ones b+ see the original article at ewcom click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc all rights reserved | wreck it ralph's ralph john c reilly | 'wreck it ralph's' ralph is voiced with hangdog perfection by john c reilly . the story itself risks getting overly sweet at this point, but miraculously it never melts into a syrupy wash . there are more videogame cameos and winks than you can shake a wiimote at |
(cnn) the international olympic committee has stripped american cyclist tyler hamilton of his 2004 gold due to doping and ordered him to return the medal that he won in the athens olympics 'hamilton, 41, who finished first in the men's individual time trial and 18th in the men's road race at athens 2004, was disqualified from those events after he admitted to having used performance enhancing drugs in advance of the games,' the ioc said in a press release friday the ioc also ruled that the riders who finished behind hamilton in the individual time trial in athens will now be moved up in placement that means russian ekimov viatcheslav ekimov will now get the gold medal, and american cyclist bobby julich will get the silver michael rogers of australia, who finished fourth, will now get the bronze hamilton made headlines last year when he accused fellow american cyclist lance armstrong of doping armstrong, hamilton's former teammate, has strongly denied those allegations london 2012: the women's olympics? the highs and lows of the 2012 olympic 'crying games' complete coverage: 2012 olympic games | ioc tyler hamilton the 2004 games hamilton athens lance armstrong armstrong | ioc: tyler hamilton admitted to using performance enhancing drugs before the 2004 games . the ioc says riders who finished behind hamilton in athens will now be moved up . hamilton has accused lance armstrong of doping; armstrong strongly denied the allegations |
huntington, utah (cnn) rescuers trying to find six miners will begin boring a sixth hole down into utah's crandall canyon mine friday, and the search will stop if no signs of life are found, the coal mine's co owner said bob murray, ceo of murray energy corp, says he is hurt by criticism he did not do enough to find the miners 'this is the last hole,' bob murray, ceo of murray energy, said wednesday evening 'if we don't find anybody alive in that hole, there's nowhere else that anyone would know where to drill' murray said work on the sixth hole, which will go down into the area where the miners were known to be working when the mine collapsed august 6, should be completed by saturday however, he expressed little optimism that the effort would be successful, saying it was 'totally unlikely' any signs of the miners will be found murray also said that he has already filed paperwork with federal regulators to permanently close and seal the utah mine 'i will never come back to that evil mountain,' he said earlier wednesday, a fifth hole drilled down into the mine found just six inches of open space left between the roof and rubble in an 8 foot high tunnel, said jack kuzar, a district manager with the federal mine safety and health administration kuzar said the fifth hole would be tested for oxygen, and a camera may be lowered down the shaft, although the small amount of space may limit its usefulness cameras lowered into previous holes drilled into the mountain turned up no signs of the miners, and tests showed that oxygen levels in parts of the mine were too low to sustain human life watch how the safety record at murray's mines stacks up » an effort to send rescuers through the collapsed mine tunnel to attempt an underground rescue was suspended last week, after a new cave in killed three rescuers and injured six others a panel of experts brought in to examine the mine after the second collapse determined that it was too unstable to resume the underground rescue both the mine owners and federal officials also ruled out trying to find the miners by lowering rescuers in a capsule through a hole drilled down into the mine, saying the dangerous maneuver wasn't justified absent any signs of life the news was a blow to the family members of the missing miners, who have been holding out hope for a miracle and criticized murray for not at least trying the rescue capsule signs reading 'bring them home' and 'bob murray keep your promise' were posted overnight at the rescuers' command post kuzar said he met with the miners' families wednesday, 'and they're holding up very well' 'they're very strong people,' he said earlier wednesday, in an interview with cnn, murray said plans were under way to establish a memorial for the missing miners at the site after the mine is closed 'we're already discussing how we might go about to honor the trapped miners and make this a site for perpetuity,' he said friends and family have identified the six missing miners as luis hernandez, manuel sanchez, kerry allred, carlos payan, brandon phillips and don erickson e mail to a friend | sixth friday bob murray wednesday fifth | a sixth and final bore hole will be drilled starting friday . mine co owner bob murray discussing how to honor miners 'for perpetuity'. wednesday rescuers completed boring a fifth hole in the mine |
(cnn) my grandfather jacques yves cousteau shared with me many stories about the united nations earth summit in 1992 and the sense of hope that surrounded it i have kept a copy of the speech he made there on june 5th outlining his concerns for the future of humankind the insight it provides now, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of that historic event, is particularly poignant chief amongst those concerns was the issue of population, and how it directly relates to women and education to be clear, my grandfather was not a proponent of draconian policies restricting birth rates or depriving people of their right to have children while growing up, i heard his constant refrain that the key to solving the population crisis is to empower women as he pointed out in his 1992 speech: 'in all the countries with an excessive birth rate, women are segregated, deprived of appropriate health care; the rate of illiteracy among women is one third higher than for men' my grandfather believed that when women are empowered socially, economically and given access to family planning and general education, the birth rate drops he was not alone; the rise of the micro credit movement and the success of organizations such as the grameen bank have radically changed the way a woman's role is viewed in communities around the world see also: can rio +20 solve the world's environmental problems? as abulkalam abdul momen, vice president of the united nations economic and social council pointed out during a 2011 meeting of the council: 'educated women are better able to plan their families and are more aware of employment, schooling and health opportunities for themselves and their children on a wider level, fewer children in a society mean that more resources are available to every individual child' why do jacques cousteau's words continue to resonate today? since 1992, the global population has increased from 56 billion people to approximately 7 billion in 2012, and is expected to balloon to 95 billion by 2050 like too many people packed into a vault with an ever dwindling oxygen supply, this drastic growth still presents unprecedented problems for the global community as we continue to consume natural resources and emit pollution at a staggering rate for example, just to keep pace with current population growth, it is estimated that food production will have to increase 70% by 2050 the lack of access to clean, potable water is still the number one killer of children under five years of age, and the united nations estimates that without concrete action to solve the world's water crisis, billions more people will lack access to clean water by the middle of the century see also: earth summit timeline add to that the effects of climate change, ocean acidification, dwindling biodiversity and collapsing global fish stocks, and the magnitude of the problem comes into dismal focus now, from june 20 22, 2012, leaders from around the world will gather again in brazil for the united nations conference on sustainable development, or rio+20 as it is often called there is no doubt that this conference comes at a difficult time; a time when the world economy is in crisis and global political action is particularly halting, especially and embarrassingly in the united states thanks to vitriolic partisan battles over any environmental legislation as well as the failure to enact even basic carbon cutting initiatives nevertheless i believe that there are still grounds for hope because while the challenges we face are even more urgent than in 1992, the growing chorus of voices supporting sustainable practices in the private sector, the growing prominence and respect for women in countries around the world and the general willingness to face the realities of carbon pollution are cause for cautious optimism we must never stop fighting for a better world as my grandfather said in his closing remarks: 'i wish that at this rio conference, heads of state and their delegates realize the urgency of drastic, unconventional decisions the people of the world are anxiously awaiting a new light' now, almost 20 years later, humanity stands on the edge of a knife that becomes sharper with each passing day we must act boldly and courageously to build a world that realizes the simple birthright of every child to live in a world where they can breathe fresh air, drink clean water, and walk on green grass under a blue sky the silent cries of future generations demand it the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of philippe cousteau | philippe cousteau's jacques first earth summit rio cousteau | philippe cousteau's grandfather jacques was at first earth summit in rio in 1992 . cousteau says empowerment and education of women is key to achieving rio+20 summit goals . rising global population combined with changing climate puts 'humanity on the edge of a knife' says cousteau |
(cnn) loathed by most, loved by virtually none, battlefield cuisine has left an indelible mark on the taste buds of american troops and it's not a good one marines eat their mres in a burned out hotel in haqlaniyah, iraq, in 2006 'meals rejected by everyone' is a popular nickname for mres, which stands for meals ready to eat, those brownish polymer pouches filled with precooked food and snacks while mres provide food when there's no way to make it to the mess hall, they are no substitutes for what troops crave 'they really want pizza and beer,' says judith aylward, senior food technologist at the us army soldier systems center in natick, massachusetts she and a team of food technicians are working hard to improve the quality and the taste of combat food and while they haven't been able to give servicemen and women everything they desire, troops are eating a variety of foods far more appetizing than the canned c rations of world war ii, korea and vietnam explore the history of us combat rations » soldiers now dine on penne pasta with vegetarian sausage in spicy tomato sauce, chicken breast fillet and boneless pork rib 'i like to eat the chicken breast when on the move because it does not have any gravy, so it will not spill all over and make a mess, and it fills you up,' said army staff sgt joel klein, of st petersburg, florida, who served in iraq klein is currently stationed at fort benning in columbus, georgia the beef patty is also a favorite, aylward says 'it comes with two slices of wheat snack bread, and we include a package of cheese and bbq sauce so they can feel like they are eating at mcdonald's' while perennial favorites like spaghetti and beef stew please most palates, old classics have fallen out of favor like chicken a la king, affectionately called by some chicken a la death other entrees just never catch on 'we had a tuna noodle casserole the troops really didn't like it,' she says 'my least favorite is the cheese omelet with vegetables,' says fort benning pvt antonio kinslow, from macon, georgia klein's least favorite is also the omelet watch as civilians taste mres » opening up a case of today's mres is a lot like walking into a mall food court, says stephen moody, team leader for the individual combat ration team there are 24 mre menus, and italian, mexican and vegetarian meals are represented whenever possible, familiar commercial items like m&ms and tabasco are tossed in a taste of home that boosts morale, aylward says find out what's in an mre » troops enjoy mixing and matching mre items, creating their own culinary recipes 'peanut butter + crackers + coffee + sugar + creamer + coco base powder (crush it all up and mix in a little water) = instant joy,' according to 1st sgt donel hagelin, from fayetteville, north carolina hagelin is also based at fort benning and served in iraq and afghanistan the flexible pouch based meals have been around for more than 20 years in the early 1980s, the military replaced the c ration with the mre, a 1,200 to 1,300 calorie entree meal with snacks, spreads and a dessert and it's a hot meal just place the entree in the flameless ration heater bag, add water, and a chemical reaction warms the food in 10 minutes troops can enjoy a hot cup of coffee with the included plastic zippered hot beverage bag 'all items in the mre are useful, from the matches to the toilet paper,' hagelin says mres are considered restricted rations food eaten when regular meal services cannot be provided they are meant to be eaten for up to 21 days and have a three year shelf life 'there are a lot of great commercial items where if we only needed six months [of shelf life], we could just go down to the kroger or the safeway and grab what's popular, but there aren't a whole lot of things on the shelf that last for three years at 80 degrees fahrenheit,' moody says the military uses the three year shelf life to maintain its 'war reserves' there are millions of cases of mres positioned around the world at any given time for contingencies, he explains sometimes, the military needs something more practical than the mre during intense combat operations, troops don't have time to heat an mre, and they don't have the space to carry nine of them, enough food for a typical 72 hour mission to give troops something to eat on the go, the team at natick came up with the first strike ration, or fsr pocket sandwiches and snack food that can be eaten throughout the day one fsr has 3,600 to 3,900 calories and is packed with energy boosters like nutrition bars, electrolyte beverages and caffeinated gum one fsr is equal to three mres moody says troops in iraq and afghanistan are downing a lot of red bull and starbucks products 'we've got a group of young caffeine drinkers on our hands,' he said 'we're trying to meet those needs for them' several thousand assault ration prototypes were shipped to iraq, afghanistan, germany, kuwait and haiti, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive on the weight savings vs the mre the military estimates the assault ration will begin shipping to troops in november e mail to a friend | army italian mexican mre | army technicians working to improve quality, taste of combat food . italian, mexican and vegetarian meals are represented in the mre . mres replaced the c ration in the early 1980s . new field ration will feed troops during intense combat operations |
(ew) from 'dope' to 'nope' after rihanna hit up 'what what happens live' to tell andy cohen her thoughts on ex boyfriend chris brown, the man himself took to la radio station power 106 to clarify their purportedly rekindled relationship 'no,' breezy told host big boy when asked whether he and riri have romantically reunited 'and that's just quick, a quick answer' watch the video to see it for yourself that echoes rihanna's statements from last night's cohen interview, where she denied the rumors that the former couple were dating again — despite the fact that he's collaborating with her on a track called 'nobodies business' from her upcoming album unapologetic she did, however, call him 'pretty dope' and 'kinda alright' so, what do you guys think about the pair's sudden approach to the issue? do you believe them, or do you think they doth protest too much? or would you rather drown out all the noise and just listen to the album when it hits streets? let us know below 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 | chris brown rihanna watch what happens live brown | chris brown addressed rumors that he's back with his ex, rihanna . she had gone on 'watch what happens live' and denied they are a couple . rihanna said brown is 'pretty dope' |
beijing (cnn) chinese president hu jintao, set to begin handing over power to his successor, warned thursday that a failure to deal with corruption could bring down china's ruling communist party and the state it controls hu was speaking at the party's 18th national congress in beijing, a key meeting of top officials that will usher in a new set of leaders of the world's most populous nation after a decade in power, hu is expected to hand over the party's top job to vice president xi jinping 'if we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party, and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state,' hu said of corruption during his speech at the start of the congress in the great hall of the people in the heart of the chinese capital his comments to a vast room full of delegates stood out in light of the huge political scandal that has rocked the party this year the controversy involved the former high flying politician bo xilai who is now under criminal investigation after being ousted from his posts and the party itself he is accused of corruption, abuse of power and improper sexual relationships; official news reports have said bo made 'severe mistakes' related to the killing of a british businessman a crime for which bo's wife was imprisoned and a diplomatic incident involving his former police chief in chongqing more than 2,200 delegates from across china are gathering for the congress, and they in turn select the 200 plus members of the party's central committee, who in turn appoint the politburo and ultimately the all powerful politburo standing committee the country's decision makers but most, if not all, of the outcomes are predetermined after a long period of secretive deal making between party power brokers the congress itself meets every five years it is designed to assess the country's progress, and set new directions every 10 years it selects the new leadership this year, the legacy of the hu years is under the microscope under hu and premier wen jiabao, china's economy has continued to grow, lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty china is now the world's second biggest economy and closing fast on the united states but there have been disappointments and discontent along the way, and hu's much vaunted 'harmonious society' is showing signs of cracking chinese leaders have endured a tumultuous year the veil of secrecy around the party has been lifted, with reports of rifts and infighting and the fall of bo brought about china's biggest political scandal in decades bo, once party chief of the massive metropolis of chongqing, is now in disgrace awaiting trial his wife, gu kailai, is in prison, convicted of murdering a british business associate senior party leaders and their leaders have had to deal with unusual scrutiny of their affairs, with western news organizations publishing investigations into the wealth accumulated by the families of xi and wen chinese authorities responded to the reports by blocking the websites of the news organizations involved: bloomberg news and the new york times but china's army of censors is having to grapple with the rapid rise of social media platforms on which information moves and mutates at a dizzying pace china is treading many fault lines: a widening gap between rich and poor, rising unrest about issues like pollution and land seizures, and a slowing economy that some say is in need of serious reform hu mentioned some of those tensions thursday along with several other contentious issues like food safety, health care and law enforcement acknowledging that 'there are a lot of difficulties and problems on our road ahead' another issue hu's government has struggled to tackle during its decade in power is the discontent and unrest among tibetans living under chinese rule authorities were given a grim reminder on wednesday of the disillusionment and desperation of many tibetans in western areas of china after four people set themselves on fire to protest chinese rule one teenage tibetan monk died and two were injured after self immolating in a majority tibetan region of sichuan province, said penpa tsering, a spokesman for the tibetan parliament in exile in dharamsala, india and a 23 year old tibetan woman died a separate incident in qinghai province, tsering said, citing unidentified people in tibetan areas dozens of tibetans are reported to have set themselves ablaze in the past 18 months to express their unhappiness with chinese rule in his speech thursday, hu also made a case for china to strengthen its presence on the seas off its coast beijing has become embroiled in a string of territorial disputes with countries like japan, the philippines and vietnam over areas thought to contain large reserves of natural resources under the sea bed the leadership should 'build china into a maritime power,' hu said, citing the need to exploit marine resources and 'resolutely safeguard china's maritime rights and interests' among the goals cnn ireport: what do you think of the power transition? share your comments and experiences and best could be used online or on air cnn's stan grant, cy xu and jaime florcruz contributed to this report | beijing tibetans tibetan | thousands of delegates gather in beijing for the meeting . the key meeting follows a year beset by scandal for the party . four tibetans set themselves on fire, the tibetan government in exile says |
new delhi, india (cnn) after harsh criticism and controversy, the 2010 commonwealth games will officially begin sunday in new delhi, india it's the first time india has hosted the international sporting event between countries of the former british empire britain's prince charles, representing his mother, queen elizabeth, arrived in the indian capital saturday he, along with indian president pratibha devisingh patil, will officially declare the games open at a ceremony at jawarharlal nehru stadium excitement filled the air in new delhi after days of fears that india simply would not be ready in time athletes had expressed alarm over the poor condition of their village others charged shoddy construction and slammed the government for corruption the games afforded india an opportunity to promote a shiny image as an emerging power the government spent billions on a new international airport, additional metro lines and fresh landscaping along dingy delhi roads still, india remains a country with millions of poor people, who this week felt brushed aside as the new india tried to put its best face forward people like shanti, a 65 year old beggar, who said she was detained by police for sitting on the side of a street, where she always sits, hoping that passers by will drop a few coins in her hands or mala mangla, who sells balloons on the streets she said police have told her to disappear for at least a month india, they said, was trying to hide them from foreign visitors they said beggars have been warned to stay off the streets so have vendors and children who are commonly seen going from car to car begging and shanties have been torn down 'there has been a very strong movement by the government to get rid of the filth and to portray the beautified and shining india,' said maushmi basu, a migrant worker activist police and government officials contacted by cnn did not return calls the indian government maintains that it respects the rights of the poor but there are also laws against begging and putting up structures without proper permits and begging is illegal in new delhi the games have been a tough act for a nation that has never hosted such a large international event months earlier, parliament was forced to deal with accusations of corruption in the planning of the games two weeks ago, gunmen fired on a tourist bus in new delhi and injured two taiwanese tourists a car blaze turned out to be a crudely manufactured bomb and a militant group warned that it planned to target the games indian law enforcement authorities responded with a heightened security plan, placing thousands of extra forces on the streets of the capital if all that weren't enough, two days before athletes were scheduled to begin arriving, complaints rang out across the globe about their shoddy living quarters 'you know, construction dust is still there, filth, excrement, it really is disgusting in parts and it really requires a professional deep clean throughout the entire complex,' said michael hooper, chief executive officer of the commonwealth games federation as if to amplify hooper's complaint, a pedestrian bridge leading to nehru stadium collapsed that same day india's image was slipping faster than a rocket two world class athletes canceled their trips, citing security and health concerns entire teams threatened to do the same, while others delayed their arrival date indian officials went to work on a massive clean up effort in the end, athletes from 71 countries showed up and have settled in india still wants to make a lasting impression on its visitors delhi chief minister sheila dixit said she hoped the commonwealth games would leave a legacy that will ultimately make life more comfortable for the residents of india's sprawling capital rich and poor organizers certainly hope that with opening ceremonies sunday, the glow will wipe out the gloom cnn's moni basu contributed to this report | colloped supereligible paucity | no related information |
(cnn) in a rare and candid interview, cnn's robyn curnow spoke to nelson mandela's wife of 10 years, graca machel, to find out more about the man from the person who arguably knows him the best here, machel reveals that mandela's courageous and eventful life has left him with only one regret machel: 'we have enjoyed this relationship in a really special way' how would you describe your relationship with nelson mandela? he is simply a wonderful husband we met in life at time we were both settled we were grown up, we were settled, we knew the value of a companion, of a partner because of that, we have enjoyed this relationship in a really special way it's not like when you are still young, you are too demanding no, no we just accept each other as we are and we enjoy every single day as if it is the last day because of that, it has been wonderful to have him as a husband do you look at him and go, 'i married nelson mandela?' at the beginning, yes i already had this very deep involvement with him then sometimes it's there was a sort of conflict between the man i loved and the myth particularly because people were saying things, and i couldn't figure out the two would go together i know him as a human being, a person and this myth surrounding him the aura around him was a bit confusing, but then i learnt to live with it, in terms of separating the two is he comfortable in his own skin? absolutely more than comfortable he is so happy with himself at the end of his life also he realizes, although he doesn't express it he realized that he achieved the things he had as goals in life so is he at peace with himself? yeah, really it's peace, fulfillment best way to characterize it is to be at peace with himself, but also at peace with the world does he have any regrets? ya, only one i know of you feel he would have really liked much more input in the development of his children only thing although he tried his best madiba (mandela) was not given the opportunity to bring up his own children he left them went to prison when they were very young he didn't have much opportunity to do those things that a parent a father does to read stories to child how has he dealt with old age, for somebody who seems to be such a fighter, doer, has the frailty of old age frustrated him? i think the only thing that frustrates him is walking when he tries, he feels, he puts it as his knees don't cooperate that's how he puts it he is not anxious about getting old no, no, no he feels he would like to move freely that this the kind of frustration i sense in him birthday wishes? i have already given him the best present i could and thought of, 10 years ago when we got married i looked back sometimes it sounds crazy, someone of my age at the time i was 52; i married a man of 80 it wasn't a problem i was so happy to marry him i think after that any other thing is much less, because it will never surpass the possibility of us being together, sharing a life that is the best i could have given him because it is your wedding anniversary? when we married, we didn't know we'd be given 10 years together we have been very lucky very grateful for that | recide huffiness epithalamion | no related information |
(cnn) former french national coach raymond domenech is suing the french football federation (fff) for unfair dismissal, demanding 29 million euros after his sacked in the wake of france's disastrous world cup campaign domenech was fired by the fff in september for 'serious error' and under french law a person dismissed under such circumstances has no right to severance pay, although they can dispute the charge before an employment tribunal domenech's lawyer, jean yves connesson, told afp: 'we are requesting 29 million euros spread over two payments 'the first is for 400,000 euros and includes compensation for dismissal the second is for professional and moral prejudice and is worth three years salary,' he added: 'you don't manage a collective crisis by sacking one individual an amicable parting of ways was a possibility 'the federation came up with totally unfounded reasons for the sacking, and went through with it in an irregular, brutal and aggressive manner' domenech lost his job after france failed to qualify from the group stages in south africa, amid player unrest that saw his squad boycott a training session however, connesson believes his client has a good chance of winning his case he told afp: 'we can't forget domenech is the only coach to have qualified france for three consecutive major international tournaments (two world cups and one european championships) 'and we sack him for a serious error! those are not valid reasons and we want to prove that in front of a judge 'it is difficult for him to bounce back stained by the accusations of serious error means that 17 years of his career has been erased by the stroke of a pen' | french raymond domenech french football federation domenech 29m euros france world cup | former french national coach raymond domenech is suing french football federation . domenech is demanding 29m euros following his dismissal for unfair dismissal . domenech was dismissed following france's disastrous world cup finals campaign |
(cnn) california voters rejected the legalization of marijuana tuesday, according to a cnn projection based on exit polling supporters of proposition 19 argued that the 'prohibition' of marijuana much like that for alcohol decades ago has created a violent criminal black market, led today by international drug cartels but opponents prevailed tuesday they asserted that even if the proposition were to pass, federal law still prohibits individuals and groups from manufacturing, distributing and possessing marijuana for recreational use us attorney general eric holder said he will continue to enforce that federal law opponents also said that driving under the influence of marijuana would be a public threat supporters said the measure could have generated tax revenue from the $14 billion a year marijuana business in california and save the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually by ending the arrests of 61,000 californians a year for misdemeanor marijuana possession california has already legalized medical marijuana legal cannabis for the rest of us? a measure that would have legalized medical marijuana in south dakota also failed, according to another cnn projection based on exit polling results were still pending for a similar medical marijuana measure in arizona a total of 14 states and the district of columbia have already legalized marijuana for medical care only meanwhile, among the many initiatives on ballots tuesday, four states utah, arizona, south carolina and south dakota approved a measure that will guarantee workers the right to vote by secret ballot on whether they want union representation, according to cnn projections based on exit polling the anti union measures are considered pre emptive strikes against a federal legislative proposal that would allow unions to organize workers by relying on sign up cards instead of secret ballots, the proposed employee free choice act would allow unions to organize workers with a 'card check' business groups have opposed this draft legislation because, they claim, employees could be coerced into checking yes on a card to unionize workers rights groups say the proposed 'majority sign up' law would reduce opportunities for employers to threaten or fire workers wanting a union, said spokeswoman zoe bridges curry of the advocacy group american rights at work meanwhile, colorado voters were projected to reject an anti abortion amendment that would have defined a 'person' as 'every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being,' according to a cnn analysis of exit poll data arizona and oklahoma voters passed a measure tuesday allowing residents to opt out of president barack obama's federal health care reform and its requirement that people have insurance, according to a cnn projection based on an analysis of exit poll data but in colorado, voters rejected a similar measure that would give voters the option of not participating in the federal health care reforms, including the insurance requirement, according to a cnn projection based on exit polling the approvals were a rebuke of the administration's controversial health care reforms experts question whether such state laws could be implemented because they seek to pre empt federal law, and the matter could eventually end up in court, said jennie bowser, an elections analyst with the conference voters in many states cast ballots on other controversial measures tuesday, including balancing budgets in all, 37 states offered 160 ballot proposals, and the initiatives had no single unifying theme this november, unlike in 2004 and 2006, when voters saw same sex marriage dominate ballots, according to the national conference of state legislatures among its nine initiatives, california offered a proposition that could reduce government gridlock by lowering the minimum needed for the legislature to approve a state budget, making it a simple majority instead of a two thirds majority only two other states require two thirds among other controversial or interesting measures: under rhode island question 1, voters were projected by cnn to reject changing the official state name from 'state of rhode island and providence plantations' to simply 'rhode island' in the wake of scandal in the governor's office, illinois voters approved a constitutional amendment (hjrca 31) that will allow for a recall of a governor and a special election to choose a replacement a process that exists in 18 other states for the measure to pass, the 'yes' votes must total at least 60 percent of those voting on this question or a majority of those voting in the overall election arizona voters were projected by cnn to approve proposition 107, which called for an affirmative action/discrimination ban the amendment to the state constitution would prohibit the state from granting preferential treatment or discriminating against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, skin color, ethnicity or national origin | california cnn south dakota arizona south carolina colorado | california voters reject legalizing marijuana, cnn projects . medical marijuana measure fails in south dakota, cnn projects . arizona, south carolina and south dakota approve anti union measures, cnn projects . colorado rejects definition of 'person' in anti abortion measure, cnn projects |
washington (cnn) a man has been arrested for making threats against rep tulsi gabbard of hawaii, law enforcement officials said thursday anirruddha sherbow was apprehended by mexican law enforcement officers in tijuana on wednesday the fbi and us capitol police said sherbow made threats against the hawaii democrat this month that were 'deemed credible' officials would not describe the nature of any statements allegedly made by sherbow involving the congresswoman, and court documents remain under seal according to the hawaii reporter, sherbow, a former resident of hawaii, sent an e mail to the fbi threatening to decapitate gabbard that report also said gabbard obtained a three year restraining order against sherbow in 2011 sherbow is facing a charge of transmission of threats in interstate commerce mexican authorities turned sherbow over to fbi agents in san diego, where he is expected to have a court appearance on friday gabbard's press secretary, heather fluit, said the congresswoman was 'grateful for the work of the us capitol police, fbi and all law enforcement officers involved in this investigation' | heterosuggestion pomptine acleidian | no related information |
(cnn) for some, going to work after losing a son would be unthinkable for others, it's a way to cope that's the route minnesota vikings running back adrian peterson took, choosing to play sunday, just two days after the death of his son, who was living with his mother in south dakota the woman's 27 year old boyfriend, joseph robert patterson, has been arrested on felony battery and assault charges in the child's death, according to sioux falls, south dakota, police 'even if it's bad, i try and take the good from it that's the way i approach life, with all situations,' peterson told reporters after the game 'i never thought about not playing it was all about going out there and praying that i had the strength to get through and help my team, so that was my focus' peterson, who rushed for a season low 62 yards and caught three passes for 21 yards in the vikings' 35 10 loss to the carolina panthers, took some heat for the decision from people who questioned how he could play a football game so soon after losing a child in a text to a fox sports reporter, peterson said he decided to play sunday for the same reason he participated in the nfl's skills testing event for potential draft picks a day after his brother died in 2007 'god wants good to come from it,' he told nfl on fox sideline reporter laura okmin in a text before the game sunday 'we mourn and grieve, but heaven had the baddest welcoming party for my son that knowledge gives me peace,' peterson said, according to fox 'i'm still hurt and feel the pain of life, but i'm able to function because of the peace and joy of knowing my loved ones are in a much better place' peterson confirmed the child was his in a tweet friday he tweeted that another child, adrian peterson jr, lives with him and is fine, and he asked people to stop distributing pictures of that child on friday, he tweeted thanks to fellow players, some of whom had taken to the social network to defend his decision to play 'the nfl is a fraternity of brothers and i am thankful for the tweets, phone calls and text messages from my fellow players,' he tweeted friday after sunday's game, peterson's teammate, tight end kyle rudolph, praised peterson's determination and heart 'i can't imagine, you know, the heavy heart that he had today, being out on the field,' rudolph said 'but he spoke to us right before the game, right before he took the field and said he was going to give it his all, for all four quarters, and that's exactly what he did' 'he said, 'i'm going to give it my all, and i expect you guys to do the same,' ' rudolph said 'for a guy like that, how can you not?' | nfl two days adrian peterson sunday fox sports peterson minnesota vikings the carolina panthers | nfl running back plays two days after learning a son had died . adrian peterson said he never thought about sitting out sunday's game . 'god wants good to come from it,' fox sports reported peterson said in a text message . peterson's minnesota vikings lost 35 10 to the carolina panthers in sunday's game |
