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modi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- indian prime minister narendra modi has said al qaeda will fail if it seeks to spread its terror network into his country because muslims there will die for india . ' al qaeda announced plans this month to launch a new branch in the indian subcontinent , in a video message featuring al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri . al-zawahiri said that his group would seek support in the indian states of assam and gujarat , and in kashmir , the disputed region between india and pakistan -- and that he wants to free muslims from the oppression ' they face there . but in an exclusive interview with cnn 's fareed zakaria , modi insisted that any such efforts would not succeed . my understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the muslims of our country , ' he said . if anyone thinks indian muslims will dance to their tune , they are delusional . indian muslims will live for india . they will die for india . they will not want anything bad for india . ' asked why so few among india 's roughly 170 million muslims have joined al qaeda 's ranks , modi suggested the issue was one of a wider fight for principles , rather than a question of nationality . this is a crisis against humanity , not a crisis against one country or one race . so we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity . nothing else . ' india , a predominantly hindu nation , has a 13 % muslim population , according to the country 's census . inter-religious relations have become tense before . in 2002 , gujarat was wracked with anti-muslim violence , in which more than 1,000 people , mostly muslims , were killed . most of the world 's muslims live in asia , with about 1 billion in the asia-pacific region and about 322 million in the middle east and north africa , according to the pew research center . besides assam , gujarat and kashmir , al-zawahiri also said in his message that he would seek to gain support for the vulnerable ' in myanmar and bangladesh . peter bergen , cnn 's national security analyst , called the video hyperventilation and posturing . ' it 's al-zawahiri 's obvious way of getting some of the limelight back , ' he said , as the islamic state in iraq and syria has moved front and center . cnn 's jason miks and madison park contributed to this report . | modi : if anyone thinks indian muslims will dance to their tune , they are delusional ' |
al qaeda <tsp> ( cnn ) -- indian prime minister narendra modi has said al qaeda will fail if it seeks to spread its terror network into his country because muslims there will die for india . ' al qaeda announced plans this month to launch a new branch in the indian subcontinent , in a video message featuring al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri . al-zawahiri said that his group would seek support in the indian states of assam and gujarat , and in kashmir , the disputed region between india and pakistan -- and that he wants to free muslims from the oppression ' they face there . but in an exclusive interview with cnn 's fareed zakaria , modi insisted that any such efforts would not succeed . my understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the muslims of our country , ' he said . if anyone thinks indian muslims will dance to their tune , they are delusional . indian muslims will live for india . they will die for india . they will not want anything bad for india . ' asked why so few among india 's roughly 170 million muslims have joined al qaeda 's ranks , modi suggested the issue was one of a wider fight for principles , rather than a question of nationality . this is a crisis against humanity , not a crisis against one country or one race . so we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity . nothing else . ' india , a predominantly hindu nation , has a 13 % muslim population , according to the country 's census . inter-religious relations have become tense before . in 2002 , gujarat was wracked with anti-muslim violence , in which more than 1,000 people , mostly muslims , were killed . most of the world 's muslims live in asia , with about 1 billion in the asia-pacific region and about 322 million in the middle east and north africa , according to the pew research center . besides assam , gujarat and kashmir , al-zawahiri also said in his message that he would seek to gain support for the vulnerable ' in myanmar and bangladesh . peter bergen , cnn 's national security analyst , called the video hyperventilation and posturing . ' it 's al-zawahiri 's obvious way of getting some of the limelight back , ' he said , as the islamic state in iraq and syria has moved front and center . cnn 's jason miks and madison park contributed to this report . | modi frames struggle against al qaeda as a fight between humanity and inhumanity ' |
al qaeda <tsp> ( cnn ) -- indian prime minister narendra modi has said al qaeda will fail if it seeks to spread its terror network into his country because muslims there will die for india . ' al qaeda announced plans this month to launch a new branch in the indian subcontinent , in a video message featuring al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri . al-zawahiri said that his group would seek support in the indian states of assam and gujarat , and in kashmir , the disputed region between india and pakistan -- and that he wants to free muslims from the oppression ' they face there . but in an exclusive interview with cnn 's fareed zakaria , modi insisted that any such efforts would not succeed . my understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the muslims of our country , ' he said . if anyone thinks indian muslims will dance to their tune , they are delusional . indian muslims will live for india . they will die for india . they will not want anything bad for india . ' asked why so few among india 's roughly 170 million muslims have joined al qaeda 's ranks , modi suggested the issue was one of a wider fight for principles , rather than a question of nationality . this is a crisis against humanity , not a crisis against one country or one race . so we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity . nothing else . ' india , a predominantly hindu nation , has a 13 % muslim population , according to the country 's census . inter-religious relations have become tense before . in 2002 , gujarat was wracked with anti-muslim violence , in which more than 1,000 people , mostly muslims , were killed . most of the world 's muslims live in asia , with about 1 billion in the asia-pacific region and about 322 million in the middle east and north africa , according to the pew research center . besides assam , gujarat and kashmir , al-zawahiri also said in his message that he would seek to gain support for the vulnerable ' in myanmar and bangladesh . peter bergen , cnn 's national security analyst , called the video hyperventilation and posturing . ' it 's al-zawahiri 's obvious way of getting some of the limelight back , ' he said , as the islamic state in iraq and syria has moved front and center . cnn 's jason miks and madison park contributed to this report . | al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri released a video message directed at south asia |
al qaeda <tsp> ( cnn ) -- indian prime minister narendra modi has said al qaeda will fail if it seeks to spread its terror network into his country because muslims there will die for india . ' al qaeda announced plans this month to launch a new branch in the indian subcontinent , in a video message featuring al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri . al-zawahiri said that his group would seek support in the indian states of assam and gujarat , and in kashmir , the disputed region between india and pakistan -- and that he wants to free muslims from the oppression ' they face there . but in an exclusive interview with cnn 's fareed zakaria , modi insisted that any such efforts would not succeed . my understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the muslims of our country , ' he said . if anyone thinks indian muslims will dance to their tune , they are delusional . indian muslims will live for india . they will die for india . they will not want anything bad for india . ' asked why so few among india 's roughly 170 million muslims have joined al qaeda 's ranks , modi suggested the issue was one of a wider fight for principles , rather than a question of nationality . this is a crisis against humanity , not a crisis against one country or one race . so we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity . nothing else . ' india , a predominantly hindu nation , has a 13 % muslim population , according to the country 's census . inter-religious relations have become tense before . in 2002 , gujarat was wracked with anti-muslim violence , in which more than 1,000 people , mostly muslims , were killed . most of the world 's muslims live in asia , with about 1 billion in the asia-pacific region and about 322 million in the middle east and north africa , according to the pew research center . besides assam , gujarat and kashmir , al-zawahiri also said in his message that he would seek to gain support for the vulnerable ' in myanmar and bangladesh . peter bergen , cnn 's national security analyst , called the video hyperventilation and posturing . ' it 's al-zawahiri 's obvious way of getting some of the limelight back , ' he said , as the islamic state in iraq and syria has moved front and center . cnn 's jason miks and madison park contributed to this report . | indian prime minister narendra modi says al qaeda wo n't gain a foothold in india |
ayman al-zawahiri <tsp> ( cnn ) -- indian prime minister narendra modi has said al qaeda will fail if it seeks to spread its terror network into his country because muslims there will die for india . ' al qaeda announced plans this month to launch a new branch in the indian subcontinent , in a video message featuring al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri . al-zawahiri said that his group would seek support in the indian states of assam and gujarat , and in kashmir , the disputed region between india and pakistan -- and that he wants to free muslims from the oppression ' they face there . but in an exclusive interview with cnn 's fareed zakaria , modi insisted that any such efforts would not succeed . my understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the muslims of our country , ' he said . if anyone thinks indian muslims will dance to their tune , they are delusional . indian muslims will live for india . they will die for india . they will not want anything bad for india . ' asked why so few among india 's roughly 170 million muslims have joined al qaeda 's ranks , modi suggested the issue was one of a wider fight for principles , rather than a question of nationality . this is a crisis against humanity , not a crisis against one country or one race . so we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity . nothing else . ' india , a predominantly hindu nation , has a 13 % muslim population , according to the country 's census . inter-religious relations have become tense before . in 2002 , gujarat was wracked with anti-muslim violence , in which more than 1,000 people , mostly muslims , were killed . most of the world 's muslims live in asia , with about 1 billion in the asia-pacific region and about 322 million in the middle east and north africa , according to the pew research center . besides assam , gujarat and kashmir , al-zawahiri also said in his message that he would seek to gain support for the vulnerable ' in myanmar and bangladesh . peter bergen , cnn 's national security analyst , called the video hyperventilation and posturing . ' it 's al-zawahiri 's obvious way of getting some of the limelight back , ' he said , as the islamic state in iraq and syria has moved front and center . cnn 's jason miks and madison park contributed to this report . | al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri released a video message directed at south asia |
muslims <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel is the biggest attack , volume-wise ' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion » british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but [ in ] all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , ' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel . the crater was 24 feet deep and nearly 60 feet wide , malik said . the blast also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story , 258-room hotel on fire , police said . the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure . watch a witness describe walking over bodies » most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers , who were waiting with their cars outside the marriott , and hotel security guards , geo tv 's hamid mir said . the hotel , where a standard room costs more than $ 300 per night , is near the compound that contains the parliament building , the prime minister 's house , the supreme court and the presidency . the blast occurred about 7:50 p.m. , after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of ramadan , malik said . trees were felled by the explosion , which occurred hours after newly elected president asif ali zardari addressed a joint session of parliament and promised to root out terrorism . watch the scene the morning after the blast » a few hours after the attack , zardari addressed the nation on television , saying he knows the pain of terrorism after his wife , former prime minister benazir bhutto , was killed in december on the campaign trail . my heart cries tears of blood . i can understand your pain . i want to ask you to turn this pain into your strength , ' he said , describing extremism as a cancer , which we will finish . ' in the holy month of ramadan , no muslim can act in this way . these people are not muslims , ' he said . i appeal to all democratic nations to help us get rid of this menace . ' the marriott , a western brand-name hotel , has been the site of attacks in the past . see where the attack occurred » malik said authorities had received a threat against parliament two days ago . we had taken all security measures , ' he said . there was heavy security in the city . ' located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and the military , the hotel is popular among tourists and had been packed saturday night . any vehicle entering the facility is searched , its underside checked for bombs , before it is allowed to pass through heavy steel gates . watch bombing victims rushed into hospital » the british high commission in islamabad said six british nationals -- five adults and one minor -- were injured in the attack , including three commission members . a pakistani staff member of the commission was also injured , it said . a spokeswoman for the german foreign ministry said six germans in the hotel were slightly hurt in the attack , and that all embassy personnel were accounted for . cnn 's zein basravi and reza sayah , and journalist tomas etzler contributed to this report . | pakistani president says of perpetrators : these people are not muslims ' |
obama <tsp> president barack obama delivered a poignant personal promise to the american people monday , vowing to continue to fight to improve racial tensions in america , given the particular experiences ' he brings to the office . i 'm going to stay on this , ' the president said monday in an interview with bet , a network that reaches a predominately young african-american audience . not only am i going to stay on it ... but hopefully the entire society says ,'let 's finally try to make some real progress on this .'' once criticized for shying away from the topic of race early on in his presidency , obama has recently taken a more active role in sharing how his personal experiences help him to empathize with all kinds of people affected by the recent protests on racial tensions -- from protesters , to victims , to law enforcement officers , to families , and most importantly , to black youth . in his interview with bet 's 106 & park , ' the president cited a meeting he had with nonviolent protesters monday -- between ages 18-25 . for him , he says , listening to young african-americans describe their own experiences of being stopped for no reason , or being unjustly labeled as suspicious , strikes a personal chord . my mind went back to what it was like for me when i was 17 , 18 , 20 , ' the president said . as i told them , not only do i hear the pain and frustration of being subjected to that kind of constant suspicion , part of the reason i got into politics was to figure out how can i bridge some of those gaps and understandings so that the larger country understands this is not just a black problem or a brown problem , this is an american problem . ' the president also made a point to invoke attorney general eric holder 's race and civil rights record , saying , he 's got a similar set of stories and experiences he can share . ' while most of the protests across the country have been relatively peaceful , many of the gatherings have caused traffic delays and street closures . according the president , those are small prices to pay in order to achieve the larger goal of ending racial tensions in america . a country 's conscience sometimes has to be triggered by some inconvenience , ' the president said . as long as they 're peaceful , i think they 're necessary . when they turn violent then they 're counter-productive . ' as he noted in the first half of his interview , teased sunday , the clear video evidence available in the chokehold death of eric garner , a black man , in staten island in july has helped the broader public come to believe there are racial inequalities in the criminal justice system in a way the shooting death of michael brown , also black , in ferguson , missouri , in august , did not . in both cases , grand juries failed to indict the white police officers responsible for their deaths . it used to be folks would say ,'well , maybe blacks are exaggerating . some of these situations are n't what they describe ,'' obama said . what we 've now seen on television -- now for everybody to see -- gives us the opportunity to finally have the conversation , that you know , has been a long time coming . ' the president will be interviewed by both univision and telemundo on tuesday , both of which are networks that target primarily latino audiences . in his interview monday , obama suggested that people who are n't african-american or latino ' view the deaths of both michael ferguson and eric garner as tragedies . ' | president barack obama promised , i am going to stay on this , ' regarding race relations during a bet interview on monday |
obama <tsp> president barack obama delivered a poignant personal promise to the american people monday , vowing to continue to fight to improve racial tensions in america , given the particular experiences ' he brings to the office . i 'm going to stay on this , ' the president said monday in an interview with bet , a network that reaches a predominately young african-american audience . not only am i going to stay on it ... but hopefully the entire society says ,'let 's finally try to make some real progress on this .'' once criticized for shying away from the topic of race early on in his presidency , obama has recently taken a more active role in sharing how his personal experiences help him to empathize with all kinds of people affected by the recent protests on racial tensions -- from protesters , to victims , to law enforcement officers , to families , and most importantly , to black youth . in his interview with bet 's 106 & park , ' the president cited a meeting he had with nonviolent protesters monday -- between ages 18-25 . for him , he says , listening to young african-americans describe their own experiences of being stopped for no reason , or being unjustly labeled as suspicious , strikes a personal chord . my mind went back to what it was like for me when i was 17 , 18 , 20 , ' the president said . as i told them , not only do i hear the pain and frustration of being subjected to that kind of constant suspicion , part of the reason i got into politics was to figure out how can i bridge some of those gaps and understandings so that the larger country understands this is not just a black problem or a brown problem , this is an american problem . ' the president also made a point to invoke attorney general eric holder 's race and civil rights record , saying , he 's got a similar set of stories and experiences he can share . ' while most of the protests across the country have been relatively peaceful , many of the gatherings have caused traffic delays and street closures . according the president , those are small prices to pay in order to achieve the larger goal of ending racial tensions in america . a country 's conscience sometimes has to be triggered by some inconvenience , ' the president said . as long as they 're peaceful , i think they 're necessary . when they turn violent then they 're counter-productive . ' as he noted in the first half of his interview , teased sunday , the clear video evidence available in the chokehold death of eric garner , a black man , in staten island in july has helped the broader public come to believe there are racial inequalities in the criminal justice system in a way the shooting death of michael brown , also black , in ferguson , missouri , in august , did not . in both cases , grand juries failed to indict the white police officers responsible for their deaths . it used to be folks would say ,'well , maybe blacks are exaggerating . some of these situations are n't what they describe ,'' obama said . what we 've now seen on television -- now for everybody to see -- gives us the opportunity to finally have the conversation , that you know , has been a long time coming . ' the president will be interviewed by both univision and telemundo on tuesday , both of which are networks that target primarily latino audiences . in his interview monday , obama suggested that people who are n't african-american or latino ' view the deaths of both michael ferguson and eric garner as tragedies . ' | obama said supports peaceful protesting in the wake of two recent grand jury decisions |
test <tsp> ( cnn ) -- india 's cricket tour of australia lurched to new lows on friday , which proved to be unlucky january 13 . the visitors slumped to a disappointing 161 all out in perth and then saw david warner smash the fourth fastest century in test history as australia reached 149-0 at stumps on day one . down 2-0 in the four-match series , the second-ranked indians went into the third encounter with doubts about the pitch at the waca after ground staff were filmed on thursday night drinking beer and walking on the playing surface in bare feet . curator cameron sutherland defended his employees on national radio . they traditionally have pre-match drinks under the scoreboard , but this time followed sutherland out to the middle for his final check . tendulkar falls short again as aussies take 2-0 lead ' we were working on it ... up until the toss of the coin we can do anything we want to the wicket , ' he told abc grandstand , revealing that cricket australia and waca chief executive graeme wood had questioned him about the situation . we were there for an hour . so , the thing that cricket australia and certainly the waca have done is got all the facts and said ,'that 's a legitimate reason for you being out there , it 's not as though you were just sitting on the wicket drinking beer for two hours .' the perth pitch had been described as a green monster ' by local media earlier this week , and india 's formidable batting line-up performed -- once again this series -- with a timidity far below their stature . pattinson inspires australian win in melbourne ben hilfenhaus claimed four wickets and fellow fast bowler peter siddle took three , while 21-year-old mitchell starc celebrated his third test call-up -- and first of this series -- with figures of 2-39 . ryan harris snared just one scalp in his first outing since november , but it was a key one as cricket 's record run scorer sachin tendulkar was trapped leg before wicket for 15 to leave the 38-year-old little master ' still seeking his record 100th international century . virat kohli top-scored with 44 , adding 68 for the fifth wicket with vvs laxman ( 31 ) before both fell to siddle . if india 's batsmen found it hard against the four-man pace attack , the bowlers received a fearful pummeling from warner . finding his feet in the five-day game after being initially introduced as a limited-overs specialist , the left-hander smashed 104 from 80 balls , hitting 13 boundaries and three sixes as he raced to his second century . warner shrugged off a blow to the head from a delivery by umesh yadav to pass three figures in 69 balls faced , reaching the milestone with a clubbed six off debutant medium pacer vinay kumar . it matched shivnarine chanderpaul 's effort for the west indies against australia in 2003 , and is the second-fastest at the waca behind compatriot adam gilchrist 's 57-ball effort against england in 2006 . west indian legend viv richards holds the record for his 56-ball blast against england in 1986 . at the other end to warner , ed cowan contributed a relatively sedate 40 off 58 deliveries as the openers rattled along at a rate of 6.47 runs per over . kumar went for 31 off his four overs , and yadav conceded 42 from six . the experienced zaheer kahan and ishant sharma also suffered , giving up 44 from seven and 28 from five respectively . | australia take control on opening day of the third test against india in perth |
test <tsp> ( cnn ) -- india 's cricket tour of australia lurched to new lows on friday , which proved to be unlucky january 13 . the visitors slumped to a disappointing 161 all out in perth and then saw david warner smash the fourth fastest century in test history as australia reached 149-0 at stumps on day one . down 2-0 in the four-match series , the second-ranked indians went into the third encounter with doubts about the pitch at the waca after ground staff were filmed on thursday night drinking beer and walking on the playing surface in bare feet . curator cameron sutherland defended his employees on national radio . they traditionally have pre-match drinks under the scoreboard , but this time followed sutherland out to the middle for his final check . tendulkar falls short again as aussies take 2-0 lead ' we were working on it ... up until the toss of the coin we can do anything we want to the wicket , ' he told abc grandstand , revealing that cricket australia and waca chief executive graeme wood had questioned him about the situation . we were there for an hour . so , the thing that cricket australia and certainly the waca have done is got all the facts and said ,'that 's a legitimate reason for you being out there , it 's not as though you were just sitting on the wicket drinking beer for two hours .' the perth pitch had been described as a green monster ' by local media earlier this week , and india 's formidable batting line-up performed -- once again this series -- with a timidity far below their stature . pattinson inspires australian win in melbourne ben hilfenhaus claimed four wickets and fellow fast bowler peter siddle took three , while 21-year-old mitchell starc celebrated his third test call-up -- and first of this series -- with figures of 2-39 . ryan harris snared just one scalp in his first outing since november , but it was a key one as cricket 's record run scorer sachin tendulkar was trapped leg before wicket for 15 to leave the 38-year-old little master ' still seeking his record 100th international century . virat kohli top-scored with 44 , adding 68 for the fifth wicket with vvs laxman ( 31 ) before both fell to siddle . if india 's batsmen found it hard against the four-man pace attack , the bowlers received a fearful pummeling from warner . finding his feet in the five-day game after being initially introduced as a limited-overs specialist , the left-hander smashed 104 from 80 balls , hitting 13 boundaries and three sixes as he raced to his second century . warner shrugged off a blow to the head from a delivery by umesh yadav to pass three figures in 69 balls faced , reaching the milestone with a clubbed six off debutant medium pacer vinay kumar . it matched shivnarine chanderpaul 's effort for the west indies against australia in 2003 , and is the second-fastest at the waca behind compatriot adam gilchrist 's 57-ball effort against england in 2006 . west indian legend viv richards holds the record for his 56-ball blast against england in 1986 . at the other end to warner , ed cowan contributed a relatively sedate 40 off 58 deliveries as the openers rattled along at a rate of 6.47 runs per over . kumar went for 31 off his four overs , and yadav conceded 42 from six . the experienced zaheer kahan and ishant sharma also suffered , giving up 44 from seven and 28 from five respectively . | opening batsman david warner matches the fourth-fastest century in test history |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in a televised address monday night , u.s. president barack obama explained the reasons he involved the u.s. military in the u.n.-authorized mission in libya , saying it was not in our national interest ' to let the citizens of a rebel stronghold suffer a massacre at the hands of approaching pro-government forces . obama also said that nato would take full control of the military mission on wednesday . following is a collection of reactions from people including u.s. politicians and political analysts . u.s. sen. john mccain , r-arizona : ' i think that the first part of his speech was excellent , and he laid out the reasons why it was important to intervene and what would have happened in benghazi . ... he made a strong case . ' then ... he made a very puzzling comment , and that was ( regime change by force ) would be a mistake . gadhafi must have been comforted by that . ' the president 's policy is gadhafi must go . i think there 's a chance , if we keep the pressure on , gadhafi could be thrown under the bus ( by people surrounding him . ) ' it 's clear we 're on the side of the rebels in this conflict . ... ( but ) if we tell gadhafi ,'do n't worry , you 're not going to be removed by force ,'i think that 's very encouraging for gadhafi . ' fareed zakaria , host of cnn 's fareed zakaria gps ' : ' it was actually an important speech . it was quite carefully constructed . it had a humanitarian angle , a strategic angle . but at the heart of what obama is saying is that there are places in the world where the united states does not have vital national interests , where we have not been attacked , but we have limited interests and we 're going to try to find a way to have some kind of limited military response . ' what john mccain was suggesting ( in the reaction above ) frankly strikes me as a very dangerous argument -- that in a place where we have clearly limited interests , clearly nonvital interests , the united states and the president should ( have ) an open-ended policy of military escalation and say we will do whatever it takes to get moammar gadhafi out of office . that is , frankly , the way we got in conflicts like vietnam . in order to not be humiliated , we could n't back down . ' michael steel , spokesman for house speaker john boehner , r-ohio : ' the speech failed to provide americans much clarity to our involvement in libya . nine days into this military intervention , americans still have no answer to the fundamental question : what does success in libya look like ? ' u.s. sen. lindsey graham , r-south carolina : ' i thought he did a good job talking about the signal we would send , that we are a values-based people , and stranding by these young people in libya will serve us well in the future . but the line that really sort of broke my heart was that regime change by force would be a mistake . the goal of this country is to replace gadhafi . if you look at the balance sheet of what it costs this nation with gadhafi versus what it costs without him , it is in our interest to get rid of him , and the opposition needs continued military support -- not a ground invasion by the u.s. or any other western power , but air support -- all the way to tripoli . ' if we continue the model we have in place ... ( the rebels ) will win . if we back off , this thing is going to go on for a long time , and a lot of people will die unnecessarily . ' ali suleiman aujali , former libyan ambassador to the united states : ' i think it is a great speech . the president was very clear and very determined , and defended his position in a nice way , and i think he convinced the american people . ' the americans , they proved to the world they will not only intervene if there ( are ) american interests only , but ... also when human life is in danger . this is a historical decision . ... we really appreciate what america did for the libyan people . the libyan people ... deserve a better government . ' rudolph giuliani , former new york city mayor : ' the president 's speech tonight has made things even murkier than they were before . the whole purpose of this was to clarify our mission . our mission is just internally contradictory . the president says our mission is to protect the people of libya . well , how do you protect the people of libya and not be for regime change in libya ? is n't the danger to the people of libya gadhafi ? ' the president 's speech is illogical . if you were grading this on a greek logic exam , you 'd give it an f. the speech contradicts itself . it says limited action ; we 're not going to go any further than just protecting the people of libya ; we 're not going to be for regime change . but you ca n't protect the people of libya without regime change . why are we there in the first place ? because gadhafi was slaughtering his people . how can you leave him there ? ' p.j . crowley , former u.s. state department spokesman : ' the president 's policy is to assist in the removal of moammar gadhafi . the issue is not with the policy . the issue is the mechanism . we 're acting in a limited manner to level the playing field so the libyan people themselves and the opposition that has formed , they 'll do that job . it 's not for the united states to impose that from the outside . ' former new mexico gov . bill richardson : ' i felt the president was very presidential tonight . he explained the purpose : to avert a humanitarian disaster , to protect civilian lives . he even added ... a ( potential ) refugee crisis going to tunisia and egypt . ' i was very satisfied with his speech tonight . again , consultation with congress in the days ahead is going to be very important . but he explained the objective , and he explained what he wants to do , and the airstrikes have succeeded . air defenses of libya have been almost destroyed . the rebels are gaining momentum . look , they 're probably not perfect revolutionary characters , but they 're sure as heck a lot better than gadhafi staying . ... i applaud the president tonight . ' fouad ajami , professor of middle eastern studies at johns hopkins university : ' i think it 's the right thing at last . i think the president did a great job . i 'm not a fan of president obama ; i did n't vote for him . i think he should have done this much earlier . but ... he finally did it . and i think he answered the great questions about this intervention . ... and he told us the truth : this was always about benghazi . it was about a rescue operation that he was forced to do , and i think it 's the right thing . ' anne-marie slaughter , professor of international affairs at princeton university : ' i think ( obama ) ... made clear that we went in to avoid what he described as violence on a horrific scale in benghazi ; that the mandate of the u.n. coalition ... is to protect libyan civilians . i think that makes very clear what success looks like there . it means that libyan civilians are safe -- safe in their houses , safe in their cities . at the same time , he made very clear that in his u.s. policy -- and the policy of many of our allies -- that libya needs to have a new government that responds to the demands of the libyan people , and that we will pursue every diplomatic and economic means to that end . and leveling the playing field militarily will certainly help . ' david gergen , cnn senior political analyst : ' i thought in general ( obama ) made a compelling case -- a very strong case for intervention itself on humanitarian grounds . he made a compelling case that the united states has helped to organize the international coalition much more rapidly than has happened in the past , as in bosnia . and furthermore , i think he made a compelling case that these early u.s. actions really have accomplished what the united states promised to do , and that was to stop gadhafi from killing other people . but ... the success of the speech ended there , because he left open all these questions about where we go from here if there 's a stalemate -- and there were signs today that there may be a stalemate . what are we going to do ? what is nato going to do ? who knows ? i do n't think anybody knows that . what is going to happen if gadhafi hangs in there for six months ? what do we do then ? nobody knows . what happens if gadhafi gets forced out ? what happens if the regime cracks and they turn on him -- even assassinate him ? what 's the united states'role going to be in building a new libya ? it thought that was left cloudy , and is going to continue the debate . but give president obama his due . on the most important issue that he had to face tonight -- why he went in -- i thought he made a very , very strong case . ' ari fleischer , white house press secretary under president george w. bush ' the tricky think here is , when you have a president who does the right thing , but who does it four weeks too late , can you really say it is the right thing ? this is really something that should have been done four weeks ago , when it was really likely that the rebels , by virtue of ... a multilateral action , could have tipped the scales and made gadhafi think ... he needs to get out of there . i have a hard time seeing that happen now . i think it 's a fight to the finish , and this finish ends up in a stalemate . ' | sen. john mccain : obama saying regime change wo n't be pursued militarily is puzzling ' |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in a televised address monday night , u.s. president barack obama explained the reasons he involved the u.s. military in the u.n.-authorized mission in libya , saying it was not in our national interest ' to let the citizens of a rebel stronghold suffer a massacre at the hands of approaching pro-government forces . obama also said that nato would take full control of the military mission on wednesday . following is a collection of reactions from people including u.s. politicians and political analysts . u.s. sen. john mccain , r-arizona : ' i think that the first part of his speech was excellent , and he laid out the reasons why it was important to intervene and what would have happened in benghazi . ... he made a strong case . ' then ... he made a very puzzling comment , and that was ( regime change by force ) would be a mistake . gadhafi must have been comforted by that . ' the president 's policy is gadhafi must go . i think there 's a chance , if we keep the pressure on , gadhafi could be thrown under the bus ( by people surrounding him . ) ' it 's clear we 're on the side of the rebels in this conflict . ... ( but ) if we tell gadhafi ,'do n't worry , you 're not going to be removed by force ,'i think that 's very encouraging for gadhafi . ' fareed zakaria , host of cnn 's fareed zakaria gps ' : ' it was actually an important speech . it was quite carefully constructed . it had a humanitarian angle , a strategic angle . but at the heart of what obama is saying is that there are places in the world where the united states does not have vital national interests , where we have not been attacked , but we have limited interests and we 're going to try to find a way to have some kind of limited military response . ' what john mccain was suggesting ( in the reaction above ) frankly strikes me as a very dangerous argument -- that in a place where we have clearly limited interests , clearly nonvital interests , the united states and the president should ( have ) an open-ended policy of military escalation and say we will do whatever it takes to get moammar gadhafi out of office . that is , frankly , the way we got in conflicts like vietnam . in order to not be humiliated , we could n't back down . ' michael steel , spokesman for house speaker john boehner , r-ohio : ' the speech failed to provide americans much clarity to our involvement in libya . nine days into this military intervention , americans still have no answer to the fundamental question : what does success in libya look like ? ' u.s. sen. lindsey graham , r-south carolina : ' i thought he did a good job talking about the signal we would send , that we are a values-based people , and stranding by these young people in libya will serve us well in the future . but the line that really sort of broke my heart was that regime change by force would be a mistake . the goal of this country is to replace gadhafi . if you look at the balance sheet of what it costs this nation with gadhafi versus what it costs without him , it is in our interest to get rid of him , and the opposition needs continued military support -- not a ground invasion by the u.s. or any other western power , but air support -- all the way to tripoli . ' if we continue the model we have in place ... ( the rebels ) will win . if we back off , this thing is going to go on for a long time , and a lot of people will die unnecessarily . ' ali suleiman aujali , former libyan ambassador to the united states : ' i think it is a great speech . the president was very clear and very determined , and defended his position in a nice way , and i think he convinced the american people . ' the americans , they proved to the world they will not only intervene if there ( are ) american interests only , but ... also when human life is in danger . this is a historical decision . ... we really appreciate what america did for the libyan people . the libyan people ... deserve a better government . ' rudolph giuliani , former new york city mayor : ' the president 's speech tonight has made things even murkier than they were before . the whole purpose of this was to clarify our mission . our mission is just internally contradictory . the president says our mission is to protect the people of libya . well , how do you protect the people of libya and not be for regime change in libya ? is n't the danger to the people of libya gadhafi ? ' the president 's speech is illogical . if you were grading this on a greek logic exam , you 'd give it an f. the speech contradicts itself . it says limited action ; we 're not going to go any further than just protecting the people of libya ; we 're not going to be for regime change . but you ca n't protect the people of libya without regime change . why are we there in the first place ? because gadhafi was slaughtering his people . how can you leave him there ? ' p.j . crowley , former u.s. state department spokesman : ' the president 's policy is to assist in the removal of moammar gadhafi . the issue is not with the policy . the issue is the mechanism . we 're acting in a limited manner to level the playing field so the libyan people themselves and the opposition that has formed , they 'll do that job . it 's not for the united states to impose that from the outside . ' former new mexico gov . bill richardson : ' i felt the president was very presidential tonight . he explained the purpose : to avert a humanitarian disaster , to protect civilian lives . he even added ... a ( potential ) refugee crisis going to tunisia and egypt . ' i was very satisfied with his speech tonight . again , consultation with congress in the days ahead is going to be very important . but he explained the objective , and he explained what he wants to do , and the airstrikes have succeeded . air defenses of libya have been almost destroyed . the rebels are gaining momentum . look , they 're probably not perfect revolutionary characters , but they 're sure as heck a lot better than gadhafi staying . ... i applaud the president tonight . ' fouad ajami , professor of middle eastern studies at johns hopkins university : ' i think it 's the right thing at last . i think the president did a great job . i 'm not a fan of president obama ; i did n't vote for him . i think he should have done this much earlier . but ... he finally did it . and i think he answered the great questions about this intervention . ... and he told us the truth : this was always about benghazi . it was about a rescue operation that he was forced to do , and i think it 's the right thing . ' anne-marie slaughter , professor of international affairs at princeton university : ' i think ( obama ) ... made clear that we went in to avoid what he described as violence on a horrific scale in benghazi ; that the mandate of the u.n. coalition ... is to protect libyan civilians . i think that makes very clear what success looks like there . it means that libyan civilians are safe -- safe in their houses , safe in their cities . at the same time , he made very clear that in his u.s. policy -- and the policy of many of our allies -- that libya needs to have a new government that responds to the demands of the libyan people , and that we will pursue every diplomatic and economic means to that end . and leveling the playing field militarily will certainly help . ' david gergen , cnn senior political analyst : ' i thought in general ( obama ) made a compelling case -- a very strong case for intervention itself on humanitarian grounds . he made a compelling case that the united states has helped to organize the international coalition much more rapidly than has happened in the past , as in bosnia . and furthermore , i think he made a compelling case that these early u.s. actions really have accomplished what the united states promised to do , and that was to stop gadhafi from killing other people . but ... the success of the speech ended there , because he left open all these questions about where we go from here if there 's a stalemate -- and there were signs today that there may be a stalemate . what are we going to do ? what is nato going to do ? who knows ? i do n't think anybody knows that . what is going to happen if gadhafi hangs in there for six months ? what do we do then ? nobody knows . what happens if gadhafi gets forced out ? what happens if the regime cracks and they turn on him -- even assassinate him ? what 's the united states'role going to be in building a new libya ? it thought that was left cloudy , and is going to continue the debate . but give president obama his due . on the most important issue that he had to face tonight -- why he went in -- i thought he made a very , very strong case . ' ari fleischer , white house press secretary under president george w. bush ' the tricky think here is , when you have a president who does the right thing , but who does it four weeks too late , can you really say it is the right thing ? this is really something that should have been done four weeks ago , when it was really likely that the rebels , by virtue of ... a multilateral action , could have tipped the scales and made gadhafi think ... he needs to get out of there . i have a hard time seeing that happen now . i think it 's a fight to the finish , and this finish ends up in a stalemate . ' | new : bill richardson : obama explained the purpose -- to avert a humanitarian disaster |
