text
stringlengths 254
12.1k
| summary
stringlengths 13
238
|
|---|---|
iraq <tsp> baghdad , iraq ( cnn ) -- i 've spoken to doctors in baghdad before , but never one this optimistic . solar panels similar to these are bringing renewable and regular power to two clinics in iraq . when i interviewed dr. thamer al-musawi , he told me his clinic is offering new hope to their patients . not because of any new medicines housed inside . but because of the high tech equipment placed on the outside -- 64 solar panels to be precise . about 4 months ago , they were installed on the roof of the al-dakhil medical center , where dr. thamer works , as part of a project being underwritten by the u.s. military and supported by iraq 's health ministry . only two other clinics in all of iraq have been given access to the same technology . dr. thamer excitedly explained its significance . it means we can give our patients the care and medical aid they need , ' he said , and we can do it 24 hours a day . ' round the clock medical care may not sound like anything special , but in iraq , where the power grid is unreliable and blackouts are frequent , most clinics can open only a few hours a day . and that 's not the worst of it . without dependable electricity , dr. thamer explained , certain medications ca n't be kept at the right temperatures . at one point , al-dakhil even had to cancel their children 's vaccine program because the vaccinations could n't be stored properly . that all changed with the arrival of the panels -- for a few months at least . the clinic recently suffered a setback . before we visited , someone tampered with a key circuit board and that 's preventing the clinic from using electricity still being stored in the batteries . until it 's fixed , al-dakhil is back to using what most other clinics must use , expensive and polluting diesel generators . but that has n't dampened dr. thamer 's enthusiasm . he fully expects the solar panels will be powering the clinic again within a few days . as a doctor in baghdad , he 's faced far worse , and he 's determined to overcome this challenge . more than anything , he simply wants to make sure his patients can get access to the best care possible . | cnn visited one of only three solar-powered clinics in whole of iraq |
h1n1 <tsp> ( cnn ) -- both people who died of swine flu in the united states had pre-existing health problems , federal health authorities said thursday in a report . a student uses disinfectant as she arrives thursday at the national technical institute in mexico city . the 22-month-old child who died april 27 of the flu , also called h1n1 , had neonatal myasthenia gravis , an autoimmune disease , said the report , which was written by a virus investigation team at the centers for disease control and prevention and published online in the new england journal of medicine . the child -- who was from mexico and who fell ill while visiting relatives in texas -- also had a heart defect , problems swallowing and chronic hypoxia , the report said . the 33-year-old texas woman who died last week was pregnant when she became ill , the article said . she had been diagnosed with asthma , rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis . the details came in a summary of the 642 confirmed cases of h1n1 infection that were diagnosed between april 15 and may 5 in 41 states among patients ranging in age from 3 months to 81 years . sixty percent were 18 years or younger and 18 percent had recently traveled to mexico , the report said . it said that 36 of the 399 patients with confirmed h1n1 infection whose hospitalization status was known had been hospitalized . of the 22 hospitalized patients for whom data were available , four were younger than 5 . nine had chronic medical conditions , some of which included down syndrome and congenital heart disease . seven patients said they had traveled to mexico during the week before onset of illness . eleven of those 22 hospitalized patients had pneumonia and eight patients were treated in an intensive care unit . four were placed on ventilators . as of tuesday , 18 of the 22 patients who had been hospitalized had recovered , it said . in a conference call with reporters , cdc 's dr. carolyn bridges said epidemiologists would be scrutinizing the disease 's spread in south america , where the cool season is set to begin . flu virus prefers lower humidity and lower temperatures for transmission , ' she said . we 'll be looking closely to the southern hemisphere during their winter to see what happens . that may give us some clues as to what to expect . ' brazil 's health minister told reporters thursday that four cases of h1n1 infection have been confirmed in brazil . three have been hospitalized and one is at home , said health minister jose gomes temporao . one case is in rio de janeiro , two are in sao paolo and the fourth was in minas gerais in southeastern brazil . two of the patients had recently been in mexico city ; the other two had recently been in florida , he said . another 21 cases are suspected in brazil , he said . in buenos aires , health minister graciela ocana confirmed argentina 's first h1n1 case -- a man who arrived april 25 from mexico . the man was hospitalized in the capital and released after he recovered , ocana said . the ultimate course of the disease remains unclear , said dr. anthony fauci , director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases , who is involved in the effort to create a vaccine . we may be seeing the tip of the iceberg , ' he told cnn . we ca n't make any definitive projections about where this is going . it appears to be acting like a typical seasonal flu , only it 's out of season . we should n't be seeing this much influenza and it 's with a new virus and that 's the cause fo the concern . ' asked when a vaccine might be available , he said , we hope to get doses by mid- to late fall . ' journalist fabiana frayssinet in rio de janeiro and brian byrnes in buenos aires contributed to this story . | cdc report summarizes 642 confirmed cases of h1n1 infection |