cardiff, wales former wales and british lions center ray gravell has died of a suspected heart attack aged 56, the welsh rugby union (wru) has announced gravell won 23 caps for wales and played on the lions tour of south africa in 1980 gravell had been on holiday with his family in the spanish mediterranean island of mallorca at the time a wru statement praised gravell as being 'a man who epitomized the passion, flair and dignity of his beloved welsh nation' gravell made his debut for wales against france in 1975, three years after helping his club side llanelli to their famous win over the touring all blacks in all he made 23 appearances for what was then a dominant wales side, winning grand slams in 1976 and 1978, and played all four tests on the lions' tour of south africa in 1980 after retiring as a player in 1985, gravell became president of llanelli rfc and the llanelli scarlets he also pursued a career as an actor and a respected rugby broadcaster earlier this year, gravell had his right leg amputated below the knee following complications linked with his diabetes but he had been recovering well wru chief executive roger lewis said: 'we are all in total shock because ray was so full of life even through the difficult health problems he suffered recently 'he was a wonderful ambassador for rugby and for wales and a great example of how the game can bring out the best in a man 'as a player, he always gave a huge amount of respect to his opponents but never gave an inch of ground to anyone he faced on the field of play 'it is a measure of the man that he forged rugby friendships which lasted long after his playing days up until the present day' e mail to a friend | stenosepalous estonia outroad | no related information |
columbia, south carolina (cnn) democratic sen barack obama kicked off a series of local outreach gospel concerts friday in charleston, south carolina, that unexpectedly came back to bite his campaign democratic presidential hopeful barack obama is competing for the black vote with hillary clinton the concerts were meant to boost black voters' support for his presidential nominee bid the kind of events that would normally fly under the national radar the ensuing controversy highlighted that obama's desire to unite disparate voting blocs especially religious voters under his umbrella of 'change' is not without some serious pitfalls when the campaign announced the lineups for the three city 'embrace the change!' gospel tour last week, one name stood out to gay bloggers: donnie mcclurkin the grammy award winning singer is on record as saying homosexuality is a choice, and that he was 'once involved with those desires and those thoughts' but was able to get past them through prayer to say the least, neither of those arguments is very popular in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community john aravosis, a prominent gay blogger and co founder of the web site americablog, led the charge against the obama campaign, writing that the illinois democrat was 'sucking up to anti gay bigots' and 'giving them a stage' when the story bubbled up into the mainstream media, it took the obama campaign by surprise obama's efforts in the palmetto state have overwhelmingly targeted african american churchgoers in a bid to win over black voters in south carolina from rival sen hillary clinton the campaign has vigorously promoted the candidate's faith, launching '40 days of faith and family' in september, which used bible study groups to tap into the black electorate campaigners have run three radio ads, one of which called obama a 'christian family man,' that aired on gospel stations across the state earlier this month, obama spoke at an evangelical church in the traditionally conservative city of greenville, where he demonstrated a casual familiarity with christian vocabulary, telling the crowd, to much applause, that 'i am confident that we can create a kingdom right here on earth' after that appearance, the obama campaign told cnn that republicans no longer had a choke hold on issues of faith and values 'i think that what you're seeing is a breaking down of the sharp divisions that existed maybe during the '90s,' obama said 'at least in politics, the perception was that the democrats were fearful of talking about faith, and on the other hand you had the republicans who had a particular brand of faith that oftentimes seemed intolerant or pushed people away' but on tuesday, obama was forced to confront the uncomfortable truth that some christians and gays are a little more than just strange bedfellows, especially among blacks obama issued a statement saying, 'i strongly disagree with reverend [donnie] mcclurkin's views and will continue to fight for these rights as president of the united states,' and argued that it is important to confront homophobia among religious african americans a september poll of african americans in south carolina by winthrop university and etv showed that 62 percent of those surveyed said that 'sex between two adults of the same sex' is 'strongly unacceptable' obama held a conference call wednesday with joe solomonese, president of the human rights campaign, and announced that the rev andy sidden, an openly gay south carolina pastor, will appear at the same event as mcclurkin on sunday in columbia solomonese was not completely assuaged 'i spoke with senator barack obama today and expressed to him our community's disappointment for his decision to continue to remain associated with reverend mcclurkin, an anti gay preacher who states the need to 'break the curse of homosexuality,'' he said in a statement 'there is no gospel in donnie mcclurkin's message for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies that's a message that certainly doesn't belong on any presidential candidate's stage' the state newspaper in columbia reported friday that obama organized a conference call thursday night with gay and lesbian leaders after the call, the south carolina gay and lesbian pride movement announced it will hold a protest vigil outside sunday's concert in columbia privately, obama aides say they believe obama is a candidate of real, transformational change, and that uproars like the mcclurkin controversy are necessary speed bumps on the road to bringing people with opposing viewpoints together to air their differences will obama's refusal to kick mcclurkin off the concert bill hurt him? like many political squabbles, despite the national story, it depends how much the controversy resonates with voters in those crucial early states: iowa, new hampshire, nevada and south carolina and in south carolina, where african americans make up about half of democratic primary goers, voters might not have a problem with mcclurkin at all e mail to a friend | obama african american christians s carolina | obama holding concerts to win over african american christians in s carolina . but lineup offends homosexuals, angered by appearance of anti gay singer . obama disavows preacher singer's views, asks gay pastor to appear too |
madrid, spain atletico madrid recovered from their painful recent defeat by barcelona to crush european rivals real zaragoza 4 0 in the primera liga on sunday luis garcia celebrates his first atletico madrid goal in their superb 4 0 victory over real zaragoza luis garcia's first goal for the club, a double from argentine maxi rodriguez and a diego forlan strike clinched a comfortable win as atletico moved up to sixth in the table it was also sweet revenge for atletico as zaragoza beat them home and away last season to beat them to sixth place and the final uefa cup spot atletico went ahead in the 10th minute when forlan picked out a precise pass for garcia who made no mistake with a calm side footed finish forlan then got on the scoresheet himself with a first time lob on 34 minutes for his third goal of the season, before rodriguez stole the show with two more goals getafe registered their first win of the season with a 2 0 victory over murcia substitute kepa, who was later sent off, opened the scoring in the 54th minute and francisco casero added a second five minutes later to clinch the points elsewhere last season's second division champions valladolid continue to struggle in the top flight, crashing to a 2 1 defeat against athletic bilbao artiz aduriz scored twice for bilbao after eight and 31 minutes to leave valladolid second from bottom with promoted levante, who have a meagre one point, propping up the table e mail to a friend | atletico madrid zaragoza maxi rodriguez luis garcia diego forlan getafe murcia | atletico madrid bounce back to form with a superb 4 0 victory over zaragoza . maxi rodriguez scores twice with luis garcia and diego forlan also on target . getafe registered their first win of the season with a 2 0 victory over murcia |
rio de janeiro (cnn) world leaders poured into rio de janeiro on wednesday, 20 years after the landmark earth summit, to commit themselves to a new roadmap for sustainable development with that roadmap already under fire for failing to set firm goals the three day rio+20 summit opened with words of warning from the united nations secretary general ban ki moon 'let us match words with actions,' he told reporters 'our scarcest resource is time, and it is running out' more than 50,000 delegates are expected to participate in the conference, which is aimed at promoting economic growth and poverty reduction while simultaneously preserving the planet's resources population growth can't be ignored but the summit has been overshadowed by the crisis in europe and by key elections in the united states and elsewhere that have hobbled governments' ability, or willingness, to act notable no shows included us president barack obama, british prime minister david cameron and german chancellor angela merkel negotiations over a final document that would be signed by leaders when they flew in dragged on until the last moment because countries could not agree on many of the more polemic issues even ban said he had higher expectations 'i know some member states hoped to have a bolder and more ambitious outcome document,' ban said 'i also hoped that we should have a more ambitious outcome document' the resulting text is an often vague commitment to sustainable development, without measurable targets or financial commitments can summit solve environmental problems? many member states nonetheless praised the host government for getting all countries to finally agree on a document the us delegation, represented by secretary of state hillary clinton, called the summit a 'historic opportunity to communicate the value of sustainable development and help galvanize real world, collaborative action to stimulate growth, protect the environment and provide a healthy future for our citizens' businesses played a much bigger role at this summit than they did 20 years ago, with many observers saying they have actually taken the lead by providing real examples of sustainable development georg kell, head of the un global compact, said his group hopes to increase the number of companies agreeing to concrete sustainable development goals to 20,000, from 7,000 'i hope also we will be able to inspire governments to have the courage to set the right incentives,' he told cnn extinction threat 'a call to world leaders' on wednesday, the first session of the high level summit was addressed by 17 year old activist brittany trilford of new zealand, who challenged leaders: 'are you here to save face or are you here to save us?' ban suggested that the highly criticized final document could still be revised by world leaders before the summit ends on friday when asked by reporters about that possibility, he responded: 'why do we have a summit meeting? why have i been inviting and urging leaders, heads of state and government? they are the ones who can make political decisions, who can make a choice' | bidentalia arterialise halluces | no related information |
new york (cnn) the air was declared clean, but the carcinogen asbestos was found in dust and debris hurled into midtown manhattan by a steam pipe explosion the day before, new york city announced thursday a steam pipe burst in midtown manhattan during rush hour wednesday the city's department of emergency management will continue to test the debris after finding asbestos in six of 10 samples, according to a statement from the city's office of emergency management 'people who may (have come) into contact with the steam or debris should take a shower and place their clothes in plastic bags for cleaning or disposal,' the statement said asbestos is a fibrous mineral used to insulate pipes longterm exposure can cause allergies, skin problems and cancer the 6 pm blast, which sent sent plumes of smoke and ash into the air around grand central terminal, killed a woman and injured at least 44, according to authorities and local hospitals watch an i reporter's video of 'volcano' in street » lois baumerich, of hawthorne, new jersey, died of cardiac arrest, new york city mayor michael bloomberg said three firefighters and a police officer were treated on the scene for minor injuries, according to a new york fire department spokesman bellevue hospital center received 14 patients, including baumerich, hospital administrator larry dugan said new york presbyterian hospital said it received 27 injured people, 25 of whom were treated and released as of thursday, one person was listed in critical condition and another in serious the area encompassed by 40th and 43rd streets and vanderbilt and third avenues was 'frozen' because of the asbestos threat map of blast site » those in that zone are allowed to stay in the area, but should use caution no one will be allowed to enter the zone, the office of emergency management said 'people inside buildings in the frozen zone should keep windows closed and switch air conditioners to recirculate the air inside instead of drawing in air from outside,' the office said also, parts of lexington avenue, third avenue, park avenue, 42nd street and vanderbilt avenue will be closed to traffic subway lines near the explosion were initially rerouted to bypass grand central terminal, but the metropolitan transportation authority said thursday the subway infrastructure was not damaged bloomberg told reporters the pipe that exploded was installed in 1924 'there was cold water getting into the pipe, and cold water apparently causes these to explode,' the mayor said 'it might have been bursts of cold water from the rain or because of another water main break' hundreds of people frantically fled the scene as police, fire and utility officials converged on the area around the blast, which left a crater 25 feet wide and 15 feet deep, according to utility provider con edison more than 170 firefighters were dispatched to the site, the fire department said blast leaves massive crater » 'the ground was literally shaking under your feet,' new york police deputy commission paul browne said video from the scene showed steam and mud erupting from underground a small school bus had its windows and one of its doors blown out one witness, former cnn reporter adaora udoji, described the scene as 'pandemonium' within about 20 minutes, she said, authorities had the entire area locked down 'it felt like an earthquake we saw hundreds and hundreds of people running down third avenue,' she said 'they were screaming, they were crying' the new york times reported that the rush hour blast sent up a geyser of steam, mud and rust colored gunk, and displaced chunks of pavement in one of the busiest parts of the city pedestrians scrambled to flee the blast some running out of their shoes as those working in the skyscrapers pelted with debris looked down in horror, the newspaper reported, comparing the aftermath of the blast to a hailstorm some witnesses said the jet of steam roared like niagara falls, the new york times reported carol bergendale, who witnessed the blast, told wabc that commuters in the area began driving in the wrong direction to get away despite initial fears, browne said the blast had nothing to do with terrorism, and the fbi said there was nothing suspicious about the blast in august of 1989, three people died related to a steam pipe explosion in gramercy park e mail to a friend cnn's amy sahba and katy byron contributed to this report | new jersey department of environmental protection | new: at least 44 injured in blast, including some police officers, firefighters . new: new jersey woman died from cardiac arrest, mayor says . no asbestos in air, but it was detected in six of 10 samples of dust, debris . department of environmental protection will continue to test debris |
london (cnn) the church of england named former oil executive justin welby as the next archbishop of canterbury, making him the titular leader of the world's 77 million anglicans welby, who has been a bishop for only a year, is considered an outspoken critic of the excesses of capitalism, a supporter of women bishops and an opponent of gay marriage he will be enthroned as archbishop of canterbury on march 21 read more: cnn belief blog speaking as his appointment was announced friday at lambeth palace in london, welby said it was a privilege to take the helm at a time when the 'tide of events is turning' and the church has great opportunities to be involved in a changing world 'to be nominated to this post is both astonishing and exciting,' he said, adding that it is a time for 'optimism and for faith in the church' as it faces tough issues one of those issues is the ordination of women bishops, on which the general synod will vote later this month welby said he would be voting in favor and urged the synod to go ahead with the change welby said he supported the opposition voiced by the church of england earlier this year in response to a british government consultation on upgrading same sex 'civil partnerships' to gay marriage however, he added, the church must not accept any form of homophobia read more: head of anglican church to step down welby acknowledged that homosexuality is a highly divisive issue within the wider anglican communion, but said he would listen 'very attentively' to the concerns of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community he promised to 'examine my own thinking carefully and prayerfully' on gay issues paying tribute to the faith and charitable work of churchgoers and clergy around the country, welby, who is currently the bishop of durham, said he felt 'utterly optimistic about the future of the church' reflecting on his wider role, welby said the anglican communion, 'for all its difficulties, is also a source of remarkable blessing to the world' he singled out northern nigeria, where churches have been targeted in deadly attacks by the militant islamist group boko haram, as a place where christians are under particular pressure peppered with wry jokes, his speech displayed a sense of humor and down to earth attitude that may help him negotiate the minefield of conflicting views and interests within the vast anglican communion educated at cambridge university, welby worked for oil companies in paris and london before training for the ministry his appointment was approved by queen elizabeth ii, as supreme governor of the church of england he will take over from archbishop of canterbury rowan williams, who has headed the church for more than a decade welby paid tribute to williams' moral courage and learning, and said he would be a hard act to follow 'the church worldwide owes him a great debt, more than it knows, and i shall be continuing to seek his advice and wisdom,' the archbishop elect said the secretary general of the anglican communion, canon kenneth kearon, welcomed the news of the appointment, saying welby 'already has rich knowledge and experience of the anglican communion, and brings great pastoral and intellectual gifts to this position 'he is a gifted communicator, deeply committed to the engagement between the christian faith and an increasingly challenging secular society' the news was also welcomed by the archbishop of westminster, the most reverend vincent nichols, who heads the catholic church in england and wales 'i know that bishop welby will bring many personal gifts and experience to his new role,' he said in a statement 'as the future primate of the church of england, i am sure that his ministry, like that of his predecessor archbishop rowan williams, will provide an important christian witness to this country over the coming years' in the united states, presiding bishop katharine jefferts schori of the episcopal church said welby's experience of churches in different countries and his 'knowledge of the immense challenges of the world' would stand him in good stead 'his gifts of reconciliation and discernment will be abundantly tested' in the role, she added | justin welby's welby anglicans | new: church leaders welcome justin welby's appointment . welby will become the titular leader of the world's 77 million anglicans . 'to be nominated to this post is both astonishing and exciting,' he says . archbishop elect says he will vote for women bishops, opposes gay marriage |
(cnn) a man has died in an incident at the official residence of swedish prime minister fredrik reinfeldt in stockholm, swedish police confirmed friday the incident is not being treated as terrorism, and the man who died is not connected with the swedish government, a police spokeswoman said investigations are continuing into the circumstances of his death his family still has to be informed, police said reinfeldt was not at the residence at the time of the incident, spokesman markus friberg told cnn 'i can confirm that the prime minister was not in the building; he was in a meeting in another place he and his family are fine police are trying to get more details about this incident,' friberg said cnn's claudia rebaza contributed to this report | swedish fredrik reinfeldt | new: police: a death at the residence of the swedish prime minister is not linked to terrorism . new: the man who died is not connected to the swedish government, police say . prime minister fredrik reinfeldt was not present when the death occurred, his office says |
(cnn) dolly parton suffered minor injuries in a traffic crash at a nashville intersection on monday, according to the singer and police 'i was in a fender bender this morning, here in nashville,' parton, 67, said in a twitter posting 'but i am all good just a little tired and sore, resting at home' a nashville police statement blamed the driver of another vehicle with failing to yield to the suv in which parton was riding as a front seat passenger parton and the driver of her nissan xterra, 68 year old judy ogle, were taken to vanderbilt university medical center for treatment of minor injuries, the police report said parton and ogle have been close friends since elementary school, according to previous interviews diane lish, 64, of old hickory, tennessee, was taken to another hospital for treatment lish was behind the wheel of the mitsubishi diamante that crashed into parton's vehicle, police said none of the injuries appeared serious, police said cnn's joe sutton contributed to this report | retinochorioidal bilophodont knocking | no related information |
(cnn) the us food and drug administration said wednesday a closed texas food processing plant tested positive for a bacteria that has been linked to the deaths of four people the texas department of state health services on october 20 ordered sangar fresh cut produce to immediately stop processing food and recall all products shipped from its san antonio plant since january the move came after state laboratory results showed listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause severe illness, in chopped celery at the plant four people died when they contracted listeriosis after consuming celery that had been processed at the sangar plant, said carrie williams, a department spokeswoman state health authorities came to this determination while investigating 10 cases in which people with serious underlying health problems contracted listeriosis over an 8 month period six of those cases in bexar, travis and hidalgo counties were linked to chopped celery processed at the sangar plant, the state health services department said four of those people died, as did one other person who authorities believe got listeriosis from another source not connected with sangar products the fda inspected the company's premises and said it issued a summary of its findings to the company on october 26 it said it found the bacteria in processed celery and in multiple locations in the plant, including food contact surfaces the listeria found in samples 'matches the dna fingerprint of the clinical cases of listeriosis reported by the texas department of state health services,' the fda said in a statement sangar had independent quanta lab of selma, texas, test the plant for listeria results came back negative, sangar attorney jason galvan told cnn 'the fda and the state have not turned over to us the documentation supporting their findings,' galvan said 'we cannot comment on these most recent findings until the documentation is provided for independent evaluation by our experts' still, the company in recent weeks brought in an independent listeria expert to look at protocols, said galvan the entire facility, including its machines, were cleaned, said galvan about 100 sangar workers have been idled by the plant closing, and the company needs to reopen soon if it is to survive, galvan said a november 17 administrative hearing on its status is scheduled, and sangar is working with the agencies on reopening, he said 'we're pretty optimistic about having the company up and running before the hearing,' the attorney said 'we're not going the litigation route' in october, sangar denied wrongdoing, saying it has had 'an excellent record of safety and health' over the past three years state health inspectors said they believe the bacteria found in the chopped celery may have contaminated other products at the company's plant sangar processes a wide variety of products including three varieties of lettuce, peppers, carrots, cucumbers and various cut up fruit, as well as salad, fruit and soup mixes, according to the company's website they are distributed primarily in sealed packages to restaurants, hospitals, schools and other large institutions that serve food besides the bacteria, inspectors found a condensation leak above a food product area, dirt on a food preparation table, and hand washing problems at the san antonio plant, the state health department said the fda said wednesday inspectors found several other problems, including hoses making contact with food, bagged carrots being stored on a wet floor, a lack of adequate drainage areas, foods not being stored at the proper temperature and a failure to safely clean utensils and equipment listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium found in the soil, in water and in animals that carry it without showing signs they are sick, according to the atlanta based centers for disease control and prevention it can get into vegetables from soil or manure that is used as fertilizer the strain of bacteria is relatively resilient with an incubation period of three to 70 days, williams said and some foods can be contaminated after cooking but prior to packaging the bacteria have been tied to listeriosis, which sickens about 2,500 americans and contributes to the death of 500 people annually, the cdc reports the texas health department is taking the lead in the investigation, with assistance from the food and drug administration and the cdc the state justified its closure of the sangar plant, citing texas law that authorizes such actions if conditions pose 'an immediate and serious threat to human life or health' | callings reacquire leadenpated | no related information |
(cnn) neanderthals likely died off about 30,000 years ago, but they may have come up with a tool making technique that influenced later humans in europe, a new study suggests scientists have uncovered evidence that neanderthals were making specialized bone tools before modern humans arrived in europe 'it opens the possibility that in this case, maybe they' modern humans in europe 'learned this tool type from neanderthals,' said shannon mcpherron, co author of the study and an archaeologist at the max planck institute for evolutionary anthropology in leipzig, germany this is only one possible scenario, however another is that modern humans arrived earlier than scientists thought, and influenced neanderthals' tool making or maybe the groups just came up with the same ideas independently archaeologists will need to keep digging for more evidence the new research is published in the journal proceedings of the national academy of sciences the artifacts, approximately 50,000 years old, come from two locations in france modern humans are thought to have arrived in europe some 40,000 years ago one of the sites is a classic neanderthal cave site called pech de l'aze there, researchers found part of the tip of a bone tool, just a few centimeters long scientists believe it is part of a bone tool because of how rounded and polished the tip is the other site is abri peyrony, located about 35 kilometers away in a shallow valley up against a low cliff base, mcpherron said at abri peyrony, excavators found two more fragments like the one at pech de l'aze, and a complete tool specimen mcpherron said both of these sites are known to be the stomping grounds of neanderthals because other fossils and tools characteristic of their species have been found there, and artifacts and bones from modern humans have not been uncovered there at pech de l'aze, the skull of a neanderthal child was found 'here we have just neanderthal deposits, and so we can rule out any contamination from later time period deposits,' mcpherron said scientists already knew that neanderthals could make bone tools, but previous specimens looked just like their stone tools archaeologists had established that neanderthals would take bones and remove flakes to make scrapers, notch tools and hand axes, mcpherron said these tools didn't make use of the inherently distinct properties of bone 'this paper adds further evidence that during their final 20,000 years, the neanderthals displayed aspects of behavioral complexity that we normally associate with modern humans,' said chris stringer at the natural history museum in london, who was not involved in the study, in an e mail the four newly discovered tool fragments appear very similar to a leather smoother called a lissoir, meaning 'to make smooth' neanderthals appear to have made them from the ribs of an animal the size of a red deer feeling like a neanderthal? here's why a lissoir compacts a hide, makes the leather more water resistant and easier to work with, and gives it a shine, mcpherron said this type of tool is commonly found at some of the oldest modern human sites in western europe high end leather workers today still use such tools to emphasize this point, mcpherron and colleagues bought one on the internet researchers compared the wear and tear on one of their specimens to damage to a tool that the researchers produced themselves, used against a hide they found similarities but they haven't proven that the neanderthal tools were for leather crafting 'a whole study has to be done to actually demonstrate that that's what they were used for,' he said the lissoir is a tool made of bone that cannot be made of stone, mcpherron said it 'takes advantage of the flexibility and pliability and supple aspects of bone' these are the oldest specialized bone tools meaning they were made in a way that focuses on the properties of bone in europe, mcpherron said they are not the oldest in the world in africa, modern humans were making similarly complicated bone tools around the same time in turkey, sophisticated bone tools have been found as well, from about the same time so, did neanderthals learn these tool making technologies from humans who came from elsewhere? if that's the case, that means modern humans were in europe earlier than previously believed, mcpherron said he and his colleagues suspect that these tools predate the arrival of humans, which would suggest that neanderthals invented them independently but he suspects there will be debate about whether the 50,000 year old tools are old enough to be certain that there weren't already modern humans in europe there are still a lot of open questions: how widespread are these tools? how did neanderthals make them, and how did modern humans make them? what kind of animals were used? ron pinhasi, researcher at the university college dublin, called this research 'an important and interesting study' in an e mail but he noted that this does not suggest that neanderthals had the same cognitive capacities as modern humans cave art and art objects are one of the hallmarks of modern humans during this time period, called the upper palaeolithic there have not been any clear cut discoveries of neanderthals making bone ornaments or other such objects, pinhasi said 'in my opinion, it is the capacity to produce objects whose function is non utilitarian (and most likely symbolic) which marks a major leap in human evolution and this leap is not yet evidenced in the case of neanderthals and other premodern humans,' pinhasi said so, neanderthals may not have been carving bone for art's sake, but they may have independently invented something useful enough to be sold online today | alpiste aldermanship cdf | no related information |
(cnn) japan says it will hunt whales in the southern ocean this winter and will send a fisheries agency ship to guard its whalers against promised intervention by a conservation group 'the fisheries agency will send a patrol boat and take increased measures to strengthen the protection given to the research whaling ships,' fisheries minister michihiko kano said at a news conference tuesday at its annual meeting in july, the international whaling commission passed a resolution calling on its member countries 'to cooperate to prevent and suppress actions that risk human life and property at sea' last winter, japan cut short its planned december to april hunt by two months after anti whaling activists from the sea shepherd conservation society repeatedly interfered with the whaling vessels sea shepherd claims it saved 800 whales by its actions during last season's hunt japanese whalers killed 171 minke whales and two fin whales during the antarctic hunt, according to iwc figures in a statement issued last friday, sea shepherd vowed to take on the whaling vessels again 'they will have to kill us to prevent us from intervening once again we will undertake whatever risks to our lives will be required to stop this invasion of arrogant greed into what is an established sanctuary for the whales,' sea shepherd's leader, paul watson, said in a statement on the organization's website sea shepherd will have more than 100 people in the southern ocean to block the japanese whaling fleet, according to the statement kano said japan wants to continue research whaling with the aim of establishing that whale stocks are sufficient to resume a full commercial hunt in the future, according to japanese media reports sea shepherd contends that the research hunts are a sham, with meat from the hunts being sold to consumers and served in restaurants australia's government condemned japan's decision to resume its research hunt and its plans for future commercial hunts 'the australian government remains opposed to all commercial whaling, including so called 'scientific whaling' we will keep working to achieve a permanent end to all commercial whaling,' environment minister tony burke said in a statement 'australia believes japan's whaling is contrary to international law and should stop,' australian attorney general robert mcclelland said 'that is why australia is taking our case in the international court of justice to bring to an end southern ocean whaling permanently' japan also hunts whales in the northern pacific, taking 100 sei whales, 50 bryde's, 119 minke and three sperm whales last season, according to the iwc iceland and norway also conduct whale hunts aboriginal whale hunts are permitted in the danish territory of greenland, the united states, russia, and st vincent and the grenadines | japan australia | japan's hunt last winter was cut short 2 months due to activists . anti whaling group says it saved 800 whales . australia's attorney general wants japan's whaling to stop |