court <tsp> ( cnn ) -- an alabama man who says he was fired for exposing public corruption received broad support from the u.s. supreme court on monday in a free-speech dispute testing workplace protections for government employees . in hour-long oral arguments , the justices dug into a case of whether such first amendment rights extend to state workers who testify truthfully at trial , but are later punished by their employer . government employees are often in the best position to know what ails the agencies for which they work , ' said justice elena kagan . in other words , expecting that people will know things because they work in a place and that they can take what they know as a result of working ' in the public sphere , and say so when subpoenaed . ' a ruling in favor of the man at the center of the legal fight , edward lane , could make it easier for prosecutors to pursue official public corruption allegations where the cooperation of government workers is often a key factor . in 2006 , lane was directing a state-funded training program to help at-risk youth , coordinated through central alabama community college . an audit he performed found someone on the payroll was not showing up for work and had done virtually nothing for the program . but this was no ordinary employee : sue schmitz was also an alabama state legislator . lane says he tried to work with schmitz to perform her job duties . but he alleged she threatened him , and said he was cautioned by colleagues not to confront someone with her political influence . nevertheless , lane fired her . the fbi stepped in and began a separate criminal investigation , looking at how schmitz , 69 , was able to secure the community relations job with the program . she was paid $ 177,251 from february 2003 to october 2006 . federal prosecutors charged the retired teacher with fraud . she was convicted , received a 30-month prison term , and was forced to resign from office . lane was later terminated from his government job , prompting him to sue the college president . at arguments , lane 's lawyer , tejinder singh , told the justices that his client testified about events ' that he learned about at work . the testimony itself was not a part of his job responsibilities . ' it amounted to someone speaking as a citizen on a matter of public concern . ' but several justices questioned whether the law was clear at the time of the firing to hold the college president liable for damages . and some justices wondered whether a public official should enjoy broad job security when testifying in court . so what happens in a situation where a police officer gets on the stand and in testifying honestly admits to corruption , but does it in a slovenly way , comes to court dressed in a clown suit ? ' said justice sonia sotomayor . could the employer fire him then ? ' yet it was the attorneys for the college presidents who received the toughest questioning . they said government workers do not deserve the full free speech rights ' enjoyed by others . that seems counterintuitive to me . why do we put people at risk for telling the truth ? ' asked sotomayor again . to tell the truth about something ? and i 'm assuming if they lied , they could be fired . ' chief justice john roberts said lane had no choice but to testify as ordered . what 's he supposed to do ? he says ,'gosh , if i answer , i 'm going to lose my job , or could and if i do n't , or answer falsely'' he could in turn be prosecuted by the government , said roberts . but you are suggesting he can be fired if he does it . ' the supreme court has previously said such workers can not sue over an adverse job action such as a firing or disciplinary action , when speaking on facts learned pursuant to their official duties . ' they can only make such claims when they speak as a private citizen . but oral arguments revealed the court was likely to carve exceptions for employees compelled to testify under oath about matters of public concern . the case is lane v. franks ( 13-483 ) . a ruling is expected by early summer . | court has previously said such workers can not sue over an adverse job action in certain cases |
donetsk <tsp> billionaire petro poroshenko declared victory sunday in ukraine 's presidential election , following preliminary exit polls that suggested he got 56 % of the vote . his closest challenger , former ukrainian prime minister and leader of the batkivshchyna party yulia tymoshenko , conceded the election after exit polls showed her with 13 % of the vote . poroshenko , a candy tycoon known as the chocolate king , ' is also a seasoned politician . the election took place sunday despite a recent wave of deadly violence in the east and threats by pro-russia separatists to prevent citizens from casting their ballots . voters were picking a successor to ousted pro-moscow president viktor yanukovych in a country torn apart by russia 's takeover of ukraine 's crimea peninsula and bloody conflict with pro-russia factions . the unrest has centered in the donetsk and luhansk regions , where separatists have claimed independence following a disputed referendum earlier this month -- and many there did not get to cast ballots sunday . as of 3 p.m. ( 8 a.m . et ) , some 528 polling sites out of 2,430 were open in the donetsk region , the regional administration said . local officials said there was 11.8 % turnout at these polling stations . outside the country 's restive east , voting was progressing more normally . the central election commission put voter turnout at nearly 38 % as of 3 p.m. local time , not including the donetsk and luhansk regions , ukraine 's official ukrinform news agency reported . in the city of donetsk , the regional capital where pro-russia militias are concentrated , there were no open polling stations , local officials said earlier . a cnn team driving through the city sunday morning was not able to see a single polling station in operation . however , there were signs some voters were trying to go to polling stations in areas west and south of the city . besides the presidential race , candidates are also running in municipal elections in some cities . the organization for security and co-operation in europe deployed 900 observers for the election -- the largest such mission in its history . oleksandr turchynov , ukraine 's acting president , called the polls open and transparent . the voting was free , without artificial restrictions and administrative pressure , ' turchynov said in a statement . u.s. president barack obama congratulated ukrainians for casting their ballots sunday and criticized russian-backed separatists , whom he accused of trying to block voting . despite provocations and violence , millions of ukrainians went to the polls throughout the country , and even in parts of eastern ukraine , where russian-backed separatist groups sought to disenfranchise entire regions , some courageous ukrainians still were able to cast their ballots , ' he said in a written statement . we commend the resolve of all those who participated , as well as the efforts of the ukrainian government to conduct these elections in the face of those threats . ' intimidation in eastern ukraine appears widespread increasing violence in the east has led the authorities in kiev to accuse russia , which they say is backing the armed separatists , of seeking to disrupt the vote . russia denies having direct influence over the militants , and russian president vladimir putin has said he will respect the ukrainians'choice . amid heightened tensions , instances of intimidation in eastern ukraine appear widespread . a large separatist rally was held in a central donetsk city square around lunchtime . the protesters , who chanted pro-russia slogans as they were addressed by separatist leaders , were joined by a substantial number of militants on trucks , some firing guns into the air . on the back of some of the trucks were armed men who appeared to be chechen . two told a cnn team they were from the chechen capital , grozny , and one indicated that he was formerly a policemen in chechnya and was in donetsk to serve the russian federation . the men , who as chechens are russian citizens , said they were there as volunteers . ' but if their accounts were true , their presence in donetsk would appear to indicate some kind of acquiescence by the russian government at the least . residents of ukraine 's southeastern city of mariupol saw new billboards on the streets sunday urging them not to cast their ballots . the billboards were not at those locations the night before , residents said . also in mariupol , people talked on social media about being asked by local russia supporters to boycott the election . the city is one of several where deadly clashes have erupted in recent weeks . the self-declared mayor of rebel stronghold slovyansk , vyacheslav ponomaryov , has said that anyone who tries to vote there will be arrested . also , an italian journalist was killed saturday near the flashpoint town , the italian foreign ministry announced sunday . the man , named as andrea rocchelli , was killed along with a russian citizen , the ministry said . reports suggested there had been mortar fire in the slovyansk area . ukraine 's'chocolate king'aims for top job opinion : free elections good for ukraine , but could be bad for putin putin 's 48 hours in st. petersburg | fewer than a quarter of polling stations were open in donetsk region , officials say |
u.s . <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the centers for disease control and prevention on saturday quarantined an international flight in new jersey after a passenger became ill on the plane , authorities said . united airlines flight 998 from brussels , belgium , touched down at newark liberty international airport at 12:15 p.m. cdc quarantine officers met the plane after one of the 255 passengers was vomiting on the flight , officials said . the passengers were released at 1:50 p.m. and permitted to go through customs , said erica dumas , a port authority of new york and new jersey spokesperson . the sick passenger and his daughter were taken to a hospital for evaluation . passengers said it took another two hours to clear customs and retrieve their luggage . the incident comes amid heightened concerns after thomas eric duncan , who had recently arrived from liberia , on tuesday was confirmed as the first case of the deadly ebola virus diagnosed on american soil . duncan arrived in the united states after a connection in brussels . the possibility of a new case was knocked down later saturday by the new jersey department of health . in a statement , it said that university hospital in coordination with federal , state and local public health officials evaluated two individuals who arrived ' saturday afternoon . the symptoms of one individual were found to be consistent with another , minor treatable condition unrelated to ebola , ' the health department said . the second individual , who was traveling with the patient , was asymptomatic . ' the health department said that both passengers will be let go and self-monitoring , ' meaning they 'll be in charge of gauging their health . this statement appears to close the book on this situation , from the health department 's perspective . but it was a very different story just a few hours earlier . cdc officials removed the man and his daughter while other passengers remained on board . the two passengers were escorted by cdc officials in hazmat gear . dumas said the response was standard procedure with sick passengers , but it was unclear how long the protocol has been in place . they were wearing masks and gloves on the plane , ' said a passenger from paris who identified himself only as chris . they came with whole suits like you see on tv everyday in africa . ' passenger rich burchett told cnn he was sitting next to the sick man . he nudged me and asked me to get the flight attendant , ' burchett said . the man told him , i need a flight attendant . my eyes are floating . i 've never felt this way before . they hurt . ' according to burchett , a flight attendant asked the man where he was traveling from . he responded : liberia . immediately they both left and some time passed and they came back and asked him for his name , ' burchett said of the flight attendants . he handed them his passport . they came back with white masks and asked [ the man and his daughter ] to put them on . ' the sick passenger and the girl were taken to the back of the plane , burchett said . the plane landed about an hour and a half later . an announcement was made about a sick passenger . people were asked to stay in their seats . more than an hour passed . they told us they were waiting on the cdc and everyone realized the gravity of the situation , ' burchett said . nearly two hours after the flight landed , burchett said , an announcement was made : everyone can leave . he is not contagious . ' passengers were given forms to fill out so that the cdc can follow up with them . they were handed an information sheet with ebola symptoms . we did get an announcement from a representative of the cdc that we were held as an abundance of caution , ' burchett said . burchett and other passengers were critical of the response . my concern is , if this were something that were highly contagious , we did not seem to have a very good reaction plan , ' he said . we seemed very uncoordinated at the airport . i hope we learn from it . ' passenger henry costa , a talk show host from monrovia , libreria , said the man did not initially show signs of illness . he did n't seem sick and then all of sudden i saw them taking him out , ' he recalled . he looked strong but they say he was vomiting . ' costa said he had spoken with the man and his daughter before the flight left liberia . he was lively , ' costa said . his daughter was very inquisitive . she asked so many questions . apparently , it was her first time flying . ' the man and his daughter were taken to university hospital , where the emergency room will not accept anyone else for four hours , cnn affiliate wabc reported . in a statement this week , the cdc said quarantine inspectors meet arriving aircraft and ships reporting ill passengers or crew to assist them in getting appropriate medical treatment . the agency cdc has a network of quarantine stations at 20 ports of entry and land-border crossings . if the flight crew of a commercial aircraft arriving in the u.s. becomes aware of an ill person on board which may include a person with ebola symptoms , the captain is required required by law ... to report the illness to the nearest u.s. quarantine station , who will arrange the appropriate medical response at the flight 's destination airport , ' the statement said . can you catch ebola on a plane ? on saturday , cdc director dr. tom frieden addressed the growing concerns about the deadly disease . we have already gotten well over 100 inquiries of possible patients , ' frieden told reporters . we 've assessed every one of those ... and just this one patient has tested positive ... we expect that we will see more rumors or concerns or possibilities of cases , until there is a positive laboratory test , that is what they are . ' how the ebola virus spreads cnn 's kristina sgueglia , greg botelho , john bonifield , jennifer bixler , shimon prokupecz , jennifer henderson , christina alesci and daniel verello contributed to this report . | incident comes amid heightened concerns after first case of ebola diagnosed in u.s . |
europe <tsp> ( cnn ) -- there is no evidence to suggest that the two men who used stolen passports to get aboard malaysia airlines flight 370 had anything to do with its disappearance saturday as it was flying from kuala lumpur to beijing , an official said tuesday . the more information we get , the more we 're inclined to conclude that it was not a terrorist incident , ' interpol secretary general ronald noble told reporters tuesday at his organization 's headquarters in lyon , france . here 's what we know about what happened , how it happened and why . who are they ? the passengers are delavar seyed mohammad reza , 29 , and pouri nourmohammadi , 18 . they entered malaysia on february 28 using valid iranian passports . cnn obtained an ireport photo of what appears to be the two men with two of their friends . metadata from the photo indicates that it was shot with an iphone at 8:20 p.m. the night before the plane departed . cnn has blurred the faces of the other two men to protect their identities . what happened ? to fly out of malaysia , reza and nourmohammadi used passports that were stolen in thailand , a booming market for stolen passports . the passports belonged to citizens of italy and austria . thailand remains a robust venue for the sale of high-quality , false passports ( which includes altered , stolen passports ) and other supporting documentation , ' said paul quaglia , who has been working in the region as a security and risk analyst for 14 years . the italian , luigi maraldi , 37 , told reporters he reported his passport stolen in august . the austrian , christian kozel , 30 , had his stolen in july 2013 . authorities said they do n't know how reza and nourmohammadi came to possess the passports . how did it happen ? on saturday , reza used the italian 's passport ; nourmohammadi used the austrian 's . according to thai police , an iranian man named kazem ali bought one-way tickets for the men , describing them as friends who wanted to return home to europe . while ali made the initial booking by telephone , ali or someone acting on his behalf paid cash for the tickets , police said . the tickets were purchased at the same time from china southern airlines in thailand 's baht currency and at identical prices , according to china 's official e-ticket verification system travelsky . the ticket numbers are consecutive , implying they were issued together . both were for travel from kuala lumpur to amsterdam via beijing . the ticket for the man who was using the italian passport continued to copenhagen , denmark . the ticket for the holder of the austrian passport ended in frankfurt , germany . nourmohammadi was hoping to emigrate to germany . the iranian 's mother had been expecting him to arrive in frankfurt and contacted authorities when he did n't show up , said malaysian inspector general of police khalid abu bakar . if you read what the head of malaysia police said recently , about ( nourmohammadi ) ... wanting to travel to frankfurt , germany , to be with his mother , ( this ) is part of a human smuggling issue and not a terrorist issue , ' interpol 's noble said . interpol says the passports were recorded as stolen in its database . but no country had checked them against interpol 's list . countries , not airlines , have access to interpol 's data , and many governments do n't routinely check passports against the database . why did it happen ? phil robertson , deputy director of the asia division of human rights watch , has a plausible explanation . after the green revolution in iran for human rights and democracy was crushed by iranian authorities , there were many iranians who fled to malaysia , ' he told cnn 's kristie lu stout . many middle easterners do n't need a visa to enter malaysia , which makes it a common destination for those seeking to emigrate for any number of reasons . but they can run into problems when they try to depart malaysia for countries that do require visas . a stolen passport can be one way to do it , ' robertson said . unfortunately , this is quite common . ' how do they get them ? often persons like this , if they are going to make a play to go to somewhere like germany or other parts of europe , they would need some sort of broker to help them make the arrangements , ' he said . so it 's very possible you could have some sort of migrant smuggling group that 's involved with this . ' cnn 's tom watkins , david williams , shimon prokupecz , katia hetter , karla cripps , khushbu shah , jethro mullen and jim sciutto contributed to this report . | they were flying from malaysia to countries in europe |
pouri nourmohammadi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- there is no evidence to suggest that the two men who used stolen passports to get aboard malaysia airlines flight 370 had anything to do with its disappearance saturday as it was flying from kuala lumpur to beijing , an official said tuesday . the more information we get , the more we 're inclined to conclude that it was not a terrorist incident , ' interpol secretary general ronald noble told reporters tuesday at his organization 's headquarters in lyon , france . here 's what we know about what happened , how it happened and why . who are they ? the passengers are delavar seyed mohammad reza , 29 , and pouri nourmohammadi , 18 . they entered malaysia on february 28 using valid iranian passports . cnn obtained an ireport photo of what appears to be the two men with two of their friends . metadata from the photo indicates that it was shot with an iphone at 8:20 p.m. the night before the plane departed . cnn has blurred the faces of the other two men to protect their identities . what happened ? to fly out of malaysia , reza and nourmohammadi used passports that were stolen in thailand , a booming market for stolen passports . the passports belonged to citizens of italy and austria . thailand remains a robust venue for the sale of high-quality , false passports ( which includes altered , stolen passports ) and other supporting documentation , ' said paul quaglia , who has been working in the region as a security and risk analyst for 14 years . the italian , luigi maraldi , 37 , told reporters he reported his passport stolen in august . the austrian , christian kozel , 30 , had his stolen in july 2013 . authorities said they do n't know how reza and nourmohammadi came to possess the passports . how did it happen ? on saturday , reza used the italian 's passport ; nourmohammadi used the austrian 's . according to thai police , an iranian man named kazem ali bought one-way tickets for the men , describing them as friends who wanted to return home to europe . while ali made the initial booking by telephone , ali or someone acting on his behalf paid cash for the tickets , police said . the tickets were purchased at the same time from china southern airlines in thailand 's baht currency and at identical prices , according to china 's official e-ticket verification system travelsky . the ticket numbers are consecutive , implying they were issued together . both were for travel from kuala lumpur to amsterdam via beijing . the ticket for the man who was using the italian passport continued to copenhagen , denmark . the ticket for the holder of the austrian passport ended in frankfurt , germany . nourmohammadi was hoping to emigrate to germany . the iranian 's mother had been expecting him to arrive in frankfurt and contacted authorities when he did n't show up , said malaysian inspector general of police khalid abu bakar . if you read what the head of malaysia police said recently , about ( nourmohammadi ) ... wanting to travel to frankfurt , germany , to be with his mother , ( this ) is part of a human smuggling issue and not a terrorist issue , ' interpol 's noble said . interpol says the passports were recorded as stolen in its database . but no country had checked them against interpol 's list . countries , not airlines , have access to interpol 's data , and many governments do n't routinely check passports against the database . why did it happen ? phil robertson , deputy director of the asia division of human rights watch , has a plausible explanation . after the green revolution in iran for human rights and democracy was crushed by iranian authorities , there were many iranians who fled to malaysia , ' he told cnn 's kristie lu stout . many middle easterners do n't need a visa to enter malaysia , which makes it a common destination for those seeking to emigrate for any number of reasons . but they can run into problems when they try to depart malaysia for countries that do require visas . a stolen passport can be one way to do it , ' robertson said . unfortunately , this is quite common . ' how do they get them ? often persons like this , if they are going to make a play to go to somewhere like germany or other parts of europe , they would need some sort of broker to help them make the arrangements , ' he said . so it 's very possible you could have some sort of migrant smuggling group that 's involved with this . ' cnn 's tom watkins , david williams , shimon prokupecz , katia hetter , karla cripps , khushbu shah , jethro mullen and jim sciutto contributed to this report . | pouri nourmohammadi 's mother was expecting him in frankfurt , germany |
iranians <tsp> ( cnn ) -- there is no evidence to suggest that the two men who used stolen passports to get aboard malaysia airlines flight 370 had anything to do with its disappearance saturday as it was flying from kuala lumpur to beijing , an official said tuesday . the more information we get , the more we 're inclined to conclude that it was not a terrorist incident , ' interpol secretary general ronald noble told reporters tuesday at his organization 's headquarters in lyon , france . here 's what we know about what happened , how it happened and why . who are they ? the passengers are delavar seyed mohammad reza , 29 , and pouri nourmohammadi , 18 . they entered malaysia on february 28 using valid iranian passports . cnn obtained an ireport photo of what appears to be the two men with two of their friends . metadata from the photo indicates that it was shot with an iphone at 8:20 p.m. the night before the plane departed . cnn has blurred the faces of the other two men to protect their identities . what happened ? to fly out of malaysia , reza and nourmohammadi used passports that were stolen in thailand , a booming market for stolen passports . the passports belonged to citizens of italy and austria . thailand remains a robust venue for the sale of high-quality , false passports ( which includes altered , stolen passports ) and other supporting documentation , ' said paul quaglia , who has been working in the region as a security and risk analyst for 14 years . the italian , luigi maraldi , 37 , told reporters he reported his passport stolen in august . the austrian , christian kozel , 30 , had his stolen in july 2013 . authorities said they do n't know how reza and nourmohammadi came to possess the passports . how did it happen ? on saturday , reza used the italian 's passport ; nourmohammadi used the austrian 's . according to thai police , an iranian man named kazem ali bought one-way tickets for the men , describing them as friends who wanted to return home to europe . while ali made the initial booking by telephone , ali or someone acting on his behalf paid cash for the tickets , police said . the tickets were purchased at the same time from china southern airlines in thailand 's baht currency and at identical prices , according to china 's official e-ticket verification system travelsky . the ticket numbers are consecutive , implying they were issued together . both were for travel from kuala lumpur to amsterdam via beijing . the ticket for the man who was using the italian passport continued to copenhagen , denmark . the ticket for the holder of the austrian passport ended in frankfurt , germany . nourmohammadi was hoping to emigrate to germany . the iranian 's mother had been expecting him to arrive in frankfurt and contacted authorities when he did n't show up , said malaysian inspector general of police khalid abu bakar . if you read what the head of malaysia police said recently , about ( nourmohammadi ) ... wanting to travel to frankfurt , germany , to be with his mother , ( this ) is part of a human smuggling issue and not a terrorist issue , ' interpol 's noble said . interpol says the passports were recorded as stolen in its database . but no country had checked them against interpol 's list . countries , not airlines , have access to interpol 's data , and many governments do n't routinely check passports against the database . why did it happen ? phil robertson , deputy director of the asia division of human rights watch , has a plausible explanation . after the green revolution in iran for human rights and democracy was crushed by iranian authorities , there were many iranians who fled to malaysia , ' he told cnn 's kristie lu stout . many middle easterners do n't need a visa to enter malaysia , which makes it a common destination for those seeking to emigrate for any number of reasons . but they can run into problems when they try to depart malaysia for countries that do require visas . a stolen passport can be one way to do it , ' robertson said . unfortunately , this is quite common . ' how do they get them ? often persons like this , if they are going to make a play to go to somewhere like germany or other parts of europe , they would need some sort of broker to help them make the arrangements , ' he said . so it 's very possible you could have some sort of migrant smuggling group that 's involved with this . ' cnn 's tom watkins , david williams , shimon prokupecz , katia hetter , karla cripps , khushbu shah , jethro mullen and jim sciutto contributed to this report . | the two men were iranians who used stolen passports |
foley <tsp> the shocking video of james foley being beheaded in syria has set off multiple investigations into the mystery of who killed the american journalist . a day after the british ambassador to the united states said that experts in his country are close to identifying the killer , two u.s. law enforcement officials told cnn that counterterrorism experts are still unable to id foley 's executioner . u.s. analysts said it 's not knowable from the video released by isis who carried out foley 's killing , because the entire slaying is not shown . a man moves a knife across foley 's neck , then the picture fades to black . now one forensics expert has raised the issue that there appear to be two militants in the video . it 's one of several puzzles , but there are a number of clues as to who committed this horrible act and where . 1 . accent the focus has been on a man in the video who has a british accent . peter westmacott , british ambassador to the united states , said sunday that british agents have been using very sophisticated technologies , voice identification and so on ' to identify the suspect . we are very close to identifying who this guy is , ' he said . martin barry , an audio expert , told cnn it sounded like the way someone in a certain area of london would talk . the speaker is using a variety of english known as multicultural london english and that 's a kind of melting pot accent that 's emerged in recent years , particularly in deprived , multi-ethnic areas of inner london , ' barry said . there is only one voice heard on the audio track . 2 . stature but ross patel , a forensics expert who spoke to cnn , said there is another man , and he might be the actual killer . the second militant appears on the video after an obvious edit . there 's definitely a change of actor , ' patel said . there are noticeable , there are subtle but there are also noticeable changes in their build , their physical appearance . ' the video contains other data like the measurements of a face , even though it is hidden . that could help investigators sift through databases of passport photos . 3 . knives the man who speaks holds a knife in one of his hands . it looks to be a different knife than the one that was left next to foley 's body . the dimensions and style of the knives are slightly different , patel said . 4 . holster when trying to determine whether the british-accented man is also the killer , it helps to examine where his pistol is holstered . it is underneath his left armpit -- that is for use by his right hand . but the executioner appears on the video to be left-handed . it 's unclear why this happened . 5 . location blogger eliot higgins looked at the background of the video . behind the men is a road going over the hilly terrain . on the right side of the frame is a dip in the hills , one higgins matched to a break he found in an image on google earth . there was another camera angle used in the video and in the distance there is a field and some buildings . he believes the clues show the video was recorded south of the town of raqqa in north central syria . | a blogger thinks he has used satellite photos to figure out where foley was killed |
meyers <tsp> ( cnn ) -- seth meyers had big shoes to fill on monday night . meyers took over the late night ' chair from former saturday night live ' alum jimmy fallon , who arguably had a great run as that show 's host as he crafted now-pop culture favorites like slow-jamming the news ' and the history of rap . ' so how did meyers do with his debut ? the reviews are in , and they range from meh ' to middling . the daily beast , which thought meyers got off to a rocky start on'late night ,'' noted that the newcomer had a few missions to accomplish when we ran into him on monday night . ' from'saturday night'to'late night' ' he had to prove that fallon 's reign is n't a fluke , that late night really can be a home for the affable and good-natured , ' the daily beast 's kevin fallon wrote . and , most importantly , he had to show that the acute and observant brand of humor he displayed for 12 and a half years on'saturday night live ,'many of those years spent as head writer and host of'weekend update ,'translates to the late-night talk show format . ' fallon ( we are assuming no relation to jimmy ) said it was mission only sort of accomplished . ' jimmy fallon 's debut on the tonight show ' last week was as big as his personality . it featured a performance by the band u2 and plenty of laughs with guest will smith and some of fallon 's famous friends , including stephen colbert and tina fey . meyers also got a little help from his friend amy poehler , who was one of his first guests along with vice president joe biden . poehler , and meyer 's former snl ' castmate , fred armisen was also part of the show as the leader of late night 's ' band . meyers even paid homage to fallon in the form of a letter he wrote to his predecessor , and which he read during the opening of the show . so many nods to his snl ' past seemed to make sense to the los angeles times , which observed that meyers' monologue was reminiscent in style and cadence to his'weekend update'segments , full of rapid-fire one-liners about the day 's headlines . ' though he lacked the giddy enthusiasm that marked fallon 's first'tonight'outing last week , meyers frequently acknowledged the show as a work in progress , noting that a monologue joke about ups had bombed with the studio audience and making fun of his low-budget graphics , ' the l.a. times'meredith blake wrote . entertainment weekly 's darren franich gave the debut a grade of b . ' i laughed at the premiere of'late night with seth meyers'less than i laughed at'the tonight show starring jimmy fallon ,'' franich wrote . but i laughed more at seth meyers than i did at jimmy fallon . ' music critic ken tucker was impressed , tweeting , jeez , @ sethmeyers @ latenightseth makes eye contact , subtly refers to cards , responds to what guests say ... he 's , like , an actual talk show host ! ' others , too , seem willing to give meyers some time to find his footing . michael starr of the new york post wrote that meyers eventually found his sea legs and drove his new 12:35 p.m. show to a solid , if unspectacular , debut . ... he 's charming with a certain'aw shucks'demeanor that does n't seem forced or contrived , and he 'll have plenty of time to grow into his new role as a late-night host , ' starr said . | one writer says meyers will get better |
meyers <tsp> ( cnn ) -- seth meyers had big shoes to fill on monday night . meyers took over the late night ' chair from former saturday night live ' alum jimmy fallon , who arguably had a great run as that show 's host as he crafted now-pop culture favorites like slow-jamming the news ' and the history of rap . ' so how did meyers do with his debut ? the reviews are in , and they range from meh ' to middling . the daily beast , which thought meyers got off to a rocky start on'late night ,'' noted that the newcomer had a few missions to accomplish when we ran into him on monday night . ' from'saturday night'to'late night' ' he had to prove that fallon 's reign is n't a fluke , that late night really can be a home for the affable and good-natured , ' the daily beast 's kevin fallon wrote . and , most importantly , he had to show that the acute and observant brand of humor he displayed for 12 and a half years on'saturday night live ,'many of those years spent as head writer and host of'weekend update ,'translates to the late-night talk show format . ' fallon ( we are assuming no relation to jimmy ) said it was mission only sort of accomplished . ' jimmy fallon 's debut on the tonight show ' last week was as big as his personality . it featured a performance by the band u2 and plenty of laughs with guest will smith and some of fallon 's famous friends , including stephen colbert and tina fey . meyers also got a little help from his friend amy poehler , who was one of his first guests along with vice president joe biden . poehler , and meyer 's former snl ' castmate , fred armisen was also part of the show as the leader of late night 's ' band . meyers even paid homage to fallon in the form of a letter he wrote to his predecessor , and which he read during the opening of the show . so many nods to his snl ' past seemed to make sense to the los angeles times , which observed that meyers' monologue was reminiscent in style and cadence to his'weekend update'segments , full of rapid-fire one-liners about the day 's headlines . ' though he lacked the giddy enthusiasm that marked fallon 's first'tonight'outing last week , meyers frequently acknowledged the show as a work in progress , noting that a monologue joke about ups had bombed with the studio audience and making fun of his low-budget graphics , ' the l.a. times'meredith blake wrote . entertainment weekly 's darren franich gave the debut a grade of b . ' i laughed at the premiere of'late night with seth meyers'less than i laughed at'the tonight show starring jimmy fallon ,'' franich wrote . but i laughed more at seth meyers than i did at jimmy fallon . ' music critic ken tucker was impressed , tweeting , jeez , @ sethmeyers @ latenightseth makes eye contact , subtly refers to cards , responds to what guests say ... he 's , like , an actual talk show host ! ' others , too , seem willing to give meyers some time to find his footing . michael starr of the new york post wrote that meyers eventually found his sea legs and drove his new 12:35 p.m. show to a solid , if unspectacular , debut . ... he 's charming with a certain'aw shucks'demeanor that does n't seem forced or contrived , and he 'll have plenty of time to grow into his new role as a late-night host , ' starr said . | meyers got off to a slow start |
meyers <tsp> ( cnn ) -- seth meyers had big shoes to fill on monday night . meyers took over the late night ' chair from former saturday night live ' alum jimmy fallon , who arguably had a great run as that show 's host as he crafted now-pop culture favorites like slow-jamming the news ' and the history of rap . ' so how did meyers do with his debut ? the reviews are in , and they range from meh ' to middling . the daily beast , which thought meyers got off to a rocky start on'late night ,'' noted that the newcomer had a few missions to accomplish when we ran into him on monday night . ' from'saturday night'to'late night' ' he had to prove that fallon 's reign is n't a fluke , that late night really can be a home for the affable and good-natured , ' the daily beast 's kevin fallon wrote . and , most importantly , he had to show that the acute and observant brand of humor he displayed for 12 and a half years on'saturday night live ,'many of those years spent as head writer and host of'weekend update ,'translates to the late-night talk show format . ' fallon ( we are assuming no relation to jimmy ) said it was mission only sort of accomplished . ' jimmy fallon 's debut on the tonight show ' last week was as big as his personality . it featured a performance by the band u2 and plenty of laughs with guest will smith and some of fallon 's famous friends , including stephen colbert and tina fey . meyers also got a little help from his friend amy poehler , who was one of his first guests along with vice president joe biden . poehler , and meyer 's former snl ' castmate , fred armisen was also part of the show as the leader of late night 's ' band . meyers even paid homage to fallon in the form of a letter he wrote to his predecessor , and which he read during the opening of the show . so many nods to his snl ' past seemed to make sense to the los angeles times , which observed that meyers' monologue was reminiscent in style and cadence to his'weekend update'segments , full of rapid-fire one-liners about the day 's headlines . ' though he lacked the giddy enthusiasm that marked fallon 's first'tonight'outing last week , meyers frequently acknowledged the show as a work in progress , noting that a monologue joke about ups had bombed with the studio audience and making fun of his low-budget graphics , ' the l.a. times'meredith blake wrote . entertainment weekly 's darren franich gave the debut a grade of b . ' i laughed at the premiere of'late night with seth meyers'less than i laughed at'the tonight show starring jimmy fallon ,'' franich wrote . but i laughed more at seth meyers than i did at jimmy fallon . ' music critic ken tucker was impressed , tweeting , jeez , @ sethmeyers @ latenightseth makes eye contact , subtly refers to cards , responds to what guests say ... he 's , like , an actual talk show host ! ' others , too , seem willing to give meyers some time to find his footing . michael starr of the new york post wrote that meyers eventually found his sea legs and drove his new 12:35 p.m. show to a solid , if unspectacular , debut . ... he 's charming with a certain'aw shucks'demeanor that does n't seem forced or contrived , and he 'll have plenty of time to grow into his new role as a late-night host , ' starr said . | seth meyers took over from jimmy fallon on late night ' |
gaza <tsp> madrid , spain ( cnn ) -- a spanish court says it is investigating an alleged crime against humanity ' involving israel for its 2002 bombing in gaza that killed 15 people and wounded 150 others . the case names former israeli defense minister benjamin ben-eliezer and six other israelis . the case , brought by palestinian relatives of some of the deceased , names former israeli defense minister benjamin ben-eliezer and six other israeli top military commanders and security officials at the time . the national court said it has jurisdiction to investigate the case , and that initial evidence suggests the bombing should be considered a crime against humanity , ' according to a copy of the court order viewed by cnn on thursday . edwin yabo , spokesman for the israeli embassy in madrid , said israel would not comment until it receives formal notification of the case . he said he learned about the court 's decision through a phone call from cnn . the national court previously has taken on other high-profile human rights cases outside of spain , such as charges against former chilean dictator augusto pinochet and more recently against former military leaders of el salvador . the court argues that if a potential human rights crime is not being investigated by the country in question , spain can proceed , under international law . the israeli case involves the july 22 , 2002 bombing in gaza of the home of a suspected hamas commander , salah shehadeh , the seven-page court order said . the blast killed him , but also members of a palestinian family , whose last name is mattar . they lived next door . some of their relatives brought the suit to the court last august . the court said that , while it initially considered whether to accept the case or not , it asked israel for information , but as of today , israeli authorities have not complied with the request for international judicial cooperation . ' so the court formally took on the case . the next likely step would be for the spanish investigating magistrate handling the case , judge fernando andreu , to put the seven israelis named in the suit under official investigation . that is equivalent to preliminary charges , which could lead later to an indictment , a national court spokeswoman told cnn . the israelis named in the case , besides former defense minister ben-eliezer , are the following former officials : dan halutz , israeli air force commander at the time ; doron almog , a general in charge of israel 's southern command ; giora eiland , president of the national security council ; michael herzog , a senior defense ministry official , moshe ya'alon , head of the israeli defense forces and abraham dichter , a senior security official . the court said it will notify israel to request that those named in the complaint be formally notified , so that they could called by the spanish court to testify . | allegation centers on 2002 bombing in gaza that killed 15 , wounded 150 others |