h1n1 <tsp> ( cnn ) -- both people who died of swine flu in the united states had pre-existing health problems , federal health authorities said thursday in a report . a student uses disinfectant as she arrives thursday at the national technical institute in mexico city . the 22-month-old child who died april 27 of the flu , also called h1n1 , had neonatal myasthenia gravis , an autoimmune disease , said the report , which was written by a virus investigation team at the centers for disease control and prevention and published online in the new england journal of medicine . the child -- who was from mexico and who fell ill while visiting relatives in texas -- also had a heart defect , problems swallowing and chronic hypoxia , the report said . the 33-year-old texas woman who died last week was pregnant when she became ill , the article said . she had been diagnosed with asthma , rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis . the details came in a summary of the 642 confirmed cases of h1n1 infection that were diagnosed between april 15 and may 5 in 41 states among patients ranging in age from 3 months to 81 years . sixty percent were 18 years or younger and 18 percent had recently traveled to mexico , the report said . it said that 36 of the 399 patients with confirmed h1n1 infection whose hospitalization status was known had been hospitalized . of the 22 hospitalized patients for whom data were available , four were younger than 5 . nine had chronic medical conditions , some of which included down syndrome and congenital heart disease . seven patients said they had traveled to mexico during the week before onset of illness . eleven of those 22 hospitalized patients had pneumonia and eight patients were treated in an intensive care unit . four were placed on ventilators . as of tuesday , 18 of the 22 patients who had been hospitalized had recovered , it said . in a conference call with reporters , cdc 's dr. carolyn bridges said epidemiologists would be scrutinizing the disease 's spread in south america , where the cool season is set to begin . flu virus prefers lower humidity and lower temperatures for transmission , ' she said . we 'll be looking closely to the southern hemisphere during their winter to see what happens . that may give us some clues as to what to expect . ' brazil 's health minister told reporters thursday that four cases of h1n1 infection have been confirmed in brazil . three have been hospitalized and one is at home , said health minister jose gomes temporao . one case is in rio de janeiro , two are in sao paolo and the fourth was in minas gerais in southeastern brazil . two of the patients had recently been in mexico city ; the other two had recently been in florida , he said . another 21 cases are suspected in brazil , he said . in buenos aires , health minister graciela ocana confirmed argentina 's first h1n1 case -- a man who arrived april 25 from mexico . the man was hospitalized in the capital and released after he recovered , ocana said . the ultimate course of the disease remains unclear , said dr. anthony fauci , director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases , who is involved in the effort to create a vaccine . we may be seeing the tip of the iceberg , ' he told cnn . we ca n't make any definitive projections about where this is going . it appears to be acting like a typical seasonal flu , only it 's out of season . we should n't be seeing this much influenza and it 's with a new virus and that 's the cause fo the concern . ' asked when a vaccine might be available , he said , we hope to get doses by mid- to late fall . ' journalist fabiana frayssinet in rio de janeiro and brian byrnes in buenos aires contributed to this story . | brazil reports four cases of h1n1 |
detroit <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- president barack obama and his south korean counterpart hit the road together friday , traveling to the heart of america 's rust belt to tout a recently approved trade deal between washington and seoul . obama also used the occasion to defend his controversial 2009 bailout of the u.s. auto industry , which has shown recent signs of recovery . obama and president lee myung-bak visited orion township , michigan -- on the outskirts of detroit -- to visit a general motors assembly plant . gm , which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 , got federal funding to help with its reorganization . the plant , which now produces the new chevrolet sonic subcompact , was set to shut down during gm 's bankruptcy restructuring . but the plant 's subcompact expertise -- along with a joint venture with gm korea -- saved the facility and its 1,750 jobs . the trade deal is a win-win ' for america and south korea , obama told a crowd of cheering workers at the plant . we live in a global economy . ... the more goods and services we sell abroad , the more jobs we create here at home . ' this deal will not take away any of your jobs , ' lee declared . this is the pledge i give you today . ' the two leaders also hailed the new trade deal at a white house dinner thursday . congress approved the agreement on wednesday -- along with deals with panama and colombia -- on a bipartisan basis . administration officials contend the south korean deal alone with boost u.s. exports by up to $ 11 billion while supporting 70,000 american jobs . we believe in american ingenuity , ' obama said friday . most importantly , we believe in american workers . ' partly as a result of the auto bailout , detroit is a city where a great american industry is coming back to life , ' obama added . it 's time to write the next proud chapter in the motor city 's history . ' the audience gave an enthusiastic reception to lee , who wore a detroit tigers cap . the tigers are currently playing for the american league pennant . while trade has dominated the headlines during lee 's visit , washington and seoul also share a common concern over north korea . we agree that north korea 's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons poses a serious threat to peace and stability of the korean peninsula and the world , ' lee said thursday . we will continue to work towards denuclearization in the peninsula . ' the two nations are also working together on climate change , economic issues through the g20 and a nuclear summit scheduled for next year in seoul . cnn 's elise labott , alan silverleib , becky brittain and scott spoerry contributed to this report . | new : obama and lee visit a general motors assembly plant outside of detroit |