kabul, afghanistan (cnn) a group of former us military and intelligence officers, including retired navy seals, appear in a 22 minute documentary that was released on wednesday asserting that the obama administration has leaked considerable classified intelligence about the raid that killed osama bin laden for political gain they also claim that the administration has given itself too much credit for this feat of american arms and intelligence gathering the film even makes the dramatic charge that the obama administration is 'purposefully putting lives in jeopardy' because of its purported leaks about national security the charges bear some resemblance to the 'swift boat' tactics used against sen john kerry in the tight 2004 presidential election against president george w bush in which kerry's service in vietnam, seemingly a strength of the candidate, was turned into a weakness gop strategists: bain attack ads are this year's swift boat campaign the particulars of the indictment against obama as laid out in the new film, which is titled 'dishonorable disclosures,' are: the president announced the bin laden raid before intelligence picked up from bin laden's compound could be fully exploited the use of hitherto covert 'stealth' helicopters on the raid was publicized the name of the secret unit that executed the raid seal team six was made public putting them and their families at risk the name of the pakistani doctor recruited by the cia to help find bin laden was leaked, jeopardizing him and the cia's ability to recruit spies in the future the doctor is now serving 33 years in a pakistani prison pakistani doctor who helped us appeals verdict obama has taken way too much credit for killing al qaeda's leader 'mr president, you did not kill osama bin laden, america did the work that the american military has done killed osama bin laden you did not,' says a former navy seal interviewed in the film criticism of the way that the bin laden raid has been discussed publicly by the obama administration makes up the bulk of 'dishonorable disclosures,' but the administration is also taken to task for supposedly leaking details of covert us actions against the iranian nuclear program to new york times reporter david sanger (who has said he was not the recipient of 'deliberate leaks out of the white house') and outlining to other journalists the personal involvement of obama in selecting targets for the cia drone program in pakistan one former navy seal featured in the film demands dramatically, 'tell the president to stop leaking information to the enemy' is there any merit to these serious accusations? in fact, obama and his national security team made every effort successfully to keep the intelligence about bin laden a closely held secret for almost a year, from the time they first identified what they believed might be the al qaeda leader's hideout in the city of abbottabad, pakistan, in august 2010 until may 1, 2011, when the raid was launched to kill him the raid itself was conducted as a covert operation under the overall direction of then cia director leon panetta i have written a book about the hunt for bin laden during the course of which i was the only journalist granted access by the pakistanis inside the compound in abbottabad where bin laden was killed i also spoke on the record about the hunt for bin laden with a variety of current white house, pentagon and intelligence officials, as well as former defense department and cia officials familiar with aspects of the story none of them divulged classified information about the bin laden operation indeed, they went to great pains to avoid doing so what precipitated the operation going public was not obama's announcement of the raid but the crash of one of the black hawk choppers used in the raid, which turned what had hitherto been a covert operation into a very public event pakistani journalists started arriving at bin laden's abbottabad compound soon after the helicopter crashed and started filing stories about the mysterious helicopter and its oddly shaped tail rotor an abbottabad resident even tweeted about the unusual sound of helicopters flying over the city in the middle of the night it wasn't much of a leap for reporters to ascertain that these helicopters had particular features that had prevented them from being detected by pakistani radar soon after the seals had raided the abbottabad command, pakistani officials on the ground were interrogating bin laden's wives and children at the compound who told them that bin laden had just been killed none of this was going to stay secret for long indeed, it was gen ashfaq parvez kayani, pakistan's top military officer, who sped up the obama administration's announcement of the raid a few hours after the raid, kayani told his american counterpart, adm mike mullen, 'our people need to understand what happened here we're not going to be able to manage the pakistani media without you confirming this you can explain it to them they need to understand that this was bin laden and not just some ordinary us operation' mullen then told obama and his national security team, 'kayani has asked for us to go public,' which swayed obama to announce the raid sooner than was planned (obama wanted to wait for 100% dna confirmation that it was bin laden at the time of the president's announcement about the raid the confirmation was at 95%) during his speech to the nation and world, obama did not divulge the name of seal team six, saying only that a 'small team of americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability' a visit to osama bin laden's lair it quickly leaked that seal team six had executed the raid, but this was hardly surprising as the seals are the principal special operations forces in the afghanistan/pakistan theater, something that has been discussed in multiple news stories over the past several years and in bestselling books such as 'lone survivor' by former navy seal marcus luttrell and the seals have hardly kept a low profile of late, cooperating in a movie 'act of valor' that was released in theaters this year, which actually featured real seals playing the parts of the heroes of the movie perhaps if you had absolutely no knowledge of the us military, or indeed access to wikipedia where seal team six has had an entry since 2004, it would be news to you that seal team six, along with the army's delta force, are america's premier counterterrorism units obviously, a mission to take out bin laden would not be entrusted to any other than these elite units so the notion that the public naming of the unit that killed bin laden endangers the lives of its members and their families is overwrought members of seal team six are well able to take care of themselves and their families and who first leaked the involvement of seal team six in the bin laden operation remains unclear it is just plain wrong that anyone in the us government leaked the name of the cia asset in pakistan, dr shakil afridi, who was recruited by the agency in its quest to find bin laden this information first surfaced in a story in the guardian newspaper in july 2011 after afridi was arrested by the pakistani intelligence service, isi it is obvious that this information was leaked not by the americans but the pakistanis who have done their own investigation of the bin laden raid, which embarrassed them considerably as to the notion that obama has taken too much credit for the bin laden raid, well he is commander in chief, and it was entirely his decision to launch the risky raid on abbottabad based on the only fragmentary intelligence that bin laden might be there as adm william mcraven, who was the military commander of the bin laden raid, told cnn's wolf blitzer last month, 'at the end of the day, make no mistake about it, it was the president of the united states that shouldered the burden for this operation, that made the hard decisions, that was instrumental in the planning process, because i pitched every plan to him' the raid decision was opposed by vice president joe biden, who had run for the democratic nomination for the presidency against obama if biden had won the white house in 2008, osama bin laden might still be alive and the decision to do the raid was also opposed by secretary of defense robert gates, who had served every president going back to richard nixon gates was concerned about some kind of replay of the 1980 iran hostage rescue debacle, which helped to turn president jimmy carter into a one term president the notion that the decision to greenlight the risky raid was made by anyone other than obama is just plain silly, and it was a decision he made against the advice of both his vice president and his secretary of defense the film 'dishonorable disclosures' gets even sillier at one point one of the former officers interviewed for the film charges that the obama administration 'divulged to the world we are using drone technology' the fact that the united states uses drones in pakistan is one of the world's worst kept secrets in fact, the new america foundation where i work has maintained a public database of these attacks since early 2010' first look at the osama bin laden movie similarly, the claim that the obama administration has recently leaked information about the stuxnet virus attacks on the iranian nuclear program to the new york times is overblown, as this information has been reported since 2010, and the iranians themselves publicly acknowledged that their nuclear program was under cyberattack two years ago it is true that the us role in the cyberattacks was disclosed in the new york times and in june, attorney general eric holder appointed two federal prosecutors to investigate leaks including the new york times story about obama ordering the cyberattacks against iran with the stuxnet virus there remains much that is unknown about the still classified intelligence surrounding the bin laden raid, including: how did the cia find the real name of bin laden's courier who was the key to finding him? how was the courier's cell phone first tracked down? how was he tracked to bin laden's compound in abbottabad? how did the cia establish a safe house in abbottabad? and who staffed it? none of this information has been leaked, and it remains classified for good reason as it gets into the cia's 'sources and methods' don't expect to hear any of those details any time soon | us obama peter bergen white house bergen bin laden | former us officers accuse obama of leaking classified information for political gain . peter bergen says much of the information cited came from sources outside white house . he says administration sought to keep details secret, but events led to disclosures . bergen says the idea that obama doesn't deserve credit for bin laden raid is wrong |
(cnn) the company owns the venetian resort hotel casino and the sands expo and convention center in las vegas, nevada and the sands macau in the people's republic of china's special administrative region of macau, as well as venetian macau limited, a developer of additional multiple casino hotel resort properties in macau the first phase of the venetian casino resort opened in may 1999, which originally consisted of 3,036 suites though the number of suites was reduced over time to 3,014 based on renovations and remodeling since it's opening, the property has received recognition as revolutionizing the las vegas hotel industry, and has been honored with architectural and other awards naming it as one the finest hotels in the world in 2003, the venetian added the 1,013 suite venezia tower giving the venetian 4,027 suites, 18 world class restaurants, and a retail mall with canals, gondolas and singing gondoliers in may 2004, las vegas sands opened the sands macau, located on china's southeastern coast the sands macau includes approximately 163,000 square feet of gaming facilities, luxury suites, specialty restaurants and an international vip club in december 2004, in one of the year's most anticipated initial public offerings, dr and mr adelson rang the opening bell at the new york stock exchange and with it shares of las vegas sands corp began trading the price of the sands stock rose 61 percent on its opening day, becoming the largest opening day of any american based initial public offering in the last two years the venetian casino resort is one of the most productive properties on the strip, having an occupancy rate of 983% and an average daily room rate of $219 during the nine months ended september 30, 2004 e mail to a friend | allophanamide threadfoot squintingly | no related information |
washington (cnn) state department officials should serve where they are needed even in war torn iraq, us secretary of state condoleezza rice said friday us secretary of state condoleezza rice says that 'people need to serve where they are needed' rice was responding to foreign service officers' objections to the possibility of 'directed assignments' in iraq the issue has caused an uproar in the state department, resulting in a contentious town hall style meeting wednesday the new directives would be needed if enough qualified foreign service officers don't step forward to fill open positions at the us embassy in baghdad if the state department enforces directed assignments, it will be the first time since the vietnam war era one official called the order to serve in iraq 'a potential death sentence' during the town meeting the state department already has begun notifying about 200 people considered prime candidates those chosen will be given 10 days to respond, according to last week's announcement unless they have a valid medical reason to refuse, those who decline could face dismissal, it said wednesday's heated meeting was replayed on an internal state department television channel in washington several times and talked about widely some at the hourlong meeting questioned why they were not told of the policy change directly, learning about it instead from news organizations last week watch the diplomats exchange angry words » 'i just have no respect for the whole process because you've demonstrated a lack of respect for your own colleagues,' said foreign service officer jack croddy 'thank you for that comment it's full of inaccuracies, but that's ok,' harry thomas jr, director general of the foreign service, shot back others pointed out the risks of such assignments, considering the dangers of a war zone, lack of security and regular rocket attacks on us personnel rice, who did not attend the meeting, tried to calm things down friday by underscoring the state department's attempts to do 'everything that we can to try and protect our diplomats' however, she said, 'this is one of the highest priority tasks of the united states, and we're going to meet our obligations' speaking to reporters en route to turkey and the mideast, she said, 'i don't know if we will have direct assignments or not, but we are one foreign service, and people need to serve where they are needed' the secretary sent out a cable to state department employees worldwide encouraging them to serve in iraq 'this year [us ambassador ryan crocker] has identified the need for additional positions to more effectively accomplish our mission in iraq,' rice said in the cable rice said she has decided to go forward with the identification of officers to serve, 'should it prove necessary to direct assignments' 'should others step forward, as some already have, we will fill these new jobs as we have before with volunteers however, regardless of how the jobs may be filled, they must be filled,' she said rice earlier said reports that the state department was finding it hard to coax foreign service employees into iraq 'couldn't be further from the truth' the assignments are new positions fifteen people have stepped forward to volunteer for iraq service since the new policy was announced october 26, department spokesman sean mccormack said mccormack rejected comments by rep duncan hunter, r california, that state department employees are 'nervous nellies' and that wounded us military veterans should be asked to fill the iraq vacancies mccormack said until now the state department has been successful in filling jobs in iraq with volunteers since 2003, more than 1,500 personnel have volunteered to go to iraq, he said but with the expansion of the staff in iraq this year, 58 spots were left open 'they are serving in dangerous and challenging places,' he said 'we have a lot of brave people who are stepping up to the plate in anbar and basra and baghdad and kabul and a lot of other places that are not necessarily in the headlines' state department employees have been killed in iraq, but mccormack could not say how many e mail to a friend cnn's zain verjee and charley keyes contributed to this report | condoleezza rice iraq rice | condoleezza rice responds to foreign service officers' objections on iraq duty . 'directed assignments' will be enforced if enough officers don't volunteer in iraq . rice: department doing 'everything that we can to try and protect our diplomats'. one official calls order to serve in iraq 'a potential death sentence' |
san diego, california (cnn) favorable weather and firefighter reinforcements helped ease the fire danger in parts of southern california thursday, but the human toll from the disaster was still coming to light a firefighter watches the harris fire four bodies were found in a canyon in the path of the blaze thursday the number of deaths attributed directly to the fires grew to seven thursday, after the charred bodies of four people believed to be illegal immigrants were found in a canyon east of san diego seven other deaths are labeled as fire related: three elderly people died during evacuations, and four others died after being evacuated improving conditions allowed more people to come home thursday, but new evacuations were ordered in areas where the unrelenting flames marched on where residents could return, they often found ash and rubble in place of their homes 'we see pictures from online and on tv, but it's just, it's much different when you see it up front,' said louela binlac in front of what remained of her rancho bernardo home 'the most important thing is that our family is still together, everybody is safe, and eventually we will rebuild again,' she said 'those things you can replace we are just all grateful that everybody is safe' rancho bernardo resident marilyn wood said it was 'really scary' to come back to the pile of ashes she once called home her voice breaking, wood vowed to rebuild and recounted how she and her husband, gordon, fled early monday with only minutes to spare see photos of the fires » '(our house) was burning as we were leaving,' she said president bush got a firsthand look at the aftermath of the devastating fires thursday 10 still burning across seven counties he promised federal help for those affected by the fires watch bush tour the damage » 'we're not going to forget you in washington, dc,' the president said after touring the area by air and visiting rancho bernardo with california gov arnold schwarzenegger watch a report on bush as 'comforter in chief' » bush signed a federal disaster declaration wednesday, freeing money to help residents rent temporary homes and repair damaged homes and businesses and to help local and state agencies pay for the emergency response the cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in san diego county alone, an emergency official said people left homeless by the fires can apply online for federal help at femagov, said federal emergency management agency director david paulison watch a tour of fema's command center » almost 9,000 firefighters battled the blazes, augmented by reinforcements from dozens of states across the country twenty three fires have scorched 472,478 acres (738 square miles), an area roughly three quarters of the size of rhode island see where the fires are still burning » along with homes and businesses, the flames have destroyed roughly one third of san diego county's lucrative avocado crop, along with other croplands, greenhouses and nurseries a change in the winds from a ferocious 100 mph on sunday to an almost manageable 10 mph on thursday brought welcome relief and allowed a full bore aerial assault on the fires reinforcements from across the country arrived to aid the exhausted firefighters, officials said while the fires still threatened some 25,000 homes, the burn rate in the region a measure made up of factors like wind speed, humidity and available fuel was significantly lower thursday, a spokeswoman at the california department of forestry and protection said residents of several communities, including the city of san diego, were allowed to return home wednesday and thursday, but more evacuations were ordered the latest covering the communities of lake henshaw and mesa grande and the la jolla indian reservation in san diego county with the shifting fires, some shelters closed as others opened closer to danger in san diego, mayor jerry sanders announced that qualcomm stadium the home of nfl's chargers that held 11,000 evacuees at the height of the fires but dropped to 750 wednesday night would close to evacuees 'as we transition from a large scale emergency evacuation center into the recovery process, we have begun assisting all evacuees to find more suitable shelter and housing,' sanders said 'toward that end, qualcomm will close as an emergency shelter at noon tomorrow [friday]' meanwhile, arson investigations were under way in orange and riverside counties in connection with some of the wildfires watch how arson investigators look for clues » the orange county sheriff's department announced a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the 23,000 acre santiago fire, local officials said watch the raging flames of the santiago fire » 'for someone to even think about doing something as reprehensible as starting a fire, where they knew that the fire would grow as rapidly as it would, traveling about three, 3½ miles in about an hour, is just, is really absolutely unconscionable,' orange county battalion chief kris concepcion said on cnn's 'american morning' the fbi and the atf are assisting orange county authorities with the investigation in addition, the california department of forestry and fire protection considers the rosa fire in riverside county an arson case that fire burned more than 400 acres before being fully contained in other arson investigations, two men have been arrested in san bernardino county, one in san fernando and an adult and a juvenile in san diego county none are believed connected with the major fires burning in the area e mail to a friend copyright 2007 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | qualcomm stadium noon friday san diego southern california bush washington | new: qualcomm stadium to close as an emergency shelter at noon friday . charred bodies of three men and a woman found near san diego . more than half of southern california fires are fully contained . bush to fire victims: we're not going to forget you in washington |
(cnn) the commander of the nuclear powered submarine uss hampton has been relieved of his command amid an inquiry into misconduct by crew members, the us navy said friday the uss hampton appears in an undated photograph cmdr michael b portland lost his post 'due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command,' the navy said in a statement cmdr william j houston will replace portland the crew neither maintained inspection records nor conducted the required inspection of chemical levels associated with the cooling system of the ship's nuclear reactor, navy officials said the crew then went back and falsified existing records to make it appear the work had been done 'there is not, and never was, any danger to the crew or the public,' the navy said portland's demotion brings to 10 the number of people relieved of duty on the submarine in the wake of the misconduct probe six personnel have been punished for forging inspection records for the cooling system, the navy officials said monday those six one officer and five enlisted personnel received a 'nonjudicial punishment' after other navy personnel discovered their actions, the officials said the navy said friday that one officer and two enlisted crew members have been temporarily reassigned to submarine squadron 11 portland also will be temporarily reassigned to that squadron the misconduct was discovered september 17 but not made public until after completion of an initial inquiry a fact finding investigation is under way, and further action against navy crew members is possible, a navy official said the hampton remains in port in san diego, california in all, the $900 million vessel's crew includes 13 officers and 116 enlisted personnel e mail to a friend | navy | navy says it has lost confidence in officer's ability to command . crew members on sub disciplined for faking inspection records, navy says . ten people have been relieved of duty; six received 'nonjudicial punishment' |
(cnn) a bus hopped a highway median and crashed into a pickup truck before being broadsided by an 18 wheeler, arkansas police said, killing the pickup driver and two bus riders two passengers were found dead inside the bus, said arkansas state police forty people were hurt in sunday night's crash, which shut down a 13 mile stretch of interstate 40 east of forrest city, arkansas, said state police spokesman bill sadler the bus was westbound en route from chicago, illinois, to dallas, texas the driver of the pickup truck identified as 30 year old danny okurily of hot springs, arkansas died at the scene of the accident, sadler said bus driver felix tapia, 28, of brownsville, texas, and tractor trailer driver david rice, 45, of mars hill, north carolina, suffered minor injuries, according to the associated press two passengers were also found dead inside the bus, he said their names were not released because authorities have not yet notified relatives, sadler said several dozen injured passengers were taken to hospitals in forrest city, memphis and west memphis, said police the bus, which listed 44 passengers on its manifest, was owned and operated by the tornado bus line, which is based in dallas, texas, sadler said the crash happened just after 10 pm ct about 10 miles east of forrest city and about 40 miles west of memphis, tennessee, sadler said e mail to a friend copyright 2007 cnn all rights reservedthis material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed associated press contributed to this report | ap i 40 13 miles forrest city arkansas | bus driver, tractor trailer trucker injured in 3 vehicle crash, ap reports . bus crossed median, hit pickup truck, then 18 wheeler, killing 3 . all lanes of i 40 closed for 13 miles east of forrest city, arkansas . driver of the pickup truck and two bus passengers killed, police say |
(cnn) political consensus was hard to find at last month's rio +20 earth summit but there was at least one group speaking with unity on the planet's environmental and economic future hundreds of activists gathered on the city's copacabana beach to make a simple demand of their elected leaders and representatives: commit to ending fossil fuel subsidies, now more than a million people around the world including actor robert redford and comedian stephen fry were quick to lend their support by backing #endfossilfuelsubsidies, an affiliated online campaign but as the summit came to a close it became clear that no new enforceable commitments on the issue were to be included in the final version of the rio agreement text for those behind the protest however, the widespread exposure and support afforded the oft ignored subject ensured their efforts still represented a success see also: was rio +20 a failure of political leadership? 'this all falls into changing our energy usage patterns, which i believe is the pre eminent challenge of the 21st century,' says steve kretzmann, founder of oil change international, an environmental advocacy group that backs the #endfossilfuelsubsidies campaign 'the first place to start is to stop putting public money towards fossil fuels,' he adds 'this is not because anybody has it in for the fossil fuel industry what we're talking about is what the public's money actually should support' estimates as to how much this support equates to vary from study to study, as do methods and standards for calculation the international energy agency (iea) reported that internationally $409 billion worth of government money flowed into the coffers of the fossil fuel industry in consumption subsidies (designed to make fuel more affordable and accessible to the consumer) in 2010 a separate study from the us natural resources defense council estimates that global fossil fuel subsidies will reach $775 billion this year when producer subsidies (designed to facilitate greater fuel production) are added on however kretzmann believes these figures may only be the tip of the iceberg and could actually top $1 trillion every year he says there is often a lack of transparency in how some governments report the incentives, with many transferred as hard to calculate tax credits kretzmann similarly laments the comparatively sparse investment in renewable energy subsidies (which stood at $66 billion in 2010 according to the iea) as a wasted opportunity to create less polluting energy sources whilst encouraging growth in the green economy 'at the end of the day, not only is this bad policy but its also bad economics,' he says 'long term, renewables are a better option for the environment and the economy there are multiple studies that show how much more labor intensive renewables are and how they create more jobs per unit of energy created' see also: who's funding green energy however others are more cautious about the consequences that an about turn in energy policy could create 'in certain countries and situations, subsidies are essential to peoples way of life,' says dan kish the deputy vice president of policy at the institute for energy research, a washington dc based organization that advocates free market energy policies any alteration to this arrangement could cause prices to balloon, weakening development and in the worst case scenario leading to social unrest, he adds kish points out that a large proportion of subsidies are in fact designed to keep fuel prices artificially low, enabling consumers in some of the world's poorest regions access to basic energy products 'at the g20 they are calling for the end of fossil fuels subsidies but what they are really talking about is the developing world,' he says 'if you want a pejorative to describe the situation what we've got is a bunch of rich countries whose people have used energy to become rich assigning blame for subsidies on those countries that are poorer' see also: the problem with fossil fuel subsidies kish also believes that renewables still can't compete with traditional energy sources in terms of their cost effectiveness, accessibility and energy output 'the only fair way to look at subsidies is to analyze the subsidy per unit of energy produced on that score the numbers are incredibly slanted against renewables,' he says 'just because you can make energy from something doesn't mean that it makes sense competitively or economically' effective and efficient energy policy in the long term, kish explains, would see individual countries pursue the sources of energy that are most accessible and affordable to them, be they renewable or fossil fuel 'the best energy policy is that which makes energy as cheap, reliable and abundant as possible for the most people so that economies can grow,' he says | beechnuts blackbelly etherealising | no related information |
(cnn) if someone had asked kelly pless to describe herself three years ago, the word 'fit' would have never crossed her mind kelly pless weighed 220 pounds at her heaviest she lost 95 pounds through diet and exercise for most of her adult life, the 31 year old graduate student from sunny isles beach, florida, has struggled with her weight she started gaining as a teenager and by the time she graduated from high school, she was carrying 215 pounds on her 5' 2' frame prom, she says, was a nightmare 'i had to go to three different stores to buy a dress,' pless said 'i had to buy the biggest, also the ugliest, prom dress the store had because it was the only one that would fit' after high school, she lost 50 pounds but because she hadn't done it in a healthy way, her weight crept back up to 220 pounds at 28, she started having trouble breathing and doctors told her the weight was to blame she reached her breaking point 'i remember being heavy and feeling like being fit just wasn't something i could be,' said pless 'i remember feeling like even if i tried, it wasn't something my body was capable of' despite her doubts, pless decided to do something fortunately she didn't have to look far for inspiration see before and after weight loss photos from cnncom i reporters » 'my manager at the kennedy space center ran marathons, and he was the same age as my father,' she said because her own father had diabetes and was in poor health, he seemed much older, she said over the next three to four months, she began walking, without any real goal or expectation pless believed that if she just focused on eating less and moving more, everything would fall into place 'at first, it was hard to start exercising because i was worried people would make fun of me,' pless said 'but then i just told myself, if that's the worst that could happen i just got out there and didn't care' eventually, she started to run or 'shuffle' as she jokingly recalls she also adopted an 'eat to live' philosophy and satisfied her cravings for sweets by eating lots of fruit 'i changed how i felt about food and what it meant to me,' said pless, who occasionally indulges in a bite of birthday cake or a piece of chocolate 'one of the first things i cut out was cakes and cookies that was my weak spot after a few months of cutting those things out, i focused more on portion control,' said pless 'i pretty much eat when i'm hungry and don't eat when i'm not and really try to pay attention to when those times are make sure i'm not eating out of boredom or [at] social events, i try to make sure i'm not overeating, just because everyone else is' kelly pless shares her weight loss secrets » pless pays close attention to societal pressure, which she believes is the reason many people overeat restaurant servings are about three times bigger than a normal portion size, she says she makes sure she doesn't overeat when dining out simply because the food is there 'what's hard is to change how you feel about foods that you love or that aren't necessarily good for you, or actually change how you look at food that was the hardest part for me' instead of giving in to the temptation or convenience of calorie laden or fatty foods such as cheeseburgers from the drive through, pless asks herself, 'what do i really want to eat? or, what does my body really want right now?' all of the hard work and determination paid off pless has lost 95 pounds and kept it off for 1½ years as a result, she says, she's healthier and more confident she's also set a new professional goal to pursue a doctorate in food and exercise psychology so she can help others who are battling obesity and eating disorders '[the] negative side to weight loss is that people treat people differently being fat was a good filter i'm automatically treated better by people because i'm thinner society is so hard on people who are overweight or obese,' said pless 'now, those people think i'm funnier or smarter' pless runs about 40 miles a week while she trains for two marathons she plans to run this winter the first is in november in las vegas, nevada, and the second is in miami, florida, in january forty pounds ago, the first thing she wanted to do once she lost the weight was to have a tummy tuck to remove all of the loose skin but now, she said she can't imagine taking the break from running that recovering from surgery would require 'running has become a constant for me and does so much more for me than maintain my weight, which is now about 125 pounds,' said pless if her past is any indication of her future success, pless will certainly cross the finish line i report: have you lost weight? share your story, tips and photos e mail to a friend | kelly 220 pounds 95 pounds 40 miles two marathons this winter | kelly pless started gaining as a teen and weighed 220 pounds at her heaviest . exercise and an 'eat to live' eating philosophy helped her shed 95 pounds . pless started out walking but now runs 40 miles a week . she is training to run two marathons this winter |
(cnn) long lines lingered in some key states after polls closed in most of the united states, but voters and election officials reported few snags in tuesday's balloting in florida and virginia, people who were in line at the end of voting hours were allowed to cast their ballots a process that took hours and stretched until nearly midnight tuesday 'there have been polling places where there was no down time,' said donald palmer, the secretary of virginia's state board of elections 'there was a consistent, heavy stream of voters' but the process was 'very error free,' he said earlier in the day, those long lines prompted some voters to walk away in states such as florida and pennsylvania, election observers said politics: no surprises for obama, romney in earliest projections in ohio, one of the most closely watched swing states, authorities recorded only a handful of complaints 'we are unaware of any problems that would substantially stall the reporting process,' secretary of state jon husted said tuesday night in two pennsylvania counties, a voting machine had to be recalibrated after voters complained that it incorrectly displayed their vote for president election officials said the voters were able to cast ballots for their intended candidate, and there were no further complaints once the machines were fixed numerous problems were reported around philadelphia the nonpartisan election monitors from the independent committee of seventy said two voting machines had broken down at one precinct on the city's north side, forcing poll workers to issue provisional ballots that slowed down an already long line, and at least 30 voters had dropped out, the group said a judge in the heavily democratic city ordered election officials to cover a mural of president barack obama at one city school that was being used as a polling location tuesday morning after republicans complained the painting violated electioneering laws politics: could close race produce a popular/electoral vote split? gop poll monitors were being escorted into precincts by sheriff's deputies after some observers had been denied access earlier in the day, said tasha jamerson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office as many as 64 of the monitors had been turned away before a judge ordered election officials to admit them, the local republican party chapter said one of the complaints about misbehaving electronic voting machines occurred in millerstown, in central pennsylvania's perry county, where election officials said they recalibrated the unit after one voter recorded a video of it registering a vote for obama as one for his republican challenger, mitt romney the video drew thousands of comments on youtube and was first confirmed by nbc news but ron ruman, a spokesman for the pennsylvania secretary of state's office, told cnn the machine was taken offline after the man complained about it, election workers recalibrated it and there have been no more complaints a second complaint emerged later tuesday in lewisburg, in nearby union county andy hirsch told cnn that he pressed the box to select obama several times, only to see the machine indicate a vote for romney hirsch also captured the scene on video, showing him pressing the obama box several times before the vote registered correctly hirsch said he reported the problem to a volunteer poll worker who was calm and receptive to the issue and told him the machine had been having problems all day opinion: from sandy, a lesson for election 'i thought, gee, that's probably not the reaction to have when casting a ballot for president of the united states,' he said the worker suggested he use a pencil eraser to finish his ballot, but the video he shot shows the same issue hirsch said he saw workers shutting down the machine as he left greg katherman, union county's director of elections, confirmed there was an issue with one voting machine, but said there were no further issues after the machine was recalibrated in other states, most complaints focused on long lines but in pinellas county, florida, which includes st petersburg, officials had to send a corrective message to 12,000 absentee voters on tuesday after an automated call told them they needed to get their ballot in 'tomorrow' the message was supposed to have gone out monday, but was sent out tuesday because of a computer glitch, said nancy whitlock, a spokeswoman for the county supervisor of elections why you can't vote online yet in the cleveland suburb of solon, ohio, dina rock said an optical scan voting machine jammed at her precinct, backing up the line and leaving voters confused as to how their votes would be counted a poll worker told them to leave their ballots in a bin, 'and he was not friendly at all,' she said 'people were getting frustrated, and nobody knew what to do,' she said voters were told, 'just put it in here and we'll fix it later,' she said concerned her vote wouldn't be tabulated, she said she called the cuyahoga county board of elections and was told the ballots would be manually fed into the machine later 'at that point, i just said, 'ok, that's just what it is, and i will trust that you know what you're doing and i will trust that my vote counts,' she said 'i'm a very trusting person, and i hope people are honest and they'll do the right thing' in hamilton county, which includes cincinnati, as many as 15% of voters in some traditional democratic precincts had been issued provisional ballots more than 20,000 provisional ballots were issued in hamilton county, a traditional republican stronghold that went for obama in 2008 and in new jersey, state officials allowed voters displaced by superstorm sandy last week to cast ballots electronically or by fax but they extended their deadline to submit those votes until friday amid numerous complaints about the system what to watch for on election night the state chapter of the american civil liberties union went to court tuesday afternoon on behalf of voters who said their requests for an electronic ballot weren't being acknowledged 'what's happening is they're not receiving any sort of response from their respective county election officials,' said katie wang, a spokeswoman for the group voters still had to submit an application to vote electronically by 5 pm tuesday, according to an executive order signed by lt gov kim guadagno but they had until 8 pm friday to submit the ballots, the order states and in new york, which was also smacked by sandy, polling stations around new york city saw long, slow moving lines gov andrew cuomo's last minute decree that any voter could vote at any precinct, a move intended to help those displaced by sandy, made it 'a little insane right now' at the polling station at public school 41 in greenwich village, a poll coordinator there told cnn tuesday afternoon 'so we have everybody coming in from everywhere,' said the coordinator, a republican who asked not to be named 'it was for displaced people, but others are taking advantage of it' check up to the minute results here cnn's brad rhoads, ann colwell, sarah hoye and courtney yager contributed to this report | beancod tarnside stadias | no related information |