haiti <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for his efforts to protect haitian children from parasites , aaron jackson was honored as a cnn hero in 2007 . his story inspired actor rainn wilson , who became involved with jackson 's organization , planting peace . since 2004 , planting peace has helped millions of children around the world through its deworming project called stomp the worm . it also has formed several children 's homes in haiti and india . cnn 's christie o'reilly recently caught up with jackson to talk about his group 's expanding efforts and his collaboration with wilson . o'reilly : what success has your group had with stomp the worm ? jackson : when cnn heroes highlighted our project , it brought a tremendous amount of awareness to the cause . we had dewormed 1.7 million children at the time . last year alone , we dewormed 8 million . most people know us for our worm initiative in haiti , but we 've dewormed in nicaragua , honduras , bolivia , guatemala . we 've also treated a half million in north korea . now we 're trying to work on a fund where we deworm 1 million children a month . we 're purchasing the medication now at 1.3 cents , so we can deworm around 66 kids for $ 1 . o'reilly : why is deworming so important ? jackson : you can see hungry children eating three times a day , and if they 're not dewormed they 're still lethargic , have high rates of anemia . they 're slowly wasting away . we can provide a treatment that 's just over 1 cent , and the kids come back to life within a day or two . seeing these kids run around after being dewormed , it 's an amazing thing . and then you reflect that , wow , this cost us one penny . ' we did n't invent the deworming initiative , but we are happy to get it out there and show people the importance of it . ... we 'd love for people to help us reach our 1-million-a-month goal . o'reilly : how many children 's homes has planting peace opened , and how do they work ? jackson : we now have seven children 's homes : four in haiti and three in india . we 're working on a fourth in india now for refugee children from tibet . we 're opening it in dharamsala , where the dalai lama lives . maybe he 'll come visit us . that would be awesome . we keep our homes small . we have a rule : no more than 10 ( children ) in each home , because we want to keep them very family-style . we try to keep the kids growing up like brothers and sisters . if we want to expand to help more children , we open another home . one of the homes in india is for handicapped children . one in haiti is for hiv-positive children . are you making a difference in your community ? share your story in a short video . o'reilly : how are your homes impacting children 's lives ? jackson : some of these kids we 've had for about eight years . it 's amazing seeing these kids grow up and seeing what they 're able to do . they have possibilities . some of them came from the cite soleil slum . ( now ) they 're healthy . we have a school they 're enrolled in . they participate in music five days a week ; we more or less have our orphan band in haiti . they have a chance at life and hopefully will become future leaders of haiti or elsewhere . we have a policy where we do n't adopt our kids out . we 're not going to help haiti -- or whatever country we 're working in -- if we send the kids away . that might help that particular kid 's situation , but not haiti as a whole . o'reilly : how did the earthquake impact your work in haiti ? jackson : that really shook our foundation from all fronts . we were in the middle of our national deworming program and treating every child -- all 3.2 million kids -- and we had distributed half of that . if the earthquake had hit two weeks later , we would have gotten all the medication out to every child . it postponed the distribution ; it shifted the population of the country so we did n't know what areas we had dewormed in ( or ) who we dewormed . we had to wait before passing out the meds again . o'reilly : what about your children 's homes ? jackson : we were extremely fortunate . all five buildings we own -- our school plus four homes -- all stood up . we had to move out of two of the homes , but we were very fortunate . no kids were hurt . one of our homes sits on a hill -- our hiv home -- and i was worried about that . when i got to haiti , that home barely had a scratch on it and the two right next to it had collapsed . we were extremely , extremely fortunate . o'reilly : what impact has rainn wilson 's involvement had on your efforts ? jackson : rainn has been extremely beneficial on all fronts , helping bring awareness and raise money for the cause . he 's making the cause a little cooler now that he 's a part of it . he 's just been a great help . he 's traveled to haiti a couple times . he recently did a fundraiser to help us raise money to start a new orphanage . he 's put us in contact with some amazing people that have helped us . o'reilly : where else will your travels take you this year ? jackson : i 'm going to ecuador in february . we 're looking at a rainforest initiative there . we own some rainforest land in peru -- 1,000 acres -- for preservation , and we 're looking to do the same model in ecuador . we purchased land in peru about two and a half years ago . it 's in the amazon . most people think that rainforest is being destroyed because people are going in and cutting trees . that is true on some level , but ... the forest is mostly being destroyed by cattle farming using a slash-and-burn technique . farmers come in , buy the land and light it on fire and burn it down . our goal is to purchase the land so no one can come in and destroy it . we leave it alone , and we watch over ( it ) . it 's said that two out of every 10 breaths we take come from the amazon rainforest . it 's important to preserve that for our future . | jackson 's group also provides homes for orphans in haiti and india |
india <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for his efforts to protect haitian children from parasites , aaron jackson was honored as a cnn hero in 2007 . his story inspired actor rainn wilson , who became involved with jackson 's organization , planting peace . since 2004 , planting peace has helped millions of children around the world through its deworming project called stomp the worm . it also has formed several children 's homes in haiti and india . cnn 's christie o'reilly recently caught up with jackson to talk about his group 's expanding efforts and his collaboration with wilson . o'reilly : what success has your group had with stomp the worm ? jackson : when cnn heroes highlighted our project , it brought a tremendous amount of awareness to the cause . we had dewormed 1.7 million children at the time . last year alone , we dewormed 8 million . most people know us for our worm initiative in haiti , but we 've dewormed in nicaragua , honduras , bolivia , guatemala . we 've also treated a half million in north korea . now we 're trying to work on a fund where we deworm 1 million children a month . we 're purchasing the medication now at 1.3 cents , so we can deworm around 66 kids for $ 1 . o'reilly : why is deworming so important ? jackson : you can see hungry children eating three times a day , and if they 're not dewormed they 're still lethargic , have high rates of anemia . they 're slowly wasting away . we can provide a treatment that 's just over 1 cent , and the kids come back to life within a day or two . seeing these kids run around after being dewormed , it 's an amazing thing . and then you reflect that , wow , this cost us one penny . ' we did n't invent the deworming initiative , but we are happy to get it out there and show people the importance of it . ... we 'd love for people to help us reach our 1-million-a-month goal . o'reilly : how many children 's homes has planting peace opened , and how do they work ? jackson : we now have seven children 's homes : four in haiti and three in india . we 're working on a fourth in india now for refugee children from tibet . we 're opening it in dharamsala , where the dalai lama lives . maybe he 'll come visit us . that would be awesome . we keep our homes small . we have a rule : no more than 10 ( children ) in each home , because we want to keep them very family-style . we try to keep the kids growing up like brothers and sisters . if we want to expand to help more children , we open another home . one of the homes in india is for handicapped children . one in haiti is for hiv-positive children . are you making a difference in your community ? share your story in a short video . o'reilly : how are your homes impacting children 's lives ? jackson : some of these kids we 've had for about eight years . it 's amazing seeing these kids grow up and seeing what they 're able to do . they have possibilities . some of them came from the cite soleil slum . ( now ) they 're healthy . we have a school they 're enrolled in . they participate in music five days a week ; we more or less have our orphan band in haiti . they have a chance at life and hopefully will become future leaders of haiti or elsewhere . we have a policy where we do n't adopt our kids out . we 're not going to help haiti -- or whatever country we 're working in -- if we send the kids away . that might help that particular kid 's situation , but not haiti as a whole . o'reilly : how did the earthquake impact your work in haiti ? jackson : that really shook our foundation from all fronts . we were in the middle of our national deworming program and treating every child -- all 3.2 million kids -- and we had distributed half of that . if the earthquake had hit two weeks later , we would have gotten all the medication out to every child . it postponed the distribution ; it shifted the population of the country so we did n't know what areas we had dewormed in ( or ) who we dewormed . we had to wait before passing out the meds again . o'reilly : what about your children 's homes ? jackson : we were extremely fortunate . all five buildings we own -- our school plus four homes -- all stood up . we had to move out of two of the homes , but we were very fortunate . no kids were hurt . one of our homes sits on a hill -- our hiv home -- and i was worried about that . when i got to haiti , that home barely had a scratch on it and the two right next to it had collapsed . we were extremely , extremely fortunate . o'reilly : what impact has rainn wilson 's involvement had on your efforts ? jackson : rainn has been extremely beneficial on all fronts , helping bring awareness and raise money for the cause . he 's making the cause a little cooler now that he 's a part of it . he 's just been a great help . he 's traveled to haiti a couple times . he recently did a fundraiser to help us raise money to start a new orphanage . he 's put us in contact with some amazing people that have helped us . o'reilly : where else will your travels take you this year ? jackson : i 'm going to ecuador in february . we 're looking at a rainforest initiative there . we own some rainforest land in peru -- 1,000 acres -- for preservation , and we 're looking to do the same model in ecuador . we purchased land in peru about two and a half years ago . it 's in the amazon . most people think that rainforest is being destroyed because people are going in and cutting trees . that is true on some level , but ... the forest is mostly being destroyed by cattle farming using a slash-and-burn technique . farmers come in , buy the land and light it on fire and burn it down . our goal is to purchase the land so no one can come in and destroy it . we leave it alone , and we watch over ( it ) . it 's said that two out of every 10 breaths we take come from the amazon rainforest . it 's important to preserve that for our future . | jackson 's group also provides homes for orphans in haiti and india |
internet <tsp> we do n't yet know how or why the tsarnaev brothers , the alleged boston marathon bombers , decided to carry out their attacks , but a look at how their stories correlate with those of some other terrorists living in the west could provide some answers to the questions that many are now asking about them . 1 . how could someone who grew up in the united states , as the younger brother did , become a terrorist ? major nidal malik hasan , who killed 13 people at fort hood army base in texas in 2009 , was born and raised in virginia . he self-radicalized , in part , over the internet , which he used to reach out to the yemen-based preacher anwar al-awlaki for advice about whether it is permissible for muslim soldiers in the u.s. military to kill their comrades in the name of jihad . awlaki , a leader of al qaeda 's affiliate in yemen , was somewhat noncommittal in his responses but did not discourage the act . investigators will surely be combing through the e-mail traffic of the tsarnaev brothers to see if they either reached out to militant islamist clerics or downloaded lectures by such clerics . they will also examine the brothers'internet usage to see if they visited jihadist forums or downloaded propaganda from al qaeda or other allied groups . and of course , it 's possible their decision to carry out the attacks was reached without any outside influence . boston suspects : immigrant dream to american nightmare 2 . how do you square the multiple descriptions of the brothers as good guys ' with the fact that they plotted mass murder ? it 's worth recalling that mohammed sidique khan , the leader of the suicide attackers who bombed the london transit system in 2005 killing 52 commuters , was a beloved teacher at a primary school in the northern city of leeds who taught children with developmental problems , and the happily married 30-year-old father of a baby daughter . colleagues and acquaintances described khan as a gentle , kind man . no surprise then that we are hearing some similar positive characterizations of the brothers tsarnaev . 3 . did the brothers have any training or practice on explosives ? it seems quite unlikely that the perpetrators would have been able to successfully set off two deadly bombs within seconds of each other without some sort of training or practice . bomb-making recipes certainly exist on the internet , but actually building effective bombs is generally a skill that requires some training or practice , and even then a successful detonation is not guaranteed . faizal shahzad , for instance , received bomb-making training from the pakistani taliban before he constructed a bomb in an suv that fizzled out rather than blowing up as he intended in times square on may 1 , 2010 . the older tsarnaev brother , tamerlan , spent six months in russia last year . what precisely he did there will surely be of intense interest to investigators . could he have received some kind of bomb-training from chechen militants who are experienced in making explosives ? najibullah zazi , a pakistani-american who had also lived for many years in the united states , plotted to blow up bombs on the manhattan subway around the eighth anniversary of 9/11 . zazi travelled to pakistan a year before his planned attacks to learn bomb-making techniques from al qaeda militants . was this the kind of model that tamerlan tsarnaev followed ? also , might the tsarnaev brothers have done some kind of test runs of their explosive devices in the united states ? opinion : suspects'culture of migration and machismo 4 . if the brothers'motivation had something to do with their chechen heritage , how might that have played out in this case ? in the years after 9/11 , dozens of young somali-american men traveled to fight in the civil war in somalia . just as the tsarnaev brothers , these somali-americans were first-generation americans . for these new americans , the politics of their homeland can sometimes become more meaningful and important than it was for their parents who fled the chaos of their native countries for the safety of the united states , and who now want to put those conflicts behind them . what exactly prompted the fbi to interview tamerlan tsarnaev in 2011 , following a tip from russia that he was a follower of radical islam ' and was contemplating leaving the united states to join a clandestine organization ? 5 . did fbi officials make a mistake when they questioned tamerlan , but did n't seem to further monitor him ? maybe . this is reminiscent of the case of major hasan whose emails to fellow militants came to the attention of the feds before he killed his fellow soldiers at ft . hood , but were not followed up on . carlos bledsoe , a convert to islam , shot up a military recruiting office little rock , arkansas , killing a soldier in 2009 . bledsoe was also on the radar of the feds before he travelled to yemen . it was only after this trip to yemen , where he linked up with an al qaeda affiliate , that bledsoe carried out the shooting at the recruiting office . 6 . did the brothers intend to die during the attacks or their aftermath ? it seems shocking to many that the tsarnaev brothers might have been wearing suicide vests during their gun battle with police on thursday night , but in reality several u.s. citizens and residents have intended to die in terrorist attacks . three of the young somali-american men who traveled from minnesota to fight in civil war in somalia later carried out suicide attacks there . major hasan undoubtedly went into his attack on a military base full of armed u.s. soldiers believing that it would be the last thing he did before he died . ( that prediction did not come true . he was wounded in the attack but not killed ) . the al qaeda recruit zazi , who plotted to bomb the manhattan subway in the summer of 2009 , planned to die in this attack but was arrested before he could pull it off . analysis : older suspect grew increasingly religious 7 . were the brothers really lone wolves ' ? given all the mayhem the two brothers are allegedly responsible for -- two bombings that caused three deaths and some two hundred injuries at the boston marathon as well as the subsequent murder of a policeman at mit -- did they have some kind of additional help ? according to boston law enforcement officials , there is no evidence of such help and it 's worth recalling that hasan was entirely a lone wolf who nonetheless managed to kill 13 on a u.s. military base with heavy security . 8 . did the older tsarnaev radicalize his younger brother ? perhaps . where there is some kind of terrorist cell there is sometimes a leader who instigates action . we saw this in the case in lackawanna , new york where a group of yemeni-american men who trained with al qaeda in afghanistan before 9/11 were radicalized by kamal derwish , a yemeni american who had spent many years living in saudi arabia . derwish encouraged his fellow yemeni-americans to travel to afghanistan for military training . 9 . how unusual is it for brothers to carry out terrorist attacks together ? more frequent than you might think . the deadliest terrorist attack in u.s. history on 9/11 involved three pairs of brothers among the 19 hijackers : brothers waleed and wail al-sheri , hamza and ahmed al-ghamdi and nawaf and salem al-hazmi . | some who spent formative years in u.s. were radicalized over the internet , he says |
cnn student news roll call <tsp> february 18 , 2015 despite a ceasefire in ukraine , the fire has n't ceased . step inside a city where a battle continues between ukrainian government troops and the rebels fighting them . also featured : does speaking spanish help u.s. politicians win support from hispanic voters ? and what will it take to fix a massive drill that 's stuck beneath the streets of seattle ? go there today on cnn student news ! on this page you will find today 's show transcript and a place for you to request to be on the cnn student news roll call . transcript click here to access the transcript of today 's cnn student news program . please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published . cnn student news is created by a team of journalists who consider the common core state standards , national standards in different subject areas , and state standards when producing the show . roll call for a chance to be mentioned on the next cnn student news , comment on the bottom of this page with your school name , mascot , city and state . we will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show . you must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the cnn student news roll call ! thank you for using cnn student news ! | at the bottom of the page , comment for a chance to be mentioned on cnn student news . you must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the cnn student news roll call . |
americans <tsp> ( cnn ) -- support for abortion rights has fallen sharply in the past year , with americans now split roughly 50-50 between those who back legal access to abortion and those who oppose it , according to a new survey . anti-abortion activists demonstrate on capitol hill in washington in september . the findings mark a dramatic shift in public opinion , supporters of abortion rights have outnumbered opponents for many years , with one brief exception , studies have shown . but only 47 percent of americans now feel abortion should be legal in all or most cases , a drop from 54 percent a year ago , according to the poll . meanwhile , 45 percent say it should be illegal in all or most cases . that 's up from 41 percent a year ago . given the survey 's margin of error , the two camps are statistically tied . these data suggest that a number of people have changed their minds in the past year , ' said gregory smith of the pew forum on religion & public life , one of the survey 's authors . it 's not only one type of person or group whose opinion has changed , he said . there was a drop seen in many , many demographics : men and women , people with a college degree and those with less education , people with various religious backgrounds , ' he said . the only groups whose opinions on abortion did not change were african-americans -- who tend to oppose it -- and young people and those not affiliated with any particular religion , who tend to say it should be legal , he said . beyond that , this movement [ was ] across the board , ' he said . anti-abortion activists welcomed the findings . this is great news . this poll shows that the pro-life movement is winning hearts and minds . pro-lifers are making an effective case that all women deserve better than abortion and that every child deserves a chance to be born , ' said cathy ruse , the senior fellow for legal studies at the anti-abortion family research council in washington . the rev . flip benham , a dallas , texas-based anti-abortion activist , said the survey reflected a change he had already seen taking place . it 's something that we have known for a long , long time that 's been beneath the radar , ' he said . the heart of america is changing and only with time do the laws reflect that change . ' when the church will come out into the streets , we win the battle , ' said benham , director of operations for operation save america . we have to return to the god of our founding fathers and our pilgrim fathers , ' he said . but terry o'neill , the president of the national organization for women , firmly rejects religious opposition to abortion . abortion is a blessing when it is chosen freely by a woman who needs it . it is a blessing , ' she said , citing the rev . katherine ragsdale , dean of the episcopal divinity school . o'neill has been in that position herself , she said . when i was in my early 20s , i thought i needed an abortion . i was escaping a very violent marriage that lasted about eight months , ' she said . the young man i was married to exploded and severely battered me . ' she fled to her parents'home . a month later , she began to suspect she was pregnant with her abusive husband 's child . if i had had a baby , i would have been tied to that man for the rest of my life , ' she said . i did n't need the abortion , as it turned out , but if i had needed that abortion , it would have been a blessing . i knew i was going to become a mother , but not with that man , not with that pregnancy , ' she said . she said it was important to distinguish between people who oppose abortion and those who want it to be against the law . i do realize that a lot of people in this country consider themselves to be pro-life , ' she said . they also do n't want it to be a crime for a woman to get an abortion . ' smith , the researcher , suspects the election of president obama , a pro-choice democrat , may be one cause of the shift in public opinion . look at the timing , ' he said . through october of last year , the findings were consistent , with supporters outnumbering opponents , ' he said . pew first noticed the change in public opinion in a survey in april , and did a larger study in august to confirm it . opponents of abortion feel more strongly about it than supporters of legal access , he said . some people , particularly on the right , have become more entrenched , more certain of their own positions on abortion , ' he said . conservative republicans are more certain about the correctness of their own position and less likely to say they want to see compromise . they are concerned that obama will go too far in supporting abortion rights as president , ' he said . on the left you see some relaxing of views . ' but the survey also found that the number of people who felt passionately about abortion is falling . about four out of 10 people in the survey could not define obama 's position on abortion . that is an indicator that although opinions have moved , this issue right now is not at the top of the political debate , ' smith said . but the subject has crept into the battle to reform america 's health care system , with opponents of abortion in both parties determined to prevent federal dollars from funding abortions . under the hyde amendment , federal money currently can be used to pay for abortions only in case of rape , incest and to protect the life of the mother . there have been at least two abortion-related slayings in the united states this year , one on each side of the debate . george tiller , a doctor known for performing abortions , was killed in may . tiller was shot in the head at point-blank range on may 31 as services began at reformation lutheran church in wichita , kansas . scott roeder , a 51-year-old anti-abortion activist , is charged in tiller 's killing . he has pleaded not guilty . anti-abortion activist jim pouillon , 63 , was shot dead outside a school in owosso , michigan , on september 11 . he was associated with benham 's operation save america . harlan james drake , 33 , is accused of shooting him and another man in separate locations that day . authorities do not believe that drake knew pouillon ; only that he was offended by anti-abortion material that pouillon had displayed across from the school all week , according to sara edwards of the shiawassee county prosecutor 's office . the supreme court , the country 's main legal battleground on abortion , has ruled only once on the hot-button subject since 1992 , in a close 2007 decision that upheld federal restrictions on a controversial late-term abortion procedure called partial birth abortion ' by its opponents . judge sonia sotomayor , then a federal appeals court judge , deflected questions about abortion this summer when she faced senate confirmation hearings for a seat on the supreme court . she was confirmed . the court has not announced any abortion-related cases on its 2009-2010 docket . the 1973 supreme court ruling roe v. wade effectively legalized abortion in the united states . in 2005 , 1.21 million abortions were performed , down from 1.31 million in 2000 , according to data compiled by the alan guttmacher institute , which aims to advance sexual and reproductive health worldwide through research , policy analysis and education . ' about 2 percent of american women age 15-44 had an abortion in 2005 , the latest year for which the institute has information . the rate has been falling gradually since 1981 , when it peaked at just under 3 percent , institute figures show . the new findings come from a telephone survey of more than 4,000 adults in august 2009 , conducted by the washington-based pew forum on religion & public life and the pew research center for the people & the press . cnn supreme court producer bill mears contributed to this report . | americans split 50-50 on whether women should have legal access to abortion |
maryland <tsp> ( cnn ) the mother of a quadriplegic man who police say was left in the woods for days can not be extradited to face charges in philadelphia until she completes an unspecified treatment , ' maryland police said monday . the montgomery county ( maryland ) department of police took nyia parler , 41 , into custody sunday after philadelphia police reported that she left her 21-year-old son in the woods while she hopped a bus to see her boyfriend in maryland . a man walking through the woods found him friday lying in leaves , covered in a blanket with a bible and a wheelchair nearby , ' philadelphia police say . citing federal health care privacy laws , montgomery county police spokesman capt . paul starks said he could not divulge why parler was receiving treatment , but he said she had to complete it before she could be extradited . she remained in treatment as of tuesday morning , starks told cnn . if she chooses not to challenge her extradition , she will be transported to philadelphia once the treatment is complete , he said . for more than four days , police say , the quadriplegic man , who also suffers from cerebral palsy , was left lying in the woods of philadelphia 's cobbs creek park . low temperatures reached the mid-30s during the week , and rain was reported in the area wednesday and thursday . the man is unable to communicate how he came to be in the park , but philadelphia police lt. john walker told reporters that the man 's mother left him there the morning of april 6 . starks identified the mother as parler on monday . the mother went to visit her boyfriend down in maryland , over in montgomery county , and we believe she placed the child into cobbs creeks park , ' walker said at a news conference . walker told cnn the man was transported to presbyterian hospital , but cnn affiliates reported he was being treated at the children 's hospital of philadelphia . he suffered eye problems , dehydration , malnutrition and a cut to his back that raised infection concerns , the lieutenant told reporters . this kid 's obviously a fighter , ' walker said during a saturday news conference . it 's just unbelievable how we found him out there last night . to see that kid laying there , it 's heartbreaking to see another human , especially a mother , can treat someone like that . ' officials at philadelphia 's school of the future , which the man attends , became concerned when he did n't show up for classes last week and tried to contact his mother but eventually reached an aunt , philadelphia police said . the aunt was in contact via text message with nyia throughout the week and when she expressed her concerns about the complainant , nyia replied ,'we 're ok ,'which the aunt believed meant that the victim was with nyia in maryland , ' according to a police news release . when police tracked down the mother , she told them her son was with her , walker said . she indicated to both family members and the police officers that the child was with her down with her boyfriend in maryland , ' he said . the boyfriend was not aware of what happened , walker told cnn affiliate kyw-tv . when she arrives in philadelphia , the mother will stand charged with aggravated assault , simple assault , recklessly endangering another person and related offenses , a philadelphia police spokeswoman said . walker told reporters she bore clear criminal liability in this case . ' there was no reason for the man to suffer , walker told philly.com , because the mother had sisters willing to take care of him . two of his aunts , who have tried to obtain guardianship of him , were staying with him at the hospital , police told the website . parler 's sister told police that parler has another child , a 16-year-old . the mother 's arrest was only the beginning of the investigation , walker told reporters . authorities are interested in learning more about how this kid was cared for , and what actions were taken and providing of services by different agencies . ' cnn 's chuck johnston and carma hassan contributed to this report . | mom told police son was with her in maryland , but he was found friday alone in woods |
maryland <tsp> ( cnn ) the mother of a quadriplegic man who police say was left in the woods for days can not be extradited to face charges in philadelphia until she completes an unspecified treatment , ' maryland police said monday . the montgomery county ( maryland ) department of police took nyia parler , 41 , into custody sunday after philadelphia police reported that she left her 21-year-old son in the woods while she hopped a bus to see her boyfriend in maryland . a man walking through the woods found him friday lying in leaves , covered in a blanket with a bible and a wheelchair nearby , ' philadelphia police say . citing federal health care privacy laws , montgomery county police spokesman capt . paul starks said he could not divulge why parler was receiving treatment , but he said she had to complete it before she could be extradited . she remained in treatment as of tuesday morning , starks told cnn . if she chooses not to challenge her extradition , she will be transported to philadelphia once the treatment is complete , he said . for more than four days , police say , the quadriplegic man , who also suffers from cerebral palsy , was left lying in the woods of philadelphia 's cobbs creek park . low temperatures reached the mid-30s during the week , and rain was reported in the area wednesday and thursday . the man is unable to communicate how he came to be in the park , but philadelphia police lt. john walker told reporters that the man 's mother left him there the morning of april 6 . starks identified the mother as parler on monday . the mother went to visit her boyfriend down in maryland , over in montgomery county , and we believe she placed the child into cobbs creeks park , ' walker said at a news conference . walker told cnn the man was transported to presbyterian hospital , but cnn affiliates reported he was being treated at the children 's hospital of philadelphia . he suffered eye problems , dehydration , malnutrition and a cut to his back that raised infection concerns , the lieutenant told reporters . this kid 's obviously a fighter , ' walker said during a saturday news conference . it 's just unbelievable how we found him out there last night . to see that kid laying there , it 's heartbreaking to see another human , especially a mother , can treat someone like that . ' officials at philadelphia 's school of the future , which the man attends , became concerned when he did n't show up for classes last week and tried to contact his mother but eventually reached an aunt , philadelphia police said . the aunt was in contact via text message with nyia throughout the week and when she expressed her concerns about the complainant , nyia replied ,'we 're ok ,'which the aunt believed meant that the victim was with nyia in maryland , ' according to a police news release . when police tracked down the mother , she told them her son was with her , walker said . she indicated to both family members and the police officers that the child was with her down with her boyfriend in maryland , ' he said . the boyfriend was not aware of what happened , walker told cnn affiliate kyw-tv . when she arrives in philadelphia , the mother will stand charged with aggravated assault , simple assault , recklessly endangering another person and related offenses , a philadelphia police spokeswoman said . walker told reporters she bore clear criminal liability in this case . ' there was no reason for the man to suffer , walker told philly.com , because the mother had sisters willing to take care of him . two of his aunts , who have tried to obtain guardianship of him , were staying with him at the hospital , police told the website . parler 's sister told police that parler has another child , a 16-year-old . the mother 's arrest was only the beginning of the investigation , walker told reporters . authorities are interested in learning more about how this kid was cared for , and what actions were taken and providing of services by different agencies . ' cnn 's chuck johnston and carma hassan contributed to this report . | mother must complete treatment ' before she can be extradited , maryland police say |
gregg looney <tsp> ( cnn ) -- gregg looney is one for tradition . although he and his buddies did n't catch anything at all during a fishing trip last summer , he had so much fun they all decided to do it again this year . so last week the dracut , massachusetts , native and his four longtime friends set out for an entire day fishing off the coast of cape cod . what a difference a year makes . after dropping anchor a few miles off of provincetown at around 8 a.m. , gregg baited his first hook of the day . and then all of the sudden , boom ! ' gregg told cnn . that boom was a 920-pound bluefin tuna on the other end of his line . it dragged us around the ocean for three hours ' he said . we had to cut the anchor ! ' it took the strength of all of them -- rotating every 15 or 20 minutes -- to reel it in . after the 9-foot-long tuna was taken back to the dock , it was cleaned , stripped of the bones and was sold for $ 4,000 . it was enough tuna to fill nearly 2,000 of the 5-ounce cans sold in the grocery store . will the gang do it again next summer ? you bet ' looney says . in the same spot , on the same day , at the same time , on same boat , with same crew , and i 'm even going to use the same hook ' | gregg looney and some pals went fishing off the coast of massachusetts last week |
hubble <tsp> london ( cnn ) if you 're hunting for the earliest galaxies and clues about potential life on other planets you are going to need a very big mirror and a golf ball of gold . they are both necessary for the construction of the james webb space telescope ( jwst ) , intended as the successor to the hubble instrument that has been operating in space for 25 years . it 's going to be a tough act to follow . hubble has returned spectacular images during the past quarter century but also helped scientists discover that almost every galaxy has a massive black hole at its heart and that the expansion of the universe is speeding up . but there are limits to how far it can see . now scientists are working on an alternative way to peer into the past and search space for signs of life with jwst -- scheduled to launch in october 2018 on an ariane 5 rocket from french guiana . nasa spokesperson lynn chandler told cnn that the mission was like opening up the curtains on the universe and peering inside . hubble rewrote the text books and we 're planning to rewrite the text books again , ' she said . jwst will answer the questions which at the moment we ca n't think to ask . ' the webb telescope is a big probe . hubble is about the size of a school bus but jwst is as big as a tennis court . there is n't a rocket currently capable of carrying that so as chandler explained : it has to be folded up like a flower and then unfurled like a transformer . ' named after james e. webb , a former nasa leader , jwst is being designed to study the first stars and galaxies that formed in the early universe . nasa says that to see these objects the telescope will have to detect objects which are 10 to 100 times fainter than hubble can currently see . instead of studying visible and ultraviolet light like hubble , the jwst will work in the infra-red spectrum , allowing scientists to detect more distant targets . the new telescope requires a huge mirror of 25 square meters ( about 270 square feet ) -- and a golf ball of gold ( about 48 grams or 1.7 ounces ) to optimize it for infra-red light . it is then coated with glass . but technology like this does n't come cheap . according to nasa , the mission , which is in collaboration with the european space agency ( esa ) and the canadian space agency ( csa ) and involves a total of 14 countries , will cost $ 8.5 billion . nasa says that the project has four main goals -- namely , to search for the first galaxies formed after the big bang , find out how galaxies evolved , observe the birth of stars and planets and investigate the potential for life on other planets scientists hope the telescope will be able to tell us more about objects that formed 13 billion years ago -- about 700-800 million years after the big bang . but closer to home , scientists also believe the new telescope will able to detect planets around nearby stars . nasa says jwst should be able to operate for between five and 10 years , restricted only by the amount of fuel it has to maintain orbit and the ability of the electronics to stand up to the harsh space environment . opinion : why astronomy counts on earth | hubble has helped make major discoveries but there are limits to how far it can see into space |
james webb space telescope <tsp> london ( cnn ) if you 're hunting for the earliest galaxies and clues about potential life on other planets you are going to need a very big mirror and a golf ball of gold . they are both necessary for the construction of the james webb space telescope ( jwst ) , intended as the successor to the hubble instrument that has been operating in space for 25 years . it 's going to be a tough act to follow . hubble has returned spectacular images during the past quarter century but also helped scientists discover that almost every galaxy has a massive black hole at its heart and that the expansion of the universe is speeding up . but there are limits to how far it can see . now scientists are working on an alternative way to peer into the past and search space for signs of life with jwst -- scheduled to launch in october 2018 on an ariane 5 rocket from french guiana . nasa spokesperson lynn chandler told cnn that the mission was like opening up the curtains on the universe and peering inside . hubble rewrote the text books and we 're planning to rewrite the text books again , ' she said . jwst will answer the questions which at the moment we ca n't think to ask . ' the webb telescope is a big probe . hubble is about the size of a school bus but jwst is as big as a tennis court . there is n't a rocket currently capable of carrying that so as chandler explained : it has to be folded up like a flower and then unfurled like a transformer . ' named after james e. webb , a former nasa leader , jwst is being designed to study the first stars and galaxies that formed in the early universe . nasa says that to see these objects the telescope will have to detect objects which are 10 to 100 times fainter than hubble can currently see . instead of studying visible and ultraviolet light like hubble , the jwst will work in the infra-red spectrum , allowing scientists to detect more distant targets . the new telescope requires a huge mirror of 25 square meters ( about 270 square feet ) -- and a golf ball of gold ( about 48 grams or 1.7 ounces ) to optimize it for infra-red light . it is then coated with glass . but technology like this does n't come cheap . according to nasa , the mission , which is in collaboration with the european space agency ( esa ) and the canadian space agency ( csa ) and involves a total of 14 countries , will cost $ 8.5 billion . nasa says that the project has four main goals -- namely , to search for the first galaxies formed after the big bang , find out how galaxies evolved , observe the birth of stars and planets and investigate the potential for life on other planets scientists hope the telescope will be able to tell us more about objects that formed 13 billion years ago -- about 700-800 million years after the big bang . but closer to home , scientists also believe the new telescope will able to detect planets around nearby stars . nasa says jwst should be able to operate for between five and 10 years , restricted only by the amount of fuel it has to maintain orbit and the ability of the electronics to stand up to the harsh space environment . opinion : why astronomy counts on earth | the james webb space telescope will work in the infra-red and be able to see objects that formed 13 billion years ago |
israeli <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- jordan 's king hussein sent a secret message to president richard nixon in 1970 pleading with him to attack syria , according to declassified documents released wednesday by the former president 's library . president nixon works at his desk in the oval office in a june 1972 photograph . the papers are among about 10,000 documents released by the nixon presidential library , some of which offer harbingers of present-day events , such as concerns about terrorism and saudi arabia . library director timothy naftali said the documents describe challenges such as how to get the saudis more involved in solving the palestinian-israeli conflict , how to get them more engaged against terrorism , how to address the arab view that the united states always sides with israel and how to build up moderate palestinians to counter extremists . a 1973 diplomatic cable cites this objective : isolate and undermine terrorisms [ sic ] and commandos [ sic ] by establishing another , more stable and respectable palestinian political entity and political personality . ' documents detail u.s. efforts to persuade saudi arabia to move away from fatah , the military wing of the palestine liberation organization , because u.s. officials believed the plo was supporting the terrorist-linked , anti-israel group black september , referred to as bso . the document , a u.s. state department telegram from the embassy in jeddah to washington reads , bso and fatah [ are ] now linked together in vicious effort to create chaos and uncertainty . one might wonder whether central objective bso conspiracy was not to erase any slight progress toward middle east peace . ' the document release was intended to coincide with mideast peace summit among palestinian , israeli and other mideast leaders in maryland , naftali said . the nixon white house also was adjusting to israel 's acquisition of a nuclear weapon . we are declassifying the records today that laid the basis for richard nixon 's decision in 1969 to accept the fact , a fact of life , that israel had a bomb , a nuclear device , ' said naftali . that , of course , is very important with what 's going on in annapolis . ' even though it is clear from the documents that the united states government did not encourage israel to acquire a nuclear deterrent , it became a fact of life , ' naftali said . there are materials here that show how our government , 30 years ago , dealt with this very , very difficult problem . ' rather than openly declare itself as a nuclear power , israel still maintains a strategic ambiguity over its nuclear weapons capability . in 1970 , as king hussein dealt with threats by both palestinian refugees in his country and syrian military forces crossing jordan 's border , the king asked the united states and great britain to intervene in the war in jordan , asking the united states , in fact , to attack syria , ' naftali said . syria had invaded jordan and the jordanian king , facing what he felt was a military rout , said please help us in any way possible . ' the telegram indicates that hussein himself called a u.s. official at 3 a.m. to ask for american or british help . situation deteriorating dangerously following syrian massive invasion ... , ' the document said . i request immediate physical intervention both land and air ... to safeguard sovereignty , territorial integrity and independence of jordan . immediate air strikes on invading forces from any quarter plus air cover are imperative . ' the library has withheld the nixon documents from public access until wednesday and have been reviewed for release and/or declassified , naftali said . nixon served as president from january 20 , 1969 , to august 9 , 1974 , when he resigned under political pressure during the watergate scandal -- the only u.s. president to do so . he died in 1994 after suffering a stroke at the age of 81 . e-mail to a friend | papers also discuss israeli acquisition of nuclear weapon |