charlotte, north carolina (cnn) shane brown squeezed through a gap between sections of a steel security fence 9 feet high, picked his way across a vacant lot infested with fire ants and climbed atop a rickety wooden platform he stepped up and spoke into the microphone: 'god is a good, good god' his words were amplified over a hardscrabble patch of earth wedged against a highway the locals call the inner loop white plastic trash bins stood sentry against litter, but there was no one there to fill them brown, the first speaker to take the platform wednesday at the official 'free speech zone' of the democratic national convention, had an audience of just three two city workers and a reporter it was shortly before 3 pm, and the place had been deserted since it opened five hours earlier if a man be he a protester, a prophet or a pothead talks to a dozen trash cans in a vacant lot half a mile from a bustling political convention, does he make a sound? without pausing to ponder the question, brown simply turned and faced the massive traffic jam behind him on stonewall street, ironically in front of the nascar hall of fame it may have been a captive audience, but at least it was an audience 'god is a good, good god,' he began again and then, the generator powering the sound system shut down a city worker fiddled with the contraption, shrugging, 'i work for the transportation department, so of course now i'm the sound man' brown, meanwhile, carried on with a bullhorn, talking for nearly 40 minutes until the second speaker, also a street preacher, showed up late steve widdows' topic was 'sodomy, abortion, fornication' he taped up signs condemning 'wicked democrats' and 'abhor tion' his god apparently was not a happy god 'it is an abomination for a king to commit wickedness,' widdows preached, promising god's wrath against 'a former president' who, he said, phoned 'innocent grandmothers' in north carolina and told them they didn't have to support a law that defined marriage as a union 'between one man and one woman' opinion: even vile funeral protests are free speech and so it went each day, until the rain came or the sun went down, whichever happened first a preacher was followed by a speaker who wanted to legalize marijuana, who was followed by a group of atheists and agnostics, which was followed by a group of community singers if at times it seemed like a single hand clapping in the dark, the speakers did not complain widdows admits he was disappointed that no one was there to hear him preach, but he showed up all three days anyway after using his allotted 30 minutes, he said, he'd find a street corner 'where there were lots of people' and start preaching again 'when you say you're going to do something, you go ahead and do it,' he explained 'there was some benefit, to put the understanding on people i decided i was just going to go ahead and preach, and if anyone hears it, use it, lord' anarchists, occupiers and other protesters in charlotte shunned the official speakers' area, which they sneeringly called 'the pen' sure, some of them signed up but they gave false agendas, never intending to show 'we are under the impression that the whole country is a free speech zone,' said michael zytkow, a 26 year old organizer for occupy charlotte 'we were bothered by the idea of any government designated playground' carol sobel, a lawyer from santa monica, california, who co chairs the mass defense committee of the national lawyers guild, asked, 'who'd want to use it? you're talking to yourself' her group works to push back against what it views as government attempts to stifle dissent sobel keeps a photograph on her desk showing her with blackened eyes from rubber police bullets at the 2000 democratic national convention in los angeles 'my rights to freedom of assembly are being violated,' complained anarchist vermin supreme, a fixture at both of this year's conventions who wears a boot on his head and also happens to be running for president like most of the charlotte protesters, including the cadre of 200 or so occupy regulars who camped at marshall park, he took his case to the sidewalks and streets who's that protester with the boot on his head? on tuesday, the first day of the democratic convention, about 100 protesters blocked the intersection across the street from 'the pen,' demanding their free speech rights and entangling police in a two hour standoff that ended peacefully when the skies opened up for the daily downpour 'at least they gave us some entertainment,' said a city worker overseeing the free speech area, which had to be one of the loneliest convention assignments he passed the time reading a biography of yogi berra such was the state of free speech here during last week's democratic convention, and at the republican convention the week before in tampa, florida the first amendment of the us constitution protects the right to freely practice one's religion and publicly speak one's mind without government constraint or interference it also gives citizens the right to assemble and to air their grievances to their government but the law remains unsettled on whether the government has the power to say where the supreme court has established guidelines to measure whether speech restrictions pass constitutional muster the restrictions must be neutral and not based on content, and they must be specific; they must serve a significant government interest, such as public safety; and they must provide for alternative means of communication the free speech zones are meant to be that alternative means of communication, but the lawyers guild advises clients to avoid them and use the public sidewalks the designation of free speech zones at political conventions and other large gatherings has been evolving for more than two decades, sobel said in many instances, the free speech zones are set up far from the people whose attention the protesters seek 'it makes the protest invisible,' she said 'this has been a growing problem' it began at the democratic national convention in 1988 atlanta set up a 'designated protest zone' to prevent disruptions by anti abortion group operation rescue and its opponents the demonstrators objected to being confined to a 'free speech cage,' but the practice continued during the 1992 and 1996 conventions and, during the 1990s, free speech zones were designated in other public areas such as san francisco's airport, which had issues with panhandling hare krishnas both the tampa and charlotte conventions were designated special national security events, a category created in 1998 the massive protest against globalization during the 1999 world trade organization ministerial conference in seattle was the real game changer for how police and municipalities respond to protest, sobel said more than 40,000 protesters showed up and clashed violently with police in what became known as 'the battle in seattle' it left behind indelible images of protesters blocking intersections and smashing storefront windows and police responding with volleys of pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets the lawsuits that followed established that officials in seattle had a right to declare parts of the city off limits to everyone for security reasons, but were wrong to target just the protesters, sobel said tightened security was noticeable at the 2000 political conventions in philadelphia and los angeles city officials in los angeles tried to file a sealed document justifying the lockdown, but a judge refused to look at it attorneys challenged the remote location of the free speech zone and succeeded in moving the protest area to a lot directly across the street from the arena where the convention was held a year later, the september 11 terrorist attacks changed the way americans looked at security federal agencies were rearranged in 2002 under the department of homeland security, which determined which events should be considered special national security events conventions leave atheists asking: what political party represents me? the 2002 winter olympic games in salt lake city were given that designation, along with the super bowls and a handful other other high profile events the agency's head now decides which events earn the designation it puts the us secret service in charge of security and the fbi in charge of intelligence during political conventions, international trade meetings and other events that could become targets for terrorists over the years, the designation has come to apply to any event likely to attract mass protests by 2004, amped up security and a heavy police presence had become a way of life at the conventions protesters at the democratic convention in boston were corralled into a 'pen' with concrete walls and barbed wire and could not be seen by delegates they responded by donning prisoner of war uniforms and marching in circles inside what they called 'camp x ray' meanwhile, at the republican convention in new york, police on horses and motorized scooters herded protesters into 'pens' made of orange mesh, said gideon oliver, an attorney who represents some of the 1,800 people who were arrested eight years after the convention, a class action lawsuit alleging civil rights violations is still making its way through the federal courts in tampa this year, just two people were arrested during the republican national convention the city's downtown area was all but deserted except for the 4,000 cops in khaki fatigues giving the place all the ambiance of a third world city after a military coup in charlotte, 25 people were arrested police officers wore dark blue uniforms, which made them look more like cops some secret service agents were in casual street dress, and the security perimeter was much larger because the event involved president obama but in both cities, everyone was subjected to daily torrents from nature's water cannon, which may have been more effective than anything police could come up with to dampen dissent commenters divided over how free should free speech be | tampa charlotte first 1988 atlanta | hardly anyone used the 'free speech zones' at the conventions . the zones were set aside for protesters, others to voice their views . protesters complained zones were too far from the action in tampa, charlotte . free speech zones first established in 1988 in atlanta amid protests over abortion |
(cnn) hill harper, star of the cbs series 'csi: ny,' founded the manifest your destiny foundation to empower young people through mentoring, scholarship and grant programs harper, who is also a best selling author and a graduate of harvard law school and the kennedy school of government, served on the blue ribbon panel that selected this year's top 10 cnn heroes he recently spoke to cnn about the heroes campaign and his philanthropy below are excerpts from that interview cnn: why did you decide to name your organization the manifest your destiny foundation? hill harper: well, the name comes from the subtitle of my first book ['letters to a young brother: manifest your destiny'] and so what i wanted to do was take some of the profits from that and create this foundation i started to find that a lot of our young people just don't have mentors they don't have individuals to help them navigate their journey 'manifest your destiny' means what it is: if you have a dream, if you have a goal, let's figure out how to get you there the foundation started in 2005, and to date we've had 120 kids go through the program but we've had nearly 2,000 kids be touched by the program, whether it's us going out and speaking to groups of kids and donating books or having them come to our toy drives and then getting some kind of lessons cnn: one of your programs specifically targets teens between eighth and ninth grades why is that? harper: i'm very proud of the summer empowerment academy because, if you look at the data with the dropout rates, a lot of times you can predict who's not going to make it through high school an eighth grader, coming out with a 28 [grade point average] or below, their chance of dropping out of high school if you're a male, particularly an african american male is almost 80 percent and so we want to catch these kids who are potentially falling through the cracks as they make this transition, to really bolster their foundation for getting through high school and getting on to college it's free to all the students right now it's in los angeles alone, but we're looking to expand it nationally cnn: did you have any mentors who helped you succeed? harper: my father, obviously, and my mother were inspirations my uncle, frank harper, he was an absolute mentor for me i had a professor in college, professor martin martell, he pushed me he said i wasn't working hard enough even though i was doing well, and he said: 'well isn't good enough we want you to excel we want you to be excellent' so i had people who really pushed me, and most of us, we either rise or fall based on the expectations that are placed upon us and i think there's too many of our young people out there where we're not expecting enough of them we're expecting less and even when we look in the mirror, oftentimes we're expecting less and less of ourselves and so what's that about? so i really am in that camp of 'let's go for it' let's go big dream big, and then double your dreams, and you still haven't dreamed big enough cnn: turning to cnn heroes, what was it like being on the blue ribbon panel? harper: i really enjoyed it it was very humbling but at the same time inspiring, because everyone even the individuals that weren't ultimately chosen [for the top 10] were very inspiring it reinforces that there are so many out there doing good things for others that you'd never know about or hear about that's why cnn heroes is a very special and a much needed thing cnn: you've been to 'cnn heroes: an all star tribute' before how does it compare to other awards shows you've been to? harper: i love it because you get into hollywood awards season and oftentimes it feels like hollywood is giving hollywood awards this is giving out awards to people who aren't connected in any way shape or form to hollywood or anything like that there's no nepotism or old boy or old girl network we are literally celebrating what's best and what's right, people who are serving others i just really enjoyed being there cnn: why is it important to recognize everyday people changing the world? harper: because at the end of the day, that's the only way the world is going to change change happens from the bottom up all of us as individuals deciding that we will and we do have an impact we've just come through voting season, and so many people think, 'my vote doesn't matter' what if the people who are cnn heroes felt that way: 'i can't change the world' these people prove that no matter how much you have or don't have, you can have a positive impact and better the human condition and this world so we all win their image just reminds us of that and challenges me to be a better person cnn: what is a hero to you? harper: for me, it's someone who is living with courage the root is 'cor' which means heart, and to me all of the cnn heroes represent courage because they are living from the heart and that's what they inspire me to do | bathetically tartaric bemajesty | no related information |
new york (cnn) america's job crisis is a result of decades of shopping on credit and underinvesting in research to fuel new industries, says analyst fareed zakaria in a recent cover story in time magazine and in a special on cnn this weekend zakaria traces the growing loss of faith in the american dream and the ways that technology and globalization have put millions of middle class jobs at risk the author and host of cnn's 'fareed zakaria gps' spoke to cnn on thursday here is an edited transcript: cnn: what can we do about the threat to american jobs? fareed zakaria: the first thing we have to do is to stop doing what we've been doing for almost 20 years, which is pretending we don't have a problem we've been kicking the can down the road, we've blamed other people, blamed other countries for these issues and most important, we've deluded ourselves that there is no crisis because we've kept the economy going by overconsuming from the 1950s, america had a very stable pattern of consumption consumer expenditures made up between 60 and 65 percent of gdp [gross domestic product] in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, that was the pattern then in the early 1980s, that starts going up, and it goes up to 70 percent of gdp by 2001 and it stayed there ever since now this wouldn't be a problem if we actually had that money, but we have been consuming using borrowed money for the last 20 years so the average american household now has 13 credit cards, 40 percent of which have an outstanding balance debt has gone from $700 billion in 1974 to $14 trillion now this is completely unsustainable a fundamental way to think about it is that we have to shift this economy from an over reliance on consumption and move it more toward investment cnn: how do we do that? zakaria: let's talk about what we need first one of the things i'm struck by in talking to corporate ceos these are all real free market types but they all agree that the key to getting growth and middle class jobs back is that we make massive investments, investments in technology, investments in research and development, investments in infrastructure that is in a sense, investing in the middle class, because that is investing in the industries of the future, the industries that will create middle class jobs we used to spend 3 percent of gdp on research and development we don't do that now even though obama has raised it a lot i would argue that we actually need to do a lot more than we did in the 1950s, because in the 1950s there were millions of jobs for semiskilled labor, manufacturing jobs, making steel, making cars all those jobs are under enormous competitive pressure from both technology and globalization and so we need jobs in the new industries, industries of the future, knowledge based industries, scientific industries to get those jobs and to make sure that american companies dominate them will take huge investments cnn: should they be government investments? zakaria: that's what's produced the semiconductor industry, it was government investment that's what created the internet al gore may not have created the internet, but darpa certainly did that's the defense department venture capital group and gps, the technology that's now fueling the next internet revolution, the mobile revolution, that was also a us defense department project those are now producing hundreds of billions of dollars for the private sector, all started by government funding zakaria: the middle class is being hollowed out there's another urgency we're falling behind just today in the news, on the front page of the new york times, china has developed the fastest computer in the world why was that? was it because of unfair trade practices or an undervalued currency? no it was because the government of china has made massive investments in technology in many of these areas we've lost a lot of ground cnn: how can the united states pay for this? zakaria: i don't believe in a free lunch for 20 years we've pretended that we can have our cake and eat it, too we could have tax cuts and prescription drugs for the elderly and a war in iraq and afghanistan and nobody has to pay for it the government did it just as individuals did it by borrowing this is going to cost money and you're going to have to raise revenue the best revenue raising device is a consumption tax, sometimes called a value added tax, or a national sales tax every industrialized country in the world has it we are the only ones who don't if we were to have a 5 to 7 percent consumption tax, it would be the lowest in the industrialized world it would raise a lot of revenue you could set it up so that the revenues from that tax would only go into investment, none of it is for current expenses and if there is a consequence of this tax, which is that americans consume a little less, that ain't the worst thing in the world either cnn: you wrote in your piece in time about immigration and skilled labor how is that a part of the equation? zakaria: perhaps the most intelligent investment we can make is in human capital, particularly in talented people in science, math and computers so what do we do? well we can try to revitalize science education in america, which we must do, but it's going to be a long slog we've fallen quite far behind but we have been this amazing magnet the brightest students in the world come to america because we have the best colleges and universities in the world, and we are also seen as a place in which people find it attractive to study and work but then, after we train all these hundreds of thousands of students from all over the world, the cream of the crop, we throw them out of the country, we tell them don't you dare work here, because that would mean you would invent here, and hire people here, create new companies here, file new patents here, pay taxes here no, no, no, go back to your country we've trained them often at taxpayer expense someone getting a computer science degree at the university of california at berkeley is being trained at the california government's expense and is then thrown out of the country we don't reap any benefits from it this is a great investment strategy for the future of china and india but it's a terrible investment strategy for the united states cnn: what can be done? zakaria: [new york mayor michael] bloomberg has suggested that everyone who gets a science or math phd in this country should be given a green card along with their degree and i think that's a wonderful idea we should frankly make it incredibly easy for these people to stay here they are the people who overwhelmingly create jobs within a year or two they begin to pay back into the system at multiples of what they might have ever cost and yet because of the usual political paralysis and dysfunction, it is right now unthinkable that we would ever enact a program like that on the contrary, we're trying to throw more people out cnn: you don't think there could be consensus on this in washington right now? zakaria: the problem in washington is that the minute one side suggests something, the other side demagogues it so the incentive to come to the center is vanishing the minute you try to come to the center, if you're a republican, rush limbaugh will denounce you, glenn beck will denounce you there will be a primary opponent in your district who will be able to raise money cnn: will tuesday's election change that? zakaria: no i fear it will actually exacerbate it a lot of republicans will get elected, will tell you they are mad as hell about the deficit, and the solution is to cut taxes this is insanity, cutting taxes will create an even larger deficit this is math, this is not politics in the face of the problems we have, to have one more experiment in the idea that if we cut taxes, this will somehow goose the economy, we've been there done that [president george w] bush had this massive tax cut and it produced almost no growth what it did produce was an $800 million hole in the budget cnn: how does education fit into the picture? zakaria: the countries that have been able to maintain a manufacturing base, such as germany, are really worth studying the germans have high taxes, they have lots of regulations, they have strong unions and yet they've seen their imports increase year after year they've weathered the economic crisis very well, they've had 15 months of falling unemployment numbers, and why is that? because they have really focused on scientific education, technical education, apprenticeship programs, retraining they focus on high end manufacturing, they train and retrain their workers we don't have any such systems in america we need there to be more of a coordinated effort by government, business and educational institutions a triangle of training we've been too cavalier about letting skills of higher manufacturing erode among american workers that work has not gone to india or china, that work has gone to germany and canada and japan, other high wage, high income countries | americans fareed zakaria zakaria restoring the american dream | for decades, americans have been overconsuming on credit, says fareed zakaria . he says government has to fund major investments in research and development . zakaria says investment will have to be paid for through new revenues . 'restoring the american dream' airs saturday 9 pm et/pt, sunday 10 am et/pt |
new york (cnn) a federal jury in new york ruled tuesday that a man who identifies as black and hispanic and the nonprofit he founded must pay punitive damages to an african american employee after a previous ruling that the use of the 'n word' is inappropriate among minorities in a workplace the ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by brandi johnson, who is african american, against strive, the employment center where she worked, claiming she was a victim of a hostile workplace after enduring verbal harassment and a series of statements filled with profanity and racial slurs from her supervisor the employment center in east harlem argued that the use of the word was part of a 'tough love culture' the jury ruled tuesday that center founder rob carmona must pay $25,000 and his organization must pay $5,000 in punitive damages jurors last week awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages to johnson, 38, who sued carmona personally and strive, which he founded in 1984 carmona's lawyer, diane krebs, issued a statement that said in part: 'we are disappointed by the verdict, as we do not believe that it comports with the full facts applicable to the case nevertheless, we respect the jury's decision and the judicial process we are exploring all our options moving forward, including appeal, and look forward to the judicial process taking its entire course' papa john's ceo apologizes to florida customer for employee's racist rant carmona's n word peppered rant toward johnson was captured on a four minute audio recording on johnson's iphone without her boss knowing in march 2012 and was played for a federal jury last week 'you and (a previous employee) are just alike both of you are smart as s , but dumb as s you know what it is both of you are n , y'all act like n all the time,' carmona said to johnson, according to audio evidence played in court and obtained by cnn carmona called johnson the n word eight times during the recording 'and i'm not saying the term n as derogatory; sometimes it's good to know when to act like a n , but y'all act like n all the time both of you very bright, but both y'all act like n at inappropriate times,' carmona said in the audio recording from the stand tuesday, carmona explained tearfully that he was only trying to help 'i come from a different time what i'm trying to do is help that's the transition (this case) has showed me i got to take stock in that at my age,' said carmona, 61 according to strive, carmona is a harlem native who spent his early teenage years addicted to drugs and in and out of prison he found solace in an alternative incarceration program where he cleaned up and eventually attended college the center's website says that it has helped nearly 50,000 individuals across america enter the workforce 'cracker' conveys history of bigotry that still resonates 'this case is most important because this is the first where we essentially have the n word on trial,' said johnson's attorney, marjorie sharpe 'you have heard the connotation that the n word can have different meanings depending on the speaker; there is an undisguised belief that if the person saying the n word is black or african american, somehow it makes it ok 'there are a number of cases where the n word has been used in a workplace, but usually it's been done between people of different races, and when we're having that discussion, it seems that it's clear that if you're not african american and you use the n word, absolutely it's insulting,' sharpe said johnson claimed she was a victim of a pattern of negative comments and that the audio recording was her last stand 'this has been a long and arduous journey for me working at strive, and to be belittled and degraded by the founder and to have him justify him disrespecting me was hurtful,' johnson said tuesday 'so for the jury to make a statement saying that the n word is not permissible in the workplace and or any business i was happy about that, yes' johnson claimed carmona targeted her with negative comments after she tried to defend a graduate from a strive program who had allegedly been sexually harassed by a strive employee, according to the complaint after many attempts to have the issued addressed, johnson claims carmona showed no interest in the allegations and told other employees not to socialize with johnson, according to the complaint on april 11, 2012, johnson sent a formal complaint to phil weinberg, the organization's ceo, telling him of the numerous harassing, discriminatory and retaliatory acts she had endured from carmona weinberg said that he did not wish to discuss carmona's actions and that johnson was being 'out of line' and 'emotional,' according to the complaint on june 11, 2012, weinberg fired johnson johnson said she was terminated in retaliation for her complaints about the graduate's sexual harassment and because of her race and gender 'hopefully this sets an example that it won't be tolerated no matter what your race is,' johnson said after the ruling tuesday judge tosses race discrimination charge against paula deen | sexagenarianism tricarbimide cumic | no related information |
(cnn) on sunday night miley cyrus put on a performance at mtv's video music awards that appeared specifically contrived to elicit controversy and, by monday morning, sure enough the controversy had arrived for those who missed it (and in fact i missed it until compelled to watch it on youtube due to the controversy), cyrus put on a performance that ranged from simply bizarre to crudely offensive, with plenty of twerking and rude gestures with a foam hand more reminiscent of a drunken frat party than good art such a performance is bait, and i use that term on purpose, for the more sanctimonious set to thunder about the degradation of our society outraged parents: miley, what were you thinking? as if on cue, the parents television council, a nonprofit 'watchdog' group and perennial foil of naughty media everywhere, issued a press release condemning the vmas, which, of course, succeeded in little more than drawing more attention to them the council called also for legislation that would allow viewers to select cable stations buffet style rather than getting stuck with multiple channels they don't want i'm actually sympathetic to this kind of a la carte cable system (although adult viewers should have the opportunity to select more adult oriented channels if they wish and efforts to scrub cable clean seem nannyish) on the other hand, if you went in watching the vmas, particularly with lady gaga headlining, with no clue you might see something shocking, you went in uninformed first, let's put things in perspective were elements of the vmas artistically dubious and in poor taste, particularly if you (somehow) didn't see it coming? absolutely are they the end of civilization as we know it? absolutely not opinion: miley is sexual get over it although it's common to imply that media images such as these are harmful to minors, evidence for this has been inconsistent at best two early studies linked watching sexy media with small increases in the likelihood of initiating sex earlier in the teen years however, psychologists laurence steinberg and kathryn monahan reanalyzed one of the datasets and found that, with other variables properly controlled, the influence of sexy media was negligible and we must remember that, though explicit media are probably more available now than at any time in history, teens have been having sex later than in previous generations, and becoming pregnant less often we have to be careful not to mix moral outrage, which may be justified, with a public health crisis when one is not apparent miley upholds vmas tradition all of this outrage appears calculated to me, however (it doesn't help that cyrus' father sits on the board of advisers for the parents television council) the performers who do outrageous stuff do so on purpose because scandal sells and 'watchdog' groups themselves often thrive off outrage such groups would wither financially if it were not for the public's outrage and fear of media the council's website contains handy instructions on how not just to donate money but to include the group in your estate, give stocks, an automobile, etc fairly common for advocacy groups to be sure, but it still gives them skin in the game members of these groups may act in good faith, but let's not mistake them for objective, financially uninterested parties the irony is that likely all the furor has probably only encouraged teens to see what all the fuss is about on youtube if one is serious about reducing sexual content in the media, making a big fuss only draws attention telling teens they shouldn't watch only makes them want to watch more if you would like to see less of cyrus twerking (and count me among those masses), the answer is quite simple: change the channel we need less outrage, less nannying and more apathy toward such silliness the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of christopher ferguson | christopher ferguson miley cyrus' ferguson | christopher ferguson: miley cyrus' performance seemed calculated to spark controversy . he says the act succeeded in drawing attention and provoking objections from watchdog group . was it in poor taste? ferguson says yes, but it's not the end of civilization . ferguson: there's little reason to think these performances cause lasting harm |
new york (cnn) new york city's annual halloween parade may go dark for a second year if organizers don't raise $50,000 by monday to make up for losses caused by superstorm sandy in 2012 for the first time in its 39 year history, the parade was canceled at the last minute in 2012 after sandy 'frankenstormed' the event in order to host the hundreds of puppets, more than 50 bands, dancers, artists and thousands of costumed new yorkers, organizers say they must raise the sum by monday the organizers started a campaign to raise the money through online fundraising site kickstartercom that will end monday as of thursday the online campaign had raised $47,200 donated by more than 800 backers 'we fronted money for the parade that we never got the chance to make back this is a huge obstacle for our tiny not for profit arts organization,' organizers said in the online campaign 'we lost a lot of money this year we really went down,' matthew fass, musical director of the parade, said in an online video, 'it's looking like we can't have this parade unless we get your support, and we need help from everybody' online organizers say that the parade will also provide a much needed economic boost to the area's local businesses after being hard hit by the storm often referred to as the village halloween parade, the annual festivities have taken place every year on halloween since 1973 and include more than 60,000 participants two million spectators line a mile long stretch of 6th avenue to watch, the online campaign boasts 'it's really up to you,' jeanne fleming, artistic and producing director of the parade for the past 33 years, said in the online video, 'we really need your help' | 2012 organizers 500,000 monday 2013 | superstorm sandy forced organizers to cancel the parade in 2012 . organizers must raise $500,000 by monday or there will be no 2013 parade . parade will boost local economy, organizers say |
(cnn) three senegalese peacekeeping officers were killed in an attack on a convoy in darfur on sunday, the united nations said an unidentified armed group ambushed a water convoy on its way to a regional headquarters of the joint african union united nations peacekeeping force, a un statement said one truck was hijacked but recovered later seven tanzanian peacekeepers were killed in a similar ambush in july the un estimates as many as 300,000 people have been killed and almost 3 million people have been displaced from their homes since a conflict began in 2003 in darfur, a region of sudan along the border with the new nation of south sudan widespread atrocities have occurred during fighting between sudan's government forces and militias and other rebel groups the peacekeeping operation began in 2007 un secretary general ban ki moon called on the government of sudan to apprehend the attackers mohamed ibn chambas, special representative for the peacekeeping force, commended the sudanese military for pursuing and firing on the assailants 'such incidents are a reminder to all of us of the great price everyone pays in the absence of peace our peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice while attempting to bring peace to darfur,' chambas said | senegal tanzanian july sudan darfur | slain peacekeepers were from senegal . similar ambush killed 7 tanzanian peacekeepers in july . secretary general calls on sudan to apprehend attackers . decade of conflict in darfur has killed up to 300,000, displaced almost 3 million |
(cnn) on december 21, 2012, our calendar will align with the maya date 130000, completing a great maya cycle of time there's been a lot of hoopla that we are about to face a doomsday better known as the maya apocalypse there are television specials and panic buying of disaster supplies in russia, a reminder of the stockpiling that took place for y2k back in 1999 while the maya date will coincide with the solstice, the shortest day of the year, will it also coincide with the end of the world? i'm no seer, but i am confident that december 22 will see the dawn the ancient maya of mexico, guatemala, belize and honduras were close keepers of time they charted every day, organizing them into 20 and 400 year periods using a base 20 counting system (ours is base 10) and zero, they easily calculated thousands of dates, some noting the existence of millions of years why we're fascinated with the apocalypse during the height of their civilization in the 8th century, the maya recorded dates and deeds at dozens of city states, from births and battles to the triumphant wrenching of trophies from enemies artists inscribed their signatures on painted pots and stone sculptures stucco inscriptions adorned monumental pyramids that crested over the rainforest canopy but to continue building ever grander structures, the maya needed resources most of all, they needed timber to burn limestone in order to make cement by the late 8th century, the rainforest was in retreat, fuel was scarce and recurrent drought led to desperation eventually, there was chronic warfare as well and so one of the most extraordinary civilizations came to a crushing halt small groups of desperate dwellers in some cities held out behind hastily thrown up palisades elsewhere, foes burned enemy cities to the ground and smashed monuments, leaving them scattered across the surface to be found in recent times scrub jungle overtook what had been sparkling white plazas compact ball courts that had seen raucous competition of a team sport played like soccer went silent wildlife scavenged lavish furnishings for their nests and dens the reasons were many, and the outcome was shocking the maya civilization collapsed in most of its southern lowlands, leaving only abandoned pyramids in silent cities this was the true face of apocalypse did they see it coming? just a few years before the rot set in, maya painters at the site of bonampak, a small city in chiapas, mexico, covered the walls of a small three room palace with extraordinary murals they painted more individuals men, mainly, but women and children, too than had been rendered before, numbering more than 250 they deployed more fancy pigments than had been used before, more than would ever be used again in ancient mexico, some 47 vibrant blues, reds and yellows the paintings reveal the social layers of courtiers and lords, musicians and dwarves, victims and their blade wielding sacrificers musicians, singers and performers lined up to perform on plazas and pyramids none of these activities or materials was new, but what was new was the rapidly crumbling world around the bonampak painters no one could change the paintings seem to tell us the maya ignored the crisis in front of them, instead dancing with great panaches of precious quetzal feathers on pyramids, as if the present would forever hold now in the 21st century, perhaps we have also reached a precipice global warming is not just fearful thinking it's real weeks after superstorm sandy, scientists are now predicting the near term and long term effects of global warming as more dire that previously thought some, perhaps like our maya predecessors, would rather not see the writing on the walls of our flooded cities the crises pile up in front of us, one after another, and we ignore them at our peril acknowledging and doing something about the problems in front of us seems hard give us more feathers build more walls stockpile canned goods and buy a generator as for december 21, rest easy this day will pass as if it were nothing more than the maya y2k, the nonevent of the decade we'll wake up on december 22, and the world will still be here and so will our pressing environmental challenges we need to make some hard decisions and resolve that we will confront our own brewing apocalypse before it's too late the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of mary miller | mayan mary miller miller | there are doomsday fears of mayan apocalypse on december 21 . mary miller: the world will not come to an end, but we have pressing challenges . she says the maya ignored crisis, including depletion of natural resources . miller: we have to confront our own problems, such as global warming |