nixon white house <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- jordan 's king hussein sent a secret message to president richard nixon in 1970 pleading with him to attack syria , according to declassified documents released wednesday by the former president 's library . president nixon works at his desk in the oval office in a june 1972 photograph . the papers are among about 10,000 documents released by the nixon presidential library , some of which offer harbingers of present-day events , such as concerns about terrorism and saudi arabia . library director timothy naftali said the documents describe challenges such as how to get the saudis more involved in solving the palestinian-israeli conflict , how to get them more engaged against terrorism , how to address the arab view that the united states always sides with israel and how to build up moderate palestinians to counter extremists . a 1973 diplomatic cable cites this objective : isolate and undermine terrorisms [ sic ] and commandos [ sic ] by establishing another , more stable and respectable palestinian political entity and political personality . ' documents detail u.s. efforts to persuade saudi arabia to move away from fatah , the military wing of the palestine liberation organization , because u.s. officials believed the plo was supporting the terrorist-linked , anti-israel group black september , referred to as bso . the document , a u.s. state department telegram from the embassy in jeddah to washington reads , bso and fatah [ are ] now linked together in vicious effort to create chaos and uncertainty . one might wonder whether central objective bso conspiracy was not to erase any slight progress toward middle east peace . ' the document release was intended to coincide with mideast peace summit among palestinian , israeli and other mideast leaders in maryland , naftali said . the nixon white house also was adjusting to israel 's acquisition of a nuclear weapon . we are declassifying the records today that laid the basis for richard nixon 's decision in 1969 to accept the fact , a fact of life , that israel had a bomb , a nuclear device , ' said naftali . that , of course , is very important with what 's going on in annapolis . ' even though it is clear from the documents that the united states government did not encourage israel to acquire a nuclear deterrent , it became a fact of life , ' naftali said . there are materials here that show how our government , 30 years ago , dealt with this very , very difficult problem . ' rather than openly declare itself as a nuclear power , israel still maintains a strategic ambiguity over its nuclear weapons capability . in 1970 , as king hussein dealt with threats by both palestinian refugees in his country and syrian military forces crossing jordan 's border , the king asked the united states and great britain to intervene in the war in jordan , asking the united states , in fact , to attack syria , ' naftali said . syria had invaded jordan and the jordanian king , facing what he felt was a military rout , said please help us in any way possible . ' the telegram indicates that hussein himself called a u.s. official at 3 a.m. to ask for american or british help . situation deteriorating dangerously following syrian massive invasion ... , ' the document said . i request immediate physical intervention both land and air ... to safeguard sovereignty , territorial integrity and independence of jordan . immediate air strikes on invading forces from any quarter plus air cover are imperative . ' the library has withheld the nixon documents from public access until wednesday and have been reviewed for release and/or declassified , naftali said . nixon served as president from january 20 , 1969 , to august 9 , 1974 , when he resigned under political pressure during the watergate scandal -- the only u.s. president to do so . he died in 1994 after suffering a stroke at the age of 81 . e-mail to a friend | nixon white house urged saudis to distance from plo 's fatah organization |
plo <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- jordan 's king hussein sent a secret message to president richard nixon in 1970 pleading with him to attack syria , according to declassified documents released wednesday by the former president 's library . president nixon works at his desk in the oval office in a june 1972 photograph . the papers are among about 10,000 documents released by the nixon presidential library , some of which offer harbingers of present-day events , such as concerns about terrorism and saudi arabia . library director timothy naftali said the documents describe challenges such as how to get the saudis more involved in solving the palestinian-israeli conflict , how to get them more engaged against terrorism , how to address the arab view that the united states always sides with israel and how to build up moderate palestinians to counter extremists . a 1973 diplomatic cable cites this objective : isolate and undermine terrorisms [ sic ] and commandos [ sic ] by establishing another , more stable and respectable palestinian political entity and political personality . ' documents detail u.s. efforts to persuade saudi arabia to move away from fatah , the military wing of the palestine liberation organization , because u.s. officials believed the plo was supporting the terrorist-linked , anti-israel group black september , referred to as bso . the document , a u.s. state department telegram from the embassy in jeddah to washington reads , bso and fatah [ are ] now linked together in vicious effort to create chaos and uncertainty . one might wonder whether central objective bso conspiracy was not to erase any slight progress toward middle east peace . ' the document release was intended to coincide with mideast peace summit among palestinian , israeli and other mideast leaders in maryland , naftali said . the nixon white house also was adjusting to israel 's acquisition of a nuclear weapon . we are declassifying the records today that laid the basis for richard nixon 's decision in 1969 to accept the fact , a fact of life , that israel had a bomb , a nuclear device , ' said naftali . that , of course , is very important with what 's going on in annapolis . ' even though it is clear from the documents that the united states government did not encourage israel to acquire a nuclear deterrent , it became a fact of life , ' naftali said . there are materials here that show how our government , 30 years ago , dealt with this very , very difficult problem . ' rather than openly declare itself as a nuclear power , israel still maintains a strategic ambiguity over its nuclear weapons capability . in 1970 , as king hussein dealt with threats by both palestinian refugees in his country and syrian military forces crossing jordan 's border , the king asked the united states and great britain to intervene in the war in jordan , asking the united states , in fact , to attack syria , ' naftali said . syria had invaded jordan and the jordanian king , facing what he felt was a military rout , said please help us in any way possible . ' the telegram indicates that hussein himself called a u.s. official at 3 a.m. to ask for american or british help . situation deteriorating dangerously following syrian massive invasion ... , ' the document said . i request immediate physical intervention both land and air ... to safeguard sovereignty , territorial integrity and independence of jordan . immediate air strikes on invading forces from any quarter plus air cover are imperative . ' the library has withheld the nixon documents from public access until wednesday and have been reviewed for release and/or declassified , naftali said . nixon served as president from january 20 , 1969 , to august 9 , 1974 , when he resigned under political pressure during the watergate scandal -- the only u.s. president to do so . he died in 1994 after suffering a stroke at the age of 81 . e-mail to a friend | nixon white house urged saudis to distance from plo 's fatah organization |
rivera <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- last week , geraldo rivera made headlines by blaming a hoodie for slain teenager trayvon martin 's death . after facing criticism from the media , celebrities , and his own son , rivera today issued a sincere and heartfelt apology ' for his remarks . evolution of the hoodie ' i apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my'very practical and potentially life-saving campaign urging black and hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies ,'' rivera wrote in an email to politico . he added that by putting responsibility on what kids wear instead of how people react to them i have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager . ' what witnesses are saying additionally , rivera verbally apologized on his radio show wednesday morning . [ m ] y own family and friends believe [ that ] i have obscured or diverted attention from the principal fact , which is that an unarmed 17-year-old was shot dead by a man who was never seriously investigated by local police , ' he said . and if that is true , i apologize . ' see the full article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | rivera blamed a hoodie for slain teenager trayvon martin 's death |
rivera <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- last week , geraldo rivera made headlines by blaming a hoodie for slain teenager trayvon martin 's death . after facing criticism from the media , celebrities , and his own son , rivera today issued a sincere and heartfelt apology ' for his remarks . evolution of the hoodie ' i apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my'very practical and potentially life-saving campaign urging black and hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies ,'' rivera wrote in an email to politico . he added that by putting responsibility on what kids wear instead of how people react to them i have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager . ' what witnesses are saying additionally , rivera verbally apologized on his radio show wednesday morning . [ m ] y own family and friends believe [ that ] i have obscured or diverted attention from the principal fact , which is that an unarmed 17-year-old was shot dead by a man who was never seriously investigated by local police , ' he said . and if that is true , i apologize . ' see the full article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | rivera : i have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager ' |
rivera <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- last week , geraldo rivera made headlines by blaming a hoodie for slain teenager trayvon martin 's death . after facing criticism from the media , celebrities , and his own son , rivera today issued a sincere and heartfelt apology ' for his remarks . evolution of the hoodie ' i apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my'very practical and potentially life-saving campaign urging black and hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies ,'' rivera wrote in an email to politico . he added that by putting responsibility on what kids wear instead of how people react to them i have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager . ' what witnesses are saying additionally , rivera verbally apologized on his radio show wednesday morning . [ m ] y own family and friends believe [ that ] i have obscured or diverted attention from the principal fact , which is that an unarmed 17-year-old was shot dead by a man who was never seriously investigated by local police , ' he said . and if that is true , i apologize . ' see the full article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | geraldo rivera today issued a sincere and heartfelt apology ' for his remarks |
triple crown <tsp> ( cnn ) -- do you know who fonso was ? or how about hindoo ? can you tell me what joe cotton did ? ben brush ? judge himes ? george smith ? paul jones ? i can . each of them won the kentucky derby horse race . ( each of them , by the way , was a horse , not a human being . ) ok , now can you tell me what each of them did n't do ? i can . each of them did not go on to win horse racing 's triple crown . i can also tell you why . because it is a really hard thing to win , that 's why . animal welfare activists : horse racing industry needs reform bet you do n't know burgoo king . hahaha , he made whoppers , i beat you to it . laughing out loud here . ok , now i will tell you the sweet and sad tale of burgoo king , and how maybe he could have become one of the most famous racehorses of all time , a secretariat , a seabiscuit , a man o'war . in 1932 , when a lot of people were depressed with a capital d , a lot of them were impressed by burgoo king when he won the kentucky derby by three lengths and then the preakness by a head . he and the 19-year-old boy in his saddle had a nice shot at winning the triple crown , which only two other horses ( sir barton and gallant fox ) had done . how did he do ? well , he did n't . burgoo king was a no-go no-show . he skipped the belmont stakes entirely . did not run . he was scratched , ' as they say at the track , just as i 'll have another was turned into i 've had enough by his keepers on the eve of today 's scheduled belmont race . overheard on cnn.com : if wishes were horses ,'another'secretariat would rise would you like to know why ? i have no idea . some horse whisperers spread gossip that burgoo king 's paperwork did not get filled out in time . others said he must have gotten hurt , but no one confirmed it . all anybody knows for sure is , burgoo king sizzled , then fizzled . he would not run another race for two full years , and his young jockey was found in lake michigan , drowned . bet you do n't know tim tam , either . in 1958 , when folks were giving thought to buying one of ford 's really cool new cars , the edsel , a lot of them were impressed by tim tam when he took the kentucky derby with a tremendous stretch run , then ran first in the preakness , as well . a few thousand folks laid bets that tim tam would do what no horse since the '40s had done : wear the crown . but , alas , a bone that he fractured during the race caused poor tim to hobble home in second place . fame , fortune , immortality ... a kingdom for any 3-year-old horse who could win the big three . oh , to become another war admiral , another whirlaway , another citation . bet you do n't know canonero ii . he was nothing special , a pretty decent runner in venezuela , a long shot to say the least when he got into the 1971 kentucky derby and sat there in 18th place , going nowhere fast . but then , all of a sudden , here came canonero ii , galloping past them all , winning by nearly four lengths . and after that , why , there he was again , winning the preakness in a record time . a horse for the ages . that was him . all he needed to do was win that darn belmont , and maybe he would have , if not for a foot infection that was to blame when he limped home behind pass catcher and two others , out of the money in fourth place , then out of sight , then out of mind . secretariat came along two years later and stole his thunder , not to mention his book and movie deals . i went to the belmont for the 2004 race . so did a throng of 120,139 , the largest crowd in history for a new york sporting event . and why were we all there ? to see smarty jones . he was going to do it . the first triple crown since 1979 and affirmed was about to be his . silver charm was going to do it in 1997 , but he ran out of steam in the belmont at the wire . funny cide was going to do it in 2003 , but he slogged along in the mud and ran a hard-luck third . news : no shot at triple crown as favored colt is scratched from belmont stakes ah , but sweet little smarty , he could n't miss . he was undefeated . he could run in the rain , as he demonstrated at churchill downs while taking the derby by nearly three lengths . he could run secretariat-style and leave everyone else gagging on his dust , as he showed at the preakness while winning by more than 11 lengths . a lock , that 's what he was . i got the horse right here , ' i sang that june 5 , 2004 , day , doing my guys and dolls ' bit , slapping a racing form against my palm . my old crony mark kram , the great philadelphia sportswriter , was by my side . who else do you like , ' he asked . nobody else , ' i said . come on , ' he cajoled , not liking the favorite 's short odds . who else ? ' i sized up the tote board , consulted the handicappers , studied my charts , played my hunch . birdstone , ' i said . he was 36-to-1 . my poor pal kram gave me the evil eye . he had a $ 20 bill that he did n't want to waste . we put down a double sawbuck each . we waited for the trumpet to play , 10 minutes to post time . we observed a minute of silence for president reagan , who passed away that same day . i said aloud that birdstone definitely had a shot . i said to myself , smarty jones could outrun that nag with three legs . ' smarty jones ran second that day . he was caught in the final few strides by some four-legged history-wrecker called birdstone . i would see no triple crown won that day . nor would i in 2008 , when the 3-to-10 favorite big brown was a sure thing , ca n't miss , easy money . he finished ninth . dead last . horse racing . i have had good days . i have had bad days . i 'll have another and another . i thought saturday would be a great day -- an unforgettable day for an unforgettable horse . but you know what ? i 've forgotten him already . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of mike downey . | many high-hopes horses have met last minute trouble , been denied triple crown , he says |
triple crown <tsp> ( cnn ) -- do you know who fonso was ? or how about hindoo ? can you tell me what joe cotton did ? ben brush ? judge himes ? george smith ? paul jones ? i can . each of them won the kentucky derby horse race . ( each of them , by the way , was a horse , not a human being . ) ok , now can you tell me what each of them did n't do ? i can . each of them did not go on to win horse racing 's triple crown . i can also tell you why . because it is a really hard thing to win , that 's why . animal welfare activists : horse racing industry needs reform bet you do n't know burgoo king . hahaha , he made whoppers , i beat you to it . laughing out loud here . ok , now i will tell you the sweet and sad tale of burgoo king , and how maybe he could have become one of the most famous racehorses of all time , a secretariat , a seabiscuit , a man o'war . in 1932 , when a lot of people were depressed with a capital d , a lot of them were impressed by burgoo king when he won the kentucky derby by three lengths and then the preakness by a head . he and the 19-year-old boy in his saddle had a nice shot at winning the triple crown , which only two other horses ( sir barton and gallant fox ) had done . how did he do ? well , he did n't . burgoo king was a no-go no-show . he skipped the belmont stakes entirely . did not run . he was scratched , ' as they say at the track , just as i 'll have another was turned into i 've had enough by his keepers on the eve of today 's scheduled belmont race . overheard on cnn.com : if wishes were horses ,'another'secretariat would rise would you like to know why ? i have no idea . some horse whisperers spread gossip that burgoo king 's paperwork did not get filled out in time . others said he must have gotten hurt , but no one confirmed it . all anybody knows for sure is , burgoo king sizzled , then fizzled . he would not run another race for two full years , and his young jockey was found in lake michigan , drowned . bet you do n't know tim tam , either . in 1958 , when folks were giving thought to buying one of ford 's really cool new cars , the edsel , a lot of them were impressed by tim tam when he took the kentucky derby with a tremendous stretch run , then ran first in the preakness , as well . a few thousand folks laid bets that tim tam would do what no horse since the '40s had done : wear the crown . but , alas , a bone that he fractured during the race caused poor tim to hobble home in second place . fame , fortune , immortality ... a kingdom for any 3-year-old horse who could win the big three . oh , to become another war admiral , another whirlaway , another citation . bet you do n't know canonero ii . he was nothing special , a pretty decent runner in venezuela , a long shot to say the least when he got into the 1971 kentucky derby and sat there in 18th place , going nowhere fast . but then , all of a sudden , here came canonero ii , galloping past them all , winning by nearly four lengths . and after that , why , there he was again , winning the preakness in a record time . a horse for the ages . that was him . all he needed to do was win that darn belmont , and maybe he would have , if not for a foot infection that was to blame when he limped home behind pass catcher and two others , out of the money in fourth place , then out of sight , then out of mind . secretariat came along two years later and stole his thunder , not to mention his book and movie deals . i went to the belmont for the 2004 race . so did a throng of 120,139 , the largest crowd in history for a new york sporting event . and why were we all there ? to see smarty jones . he was going to do it . the first triple crown since 1979 and affirmed was about to be his . silver charm was going to do it in 1997 , but he ran out of steam in the belmont at the wire . funny cide was going to do it in 2003 , but he slogged along in the mud and ran a hard-luck third . news : no shot at triple crown as favored colt is scratched from belmont stakes ah , but sweet little smarty , he could n't miss . he was undefeated . he could run in the rain , as he demonstrated at churchill downs while taking the derby by nearly three lengths . he could run secretariat-style and leave everyone else gagging on his dust , as he showed at the preakness while winning by more than 11 lengths . a lock , that 's what he was . i got the horse right here , ' i sang that june 5 , 2004 , day , doing my guys and dolls ' bit , slapping a racing form against my palm . my old crony mark kram , the great philadelphia sportswriter , was by my side . who else do you like , ' he asked . nobody else , ' i said . come on , ' he cajoled , not liking the favorite 's short odds . who else ? ' i sized up the tote board , consulted the handicappers , studied my charts , played my hunch . birdstone , ' i said . he was 36-to-1 . my poor pal kram gave me the evil eye . he had a $ 20 bill that he did n't want to waste . we put down a double sawbuck each . we waited for the trumpet to play , 10 minutes to post time . we observed a minute of silence for president reagan , who passed away that same day . i said aloud that birdstone definitely had a shot . i said to myself , smarty jones could outrun that nag with three legs . ' smarty jones ran second that day . he was caught in the final few strides by some four-legged history-wrecker called birdstone . i would see no triple crown won that day . nor would i in 2008 , when the 3-to-10 favorite big brown was a sure thing , ca n't miss , easy money . he finished ninth . dead last . horse racing . i have had good days . i have had bad days . i 'll have another and another . i thought saturday would be a great day -- an unforgettable day for an unforgettable horse . but you know what ? i 've forgotten him already . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of mike downey . | mike downey says many horses have won the kentucky derby , but not the triple crown |
turkish <tsp> ( cnn ) -- syrian opposition leaders have dubbed friday 's planned demonstrations friday of saleh al-ali , ' a prominent alawite who commanded one of the first rebellions against the french mandate of syria in the early part of the 20th century . some opposition activists said they hope the name prompts the powerful minority ruling class , which is composed primarily of alawites , to join the demonstrations demanding the fall of the regime . they also say the name sends the message that their demands are not directed against alawites , but against the regime . government opponents accuse the regime of identifying them as an islamist movement , which they deny . the plans came as syrian refugees continued thursday to flee across the turkish border to escape violence , as world powers amplified their outrage over the damascus regime 's tough crackdown on peaceful demonstrators . the number of syrian refugees now in turkey stands at 8,904 , turkish emergency officials said . their report comes a day after turkish government officials , including turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan and foreign minister ahmet davutoglu , met with a special syrian envoy to help stem the growing tide of refugees . violence in the country and an offensive in and around the town of jisr al-shugur spurred thousands of people to make their way to the border region , and turkish officials are worried that the crisis could deteriorate and destabilize the area . davutoglu met thursday with syrian envoy hasan turkmani , who also sat down on wednesday with erdogan . the foreign minister briefed the news media in ankara about the border crisis , the turkish meeting with the syrian envoy , and his visit with syrian refugees on wednesday in the turkish city of hatay . it was a meeting that was very comprehensive in which everything was openly discussed , based on mutual confidence and a joint understanding of sharing matters , ' davutoglu said of the meeting with turkmani and his delegation . calling for a strong , stable and prosperous syria , ' davutoglu urged the timely development of a comprehensive reform process ' there and an end to the discord in syria . i hope the positive scenario of introducing reforms and eliminating violence will take place , ' he said . i do n't even want to think about the other scenario . ' he said turkey will provide humanitarian help to syrians massed on the syrian side of the border . many syrians who have fled their homes have n't crossed into turkey and have instead lived near the border in grim conditions . turkey will never refrain from any help for syria , ' davutoglu said . on wednesday , the u.n. human rights office called for a thorough probe into the allegations of widespread abuses committed by syrian authorities during their violent crackdown . ' the most egregious reports concern the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians , including from snipers positioned on rooftops of public buildings , and the deployment of tanks in areas densely populated by civilians , ' according to a preliminary report prepared by the office of the high commissioner for human rights . as of mid-june , the number of those killed during such incidents is believed to have exceeded 1,100 persons , many of them unarmed civilians ; among them were women and children , ' it said , according to a u.n. statement . the human rights office said reports indicate that up to 10,000 people have been detained over three months , and security forces have perpetrated acts of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment against detainees , resulting in death in custody in some cases . ' the report , which covers the period from march 15 to wednesday , is based on data from u.n. agencies , human rights activists , a small number of victims and witnesses , and various other groups . the human rights office said it had to rely on these sources because it has n't been able to get its own staffers into syria . there also have been reports that the rights of people to freedom of assembly , expression , and movement ' and to get food and health care have been violated . the material currently before the high commissioner is a matter of grave concern and reflects a dire human rights situation in the syrian arab republic , ' the report said . the alleged breaches of the most fundamental rights on such a broad scale require thorough investigation and , with respect to the perpetrators , full accountability . ' navi pillay , the high commissioner for human rights , urged syria to grant access to the country for the fact-finding mission established by the u.n. human rights council . ' more than 50 nations issued a tough statement on human rights abuses in syria at the u.n. human rights council on wednesday , and the u.s. state department underscored the thrust of the message thursday . the international community has been shocked by the horrific reports of torture and arbitrary arrests , and widespread use of violence against peaceful protesters , ' said state department spokeswoman victoria nuland . this outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now . ' the state department called on syria to allow the high commissioner 's office to pursue its mission . cnn 's yesim comert and kamal ghattas contributed to this report | more syrian refugees trickle over the turkish border |
australians <tsp> ( cnn ) -- despite the excitement over the royal tour of new zealand and australia , the commonly held view of politicians in both countries appears to be that the writing is on the wall for the reach of britain 's monarchy to its far-flung south pacific realms . the queen 's official representative in australia last year expressed support for replacing the monarch with an elected head of state , while new zealand 's ex-foreign minister and former head of the commonwealth has said the country is inching towards republicanism . ' but how inevitable is it really that australia and new zealand will abandon their monarch to become republics ? despite the view of the political classes in both countries , republicanism seems to be in reversal . this year australian prime minister tony abbott restored knights and dames after nearly 30 years , bestowing titles on the incoming and outgoing governors-general . new zealand prime minister john key restored titular honors in 2009 after they had been abolished by a labour government in 2000 . neither of these prime ministers will create a republic . as in britain , fondness for the monarchy has grown with the queen 's jubilee and the popularity of the duke and duchess of cambridge , and baby prince george , whose attractiveness is refreshing monarchism . prince william has already reinforced loyalties in australia and new zealand with his visits to comfort embattled communities after the disasters of earthquakes in christchurch and floods in brisbane . there are differences between australia and new zealand , however . the republican movement was , and is , stronger in australia . empire status to understand why , we need to turn to history . for a start , australia was more irish . transportation of thousands of convicts to the australian colonies did not lend itself to devotion to the sovereign . so it is unsurprising that australia developed a nationalist republican tradition , expressed by the bulletin ' magazine from the 1880s -- with the motto australia for the australians ' -- that opposed the monarchy . national hero henry lawson 's first published poem , a song of the republic , ' sought freedom from the wrongs of the north and past . ' but no cleavage of loyalty threatened the imperial connection when australia became a nation in 1901 , and republican radicals remained in the minority . membership of the empire conveyed a sense of pomp , pride and greatness in both countries . new zealand decided its status within the empire would be grander by staying separate from australia . historically new zealand was the more loyal dominion , and more economically dependent until britain joined the eec , a move that did not help monarchism . in 1911 , new zealand borrowed to build a battleship for the royal navy , whereas australia established its own navy ; and new zealand introduced conscription in the first world war whereas australia did not . new zealand was last to sign the statute of westminster in 1947 . it was not until 1986 that new zealand finally removed the united kingdom 's residual powers to make law for new zealand under a constitution act . colonization and honors new zealand maori play an important part in the country 's position on the monarchy . there is no equivalent voice for aborigines with their harsher experience of colonization . the status of the treaty of waitangi , signed in 1840 , is central in the new zealand case , whereby the chiefs ceded government to the queen of england in return for her protection . ever since , the crown ' has been of supreme importance to maori . australia was first to introduce a republican-style honors system in 1975 , including the order of australia . again , a reformist labor government made the change . prime minister gough whitlam , who led the initiative , joked that the only imperial honor he ever awarded was a damehood to dame edna everage -- the character created by cross-dressing australian comedian barry humphries . for a while national and imperial honors systems overlapped and the australian states continued to use imperial honors until the end of the 1980s . the order of new zealand was introduced by a reformist labour government in 1987 . the remainder of the new zealand honors system , however , had to wait until 1996 . jim bolger , the then national ( non-labour ) prime minister , is a republican , and his stance prompted the creation of a monarchist league of new zealand . bolger denies that his irish background explains his republicanism . constitutional change both australia and new zealand founded republican movements in the 1990s to act as lobby groups advocating constitutional change , the new zealand one based on the australian model . but in new zealand opinion has been more evenly split between republicanism and support for a constitutional monarchy . recent polls put republican views in the minority , at about a third . australia differed from new zealand in holding a referendum on becoming a republic in 1999 , despite the prime minister 's monarchism and a divided liberal party . the labor party was near-unanimous in favor . in the event the people voted no , ' because republicans were divided over how the president would be appointed . the referendum provided for appointment by parliament , when many favored a directly elected president . distrust of politicians decided the result . the monarch 's popularity is a critical factor . nothing is likely to happen in either country while the queen is alive , except perhaps the design of the flags currently being waved at the duke and duchess of cambridge . as for baby prince george , support for his position as future heir to the thrones of australia and new zealand may be dictated in part by the sustainability of his -- and his parents'-- celebrity status . the views expressed in this commentary are solely those of philippa mein smith . | australians'vote not to become a republic was in part due to distrust of politicians , she says |
beyonce <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with 17 grammy awards , $ 75 million in world record sales and a fourth world tour underway , beyonce is one of the world 's biggest names in show business . from performances at this year 's superbowl to the presidential inauguration , few celebrities have the success , drive and international cachet of the high profile soulstress . but she does n't just dominate the music charts and the stage ... beyonce is a global brand and works hard to keep it that way . her name appears everywhere from fashion labels to fragrance bottles and pepsi commercials . on the heels of her own hbo documentary'life is but a dream', she and husband jay-z were also named the pop music industry 's first billionaire couple . watch : how beyonce became businesswoman forbes also ranked beyonce as the 32nd most powerful woman in the world last year , estimating her earnings at $ 40 million , a figure likely to grow as she reaps the rewards from her mrs carter show world tour and lucrative h & m campaign . through a carefully-managed image , the 31-year-old star shows she can do it all by portraying herself as a sexy performer , an astute businesswoman , a dutiful wife and loving mother and a girl-next-door from texas . beyonce inspires others to dream because she is always reminding us that she was just a young girl from houston , texas , who had a dream to be a performer , and look at her now , ' says cori murray , entertainment editor of essence magazine . she had a dream , she envisioned it . hard work , determination , and this is the result , ' sums up gail mitchell , senior editor at billboard magazine . family ties the daughter of a hairdresser and an ibm marketing executive , beyonce took to the stage early . she began performing with a girl band -- later known as destiny 's child - at the age of eight , managed by her father matthew knowles and his marketing expertise . it took some years before destiny 's child made their major label breakthrough by signing with columbia records in 1999 with the album the writing 's on the wall ' and two number one singles bills , bills , bills ' and say my name . ' matthew knowles left his job at ibm and remained beyonce 's manager into her solo career -- which began in 2003 with her album dangerously in love ' -- until 2011 when the pair parted ways . watch : beyonce 's father says he 's'proud' ' it was hard for me to let her go -- it was hard for both of us to let each other go , ' her father later told the sun newspaper . this was not a normal ending of a business agreement . this was a dad and a daughter and it was incredibly painful and it had some difficulties . ' aside from her music , she has mastered the art of celebrity endorsements over the years by striking lucrative deals with pepsi and l'oreal and launching fragrances with tommy hilfiger . savvy sponsorship deals sealing a $ 50 million multi-year deal with pepsi in december , the partnership includes commercials and print ads as well as a fund to support the singer 's chosen creative projects . far from featuring old tunes as many ads do , beyonce 's latest pepsi commercial previews a new song grown woman , ' which will feature on her forthcoming album . beyonce 's influence in pop culture [ is ] not just in the music industry , but also in the beauty industry and in fashion , ' says fashion stylist june ambrose . she has become the poster child in terms of her brand being so well recognized . ' the singer and her mother tina knowles run a fashion label house of dereon , named after the star 's seamstress grandmother . she stays involved at every stage of her campaigns , giving her control over her own brand . this is not a woman who just lends her name to it and then she is off to her yacht , ' says murray of essence magazine . the control extends to her own image . in her current world tour , she refused to accredit press photographers and banned all but authorized pictures from her own entertainment company , according to several media reports . career evolution beyonce is executive producer of her own hbo documentary life is but a dream ' in which she tells her story through her own eyes . the film is filled with home movie clips from her childhood in houston to her show preparations and her life with jay-z and 15-month-old daughter blue ivy . from starring in her own documentary to films such as dreamgirls , ' cadillac records ' and the fighting temptations , ' the songstress has kept her name in lights by contributing to movie soundtracks , most recently film director baz luhrmann 's the great gatsby . ' luhrmann wrote in time magazine as it named beyonce among the world 's 100 most influential people in 2013 : she and jay z are the royal couple of culture , and she is the queen bee . power networking ' she 's gone beyond being a popular singer , even beyond being a pop-cultural icon ... right now , she is the heir-apparent diva of the usa , the reigning national voice . ' from granting oprah an exclusive own interview to supporting president obama 's 2012 re-election campaign , beyonce 's proven her influence extends well beyond her voice by making friends in high places . in return , obama called the singer a role model for his daughters ' at an election fundraiser hosted by the power couple and she performed the national anthem at his second inauguration . while stellar performances and lucrative endorsement deals far from guarantee a star 's long term future in the fickle world of entertainment , one thing is for certain -- beyonce has proven she is a survivor . | beyonce has built a global brand around being one of the biggest names in pop |
la <tsp> ( cnn ) two los angeles police officers were shot at sunday night while they drove their patrol car in the southern part of the city , police said . the officers returned fire , authorities said , and no one was injured . one suspect was arrested and two weapons , including a rifle , were recovered . another remains at large , prompting a manhunt that lasted for hours and involved about 100 officers , lapd capt . lillian carranza said . police warned residents to stay indoors in part of south central los angeles . on monday , police reopened access to streets inside a six-block perimeter they set up overnight . lapd detective megan aguilar told cnn that investigators have nothing to indicate that there 's a nexus ' between the shooting and recent nationwide protests against police brutality that have fueled animosity toward police . and there was a second incident over the weekend in which police were fired at , this one in florida on sunday morning . someone fired three bullets at two deputies with the pasco county sheriff 's office as they sat in their patrol car . both deputies reported hearing the whizzing sound of each projectile as they flew by , ' the sheriff 's office said . deputies did not see the suspect or the vehicle from which the shots were fired . ' crime stoppers of tampa bay is offering a $ 3,000 reward for information leading to the person or persons who fired at the officers . pasco county authorities are also searching for someone who spray-painted , shoot mp cop ' on a road barrier in meadow pointe , a subdivision . the latest incidents of shots fired at police come after new york police officers rafael ramos and wenjian liu were gunned down in their patrol car on december 20 . the gunman , ismaaiyl brinsley , then shot himself at a subway station . earlier , he had posted angry messages on social media against police and government , citing the deaths of eric garner and michael brown , two black men killed by police . on saturday , more than 25,000 police officers from across the country and even canada attended ramos'funeral . liu 's funeral will be january 4 . rookie police officer killed in arizona cnn 's miguel marquez contributed to this report . | about 100 lapd officers searched for a suspect in south central la |
sydney international <tsp> ( cnn ) -- andy murray fought off the tears to claim victory in the final of the brisbane international following the news that one of his best friends has been diagnosed with a form of cancer . british tennis player ross hutchins , 27 , is a former doubles partner of murray 's as well as a davis cup teammate . murray , who overcame bulgaria 's grigor dimitrov 7-6 6-4 , dedicated his victory to hutchins while holding back the tears , saying : i 'd like to dedicate this victory to one of my best friends . he 's back home watching -- you 're going to get through it . ' hutchins has been diagnosed with hodgkin 's lymphoma , a cancer of the white blood cell found in the lymphatic system , which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout the body . the most common symptom of hodgkin 's lymphoma is a painless swelling in a lymph node , normally in the neck , armpit or groin . hutchins wrote on twitter : happy new year to all ! unfortunately i will be away from tennis for a while as i was recently diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma . i am doing well , very positive with excellent medical support , friends and family around me . looking forward to being back on the court soon ! ' in a statement on the lawn tennis association website , hutchins explained further . over the christmas period i was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma . this came as a shock but i am ready to move forward with the necessary treatment . i have the best medical support at royal marsden and very close family and friends supporting me . i look forward to getting over this hurdle and getting back to the atp tour and full steam ahead with my tennis career . ' murray overcomes heat factor murray 's victory , in which he came from 4-1 down in the opening set , enabled him to claim the 25th atp title of his career . the british number one needed 87 minutes to see off dimitrov and said he was impress by the standard of tennis on show . i thought the standard of tennis was good today , ' murray said told reporters . there were a lot of high-quality rallies and i had to change a few things . he started the match off very well and was extremely aggressive . i needed to change things around a little bit and i managed to start dictating a lot of points and use my forehand well . so my ground strokes worked well today . ' serena off to a flyer in 2013 elsewhere , world number eight petra kvitova suffered a setback to her australian open preparations after going down 6-1 6-1 to dominkia cibulkova at the sydney international . kvitova , who was also knocked out early on at brisbane by russia 's anastasia pavlyuchenkova , admits she 's suffering from a lack of confidence . i played really badly and i wish i knew what i could say but i do n't know , ' kvitova told reporters . i 'm not feeling very well right now , in my confidence , but i 'm always looking forward to playing grand slams and i hope everything will be better there than here . ' denmark 's caroline wozniacki eased past urszula radwanska 6-1 6-2 , while there were also wins for russia duo maria kirilenko and ekaterina makarova . | petra kvitova crashes out of sydney international |
judy ogle <tsp> ( 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 . | parton 's longtime friend judy ogle was driving |
parton <tsp> ( 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 . | parton 's longtime friend judy ogle was driving |
parton <tsp> ( 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 . | police blame the driver of another vehicle with failing to yield to parton 's suv |
parton <tsp> ( 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 . | parton tweets : i was in a fender bender this morning ' |
lebaron <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a multiagency search is under way for the killers of two u.s. citizens in northern mexico , according to chihuahua state officials . a girl stands at the coffin of mormon church leader benjamin lebaron in chihuahua state . benjamin lebaron , 32 , and his brother-in-law , luis widmar , in his mid-30s , were beaten and shot to death after armed men stormed into their home in galeana on tuesday morning . the killers have yet to be identified , but the case seems to be connected to local drug lords , said arturo sandoval , a spokesman for the chihuahua state attorney general 's office . sandoval said a note was found on lebaron 's body , but he could not confirm the contents . local media reported that the note indicated the slayings were in retribution for the capture of 25 drug suspects in a nearby town . lebaron 's younger brother , eric , was kidnapped in may and returned unharmed after a week . the incident prompted lebaron to become a nationally recognized anti-crime activist who moved the local community to take a stand . there are no leaders here , or we are all leaders , ' lebaron 's brother , julian lebaron , told cnn television affiliate kint in el paso , texas . if they kill my brother another three will take his place , and if they kill us , another hundred will take their place . we are not giving up . no way . ' the lebaron brothers belonged to the community of lebaron ' in the municipality of galeana , a township founded by ex-communicated mormons . | lebaron was a nationally recognized anti-crime activist |
lebaron <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a multiagency search is under way for the killers of two u.s. citizens in northern mexico , according to chihuahua state officials . a girl stands at the coffin of mormon church leader benjamin lebaron in chihuahua state . benjamin lebaron , 32 , and his brother-in-law , luis widmar , in his mid-30s , were beaten and shot to death after armed men stormed into their home in galeana on tuesday morning . the killers have yet to be identified , but the case seems to be connected to local drug lords , said arturo sandoval , a spokesman for the chihuahua state attorney general 's office . sandoval said a note was found on lebaron 's body , but he could not confirm the contents . local media reported that the note indicated the slayings were in retribution for the capture of 25 drug suspects in a nearby town . lebaron 's younger brother , eric , was kidnapped in may and returned unharmed after a week . the incident prompted lebaron to become a nationally recognized anti-crime activist who moved the local community to take a stand . there are no leaders here , or we are all leaders , ' lebaron 's brother , julian lebaron , told cnn television affiliate kint in el paso , texas . if they kill my brother another three will take his place , and if they kill us , another hundred will take their place . we are not giving up . no way . ' the lebaron brothers belonged to the community of lebaron ' in the municipality of galeana , a township founded by ex-communicated mormons . | benjamin lebaron and his brother-in-law are shot dead in their home |
presley <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it 's arguably one of the largest pieces of elvis presley memorabilia ever : a 154.5-acre ranch in horn lake , mississippi , once owned by the king of rock 'n'roll . elvis presley bought the property in february 1967 , three months before marrying priscilla beaulieu . and it 's on the market , with an asking price of $ 6.5 million . it had a large cross there that elvis really liked , and a concrete bridge over a 14-acre lake , ' real estate agent rodger motz told cnn . the property , called the elvis ranch ' by locals , is just east of highway 301 in horn lake , about 17 miles south of memphis , tennessee . presley purchased it in february 1967 , three months before he married priscilla beaulieu , according to a graceland spokeswoman . the deed on record was signed by presley 's longtime manager , col. tom parker , said parker pickle , desoto county tax assessor . there is a small house known as the honeymoon cottage ' on the property . graceland confirmed the newly married presleys did spend time there following their honeymoon in palm springs , california . the property has been on the market since last month . its current owners are dennis mclemore and his brothers . mclemore said his parents bought the property in 1979 and turned it into a cattle ranch after previous owner-developers had failed to turn it into a resort . mclemore said he met priscilla presley on a winter day in 1985 . i got a call one day that priscilla was coming up for a visit , ' he said . i 'd been working on a cow 's ear and was covered in blood when she came up . she told me elvis would have been proud this was a working cattle ranch . ' tours occasionally have driven down from memphis with passengers who took pictures of the pastures , he said . at one time , there was a 12-foot wooden fence around the compound with a half-dozen trailers on the grounds , where members of presley 's entourage , the memphis mafia ' were housed . there 's still a trailer pad behind the honeymoon cottage , ' mclemore said . i remember as a child when elvis owned it , ' said anita rainey , planning director for the city of horn lake . i had a friend he gave a horse to . she lived across the street to the ranch and woke up one day and they had a pony . ' she said she remembers seeing presley riding a horse along the highway . he was a quiet owner , she said , and the ranch is prime real estate . i 've been getting a lot of calls from media , ' motz said , and the europeans are really interested . ' however , he said , he does n't have a serious buyer on the hook and has yet to receive an offer . | presley purchased it in february 1967 , 3 months before marrying priscilla beaulieu |
presley <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it 's arguably one of the largest pieces of elvis presley memorabilia ever : a 154.5-acre ranch in horn lake , mississippi , once owned by the king of rock 'n'roll . elvis presley bought the property in february 1967 , three months before marrying priscilla beaulieu . and it 's on the market , with an asking price of $ 6.5 million . it had a large cross there that elvis really liked , and a concrete bridge over a 14-acre lake , ' real estate agent rodger motz told cnn . the property , called the elvis ranch ' by locals , is just east of highway 301 in horn lake , about 17 miles south of memphis , tennessee . presley purchased it in february 1967 , three months before he married priscilla beaulieu , according to a graceland spokeswoman . the deed on record was signed by presley 's longtime manager , col. tom parker , said parker pickle , desoto county tax assessor . there is a small house known as the honeymoon cottage ' on the property . graceland confirmed the newly married presleys did spend time there following their honeymoon in palm springs , california . the property has been on the market since last month . its current owners are dennis mclemore and his brothers . mclemore said his parents bought the property in 1979 and turned it into a cattle ranch after previous owner-developers had failed to turn it into a resort . mclemore said he met priscilla presley on a winter day in 1985 . i got a call one day that priscilla was coming up for a visit , ' he said . i 'd been working on a cow 's ear and was covered in blood when she came up . she told me elvis would have been proud this was a working cattle ranch . ' tours occasionally have driven down from memphis with passengers who took pictures of the pastures , he said . at one time , there was a 12-foot wooden fence around the compound with a half-dozen trailers on the grounds , where members of presley 's entourage , the memphis mafia ' were housed . there 's still a trailer pad behind the honeymoon cottage , ' mclemore said . i remember as a child when elvis owned it , ' said anita rainey , planning director for the city of horn lake . i had a friend he gave a horse to . she lived across the street to the ranch and woke up one day and they had a pony . ' she said she remembers seeing presley riding a horse along the highway . he was a quiet owner , she said , and the ranch is prime real estate . i 've been getting a lot of calls from media , ' motz said , and the europeans are really interested . ' however , he said , he does n't have a serious buyer on the hook and has yet to receive an offer . | 154.5-acre ranch in horn lake , mississippi , once lived in by elvis presley |
ftc <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the federal government filed suit tuesday against wyndham hotels after sensitive customer data , including credit card numbers and personal information , allegedly were stolen three times in less than two years . in court documents , the federal trade commission alleges wyndham hotels'lax security policies allowed russian hackers to access more than 500,000 customer accounts on three separate occasions between 2008 and 2010 . hackers used the data to rack up more than $ 10.6 million in fraudulent credit card transactions , according to the suit filed in the u.s. district court of arizona . the security breaches involved wyndham 's phoenix , arizona , data center , the main hub where the company stores and transfers data between its corporate headquarters and affiliates . by gaining access to the arizona data center , hackers were able to install phishing ' software on numerous wyndham servers around the world and gain access to customer data , the ftc 's lawsuit alleges . at the time of these incidents , we made prompt efforts to notify the hotel customers whose information may have been compromised , and offered them credit monitoring services , ' michael valentino , wyndham 's worldwide director of communications , said in a statement to cnn . but wyndham failed to take proper security measures even after the company was aware of a security breach , according to the ftc 's complaint . the ftc said wyndham should have instituted complex user ids and passwords , and fixed software that stored the company 's customer credit card data in clear readable text . wyndham did n't make the fixes , the government alleges , and the hackers were able to gain access to servers on two more occasions . even after faulty security led to one breach ... wyndham still failed to remedy known security vulnerabilities ; failed to employ reasonable measures to detect unauthorized access ; failed to follow proper incident response procedures , ' the ftc said in a statement announcing the suit . there is no penalty for first-time violators of the ftc 's consumer privacy act , and this is the first time wyndham has been charged with violating the act . but according to kristen cohen , an attorney in the ftc 's privacy and identity protection division , the agency is seeking a permanent injunction that would force wyndham to implement what the agency considers reasonable and appropriate security measures for customer information . wyndham hotel group claims to be the world 's largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels worldwide . the company operates hotels and resorts under the wyndham brand , and includes ramada , super 8 , days inn and howard johnson and several other hotel companies among its affiliates . | the ftc alleges lax computer security policies by wyndham hotels |
ftc <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the federal government filed suit tuesday against wyndham hotels after sensitive customer data , including credit card numbers and personal information , allegedly were stolen three times in less than two years . in court documents , the federal trade commission alleges wyndham hotels'lax security policies allowed russian hackers to access more than 500,000 customer accounts on three separate occasions between 2008 and 2010 . hackers used the data to rack up more than $ 10.6 million in fraudulent credit card transactions , according to the suit filed in the u.s. district court of arizona . the security breaches involved wyndham 's phoenix , arizona , data center , the main hub where the company stores and transfers data between its corporate headquarters and affiliates . by gaining access to the arizona data center , hackers were able to install phishing ' software on numerous wyndham servers around the world and gain access to customer data , the ftc 's lawsuit alleges . at the time of these incidents , we made prompt efforts to notify the hotel customers whose information may have been compromised , and offered them credit monitoring services , ' michael valentino , wyndham 's worldwide director of communications , said in a statement to cnn . but wyndham failed to take proper security measures even after the company was aware of a security breach , according to the ftc 's complaint . the ftc said wyndham should have instituted complex user ids and passwords , and fixed software that stored the company 's customer credit card data in clear readable text . wyndham did n't make the fixes , the government alleges , and the hackers were able to gain access to servers on two more occasions . even after faulty security led to one breach ... wyndham still failed to remedy known security vulnerabilities ; failed to employ reasonable measures to detect unauthorized access ; failed to follow proper incident response procedures , ' the ftc said in a statement announcing the suit . there is no penalty for first-time violators of the ftc 's consumer privacy act , and this is the first time wyndham has been charged with violating the act . but according to kristen cohen , an attorney in the ftc 's privacy and identity protection division , the agency is seeking a permanent injunction that would force wyndham to implement what the agency considers reasonable and appropriate security measures for customer information . wyndham hotel group claims to be the world 's largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels worldwide . the company operates hotels and resorts under the wyndham brand , and includes ramada , super 8 , days inn and howard johnson and several other hotel companies among its affiliates . | the ftc suit wants wyndham to improve its security measures for customer information |
ftc <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the federal government filed suit tuesday against wyndham hotels after sensitive customer data , including credit card numbers and personal information , allegedly were stolen three times in less than two years . in court documents , the federal trade commission alleges wyndham hotels'lax security policies allowed russian hackers to access more than 500,000 customer accounts on three separate occasions between 2008 and 2010 . hackers used the data to rack up more than $ 10.6 million in fraudulent credit card transactions , according to the suit filed in the u.s. district court of arizona . the security breaches involved wyndham 's phoenix , arizona , data center , the main hub where the company stores and transfers data between its corporate headquarters and affiliates . by gaining access to the arizona data center , hackers were able to install phishing ' software on numerous wyndham servers around the world and gain access to customer data , the ftc 's lawsuit alleges . at the time of these incidents , we made prompt efforts to notify the hotel customers whose information may have been compromised , and offered them credit monitoring services , ' michael valentino , wyndham 's worldwide director of communications , said in a statement to cnn . but wyndham failed to take proper security measures even after the company was aware of a security breach , according to the ftc 's complaint . the ftc said wyndham should have instituted complex user ids and passwords , and fixed software that stored the company 's customer credit card data in clear readable text . wyndham did n't make the fixes , the government alleges , and the hackers were able to gain access to servers on two more occasions . even after faulty security led to one breach ... wyndham still failed to remedy known security vulnerabilities ; failed to employ reasonable measures to detect unauthorized access ; failed to follow proper incident response procedures , ' the ftc said in a statement announcing the suit . there is no penalty for first-time violators of the ftc 's consumer privacy act , and this is the first time wyndham has been charged with violating the act . but according to kristen cohen , an attorney in the ftc 's privacy and identity protection division , the agency is seeking a permanent injunction that would force wyndham to implement what the agency considers reasonable and appropriate security measures for customer information . wyndham hotel group claims to be the world 's largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels worldwide . the company operates hotels and resorts under the wyndham brand , and includes ramada , super 8 , days inn and howard johnson and several other hotel companies among its affiliates . | russian hackers accessed more than 500,000 customer accounts , the ftc says |
nobel prize for literature <tsp> ( cnn ) -- poet , dramatist and novelist , wole soyinka 's work has left a large imprint on the literary landscape of africa . poltical activist and nobel laureat , wole soyinka . his work has been performed internationally and in 1986 was awarded the nobel prize for literature . regardless of the global profile and recognition , writing for soyinka has always been , and always will be , a part of his life . i began writing early , very , very early . ... i was already writing short stories for the radio , and selling poems to poetry and art festivals , i was involved in school plays , i wrote essays , so there was no definite moment when i said , now i 'm a writer . i 've always been a writer , ' he told cnn . before being honored with a nobel prize , soyinka had written plays performed across the world , set up drama groups and held academic positions in the uk , the u.s. and nigeria . poetry and novels make up the rest of his work , but it is with the medium of drama that he feels most comfortable . when i write plays , i 'm already seeing the shapes on stage , of the actors and their interaction , and so on and so forth . i do n't think i 've ever written one play as an abstract piece , as a literary piece , floating in the air somewhere , to be flushed out later on , ' he said . now 75 , soyinka claims it is a natural curiosity with life and humanity that has always compelled him to write , and should be a pre-requisite for all aspiring writers . before you 're a writer , you 're a citizen , a human being , and therefore the weapons of the citizen are at your disposal to use , or not use , ' he said . often he 's used those weapons ' to take aim at oppression , corruption , the legacy of colonialism and slavery , both in his work and more overtly in his political activism . at times he 's suffered for his outspoken views ; in 1967 he was imprisoned for 22 months for publicly calling for a truce during nigeria 's civil war and in 1994 was forced to leave the country when general sani abacha came to power . one of my earliest short stories in fact had to do with the story of a family which escaped enslavement by portuguese slave leaders , so you can see how early i was preoccupied by that theme of power and freedom , and domination , ' he said . if there 's one overriding political theme it 's my continuing emphasis on the axis of freedom and power . i think that the history of the world , of all societies , has spun on those two axes . ' soyinka spends his time between nigeria , europe and the u.s. , much of it on the lecture circuit , but the need to write remains . i 've always written plays for the purpose of getting something out of my system . that 's the first stage . and the next stage is , i want to get it onto the platform -- onto the stage . and once i 've done that , no matter where , i 'm satisfied . ' watch the show on cnn on saturday , august 1 , 12.30 , 21.30 gmt and sunday , august 2 , 18.00 gmt . | poet , playwright and novelist won nobel prize for literature in 1986 |
spanish <tsp> ( cnn ) -- motogp will not visit argentina until 2014 after next year 's race was scrapped following a row between spanish oil firm repsol and the spanish and argentine governments . the race , which had been supposed to be held in the second round of the season , had been in doubt following a travel warning by the spanish government . the directive warned against drivers or teams sponsored by repsol making the trip and although this was withdrawn on november 20 , the timing meant that the race had to be canceled . lorenzo wraps up motogp title dorna sports , commercial rights holder of the motogp™ world championship , said in a statement : the gran premio de la república argentina , which was set to take place at the termas de rio hondo circuit early next year , has not been included in the 2013 calendar . on june 20th 2012 , the spanish government recommended that teams and riders sponsored by repsol should not travel to the república argentina due to safety reasons . therefore , the celebration of the 2013 gran premio de la república argentina remained under suspension until such recommendation would be kept in force . the deadline for dorna sports , commercial rights holder of the motogp™ world championship , to officially propose the 2013 motogp™ calendar to fim was november 18th . on november 20th , the spanish government notified through email sent to dorna sports the withdrawal of the above-referred recommendation , when the time for the calendar presentation had already expired and therefore , there was no possibility to include a new motogp™ event . anyhow , dorna sports commits itself to include gran premio de la república argentina on the 2014 calendar and onwards , to be approved by fim subject to the homologation of the track , which presumably shall take place within the first quarter of 2013 . dorna sports recognizes the gran premio de la república argentina promoter´s efforts regarding the satisfactorily termination of the construction works and the organization and promotion preliminary activities . ' | travel warning by spanish government withdrawn too late |
spanish <tsp> ( cnn ) -- motogp will not visit argentina until 2014 after next year 's race was scrapped following a row between spanish oil firm repsol and the spanish and argentine governments . the race , which had been supposed to be held in the second round of the season , had been in doubt following a travel warning by the spanish government . the directive warned against drivers or teams sponsored by repsol making the trip and although this was withdrawn on november 20 , the timing meant that the race had to be canceled . lorenzo wraps up motogp title dorna sports , commercial rights holder of the motogp™ world championship , said in a statement : the gran premio de la república argentina , which was set to take place at the termas de rio hondo circuit early next year , has not been included in the 2013 calendar . on june 20th 2012 , the spanish government recommended that teams and riders sponsored by repsol should not travel to the república argentina due to safety reasons . therefore , the celebration of the 2013 gran premio de la república argentina remained under suspension until such recommendation would be kept in force . the deadline for dorna sports , commercial rights holder of the motogp™ world championship , to officially propose the 2013 motogp™ calendar to fim was november 18th . on november 20th , the spanish government notified through email sent to dorna sports the withdrawal of the above-referred recommendation , when the time for the calendar presentation had already expired and therefore , there was no possibility to include a new motogp™ event . anyhow , dorna sports commits itself to include gran premio de la república argentina on the 2014 calendar and onwards , to be approved by fim subject to the homologation of the track , which presumably shall take place within the first quarter of 2013 . dorna sports recognizes the gran premio de la república argentina promoter´s efforts regarding the satisfactorily termination of the construction works and the organization and promotion preliminary activities . ' | row between oil firm repsol , spanish and argentine governments put pay to race |
obeidallah <tsp> ( cnn ) -- this last week has been chock full of gaffes by our presidential candidates -- a veritable gaffe-a-thon , a gaffe-a-palooza . president obama and the republican presidential candidates almost seem to be trying to one-up each other 's blunders . this march madness ' started off slowly enough last monday with a small one by rick santorum : i do n't care what the unemployment rate is going to be . it does n't matter to me . ' but then , just days later , the gaffes started flying fast and furious . on wednesday , mitt romney 's communication director eric fehrnstrom told cnn that he was n't concerned if romney was moving to the right on certain key issues during the republican primaries because , as he put it : you hit a reset button for the fall campaign . ... it 's almost like an etch a sketch . ' only a few hours later , rick santorum , armed with an etch a sketch , commented that if voters are offered a choice between president obama and mitt romney in this november 's election : we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the etch a sketch candidate for the future . ' and then president obama joined in . on sunday , unaware that his microphone was on while he was speaking to russian president dmitry medvedev about missile defense treaty negotiations , commented : this is my last election . after my election i have more flexibility . ' if you were a staff member of any of these campaigns , you must have consumed an industrial size bottle of pepcid ac over the last few days . but for the rest of us in america , these moments are great -- it 's just what we need to accurately assess our candidates . let 's be honest , these comments were not gaffes ' as the media dubs them , but rather , rare opportunities for us to have an unfiltered look at the candidates'character and views on issues . a gaffe is defined as a mistake : a misstatement of fact , a mispronunciation of a word , a social faux pas . by way of example , president obama made a classic gaffe by stating a few years ago that he had campaigned in all 57 states , ' when obviously he meant to say 50 states . another gaffe occurred when president obama was in austria and commented : i do n't know what the term is in austrian ' for wheeling and dealing . ' the gaffe being that there is no austrian language . and , of course , george w. bush was the gaffe-anator . his gaffes are legendary . my favorites were his coining of new words like misunderstimate ' or saying , while at an event with the queen of england , that she first visited the u.s. in 1776 . but back to 2012 . the so-called gaffes in this campaign are not misstatements of facts or mispronunciations . when the words at issue were uttered , they accurately communicated the candidates'views . the reason the statements were later labeled mistakes , and not at all what the candidate meant , was because of the ensuing firestorm of criticism in the media . but what do you think is a more accurate gauge of who a candidate truly is as a person : his or her prepared stump speeches delivered over months or a candid , unrehearsed comment on an issue ? the answers at the debates , which are regurgitated to us like a bird feeding its baby , or a spontaneous moment when the candidate speaks his mind ? there is not doubt that president obama meant what he said to the russian president . just as mitt romney did with his past gaffes like corporations are people ' and i like being able to fire people who provide services to me . ' and does anyone question that rick santorum was n't being sincere when he remarked that after reading john f. kennedy 's 1960 famous speech about the need to have a clear line between church and state , it almost made santorum want to throw up ' ? of course he meant this -- after all , this is the same santorum who has repeatedly stated on the campaign trail that our civil laws and the bible must be in agreement . these rare , honest moments during the campaign should not be so quickly dismissed by the media or us as simply gaffes . these comments arguably paint a more accurate portrait of the candidate than any prepared speech they can offer us . indeed , we should applaud and savor these gaffes , because it 's these very remarks that may ultimately help us decide if the candidate in question is truly the best suited to be elected or re-elected as president of the united states . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dean obeidallah . | obeidallah : we should applaud gaffes as a chance to see who 's suited for the job |
obeidallah <tsp> ( cnn ) -- this last week has been chock full of gaffes by our presidential candidates -- a veritable gaffe-a-thon , a gaffe-a-palooza . president obama and the republican presidential candidates almost seem to be trying to one-up each other 's blunders . this march madness ' started off slowly enough last monday with a small one by rick santorum : i do n't care what the unemployment rate is going to be . it does n't matter to me . ' but then , just days later , the gaffes started flying fast and furious . on wednesday , mitt romney 's communication director eric fehrnstrom told cnn that he was n't concerned if romney was moving to the right on certain key issues during the republican primaries because , as he put it : you hit a reset button for the fall campaign . ... it 's almost like an etch a sketch . ' only a few hours later , rick santorum , armed with an etch a sketch , commented that if voters are offered a choice between president obama and mitt romney in this november 's election : we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the etch a sketch candidate for the future . ' and then president obama joined in . on sunday , unaware that his microphone was on while he was speaking to russian president dmitry medvedev about missile defense treaty negotiations , commented : this is my last election . after my election i have more flexibility . ' if you were a staff member of any of these campaigns , you must have consumed an industrial size bottle of pepcid ac over the last few days . but for the rest of us in america , these moments are great -- it 's just what we need to accurately assess our candidates . let 's be honest , these comments were not gaffes ' as the media dubs them , but rather , rare opportunities for us to have an unfiltered look at the candidates'character and views on issues . a gaffe is defined as a mistake : a misstatement of fact , a mispronunciation of a word , a social faux pas . by way of example , president obama made a classic gaffe by stating a few years ago that he had campaigned in all 57 states , ' when obviously he meant to say 50 states . another gaffe occurred when president obama was in austria and commented : i do n't know what the term is in austrian ' for wheeling and dealing . ' the gaffe being that there is no austrian language . and , of course , george w. bush was the gaffe-anator . his gaffes are legendary . my favorites were his coining of new words like misunderstimate ' or saying , while at an event with the queen of england , that she first visited the u.s. in 1776 . but back to 2012 . the so-called gaffes in this campaign are not misstatements of facts or mispronunciations . when the words at issue were uttered , they accurately communicated the candidates'views . the reason the statements were later labeled mistakes , and not at all what the candidate meant , was because of the ensuing firestorm of criticism in the media . but what do you think is a more accurate gauge of who a candidate truly is as a person : his or her prepared stump speeches delivered over months or a candid , unrehearsed comment on an issue ? the answers at the debates , which are regurgitated to us like a bird feeding its baby , or a spontaneous moment when the candidate speaks his mind ? there is not doubt that president obama meant what he said to the russian president . just as mitt romney did with his past gaffes like corporations are people ' and i like being able to fire people who provide services to me . ' and does anyone question that rick santorum was n't being sincere when he remarked that after reading john f. kennedy 's 1960 famous speech about the need to have a clear line between church and state , it almost made santorum want to throw up ' ? of course he meant this -- after all , this is the same santorum who has repeatedly stated on the campaign trail that our civil laws and the bible must be in agreement . these rare , honest moments during the campaign should not be so quickly dismissed by the media or us as simply gaffes . these comments arguably paint a more accurate portrait of the candidate than any prepared speech they can offer us . indeed , we should applaud and savor these gaffes , because it 's these very remarks that may ultimately help us decide if the candidate in question is truly the best suited to be elected or re-elected as president of the united states . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dean obeidallah . | dean obeidallah : candidates , campaigns have been making lots of gaffes lately |
brazilian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with a daring move in the last few laps , tony kanaan of brazil passed american ryan hunter-reay and won the 97th indianapolis 500 under a yellow caution flag . it was the second of two caution flags precipitated by crashes in the final eight laps of the 200-lap , 500-mile race at indianapolis motor speedway . i got a little bit of luck today , ' kanaan said in a post-race interview . the race featured a record 14 leaders and 68 lead changes , with kanaan making the last one between the two caution flags . no driver is allowed to pass another car while the caution flag is posted , so at that point , to win , all kanaan needed to do was finish without crashing . despite the yellow flags , the average speed was 187.433 mph , setting another indy 500 record . kanaan was a sentimental favorite after several near-misses in his 11 previous indy 500s . throngs gathered around him as he drank the winner 's traditional bottle of milk and later kissed the speedway 's bricks . rookie carlos munoz of colombia finished second , hunter-reay finished third and marco andretti placed fourth . each of the top four finishers was driving a chevrolet . ed carpenter -- the stepson of tony george , the founder of the indycar racing series -- sat in the advantageous pole position at the front of the field at the start of the race . he finished 10th . | brazilian tony kanaan wins indy 500 in final laps |
tony kanaan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with a daring move in the last few laps , tony kanaan of brazil passed american ryan hunter-reay and won the 97th indianapolis 500 under a yellow caution flag . it was the second of two caution flags precipitated by crashes in the final eight laps of the 200-lap , 500-mile race at indianapolis motor speedway . i got a little bit of luck today , ' kanaan said in a post-race interview . the race featured a record 14 leaders and 68 lead changes , with kanaan making the last one between the two caution flags . no driver is allowed to pass another car while the caution flag is posted , so at that point , to win , all kanaan needed to do was finish without crashing . despite the yellow flags , the average speed was 187.433 mph , setting another indy 500 record . kanaan was a sentimental favorite after several near-misses in his 11 previous indy 500s . throngs gathered around him as he drank the winner 's traditional bottle of milk and later kissed the speedway 's bricks . rookie carlos munoz of colombia finished second , hunter-reay finished third and marco andretti placed fourth . each of the top four finishers was driving a chevrolet . ed carpenter -- the stepson of tony george , the founder of the indycar racing series -- sat in the advantageous pole position at the front of the field at the start of the race . he finished 10th . | brazilian tony kanaan wins indy 500 in final laps |
mckay hatch <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in middle school , a lot of kids think it 's cool to cuss and toss around four-letter words like a soccer ball at recess . mckay hatch , 16 , launched an initiative to curb the use of profanity . but when mckay hatch was in eighth grade , he called foul on the cussing he heard . hatch started the no cussing club . it began at his school and then , through his web site , attracted members of all ages from all 50 states and 30 countries . his efforts even got the attention of the los angeles county board of supervisors , which declared the first week of march no cussing week . ' cnn 's nicole lapin spoke to the 16-year-old about the recent success of his movement and the trials he overcame to start it . the following is an edited transcript of the interview . mckay hatch : actually , when i first went to my parents about the idea , my dad was kind of like ,'no , no , do n't do this .'he knew i 'd get bullied and teased , which i did , and more . i got a lot of death threats from people , but i realized that through this whole thing that these people were bullies and i was n't going to let them win . watch the entire interview with mckay hatch » nicole lapin : well , you received not only death threats we should say , mckay . your site was hacked into , prostitutes were sent to your house . were you ever scared by any of those threats ? hatch : at first i was actually pretty scared because they said ,'i know where you live .'our address was posted online on a really big web site and at first i was scared . but like i said , these are bullies and they wanted me to be scared and i was n't going to let them win . lapin : even with the bullies , even with the threats , is this now in 30 different countries with thousands of members ? is it worth it ? hatch : it 's definitely worth it . now we have members in all 50 states and 30 countries . people are signing up with our web site nocussing.com and they 're taking the pledge to use language to uplift and make people feel good about themselves . that 's what this whole club is . lapin : it 's not really about just cussing . it 's also about civility . hatch : yeah , it 's about talking to people with civility like you said , and making people feel good about themselves and talking to people with respect . that all starts with your words and how you choose to use them . | mckay hatch , 16 , started a no cussing club to encourage civility |
arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- striker carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with arsenal , the english premier league club have announced on their official web site . the mexican international signed for arsenal after coming through the youth ranks at guadalajara and has subsequently had loan spells at spanish sides celta vigo , salamanca and osasuna . the 20-year-old made his arsenal debut last season , bursting onto the scene with a carling cup hat-trick against sheffield united in september 2008 . manager arsene wenger told the web site : we 're delighted that carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with the club . carlos is a fantastic talent and we have already seen glimpses of this during his performances . ' the frenchman continued : let 's remember , he is still only 20-years-old , so there is still a huge amount to come from this boy . we have invested a lot of time in carlos , as we put him in spain for two years to get some good experience . now he 's back with us , we 're working hard with him every day and he is a very exciting player . we 're looking forward to seeing carlos score many goals in an arsenal shirt for a long time to come . ' vela said : i 'm very happy to sign a new contract and i 'm very excited to be spending more years with arsenal football club . i just want to work hard and help this great club win trophies . i want to stay here for a long time and it 's a great responsibility . i will keep working hard to show the boss and all the fans why i 'm here . ' vela played against olympiacos in the champions league on wednesday but he was one of the biggest culprits as arsenal squandered a number of chances . he is the 11th first-team player to commit his long-term future to arsenal since the end of last season . vela , eduardo , sanchez watt , alex song , nicklas bendtner , denilson , robin van persie , theo walcott , lukasz fabianski , aaron ramsey and jack wilshere have all recently signed new long-term extensions with the club . | the 20-year-old made his arsenal debut last season , bursting onto the scene with a carling cup hat-trick |
arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- striker carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with arsenal , the english premier league club have announced on their official web site . the mexican international signed for arsenal after coming through the youth ranks at guadalajara and has subsequently had loan spells at spanish sides celta vigo , salamanca and osasuna . the 20-year-old made his arsenal debut last season , bursting onto the scene with a carling cup hat-trick against sheffield united in september 2008 . manager arsene wenger told the web site : we 're delighted that carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with the club . carlos is a fantastic talent and we have already seen glimpses of this during his performances . ' the frenchman continued : let 's remember , he is still only 20-years-old , so there is still a huge amount to come from this boy . we have invested a lot of time in carlos , as we put him in spain for two years to get some good experience . now he 's back with us , we 're working hard with him every day and he is a very exciting player . we 're looking forward to seeing carlos score many goals in an arsenal shirt for a long time to come . ' vela said : i 'm very happy to sign a new contract and i 'm very excited to be spending more years with arsenal football club . i just want to work hard and help this great club win trophies . i want to stay here for a long time and it 's a great responsibility . i will keep working hard to show the boss and all the fans why i 'm here . ' vela played against olympiacos in the champions league on wednesday but he was one of the biggest culprits as arsenal squandered a number of chances . he is the 11th first-team player to commit his long-term future to arsenal since the end of last season . vela , eduardo , sanchez watt , alex song , nicklas bendtner , denilson , robin van persie , theo walcott , lukasz fabianski , aaron ramsey and jack wilshere have all recently signed new long-term extensions with the club . | mexican striker carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with arsenal |
arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- striker carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with arsenal , the english premier league club have announced on their official web site . the mexican international signed for arsenal after coming through the youth ranks at guadalajara and has subsequently had loan spells at spanish sides celta vigo , salamanca and osasuna . the 20-year-old made his arsenal debut last season , bursting onto the scene with a carling cup hat-trick against sheffield united in september 2008 . manager arsene wenger told the web site : we 're delighted that carlos vela has signed a new long-term contract with the club . carlos is a fantastic talent and we have already seen glimpses of this during his performances . ' the frenchman continued : let 's remember , he is still only 20-years-old , so there is still a huge amount to come from this boy . we have invested a lot of time in carlos , as we put him in spain for two years to get some good experience . now he 's back with us , we 're working hard with him every day and he is a very exciting player . we 're looking forward to seeing carlos score many goals in an arsenal shirt for a long time to come . ' vela said : i 'm very happy to sign a new contract and i 'm very excited to be spending more years with arsenal football club . i just want to work hard and help this great club win trophies . i want to stay here for a long time and it 's a great responsibility . i will keep working hard to show the boss and all the fans why i 'm here . ' vela played against olympiacos in the champions league on wednesday but he was one of the biggest culprits as arsenal squandered a number of chances . he is the 11th first-team player to commit his long-term future to arsenal since the end of last season . vela , eduardo , sanchez watt , alex song , nicklas bendtner , denilson , robin van persie , theo walcott , lukasz fabianski , aaron ramsey and jack wilshere have all recently signed new long-term extensions with the club . | he is the 11th first-team player to commit his long-term future to arsenal since the end of last season . |
beijing <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- more japanese factories and businesses in china shuttered tuesday as an east china sea island dispute threatens to drag relations between asia 's two largest economies to their lowest point since world war ii . meanwhile , baidu -- china 's most popular search engine -- waded into the dispute by showing a cartoon image of the chinese flag over the disputed island on its homepage . clicking on the image revealed a page headlined diaoyu island is china 's ! ' the page had an interactive feature asking web users to place a virtual flag on a map of the islands . by 2:30 p.m. china time , nearly 2.7 million people had planted virtual flags , according to the site . baidu is a public chinese company traded on nasdaq , and also operates a japanese language search engine . however , the image was not posted to its japanese website . the real intent of this is to exhort people toward a more rational form of patriotism and show fact , and not fan flames of patriotic ardor , ' said kaiser kuo , director of international communication for baidu . we want people to be more rational in their patriotic outpouring ... planting a digital flag is a whole lot better than throwing rocks and smashing cars . ' in a note tuesday , ratings agency fitch warned that the credit ratings of japanese auto and technology manufacturers could come under pressure if the clash between china and japan over the senkaku/diaoyu islands escalates and is prolonged . opinion : politics by mob in china ' a number of japanese companies , including panasonic , have temporarily suspended production at some of their chinese facilities as anti-japanese demonstrations demanding a boycott of their products flared across 85 cities in china at the weekend . ' nissan , mazda , honda and toyota suspended operations at some of their chinese automotive plants , as have electronics makers canon and panasonic . nearly 200 7-11 stores in beijing and chengdu , owned by japanese company seven & i holdings , as well as 13 ito yokado supermarkets will be closed through wednesday to maintain the safety of employees , ' company spokesperson katsuhiko shimizu said . fears are high that demonstrations tuesday -- the anniversary of japan 's 1931 invasion of china -- may repeat scenes of violence which saw a panasonic factory lit on fire , japanese restaurants and department stores ransacked and japanese cars smashed and overturned . meanwhile , a japanese coast guard official told cnn tuesday that a chinese fisheries patrol boat has entered the disputed waters and a japanese vessel will attempt to warn the ship away . tensions in the dispute , a perennial source of nationalistic anger on both sides of the east china sea , rose on september 10 after japanese government agreed to buy the uninhabited islands from its private japanese owners . china claims historical ownership of the island chain , while tokyo maintains it has been in japanese hands since 1895 . the islands †” known as the senkakus in japan and diaoyu in china -- were administered by the u.s. occupation force after world war ii . but in 1972 , washington returned them to japan as part of its withdrawal from okinawa . the islands sit among popular fishing waters and are also believed to be rich in oil resources . ownership of the chain would allow exclusive commercial rights in the seas surrounding the islands . china 's fishing moratorium in the east china sea ended on sunday , raising concern that as more chinese trawlers enter the area , so raises the likelihood of conflict . china 's ministry of agriculture issued a statement saying the surrounding waters of diaoyu island and its affiliated islets are traditional fishing grounds for generations of chinese fishermen , ' beijing 's cntv reported monday . last friday , china 's state-run agency reported that six chinese maritime surveillance ships entered the island chain and began patrols and law enforcement , ' china 's state-run news agency xinhua reported . sales of japanese car brands in china were down 2 % compared to a year ago , china association of automobile manufacturers said last week . meanwhile , sales of foreign brands from germany , the u.s. , south korea and france were up 25 % , 19 % , 12 % and 4 % respectively . anti-japanese protests in china on symbolic anniversary cnn 's junko ogura in tokyo contributed to this story | nearly 200 7-11 stores , owned by a japanese company , were closed in beijing and chengdu |
shane stanford <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i am shane stanford . to my family , i am a husband of 20 years and the boastful father of three . to my congregation of nearly 5,000 , i am a pastor . to my readers , i am the author of nine christian books . to my friends , i am one of the guys . and , to so many over the years who have known my story , i am a man in a race -- a race against illness , against fear , against discrimination . a race against my own body . a race against time . a hemophiliac since birth , i discovered my hiv status at 16 . it was life-changing news , the result of a contaminated blood supply . and , so , the race began . it has included many twists and turns : from the joy of marrying my high school sweetheart to the sorrow of being rejected by the first church to which i was appointed as pastor . certainly , the race has never been easy . it is often long and difficult . however , the race now impacts me in so many ways . and , oddly enough , i would not trade it with anyone . instead , the journey affords me a glimpse into the best of what each of us can become . the race has made me a student , and no day goes by that it does n't teach me a lesson . about time : a privilege afforded to us to make a difference in this world . about relationships : the most important things we do are not done alone . about simplicity : more , bigger , nicer , pale in comparison to gifts like sunsets and the laughter of children at play . about real meaning ... and about myself : life is more a mosaic than a measurable frame of joys and sorrows , laughter and tears . real meaning is discovered through the composition of life 's diversity . no color can adequately define a mosaic , any more than one hardship , failure or achievement can define a person 's life . the diversity of these images brought together unveil who i really am . no matter how i try to describe myself , i am more than the sum of what i can say . so , i run ... for those i love and , even , for those i have never met . i run to make life matter , seeking more than the right way to go , but actually going there and watching the race mean something . | shane stanford is husband and father , author , and a pastor |