(cnn) in choosing a new cia director to replace david petraeus, president barack obama has a range of well qualified candidates to choose from, although some of the most qualified were in management roles at the cia when controversial interrogation techniques were used by agency interrogators questioning al qaeda prisoners and the cia was maintaining secret prisons overseas to detain members of al qaeda michael morell, a three decade veteran of the cia, is now the acting director of the agency and a leading contender to become the next director of central intelligence as a candidate for the permanent job, morell has all the advantages and disadvantages of someone who has been instrumental in recent successes at the cia such as tracking down osama bin laden but he was also was in a managerial position at the cia in the george w bush years when the agency waterboarded three detainees and also imprisoned a larger number in the secret prisons overseas where they were subjected to other coercive interrogation techniques any confirmation hearing for morell would run the risk of a public discussion of the efficacy and ethics of such controversial practices and there would also be the risk that such a hearing might open up the pandora's box of the cia's many failures that led to the fiasco of the deeply flawed assessment that saddam hussein was building up his weapons of mass destruction program in the run up to the iraq war in 2003 petraeus probe includes top general in afghanistan there is also the current controversy about why the intelligence committees in congress were informed only on friday about the fbi investigation into petraeus morell and the fbi's deputy director, sean joyce, are scheduled to meet with members of the intelligence committees wednesday to discuss the matter in contrast to morell, other potential candidates for the director's job at cia, such as former us rep jane harman or michael vickers, the top intelligence official at the pentagon, were not working at the cia when coercive measures were used on al qaeda detainees on the other hand, few have played such a key role in some of the most dramatic moments in the war against al qaeda as morell has from the day that bush took office on january 20, 2001, every morning, six days a week, morrell was the cia official who briefed the president about what the intelligence community believed to be the most pressing national security issues on august 6, 2001, eight months after bush was inaugurated, morell met with the president at his vacation home in texas to deliver the president's daily brief the top secret briefing that morell delivered was titled 'bin ladin determined to strike in us' a month later, on the morning of september 11, 2001, in sarasota, florida, morell gave the daily briefing as usual to the president there was nothing memorable in it who's who in the petraeus scandal then morell got into the president's motorcade to head to the local elementary school where bush planned to meet with some students at the school, where bush was reading a story to a group of second graders, the news came on tv that a second jet had hit the world trade center bush and a small group of other officials including morell were hustled out of the school to head to air force one, which took off for barksdale air force base near shreveport, louisiana in washington, news soon circulated that a palestinian terrorist organization, the democratic front for the liberation of palestine, had claimed responsibility for the attacks bush summoned morell, asking, 'what do you make of this?' morrell replied, 'the dflp has a history of terrorism against israel, but its capabilities are limited it does not have the resources and reach to do this' in the early afternoon, air force one headed from louisiana to offutt air force base near omaha, nebraska bush asked to see morell again, and pushed him for his opinion about who was behind the attacks 'i don't have any intelligence as yet, so what i am going to say is my personal view,' morell said, 'there are two terrorist states capable of conducting such a complex operation iran and iraq but neither have much to gain and everything to lose from attacking the us' the petraeus affair: a lot more than sex morell added, 'the responsible party is almost certainly a nonstate actor and i have no doubt that the trail will lead to bin laden and al qaeda,' according to a us intelligence official with knowledge of the conversation five months later on january 4, 2002, again at bush's vacation ranch in texas, morell had the delicate task of informing the president that it was the cia's assessment bin laden had fought at the battle of tora bora in eastern afghanistan during mid december 2001, but he had survived and escaped bush was incensed at this and became hostile, as if morell himself were the culprit flash forward to the summer of 2011: morell, an unassuming, scholarly analyst in his mid 50s who speaks in terse, cogent paragraphs, was now the deputy director of the cia he was one of a small group of officials at the agency who knew there was a quite promising lead on the possible whereabouts of bin laden that led to a large compound in the northern pakistan city of abbottabad then cia director leon panetta, together with morell and some of the analysts working on the hunt for bin laden, went to obama and told him, 'we think there is a strong possibility that bin laden is in the abbottabad compound' the analysts believed this with varying degrees of certainty, with most estimating the probability at 80% the lead analyst was at around 90%, while morell was at 60% 'why do people have different probabilities?' obama asked 'intelligence is not an exact science,' morell explained 'even if we had a source inside the compound saying bin laden was there, i'd only be at 80% because sources are of varying reliability those analysts who are at 80% to 90% have been tracking al qaeda in recent years and have had great success stopping plots and undermining the organization they are confident the folks at the lower end of the range are those who lived through intelligence failures, particularly the iraq wmd (weapons of mass destruction) issue' of course, we now know that bin laden was indeed hiding in the compound in abbottabad, and the fact that morell was the overall manager of the investigation that led to al qaeda's leader will surely weigh in his favor to be the nominee for the top job at cia given the personal problems that have faced petraeus and now perhaps gen john allen, the outgoing commander in afghanistan, character issues will surely weigh heavily in obama's considerations petraeus biographer made trips to afghanistan there are others whom obama might pick to run the cia, such as john brennan, his top counterterrorism adviser, who had a distinguished career at the agency, including a tour as station chief in saudi arabia and who also led both the terrorist threat integration center and its successor, the national counterterrorism center, following the 9/11 attacks brennan, a no nonsense graduate of fordham who speaks arabic, was obama's first pick for cia director in 2008 but withdrew his name from consideration after it became clear that his nomination hearings would be complicated by some in congress who would grill him about the waterboarding of detainees in cia custody and the agency's prisons overseas it's also not clear why brennan would want the cia job given the fact that in his present position he gets to see the president far more often than any cia director, and from his windowless office in the basement of the west wing of the white house, he has dominated us counterterrorism policy on issues such as drones, pakistan, yemen and the hunt for al qaeda's leaders, including bin laden another plausible candidate is michael vickers he had a storied career at the cia, where as a young man he was the agency's principal military strategist on the afghan 'account' during the 1980s war against the soviets vickers helped to funnel vast numbers of weapons through the pakistanis to the various afghan mujahedeen groups that defeated the soviets timeline of the petraeus affair vickers' doctorate in military history from johns hopkins and owlish exterior mask the fact that he is a risk taker, albeit in a calibrated, cerebral way he left the cia when he was only 32, having already played a key role in the most successful covert operation in the agency's history expelling the soviets from afghanistan to get an mba at wharton and he was a special forces officer in central america like both morell and brennan, vickers also played a key role in the operation to find bin laden in his previous job at the pentagon, he was the civilian overseer of special operations forces and was intimately involved in the planning of the seal raid in abbottabad but unlike morell and brennan, vickers wasn't at the cia when waterboarding and other coercive interrogation techniques were being employed by the agency given all the consternation on capitol hill about the circumstances surrounding the attack on the us consulate in benghazi, libya, in september in which the us ambassador was killed along with two cia employees, the obama administration could decide to tap someone who has deep experience on the hill an obvious candidate would be harman, who as a member of the house of representatives from california between 1993 and 2011 served on all the major committees focused on national security: armed services, intelligence and homeland security now running the woodrow wilson international center for scholars in washington, harman is regarded as one of the democratic party's leading experts on national security if appointed and confirmed, harman would be the first woman director of the cia a further consideration: another former nine term democratic congressman from california, panetta, now the defense secretary, led the cia for more than two years and is regarded as one of the most effective directors of the agency in recent decades (note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly said michael morell was executive assistant to cia director george tenet during the presidency of george w bush) feinstein to investigate why fbi didn't notify congress | peter bergen obama david petraeus cia michael morell osama bin laden john brennan michael vickers jane harman | peter bergen: president obama has several qualified choices for replacing david petraeus . he says some could face questions on cia interrogation techniques, secret prisons . acting director michael morell had key part in response to 9/11, search for osama bin laden . other candidates include john brennan, michael vickers and jane harman |
(cnn) afghan president hamid karzai will meet with president barack obama on friday to discuss the post 2014 american presence in afghanistan the us military has already given obama options under which as few as 6,000 or as many as 20,000 soldiers would remain in afghanistan after 2014 those forces would work as advisers to the afghan army and mount special operations raids against the taliban and al qaeda read more: us may remove all troops from afghanistan after 2014 but on tuesday, ben rhodes, the white house's deputy national security adviser, told reporters that the obama administration is mulling the idea of removing all us troops from afghanistan after the nato combat mission finishes at the end of 2014 this may be a negotiating ploy by the obama administration as it gets down to some hard bargaining with karzai, who has long criticized many aspects of the us military presence and who is likely to be reluctant to accede to a key american demand: that any us soldiers who remain in afghanistan after 2014 retain immunity from prosecution in the dysfunctional afghan court system it was this issue that led the us to pull all its troops out of iraq in december, 2011 after failing to negotiate an agreement with the nuri al maliki government read more: defense officials to press karzai on what he needs or this may represent the real views of those in the obama administration who have long called for a much reduced us presence in afghanistan, and it is also in keeping with the emerging obama doctrine of attacking al qaeda and its allies with drones but no american boots on the ground and it certainly aligns with the view of most americans, only around a quarter of whom now support the war in afghanistan, according to a poll taken in september security clearance: afghanistan options emerge in any case, zeroing out us troop levels in the post 2014 afghanistan is a bad idea on its face and even raising this concept publicly is maladroit strategic messaging to afghanistan and the region writ large why so? afghans well remember something that most americans have forgotten after the soviet union withdrew from afghanistan, something that was accomplished at the cost of more than a million afghan lives and billions of dollars of us aid, the united states closed its embassy in afghanistan in 1989 during the george h w bush administration and then zeroed out aid to one of the poorest countries in the world under the clinton administration it essentially turned its back on afghans once they had served their purpose of dealing a deathblow to the soviets as a result, the united states had virtually no understanding of the subsequent vacuum in afghanistan into which eventually stepped the taliban, who rose to power in the mid 1990s the taliban granted shelter to osama bin laden and his al qaeda organization from 1996 onward read more: court considers demand that us release photos of bin laden's body after the overthrow of the taliban, a form of this mistake was made again by the george w bush administration, which had an ideological disdain for nation building and was distracted by the iraq war, so that in the first years after the fall of the taliban, only a few thousand us soldiers were stationed in afghanistan the relatively small number of american boots on the ground in afghanistan helped to create a vacuum of security in the country, which the taliban would deftly exploit, so that by 2007, they once again posed a significant military threat in afghanistan in 2009, obama ordered a surge of 30,000 troops into afghanistan to blunt the taliban's gathering momentum, which it has certainly accomplished read more: inside the taliban but when obama announced the new troops of the afghan surge, most media accounts of the speech seized on the fact that the president also said that some of those troops would be coming home in july 2011 this had the unintended effect of signaling to the taliban that the us was pulling out of afghanistan reasonably soon and fit into the longstanding narrative that many afghans have that the us will abandon them again similarly, the current public discussion of zero us troop presence in afghanistan after 2014 will encourage those hardliner elements of the taliban who have no interest in a negotiated settlement and believe they can simply wait the americans out it also discourages the many millions of afghans who see a longtime us presence as the best guarantor that the taliban won't come back in any meaningful way and also an important element in dissuading powerful neighbors such as pakistan from interference in afghanistan's internal affairs read related: afghanistan vet finds a new way to serve instead of publicly discussing the zero option on troops in afghanistan after 2014, a much smarter american messaging strategy for the country and the region would be to emphasize that the strategic partnership agreement that the united states has already negotiated with afghanistan last year guarantees that the us will have some form of partnership with the afghans until 2024 in this messaging strategy, the point should be made that the exact size of the american troop presence after 2014 is less important than the fact that us soldiers will stay in the country for many years, with afghan consent, as a guarantor of afghanistan's stability the united states continues to station thousands of troops in south korea more than five decades after the end of the korean war under this american security umbrella, south korea has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the richest it is this kind of model that most afghans want and the us needs to provide so afghanistan doesn't revert to the kind of chaos that beset it in the mid 1990s and from which the taliban first emerged read more: what's at stake for afghan women? | white house us afghanistan peter bergen taliban bergen | white house aide suggested all us troops could be withdrawn from afghanistan . peter bergen said the idea would be dangerous and send the wrong message . he says us has abandoned afghanistan before and saw the rise of the taliban . bergen: us is seeking agreement that military will have immunity from prosecution |
far rockaway, new york (cnn) first sandy then a nor'easter residents in this small hamlet at the eastern edge of rockaway peninsula are exhausted and on edge eleven days after superstorm sandy made landfall, flooding nearly all of the rockaways, they are still cold and in the dark huddled beneath blankets and with the car's heat cranked up, 56 year old matt lintonmapp jr has spent every night sleeping in his car since sandy left him homeless 'my place got washed out,' he said, adding that work and community ties have kept him from evacuating 'there's nothing left' parked by the liquor store where he works, lintonmapp has squeezed in a few hours of sleep each night while keeping an eye out for looters 'i'm a survivor,' he said with a certain new yorker's swagger that now barely masks the slight quake in his voice waiting for gas, he said, 'i hope everyone on this line is a survivor too, because we're all together now' the frustration has boiled over at times in long island, oceanside residents booed local and federal officials who came to address power restoration 'what are you doing for us?' they shouted earlier in the week, fistfights broke out at relief supply depots in far rockaway, queens, just as the first snowfall of the year blanketed the region and ushered in fresh misery to those already battered by sandy many, like lintonmapp, have had no choice but to eat meals that the national guard is handing out 'it's all right the military came through for me,' he said 'they're not too bad' clean, running water is also in shorter supply across the peninsula in the wake of the crisis some residents were seen carrying buckets of water to wash down their toilets others boiled water to drink later or use for cooking still, gas remains the crucial thing here cloaked in blankets and heavy clothing, shivering residents queued up at one of far rockaway's few fuel depots on thursday, often carrying two or three gas cans at a time puffy winter jackets wrapped around young children who accompanied their parents rather than stay in damp, cold homes and many commuters remained stranded as long island rail lines remained down there and in long beach 'a majority of people work in the city and there's no transportation,' said margarita alvarez, 41, whose home was badly damaged during last week's storm 'you just can't get to work' other residents, like 60 year old rosemary shephard, are using the fuel for generators 'i thank god for this gas,' shephard said after finally filling her gas can in an effort to alleviate the long gas lines, police on friday began enforcing a new alternating fuel ration system in new york city and long island drivers with license plates that end with a letter or an odd number can fill up friday those with even numbers or zero can fill up saturday, and so on authorities cut off shephard's electricity last monday, along with thousands of others, as a precaution ahead of sandy but unlike other storm refugees now holed up in warmer places with family and friends, shephard decided to stay put in her far rockaway home 'you have to stay,' she said 'if i leave, what would happen to my house when i got back?' more than a week after floodwater rushed into her basement, destroyed her property and soaked her circuit box with salt water, there is still no clear sign of when power might be restored meanwhile, the weather has been getting colder 'it was freezing last night,' she said unfortunately, getting power back is not just matter of fixing substations and flipping a switch city officials say electricians are now needed for homes like shephard's, whose house is flagged with a yellow sticker, so that electrical cabling and circuit boxes can be individually checked before the power grid is restored that means contractors must go door to door checking houses, adding to the time it takes for the power to return, while temperatures drop just down the street are the charred remains of more than 100 homes destroyed in an inferno that raged in the coastal community of breezy point, making officials especially wary of the risk of electrical fires more than a half million households are still in the dark across new jersey and new york, including nearly 40,000 homes on rockaway peninsula without a clear timetable for restoration, the town is rife with speculation and that effect has fueled mounting tension 'i'm pissed, just like everybody else is,' said pat lee, 55, an iron worker who normally commutes to lower manhattan but has been out of work since the storm hit 'the biggest problem really ain't so much the electricity it's that no one knows when we're going to get it they won't even give you a ballpark figure,' he said a long island power authority spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment regarding restoration of the far rockaway area the utility's website indicates there is 'a long road ahead' lipa has dispatched some 250 utility workers to the rockaways, working 16 hour shifts in a round the clock operation to get power restored but soggy and salt caked electrical panels and wiring in homes and businesses 'could present unsafe conditions when re energizing those areas or facilities, the utility says on its website police are working with the federal emergency management agency and the national guard to provide evacuation services and have set up heating areas for residents, while churches and aid groups hand out food and water a nonprofit called the fuel relief fund donated the fuel, but its supplies are limited 'right now we have to clean up, so i don't know if this is the place to be for people right now,' said new york police department deputy inspector scott olexa, who described the surrounding damage as 'unparalleled' 'i know people are attached to their homes and their neighborhood, but emergency services have to get in here' earlier this week, the city opened a relief center a few blocks away in a building once submerged in five feet of water, bringing generators and gas to those still battling the cold in manhattan, only about 200 customers now remain in the dark a fact that does not escape most rockaway storm victims 'they're going about their lives, and we're the ones at the end of the line,' said margarita alvarez 'they did the city first and they just forgot about us' | kalendar subtilist corolliform | no related information |
(cnn) it was two years late and billions of dollars over budget, but this week the singapore airline owned a380 completed its maiden passenger journey between singapore and sydney making history: the first double bed on a commercial jet on board were nearly 500 passengers who had bid thousands of dollars for the historical experience this was a turning point in aviation history as airbus' superjumbo became the world's largest aircraft and the time had finally come for it to receive some admiration singapore airlines' ceo, chew choon seng named the jetliner the 'queen of the skies' tom enders, ceo of airbus said he would like to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary on one of its double beds and cnn's richard quest, who was on board the maiden flight, said there was 'nothing quite like it' the luxury on board, he said, sets a new standard for air travel it's the quietest large passenger jet ever built (inside and out), it has a low fuel burn to reduce fuel use and emissions, it can carry 40 percent more passengers than other large aircraft and in greater comfort but the feature that has attracted greatest interest on the singapore airlines a380 is its ''beyond first class' cabins behind the sliding doors of the singapore airlines suites, the well heeled can luxuriate in a private cabin designed by leading french yacht designer, jean jacques coste there's a wide leather seat and alongside that, a standalone bed this is two meters long with givenchy duvets and cushions and for couples traveling, the beds on the middle two suites can be converted into double beds from bed or chair, travelers can catch a movie on a 23 inch widescreen lcd laptops can be plugged into an in seat power supply and business travelers with just a thumb drive can plug this into a usb ports and access a suite of office tools on singapore airlines' in flight entertainment system celebrity chefs including britain's gordon ramsay and georges blanc were behind the first class menu that can be eaten off givenchy tableware unlike other airlines, that have considered offering casinos, gyms and showers on their future a380s, singapore airlines has opted instead for a configuration that, whilst offering luxury, also makes money as chew choon seng, ceo of singapore airlines reminded reporters last week, the first boeing 747s soon ditched the lounges and bars on the upper decks in favor of seats that could generate cash behind the 12 luxury suites there are 399 economy seats, ranked 10 abreast on the upper and lower decks, as well as 60 business class seats that are the biggest yet at 87 centimeters wide singapore airlines has ordered 19 superjumbos for an estimated price tag of $57 billion the second is due to arrive next february with further deliveries later in 2008 tickets for the a380's first return commercial flight between singapore and sydney were sold at auction on ebay one passenger paid $100,000 for the experience, with the majority paying between $1,500 and $5,000 the $14 million raised has gone to charities in singapore, sydney and a global humanitarian organization from sunday 28 october, singapore airlines will commence its scheduled service between singapore and sydney on one of the three daily flights in each direction the jetliner to be delivered next spring will be used on one of the three daily flights between singapore and london's heathrow airport it's been a long road to this point for airbus, but the journey is by no means over the airline has a tough delivery schedule ahead to fulfil its 185 orders to 15 customers (see figures below) next year it plans to deliver 13, a further 25 in 2009 and 45 in 2010 tom enders, airbus' ceo doesn't underestimate the scale of challenge ahead 'this is not a piece of cake,' he told cnn, 'but we have learned our lessons and we are very confident today that we can deliver to our customers' it hasn't just been airbus that has been frantically preparing for the a380 launch airports around the world have had to make changes to runways and gates, as well as buy in new vehicles that can tow the giant aircraft and lift high enough to its upper decks seventy airports are now ready, airbus has said singapore's changi airport, home to the singapore airlines a380 fleet, was the first, and when its new terminal 3 opens early next year, 19 gates across the three terminals will be a380 ready with aerobridge access to both decks heathrow's new terminal 5 will be able to handle four a380s at one time british airways, the terminal's sole occupant, recently confirmed an order for 12 superjumbos and it now wants baa to upgrade a satellite building to be built next to terminal 5 to accommodate them as willie walsh, ba's ceo told cnn, 'we want to make sure that development is built with the a380 in mind' but whether the arrival of the a380 sets a standard for future air travel is still undecided as cnn's richard quest points out, while these giant airplanes may be suitable for getting large numbers of people between key destinations quickly, demand could be even higher for the medium size jets such as boeing's up coming 787 dreamliner as richard quest says, 'there's no doubt the a380 will sell, but it is going to take a long time to reach the 420 sales which is the amount airbus needs to make money' but those worries, he adds, are for another day thursday was a day for celebration some key figures orders total: 185 orders (165 firm orders) 15 customers emirates: 47 qantas: 20 singapore airlines: 19 lufthansa: 15 air france: 12 british airways: 12 ilfc: 10 emirates: 8 virgin atlantic: 6 thai airways: 6 malaysia airlines: 6 qatar: 5 kingfisher: 5 korean air: 5 china southern: 5 etihad: 4 delivery schedule 1 in 2007 13 in 2008 25 in 2009 45 in 2010 the aircraft wingspan: 798 meters (747 644 meters) length: 73 meters or seven london buses in a row (747 707 meters) height: 241 meters (747 194 meters) internal cabin width: 658 meters (747 61 meters) seats: 555 (747 416) flight range: 15,000 kilometers (747 13,450 kilometers) wiring: 500 kilometers ideal routes sin lhr dxb lhr syd lax cdg nrt jfk nrt ticket sales for maiden passenger trip between singapore and sydney top ticket price: us$100,380 the bargain: us$560 for a single economy seat e mail to a friend | nonexpressive effigiating tauting | no related information |
washington (cnn) the illegal export of us military technology to iran and china poses a growing threat, the justice department said thursday as it announced plans to combat the practice iran is the only country still flying the f 14 tomcat the department said the united states will tighten monitoring of export licenses and increase export restrictions on technologies that could have both civilian and military applications and could pose a danger to us national security in the hands of terrorists or potential enemies 'china and iran pose particular us export control concerns,' the justice department said in a statement issued thursday 'recent prosecutions have highlighted illegal exports of stealth missile technology, military aircraft components, naval warship data, night vision equipment, and other restricted technology destined for china or iran' representatives of more than a half dozen federal agencies will jointly announce their plans at a justice department news conference thursday officials plan to highlight two recent cases in the past week a pittsburgh company, sparesglobal inc, was sentenced for lying about an illegal export of products that can be used in nuclear reactions and in the nose cones of ballistic missiles the products ended up in pakistan after being routed from the united arab emirates in utah, two men were charged last week with attempting to illegally export restricted components for f 4 and f 14 fighter jets f 14 components are widely sought by iran, which is the only military in the world that still flies the jet e mail to a friend cnn's terry frieden contributed to this report | iran china justice department pittsburgh utah | illegal exports to iran, china an increasing problem, justice department says . pittsburgh company cited for export of products with nuclear applications . utah men charged with attempting to illegally export jet fighter parts |
(cnn) behind the state banquet and smiles from queen elizabeth and british prime minister gordon brown, king abdullah of saudi arabia's visit to london this week caused a wave of dissent the uk political elite boycotted events demonstrators lined the mall the uk foreign secretary pulled out of a meeting with his saudi counterpart to be with his new adopted son and just days before he arrived, the saudi king accused british officials of ignoring information that could have averted the terror attacks in london on july 2005 whether the politics of the event were a success is open to debate but this was just part of the story the saudis were also in town to cement a strong trading and business relationship that has developed between the two kingdoms over the last 20 years saudi arabia is the uk's largest trading partner in the middle east and behind the usa, the uk is the second largest foreign investor in the kingdom uk trade & investment has designated saudi arabia one of its 17 'high growth markets' along with uae and qatar in the region as the nation diversifies its economy away from oil, commercial opportunities for uk thrive in a variety of sectors saudi arabia is currently planning six privately developed economic cities the $266 billion king abdullah economic city the largest of these will create one million jobs and home to two million residents the aim, says the saudi arabian general investment authority, is to boost the economy by creating a pro business environment, and attracting investors and fostering investment opportunities the uk has, since the early 1990s, been one of the top five exporters to saudi arabia, behind usa, germany, china and japan in 2007, saudi arabian bank sabb predicts that uk exports to the kingdom will increase by more than 55 per cent to reach $28 billion while the balance of trade continues to be favor of the british, saudi arabia's exports to britain are also gaining ground and closing the trade gap this year, exports to britain are expected to reach a record high of $21 billion, says sabb and this isn't all about oil in the 1980s, three quarters of saudi exports to the uk were from oil, but today the non oil sector accounts for 59 percent of exports products being shipped to the uk include machinery, transport equipment, plastics, non metallic minerals and, despite the uk's dominance in the sector, chemicals according to sabb, there are also more than 150 saudi british joint ventures underway with a value of around $15 billion as john sfakianakis, chief economist from sabb says, state visits such as this are important for bolstering trade talks, past and future 'the biggest deal that will mark their relationship in trade is the purchase of 72 eurofighter typhoon jets that was sealed last week,' says sfakianakis the contract between the kingdom and the uk ministry of defence via bae is worth over almost $10 billion for the aircraft alone and a further $19 billion for the deployment, maintenance and training this comes less than a year after the uk government decided to call off a serious fraud office investigation into defense contracts with saudi arabia this probe related to the sale of weapons by bae systems to saudi arabia in the 1980s bae has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and making payments to saudi royals to win business but as sfakianakis points out, any political sensitivity surrounding the visit is unlikely to harm future trading relationships between the nations 'the relationship is far deeper than that,' he says 'saudi arabia's economy is booming and the opportunities businessmen see here are immense everything else takes a subsidiary part in that' e mail to a friend | saudi arabia uk the middle east britain second kingdom the 1990s | saudi arabia is the uk's largest trading partner in the middle east . britain is also the second largest foreign investor in the kingdom . the uk has been one of the top five exporters to saudi arabia since the 1990s . exports to britain are expected to reach a record high in the non oil sector |
washington (cnn) a seismic study found that the washington monument can withstand a worst case earthquake scenario, officials said thursday in describing needed repairs to the iconic landmark damaged in the 58 magnitude quake a year ago the 555 foot monument will be under full scaffolding for repairs to damaged marble plates, stonework and other problems near its top, said bob vogel, superintendent of the national mall and memorial parks at a news conference with other us officials, vogel offered no time frame for the repairs officials previously said the monument could be closed through 2013 and possibly into 2014 the monument has been closed since an earthquake struck the mid atlantic region near richmond, virginia, on august 23, 2011 quake damaged monument may stay closed until 2014 'this is the most significant earthquake to ever strike the us east of the rocky mountains,' us geological survey director marcia mcnutt said at the news conference 'more people felt this earthquake than any earthquake in us history' a comprehensive seismic study determined the monument faced no risk of collapse, even in the event of a 'maximum considered earthquake,' the estimated worst possible quake over a 2,475 year period, vogel said such a scenario 'did not present a concern for structural collapse,' he said, adding that 'supporting soils are indeed adequate to withstand' a maximum considered earthquake at least nine marble panels on the outside of the monument near the top are cracked, according to a post earthquake assessment others are chipped but not in danger of falling, the report said indoor repairs are also required some interior tie beams and some cracked panels will be fixed about 700,000 visitors go to the top of the monument in a typical year the washington monument was built between 1848 and 1884 and has been repaired three times previously, with the most recent work done from 1997 to 2000 the signature obelisk wasn't the only landmark in the us capital city affected by last year's quake three towers of the national cathedral and carved pinnacles and embellishments that decorate them suffered severe damage the church's interim dean, the rev francis h wade, said thursday that the cost for repairs, restoration and historic preservation should exceed $50 million it is expected this effort will take 10 years repairs done since last summer's quake have focused on stabilizing stone on thursday, cathedral officials announced they had received a $5 million gift from the indianapolis based lilly endowment that will be used for architectural restoration 'after a year's time, we have a long way to go toward full restoration,' wade said 'but we also have countless individuals, organizations and houses of worship to thank that have shared in their belief in the work of this sacred place and i have no doubt that they would join me in gratitude for this major restoration grant' the august 2011 tremor rattled buildings around the nation's capital, as well as stoked concerns about whether residents, workers and visitors were prepared during thursday's news conference outside the washington monument, officials described an upcoming drill designed to prepare people to react quickly if another big earthquake hits the region called the great southeast shakeout, the drill is scheduled for 10:18 am on oct 18 its aim is to encourage people to drop to the floor or ground, take cover under a desk or table, and hold on until the shaking stops last year, they said, many people in the washington business district fled their buildings like in a fire drill, putting them at potential risk from falling debris the website for the drill is wwwshakeoutorg/southeast where to find exceptional america cnn's greg seaby, tom cohen, eric fiegel and lindy royce contributed to this report | noncomic comprizes unchristianize | no related information |