pentagon <tsp> ( cnn ) -- this past week , at town hall ' meetings in florida , north carolina , virginia and new hampshire , a group of republican senators sounded alarms about disasters that will befall local economies should the threat of more than $ 500 billion in defense cuts over the next decade become a reality in january . to his credit , the group 's leader , sen. john mccain of arizona , admitted that congress should take some of the blame for creating this situation . but that was a rare recognition of reality at town halls that were more like a republican version of the mythical potemkin villages : fake towns hastily put together by russian minister grigory potemkin to impress the visiting empress . the real purpose of the gop 's potemkin town halls ? to redefine congress'unfinished task of deficit reduction as an obama administration leadership failure that has put both national security and swing-state jobs at risk by playing games with defense spending . the road to these town halls began in washington a year ago with a congressional vote that was needed to raise the debt ceiling and avoid u.s. default on a debt that has skyrocketed since 2000 . house republicans , shackled by a tea party ball-and-chain , turned the vote into a heated debate on spending cuts . the ensuing legislative battle led not to meaningful deficit reduction but to the budget control act of 2011 . it 's an 11th-hour hail mary ' legislation that raised the debt ceiling -- and kicked the deficit can down the road by one year . the budget control act mandated $ 917 billion in federal spending cuts over a 10-year period , including some $ 487 billion in defense cuts . but that was n't all . the centerpiece was a different kind of act : a high-wire act called sequestration . ' sequestration is a trigger . it 's scheduled to be pulled in early january -- unleashing $ 1.2 trillion in additional cuts , half in defense , half in other domestic spending , unless congress agrees on an alternate plan . almost no democrat or republican wants to make these sequestration cuts because they will have significant and negative consequences for national security and for domestic spending , affecting millions of americans . in fact , almost no one who voted for this legislation ever thought these cuts would actually be made . the budget control act of 2011 was intended to provide breathing space and to buy time . sequestration was added to force a congressional supercommittee ' to come up with a deficit deal late last year , or else . ' but the supercommittee was as divided as the congress that created it ; congress could n't come up with a solution , and it was no real surprise that the supercommittee could n't either . mccain and his swing-state town hall team were right in framing the consequences : if the trigger is pulled , sequestration will have immediate and negative impact on millions of americans . this includes not just u.s. troops , defense industry civilians and local bases . it also includes schools and head start participants , struggling families for whom child care support is critical , unemployed workers who need job training programs -- all would lose out in the nondefense portion of sequestration . but the senators were disingenuous in exhorting their audiences to demand presidential leadership ' to avoid falling off the fiscal cliff in january -- and wrong to imply that the president has been awol on the issue , leaving national security and jobs at risk . president barack obama has made clear he does n't want to see these cuts happen next year . defense secretary leon panetta has repeatedly declared that sequestration defense cuts -- coming on top of the 10-year , $ 487 billion in defense cuts that start next year -- would have disastrous consequences for our national security . obama has been at the table since last summer trying to prevent this by reaching a bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction . he laid out a detailed plan to reduce the deficit by more than $ 4 trillion over the next decade -- a plan that would bring annual domestic spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy since president dwight d. eisenhower and would require less in defense cuts than recommended by the bipartisan simpson-bowles commission . but the president calls for a balanced approach that includes spending cuts and investment revenue . his proposed spending cuts outweigh the proposed additional revenue by more than double . but it 's the investment revenue which has been the deal-breaker for most republicans . in fact , that 's the major reason that sequestration includes the $ 500 billion in defense spending cuts : faced with their own hobson 's choice of putting at risk either the defense budget or continued tax breaks for the wealthy , congressional republicans grimaced -- and threw defense into the cauldron to protect the tax breaks . it seems clear that the political brinksmanship will continue until republicans and democrats in congress figure out how to do what military and civilian leaders at the pentagon had to do this past year in addressing the initial $ 487 billion in defense cuts : namely , tie spending to the national interest and do so recognizing we 're all in this together . ' obama ordered the pentagon to devise a plan ensuring that national security priorities would guide and frame spending decisions , rather than the other way around ; and ensuring that the u.s. military would remain the strongest and best in the world to protect and defend u.s. national interests . the generals , admirals and civilian leaders did just that . all had a stake in the outcome and recognized the world had changed . all were involved throughout in shaping the plan . all recognized that pet projects and sacred cows had to meet the tests of commonly defined national security priorities or be reduced or jettisoned . all understood that to succeed in keeping the country safe and secure , they needed not just to cut in some areas but to invest in others , and that having the best and strongest military in the world was not really synonymous with continuing to spend unlimited billions . all made difficult individual decisions in the belief that they were all in this together , and they have spoken publicly and privately in support of the strategic framework they developed to guide defense spending decisions over the next decade . maybe instead of holding political potemkin town halls in swing states about the dangers that sequestration poses for the pentagon , we should ask congressional leaders to take lessons from the pentagon on how to work together to prevent it from happening . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of doug wilson . | doug wilson : gop distorting reality behind pentagon cuts that could be triggered in january |
google <tsp> ( cnn ) -- google is tightening its grip on the booming tablet market , with a new tablet , updated version of android and a social take on games . the company announced a new version of its popular nexus 7 tablet during a press event wednesday in san francisco . sundar pichai , google 's senior vice president of android and chrome , unveiled a slimmed-down , speedier version of the tablet , which will start at $ 229 when it goes on sale next week . the new nexus 7 , made by asus , has undergone some subtle physical changes . the size of the device has been trimmed down while keeping the screen the same dimensions . the higher resolution screen is now 1,920 by 1,200 pixels , packing in 323 pixels per inch . the amount of ram has been doubled , and the cpu is twice as fast as the previous nexus 7 . the company also said that it has improved its speaker performance and that it can last for nine hours of high-definition video playing . netflix will be one of the first apps to take advantage of the new video-friendly specs . the streaming-video company 's new android app will stream movies at 1080p on the nexus 7 . the device will run android jelly bean 4.3 , a new version of google 's android operating system . google unveils $ 35 device that streams video to your tv tablets are on track to take over pcs , and google has a bigger stake in the boom than its own flagship devices . half of all tablets sold worldwide are based on android , according to the company . by the end of 2013 , consumers are going to buy more tablets every year than personal computers , ' pichai said . the new version of android 4.3 will have parental controls so you can prevent the little ones from seeing saucy content or inappropriate apps . there are also user profiles for tablets that end up in the hands of multiple users . the company expects to have more than 70 million tablet activations this year . many of those users are downloading content such as apps , music and movies from the google play store . the play store has more than 1 million apps and has seen more than 50 billion downloads , according to the company . a new app , called google play games , is similar to apple 's game center . in it , android users can see what games their friends are playing and go up against other users , checking out their accomplishments on leader boards . older nexus devices will also be able to test out the android upgrade -- existing nexus 4 , nexus 7 , nexus 10 and galaxy samsung devices will receive over-the-air updates for the operating system . the wi-fi versions of the nexus 7 will be available starting july 30 , and an unlocked lte version of the tablet will go on sale in the coming weeks . | google unveils new tablet , version of android |
walker <tsp> ( cnn ) -- republican gov . scott walker 's convincing win tuesday in wisconsin was not just a victory for the governor himself , but a major triumph for conservatives in the fight to curb public employee unions . for the country 's sake , however , it will be far better if this struggle remains a fight rather than all-out war . in the run-up to election day , the wisconsin recall vote was widely touted on the right as the second most important election of 2012 . it was ignited when walker pushed through a budget repair bill to curb the public employee unions . one key provision prohibited the unions from engaging in collective bargaining about anything other than pay ( firefighters and police were exempted ) . another provision said that a civil servant can no longer be forced to join a union and pay dues ; there must be freedom of choice . that set off a firestorm of protests , turning the state capital upside down . hundreds of vociferous protesters occupied the wisconsin statehouse , democratic legislators bolted to illinois to try to deny a quorum , and tens of thousands took to the streets . for a while , it looked as if walker had gone too far . wisconsinites needed just 540,000 valid signatures to trigger a recall against him ; they gathered more than 900,000 . public polls in may 2011 showed walker with a dismal 42 % approval rating vs. 55 % disapproval . the mainstream media portrayed the recall as a huge showdown over collective bargaining rights and were often sympathetic to the protesters . walker seemed headed toward defeat this june . but in the many months that followed , the mood clearly changed . one of us ( david gergen ) spent two days recently in visits to madison , green bay and milwaukee . sentiment was often strong for walker , especially among small-business owners . people agreed that new laws have helped to reduce government costs at a state and local level and that the economic outlook is somewhat better . some told stories of teachers who were happier now that they did n't have to pay union dues and had more freedom . the wall street journal has reported that membership in the state 's second largest public union , the american federation of state , country and municipal employees , fell from 62,818 in march 2011 to 28,745 this february ; the union disputes the figure , but no one disagrees that the unions have been losing members . as election day approached and polls started to show walker with a solid lead , some democrats increasingly tried to argue that the vote was n't really a referendum on on walker 's reforms but rather about a host of more local issues . do n't be fooled : this recall was and is centrally about the public sector union fight , and it is important . walker survived handily in the state that gave us one of the nation 's legendary progressives , fighting bob ' la follette , as well as the first public-sector , collective-bargaining agreement , and it is hard to deny that the nation is speaking . and with walker surviving comfortably , a state that favored barack obama by 14 points in 2008 and seemed headed for the president 's column again should turn deep purple . opinion : in wisconsin , deep anger is n't going away the winds of change are blowing . public employee unions have traditionally been well-regarded since they started up a half-century ago . a new york times poll in february 2011 showed that a considerable majority still looks upon them with favor . but in recent years -- from rubber rooms ' for teachers who ca n't be fired in new york city to the prison workers unions in california that helped to drive prison spending to nearly the same level as all higher education in the state -- resentments have been stirring against the power and alleged abuses of public sector unions . too often in the past , critics argue , governors and mayors have signed on to sweetheart pension and health care deals for the unions -- the same groups who helped them get elected . now with huge bills mounting and governments broke , a backlash is growing , led by republican governors . gov . chris christie 's dust-ups with the public sector unions in new jersey have won no awards for congeniality , but he is pushing forward and his approval has recently been as high as 59 % , an astounding number in a relatively blue state . gov . mitch daniels in indiana has also enjoyed public support for his efforts to trim union power . in ohio , voters went the other way in a november 2011 referendum , rejecting gov . john kasich 's public sector reforms . some see the wisconsin vote on walker as a rubber match victory for the reform side ; walker himself has compared his efforts to ronald reagan 's battle with the air traffic controllers -- a pivotal moment in reagan 's presidency . republicans are not alone in this struggle . notably , new york 's democratic governor , andrew cuomo , has been waging a vigorous campaign to reduce the state 's financial commitments to union pension and health plans , and gov . jerry brown has been forced in the same direction in california . democratic mayors , such as rahm emanuel in chicago , have charged forward , too . clearly , many of the arguments against the public employee unions have great merit . too often in the past , just as in the auto industry , management signed onto lavish deals underpinned by rosy economic scenarios that in today 's environment just are n't affordable . trims have to be made , starting with new employees . among ardent school critics , it is now an article of faith that teachers'unions are also blocking serious progress in k-12 education ; a film coming this fall , wo n't back down , ' is much anticipated by people who want an overhaul of the system and who see it as a good depiction of the problem . but there is a difference between fixing what is broken in public employee unions and trying to destroy them . there was a time in our history when public unions were suspect -- franklin d. roosevelt himself once wrote that the process of collective bargaining , as usually understood , can not be transplanted into public service . ' in today 's world , however , with growing inequalities in pay and business able to exercise so much power in politics , firefighters , police officers and teachers deserve a right to be represented , too . for those of us who support charter schools and other k-12 changes , it is equally important to recognize that engaging in all-out war with teachers'unions will wind up punishing children more than anyone else . however many charter schools there are , the fact will remain that the vast majority of lower-income students will be taught by teachers who belong to unions . and that will be true as far as the eye can see . it is far better to find ways to collaborate than to waste time in search and destroy . emanuel is pointing the way forward in chicago . he is cracking down on abuses -- a sanitation worker , for example , who was paid some $ 38,000 in the first four months of this year for overtime alone . but emanuel is extending a hand , not a fist . i 'm not looking to beat labor . i want them to be a partner in solving ' the city 's problems , he told reporters . walker 's victory on tuesday will galvanize those battling to curb the excesses of public employee unions . from them could come great progress -- as long as we do n't forget to honor those who serve the public well . the opinions in this commentary are solely those of the writers . | walker 's win , authors write , reveals the extent of the backlash against these unions |
walker <tsp> ( cnn ) -- republican gov . scott walker 's convincing win tuesday in wisconsin was not just a victory for the governor himself , but a major triumph for conservatives in the fight to curb public employee unions . for the country 's sake , however , it will be far better if this struggle remains a fight rather than all-out war . in the run-up to election day , the wisconsin recall vote was widely touted on the right as the second most important election of 2012 . it was ignited when walker pushed through a budget repair bill to curb the public employee unions . one key provision prohibited the unions from engaging in collective bargaining about anything other than pay ( firefighters and police were exempted ) . another provision said that a civil servant can no longer be forced to join a union and pay dues ; there must be freedom of choice . that set off a firestorm of protests , turning the state capital upside down . hundreds of vociferous protesters occupied the wisconsin statehouse , democratic legislators bolted to illinois to try to deny a quorum , and tens of thousands took to the streets . for a while , it looked as if walker had gone too far . wisconsinites needed just 540,000 valid signatures to trigger a recall against him ; they gathered more than 900,000 . public polls in may 2011 showed walker with a dismal 42 % approval rating vs. 55 % disapproval . the mainstream media portrayed the recall as a huge showdown over collective bargaining rights and were often sympathetic to the protesters . walker seemed headed toward defeat this june . but in the many months that followed , the mood clearly changed . one of us ( david gergen ) spent two days recently in visits to madison , green bay and milwaukee . sentiment was often strong for walker , especially among small-business owners . people agreed that new laws have helped to reduce government costs at a state and local level and that the economic outlook is somewhat better . some told stories of teachers who were happier now that they did n't have to pay union dues and had more freedom . the wall street journal has reported that membership in the state 's second largest public union , the american federation of state , country and municipal employees , fell from 62,818 in march 2011 to 28,745 this february ; the union disputes the figure , but no one disagrees that the unions have been losing members . as election day approached and polls started to show walker with a solid lead , some democrats increasingly tried to argue that the vote was n't really a referendum on on walker 's reforms but rather about a host of more local issues . do n't be fooled : this recall was and is centrally about the public sector union fight , and it is important . walker survived handily in the state that gave us one of the nation 's legendary progressives , fighting bob ' la follette , as well as the first public-sector , collective-bargaining agreement , and it is hard to deny that the nation is speaking . and with walker surviving comfortably , a state that favored barack obama by 14 points in 2008 and seemed headed for the president 's column again should turn deep purple . opinion : in wisconsin , deep anger is n't going away the winds of change are blowing . public employee unions have traditionally been well-regarded since they started up a half-century ago . a new york times poll in february 2011 showed that a considerable majority still looks upon them with favor . but in recent years -- from rubber rooms ' for teachers who ca n't be fired in new york city to the prison workers unions in california that helped to drive prison spending to nearly the same level as all higher education in the state -- resentments have been stirring against the power and alleged abuses of public sector unions . too often in the past , critics argue , governors and mayors have signed on to sweetheart pension and health care deals for the unions -- the same groups who helped them get elected . now with huge bills mounting and governments broke , a backlash is growing , led by republican governors . gov . chris christie 's dust-ups with the public sector unions in new jersey have won no awards for congeniality , but he is pushing forward and his approval has recently been as high as 59 % , an astounding number in a relatively blue state . gov . mitch daniels in indiana has also enjoyed public support for his efforts to trim union power . in ohio , voters went the other way in a november 2011 referendum , rejecting gov . john kasich 's public sector reforms . some see the wisconsin vote on walker as a rubber match victory for the reform side ; walker himself has compared his efforts to ronald reagan 's battle with the air traffic controllers -- a pivotal moment in reagan 's presidency . republicans are not alone in this struggle . notably , new york 's democratic governor , andrew cuomo , has been waging a vigorous campaign to reduce the state 's financial commitments to union pension and health plans , and gov . jerry brown has been forced in the same direction in california . democratic mayors , such as rahm emanuel in chicago , have charged forward , too . clearly , many of the arguments against the public employee unions have great merit . too often in the past , just as in the auto industry , management signed onto lavish deals underpinned by rosy economic scenarios that in today 's environment just are n't affordable . trims have to be made , starting with new employees . among ardent school critics , it is now an article of faith that teachers'unions are also blocking serious progress in k-12 education ; a film coming this fall , wo n't back down , ' is much anticipated by people who want an overhaul of the system and who see it as a good depiction of the problem . but there is a difference between fixing what is broken in public employee unions and trying to destroy them . there was a time in our history when public unions were suspect -- franklin d. roosevelt himself once wrote that the process of collective bargaining , as usually understood , can not be transplanted into public service . ' in today 's world , however , with growing inequalities in pay and business able to exercise so much power in politics , firefighters , police officers and teachers deserve a right to be represented , too . for those of us who support charter schools and other k-12 changes , it is equally important to recognize that engaging in all-out war with teachers'unions will wind up punishing children more than anyone else . however many charter schools there are , the fact will remain that the vast majority of lower-income students will be taught by teachers who belong to unions . and that will be true as far as the eye can see . it is far better to find ways to collaborate than to waste time in search and destroy . emanuel is pointing the way forward in chicago . he is cracking down on abuses -- a sanitation worker , for example , who was paid some $ 38,000 in the first four months of this year for overtime alone . but emanuel is extending a hand , not a fist . i 'm not looking to beat labor . i want them to be a partner in solving ' the city 's problems , he told reporters . walker 's victory on tuesday will galvanize those battling to curb the excesses of public employee unions . from them could come great progress -- as long as we do n't forget to honor those who serve the public well . the opinions in this commentary are solely those of the writers . | when walker limited public worker unions rights , it caused a firestorm |
walker <tsp> ( cnn ) -- republican gov . scott walker 's convincing win tuesday in wisconsin was not just a victory for the governor himself , but a major triumph for conservatives in the fight to curb public employee unions . for the country 's sake , however , it will be far better if this struggle remains a fight rather than all-out war . in the run-up to election day , the wisconsin recall vote was widely touted on the right as the second most important election of 2012 . it was ignited when walker pushed through a budget repair bill to curb the public employee unions . one key provision prohibited the unions from engaging in collective bargaining about anything other than pay ( firefighters and police were exempted ) . another provision said that a civil servant can no longer be forced to join a union and pay dues ; there must be freedom of choice . that set off a firestorm of protests , turning the state capital upside down . hundreds of vociferous protesters occupied the wisconsin statehouse , democratic legislators bolted to illinois to try to deny a quorum , and tens of thousands took to the streets . for a while , it looked as if walker had gone too far . wisconsinites needed just 540,000 valid signatures to trigger a recall against him ; they gathered more than 900,000 . public polls in may 2011 showed walker with a dismal 42 % approval rating vs. 55 % disapproval . the mainstream media portrayed the recall as a huge showdown over collective bargaining rights and were often sympathetic to the protesters . walker seemed headed toward defeat this june . but in the many months that followed , the mood clearly changed . one of us ( david gergen ) spent two days recently in visits to madison , green bay and milwaukee . sentiment was often strong for walker , especially among small-business owners . people agreed that new laws have helped to reduce government costs at a state and local level and that the economic outlook is somewhat better . some told stories of teachers who were happier now that they did n't have to pay union dues and had more freedom . the wall street journal has reported that membership in the state 's second largest public union , the american federation of state , country and municipal employees , fell from 62,818 in march 2011 to 28,745 this february ; the union disputes the figure , but no one disagrees that the unions have been losing members . as election day approached and polls started to show walker with a solid lead , some democrats increasingly tried to argue that the vote was n't really a referendum on on walker 's reforms but rather about a host of more local issues . do n't be fooled : this recall was and is centrally about the public sector union fight , and it is important . walker survived handily in the state that gave us one of the nation 's legendary progressives , fighting bob ' la follette , as well as the first public-sector , collective-bargaining agreement , and it is hard to deny that the nation is speaking . and with walker surviving comfortably , a state that favored barack obama by 14 points in 2008 and seemed headed for the president 's column again should turn deep purple . opinion : in wisconsin , deep anger is n't going away the winds of change are blowing . public employee unions have traditionally been well-regarded since they started up a half-century ago . a new york times poll in february 2011 showed that a considerable majority still looks upon them with favor . but in recent years -- from rubber rooms ' for teachers who ca n't be fired in new york city to the prison workers unions in california that helped to drive prison spending to nearly the same level as all higher education in the state -- resentments have been stirring against the power and alleged abuses of public sector unions . too often in the past , critics argue , governors and mayors have signed on to sweetheart pension and health care deals for the unions -- the same groups who helped them get elected . now with huge bills mounting and governments broke , a backlash is growing , led by republican governors . gov . chris christie 's dust-ups with the public sector unions in new jersey have won no awards for congeniality , but he is pushing forward and his approval has recently been as high as 59 % , an astounding number in a relatively blue state . gov . mitch daniels in indiana has also enjoyed public support for his efforts to trim union power . in ohio , voters went the other way in a november 2011 referendum , rejecting gov . john kasich 's public sector reforms . some see the wisconsin vote on walker as a rubber match victory for the reform side ; walker himself has compared his efforts to ronald reagan 's battle with the air traffic controllers -- a pivotal moment in reagan 's presidency . republicans are not alone in this struggle . notably , new york 's democratic governor , andrew cuomo , has been waging a vigorous campaign to reduce the state 's financial commitments to union pension and health plans , and gov . jerry brown has been forced in the same direction in california . democratic mayors , such as rahm emanuel in chicago , have charged forward , too . clearly , many of the arguments against the public employee unions have great merit . too often in the past , just as in the auto industry , management signed onto lavish deals underpinned by rosy economic scenarios that in today 's environment just are n't affordable . trims have to be made , starting with new employees . among ardent school critics , it is now an article of faith that teachers'unions are also blocking serious progress in k-12 education ; a film coming this fall , wo n't back down , ' is much anticipated by people who want an overhaul of the system and who see it as a good depiction of the problem . but there is a difference between fixing what is broken in public employee unions and trying to destroy them . there was a time in our history when public unions were suspect -- franklin d. roosevelt himself once wrote that the process of collective bargaining , as usually understood , can not be transplanted into public service . ' in today 's world , however , with growing inequalities in pay and business able to exercise so much power in politics , firefighters , police officers and teachers deserve a right to be represented , too . for those of us who support charter schools and other k-12 changes , it is equally important to recognize that engaging in all-out war with teachers'unions will wind up punishing children more than anyone else . however many charter schools there are , the fact will remain that the vast majority of lower-income students will be taught by teachers who belong to unions . and that will be true as far as the eye can see . it is far better to find ways to collaborate than to waste time in search and destroy . emanuel is pointing the way forward in chicago . he is cracking down on abuses -- a sanitation worker , for example , who was paid some $ 38,000 in the first four months of this year for overtime alone . but emanuel is extending a hand , not a fist . i 'm not looking to beat labor . i want them to be a partner in solving ' the city 's problems , he told reporters . walker 's victory on tuesday will galvanize those battling to curb the excesses of public employee unions . from them could come great progress -- as long as we do n't forget to honor those who serve the public well . the opinions in this commentary are solely those of the writers . | wisconsin gov . scott walker survived recall effort by wide margin tuesday |
dreamworks <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- the box office had to contend with the world series , a very early snowstorm in the northeast , and halloween festivities across the country this weekend , but audiences still managed to make it to the movies ! that being said , grosses for new releases puss in boots , ' in time , ' and the rum diary , ' were n't all that strong . check out how they performed below : dreamworks animation 's puss in boots ' was the top cat this weekend , clawing its way to a $ 34 million debut , 51 percent of which came from 3-d screens , and 7 percent of which was from imax theaters . on paper , that number sounds good -- and , to be clear , it is by no means a disaster -- but the result comes with a real steel ' -ish caveat . puss in boots ' cost $ 130 million to produce , and it earned dreamworks'third-worst debut for a computer animated film , beating only flushed away ' and antz , ' which started with $ 18.8 million and $ 17.2 million , respectively . the 3-d shrek ' -spinoff , cost as much as dreamworks' megamind , ' which opened in early november 2010 , but that film began with $ 46 million , and it played well through the thanksgiving season on its way to a $ 148.4 million total . puss in boots ' entered theaters a week earlier , but it will need to endure even better than megamind ' to earn back its budget . the a- ' cinemascore grade it earned from audiences should at least make that achievement possible , but considering people are already familiar with the puss in boots ' character , it 's doubtful that the film will attract many uninitiated viewers . we wo n't officially know where puss in boots ' is headed until next weekend , when we see how much the snowstorm , the world series , and halloween really affected the box office this frame . ( my guess is not much -- and i 'm not just being catty . ) second place belonged to paranormal activity 3 , ' which fell by 65 percent to $ 18.5 million in its second weekend . the found footage horror sequel has scared up $ 81.3 million after ten days in theaters , and considering the huge business the film will likely do on halloween , pa3 ' is only a day away from passing paranormal activity 2 's $ 84.8 million cume . not too shabby for a film that cost paramount only $ 5 million to make ! fall movies : get the latest news , photos , and more fox 's $ 40 million justin timberlake/amanda seyfried thriller in time ' underwhelmed with just $ 12 million in its opening weekend . that debut is less than timberlake 's last film , friends with benefits , ' which began with $ 18.6 million on its way to $ 55.8 million , as well as seyfried 's recent red riding hood , ' which debuted with $ 14 million on its way to $ 37.6 million . ads for in time ' failed to effectively communicate the convoluted time-shifting story , and negative reviews likely kept older moviegoers away . timberlake 's leading man status may not have helped matters too much , either -- audiences seem to find him more appealing as part of an ensemble , like in the social network ' and bad teacher . ' moviegoers issued in time ' an unenthusiastic b- ' cinemascore grade , which may prevent the film from finding the same kind of legs that time-jumping thriller source code ' ( $ 14.8 million opening , $ 54.7 million total ) enjoyed earlier this year . in its third weekend , dancing remake footloose ' fell to fourth place , dropping 48 percent to $ 5.4 million . the $ 24 million production has now earned $ 38.5 million after 17 days in theaters , and it will pass the total of julianne hough 's first feature film , burlesque ' ( $ 39.4 million ) , sometime this week . johnny depp 's latest , the rum diary , ' stumbled out of the gate with just $ 5 million . pirates of the caribbean ' this was not . the disappointing opening fell in line with depp 's other substance abuse picture , 1998′s fear and loathing in las vegas , ' which debuted to $ 3.3 million and earned $ 10.7 million total . the rum diary 's ' edgy story was always going to be a tough sell , and filmdistrict 's president of theatrical distribution bob berney admits : while we all wish the numbers were better , we 're proud of the film and its loving tribute to hunter s . thompson . ' the $ 50 million picture marks the third straight box office disappointment for filmdistrict , the young distributor that found success with insidious ( $ 54 million ) earlier this year . the studio has since struggled with both do n't be afraid of the dark ' ( $ 23.9 million ) and drive ' ( $ 33.7 million so far ) recently . unfortunately for filmdistrict , audiences , which were 88 percent above the age of 25 , gave the rum diary ' a harsh c ' cinemascore grade , so it 's not likely to hold well in future weeks . talk about a bad hangover ... in limited release , sony 's shakespeare tale anonymous ' started with $ 1 million out of 256 theaters . that was good enough for a $ 3,774 per theater average , which does not merit huge expansions in the coming weeks . young romance like crazy ' fared better , grossing $ 120,000 out of only 4 theaters , resulting in a $ 30,000 average . richard gere 's latest , the double , ' was d.o.a. , pulling in only $ 27,545 out of 11 theaters . it 's not likely to platform much further . zeitgeist-y wall street thriller margin call ' continued to play fairly well , grossing $ 713,000 out of 140 theaters . it has earned $ 1.5 million so far . internationally , the adventures of tintin ' got off to an excellent start . sony 's motion capture animation grossed $ 55.8 million out of 19 territories , including $ 21.5 million in france and $ 10.7 million in the united kingdom , where its being distributed by paramount . sony is bragging loudly about the film 's performance , perhaps in response to some prognosticators claiming that tintin ' is likely to underperform domestically . ( the picture is based on a series of comic books by hergã© which were very popular in europe , but only cult hits in the u.s. ) we 'll find out how excited audiences are about tintin ' on december 21 . 1 . puss in boots ' -- $ 34 million 2 . paranormal activity 3 ' -- $ 18.5 mil 3 . in time ' -- $ 12 mil 4 . footloose ' -- $ 5.4 mil 5 . the rum diary ' -- $ 5 mil 6 . real steel ' -- $ 4.7 mil 7 . the three musketeers ' -- $ 3.5 mil 8 . the ides of march ' -- $ 2.7 mil 9 . moneyball ' -- $ 2.4 mil 10 . courageous ' -- $ 1.8 mil see full article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | puss in boots ' earned dreamworks'third-worst debut for a computer animated film |
creative prayer tour <tsp> atlanta , georgia ( cnn ) -- after 2,000 years of christian prayer , many faithful still do n't know how to pray effectively , pastor daniel henderson says . most christians pray out of crisis or pray a grocery list , ' he said , making god a lifeline of last resort . ' henderson teaches that prayer should be about worshipping god , having a one-to-one relationship through prayer . every believer wants to be intimate with god and experience his power in a personal way , ' he said . many are hungry to be more effective , because they have n't been taught . ' teaching is what sends henderson across the country . he 's on the creative prayer tour , ' a series of workshops that will have stopped in 14 cities by year 's end . henderson also is an author and head of a group called strategic renewal , based in forest , virginia , which aims to strengthen churches through worship-based prayer . the prayer workshop was life-changing , said pastor jeremy johnson of arcade church in sacramento , california . johnson said the training helped turn him from an angry recovering alcoholic to a spiritual life pastor . it changed my perspective on prayer from being ask , ask , ask to building a relationship with god , ' johnson said . it went from god being a vending machine to actually having a relationship with him , acknowledging who he is as opposed to what he does . ' such is the demand for the prayer summits that henderson speaks at 20 to 30 churches and to as many as 13,000 college students annually , he said . even pillars of the christian faith struggle with prayer . as for me , the silence and the emptiness is so great that i look and do not see , listen and do not hear , ' mother teresa told the rev . michael van der peet in 1979 , expressing her concern about decades seemingly going by without her prayers being answered . henderson cites the lord 's prayer in the sixth chapter of the book of matthew as the blueprint for christians , containing what could be called the four rs of prayer . he breaks down the passage this way from the new living translation of the bible : reverence -- pray like this : our father in heaven , may your name be kept holy . ' response -- may your will be done on earth , as it is in heaven . ' requests -- give us today the food we need , and forgive us our sins , as we have forgiven those who sin against us . ' readiness -- and do n't let us yield to temptation , but rescue us from the evil one . ' the lord 's prayer is a simple invocation that is recited weekly at many christian churches and comes from jesus'sermon on the mount , a compilation of his teachings . it 's ok to use a set formula/pattern , ' according cyndi mcdonald , an associate minister at first united methodist church in marietta , georgia . the disciples asked jesus how to pray , and he gave the lord 's prayer . ' no matter how people pray , it 's a part of american life , according to a recent poll by the pew forum on religion and public life . the study shows that 75 percent of americans of all faiths -- including christians , jews and muslims -- report praying at least once a week , while 39 percent attend services weekly . mcdonald said the numbers could use some interpreting . what do they mean by pray ? a quick blessing over a meal ? an hour spent in solitude ? ' she asks . for henderson , the prayer statistics point to a yearning for god . the hunger is there for a personal faith . it indicates a spiritual hunger that wo n't be satisfied , ' he said . it 's a personal thing and very real beyond the walls of church . ' | his 14-city creative prayer tour ' seeks to transform how americans pray |
henderson <tsp> atlanta , georgia ( cnn ) -- after 2,000 years of christian prayer , many faithful still do n't know how to pray effectively , pastor daniel henderson says . most christians pray out of crisis or pray a grocery list , ' he said , making god a lifeline of last resort . ' henderson teaches that prayer should be about worshipping god , having a one-to-one relationship through prayer . every believer wants to be intimate with god and experience his power in a personal way , ' he said . many are hungry to be more effective , because they have n't been taught . ' teaching is what sends henderson across the country . he 's on the creative prayer tour , ' a series of workshops that will have stopped in 14 cities by year 's end . henderson also is an author and head of a group called strategic renewal , based in forest , virginia , which aims to strengthen churches through worship-based prayer . the prayer workshop was life-changing , said pastor jeremy johnson of arcade church in sacramento , california . johnson said the training helped turn him from an angry recovering alcoholic to a spiritual life pastor . it changed my perspective on prayer from being ask , ask , ask to building a relationship with god , ' johnson said . it went from god being a vending machine to actually having a relationship with him , acknowledging who he is as opposed to what he does . ' such is the demand for the prayer summits that henderson speaks at 20 to 30 churches and to as many as 13,000 college students annually , he said . even pillars of the christian faith struggle with prayer . as for me , the silence and the emptiness is so great that i look and do not see , listen and do not hear , ' mother teresa told the rev . michael van der peet in 1979 , expressing her concern about decades seemingly going by without her prayers being answered . henderson cites the lord 's prayer in the sixth chapter of the book of matthew as the blueprint for christians , containing what could be called the four rs of prayer . he breaks down the passage this way from the new living translation of the bible : reverence -- pray like this : our father in heaven , may your name be kept holy . ' response -- may your will be done on earth , as it is in heaven . ' requests -- give us today the food we need , and forgive us our sins , as we have forgiven those who sin against us . ' readiness -- and do n't let us yield to temptation , but rescue us from the evil one . ' the lord 's prayer is a simple invocation that is recited weekly at many christian churches and comes from jesus'sermon on the mount , a compilation of his teachings . it 's ok to use a set formula/pattern , ' according cyndi mcdonald , an associate minister at first united methodist church in marietta , georgia . the disciples asked jesus how to pray , and he gave the lord 's prayer . ' no matter how people pray , it 's a part of american life , according to a recent poll by the pew forum on religion and public life . the study shows that 75 percent of americans of all faiths -- including christians , jews and muslims -- report praying at least once a week , while 39 percent attend services weekly . mcdonald said the numbers could use some interpreting . what do they mean by pray ? a quick blessing over a meal ? an hour spent in solitude ? ' she asks . for henderson , the prayer statistics point to a yearning for god . the hunger is there for a personal faith . it indicates a spiritual hunger that wo n't be satisfied , ' he said . it 's a personal thing and very real beyond the walls of church . ' | henderson cites the lord 's prayer as the blueprint for christians |
henderson <tsp> atlanta , georgia ( cnn ) -- after 2,000 years of christian prayer , many faithful still do n't know how to pray effectively , pastor daniel henderson says . most christians pray out of crisis or pray a grocery list , ' he said , making god a lifeline of last resort . ' henderson teaches that prayer should be about worshipping god , having a one-to-one relationship through prayer . every believer wants to be intimate with god and experience his power in a personal way , ' he said . many are hungry to be more effective , because they have n't been taught . ' teaching is what sends henderson across the country . he 's on the creative prayer tour , ' a series of workshops that will have stopped in 14 cities by year 's end . henderson also is an author and head of a group called strategic renewal , based in forest , virginia , which aims to strengthen churches through worship-based prayer . the prayer workshop was life-changing , said pastor jeremy johnson of arcade church in sacramento , california . johnson said the training helped turn him from an angry recovering alcoholic to a spiritual life pastor . it changed my perspective on prayer from being ask , ask , ask to building a relationship with god , ' johnson said . it went from god being a vending machine to actually having a relationship with him , acknowledging who he is as opposed to what he does . ' such is the demand for the prayer summits that henderson speaks at 20 to 30 churches and to as many as 13,000 college students annually , he said . even pillars of the christian faith struggle with prayer . as for me , the silence and the emptiness is so great that i look and do not see , listen and do not hear , ' mother teresa told the rev . michael van der peet in 1979 , expressing her concern about decades seemingly going by without her prayers being answered . henderson cites the lord 's prayer in the sixth chapter of the book of matthew as the blueprint for christians , containing what could be called the four rs of prayer . he breaks down the passage this way from the new living translation of the bible : reverence -- pray like this : our father in heaven , may your name be kept holy . ' response -- may your will be done on earth , as it is in heaven . ' requests -- give us today the food we need , and forgive us our sins , as we have forgiven those who sin against us . ' readiness -- and do n't let us yield to temptation , but rescue us from the evil one . ' the lord 's prayer is a simple invocation that is recited weekly at many christian churches and comes from jesus'sermon on the mount , a compilation of his teachings . it 's ok to use a set formula/pattern , ' according cyndi mcdonald , an associate minister at first united methodist church in marietta , georgia . the disciples asked jesus how to pray , and he gave the lord 's prayer . ' no matter how people pray , it 's a part of american life , according to a recent poll by the pew forum on religion and public life . the study shows that 75 percent of americans of all faiths -- including christians , jews and muslims -- report praying at least once a week , while 39 percent attend services weekly . mcdonald said the numbers could use some interpreting . what do they mean by pray ? a quick blessing over a meal ? an hour spent in solitude ? ' she asks . for henderson , the prayer statistics point to a yearning for god . the hunger is there for a personal faith . it indicates a spiritual hunger that wo n't be satisfied , ' he said . it 's a personal thing and very real beyond the walls of church . ' | pastor daniel henderson : most christians pray out of crisis or pray a grocery list ' |
va <tsp> ( cnn ) -- general eric shinseki , one of the finest soldiers of his generation , performed a final act of service for his country when he fell on his sword . it was a sad moment but , as a life-long patriot , he knew he had to resign as secretary of veterans affairs . as good an officer as he was , he could no longer expect to lead his huge department , a bureaucracy second in size only to defense and representing nearly 15 % of the entire federal civilian work force . evidence has been piling up that he and his top lieutenants knew shockingly little about misdeeds within the department , despite years of negative reports . and he was rapidly losing the confidence of congress , the public and most importantly , veterans . now , attention can rightly expand from investigations of the past -- though they must go on -- to how to fix the future . a white house that has hardly covered itself with glory needs to get on top of the problem and stay aggressively there . the place to start is to appoint a world-class leader to run the place and recruit a squad of young , talented veterans from iraq and afghanistan as a personal support team . unfortunately , the best person in the country to run the va is the least available : robert gates . no one knows more or as has been more effective in running large , massive public institutions than gates . he was not only superb at running the cia but was then successful in running texas a & m ( the seventh-largest university in the country ) and went on to serve with great distinction as secretary of defense , winding down two wars for presidents bush and obama . borger : obama defeated by bureaucracy ? but gates is now happy in retirement in washington state , thousands of miles away from washington , d.c . if you have seen him on a book tour , you may have noticed the neck brace he had to wear for a few months . he jokes that one morning over breakfast he told his wife he was thinking of returning to d.c. and the next thing he knew , he woke up in the hospital with a broken neck . the point is that the va desperately needs a leader who can overhaul an agency notoriously resistant to change , someone who knows a lot about military culture . after gates , the next best choice is likely to be his last deputy at dod , ashton carter . ( disclosure : carter is a friend and esteemed colleague from the kennedy school . ) carter won very high marks among civilians and military as deputy secretary , the person who runs the building . ' the white house may also find a retired four-star general who would be a good fit ; retired gen. john allen , whom the president tapped to help out with negotiations in the middle east , quickly comes to mind . but the roster of people who would be strong choices is actually quite limited , so the search must be relentlessly tough-minded . even so , this is not a one-person job . a new secretary will need reinforcements . there are none better than some of the veterans who have come back from iraq and afghanistan , peeled off their uniforms , and volunteered to continue their service as civilians -- rightful heirs of the world war ii generation . a smart white house would recruit some of the best among them and put them to work fixing the va in some imaginative way -- possibly in full-time stints , possibly in consulting teams . an obvious candidate as leader : lt. cmdr . eric greitens , a rhodes scholar , navy seal , veteran of several tours , best-selling author , founder of the veterans group , the mission continues ( i serve on its board ) . in recent years , i have had the privilege of teaching a number of veterans who have pursued graduate degrees at harvard . they are extraordinarily talented and ready to help . start with maura sullivan , for example : northwestern undergrad , marine officer in iraq , graduate of the harvard business school and kennedy school , now rising in leadership ranks at pepsico and serving on a federal veterans advisory board . top talent is ready and willing . why not ask them for help ? iraq and afghanistan veterans have had too little voice in the va . it 's time to call on the best to serve their country again . | gergen most crucial is recruiting top-flight veterans who can help imaginatively pull va into shape |
va <tsp> ( cnn ) -- general eric shinseki , one of the finest soldiers of his generation , performed a final act of service for his country when he fell on his sword . it was a sad moment but , as a life-long patriot , he knew he had to resign as secretary of veterans affairs . as good an officer as he was , he could no longer expect to lead his huge department , a bureaucracy second in size only to defense and representing nearly 15 % of the entire federal civilian work force . evidence has been piling up that he and his top lieutenants knew shockingly little about misdeeds within the department , despite years of negative reports . and he was rapidly losing the confidence of congress , the public and most importantly , veterans . now , attention can rightly expand from investigations of the past -- though they must go on -- to how to fix the future . a white house that has hardly covered itself with glory needs to get on top of the problem and stay aggressively there . the place to start is to appoint a world-class leader to run the place and recruit a squad of young , talented veterans from iraq and afghanistan as a personal support team . unfortunately , the best person in the country to run the va is the least available : robert gates . no one knows more or as has been more effective in running large , massive public institutions than gates . he was not only superb at running the cia but was then successful in running texas a & m ( the seventh-largest university in the country ) and went on to serve with great distinction as secretary of defense , winding down two wars for presidents bush and obama . borger : obama defeated by bureaucracy ? but gates is now happy in retirement in washington state , thousands of miles away from washington , d.c . if you have seen him on a book tour , you may have noticed the neck brace he had to wear for a few months . he jokes that one morning over breakfast he told his wife he was thinking of returning to d.c. and the next thing he knew , he woke up in the hospital with a broken neck . the point is that the va desperately needs a leader who can overhaul an agency notoriously resistant to change , someone who knows a lot about military culture . after gates , the next best choice is likely to be his last deputy at dod , ashton carter . ( disclosure : carter is a friend and esteemed colleague from the kennedy school . ) carter won very high marks among civilians and military as deputy secretary , the person who runs the building . ' the white house may also find a retired four-star general who would be a good fit ; retired gen. john allen , whom the president tapped to help out with negotiations in the middle east , quickly comes to mind . but the roster of people who would be strong choices is actually quite limited , so the search must be relentlessly tough-minded . even so , this is not a one-person job . a new secretary will need reinforcements . there are none better than some of the veterans who have come back from iraq and afghanistan , peeled off their uniforms , and volunteered to continue their service as civilians -- rightful heirs of the world war ii generation . a smart white house would recruit some of the best among them and put them to work fixing the va in some imaginative way -- possibly in full-time stints , possibly in consulting teams . an obvious candidate as leader : lt. cmdr . eric greitens , a rhodes scholar , navy seal , veteran of several tours , best-selling author , founder of the veterans group , the mission continues ( i serve on its board ) . in recent years , i have had the privilege of teaching a number of veterans who have pursued graduate degrees at harvard . they are extraordinarily talented and ready to help . start with maura sullivan , for example : northwestern undergrad , marine officer in iraq , graduate of the harvard business school and kennedy school , now rising in leadership ranks at pepsico and serving on a federal veterans advisory board . top talent is ready and willing . why not ask them for help ? iraq and afghanistan veterans have had too little voice in the va . it 's time to call on the best to serve their country again . | david gergen : an admirable shinseki performed selfless act of service be resigning va post |
va <tsp> ( cnn ) -- general eric shinseki , one of the finest soldiers of his generation , performed a final act of service for his country when he fell on his sword . it was a sad moment but , as a life-long patriot , he knew he had to resign as secretary of veterans affairs . as good an officer as he was , he could no longer expect to lead his huge department , a bureaucracy second in size only to defense and representing nearly 15 % of the entire federal civilian work force . evidence has been piling up that he and his top lieutenants knew shockingly little about misdeeds within the department , despite years of negative reports . and he was rapidly losing the confidence of congress , the public and most importantly , veterans . now , attention can rightly expand from investigations of the past -- though they must go on -- to how to fix the future . a white house that has hardly covered itself with glory needs to get on top of the problem and stay aggressively there . the place to start is to appoint a world-class leader to run the place and recruit a squad of young , talented veterans from iraq and afghanistan as a personal support team . unfortunately , the best person in the country to run the va is the least available : robert gates . no one knows more or as has been more effective in running large , massive public institutions than gates . he was not only superb at running the cia but was then successful in running texas a & m ( the seventh-largest university in the country ) and went on to serve with great distinction as secretary of defense , winding down two wars for presidents bush and obama . borger : obama defeated by bureaucracy ? but gates is now happy in retirement in washington state , thousands of miles away from washington , d.c . if you have seen him on a book tour , you may have noticed the neck brace he had to wear for a few months . he jokes that one morning over breakfast he told his wife he was thinking of returning to d.c. and the next thing he knew , he woke up in the hospital with a broken neck . the point is that the va desperately needs a leader who can overhaul an agency notoriously resistant to change , someone who knows a lot about military culture . after gates , the next best choice is likely to be his last deputy at dod , ashton carter . ( disclosure : carter is a friend and esteemed colleague from the kennedy school . ) carter won very high marks among civilians and military as deputy secretary , the person who runs the building . ' the white house may also find a retired four-star general who would be a good fit ; retired gen. john allen , whom the president tapped to help out with negotiations in the middle east , quickly comes to mind . but the roster of people who would be strong choices is actually quite limited , so the search must be relentlessly tough-minded . even so , this is not a one-person job . a new secretary will need reinforcements . there are none better than some of the veterans who have come back from iraq and afghanistan , peeled off their uniforms , and volunteered to continue their service as civilians -- rightful heirs of the world war ii generation . a smart white house would recruit some of the best among them and put them to work fixing the va in some imaginative way -- possibly in full-time stints , possibly in consulting teams . an obvious candidate as leader : lt. cmdr . eric greitens , a rhodes scholar , navy seal , veteran of several tours , best-selling author , founder of the veterans group , the mission continues ( i serve on its board ) . in recent years , i have had the privilege of teaching a number of veterans who have pursued graduate degrees at harvard . they are extraordinarily talented and ready to help . start with maura sullivan , for example : northwestern undergrad , marine officer in iraq , graduate of the harvard business school and kennedy school , now rising in leadership ranks at pepsico and serving on a federal veterans advisory board . top talent is ready and willing . why not ask them for help ? iraq and afghanistan veterans have had too little voice in the va . it 's time to call on the best to serve their country again . | va needs world-class leader with support team of ex-servicemen and women , he says |
stock act <tsp> ( cnn ) -- house republicans have been forced to close a potential loophole on their much-touted insider trading law -- a loophole cnn uncovered and reported about last month . because of cnn 's report , the senate and house passed new legislation thursday to close the loophole that could have allowed family members of some lawmakers to profit from inside information . senators who were critical of the loophole after it was unearthed applauded the fix . the stock act , one of the rare bipartisan bills passed this year , was signed by president barack obama in april . obama signs stock act to address'deficit of trust'in washington lawmakers proclaimed that the bill , officially called the stop trading on congressional knowledge act , would restore trust in government . it also applied new rules to some employees of the executive branch . but cnn discovered the law that members of congress thought they voted for earlier this year was n't exactly as advertised . the stock act requires that any trades of $ 1,000 or more made on or after july 3 have to be reported to the house and senate within 45 days . but the house and senate came out with two completely different interpretations of that rule . in the senate , the ethics committee released one page of guidelines in june ruling that members and their spouses and dependent children all have to file reports after they make stock or securities trades . but the house ethics committee disagreed . its 14-page memo released in june found that house members and aides covered by the law that their spouses and children were not covered . the office of government ethics , which oversees all federal executive branch employees , sided with the house , informing its employees that their spouses and children do n't need to file these periodic reports . both of the lead sponsors of the senate bill did n't realize the discrepancy until cnn brought it to their attention last month . massachusetts republican scott brown , the only republican senator to attend the white house signing ceremony , said he was obviously very concerned . ' say i find out some information , i tell my wife and she goes and trades on it , what 's the difference ? ' brown told cnn . brown , who speaks constantly about this bill in his neck-and-neck race for re-election against consumer advocate elizabeth warren , said the whole point of passing the law was to demonstrate that members of congress were n't held to a different standard . massachusetts senate race in a dead heat ' i mean , bottom line , we 're supposed to have that level of transparency and have us be treated like every other member of the united states and bottom line , if we ca n't do it , then -- sorry , if they ca n't do it -- then we should n't be able to do it as well . ' sen. kirsten gillibrand , d-new york , also criticized the house decision not to include congressional spouses and children when the loophole was brought to her attention . i think it 's wrong , and i think it 's unfortunate because the reality is the whole point of this legislation is we should play by the exact same rules as every other american citizen , and when all of america looks at washington , they know it 's broken . ' we 're trying to restore just a small measure of confidence through this kind of transparency and accountability , ' gillibrand said . after cnn told brown about the house interpretation , brown fired off a letter to his gop colleagues in the house , speaker john boehner and house majority leader eric cantor . the house interpretation leaves a loophole and the appearance of an ongoing double standard , ' brown said in the letter . it is deeply troubling that the house of representatives and executive branch would attempt to operate under a substantially weaker interpretation than the senate , ' he added , demanding that the house adopt the senate 's view and require all spouses and dependents to begin reporting stock trades . why was there a difference ? robert walker , a washington ethics attorney and former chief counsel for both the house and senate ethics committees , explained that the senate bill did include a provision that covered spouses and children , but when cantor 's office wrote the house version , this language was shifted to a different section of the bill . the change meant that spouses and dependent children were n't subject to the new reporting requirements . the house recrafted some of the provisions of it and moved some of the provisions around . in that process , some of the senate bill that applied to filing of these new reports was moved from one section of the bill to the other , ' walker said . the senate ethics committee decided to stick with the spirit of the law that senators originally intended , but the house ethics committee went with the letter of the law , which included the loophole not requiring spouses and children to report financial transactions in a timely fashion . more congress : no aid for farmers amid drought why did it matter ? the loophole went to the heart of what the stock act set out to do . while there were already laws in place barring members of congress or the executive branch from profiting from nonpublic information that they learn in the course of their duties , it was extremely difficult for those at the securities and exchange commission to enforce those laws . the financial disclosure forms house members and senators were already required to file only come out once a year , making it tough to track any relationship between legislative action and a stock trade . that 's why the stock act added the rule that after each trade over $ 1,000 a report had to be filed in a timely manner . walker stressed the new law provides more immediacy , more real time so that the public could have more real-time understanding of what their members , of their senior staff and other high government officials were doing with their finances , what kinds of trades were they making . ' the chairman of the house ethics committee , rep. jo bonner , r-alabama , and the ranking democrat , u.s. rep. linda sanchez of california , defended their committee 's interpretation of the law in a written statement to cnn last month . as has been noted by outside experts , the office of government ethics and various house offices of expertise , including the office of legislative counsel and the office of general counsel , with whom the committee consulted , the plain language of the stock act and the ethics in government act is unambiguous and beyond dispute and the committee interpreted it correctly . ' initially when contacted by cnn , cantor 's office insisted it did nothing to change the intent of the stock act . but when pressed with the new information uncovered by cnn , the majority leader 's office conceded it made changes to the house bill that effectively took out the requirement for spouses and children to file these reports . cantor 's spokesman insisted that the change was unintentional and the majority leader 's office did not believe when they passed their bill that it differed from the senate version . since new information has been brought to our attention with respect to this discrepancy , we are reviewing our options regarding transaction reports in the house of representatives , ' doug heye said at the time . still , another question is why the house changed the legislation in the first place . a gop leadership source insists there were no sinister motives , that cantor and the broader gop leadership made changes after consulting with ethics committee lawyers . in the two weeks since cnn 's report , cantor 's office consulted with the senate to determine how they should fix the loophole . after consultations with leaders of both parties , new legislation was drafted . the two-page bill passed unanimously by both chambers on thursday before congress left washington for their month long summer recess . following the change , gillibrand issued a statement applauding it . the intent of this important reform bill was clear from the start , to restore people 's faith in their elected leaders by ensuring we play by the exact same set of rules as every other american . including family members in our monthly disclosure requirements was an integral piece of restoring that faith , and i am pleased the house will finally join the senate in conforming to these important new rules , ' said gillibrand . brown also praised the move to fix the law . i 'm pleased that with today 's legislative action , we 've made sure the house will follow the senate ethics committee 's lead and implement the law the way it was intended . the same rules need to apply across the board -- no matter who you work for. in addition to closing the loophole for spouses and dependent children , the new legislation passed by the house and senate also made a change that the obama administration requested . some administration officials voiced concerns that the ability of foreign governments to view personal financial information about top government employees posed a national security threat . to address those concerns , the bill gave executive branch employees a waiver from the requirement to disclose their stock or securities trades until september 30 to allow some additional time to determine the appropriate procedures for those officials . read all of cnn 's latest political coverage | stock act , passed in april , requires more transparency when lawmakers make trades |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- house republicans have been forced to close a potential loophole on their much-touted insider trading law -- a loophole cnn uncovered and reported about last month . because of cnn 's report , the senate and house passed new legislation thursday to close the loophole that could have allowed family members of some lawmakers to profit from inside information . senators who were critical of the loophole after it was unearthed applauded the fix . the stock act , one of the rare bipartisan bills passed this year , was signed by president barack obama in april . obama signs stock act to address'deficit of trust'in washington lawmakers proclaimed that the bill , officially called the stop trading on congressional knowledge act , would restore trust in government . it also applied new rules to some employees of the executive branch . but cnn discovered the law that members of congress thought they voted for earlier this year was n't exactly as advertised . the stock act requires that any trades of $ 1,000 or more made on or after july 3 have to be reported to the house and senate within 45 days . but the house and senate came out with two completely different interpretations of that rule . in the senate , the ethics committee released one page of guidelines in june ruling that members and their spouses and dependent children all have to file reports after they make stock or securities trades . but the house ethics committee disagreed . its 14-page memo released in june found that house members and aides covered by the law that their spouses and children were not covered . the office of government ethics , which oversees all federal executive branch employees , sided with the house , informing its employees that their spouses and children do n't need to file these periodic reports . both of the lead sponsors of the senate bill did n't realize the discrepancy until cnn brought it to their attention last month . massachusetts republican scott brown , the only republican senator to attend the white house signing ceremony , said he was obviously very concerned . ' say i find out some information , i tell my wife and she goes and trades on it , what 's the difference ? ' brown told cnn . brown , who speaks constantly about this bill in his neck-and-neck race for re-election against consumer advocate elizabeth warren , said the whole point of passing the law was to demonstrate that members of congress were n't held to a different standard . massachusetts senate race in a dead heat ' i mean , bottom line , we 're supposed to have that level of transparency and have us be treated like every other member of the united states and bottom line , if we ca n't do it , then -- sorry , if they ca n't do it -- then we should n't be able to do it as well . ' sen. kirsten gillibrand , d-new york , also criticized the house decision not to include congressional spouses and children when the loophole was brought to her attention . i think it 's wrong , and i think it 's unfortunate because the reality is the whole point of this legislation is we should play by the exact same rules as every other american citizen , and when all of america looks at washington , they know it 's broken . ' we 're trying to restore just a small measure of confidence through this kind of transparency and accountability , ' gillibrand said . after cnn told brown about the house interpretation , brown fired off a letter to his gop colleagues in the house , speaker john boehner and house majority leader eric cantor . the house interpretation leaves a loophole and the appearance of an ongoing double standard , ' brown said in the letter . it is deeply troubling that the house of representatives and executive branch would attempt to operate under a substantially weaker interpretation than the senate , ' he added , demanding that the house adopt the senate 's view and require all spouses and dependents to begin reporting stock trades . why was there a difference ? robert walker , a washington ethics attorney and former chief counsel for both the house and senate ethics committees , explained that the senate bill did include a provision that covered spouses and children , but when cantor 's office wrote the house version , this language was shifted to a different section of the bill . the change meant that spouses and dependent children were n't subject to the new reporting requirements . the house recrafted some of the provisions of it and moved some of the provisions around . in that process , some of the senate bill that applied to filing of these new reports was moved from one section of the bill to the other , ' walker said . the senate ethics committee decided to stick with the spirit of the law that senators originally intended , but the house ethics committee went with the letter of the law , which included the loophole not requiring spouses and children to report financial transactions in a timely fashion . more congress : no aid for farmers amid drought why did it matter ? the loophole went to the heart of what the stock act set out to do . while there were already laws in place barring members of congress or the executive branch from profiting from nonpublic information that they learn in the course of their duties , it was extremely difficult for those at the securities and exchange commission to enforce those laws . the financial disclosure forms house members and senators were already required to file only come out once a year , making it tough to track any relationship between legislative action and a stock trade . that 's why the stock act added the rule that after each trade over $ 1,000 a report had to be filed in a timely manner . walker stressed the new law provides more immediacy , more real time so that the public could have more real-time understanding of what their members , of their senior staff and other high government officials were doing with their finances , what kinds of trades were they making . ' the chairman of the house ethics committee , rep. jo bonner , r-alabama , and the ranking democrat , u.s. rep. linda sanchez of california , defended their committee 's interpretation of the law in a written statement to cnn last month . as has been noted by outside experts , the office of government ethics and various house offices of expertise , including the office of legislative counsel and the office of general counsel , with whom the committee consulted , the plain language of the stock act and the ethics in government act is unambiguous and beyond dispute and the committee interpreted it correctly . ' initially when contacted by cnn , cantor 's office insisted it did nothing to change the intent of the stock act . but when pressed with the new information uncovered by cnn , the majority leader 's office conceded it made changes to the house bill that effectively took out the requirement for spouses and children to file these reports . cantor 's spokesman insisted that the change was unintentional and the majority leader 's office did not believe when they passed their bill that it differed from the senate version . since new information has been brought to our attention with respect to this discrepancy , we are reviewing our options regarding transaction reports in the house of representatives , ' doug heye said at the time . still , another question is why the house changed the legislation in the first place . a gop leadership source insists there were no sinister motives , that cantor and the broader gop leadership made changes after consulting with ethics committee lawyers . in the two weeks since cnn 's report , cantor 's office consulted with the senate to determine how they should fix the loophole . after consultations with leaders of both parties , new legislation was drafted . the two-page bill passed unanimously by both chambers on thursday before congress left washington for their month long summer recess . following the change , gillibrand issued a statement applauding it . the intent of this important reform bill was clear from the start , to restore people 's faith in their elected leaders by ensuring we play by the exact same set of rules as every other american . including family members in our monthly disclosure requirements was an integral piece of restoring that faith , and i am pleased the house will finally join the senate in conforming to these important new rules , ' said gillibrand . brown also praised the move to fix the law . i 'm pleased that with today 's legislative action , we 've made sure the house will follow the senate ethics committee 's lead and implement the law the way it was intended . the same rules need to apply across the board -- no matter who you work for. in addition to closing the loophole for spouses and dependent children , the new legislation passed by the house and senate also made a change that the obama administration requested . some administration officials voiced concerns that the ability of foreign governments to view personal financial information about top government employees posed a national security threat . to address those concerns , the bill gave executive branch employees a waiver from the requirement to disclose their stock or securities trades until september 30 to allow some additional time to determine the appropriate procedures for those officials . read all of cnn 's latest political coverage | cnn brought discrepancy between house and senate interpretations to light last month |
elway <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the denver broncos announced wednesday night they had finalized a trade that sends high-profile quarterback tim tebow to the new york jets . tebow and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 nfl draft go the jets in exchange for picks in the fourth and sixth rounds of the draft . the broncos said tuesday that superstar quarterback peyton manning , a free agent , would join the team , setting in motion efforts to trade tebow . but the broncos-jets deal did n't come without a hitch . a snag was reported within hours of the jets'saying they agreed in principle to the trade . espn , quoting a source with the broncos , reported the hangup was over language in tebow 's contract . sources told espn that the jets believed denver should pay $ 5 million in salary advances to tebow . the broncos have already paid $ 1.2 million of the advance , espn reported . the jets have agreed to pay half of the $ 5 million in compensation back to denver to finish the trade , espn reported late wednesday . tebow , an outspoken evangelical christian , became the broncos'starting quarterback last year amid great fanfare . he led the team from a 1-4 start to an 8-8 finish in the regular season and their first division title since 2005 . the trade comes less than two weeks after the jets and quarterback mark sanchez agreed on a multiyear contract extension . jets general manager mike tannenbaum said sanchez will retain his starting quarterback job and tebow will play in a wildcat-style offense , which uses a quarterback more as a runner . it will be up to us to put him in the position to be successful , ' said tannenbaum . we think he 's going to be a player that can help us . he 's a great competitor . he 's gon na help us win . ' a lot of the talk about tebow , 24 , has centered around his demonstrations of his faith . he wore bible verses on his eyeblack when he quarterbacked for the florida gators . he won the heisman trophy in 2007 . throughout last season in denver , tebow 's jersey was flying off the racks and tebowing ' -- the act of getting down on one knee and praying while everyone around you does something else -- became an internet meme and widely recognized symbol . tebow quickly became the public face of frs co. and jockey ; for months , it was hard to click on espn without hearing his name . manning , who missed last season because of an injury , was released this year by the indianapolis colts , the only team for which he 's played in his 14-year pro career . in the subsequent weeks , the super bowl xli victor -- who has been named the national football league 's most valuable player a record four times -- has been hotly sought after by several teams . broncos executive john elway , in a statement issued wednesday night , said , tim tebow deserves an enormous amount of credit for what he accomplished and how he carried himself during his time with the broncos . from taking over a 1-4 team and leading it to the playoffs to energizing our fans and this community , tim left an extraordinary mark on this organization . his time in denver will always hold a special place in broncos history . ' jim daly , president of the colorado springs-based evangelical group focus on the family , teamed up with tebow for an anti-abortion super bowl ad last year . the spot illustrated how comfortable tebow is trumpeting his christian beliefs . i think there is going to be this period of mourning for tim tebow 's departure , ' daly said . i think that that affection that people have for tebow goes well beyond denver and his ability to play football . ' cnn 's dan merica and joseph miller contributed to this report . | tebow will hold special place in broncos history , elway says |
broncos <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the denver broncos announced wednesday night they had finalized a trade that sends high-profile quarterback tim tebow to the new york jets . tebow and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 nfl draft go the jets in exchange for picks in the fourth and sixth rounds of the draft . the broncos said tuesday that superstar quarterback peyton manning , a free agent , would join the team , setting in motion efforts to trade tebow . but the broncos-jets deal did n't come without a hitch . a snag was reported within hours of the jets'saying they agreed in principle to the trade . espn , quoting a source with the broncos , reported the hangup was over language in tebow 's contract . sources told espn that the jets believed denver should pay $ 5 million in salary advances to tebow . the broncos have already paid $ 1.2 million of the advance , espn reported . the jets have agreed to pay half of the $ 5 million in compensation back to denver to finish the trade , espn reported late wednesday . tebow , an outspoken evangelical christian , became the broncos'starting quarterback last year amid great fanfare . he led the team from a 1-4 start to an 8-8 finish in the regular season and their first division title since 2005 . the trade comes less than two weeks after the jets and quarterback mark sanchez agreed on a multiyear contract extension . jets general manager mike tannenbaum said sanchez will retain his starting quarterback job and tebow will play in a wildcat-style offense , which uses a quarterback more as a runner . it will be up to us to put him in the position to be successful , ' said tannenbaum . we think he 's going to be a player that can help us . he 's a great competitor . he 's gon na help us win . ' a lot of the talk about tebow , 24 , has centered around his demonstrations of his faith . he wore bible verses on his eyeblack when he quarterbacked for the florida gators . he won the heisman trophy in 2007 . throughout last season in denver , tebow 's jersey was flying off the racks and tebowing ' -- the act of getting down on one knee and praying while everyone around you does something else -- became an internet meme and widely recognized symbol . tebow quickly became the public face of frs co. and jockey ; for months , it was hard to click on espn without hearing his name . manning , who missed last season because of an injury , was released this year by the indianapolis colts , the only team for which he 's played in his 14-year pro career . in the subsequent weeks , the super bowl xli victor -- who has been named the national football league 's most valuable player a record four times -- has been hotly sought after by several teams . broncos executive john elway , in a statement issued wednesday night , said , tim tebow deserves an enormous amount of credit for what he accomplished and how he carried himself during his time with the broncos . from taking over a 1-4 team and leading it to the playoffs to energizing our fans and this community , tim left an extraordinary mark on this organization . his time in denver will always hold a special place in broncos history . ' jim daly , president of the colorado springs-based evangelical group focus on the family , teamed up with tebow for an anti-abortion super bowl ad last year . the spot illustrated how comfortable tebow is trumpeting his christian beliefs . i think there is going to be this period of mourning for tim tebow 's departure , ' daly said . i think that that affection that people have for tebow goes well beyond denver and his ability to play football . ' cnn 's dan merica and joseph miller contributed to this report . | the broncos signed free agent star quarterback peyton manning |
broncos <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the denver broncos announced wednesday night they had finalized a trade that sends high-profile quarterback tim tebow to the new york jets . tebow and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 nfl draft go the jets in exchange for picks in the fourth and sixth rounds of the draft . the broncos said tuesday that superstar quarterback peyton manning , a free agent , would join the team , setting in motion efforts to trade tebow . but the broncos-jets deal did n't come without a hitch . a snag was reported within hours of the jets'saying they agreed in principle to the trade . espn , quoting a source with the broncos , reported the hangup was over language in tebow 's contract . sources told espn that the jets believed denver should pay $ 5 million in salary advances to tebow . the broncos have already paid $ 1.2 million of the advance , espn reported . the jets have agreed to pay half of the $ 5 million in compensation back to denver to finish the trade , espn reported late wednesday . tebow , an outspoken evangelical christian , became the broncos'starting quarterback last year amid great fanfare . he led the team from a 1-4 start to an 8-8 finish in the regular season and their first division title since 2005 . the trade comes less than two weeks after the jets and quarterback mark sanchez agreed on a multiyear contract extension . jets general manager mike tannenbaum said sanchez will retain his starting quarterback job and tebow will play in a wildcat-style offense , which uses a quarterback more as a runner . it will be up to us to put him in the position to be successful , ' said tannenbaum . we think he 's going to be a player that can help us . he 's a great competitor . he 's gon na help us win . ' a lot of the talk about tebow , 24 , has centered around his demonstrations of his faith . he wore bible verses on his eyeblack when he quarterbacked for the florida gators . he won the heisman trophy in 2007 . throughout last season in denver , tebow 's jersey was flying off the racks and tebowing ' -- the act of getting down on one knee and praying while everyone around you does something else -- became an internet meme and widely recognized symbol . tebow quickly became the public face of frs co. and jockey ; for months , it was hard to click on espn without hearing his name . manning , who missed last season because of an injury , was released this year by the indianapolis colts , the only team for which he 's played in his 14-year pro career . in the subsequent weeks , the super bowl xli victor -- who has been named the national football league 's most valuable player a record four times -- has been hotly sought after by several teams . broncos executive john elway , in a statement issued wednesday night , said , tim tebow deserves an enormous amount of credit for what he accomplished and how he carried himself during his time with the broncos . from taking over a 1-4 team and leading it to the playoffs to energizing our fans and this community , tim left an extraordinary mark on this organization . his time in denver will always hold a special place in broncos history . ' jim daly , president of the colorado springs-based evangelical group focus on the family , teamed up with tebow for an anti-abortion super bowl ad last year . the spot illustrated how comfortable tebow is trumpeting his christian beliefs . i think there is going to be this period of mourning for tim tebow 's departure , ' daly said . i think that that affection that people have for tebow goes well beyond denver and his ability to play football . ' cnn 's dan merica and joseph miller contributed to this report . | tebow will hold special place in broncos history , elway says |
peyton manning <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the denver broncos announced wednesday night they had finalized a trade that sends high-profile quarterback tim tebow to the new york jets . tebow and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 nfl draft go the jets in exchange for picks in the fourth and sixth rounds of the draft . the broncos said tuesday that superstar quarterback peyton manning , a free agent , would join the team , setting in motion efforts to trade tebow . but the broncos-jets deal did n't come without a hitch . a snag was reported within hours of the jets'saying they agreed in principle to the trade . espn , quoting a source with the broncos , reported the hangup was over language in tebow 's contract . sources told espn that the jets believed denver should pay $ 5 million in salary advances to tebow . the broncos have already paid $ 1.2 million of the advance , espn reported . the jets have agreed to pay half of the $ 5 million in compensation back to denver to finish the trade , espn reported late wednesday . tebow , an outspoken evangelical christian , became the broncos'starting quarterback last year amid great fanfare . he led the team from a 1-4 start to an 8-8 finish in the regular season and their first division title since 2005 . the trade comes less than two weeks after the jets and quarterback mark sanchez agreed on a multiyear contract extension . jets general manager mike tannenbaum said sanchez will retain his starting quarterback job and tebow will play in a wildcat-style offense , which uses a quarterback more as a runner . it will be up to us to put him in the position to be successful , ' said tannenbaum . we think he 's going to be a player that can help us . he 's a great competitor . he 's gon na help us win . ' a lot of the talk about tebow , 24 , has centered around his demonstrations of his faith . he wore bible verses on his eyeblack when he quarterbacked for the florida gators . he won the heisman trophy in 2007 . throughout last season in denver , tebow 's jersey was flying off the racks and tebowing ' -- the act of getting down on one knee and praying while everyone around you does something else -- became an internet meme and widely recognized symbol . tebow quickly became the public face of frs co. and jockey ; for months , it was hard to click on espn without hearing his name . manning , who missed last season because of an injury , was released this year by the indianapolis colts , the only team for which he 's played in his 14-year pro career . in the subsequent weeks , the super bowl xli victor -- who has been named the national football league 's most valuable player a record four times -- has been hotly sought after by several teams . broncos executive john elway , in a statement issued wednesday night , said , tim tebow deserves an enormous amount of credit for what he accomplished and how he carried himself during his time with the broncos . from taking over a 1-4 team and leading it to the playoffs to energizing our fans and this community , tim left an extraordinary mark on this organization . his time in denver will always hold a special place in broncos history . ' jim daly , president of the colorado springs-based evangelical group focus on the family , teamed up with tebow for an anti-abortion super bowl ad last year . the spot illustrated how comfortable tebow is trumpeting his christian beliefs . i think there is going to be this period of mourning for tim tebow 's departure , ' daly said . i think that that affection that people have for tebow goes well beyond denver and his ability to play football . ' cnn 's dan merica and joseph miller contributed to this report . | the broncos signed free agent star quarterback peyton manning |