(cnn) in a rare and candid interview, cnn's robyn curnow spoke to nelson mandela's wife of 10 years, graca machel, to find out more about the man from the person who arguably knows him the best here, machel reveals that mandela's courageous and eventful life has left him with only one regret machel: 'we have enjoyed this relationship in a really special way' how would you describe your relationship with nelson mandela? he is simply a wonderful husband we met in life at time we were both settled we were grown up, we were settled, we knew the value of a companion, of a partner because of that, we have enjoyed this relationship in a really special way it's not like when you are still young, you are too demanding no, no we just accept each other as we are and we enjoy every single day as if it is the last day because of that, it has been wonderful to have him as a husband do you look at him and go, 'i married nelson mandela?' at the beginning, yes i already had this very deep involvement with him then sometimes it's there was a sort of conflict between the man i loved and the myth particularly because people were saying things, and i couldn't figure out the two would go together i know him as a human being, a person and this myth surrounding him the aura around him was a bit confusing, but then i learnt to live with it, in terms of separating the two is he comfortable in his own skin? absolutely more than comfortable he is so happy with himself at the end of his life also he realizes, although he doesn't express it he realized that he achieved the things he had as goals in life so is he at peace with himself? yeah, really it's peace, fulfillment best way to characterize it is to be at peace with himself, but also at peace with the world does he have any regrets? ya, only one i know of you feel he would have really liked much more input in the development of his children only thing although he tried his best madiba (mandela) was not given the opportunity to bring up his own children he left them went to prison when they were very young he didn't have much opportunity to do those things that a parent a father does to read stories to child how has he dealt with old age, for somebody who seems to be such a fighter, doer, has the frailty of old age frustrated him? i think the only thing that frustrates him is walking when he tries, he feels, he puts it as his knees don't cooperate that's how he puts it he is not anxious about getting old no, no, no he feels he would like to move freely that this the kind of frustration i sense in him birthday wishes? i have already given him the best present i could and thought of, 10 years ago when we got married i looked back sometimes it sounds crazy, someone of my age at the time i was 52; i married a man of 80 it wasn't a problem i was so happy to marry him i think after that any other thing is much less, because it will never surpass the possibility of us being together, sharing a life that is the best i could have given him because it is your wedding anniversary? when we married, we didn't know we'd be given 10 years together we have been very lucky very grateful for that | mandela gracel machel | mandela's wife describes life with her 'wonderful husband'. gracel machel says mandela regrets the time he lost with his children . mandela also frustrated by the incapacities of old age, she says |
washington (cnn) president barack obama called the next house speaker republican rep john boehner of ohio on tuesday night after mid term election results gave the gop majority control of the chamber starting next year the white house said obama also called the two top house democrats outgoing speaker nancy pelosi of california and outgoing majority leader steny hoyer and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, r kentucky while republicans won a house majority, democrats retained their senate majority, though it will be much narrower than the current 59 41 advantage in his discussions with boehner and mcconnell, obama told the two he was looking forward to working with them and republicans 'to find common ground, move the country forward and get things done for the american people,' according to the white house statement boehner's team issued a statement on the call from obama, saying the two had a 'brief but pleasant conversation' 'they discussed working together to focus on the top priorities of the american people, which boehner has identified as creating jobs and cutting spending,' the boehner statement said 'that's what they expect,' boehner was quoted as telling obama in the call, according to the statement earlier, boehner told a victory rally that 'it's clear tonight who the real winners are, and it's the american people' 'with their voices, the american people are demanding a new way forward in washington,' boehner said, calling for conservative policies favored by the tea party such as cutting spending and reducing the size of government before the election, obama criticized boehner for saying recently that 'this is not a time for compromise' if republicans win control of the house cnn's ed henry and dana bash contributed to this story | divesture kanchil karaoke | no related information |
(cnn) the supreme court on monday upheld the conviction of a man who bought a handgun but broke the law by not disclosing his intent to resell it to a relative it was a rare setback for gun rights advocates who contend government efforts to track and keep firearms out of the wrong hands go too far the court ruled 5 4 in the 'straw' purchase case against bruce abramski, a former police officer who told a virginia gun dealer in 2009 that he was the 'actual buyer' of the glock weapon he then sold it to his uncle in pennsylvania for $400 abramski said he and his relative were legally able to own it but he was charged with making false statements, convicted and sentenced to probation at issue is whether such misstatements are 'material' to an otherwise lawful sale and whether that kind of information should be kept by a federally licensed dealer the obama administration said those who purchase from licensed dealers must follow the letter and spirit of the law to ensure accurate record keeping and to make it easier to trace the weapon gun rights advocates call abramski a victim of vast government overreach, unfairly lumped into the same category as those who would buy weapons for criminals or for smuggling the high court in recent years has affirmed the broader individual right of americans to own handguns for self protection in the home and on this issue, it narrowly ruled for the stricter control, saying the 'actual transferee/buyer' must disclose any intent to resell at the time of purchase 'no piece of information is more important under federal firearms law than the identity of a gun's purchaser,' justice elena kagan said, stressing that the dealer in this case could never have known to run a background check on abramski's uncle she was supported in her opinion by justices anthony kennedy, ruth bader ginsburg, stephen breyer, and sonia sotomayor federal law requires prospective buyers to check a box on an alcohol tobacco and firearms form indicating whether they are purchasing a gun for someone else abramski confirmed he was the buyer, but said he made clear all along that he planned to sell the weapon legally to his uncle was told the transfer could be completed by a licensed dealer, which he completed days later during oral arguments in january, some justices questioned whether signing the atf form really solved the problem of keeping weapons out of the hands of the wrong people in his dissent justice antonin scalia said the law in question was unclear 'the court (majority) makes it a crime for one lawful gun owner to buy a gun for another lawful gun owner,' he said 'whether or not that is a sensible result, the statutes congress enacted do not support it' scalia was backed by chief justice john roberts and justices clarence thomas and samuel alito | court obama | former police officer convicted of buying a gun for an uncle but not saying so . federal law aimed at transparency in gun sales to keep them out of the wrong hands . court ruled narrowly, supports obama administration position on the issue |
new york (cnn) judson box has never known exactly how his son, gary, died on september 11, 2001 but an unexpected find nine years later has given him a glimpse into his son's final hours gary, then 35, had been working as a firefighter in brooklyn for roughly five years when the terrorists attacked he did not speak to his father the day of the attack and his body was never recovered, leaving the circumstances of his death a mystery on september 11, 2009, gary's sister, christine, was visiting the tribute center when an employee asked her if she was looking for someone specifically she mentioned her brother gary, and the employee showed her to a picture of a firefighter in the brooklyn battery tunnel that had a caption bearing gary's name but it was not gary it was a photo of brian bilcher, another member of gary's fire squad who also perished on 9/11 the discovery compelled gary's father to dig deeper, clinging to the possibility that there could be a similar picture of his son out there box scoured photo archives of the national 9/11 museum and the memorial's website, which allows users to upload photos from 9/11 directly to the site after searching one night for more than five hours, box went to sleep, physically and emotionally exhausted the next morning, his wife, helen, called him into the living room as he was eating breakfast she showed him a photo of a firefighter running through the brooklyn battery tunnel toward the towers alongside cars stuck in traffic this time, it was gary 'i was out of out control, emotionally,' box said 'thanking god, being so happy that i had something to see' eager for more answers, box contacted the national 9/11 museum and memorial in an attempt to track down the photographer several months later, the museum gave him the e mail address of erik troelson, a danish businessman who was stranded in the tunnel on his way to a meeting when he snapped the picture of gary having entered the tunnel before the first plane hit, troelson was unaware of the tragedy that was taking place outside 'suddenly, the girl in the car in front of us got out crying,' he said 'then we turned on the radio and heard the events as they unfolded' soon after, firetrucks started racing through the tunnel, but a car with blown out tires jammed traffic, he said 'some of the bigger trucks got stuck, so the guys started walking briskly past us,' troelson said 'gary box was one of the guys' box and troelson corresponded via e mail for months, with troelson doing his best to recall the day's timeline of events on tuesday, the national 9/11 museum and memorial foundation arranged for a surprise rendezvous between the men at their annual fundraiser they shared an emotional moment onstage afterward, they spoke at length, with box expressing his gratitude 'i think i said about 300 times thank you and god bless you, that's all i could say,' box said 'i think i told him i love you, and i don't tell anybody that' nine years after september 11, box said he still feels the pain of that day he doesn't have the means to make large donations to the museum, but has sought to promote their cause through his story 'we need that in this country because too many people forget,' box said of the museum 'i wish everybody could get what i got' | gary box danish | gary box died on 9/11 without speaking to family; his remains were not recovered . visit to tribute center prompts family to look for photos of him from that day . search yields picture of the firefighter running through a tunnel toward attacks . box's father meets danish businessman who took picture: 'i think i told him i love you' |
(cnn) the family of a florida man has released video of his death, hoping to get criminal charges filed against the police officer who ran him over on may 8, marlon brown was being chased by deland police because they allegedly saw that he was not wearing a seatbelt at a dead end road, brown stopped his car and started running one of the police cars hit and ran him over, its dashcam video recording the entire incident last week, a grand jury decided not to indict officer james harris on a criminal charge of vehicular manslaughter that's when the family decided to go public, and release the video 'we knew it wasn't going to be an easy video to watch,' says krystal brown the ex wife and mother of brown's children, 'but in order to obtain justice, and that's what we're looking for, we knew it was something that we had to do' unarmed man shot 10 times by police justice, the family says, would be criminal charges against harris for killing marlon brown harris, who has been fired as a result of the incident, could not be reached for comment the dashcam video shows harris' police car following two other police cars as they drive down a residential street into a grass lot the two other vehicles stop but the one with the camera continues to chase after brown as the police car approaches, brown stumbles and falls while on the ground, brown turns and faces the chasing vehicle and within seconds, his face disappears under the hood of harris' police car a thud is heard and the car stops 'i think he's underneath the (expletive) car,' a voice off camera can be heard saying florida deputies mistakenly shoot man in his driveway the city of deland has already paid the family $550,000 in a settlement but the city did not admit any wrongdoing, according to krystal brown the family decided to go public with their story and the video in hopes of triggering public outrage that would result in pressure for officials to file criminal charges for brown's death 'we're just asking for justice, nothing extra,' krystal brown said, 'nothing no one else would want for their family member ' state attorney for florida's 7th judicial district rj larizza decided to present the evidence to the grand jury instead of filing charges, which he could have done if he felt a crime had been committed larizza stood by his decision at a news conference last week, following the grand jury's decision not to return charges after two days of testimony 'this has been a controversial situation and this has been a case that has been a challenge since the beginning,' larizza said at the news conference 'i wanted the most possible folks involved, people that were in the community, people that live here, people that care about this community to make the decision,' said larizza, adding, 'and i was confident and comfortable that they would do so' police wound 2 bystanders in times square shooting krystal brown said the family was 'disappointed' and 'felt let down by the criminal justice department' even before seeing the video, adding that they believe a vehicular manslaughter charge was appropriate 'just knowing what the charge entails, it doesn't have to show intent it only has to show reckless driving,' she said the video alone prompted deland police chief william ridgway to fire harris 'the actions taken by officer harris that night are not consistent with our department's training, directives, or accepted practices or techniques,' ridgway told cnn, in a prepared statement deland police are conducting an internal review of the incident this week, law enforcement officials have been going over more than 2,000 documents to determine whether appropriate tactics were used, whether police policies were followed and if those policies reflect the best way to deal with similar situations brown's family believes the video speaks for itself 'we would have had no problem getting a call that morning saying, 'ok marlon ran from the police and we had to tase him' or 'the dogs bit him' or something more along the lines of not using excessive force,' says krystal brown 'but to get the call that he has been ran down with a vehicle for running from the police? that doesn't fit' | marlon brown deland florida dashcam | marlon brown died on may 8 after he was run over by a deland, florida, police officer . the police officer was fired, but a grand jury decided not to indict him . outraged, his family released dashcam video of his death . the family want the police officer to face criminal charges |
(cnn) bad weather forced nasa to delay the launch of space shuttle discovery by at least a day thursday mission managers will meet friday at 5 am et to re evaluate weather conditions, nasa said it was the latest in a series of delays for the 39th and final voyage for discovery, the agency's oldest shuttle discovery's six crew members were scheduled to deliver a pressurized logistics module that will help provide more storage to the space station 'we've gotten into a configuration now on the space station where we have a lot of stuff and we don't have a lot of space to put it in,' said royce renfrew, lead space station flight director for the mission the latest launch attempt had been set for thursday afternoon before that, it was expected to blast off monday, but discovery was delayed to repair helium and nitrogen leaks in its system a planned tuesday liftoff was canceled so engineers could fix a glitch to a backup system that controls a main engine with 38 voyages to date, discovery has flown more missions than any other orbiter in the fleet it also made history along the way, nasa said discovery flew the first female shuttle pilot, the first african american spacewalker and the first sitting member of congress to go to space cnn's faith karimi contributed to this report | discovery african american | the shuttle was set to blast off on thursday afternoon . discovery has flown more missions than any other shuttle . it flew the first female shuttle pilot and the first african american spacewalker |
bukavu, democratic republic of congo (cnn) many of congo's rape survivors took to the streets sunday to speak out against sexual violence in a country where it has become a weapon of war 'my heart is in pain, why are you raping me?' sang the rape victims, many of whom left hospital beds to join the march in eastern congo 'they have had enough, enough, enough, enough,' said nita vielle, a congolese women's activist, of the women marching 'enough of the war, of the rape, of nobody paying attention to what's happening to them' the united nations has named the democratic republic of congo the 'rape capital of the world,' with 15,000 women raped in eastern congo last year the attacks occurred in parts of the country where armed rebel groups moved into areas considered to be pro government but lacking in army or police protection, according to the un margot wallstrom, the un secretary general's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said recently that one distraught congolese woman had told her that 'a dead rat is worth more than the body of a woman' 'it was an expression of how human rights violations against women are still the lowest on a fool's hierarchy of war time horrors,' she said sunday's march was organized by the world march of women in association with local women's groups organizers hoped the march would combat the stigma attached to rape victims and draw international attention to the problem of rape as a war tactic 'it's just great to have so many women out on the streets,' said celia alldridge, a representative from world march of women 'we believe that women should not be made prisoners in their own homes' among throngs of marchers, many clad in bright traditional garb and carrying homemade signs, one congolese marcher echoed that sentiment 'i tell you, it's a wonderful thing to see all the women together, just for one reason for the peace of the women of congo,' said mary georges 'this is the freedom of the congo women' last month, a un report slammed congo's security forces for failing to prevent a wave of mass rapes over several days during the summer the preliminary report confirms the rape of at least 303 civilians between july 30 and august 2 in the walikale region of congo's north kivu province the report points to serious shortcomings in the preparedness and response of the local detachments of the congolese army and the police stationed in the area it also notes that their failure to prevent or stop the attacks was compounded by subsequent failings on the part of un stabilization mission forces in congo the report said the force had not received any specific training in the protection of civilians, and suffered from a number of operational constraints, including a limited capacity to gather information, as well as the lack of a telecommunications system in the area 'the scale and viciousness of these mass rapes defy belief,' said un high commissioner for human rights navi pillay 'even in the eastern part of drc where rape has been a perennial and massive problem for the past 15 years, this incident stands out,' pillay said, 'because of the extraordinarily cold blooded and systematic way in which it appears to have been planned and executed' | congo eastern congo | rape is a weapon of war in congo . eastern congo has 15,000 rape victims just from last year . the march aims to combat a societal stigma attached to rape victims . many women left hospital beds to join event |
copiapo, chile (cnn) once a star soccer player, frankie lobos loves being out on the field, in the open air but the soccer legend fell on hard times, and became a miner 'being on the football field is what i have spent my life doing,' he says 'i never wanted to be a miner then i was in a mine for 69 days with little chance of surviving' he was one of 33 miners trapped when his mine collapsed in august lobos feared the mine would be his tomb 'we didn't have days in the mine,' he says through a translator 'it was just one long night a night of complete darkness' alone, in the dark and starving 'imagine it, a spoon and a half of tuna every 24 hours, then every 48 hours, at the end it was every 72 hours there was no water left, only the water that was in the machines and we couldn't drink it,' he recalls they were running out of everything the men blindly scrounged for cigarette butts from the mine floor the only thing they had in abundance was fear then, 17 days after the collapse, a drill bore through, bringing both excitement and hope 'it was chaos all of us agreed to be calm, but it wasn't possible that was when we returned from the dead,' he says he had only one wish 'all we hoped for was to see our families again i dreamed of them every day i saw all their faces that was what gave me the will to survive,' he says and the family shared his will, toughing it out for weeks in the tent camp near the mine, and raising his spirits over a video conference system lobos feared he would never return to his soccer field, right up until the moment the first rescuer arrived in the mine but it turned out that the miner and the rescuer had already met rescuer miguel gonzalez also played professional football in chile against lobos, the man he was about to save 'he told me 'i played against you,'' when he arrived 'i chatted with him about it, about playing with him and i said, 'make my rescue quick i want to be with my family'' his ascent was quick so quick that at one point he panicked, thinking he was falling back into the mine gonzalez's rescue of lobos is not the end of their intertwined destinies the men will meet once more on the football field in a face off between the miners and the rescuers president sebastian pinera set up the match and joked that the winners get to stay a night in la moneda, the presidential palace, while the losers have to go back to the mine lobos expects to be on the winning side his glory days may be behind him, lobos says, but never bet against a chilean miner | frankie lobos chilean | frankie lobos once played pro soccer, but fell on hard times . he ended up in the chilean mine that collapsed . when his rescuer arrived, it turned out they had met before |
washington (cnn) getting a deal done on the government shutdown was ugly, divisive and controversial and it has left a few people missing pork days after republicans kept their house majority in the 2012 election, speaker john boehner doubled down on a ban on earmarks those legislative nuggets that get embedded into bigger bills directing funds to specific pet projects these legislative provisions were generally the grease that made congress go leadership in the house and senate would add earmarks to bills as a way to win votes on a larger controversial proposal the 'earmark ban shows the american people we are listening,' boehner said in 2012 'we are dead serious about ending business as usual in washington' but with that announcement, boehner was tying one hand a hand that many of his predecessors had used before behind his back he would have to pass legislation without the ability to woo members with money for their districts 'trying to be a leader where you have no sticks and very few carrots is dang near impossible,' trent lott, former republican senate majority leader and house minority whip told cnn 'members don't get anything from you and leaders don't give anything they don't feel like you can reward them or punish them' lott, who is now a senior fellow at the bipartisan policy center, said boehner's job during this recent shutdown and debt ceiling crisis would 'absolutely' have been easier had he been able to use earmarks 'when i was the whip in the house in the 80s, i had a shop window hours when members could come in and say they had a problem and ask for help,' lott said 'then when i came to do my whip job, the members' were more receptive to support him lott, however, operated in a different republican party 'bringing home the bacon' back then was seen as a good thing, where today, many tea party and conservative republicans campaigned on the idea that earmarks represented the seedy, pay to play deals of lott's congress even in wednesday's senate deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling there was a little pork the spending bill added more than $2 billion for a system of locks under construction at the confluence of the ohio and mississippi rivers and between kentucky and illinois senate minority leader mitch mcconnell has received some blow back for the money, but democratic and republican leaders say mcconnell did not ask for it 'i find it funny that people keep coming back to this,' said steve ellis, vice president of taxpayers for common sense, a group that has been vocally supportive of the earmarks ban 'i don't think earmarks are this sort of panacea that would make the trains all run on time' the group has put out different research on earmarks, backing up boehner's ban and pointing out some of the more earmark laden bills of the past 20 years ellis says it is 'preposterous' to assume that conservative members of congress who ran against washington spending could be 'bought off' with earmarks 'if you are willing to shutdown the government over the issue of obamacare,' why would a road project in your district change your mind, he said earmarks, while something long used in congressional spending bills, grew significantly between the presidencies of bill clinton and george w bush in 1996, the defense appropriation bill included 270 earmarks in 2005, there were 2,506 earmarks in the defense spending bill, costing taxpayers over $9 billion for other bills, like the energy and water development appropriation, earmarks made up 248% of the money spent in 1994 and 303% in 2002 proponents of earmarking will argue that the small amount of money they cost is a price worth paying to make government run more smoothly opponents, however, say earmarks are what lead to massively expensive appropriation bills, making them more difficult to pass earmarks have also caused congress and specific members a number of public relations headaches some of the projects earmarks have funded are laughable and make for comedic fodder * in 2010, $18 million was approved for the las vegas neon boneyard, a museum to neon, as part of the southern nevada public land management act * in 2009, democratic rep jim mcdermott of washington backed a $250,000 earmark for window repair and limestone sill replacement at 'the rainier club' a high society club in seattle * then there was the 2005 'bridge to nowhere,' a project in alaska slated to cost nearly $400 million that was secured with an earmark by rep don young and the late sen ted stevens it became a notorious illustration of pork barrel spending and was never built * another infamous pet project line item was some $450,000 in 2005 to the new river community partners museum development project, which was responsible for the sparta teapot museum of craft & design in north carolina the money was eventually returned to the government 'they are a tool,' said former democratic rep dan glickman of kansas 'for years they were an overused tool and now they are an absolutely underused tool there has got to be something in between' lott acknowledged that, at times, earmarks got out of hand and needed to be reformed but that doesn't mean, he said, they should have been outlawed all together 'there needs to be a defined process,' he said as for whether his support of earmarks opens him to criticism from other republicans, lott laughs 'some of them may say you sound like a rino,' lott said, using the acronym for 'republican in name only 'look, i was conservative before many of these turkeys were born' | hld banjos burkites | no related information |
(cnn) on thursday, president obama and former presidents jimmy carter, george hw bush and bill clinton are due to attend the grand opening of president george w bush's presidential library and archive in dallas, texas the opening of the library offers an opportunity to think again about the legacy of the bush presidency as obama and the former presidents look around the museum, they will see many exhibits that symbolize how the jury is still out on most of the major issues events in the coming years will play a huge role in how history is likely to remember bush's white house there are four big questions about his presidency bush 43: 'history will ultimately judge' 1 how effective and how just were bush's counterterrorism policies? bush came into office much more concerned about domestic issues like education and taxation, but after the 9/11 terror attacks, he invested a great deal of his power in the counterterrorism program he and his supporters have felt that the absence of major attacks until last week and that the re establishment of calm in the united states was a defining achievement it is not surprising that one of the artifacts that obama will see during his visit is the bullhorn bush used in his famous address to first responders who were working at ground zero but our continued vulnerability became clear when two bombs exploded at the finish line of the boston marathon last week, killing three people and injuring many others the attacks immediately raise the question as to what kinds of risks were not addressed and what holes exist in our security program there are already questions facing the obama administration about the handling of a tip about tamerlan tsarnaev received by the fbi from the russian government in 2011 there are also questions about how boston responded, as authorities virtually shut down the entire city during the hunt for the suspects and, some argue, unnecessarily gave potential copy cats the impression that they could cause even greater turmoil through similar acts in addition, the hunger strike in which guantanamo prisoners have been protesting their treatment and the infringement of basic civil liberties raises the question about the costs of bush's programs the violation of civil liberties through the use of torture proved to be a huge blow to america's international standing many critics argue that these practices, many of which obama has allowed to stay in place, actually has fueled support for terrorist networks overseas brazile: bush came through on katrina 2 what is the long term impact of bush's fiscal policies? when bush started his term, the country enjoyed a sizable budgetary surplus for the first time in decades once in office, however, bush chose a series of policies that turned the surplus into a deficit the president argued that tax cuts offered the best path to stimulating economic growth, adhering to the supply side economics of the reagan era bush and his advisers argued that reducing the tax burdens of americans, especially wealthier americans who had money to invest, would grow the economy for all the tax cuts, combined with spending for defense after 9/11 and new domestic programs such as the medicare prescription drug benefit, generated massive federal deficits the problem for bush is that the economic record since 2001 has been checkered, with the huge financial collapse in 2008, a recession and an extremely sluggish recovery economic inequality has worsened thus far, the record remains poor 3 did federal education standards improve the nation's schools? the no child left behind act (2001) was a major achievement and fulfilled a central objective of the bush presidency, to impose stringent standards to improve the quality of education the law extended the reach of the federal government by setting up a strong set of standardized measures to judge school performance but the law has been hugely controversial many teachers complain that the standards have had a detrimental effect on education, forcing them and students to focus their energy on tests to meet the standards rather than the kind of substance important to the development of a child as bush's secretary of education margaret spellings said, 'what gets tested gets taught' right now the debate continues, and there are many advocates on different parts of the political spectrum who argue that the law needs substantial reform whether there is a demonstrable improvement in education outcomes as a result of the standards will be a very important factor in determining his legacy 4 what was the result of engaging in pre emptive wars? bush made a strong argument that pre emptive war was essential to preventing terrorism the results of this strategic outlook were wars in afghanistan and iraq though the operations were initially successful and knocked out the leadership of both countries, the post war reconstruction had tremendous human and economic costs while each situation was eventually stabilized, new democratic processes established, and us troops drawn down, the wars remain hugely controversial with the american public one of the most ambitious promises from administration officials was that these kinds of wars would not only diminish the chances for terrorism to find state sponsors but also would also change the dynamics of the region and create pressure for dismantling the autocracies that have dominated the middle east but the region remains in turmoil and in transition while some of bush's supporters initially hailed the fall of the governments in countries like egypt as proof that his strategy worked, the election of an islamist government created new fears the ongoing battle in syria between the government and rebels is a reminder that the region remains a tinderbox the way in which these stories unfold will play a big role in shaping how we evaluate bush these are just some of the open questions that historians, journalists and the public will be looking to answer the bush library offers one approach, mostly reflecting the views of his supporters, but americans will debate the impact of those controversial eight years for a long time the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of julian zelizer | julian zelizer bush 43rd zelizer | julian zelizer says opening of bush library rekindles debate over 43rd president . he says many of bush's counterterrorism policies remain and are still being questioned . bush will also be judged on his economic policies and deficit spending, he says . zelizer: how will history view the long term impact of bush's pre emptive wars |
(cnn) when it comes to choosing the paint color of automobiles, drivers really are predictable the top paint color choice in 2012 for us car buyers is white (21%), matching similar findings almost 10 years ago; black (19%) is a close second, followed by silver and gray (16% each) if you're driving anything painted green, celebrate your uniqueness, you rebel only 2% of drivers said they'd be caught behind the wheel of a green colored vehicle worldwide, white ranks first (22%) and silver is second (20%), followed by black (19%), gray (12%), red (9%), blue (7%), green (2%) and other colors (1%), according to the study released wednesday by automobile paint manufacturer ppg self driving cars now legal in california customers shopping for sports cars, suvs and high end luxury cars said choosing the right color was more of a priority than did customers buying less expensive rides the vehicle paint colors people choose are also having an effect on the design of other products, researchers found 'color is one of the first characteristics noticed in product design, and it is increasingly being used in everyday items, from cell phones to large appliances, based largely on automotive trends,' said ppg's jane e harrington in a release announcing the study's findings 'the palette being developed for the automotive segment continues to be influenced by culture, nature, fashion, interior design, color popularity and new pigment technology' the paint manufacturing company introduced 64 new exterior shades to automotive designers for consideration in designs of the 2015 2016 model years these included colors such as al fresco, a silver metallic with fresh green tint; victoria grey, a classic gray with an iridescent highlight of gold metal; opulence, a refined red pearl with intense jewel tone; glacier, an icy graphite gray with a slight violet blue tone; sunshine, a bright high sparkle intense yellow; and elixir, a metallic mixture of silver and magenta customers say they want more paint options, but color preferences haven't changed much during the past decade in a similar survey conducted by dupont in 2004, white, silver, black and gray topped the list 'mousetrap' can crush a car and teach physics | gastrophilist inhaling palmus | no related information |
(cnn) tens of thousands of congolese refugees fled camps tuesday in the democratic republic of congo as rebel troops attacked government forces in the area, the un refugee agency said refugees move along a road tuesday in mugunga, near goma, in the democratic republic of congo a press release from the un high commissioner for refugees said it didn't appear rebels had targeted the camps, but it reported some were looted after camp residents, classified as internally displaced persons, fled roads to goma, about 10 miles from the camps, were crowded with refugees and local residents fleeing the fighting, the unhcr reported torrential rain made the movement even more difficult 'the main road toward sake was crowded with people; we had difficulties getting through,' unhcr field safety adviser pierre nazroo was quoted as saying in the agency's release 'internally displaced people are moving from site to site, direction goma' unhcr spokesman ron redmond said, 'they have been living in extremely difficult conditions anyway now they have nothing but what they can carry' redmond added, 'these are people in poor health; they are soaking wet because of the torrential downpours they need shelter, they need water, they need a lot of assistance so we're going to have to move quickly to get that help to them because a lot of them are already in a weakened state' while the congolese government accused troops under rebel general laurent nkunda of staging the attack, a nkunda spokesman denied the allegation, according to a report from the integrated regional information networks, a un affiliated news service the spokesman, bwambale kakolele, said rwandan hutu rebels who also operate in the area were behind the attack, that report said a spokesman for the un military mission in the congo said it was uncertain which group attacked the congo army outpost near the village of kishangazi, according to the un affiliated news service 'we think it could have been insurgents close to nkunda who attacked, but we cannot rule out the [rwandan rebels],' spokesman col pierre cherayron was quoted as saying the unhcr identified the affected camps as mugunga i, mugunga ii, lac vert and bulengo, saying about 28,000 had abandoned the first three camps and about 2,000 had left bulengo the unhcr said 375,000 congolese in north kivu province have been forced from their homes in the past year in the past two months alone, 160,000 have fled their homes amid the fighting between renegade troops and government forces, the agency said north kivu is in eastern congo near the borders of rwanda and uganda congolese president joseph kabila has tried to gain a cease fire with the rebels in the area under nkunda, but fighting continues as hard liners among the rebels and in the government have blocked reconciliation efforts, according to the international crisis group, an nongovernmental organization looking for solutions to conflicts e mail to a friend | enoint siberic trimetrogon | no related information |