indiana <tsp> ( cnn ) -- here 's a record-setting job that qualifies as a heavy lift . ' on thursday , workers in indiana and kentucky finished sliding a new nearly half-mile-long , 30 million-pound bridge from one set of piers to another , making it the longest bridge in north america -- and perhaps the world ' -- to slide laterally into place , according to the indiana department of transportation . the milton-madison bridge spans the ohio river , linking u.s. 421 between madison , indiana , and milton , kentucky . starting wednesday , workers moved it 55 feet from temporary piers to permanent refurbished piers . high winds across the river forced a delay in the job , until it could be completed the next day . here 's how they did it : workers placed polished steel sliding plates on top of the refurbished piers . then , they pulled the bridge from the temporary piers to the refurbished piers with steel cables and eight computer-controlled hydraulic jacks . bridge geeks call this a steel truss bridge . it measures 2,428 feet long and 40 feet wide . for drivers , it has two 12-foot-wide lanes and shoulders measuring 8 feet . for folks who prefer to walk , officials plan to add a 5-foot-wide sidewalk to the bridge during the coming months . after inspections and and the completion of road connections , the bridge is expected to reopen to traffic in about a week . deterioration of the 85-year-old original bridge prompted the estimated $ 131 million project . the old milton-madison bridge was only one of more than a half-million aging bridges nationwide . a report released last year by transportation for america labeled the bridge structurally deficient . ' drivers and passengers expect this critical infrastructure to be safe and reliable every day . how safe is that bridge you 're driving over ? the average age of all 607,380 bridges in the united states is 42 years , according to the american society of civil engineers . about 25 % of them are classified as deficient , according to a 2013 report by the federal highway administration . to make all necessary repairs to america 's bridges , the federal government estimates that it will cost $ 76 billion , according to the engineer group . | workers move new ohio river bridge into place between indiana and kentucky |
zimbabwe <tsp> ( cnn ) -- zimbabwe president robert mugabe has warned against outside influences in next month 's run-off election , likening one american diplomat to a prostitute ' and threatening to oust another from his country . robert mugabe tries to stir voters with a blistering speech criticizing the u.s. and britain . zimbabwe can not be british , it can not be american . yes , it is african , ' said mugabe , whose speech sunday was quoted monday in the herald , the state-run newspaper . you saw the joy that the british had , that the americans had , and saw them here through their representatives celebrating and acting as if we zimbabwe are either an extension of britain or ... america . you saw that little american girl [ u. s. assistant secretary of state for african affairs jendayi frazer ] trotting around the globe like a prostitute ... ' mugabe went on to say that u.s . ambassador to zimbabwe james mcgee would be expelled from the country if he persisted in meddling in zimbabwe 's electoral process , ' the newspaper reported . the fallout from zimbabwe 's stalled election has brought international criticism , with frazer taking the most emphatic stance . in april , frazer accused mugabe , who has ruled zimbabwe for nearly three decades , of trying to steal the election ' and intimidating the population and election officials as well . ' the first election was march 29 . an announcement of the winner of the presidential election was delayed for weeks as opposition leader morgan tsvangirai claimed he had won . the zimbabwe electoral commission , after a long delay , ruled that neither candidate had won the required majority of votes , and scheduled a runoff election for june 27 . since the march balloting , there have been numerous reports from tsvangirai 's party and church groups about kidnappings , torture and other violence , including the deaths of opposition party members . they say the violence targets opponents of mugabe and his zanu-pf party . at about the same time sunday that mugabe was giving his campaign speech , tsvangirai was speaking at a funeral . tsvangirai spoke harshly as he stood near the casket of a man he claimed was killed by mugabe 's supporters . watch tsvangirai address mourners » ' this is a clear testimony of the callousness of this regime , ' said tsvangirai to a funeral procession of hundreds gathered outside the capital city of harare . they can kill us . they can maim us . but we are going on the 27th of june , our hearts dripping with blood , to vote him out of office . ' mugabe denies his supporters were responsible for election-related violence . | mugabe warns u.s. and britain to keep out of zimbabwe |
zimbabwe <tsp> ( cnn ) -- zimbabwe president robert mugabe has warned against outside influences in next month 's run-off election , likening one american diplomat to a prostitute ' and threatening to oust another from his country . robert mugabe tries to stir voters with a blistering speech criticizing the u.s. and britain . zimbabwe can not be british , it can not be american . yes , it is african , ' said mugabe , whose speech sunday was quoted monday in the herald , the state-run newspaper . you saw the joy that the british had , that the americans had , and saw them here through their representatives celebrating and acting as if we zimbabwe are either an extension of britain or ... america . you saw that little american girl [ u. s. assistant secretary of state for african affairs jendayi frazer ] trotting around the globe like a prostitute ... ' mugabe went on to say that u.s . ambassador to zimbabwe james mcgee would be expelled from the country if he persisted in meddling in zimbabwe 's electoral process , ' the newspaper reported . the fallout from zimbabwe 's stalled election has brought international criticism , with frazer taking the most emphatic stance . in april , frazer accused mugabe , who has ruled zimbabwe for nearly three decades , of trying to steal the election ' and intimidating the population and election officials as well . ' the first election was march 29 . an announcement of the winner of the presidential election was delayed for weeks as opposition leader morgan tsvangirai claimed he had won . the zimbabwe electoral commission , after a long delay , ruled that neither candidate had won the required majority of votes , and scheduled a runoff election for june 27 . since the march balloting , there have been numerous reports from tsvangirai 's party and church groups about kidnappings , torture and other violence , including the deaths of opposition party members . they say the violence targets opponents of mugabe and his zanu-pf party . at about the same time sunday that mugabe was giving his campaign speech , tsvangirai was speaking at a funeral . tsvangirai spoke harshly as he stood near the casket of a man he claimed was killed by mugabe 's supporters . watch tsvangirai address mourners » ' this is a clear testimony of the callousness of this regime , ' said tsvangirai to a funeral procession of hundreds gathered outside the capital city of harare . they can kill us . they can maim us . but we are going on the 27th of june , our hearts dripping with blood , to vote him out of office . ' mugabe denies his supporters were responsible for election-related violence . | zimbabwe president robert mugabe likens u.s. diplomat to prostitute |
britain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- zimbabwe president robert mugabe has warned against outside influences in next month 's run-off election , likening one american diplomat to a prostitute ' and threatening to oust another from his country . robert mugabe tries to stir voters with a blistering speech criticizing the u.s. and britain . zimbabwe can not be british , it can not be american . yes , it is african , ' said mugabe , whose speech sunday was quoted monday in the herald , the state-run newspaper . you saw the joy that the british had , that the americans had , and saw them here through their representatives celebrating and acting as if we zimbabwe are either an extension of britain or ... america . you saw that little american girl [ u. s. assistant secretary of state for african affairs jendayi frazer ] trotting around the globe like a prostitute ... ' mugabe went on to say that u.s . ambassador to zimbabwe james mcgee would be expelled from the country if he persisted in meddling in zimbabwe 's electoral process , ' the newspaper reported . the fallout from zimbabwe 's stalled election has brought international criticism , with frazer taking the most emphatic stance . in april , frazer accused mugabe , who has ruled zimbabwe for nearly three decades , of trying to steal the election ' and intimidating the population and election officials as well . ' the first election was march 29 . an announcement of the winner of the presidential election was delayed for weeks as opposition leader morgan tsvangirai claimed he had won . the zimbabwe electoral commission , after a long delay , ruled that neither candidate had won the required majority of votes , and scheduled a runoff election for june 27 . since the march balloting , there have been numerous reports from tsvangirai 's party and church groups about kidnappings , torture and other violence , including the deaths of opposition party members . they say the violence targets opponents of mugabe and his zanu-pf party . at about the same time sunday that mugabe was giving his campaign speech , tsvangirai was speaking at a funeral . tsvangirai spoke harshly as he stood near the casket of a man he claimed was killed by mugabe 's supporters . watch tsvangirai address mourners » ' this is a clear testimony of the callousness of this regime , ' said tsvangirai to a funeral procession of hundreds gathered outside the capital city of harare . they can kill us . they can maim us . but we are going on the 27th of june , our hearts dripping with blood , to vote him out of office . ' mugabe denies his supporters were responsible for election-related violence . | mugabe warns u.s. and britain to keep out of zimbabwe |
democrats <tsp> in presidential politics , very little is random . and the recent questions about hillary clinton 's age and health is anything but . national republicans , as well as anti-clinton outside groups and right-wing blogs , have stepped up efforts to redefine clinton , despite her nearly 40 years on the political stage . at the heart of this effort is one group of voters : young people . republicans think that young voters -- particularly americans who were in diapers or listening to n * sync during the eight years that hillary clinton lived in the white house -- could use a refresher course on all things clinton . republicans feel young people could use their version of clinton 's history - and might be impressionable over what might seem like distant history . they have stepped up their message and research efforts to rehash the news of the '90s -- including the policies and scandals that defined the years from 1992 to 2000 -- as part of their wider campaign against her as she mulls another run for president . democrats charge that the republican campaign is just dredging up ' old news . republicans describe it as citing ' recent history . rove attack was clumsy but shrewd ' there is a whole swath of voters out there who obviously know of hillary clinton and understand who the clintons are , but they do n't know of her as the politician , they do n't know the specifics about her time in the white house , ' kirsten kukowski , spokeswoman for the republican national committee , said . details about the clinton white house years is not old news for people who were in grade school ' at the time , she said . the strategy has obvious pitfalls . republicans risk looking petty by bringing up old scandals . and it hinges on the assumption that young voters will be receptive to republican views of clinton , who is liked by nearly two thirds of those between 18-29 sampled in a recent quinnipiac university poll . republicans have been good lately at proving they are all about the past while secretary clinton is busy looking to the future , ' said adrienne elrod , communications director for correct the record , a pro-clinton rapid response organization . but , if republicans want to spend money educating young voters about how strong the economy was under president clinton 's leadership in the 90s and how american broad-based prosperity was was at an all time high , who are we to stop them ? ' clinton under fire for age , health clinton is also one of the most recognizable people in america . in recent polls . she has more than 95 % name recognition with u.s. voters and is considered the overwhelming favorite to win the democratic nomination , if she runs . republicans , however , feel they can still define her on their terms . while a lot people assume everyone knows hillary , people under 30 do n't know specifics , ' kukowski said . we need to be out there framing her early . ' republicans pounce on margolies'defeat ' what is hillary clinton 's biggest accomplishment ? ' as clinton weighs a white house run in 2016 , republicans want young voters to think about this : what is hillary clinton 's biggest accomplishment ? i think that is going to be a big issue in framing the debate and framing who hillary is to those voters , ' kukowski said . conservative blogs and publications have seemingly taken cues from the rnc on this question . just last week , pjtv , a center-right online news and commentary ' website sent a reporter to george washington university to question students about clinton 's record . in a three-minute video that has bounced around right wing blogs , students seem unable to answer the question and those who respond offer meager answers ( one even cites clinton 's handling of benghazi as an accomplishment ) . other blogs and right-leaning outlets have sent reporters to democratic national committee meetings and college campuses to ask questions about clinton 's record and history of political positions . kukowski said she did n't know if that format comes directly from the rnc , but did say , we do have somebody here that works with conservative bloggers all day every day . ' the republican strategy extends beyond the right wing blogosphere , too . top republican strategists , like karl rove , have shown how republican might try to bring up clinton 's age and health in a campaign . rove dropped questions about clinton 's health at an event that was picked up by a newspaper . he doubled down on the comments , drawing condemnation from democrats . the strategy worked , however , as it dominated news about clinton for two days . patrick : all this attention could hurt clinton digging back into the '90s although democrats have called rove sleazy , ' the stepped up attacks have already had an impact on the early 2016 presidential wrangling by solidifying what republicans have been saying for months : hillary clinton is who they see as the most formidable potential candidate . representatives from a handful of republican groups said they plan to operate as if she is running or until she says otherwise . but the comments have also forced clinton into the political fray . she had tried to stay above politics for months by giving high-profile paid speeches and traveling the country . but as clinton began to raise her profile , republicans began to step up their attacks and force a response . when she left the state department , she joked with friends and confidants that she was looking forward to the speeches and beaches ' time of her life . that time appears to be over . in the past two weeks , she has dipped her toes into domestic politics , including her first congressional fundraiser of the midterms -- for a candidate who eventually lost , and has started to regularly tout her husband 's record in the white house . the 1990s taught us that even in the face of difficult long term economic trends , it is possible through smart policies and sound investments to enjoy broad-based growth and shared prosperity , ' clinton said during a speech at the new america foundation . she added that her husband 's years in the white house showed that a rising tide really did raise all boats . ' tim miller , executive director of the anti-clinton america rising pac , said comments like that are an acknowledgment that she knows their time in the white house from 1993-2001 will be an issue if she runs . we are very conscious of the fact that there is a big slice of the electorate that does not have a full picture of hillary clintons record , ' miller said . i think that with the clintons would like to rely on is a nostalgic strategy with regards to their time in the white house in the '90s and do n't want to get down into the details . ' miller , whose super pac has a cadre of researchers diving into the clinton record , said there will be an obvious focus on what younger voters need to know about her time in the white house . miller added that while he does n't think the 2016 election will be won or lost on issues like whitewater and other clinton white house scandals , he does think informing young voters , especially , about them is necessary . i do think that for the generation that did n't live through that , that there is some value having the discussion , ' he added . right now , america rising has roughly 60 full-time employees working for the organization , many of whom are primarily focused on cultivating research documents about clinton 's world in the '80s and '90s . solidifying a definition defining a candidate early is nothing new in presidential politics , either . president barack obama 's campaign famously began to define republican challenger mitt romney as out-of-touch early in the race . his team went up with ads early and spent tons of cash , hoping that romney would be defined on their terms to many voters by final months of the campaign . what happens is often times if you do n't introduce yourself , then you are leaving that task to the opposition , ' said kevin madden , a republican strategist and romney spokesman . what happens is when the oppositions provides a greater reservoir of information about you and it is negative then it is tough to turn around those perceptions . ' obama prevailed in a campaign that many saw as perilous for him . but defining clinton before she has said whether she will run or not is somewhat unprecedented . republicans say that is only because of the unprecedented shadow campaign around clinton right now . the strategy is to force her out of the shadow campaign she is winning by acclimation , ' said leslie sanchez , a republican strategist and the author of you 've come a long way , maybe . ' that is the undercurrent here in bringing out issues about health or legacy . ( republicans are n't ) going to allow hillary clinton to be anointed without taking the heat . ' opinion : why i 'm ready for hillary | democrats charge the gop campaign is'dredging up ' old news |
kiev <tsp> ( cnn ) after thousands of deaths and months of futile attempts to avoid more in ukraine 's fight with pro-russian rebels , leaders on both sides talked past each other wednesday , with one saying direct negotiations were off the table and another suggesting that the war be settled with a duel . igor plotnitsky , leader of the self-declared separatist republic in eastern ukraine 's luhansk region , said he challenges ukrainian president petro poroshenko to a one-on-one fight to end the monthslong conflict . regardless of whether plotnitsky 's offer was sincere , it reflected a serious reality : a war that has spread misery in eastern ukraine and heightened tensions between russia and the west is still going on , despite a supposed ceasefire that the two sides signed two months ago . let 's follow the example of the ancient slavic leaders and glorious kazakh chiefs and clash in a fight , ' plotnitsky said , adding that poroshenko could pick the time and weapons , according to itar-tass . the one who wins will dictate the terms to the opposite side . ' ukraine 's government made no immediate public response . but kiev did say that two ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in clashes across eastern ukraine on tuesday . and ukrainian prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk said wednesday that kiev would not negotiate directly with the rebels , arguing that a ceasefire deal already had been made and all that anyone needed to do was follow it . fulfill the minsk agreement if you want peace , ' yatsenyuk said , according to state-run media outlet ukrinfom . minsk is the belarus capital where the sides reached the deal . in order to guarantee reaching peace we need to negotiate in a format accepted by the whole world and , first of all , suitable for ukraine , ' yatsenyuk said . pro-russian separatists have claimed control of parts of eastern ukraine since the spring , despite a push by ukrainian forces to defeat them . from mid-april to september 16 alone , the conflict had killed at least 3,500 people and injured at least 8,100 others , according to the united nations . the sides reached a ceasefire agreement in september , but fighting has returned to levels that preceded the ceasefire , a british security source who has detailed knowledge of the matter told cnn earlier this month . ukraine and the west have accused russia of supporting the rebels by sending russian troops , weapons and supplies . just last week , u.s. gen. philip breedlove , the commander of nato forces in europe , said that his government has seen russian tanks , artillery , air defense systems and troops heading into ukraine . a day earlier , breedlove said russia had moved forces that are capable of being nuclear ' into crimea , which was ukrainian territory until being folded into russia on the heels of a government turnover earlier this year . crimea borders southeastern ukraine , where much of the current unrest is focused and into which russian troops allegedly have moved . the united states and european countries have imposed economic sanctions on russia over its involvement in ukraine . russian officials have frequently denied claims their military has sent forces into eastern ukraine to bolster the rebels . unrest in ukraine began with protests in the country 's capital last year after pro-moscow president viktor yanukovych , favoring closer ties to russia , dropped plans to sign a political and economic agreement with the european union . after months of protests and days of deadly clashes between demonstrators and security personnel in kiev , parliament ousted yanukovych in february . weeks later , russia annexed the crimean peninsula . in april , violence broke out in two ukrainian regions that border russia -- donetsk and luhansk -- as separatist leaders declared independence from the government in kiev . journalist victoria butenko and cnn 's brian walker and greg botelho contributed to this report . | ukrainian prime minister says kiev will not negotiate directly with rebels |
ukrainian <tsp> ( cnn ) after thousands of deaths and months of futile attempts to avoid more in ukraine 's fight with pro-russian rebels , leaders on both sides talked past each other wednesday , with one saying direct negotiations were off the table and another suggesting that the war be settled with a duel . igor plotnitsky , leader of the self-declared separatist republic in eastern ukraine 's luhansk region , said he challenges ukrainian president petro poroshenko to a one-on-one fight to end the monthslong conflict . regardless of whether plotnitsky 's offer was sincere , it reflected a serious reality : a war that has spread misery in eastern ukraine and heightened tensions between russia and the west is still going on , despite a supposed ceasefire that the two sides signed two months ago . let 's follow the example of the ancient slavic leaders and glorious kazakh chiefs and clash in a fight , ' plotnitsky said , adding that poroshenko could pick the time and weapons , according to itar-tass . the one who wins will dictate the terms to the opposite side . ' ukraine 's government made no immediate public response . but kiev did say that two ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in clashes across eastern ukraine on tuesday . and ukrainian prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk said wednesday that kiev would not negotiate directly with the rebels , arguing that a ceasefire deal already had been made and all that anyone needed to do was follow it . fulfill the minsk agreement if you want peace , ' yatsenyuk said , according to state-run media outlet ukrinfom . minsk is the belarus capital where the sides reached the deal . in order to guarantee reaching peace we need to negotiate in a format accepted by the whole world and , first of all , suitable for ukraine , ' yatsenyuk said . pro-russian separatists have claimed control of parts of eastern ukraine since the spring , despite a push by ukrainian forces to defeat them . from mid-april to september 16 alone , the conflict had killed at least 3,500 people and injured at least 8,100 others , according to the united nations . the sides reached a ceasefire agreement in september , but fighting has returned to levels that preceded the ceasefire , a british security source who has detailed knowledge of the matter told cnn earlier this month . ukraine and the west have accused russia of supporting the rebels by sending russian troops , weapons and supplies . just last week , u.s. gen. philip breedlove , the commander of nato forces in europe , said that his government has seen russian tanks , artillery , air defense systems and troops heading into ukraine . a day earlier , breedlove said russia had moved forces that are capable of being nuclear ' into crimea , which was ukrainian territory until being folded into russia on the heels of a government turnover earlier this year . crimea borders southeastern ukraine , where much of the current unrest is focused and into which russian troops allegedly have moved . the united states and european countries have imposed economic sanctions on russia over its involvement in ukraine . russian officials have frequently denied claims their military has sent forces into eastern ukraine to bolster the rebels . unrest in ukraine began with protests in the country 's capital last year after pro-moscow president viktor yanukovych , favoring closer ties to russia , dropped plans to sign a political and economic agreement with the european union . after months of protests and days of deadly clashes between demonstrators and security personnel in kiev , parliament ousted yanukovych in february . weeks later , russia annexed the crimean peninsula . in april , violence broke out in two ukrainian regions that border russia -- donetsk and luhansk -- as separatist leaders declared independence from the government in kiev . journalist victoria butenko and cnn 's brian walker and greg botelho contributed to this report . | ukrainian prime minister says kiev will not negotiate directly with rebels |
janet jackson <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the supreme court has tossed out government fines against cbs inc. and its affiliates for airing the infamous shot of brief nudity involving singer janet jackson during the 2004 super bowl . friday 's action follows the court 's separate , unanimous ruling this month in favor of broadcast television networks . the justices said in that free-speech dispute that the federal communications commission imposed unfair punishment for isolated profanity and sexual content during evening prime time ' hours . the fcc had imposed a $ 550,000 fine against cbs and its affiliates for airing the wardrobe malfunction ' incident involving jackson and justin timberlake during the professional football championship game 's halftime show . the justice department had told the high court there was no fleeting images exemption from indecency enforcement ' and that the singer 's act was shocking and pandering , ' airing during a prime-time broadcast of a sporting event that was marketed as family entertainment and contained no warning that it would include nudity . ' but cbs countered that the government in recent decades has applied inconsistent rules to indecent words and images , punishing some instances and ignoring others . a three-judge philadelphia-based 3rd circuit u.s. court of appeals panel last november agreed , finding for a second time the fcc had acted arbitrarily and capriciously , ' since the commission did not give the media companies proper prior warning about subsequent changes in its enforcement policies . chief justice john roberts said friday he was not so sure . ' high court rules for broadcasters on tv'indecency' ' the agency never stated that the ( fleeting expletives ) exception applied to fleeting images as well , and there was good reason to believe that it did not , ' he wrote . as every schoolchild knows , a picture is worth a thousand words , and cbs broadcast this particular picture to millions of impressionable children . ' the chief justice himself is the only member of the high court who is a parent of two school-age children . but roberts nevertheless agreed with his colleagues to dismiss the government 's appeal , in light of the fcc 's newly clarified policy allowing for no exceptions to fleeting expletives or images . any future'wardrobe malfunctions'will not be protected on the ground relied on by the court below , ' warned roberts . after viewer complaints and national media attention , the fcc said the jackson incident was obscene . in addition to cbs inc. , 20 of its affiliates also were fined . congress quickly reacted at the time to the visual shocker by increasing the limit on indecency fines tenfold , up to $ 325,000 per violation per network . and it said each local affiliate that aired such incidents also could be punished by the same amount . the fcc claimed the network had alarm bells ' something might have been up , suggesting jackson and timberlake may have planned ripping off the woman 's bustier , exposing her breast for nine-sixteenths of a second . the television networks say their scripted shows no longer air nudity , racy images or expletives , even after 10 p.m. , when some potentially vulgar words may be permitted . they worry , however , about unplanned , often spontaneous indecent or profane incidents at live events , such as awards shows and sporting events . company officials say such programs are often on a five-second delay , and censors are on hand to bleep any offensive language . but some indecent words can slip through , they admit , and they want to be protected from heavy government fines . the wardrobe malfunction ' case is fcc v. cbs corp. ( 11-1240 ) . | the incident involved janet jackson and the 2004 super bowl halftime show |
muppets <tsp> ( cnn ) -- roll out the red carpet : america 's favorite prima donna pig is on the way to the smithsonian . miss piggy , the beloved muppet character known for flaunting her fashion sense and karate-chopping her way out of trouble , will go on display in march , the national museum of american history said tuesday . she wo n't be alone . kermit the frog , miss piggy 's longtime love interest , is already at the museum . miss piggy was among more than 20 puppets and props donated tuesday by the family of famed muppets creator jim henson . other characters donated included the swedish chef from the muppet show , ' cookie monster , elmo , bert and ernie from sesame street , ' and red fraggle and traveling matt from fraggle rock . ' we do n't want these puppets in boxes , ' daughter cheryl henson said at a ceremony announcing the donation , according to the smithsonian . jim henson , who died in 1990 , would have turned 77 on tuesday . no american artist has appealed to and affected as many people in different age groups and cultures the way jim henson has , ' said john gray , director of the museum . cnn 's catherine e. shoichet and carolyn sung contributed to this report . | the family of muppets creator jim henson donated miss piggy and other puppets |
turkey <tsp> istanbul , turkey ( cnn ) -- investigative newspaper reporter ismail saymaz thought he faced 10 criminal cases against him for articles he had written . but when he logged on to a turkish government website to check his legal status , saymaz discovered an unpleasant surprise : two new cases filed against him . they are asking for up to 95 years imprisonment for me in these 12 [ cases ] , ' he said . the charges against saymaz range from violating secrecy to influencing judicial processes . media watchdog organizations warn growing numbers of turkish journalists now face not only the threat of lawsuits and fines for their work , but also possible jail sentences . according to the international press institute , as of september 30 , 50 press workers were incarcerated in turkish prisons and at least 50 more were facing possible jail sentences . the climate of intimidation led the european commission to accuse turkey of not sufficiently guaranteeing freedom of expression . concerns remain as regards political attacks against the press , ' the european commission announced tuesday , in its annual progress report on turkey 's bid to become the first predominantly muslim country to join the european union . the european report comes on the heels of a decision by the association reporters without borders to downgrade turkey 's rating on a press freedoms index . in two years , turkey has dropped from 102 to 138 on the association 's index , and now sits among the bottom 40 countries of the world when it comes to freedom of the press . these declines can be explained , ' reporters without borders wrote , by the frenzied proliferation of lawsuits , incarcerations , and court sentencing targeting journalists . ' at a speech in england on monday , turkish president abdullah gul conceded his country faced shortcomings when it comes to freedom of the press . there are unfortunately certain cases that have been brought before the courts about journalists and it is a cause of concern for us as well , ' gul said . there are certain legal amendments that will be introduced on this subject . ' gul 's justice and development party , or akp , has instituted historic reforms since it first swept to power in 2002 . strict taboos imposed by the once politically-dominant turkish military have been relaxed . the taboos have changed . the military is not taboo anymore , ' said mehmet ali birand , a veteran journalist who was black-listed and lost his job for his critical reporting on the military-dominated regime . but as power has shifted over the past decade from military to civilian rule , the akp government has introduced laws that make it easier to prosecute journalists . a 2005 change to the turkish penal code established prison sentences for press-related crimes such as breach of secrecy ' and influencing of a fair trial . ' the journalistic red lines are now much harder to discern , said mehmet ali birand -- who anchors the prime-time evening news on turkey 's kanal d. ' we knew what the military censorship was , ' birand said . the problem with civilian government -- you do n't know . ... it 's very , very unpredictable now . ' last year , the turkish government slapped birand 's employer , dogan media group , with a $ 2.5 billion fine for unpaid taxes . at the time the assets of dogan group , turkey 's largest media conglomerate ( and a business partner of cnn 's parent company turner broadcasting ) , was valued at $ 2.8 billion . tuesday 's european commission assessment report argued the penalty against dogan group amounted to a political attack against the press . throughout dogan group 's subsequent battle over tax evasion charges , several journalists working for the conglomerate -- speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs -- told cnn they routinely self-censor reports to avoid arousing further anger from the government . but journalists said they are also frequently targeted by court cases launched by the political opposition . investigative journalist ismail saymaz said roughly half the cases he faces stem from articles critical of the akp government , while the other half come from articles critical of turkey 's older secular establishment . in a country like turkey , where political polarization is widening between traditional power-holders from the military and kemalists on the one hand and conservative liberals on the other , ... we journalists become the ones who take the first bullet , ' he said . in 2007 , armenian newspaper editor hrant dink was gunned down outside his office in downtown istanbul . the man accused of dink 's murder was caught on security camera moments after he allegedly shot the editor . three years later , he has not been convicted . in the meantime , newspaper columnist nedim sener has been fighting in court after publishing a book accusing turkish police of not doing enough to stop dink 's murder . at one point , sener faced a possible 32 years in prison -- a stiffer penalty than the one potentially faced by the alleged murderer . last summer , a court acquitted sener . several police officers named in his book are trying to appeal the decision , he said . during a state visit to england , turkish president abdullah gul urged observers to appreciate the democratic reforms his government achieved over the past nine years . | everyone in turkey today can express their opinion , ' says turkey 's president |
turkey <tsp> istanbul , turkey ( cnn ) -- investigative newspaper reporter ismail saymaz thought he faced 10 criminal cases against him for articles he had written . but when he logged on to a turkish government website to check his legal status , saymaz discovered an unpleasant surprise : two new cases filed against him . they are asking for up to 95 years imprisonment for me in these 12 [ cases ] , ' he said . the charges against saymaz range from violating secrecy to influencing judicial processes . media watchdog organizations warn growing numbers of turkish journalists now face not only the threat of lawsuits and fines for their work , but also possible jail sentences . according to the international press institute , as of september 30 , 50 press workers were incarcerated in turkish prisons and at least 50 more were facing possible jail sentences . the climate of intimidation led the european commission to accuse turkey of not sufficiently guaranteeing freedom of expression . concerns remain as regards political attacks against the press , ' the european commission announced tuesday , in its annual progress report on turkey 's bid to become the first predominantly muslim country to join the european union . the european report comes on the heels of a decision by the association reporters without borders to downgrade turkey 's rating on a press freedoms index . in two years , turkey has dropped from 102 to 138 on the association 's index , and now sits among the bottom 40 countries of the world when it comes to freedom of the press . these declines can be explained , ' reporters without borders wrote , by the frenzied proliferation of lawsuits , incarcerations , and court sentencing targeting journalists . ' at a speech in england on monday , turkish president abdullah gul conceded his country faced shortcomings when it comes to freedom of the press . there are unfortunately certain cases that have been brought before the courts about journalists and it is a cause of concern for us as well , ' gul said . there are certain legal amendments that will be introduced on this subject . ' gul 's justice and development party , or akp , has instituted historic reforms since it first swept to power in 2002 . strict taboos imposed by the once politically-dominant turkish military have been relaxed . the taboos have changed . the military is not taboo anymore , ' said mehmet ali birand , a veteran journalist who was black-listed and lost his job for his critical reporting on the military-dominated regime . but as power has shifted over the past decade from military to civilian rule , the akp government has introduced laws that make it easier to prosecute journalists . a 2005 change to the turkish penal code established prison sentences for press-related crimes such as breach of secrecy ' and influencing of a fair trial . ' the journalistic red lines are now much harder to discern , said mehmet ali birand -- who anchors the prime-time evening news on turkey 's kanal d. ' we knew what the military censorship was , ' birand said . the problem with civilian government -- you do n't know . ... it 's very , very unpredictable now . ' last year , the turkish government slapped birand 's employer , dogan media group , with a $ 2.5 billion fine for unpaid taxes . at the time the assets of dogan group , turkey 's largest media conglomerate ( and a business partner of cnn 's parent company turner broadcasting ) , was valued at $ 2.8 billion . tuesday 's european commission assessment report argued the penalty against dogan group amounted to a political attack against the press . throughout dogan group 's subsequent battle over tax evasion charges , several journalists working for the conglomerate -- speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs -- told cnn they routinely self-censor reports to avoid arousing further anger from the government . but journalists said they are also frequently targeted by court cases launched by the political opposition . investigative journalist ismail saymaz said roughly half the cases he faces stem from articles critical of the akp government , while the other half come from articles critical of turkey 's older secular establishment . in a country like turkey , where political polarization is widening between traditional power-holders from the military and kemalists on the one hand and conservative liberals on the other , ... we journalists become the ones who take the first bullet , ' he said . in 2007 , armenian newspaper editor hrant dink was gunned down outside his office in downtown istanbul . the man accused of dink 's murder was caught on security camera moments after he allegedly shot the editor . three years later , he has not been convicted . in the meantime , newspaper columnist nedim sener has been fighting in court after publishing a book accusing turkish police of not doing enough to stop dink 's murder . at one point , sener faced a possible 32 years in prison -- a stiffer penalty than the one potentially faced by the alleged murderer . last summer , a court acquitted sener . several police officers named in his book are trying to appeal the decision , he said . during a state visit to england , turkish president abdullah gul urged observers to appreciate the democratic reforms his government achieved over the past nine years . | 50 press workers imprisoned in turkey ; 50 more facing possible jail sentences , says report |
miller <tsp> ( cnn ) -- marvin miller died tuesday at the age of 95.â and here 's why you should know his name : miller transformed the game of baseball even though he never put on a uniform . this slight union lawyer was considered the enemy of owners , and yet he might have done more than anyone else to bring free market competition to the national pastime and make it a modern big business . he was lionized and vilified and is sadly still denied entry into the baseball hall of fame . baseball combines sports and statistics , so consider these numbers when assessing the career of marvin miller . when the brooklyn-born mustachioed man was named executive director of the major league baseball player 's association in 1966 , the average player 's salary was just $ 7,000 a year . many professional players had to work a second job just to provide for their families . in 1984 , when miller left the position , the average players'salary was $ 329,000 . today it is $ 3.4 million . the reason is free agency . and that was the innovation that miller brought to the game , against the bitter opposition of team owners . bizarre as it might sound today , 40 years ago baseball was exempt from antitrust legislation . one of the impacts was that players could be contractually obligated to work for one team in perpetuity through what was called the reserve clause . they were effectively denied the ability to test their value in the open market , something miller saw as akin to slavery . in 1969 , he and a courageous st. cardinals'player named curt flood , later christened dred scott in spikes ' by columnist george will , took their challenge to the reserve clause all the way to the supreme court , where they lost by a 5 to 3 decision in 1972 . but miller persevered and pursued the players'liberation of their capital through free agency in 1975 . this survived a series of court challenges and became the norm today . yes , players are now paid sometimes absurd salaries , but fans come to see players , not owners , and they deserve their share of the profits as a result . yes , fans are too often denied their game by selfish strikes perpetrated by players and owners alike . these are unwelcome side effects of miller 's legacy . but the free agency era of increased competition has actually chipped away at monopolies in every sense . dynasties are less frequent and more teams have climbed from the cellar to the world series . competition works . the fact that miller was denied entry into the hall of fame as recently as 2010 speaks to the influence of owners and their deep dislike of miller 's intrusions and innovations . but there is irony that the trust-buster actually helped grow the economic pie of baseball , making more players and owners wealthy . it was ultimately a win-win , though the owners would always have a hard time seeing it . the most eloquent tribute to miller might have been his extended inclusion in the documentary baseball ' by ken burns , one of my favorite movies . but the real tribute is all around us ; in countless ways the national pastime has been transformed through the efforts of a man whose name you might not have heard before tuesday night : marvin miller , r.i.p . the opinions in this commentary are solely those of john avlon . | avlon : when miller became head of players'union , the average player 's salary was $ 7,000 |
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