(cnn) republicans appeared to have regained the majority of us governorships tuesday night, capturing 10 in states where the previous executives were democrats, according to cnn projections of exit poll data but democrats scored two takeaways, including in california, where cnn projected that jerry brown will defeat republican meg whitman for the governorship now held by republican arnold schwarzenegger, who is stepping down under term limits brown returns to the governor's mansion in california 28 years after his last term ended the other takeaway state was hawaii gop women made major inroads, as new mexico's susana martinez, south carolina's nikki haley and oklahoma's mary fallin all defeated their democratic opponents a widely publicized battle in new york ended with a projected democratic victory as state attorney general andrew cuomo slid past republican favorite carl paladino, according to cnn analysis of exit poll data son of former gov mario cuomo, the younger cuomo squared off against paladino, a businessman and developer, after the tea party endorsed candidate scored an upset victory over former rep rick lazio earlier in the gop primary cuomo added to democratic wins in new hampshire, maryland and arkansas, according to the projections but governorships in kansas, oklahoma, tennessee, new mexico, pennsylvania, wyoming, michigan, wisconsin, ohio and iowa all have gone from democrat to gop, according to cnn analysis of exit poll data republicans, however, lost rhode island but democrats didn't win it either that's because independent lincoln chafee, a former republican, was projected by cnn to defeat republican john robitaille and democrat frank caprio for the governorship, which had been vacated by republican gov don carcieri because of term limits chafee becomes rhode island's first governor since 1857 who is neither a republican nor a democrat often overshadowed during midterm campaigns, governorships can impact national politics by their influence in the redistricting of state electorates republicans needed a net gain of only three governorships tuesday for a majority nationally if the eight state pickup margin holds, the gop will have gained a national gubernatorial majority plus five tennessee became the first republican pickup tuesday evening, when knoxville mayor bill haslam edged past democrat mike mcwherter haslam will succeed democratic gov phil bredesen, who was precluded from running again by term limits in michigan, republican rick snyder defeated democratic lansing mayor virg bernero in michigan in pennsylvania, cnn projected tom corbett, who had an 8 percentage point lead with 84 percent of precincts reporting, as the winner over democrat dan onorato in wisconsin, republican scott walker was cnn's projected winner over democrat tom barrett in kansas, sam brownback won easily over democrat tom holland in wyoming, republican matt mead was the projected winner over leslie petersen in oklahoma, fallin defeated another woman, democrat jari askins in ohio, republican john kasich, a former congressman turned pundit, defeated democratic incumbent ted strickland, who was seeking a second term in iowa, republican former gov terry branstad, who had the job in 1980s and 1990s, defeated democratic gov chet culver and in new mexico, also a contest between female candidates, martinez defeated diane denish in a race to replace democratic gov bill richardson addressing her cheering supporters tuesday night, martinez hit repeatedly on one theme: 'you were the ones telling me how desperately we needed to move new mexico in a new direction,' she said 'at the end of the day, new mexico chose a new direction' in south carolina, haley became the state's first female governor by defeating democratic opponent vincent sheheen in a tightly contested race haley, a 38 year old state representative, is supported by former alaska gov sarah palin and tea party activists, and has promised to tackle unemployment and excess government spending by way of a 10 year plan during a bitter campaign run up, sheheen hammered haley on reports of late tax payments while campaigning on the scandal surrounding the former governor the governor's race in south carolina had earned a prominent stage among a series of high profile gubernatorial elections that some analysts speculate could be a bellwether for future presidential politics nevada, arizona, alaska, georgia, idaho, utah, texas, nebraska, south dakota, alabama and south carolina returned republicans to their governor's mansions; colorado, arkansas, new hampshire, new york, massachusetts and maryland did likewise for democrats in texas, incumbent gov rick perry defeated democrat bill white, and democratic incumbents held on to governorships in arkansas and new hampshire, based on projections in new hampshire, incumbent john lynch bested republican challenger john stephens, while in arkansas, democrat mike beebe has defeated gop nominee jim keet democratic incumbents also held on in massachusetts, where gov deval patrick was projected to defeat republican charlie baker, and in maryland, where gov martin o'malley was projected to prevail over bob ehrlich in baltimore, o'malley thanked state employees and campaign workers, pledging to 'move maryland forward' by creating jobs and in what he described as a 'new economy' in south dakota, republican lt gov dennis daugaard edged past democrat scott heidepriem in georgia, former us rep nathan deal, the republican candidate, defeated former gov roy barnes, according to a cnn projection based on exit poll data deal narrowly defeated tea party favorite and former georgia secretary of state karen handel for the state's republican nomination the national spotlight turned on the georgia race when national gop heavyweights sarah palin and mitt romney endorsed handel, while mike huckabee and newt gingrich backed deal in vermont, gop lt gov brian dubie was up against democratic challenger peter shumlin dubie ran uncontested in the gop primary, while shumlin, a state senator, couldn't declare victory in his crowded primary until a recount was certified almost three weeks after the voting according to vermont law, if no gubernatorial candidate wins a majority of the vote on election day, the responsibility of electing the governor falls to the state legislature, with each state senator and representative casting one vote democrats currently hold a decisive 117 to 55 lead in the legislature in nevada, republican brian sandoval, who had beaten scandal plagued incumbent gov jim gibbons in the primary, defeated democrat rory reid in arizona, incumbent republican gov jan brewer defeated democrat terry goddard in alaska, palin's successor as governor, former lt gov sean parnell, beat democrat ethan berkowitz, a former state representative in hawaii, democrat and former rep neil abercrombie won back the governorship for his party by defeating republican lt gov duke aiona republican gov linda lingle left the seat due to term limits | unrestrainable lifebuoy suburbanisation | no related information |
(cnn) george hw bush turns 90 today (june 12), only the fourth american president to reach that age he's the last of the world war ii presidents, the last american leader to preside over the cold war, the last of a generation of elected leaders who saw themselves as old fashioned public servants rather than cutthroat campaigners today, there are college graduates who weren't even born when he left office so the question is, what can 20 somethings learn from an old man like bush? it starts with what bush said to a group of young people in one of the last speeches he gave as president: 'what all of us seek in our life is meaning and adventure it's through service that all of us can find both' he certainly has had 90 years of 'meaning and adventure' — flying as one of the youngest navy pilots in world war ii; serving in congress during the 1960s; as us liaison to china in the days of mao; as chair of the republican party during watergate; as head of the cia after the church commission; as ambassador to the united nations during the cold war; as vice president during the reagan revolution; as president during the collapse of the soviet union and as a post presidential humanitarian, he has raised millions for cancer research and disaster relief alongside the man who was his most bitter political rival bush had a front row seat to most of the major events of the second half of the 20th century, and he did it by dedicating his life to service to others 'public service is a noble calling,' something he's said so often that it's engraved on a bust at his bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university (the students rub its brass nose for good luck; he once quipped, 'thank god it was only a bust!') i asked about bush's formula for meaning and adventure when i interviewed 41 extraordinary people for our new documentary about our 41st president, '41on41' many of the 41 spoke of bush's lifelong commitment to public service, whether in uniform, in appointed positions, through elected office or in community service 'this man has affected this country and served this country in so many ways,' said sports commentator jim nantz, 'and he's done it every step of the way with a kind heart, with good intentions, with real concern that he's doing the right thing to help people' 'i do believe, if there were more people like him, the world would be a better place,' president bill clinton told me 'if your primary motivation is to serve, then, in an imperfect world, you're likely to make the right rather than the wrong compromises 'his primary motivation was to serve you don't get to pick the time you serve, and you can't control the circumstances in which you govern there's always some good and some bad in it but he made the most of a hand that was not the easiest hand to play and he did it because, at heart, he's a servant' pierce bush is ghw's grandson, and the two have talked about the day his grandfather decided to make the first step in a lifetime of service 'he remembers sitting in an andover [high school] auditorium right after pearl harbor was attacked,' pierce said 'there was this spirit that he wanted to be a part of he wanted to go and defend america, he wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself' pierce sees the parallels with his generation in the same longing millennials have to be a part of something larger than oneself his twitter homepage quotes his grandfather: 'any definition of a successful life must include service to others' pierce works for big brothers big sisters in houston and would tell you that his life is full of both meaning and adventure condoleezza rice is concerned that young people have only seen the worst of elected officials in a gridlocked washington that seems to feed on character assassination she knows how hard it is to decide to go into public service in such a poisonous environment 'i would say to young people: never forget that democracy depends on its citizens to care about it, to promote it, to work for it,' rice said 'democracies don't survive if citizens simply leave it to others to do the hard work of governing, and so if you get a chance to be in public service, do it the greatest thing that you can do in your life is to serve your country you could have no better role model than george h w bush' bush's life is full of lessons for young people i hope you'll tune in to cnn on father's day at 9 pm et to hear more about this remarkable american life you'll be surprised how much you'll learn | merrytrotter malpracticed corydon | no related information |
(cnn) this time jason dufner hung on to the lead, and his reward was winning a first major at the pga championship two years ago at the same tournament, dufner led by five shots in the dying stages but he crumbled and eventually lost in a playoff to pal keegan bradley although he's not one for showing too much emotion, it hurt having overtaken overnight leader jim furyk at oak hill on sunday, dufner carried an advantage down the stretch and didn't buckle to beat his fellow american by two shots his 68, two under par, wasn't as sizzling as his 63 on friday that tied a low score at a major however, it marked his third consecutive strong final round at a major he hit 67s at the british open and us open overall he registered a 10 under par 270 his lone two bogeys came on the last two holes, when he could afford be cautious 'to come back from a couple of years ago, when i lost to keegan in the playoff, feels really, really good,' dufner said in a televised interview 'i'm privileged to play in these tournaments and it is a great feeling to win one' dufner's celebration was typically low key he hugged wife amanda and received a congratulatory hug from bradley 'i decided i was going to be confident, put my best foot forward, be aggressive and try to win this thing, not be scared or too soft,' dufner said 'i'm happy to get the job done and it is a big step in my career' furyk held a one shot lead entering the final day by no means was his round poor he finished at one over 71 but he couldn't match dufner bogeys on the last two holes didn't help 'i needed to keep the pedal down and make pars there and keep the pressure on him and i just didn't do it,' furyk was quoted as saying by afp he also couldn't maintain his lead at last year's us open, although furyk at least owns a major swede henrik stenson came third, three shots behind dufner, with jonas blixt, another swede, a further shot adrift tiger woods, meanwhile, will see his drought at majors extend to six years after he finished in a tie for 40th woods, still stuck on 14 majors, finished with an even par 70 'is it concerning? no,' he told the golf channel 'as i've said, i've been there in half of them so that's about right 'if you are going to be in there three quarters or half of them with a chance to win on the back nine, you have just got to get it done' woods dealt with an elbow injury earlier in the summer and said he played sunday with a stiff back 'it's been tight all day,' the world no 1 said 'just one of those things' fresh off his success at the british open, phil mickelson couldn't repeat his heroics at the pga championship but if it was any consolation, mickelson concluded with a 72, six shots better than saturday he tied for 72nd, better than a mere two players who survived the cut defending champion rory mcilroy had an outside shot of catching the leaders, six shots behind furyk entering sunday but his hopes faded following a triple bogey seven at the fifth | laicizes preemptor monumentality | no related information |
washington (cnn) us and north korean officials met secretly in new york in the days before north korea's latest round of threats and provocations, although nothing came of the meeting, according to a source familiar with the matter the source described the meeting as part of regular back channel exchanges between the countries clifford hart, the us envoy for six party talks aimed at north korean denuclearization, met with north korea's deputy un ambassador, han song ryol, in mid march, according to the source northeast asia on edge ahead of possible north korean missile test hart repeated the obama administration's call for north korea to avoid provocative actions and urged a return to diplomacy, and han promised to communicate the message to pyongyang, the source said the meeting was held as part of the so called 'new york channel,' a process used for communicating and passing messages between washington and pyongyang in the absence of normal relations in february, north korea used the 'new york channel' to warn the state department about its third nuclear test white house spokesman jay carney, appearing on cnn's 'the situation room,' said in general terms that the united states has a 'channel of communications with the north koreans, and we utilize that channel' the meeting was first reported by the foreign policy magazine blog, the cable timeline: north korea's war of words escalates | new york north korea obama pyongyang us | nothing came of new york meeting days before north korea unleashed threats . source says meeting part of regular back channel exchanges . the obama administration called for pyongyang to avoid provocative actions . 'new york channel' set up for us, north korea to exchange information, messages |
atlanta, georgia (cnn) genarlow wilson, freed last week from a georgia prison, said he's glad he rejected a plea deal from prosecutors, even if it would have sprung him from prison months earlier genarlow wilson tells cnn on sunday that he will be more conservative and alert in the future the 21 year old, who served two years of a 10 year sentence for aggravated child molestation, said the prospect of being labeled a sex offender drove him to turn down the deal he had to think about his 9 year old sister and having a family of his own one day, he said sunday 'it might've been lesser time, but then again, i would have nowhere to go because i would have no home,' wilson said during a cnn interview scheduled to air monday at 8 pm 'i wouldn't be able to stay with my mother because i have a little sister you know, when you're a sex offender you can't be around kids basically, i can't even have kids myself, you know, so what is the point of life?' he asked in 2005, a jury found wilson guilty of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15 year old girl at a 2003 new year's eve party wilson was 17 at the time of the party watch wilson say why he rejected the plea deal » the conviction carried a 10 year mandatory prison sentence and a sex offender designation according to georgia attorney general thurbert baker, prosecutors in douglas county, georgia, offered wilson a plea deal that would have reduced his sentence, possibly to time served, and would have eventually removed the conviction and sex offender status from his record defense attorney bj bernstein said in june that wilson rejected the deal because he didn't want to plead guilty to a felony with a 15 year sentence the state legislature last year amended the law under which wilson was convicted, making such sexual encounters misdemeanors however, the legislature did not make the law retroactive, so it had no effect on wilson's sentence now 21, wilson was released friday after the state supreme court ruled 4 3 that the young man's sentence 'constitutes cruel and unusual punishment' wilson said sunday he feels no 'negative energy' toward district attorney david mcdade, who fought efforts to have wilson's sentence reduced instead, wilson said, he is focused on the future and hopes to soon immerse himself in his college studies he wants to major in sociology, he said, 'because i feel like i've been living my major' the new genarlow wilson will be more conservative, more alert and more appreciative of the blessings bestowed upon him, he said 'when it seems like you have everything, you know, you feel like you have no worries until it's all gone, and i know what it feels like to be without and i don't want to ever feel like that again,' said the former honor student, football star and homecoming king 'i don't ever want to see the inside of a prison or a prison, period' though he called his sentence 'absurd,' wilson said he understands that prosecutors 'were doing their job and they felt they were carrying out the law' wilson also said he knows what he did was foolish 'i was young then i did some idiotic things in my teen years, but you know, every average teen does,' he said 'i don't think any of us made very wise decisions, but i don't think that any of us can go back then and change what happened' e mail to a friend | abnormalized establishmentism equianchorate | no related information |
washington (cnn) the confirmation of michael mukasey as attorney general was all but assured friday when two key democratic senators said they will vote in favor of the nominee despite questions about his views on 'waterboarding' and the president's power to order electronic surveillance sens dianne feinstein of california and charles schumer of new york announced they would support the retired federal judge from new york just hours after the chairman of the judiciary committee announced his opposition to the nominee feinstein and schumer are members of the senate judiciary committee, which is scheduled to vote on the mukasey nomination tuesday if all the republican members of the committee also vote for mukasey, which is expected, his nomination will go before the full senate a leading democrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said wednesday mukasey is likely to be confirmed if his nomination passes the judiciary committee schumer had praised the nomination of mukasey as a consensus candidate when the president announced mukasey as his choice to replace former attorney general alberto gonzales gonzales gave up the post in september 'this is an extremely difficult decision,' schumer said 'when an administration so political, so out of touch with the realities of governing and so contemptuous of the rule of law is in charge, we are never left with an ideal choice judge mukasey is not my ideal choice however, judge mukasey, whose integrity and independence is respected even by those who oppose him, is far better than anyone could expect from this administration' a number of democratic senators, however, have said they will oppose mukasey because of questions about his views on the interrogation technique called 'waterboarding' and the president's power to order electronic surveillance waterboarding involves restraining a suspect and using water to produce the sensation of drowning mukasey told senators this week that he finds waterboarding 'repugnant,' but he could not answer whether the technique amounts to torture while saying 'serious questions have been raised about judge mukasey's views on torture and on separation of powers,' feinstein said she would support the nominee because the justice department needed fresh leadership 'first and foremost, michael mukasey is not alberto gonzales rather, he has forged an independent life path as a practitioner of the law and a federal judge in the southern district of new york 'i believe that judge mukasey is the best we will get and voting him down would only perpetuate acting and recess appointments, allowing the administration to avoid the transparency that confirmation hearings provide and diminish effective oversight by congress' just hours before feinstein and schumer announced their decisions, senate judiciary committee chairman sen patrick leahy, d vermont, announced he would vote against the mukasey nomination watch sen leahy explain why he can't support the mukasey nomination » 'no american should need a classified briefing to determine whether waterboarding is torture,' leahy said 'waterboarding was used at least as long ago as the spanish inquisition we prosecuted japanese war criminals for waterboarding after world war ii 'i am eager to restore strong leadership and independence to the department of justice i like michael mukasey i wish that i could support his nomination but i cannot america needs to be certain and confident of the bedrock principle deeply embedded in our laws and our values that no one, not even the president, is above the law' president bush demanded the senate confirm mukasey during a speech thursday at the heritage foundation, an influential conservative think tank 'in a time of war, it's vital for the president to have a full national security team in place,' the president said the president has equated asking mukasey about his opinion of waterboarding with asking him about the cia run interrogation program, whose details are classified bush said the program does not violate us bans on torture, but added that mukasey 'does not want an uninformed opinion to be taken by our professional interrogators in the field as placing them in legal jeopardy' but leahy said 'judge mukasey was not asked to evaluate any secret 'facts and circumstances' ' 'he was asked whether waterboarding is illegal our law makes torture illegal, and waterboarding is torture, and it is illegal it is frankly not dependent on any, quote, 'relevant facts and circumstances of the technique's past or proposed use,' ' he said, quoting from mukasey's response to senators on the question sources with knowledge of the cia run interrogation program have said agents are no longer using waterboarding but those sources have said waterboarding was used in the interrogation of khalid shaikh mohammed, now facing trial before a military tribunal for planning al qaeda's 2001 attacks on new york and washington the practice was used by the spanish inquisition, cambodia's khmer rouge and the world war ii japanese military, according to human rights watch it is specifically banned in us law governing the treatment of prisoners by the us military e mail to a friend cnn's ted barrett contributed to this report | feinstein schumer michael mukasey's judiciary committee patrick leahy michael mukasey tuesday | new: feinstein, schumer say they'll vote for attorney general nominee . michael mukasey's nomination now expected to pass judiciary committee . sen patrick leahy says he will not vote to confirm michael mukasey . committee scheduled to vote on nomination on tuesday |
(cnn) nine people were killed and 19 injured after a tour bus carrying people on a ski trip left a highway and rolled over sunday night in southeastern utah, a highway patrol spokesman said the seats of the bus that rolled over are exposed to the snow at the crash site in southeastern utah on monday at least 50 people were on the arrow stage lines bus when it crashed on state highway 163, about five miles north of mexican hat, at 7:30 pm (9:30 pm et), said utah highway patrol trooper cameron roden troopers reported the road was wet but not icy, he said the bus was traveling south from telluride, colorado, to phoenix, arizona, when it left the right side of the highway and rolled over, roden said see where the crash occurred » police said the bus lost control on a curve, ran off the road and rolled over several times, tumbling 41 feet down an embankment, according to the associated press 'when the vehicle was overturning, the roof of the bus split open and multiple occupants of the vehicle were ejected,' roden told the ap watch how the crash left the bus a mangled hulk » rescue crews took the injured people to hospitals in utah, colorado and arizona, he said the salt lake tribune reported that ambulances from utah, colorado, arizona and new mexico responded to the accident, and a helicopter from colorado could not fly to the crash site because of winter storms four of the dead were male and five were female, the utah highway patrol said most of the passengers were returning home from a weekend ski trip to telluride, he said e mail to a friend cnn radio's barbara hall 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 | utah telluride colorado phoenix arizona weekend | death toll rises to nine as tour bus runs off highway, rolls over . bus was carrying at least 50 people when it crashed in southeastern utah . bus was en route from telluride, colorado, to phoenix, arizona, after weekend ski trip |
(cnn) the first week his debut album, 'up all night,' came out, kip moore found himself nestled in the billboard 200's top 10 between the likes of jack white, adele, lionel richie, nicki minaj and jason mraz the late april release landed at no 6, an impressive showing for a guy who's released two singles so far but one of those singles a joyous country rock tune called 'somethin' 'bout a truck,' an ode to rule breakin' with a girl on the tailgate of a truck bed has done remarkably well since its release in september it's been certified gold and has sold more than 700,000 digital singles, with the video viewed nearly 7 million times on youtube for moore fans, the appetite for more music has been growing steadily for about seven months and it couldn't come at a better time for the georgia native, who's been primarily making his living in nashville over the last four years as a songwriter with a publishing deal as well as a touring musician, playing bars and small clubs across the country 'i've been writing about two songs a day for about seven or eight years,' the 32 year old singer told cnn from a tour stop in new hampshire last month '(when i moved to) nashville, it was a move because that's what i really wanted to do i think it's natural when you get to a town like that, you question, 'are you good enough?' every single day 'i was below the bar i needed to be when i first got there i questioned going home all the time my first few years you see your friends around you building a foundation with their jobs, retirement, family not that those things are what i want now, but you could look up, and you're 40 years old all of a sudden you have nothing to show for it' before moving to nashville in the early 2000s with songwriting aspirations, moore credits the time he spent in hawaii after college for helping him get his songwriting skills up to snuff he'd grown up on artists such as bob seger, jackson browne and willie nelson as a kid, he fondly recalls his father playing their music often in the car on the way to go fishing on the gulf coast, but he didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life until he hit the big island 'i lived in a little hut with a backpack and went to the beach every day,' moore recalled 'i wrote a lot of songs out there 'everything but you' is strictly from that experience i didn't know what i wanted to do with my life i've always been a little bit like that i worked a bunch of odd jobs, but i realized out there that with my personality, unless i was doing music, there was no way i was going to be happy' it's been noted that moore has that blue collar bruce springsteen thing going on, and you can certainly hear that scruff in his voice at times, along with a healthy dose of rock 'n' roll fused within all of his songs but on 'up all night,' moore doesn't sing about the plight of the working class; instead, he's much more apt to detail life after the whistle blows and the paycheck's been cashed the joys of ice cold beer, sunshine, a favorite girl in a favorite sundress he spins all of these notions into simple stories that sound blissful, with a little bit of a devilish streak to them 'sometimes a songwriter can get in the way of things,' he said 'i try to just speak it like how i felt people would say it how i would say it i feel like people are relating to how i say it, and people are moved by some of those songs' moore's slated to spend most of the summer on the road, playing a mixture of club dates and state fairs, and he's finally ready to admit that he might just make it as a musician 'recently, we've been selling out these clubs and see how rabid these people are for the music,' he said 'they knew all these tracks before they'd been released i've felt this wave in the past two weeks, where i've thought things might be all right' | sagesse repunishable ruthful | no related information |
denver, colorado (cnn) colorado sen michael bennet claimed victory in his bid for a full term wednesday, but his republican opponent has yet to concede the race 'i am humbled by your support,' the democratic incumbent told supporters in denver 'i won't let you down' bennet was appointed in 2009 to replace ken salazar, now the obama administration's interior secretary, and was seeking a full six year term this year with 90 percent of the vote, he led republican challenger ken buck by about 6,400 votes out of nearly 16 million cast bennet fended off a primary challenge from former house speaker andrew romanoff in august and was a top gop target this year buck, a former weld county district attorney who garnered an upset primary win with tea party support, had not yet conceded the race before bennet's announcement, his campaign was still reviewing in what counties still had returns outstanding, and the number of provisional ballots remaining 'we will have further comment later today,' the campaign said | woodrow sulfurize episiocele | no related information |
london, england petra nemcova is a former victoria's secret supermodel turned philanthropist despite her riches, nemcova, who grew up with few luxuries in communist czechoslovakia, told cnn that her most important work is her charity, the happy hearts fund the model set up the foundation after her near death experience in the 2004 asian tsunami while nemcova survived by clinging to a palm tree for eight hours, her long term partner did not here, nemcova shows cnn around prague and tells of her love for the 'golden city,' what she learnt from growing up in a communist country and how she keeps smiling despite life's setbacks cnn: tell us about the first time you came to prague petra nemcova: the first time was to visit my aunt and even if prague is in the same country as my town, it felt like a real journey for us it was like going somewhere very special, far away, because under the communist regime you didn't travel that much and prague was 'wow' i was overwhelmed and amazed by the beauty of prague and every time i arrive in prague, even now, i'm still amazed the lighting at night; the incredible architecture; the details; the history; there was a lot to learn about and a lot to discover it was a very special experience the following time i went to prague was during my early career in the fashion industry and i was traveling once, twice a week from my town to prague i would wake up at 545 in the morning, take the bus for one hour, then a tram to school after school i would take a five hour train to prague so it was quite intense at that time, but it was a great experience and it taught me a lot about being independent cnn: how would you describe prague, in five words? petra nemcova: prague is a city of romance, of incredible architecture and history some people call it the 'golden city,' some people say it's the heart of europe although maybe the french don't like that very much! paris is bigger obviously and a bit more hectic and prague is smaller and has more of a village y feeling compared to paris prague has more of a calming vibe it's not rush rush rush i think when people come here they are surprised by the beauty of prague and also the vivid colors i think they may imagine prague more in gray colors because of the communist association but since then a lot of reconstruction has been done before prague was shades of grey and black, which was quite mysterious, but now it's more happy and pretty in five words it's historical, inspirational, creative, romantic and beautiful cnn: what was your childhood like? petra nemcova: growing up in the czech republic at the time czechoslovakia was a beautiful childhood because i didn't understand the whole concept of communism i was only 11 when communism fell down and when the velvet revolution happened i had a really beautiful childhood i didn't have the great luxury things, we had very little and we counted every penny but our parents gave us something more valuable than money they gave us so much love and that's priceless we didn't get the opportunity to travel all over the world and were able to travel only within the communist countries so we went around our country to see different castles, little towns and i loved it so that made us richer it also made us appreciate nature because we spent every weekend in nature and the values you learn there are priceless too you don't step on flowers, kick on mushrooms, you really respect nature and the value of appreciation came from not having anything and then having a little bit having a clementine for christmas it was an incredible joy and every time i smell a clementine, it brings me back to my childhood but it was harder for my parents because if you weren't part of the system then you didn't get a job and an apartment and it would be really difficult for you my parents had these passports where every time they would go to these communist meetings they would get a stamp and if you didn't get enough stamps throughout the year, you would get in trouble cnn: what happened to you in the 2004 tsunami? petra nemcova: i lost my partner and physically, my pelvis was broken four times, i was drowning many times throughout the experience there were hard moments throughout that experience and some sweet ones seeing the compassion of other people risking their lives for strangers, there was just a lot of love around in that moment that's what happens actually if you live through disasters, it brings people together, it shows that we are capable of that compassion, but unfortunately it just goes away after some time cnn: tell us about your foundation, happy hearts? petra nemcova: happy hearts is a foundation that i established after the tsunami it helps children improve their lives after natural disasters through educational and sustainable initiatives we build or rebuild a school, add computer labs inside and then we build businesses to sustain the school the education is really a key not just for the children to recover faster from the disaster but also to help them, their families and communities get out of poverty we help over 23,000 children a year we give them hope and not just for them but for their parents and communities the schools elevate the whole community after the tsunami we went to other countries where disasters happened and one of them was in indonesia we work with local partners on the ground and have been able to build 33 kindergartens after the 2005 earthquake and that's something incredible because it really changed so many lives our other project is in peru, where there was an earthquake in 2007 and we have a commitment to build three schools a year cnn: if you only had 24 hours in prague, what would you do? petra nemcova: first of all i would take my friends and family and i would walk around and go to the charles bridge because that is my favorite place then i would stop by some exhibitions of some new artist and then i would go and sit down for some tea perhaps at the musical house in the evening i may go to a typical czech pub and afterwards for a concert because i really love them; they put my mind at ease and inspire me cnn: how creative is the city? petra nemcova: many people know about kafka and some of the other famous writers but there is a lot of interest in music here and in different types of art that's perhaps because art was suppressed during communist times and you were only allowed to read certain authors that's why there is such a hunger now for everything that was forbidden not just czech authors but also a lot of american authors because especially anything from us was big taboo and you could not see any movies and you could not listen to any music i discovered stevie wonder seven years ago and i'm still working on learning and seeing more of the great movies cnn: if prague were a person, who would it be? petra nemcova: i think prague would be our former president vaclav havel he is a proud person and prague is a proud city; he's an artist and prague is artistic; he's an achiever and prague has achieved so much he is someone people admire, as they do prague | czech cnn golden city prague vaclav havel artictic nemcova 2004 asian | czech supermodel and philanthropist shows cnn around her 'golden city,' prague . nemcova: 'prague is like former president vaclav havel: admirable, artictic and proud'. nemcova also talks about growing up under communism and surviving the 2004 asian tsunami |
(cnn) rangers and scientists have made contact for the first time in more than a year with critically endangered gorillas threatened by a war in the democratic republic of congo, a national park announced tuesday young gorillas play in congo's virunga national park in an undated photograph the congolese government and rebels agreed to allow the survey team into the gorilla section of virunga national park, which rebel fighters loyal to laurent nkunda have controlled since september 2007 only about 200 mountain gorillas were estimated to be living in the park at last count, out of an estimated 700 in the world the team of rangers beginning a planned monthlong survey spotted a group of gorillas tuesday known as the humba family group the humba group had nine members at last count, said pierre peron of virunga national park, and experts are eager to see how many it now includes hundreds of rangers had fled the fighting between nkunda's ethnic tutsi rebels and the congolese army and allied militias, leaving scientists with no reliable information about the endangered gorillas take a closer look at the animals » but more than 100 rangers have returned, park spokeswoman samantha newport told cnn last week at least nine mountain gorillas are known to have been killed last year, including an infant female before the rebels took control of the park, 72 of the gorillas were accustomed to human contact another 130 or so were not, making it impossible to accurately count them the gorilla sector of the park lies in a strategically crucial area near the border of uganda and rwanda the un educational, scientific and cultural organization has designated virunga national park as a 'world heritage site' africa's oldest national park, it was formerly known as albert national park | rangers congo 14 months ago virunga national park | rangers return to park after fleeing congo fighting 14 months ago . at last count, virunga national park had 200 of the world's 700 mountain gorillas . fighting threatens gorillas in park, which rebels control |
(cnn) when france won the 1998 world cup on home soil their triumph was hailed as a unifying force for a country with a difficult colonial past and where racial tensions were never far from the surface the team was labeled the black, blanc, beur (black, white, arab) because of the seamless mix of french born and dual nationality players who conquered the football world with a shock 3 0 win in the final against the favored brazilians but fast forward 13 years and leading french politicians, current star players players and influential media commentators are among many to voice fears that the legacy of social integration engendered by that glorious night in the stade de france has been severely tarnished, if it every existed french talent drain no excuse for quota deputy christiane taubira, a prominent member of the french national assembly, who was a candidate in the 2002 presidential elections, was always skeptical that it marked a sea change in french attitudes to race '1998 was an illusion and a short one,' she told cnn, pointing out that less than three months later a french government minister called black youths 'young savages' taubira, who is in the socialist group in the national assembly, believes that until 'all citizens are treated equally' french society will continue to have problems of racial integration with presidential elections looming in france next year, she believes the problem stems from the very top and is calling on nicolas sarkozy to promote diversity and give more opportunities to france's immigrant population taubira is a persistent critic of sarkozy, particularly for his spells as french interior minister from 2002 07 where his hardline approach to disorder in neighborhoods with a largely north african population came under the spotlight 'i told him back in 2002 that he was organizing a civil war in this country,' she added taubira's comments come in the wake of the decision by the french sports minister chantal jouanno to clear national football coach laurent blanc in the 'race quotas row' which has provoked an angry reaction from critics blanc, who succeeded raymond domenech last summer, was captured by a secret recording allegedly discussing the introduction of quotas for young players, aged 12 and 13, based on their racial background the implication was that a smaller percentage of youngsters of dual nationality would be admitted to the famed french football academies, which act as the breeding ground for talent such as thierry henry national technical director francois blaquart, who allegedly promoted the idea to blanc, remains suspended by the french national federation (fff) joachim barbier, who wrote the acclaimed book 'football made in afrique,' was scathing in his criticisms of the reported conversations between blanc and blaquart 'you expect these people to be clever and set up a scheme for the future,' he told cnn 'instead they talked like a couple of stupid drunks' barbier does not believe blanc was intentionally racist, but points to the 'wide gap between the people playing football and those running it, who are mostly white and over fifty years of age' he goes on: 'back in 1998 the only person saying there was too much diversity was (front national leader) jean marie le pen, now it seems everything that is not christian and white is considered a threat' juliens laurens, uk correspondent for le parisien, told cnn that the blanc affair was another example of the institutional racism which he believes permeates french society he also does not believe blanc is a racist but highlights the appointment of his predecessor domenech as an example of the problem domenech got the job in 2004 ahead of mali born former star player jean tigana 'i'm sure it was down to tigana's color rather than ability,' he claimed the race issue flared again as domenech's tenure as national coach ended with their humiliating exit from 2010 world cup in south africa chelsea's nicolas anelka was sent home after a heated exchange with domenech, prompting a brief strike by his fellow squad members 'people said there was a clan of black players in the french squad at the world cup, and we then saw the true face of france,' anelka told british reporters last december ahead of chelsea's champions league tie against marseille 'when the france team fails to win people start talking straight away about the players' skin colors and religious beliefs 'when times get tough we find out what people really think they said franck ribery had hit yoann gourcuff ribery the muslim, and gourcuff the good french boy' anelka's views are echoed by tottenham hotspur central defender sebastien bassong, who played for france at under 21 level, but with dual nationality opted to play for cameroon in full internationals bassong would represent an example of the issue identified by blanc and blaquart whereby a player is trained in the french system then opts to play for a country of his or his parents' birth in a candid interview with britain's guardian newspaper in the wake of the race quotas affair, bassong criticized french society for its lack of diversity 'i am not going to lie and say it is not more difficult in france than it is in england to find work if you have a big beard, for example that is just a fact 'in england, it is more open and that is why people come here because they know that they will get a chance, no matter how they dress or where they are from 'french society still has to work with its approach to foreign people,' he was quoted patrick lozes, president of the representative council of black associations in france, has no doubt that prejudice is rife in his country and his organization is calling for a full judicial inquiry into the blanc affair 'we are talking here about children of 12 years of age, who have not chosen to be bi national,' he told cnn 'these kids are being denied access to training and i call this discrimination the lack of diversity in the french football federation structures paves the way for institutional racism,' he added a spokesman for the fff strongly denied these claims but refused to comment on specific issues 'the file is not closed, we're actually working on the disciplinary procedures and, following internal regulations and working laws in france, we are avoiding all comments on this topic,' said francois manardo, the chief press officer for the federation the historical facts would indeed appear to counter accusations that players from ethnic minorities and other backgrounds are discriminated by the selectors of the french national team the first black player to represent france was raoul diagne in 1931 and he played in the 1938 world cup team that featured three players from north african descent for the first time sons of european immigrants to france such as raymond kopa, just fontaine and maryan wisnieski were key members of the 1958 team which reached the semifinals in the 1990s, the squad boasted representatives of most of the french dependencies, not to mention many african countries such as senegal which previously came under french rule the star player of the 1998 team, zinedine zidane, was born in marseille to algerian parents far right leader le pen may have been a lone voice when he said that team was not sufficiently 'french,' but in 2002 he reached the second round of the presidential elections and ghanaian born marcel desailly and other national teammates went public and urged voters to reject him they duly did, although support for le pen and his daughter marine le pen's front national party remains strong in several regions of france barbier believes that until 'immigration is seen as a benefit not a threat' his country will continue to have problems 'it's a question of leadership,' he said | wafers rynchosporous hypaxial | no related information |
san salvador, el salvador (cnn) buried underground about 30 miles from el salvador's capital city, police made a staggering find this week: 213 grenades investigators described the arsenal uncovered tuesday as 'anti tank grenades' the kind of weapons only members of the military are allowed to use in the central american country key questions remain after the discovery: who hid the grenades there? and how were they planning to use them? authorities say they suspect the stash is yet another sign that mexico's brutal zetas cartel has extended its reach and members of the military could be involved, they said 'according to our investigations, these have been sold to zetas drug traffickers in guatemala and mexico,' salvadoran attorney general luis martinez told reporters 'and we are going to investigate this and also we are going to see where they came from' authorities have asked the united states for assistance with their investigation into the weapons' origin police said the grenades, buried about 4 feet underground, were manufactured in china and the united states los zetas known for 'complete absence of scruples' cnn's catherine e shoichet contributed to this report | desmoncus kevutzoth pansclerotic | no related information |
(cnn) disbelieving chelsea fans have been celebrating with their champions league winning team in london on a victory parade the day after the club won the trophy for the first time in their history chelsea's squad and temporary manager roberto di matteo traveled on two open top buses, waving blue scarves as they showed off the famous trophy with the 'big ears' cheering fans crowded onto the streets and even climbed up trees and lampposts and onto bus stops around southwest london to catch a glimpse of their heroes, including matchwinner didier drogba chelsea, who overcame barcelona in the semifinals, were 1 0 down against bayern munich with seven minutes remaining at the allianz arena, but drogba conjured an 88th minute equalizer the ivorian striker then scored the winning penalty in the shoot out with what could be his final kick for chelsea the 34 year old's contract runs out this summer, and he has been linked with a move to china it capped a remarkable few months for chelsea, who sacked portuguese manager andre villas boas in late march with the team toiling in the premier league and trailing 3 1 against napoli after the first leg of their champions league last 16 match under di matteo, chelsea somehow overturned the deficit against napoli, but a miraculous victory over barcelona managed to overshadow that chelsea looked doomed again after skipper john terry was sent off early in the second leg and they went 2 1 down on aggregate, but once again the blues triumphed against the odds and repeated the trick against bayern in the german's club's home stadium the win also guaranteed chelsea a place in the champions league next season after missing out via the premier league by only finishing sixth tottenham, who finished fourth in the english league, will have to settle for the europa league as the buses came to a halt on sunday, terry, who was suspended for the final but lifted the trophy with frank lampard, led the players and fans in a chant of 'champions, champions, ole ole ole' when the microphone was passed to drogba, he was serenaded by both players and fans with 'didier drogba, we want you to stay' roman abramovich, the club's wealthy russian owner, was also on the parade to witness the celebrations of drogba, fernando torres, ashley cole, petr cech, juan mata, and countless other signings made under his big spending ownership winning the champions league had been abramovich's dream and plenty of managers were fired over their failure to deliver it, but di matteo's future is still far from secure 'whatever the club decides i will respect, it's as simple as that,' the italian coach said after the match in munich as the chelsea fans celebrated, the mood in munich was predictably somber once the delirious opposition fans had departed an estimated 100,000 chelsea supporters were in munich the city was left to mourn what most of the german newspapers saw as a desperately unlucky defeat sports daily bild's headline read: 'schweini, we are crying with you!' bastian schweinsteiger, the talisman of the bayern team who came through the youth system at the club, hit the post with a hesitant penalty in the shoot out former chelsea winger arjen robben had missed a chance to wrap it up even before the shoot out when he had a penalty saved by cech in extra time chelsea had one corner in the entire match and scored from it through drogba bayern had 20 corners, and 43 attempts on goal to chelsea's nine 'it's like a nightmare,' bayern director of sport christian nerlinger said 'when you see how the game played itself out, it's like a bad film 'this is frustrating and depressing to digest this defeat is very difficult to take' munich daily sã¼ddeutsche zeitung concluded: 'how much bad luck fits into a single football match?' | chelsea champions league london bayern munich first john terry bayern | chelsea parade the champions league trophy through southwest london . the blues beat bayern munich on penalties for their first ever champions league win . chelsea captain john terry leads players and fans in chant of 'champions'. bayern fans in disbelief after seeing team waste chances to win in their home stadium |
(cnn) liberals need to stop complaining about the right in recent weeks, the chorus of criticism emanating from liberals has been intensifying, focusing on how right wing republicans have shut down the government and are threatening the global economy many observers agree with this criticism, including a number of republicans who are also frustrated with their own party a recent pew poll showed that support for the gop has plummeted since september but simply criticizing congressional intransigence never goes very far in washington politics liberals who rail against the right are unlikely to accomplish much the 40 or so conservative republicans who have been controlling the house caucus don't really care what liberals in washington have to say even if some house republican politicians are listening to their critics, most of the short term electoral incentives are pushing them in a different direction than democrats hope if liberals want to bring change and truly alter the political dynamics in washington, they are going to need to build grass roots pressure to shape national debate and genuine electoral pressure in the states and districts of republicans who are not among the hard core of the right wing still a majority of the gop political scientist matthew green estimates that there are 48 republicans in the 'fearful caucus,' who are not in the hard 'no' faction but whose primary concern is being at risk in a primary challenge there are 29 republicans who are loyal to the house leadership, and 17 more in districts won by president barack obama who are interested in a compromise thus far, it has been striking during the federal government shutdown to see the relative inaction of the left in terms of mounting actual grass roots pressure on legislators to reopen the government, raise the debt ceiling and deal with budgetary disputes through the normal paths of the legislative process although the budgetary process is not an issue that has the same urgency as immigration reform or climate change, the stakes of continuing with this kind of budget politics are enormously consequential the more that republicans can normalize the decision to shut down the federal government, the more comfortable they will be in disputes to do this again if they are willing to go to the length of actually sending the government into default over health care, they will use this kind of threat in future policy disputes republicans, to some extent, are comfortable with this outcome they have been warning about the ills of government for decades, so this kind of breakdown fits well within their broader narrative liberals need government to work, as they believe that government is an essential part of a fair and just society in the past, liberals have scored their biggest breakthroughs against congressional conservatism through grass roots pressure between the late 1930s and the early 1960s, a conservative alliance of southern democrats and midwestern republicans held up progress on legislation meant to benefit african americans, union members and americans living in the cities since southern democrats chaired many of the major committees, they were able to prevent bills from coming up for a vote or they forced legislation to be so watered down by the time of passage that it was ineffective in the senate, they could use the filibuster on bills such as civil rights to ensure that bold measures did not come up for a vote during the early 1960s, liberals were finally able to break the hold of this conservative coalition through a massive and dramatic grass roots mobilization, spearheaded by the civil rights movement this changed national opinion and created electoral pressure on midwestern republicans to break ranks with their southern counterparts during the 1980s, liberals faced similar problems after the 1980 election, president ronald reagan allied with the newly republican senate and an expanded conservative coalition in the house to push through major legislation, such as the historic tax cut of 1981, that took away revenue the federal government badly needed and made the tax code less progressive reagan also obtained a huge increase in the defense budget and undertook an aggressive shift in foreign policy that heightened tensions with the soviet union his team avoided negotiations with the soviets and insisted on a build up of intercontinental missiles in europe but liberals pushed back when reagan proposed cuts to social security in 1981, house democrats worked with organizations and citizen groups allied with the elderly to stop this in its tracks during the 1982 midterms, liberals focused on 'fairness' in the economy and blamed reagan's policies for the economic recession in 1983 and 1984, the millions of americans involved in the nuclear freeze movement generated immense support for the need to reduce international tensions and created the framework for negotiations that started in 1985 when mikhail gorbachev emerged on the scene a new book by historian michael foley, 'front porch politics,' shows how grass roots activists in this period participated in a wide range of protests on issues such as industrial policies for depressed areas to gay rights liberals have an opportunity to influence the political debate an unusual alliance is possible first, liberals will find support from republicans who care about the party's national standing and are unhappy with the polls reflecting the public's discontent with house gop tactics second, a growing number of leaders in the business community are starting to consider the possibility of funding primary challengers to hard right republicans whose policy demands are threatening the economy but liberals will have to be part of the equation of isolating the far right politically by building pressure in swing states, generating support for democrats who push back against these kinds of tactics, staging protests, holding marches and meeting with constituents in states where republican politicians will feel pressed to moderate the ways of their party conservatives have been quick to turn to protest politics, such as the recent protests at washington monuments, so there is no reason liberals should be hesitant to do the same, although they will need to do so on a much larger scale without that kind of grass roots pressure from liberals, the current stalemate is likely to be the new normal the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of julian zelizer | julian zelizer gop zelizer republicans | julian zelizer: liberal complaints about the tactics of the right accomplish nothing . he says liberals should be looking for ways to pressure gop members in their districts . if gop can normalize shutdowns, it will use tactic again and again, he says . zelizer: moderate republicans might help push back against conservatives |
(cnn) a fire and 'technical issue' aboard two boeing 787 dreamliners on friday raised new safety concerns for the long troubled airliner the fire ignited on an empty 787 operated by ethiopian airlines that was parked at london's heathrow airport no one was hurt and the incident shut runways for about an hour before operations resumed, the airport said details were unclear about the fire's cause or location aboard the plane, but the incident was enough to spur us aviation experts to investigate in a separate incident on friday, thomson airways reported a 'technical issue' aboard its dreamliner flying from manchester, england, to florida the aircraft returned to manchester as a 'precautionary measure,' thomson said in a statement engineers were 'inspecting the aircraft,' the statement said passengers were transferred to another plane the airline offered no other details of the problem related: dreamliner interactive layout the dreamliner, which has been flying since 2011, has been closely watched since last january when all 50 of the world's 787s were grounded due to overheating problems in its new light weight lithium ion battery system the planes were allowed to return to service in april after boeing engineered a solution that satisfied us aviation authorities heathrow reopened friday evening and boeing officials were at the airport to analyze the problem, the company said ethiopian airlines: bringing the dreamliner to africa it was not known if the battery system was associated with the latest incident, but a statement released by ethiopian airlines said the jet had been 'parked at the airport for more than eight hours' before the fire the federal aviation administration is sending 'an official' at the invitation of the british government, the agency told cnn in a statement the faa said earlier it was 'in contact' with boeing about the matter the national transportation safety board tweeted it also was sending an 'accredited representative' to the airport to help the investigation friday's fire triggered renewed doubt about the 787 among the aviation community, including aviation lawyer and former us department of transportation inspector general mary schiavo 'if today's boeing 787 problems are battery related,' she tweeted, 'the faa may reconsider its decision to allow them to fly before ntsb identified' what caused the battery troubles video of the aftermath showed foam surrounding the ethiopian aircraft and what appeared to be burn marks on its fuselage 'there's still hope for boeing,' schiavo tweeted later 'the burn marks are not next to the batteries' japanese dreamliner held due to a/c power glitch the news sent boeing's shares on wall street down more than 4% boeing's stake is huge hundreds of millions of dollars are riding on the success of the dreamliner, which represents a new generation of lighter, more efficient money making airliners its development was marked by production delays and other problems during their first few years in service, every airliner experiences 'teething pains' as they shake out minor problems, experts say but the faa's decision to ground the dreamliner put it under a microscope the lone us 787 operator united airlines owns a fleet of six during a six day period in june, united diverted three of them, each with a different mechanical problem indicators showed possible issues with oil levels, oil filters and the braking system related: another 787 dreamliner diverted for mechanical problem dreamliner's lithium ion batteries were blamed for two overheating instances this year in boston and japan no one was hurt in either case, but the problems spurred the faa to ground the planes in march, the faa approved a boeing certification plan to fix the 787 battery system and prove the new design is safe a team of experts from boeing and from outside the company redesigned parts of the battery system in what they called a 'robust' fix that included separating the battery cells, integrating a new charging system, and setting the batteries in a containment box that would vent outside the aircraft any smoke from overheating batteries related: behind the scenes for boeing's 'robust' battery fix the dreamliner boasts high fuel efficiency because of the lightweight carbon composite materials used in its wings and fuselage related: can 'game changer' dreamliner live up to its name? in an apparent show of confidence in the new aircraft, united announced last month that it was ordering 20 additional 787s, specifically the 787 10 model, a longer version of the plane cnn's aaron cooper, richard quest, scott hamilton, jason hanna and richard greene contributed to this report | ex dot faa heathrow dreamliner techncal second dreamliner friday ethiopian airlines boeing | new: ex dot official tweets that burn marks are not next to the batteries . faa says it's sending 'an official' to heathrow after dreamliner fire . 'techncal issue' aboard a second dreamliner friday, forces it to return to airport . a fire breaks out on an empty ethiopian airlines boeing 787 at heathrow airport |
(cnn) scott jamieson was so close to breaking new ground at the portugal masters on saturday no golfer on the european tour had ever shot a 59, and there the scot was on the 18th and last hole, needing a birdie to achieve the magical round but jamieson couldn't convert a roughly 15 foot chip and had to settle for a 60, instead becoming the 18th man on the european tour to card that score the world no 110 couldn't hide his disappointment when he missed the birdie putt, sinking to his knees in front of expectant fans at the oceanico victoria golf course in the algarve 'i said to richard (his caddie) playing 17 i really want to make a birdie here so we have a chance of it going down the last and i could not have asked to hit a better shot in,' jamieson told the european tour's website 'it pitched just short of the hole' 'when i birdied the 13th, i said to richard then, 'a few more and we could be part of history' i was definitely nervous but thinking about it from the tournament point of view the leaders are going to be a minimum of 16, 17 maybe 18 under going into tomorrow so that kept me going' jamieson only made the halfway cut by a shot but now trails leader paul waring by merely two shots in a four way tie for second he won his first and only european title at the nelson mandela championship in south africa in december earlier this year, american jim furyk became the sixth man to shoot a 59 on the pga tour | scotland scott jamieson the portugal masters jamieson paul waring jim furyk the pga tour | scotland's scott jamieson misses out on a historic 59 at the portugal masters . needing a birdie on the final hole to shoot the 59, he had to settle for par . jamieson moved into contention at the tournament, tied for second behind paul waring . earlier this year, jim furyk became the sixth player on the pga tour to tally a 59 |
(cnn) in an ever evolving, increasingly crowded beverage market, starbucks is waking up and smelling the coffee the problem is it's not their house blend 'here's a statistic that people are surprised by despite the long term success that we've enjoyed, we have less than 10 percent share of coffee consumption in north america and less [than] 1 percent share internationally,' starbucks chairman, president and ceo howard schultz told cnn money advertising age also recently pointed out that despite starbucks being the world's largest coffeehouse chain with more than 13,000 locations in more than 50 countries, even its most devout customers purchase only three of every 10 cups of coffee they drink from starbucks so, who is stealing starbucks' mojo? folgers, a division of jm smucker co, is still the largest producer of retail packaged coffee in the united states its coffee brands include folgers and millstone, and it also manufactures and distributes dunkin' donuts coffee to sell in grocery stores then there is the other american coffee titan, maxwell house, which is a kraft foods brand kraft reported soaring earnings in its 2010 first quarter, linking the growth to new advertising and innovation behind existing kraft brands such as maxwell house this competition is stirring starbucks to step up its home brewed strategy, partially by adding some flavor an ac nielsen panel recently found that more than 11 percent of american households purchase flavored coffee for home use, making it a $265 million business in the united states starbucks corp will enter the fray in june when starbucks natural fusions, in vanilla, caramel and cinnamon, arrives at grocery stores additionally, starbucks wants to capture a larger share of the us brewed coffee market by leaning on its via ready brew line and seattle's best coffee brand to increase the number of distribution points starbucks acquired its former competitor, seattle's best coffee, seven years ago 'we are uniquely positioned to reach into these channels because of the brand equity and trust we build with the customers who come into our stores,' starbucks said in a statement to cnn seattle's best, in part, will take aim against starbucks' typically lower priced, quick service rivals such as mcdonald's and dunkin' donuts in a new rebranding effort, starbucks plans to distribute the seattle's best brand in burger king and subway restaurants nationwide mcdonald's coffee sales have increased every year since the company first introduced its mccafe line of premium coffee in 2006 in april, mcdonald's announced its us comparable sales rose 38 percent, citing beverages, including the new mccafe offerings such as frappes, as a top contributor to that growth despite all this, starbucks ceo schultz said the expanding marketplace might just be an advantage to all of its players 'the level of awareness that was created by mcdonald's' tens of millions of dollars of advertising created more trial in the marketplace and differentiation' | starbucks n american 10 percent folgers the united states seattle burger king subway | starbucks wants a bigger share of n american coffee market than its current 10 percent . folgers is the largest producer of retail packaged coffee in the united states . starbucks to put its seattle's best brand in burger king and subway . starbucks flavored coffees vanilla, caramel, cinnamon head to grocery stores in june |
washington (cnn) a pakistan based terrorist group that is actively attacking american troops across the border in afghanistan is an 'arm' of the pakistani intelligence agency, the top us military officer told congress on thursday the blunt accusation from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, adm michael mullen, reflected the growing impatience of us officials with pakistan's unwillingness to stop the attacks and the belief that pakistan is actively supporting the insurgents but the recent high profile attacks by insurgents in afghanistan represent a shift in strategy by the taliban, who have ceded control of territory in much of the country, the us secretary of defense said thursday 'the insurgency has been turned back in much of the country, including its heartland in the south, and afghan national security forces are increasingly strong and capable,' secretary of defense leon panetta said in a senate armed service committee hearing the attacks, including last week's attempt to strike at the nato headquarters and the us embassy in kabul and this week's assassination of former afghan president burhanuddin rabbani, who was leading efforts for reconciliation talks, have raised questions about the ability of afghan security forces to maintain control but panetta, testifying to the committee along with mullen, said the taliban strikes are a sign of weakness 'we judge this change in tactics to be a result of a shift in momentum in our favor and a sign of weakness in the insurgency,' panetta said he said many challenges remain 'we must be more effective in stopping these attacks and limiting the ability of insurgents to create perceptions of decreasing security,' he told the committee in his opening statement the chairman of the committee, sen carl levin, d michigan, said the ability of the haqqani network, a pakistani militant group accused of being responsible for last week's kabul attack and numerous others in which us and nato troops have died, to launch attacks over the border from pakistan is unacceptable levin expressed frustration with the pakistani government, which has yet to use its troops to crack down on the insurgents and has not publicly condemned the attacks in afghanistan, either mullen, appearing for the last time in front of the committee before his retirement at the end of the month, spoke candidly about concerns about the threat posed by the haqqanis pakistan is 'exporting' violence to afghanistan, he said 'the haqqani network, for one, acts as a veritable arm of pakistan's intelligence,' mullen said he said pakistan's inter services intelligence agency supported the haqqani insurgents who planned and executed the attack on the us embassy and other strikes in afghanistan in doing so, mullen said, the agency is jeopardizing pakistan's relations with the united states and afghanistan but he added that the solution is not to give up on pakistan and said a flawed relationship is better than no relationship mullen has spent a significant amount of time during his chairmanship building relations with the pakistanis 'some say i have wasted my time,' mullen said, but he disagrees, saying the situation would be far worse if not for us pakistan relations in recent meetings between us and pakistani officials, including mullen with the top pakistani military officer and cia director david petraeus with pakistani's top intelligence officer, the united states has pushed pakistan to crack down on the haqqani network, panetta said given the public nature of thursday's hearing, panetta would not discuss what further steps the united states is willing to take to stop the attacks, but a us official said this week that the cia has increased drone strikes against the insurgent network within pakistan in pakistan, a spokesman for the foreign ministry denied that isi supports the haqqani insurgent group, brushing aside the us categorization of the connection as 'perceptions' in a press briefing held in islamabad on thursday, spokesman tahmina junjua said pakistan is not helping the haqqani network replying to a question on whether pakistan is involved in a proxy war in afghanistan, junjua said, 'i would say a categoric no' foreign minister hina rabbani khar said friday that the accusations coming out of washington are unacceptable to pakistan 'you will lose an ally,' khar said on geo tv 'you cannot afford to alienate pakistan you cannot afford to alienate the pakistani people' members of congress have raised the idea of cutting back on the billions of dollars in aid given to pakistan sen susan collins, r maine, said the senate appropriations committee has placed conditions on counterterrorism aid, including that the secretary of state must certify that pakistan is cooperating in us efforts against the haqqani network and other terrorist groups panetta differs with the state department on whether that is a fair condition, but said he does support the message it will send 'anything that makes clear to them that we cannot tolerate their providing this kind of safe haven to the haqqanis, and that they have to take action, any signal we can send to them i think would be important to do,' he said the top republican on the committee, sen john mccain, r arizona, called for slowing down the withdrawal of troops from afghanistan to maintain the advantage of the surge of troops added last year mullen said there is 'increased risk' in pushing ahead with the withdrawal of 10,000 troops by next summer, as announced by president obama 'while the risk is up, i think it is manageable,' and military success can still be sustained, he said mccain pressed panetta on whether the rabbani assassination shows the taliban has no interest in reconciliation 'it does raise concerns it raises suspicions nevertheless, i think, obviously, we have to continue to try to pursue the opportunities that are out there but we ought to do it with our eyes open,' panetta said 'the best signal we can send to the taliban is that we're going to continue to fight them and that we're going to continue to be there, and that we're not going anywhere and if we can send them that clear signal, i think that, more than anything, would influence their willingness to develop reconciliation' the top commander in afghanistan, gen john allen, believes taliban fighters in afghanistan are upset and frustrated, mullen said with 'their leadership parked in pakistan,' allen sees 'the fighters on the field in afghanistan are more and more disgruntled their morale is down,' mullen explained regarding iraq, panetta said the united states continues to negotiate over any presence of american troops in that country after 2011 currently, all us troops will be withdrawing from the country, in accordance with the existing agreement with iraq 'no final decisions have been made,' panetta said iraq has expressed a desire to maintain us trainers and other aid going forward, he noted, to help them deal with security threats 'i want to be clear that any future security relationship with iraq will be fundamentally different from the one that we have had since 2003 the united states wants a normal, productive relationship and close strategic partnership with a sovereign iraqi government going forward,' panetta said 'this kind of security assistance would be a means of furthering our strategic partnership with iraq that looks to the kind of future role that can best address iraqi security needs' mccain urged that the united states not abandon iraq and 'not withdraw from iraq as irresponsibly' as the obama administration accused the the bush government of being when the war was started panetta and mullen also warned about cutting too much from the defense budget if congress cannot come to an agreement on further spending cuts, an additional $500 million in defense spending would be cut mullen said too harsh a cut would have a 'good chance of breaking' the military 'we are not going to solve the debt problem on the back of the pentagon,' he warned panetta was equally emphatic in arguing against further cuts beyond the $350 billion the pentagon has already committed to over the next 10 years 'if we pulled that trigger would we be shooting ourselves in the foot,' asked sen lindsey graham, r south carolina 'we'd be shooting ourselves in the head,' panetta said | pakistan haqqani mullen afghanistan panetta | pakistan denies its intelligence agency supports the haqqani network . pakistan says to stop the allegations or 'you will lose and ally'. 'the haqqani network acts as a veritable arm of pakistan's intelligence,' mullen says . 'the insurgency has been turned back in much' of afghanistan, panetta says |
Subsets and Splits