jay-z <tsp> ( rollingstone.com ) -- jay-z will launch his new youtube channel saturday night with a live stream of the last concert of his eight-show run at barclays center in brooklyn , usa today reports . the rapper 's life + times channel , an offshoot of his pop-culture site by the same name , comes as part of a push for original programming by youtube , which is owned by google . jay-z represents brooklyn at first barclays center show it 's the latest brand expansion for jay-z , who co-owns the 40/40 club in manhattan , owns a minority share in the brooklyn nets basketball team , has a stake in the rocawear clothing line , serves as co-brand director for budweiser select and was executive producer of the new video game nba 2k13 . ' for life + times , jay-z partnered with iconictv , a company that will run the channel like a television network with video content including a brooklyn nets series called the road to brooklyn , ' the fan-interaction show roc nation check-in ' and well dunn with jourdan dunn , ' about the british supermodel . jay-z launches pop culture site life + times ' the site really is a way for jay to showcase the breadth of his interests , from fashion , architecture , music , style , food , consumables , electronics , and so forth , ' said michael hirschorn , the co-founder and chief creative officer of iconictv . we 're approaching this channel and programming it , not at the level of an mtv or a bet -- at least , not yet -- but really programming it as a real channel that will have regular content , some featuring him , some under his creative direction , but that when he wants to reach his audience , he 's no longer going to have to go through an intermediary to get to that audience . ' the barclays concert will stream beginning at 9:30 p.m. est on saturday . see the full story at rollingstone.com . copyright © 2011 rolling stone . | the life + times channel is just jay-z 's latest brand expansion |
jay-z <tsp> ( rollingstone.com ) -- jay-z will launch his new youtube channel saturday night with a live stream of the last concert of his eight-show run at barclays center in brooklyn , usa today reports . the rapper 's life + times channel , an offshoot of his pop-culture site by the same name , comes as part of a push for original programming by youtube , which is owned by google . jay-z represents brooklyn at first barclays center show it 's the latest brand expansion for jay-z , who co-owns the 40/40 club in manhattan , owns a minority share in the brooklyn nets basketball team , has a stake in the rocawear clothing line , serves as co-brand director for budweiser select and was executive producer of the new video game nba 2k13 . ' for life + times , jay-z partnered with iconictv , a company that will run the channel like a television network with video content including a brooklyn nets series called the road to brooklyn , ' the fan-interaction show roc nation check-in ' and well dunn with jourdan dunn , ' about the british supermodel . jay-z launches pop culture site life + times ' the site really is a way for jay to showcase the breadth of his interests , from fashion , architecture , music , style , food , consumables , electronics , and so forth , ' said michael hirschorn , the co-founder and chief creative officer of iconictv . we 're approaching this channel and programming it , not at the level of an mtv or a bet -- at least , not yet -- but really programming it as a real channel that will have regular content , some featuring him , some under his creative direction , but that when he wants to reach his audience , he 's no longer going to have to go through an intermediary to get to that audience . ' the barclays concert will stream beginning at 9:30 p.m. est on saturday . see the full story at rollingstone.com . copyright © 2011 rolling stone . | jay-z will launch his new youtube channel saturday |
timbaland <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- chris cornell has taken to twitter like tweety bird took to making mischief . chris cornell 's new solo album , scream , ' was produced by timbaland . he acknowledges it 's an odd mix . not to suggest he 's using the popular social networking service to cause trouble . hardly . the 44-year-old rock musician said he enjoys the open stream of chit-chat with his fans . it 's actually created an environment where i can answer simple questions that someone 's probably had forever , ' said cornell . and i do n't mind answering them . and i can actually have conversations with fans that are quick , but still more meaningful than the typical situations you 're put into . i 've really liked it . ' his more than 200,000 followers can revel in bite-size musings about life on the road ( crowd was amazing last night ' ) or sweet tweets to his wife , vicky ( hi baby ! i miss you ! ' ) . watch cornell talk about his twitter fascination » the former front man of soundgarden and audioslave -- who is also known for singing the james bond theme casino royale ' -- is the first to admit he 's a fan of experimenting . his new solo album , scream , ' has him meshing his rock vibe with dance-floor beats by the much sought-after producer timbaland . the collaboration has left some people scratching their heads . nine inch nails lead singer trent reznor took a swipe by twittering : you know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly you feel uncomfortable ? heard chris cornell 's record ? ' ouch . the album debuted at no . 10 on the billboard 200 chart , but it took a substantial tumble the second week . but cornell -- who said he 's never met reznor nor read or responded to his tweet -- was more than ready for criticism . you could kind of see it coming , ' he said . some of it is a script that was written just by putting [ me and timbaland ] together . and most of the negative responses fit that script perfectly :'you ca n't put these two things together . we do n't like it ! we 're not going to let you ! so we 're gon na say bad stuff .' for cornell , working with timbaland required him to rinse away everything that i knew about songwriting and recording . ' he said the biggest challenge was in having to relearn how to sing to a different rhythm , his raspy voice needing to match up with slick studio beats rather than sliding loosely around the live , loud accompaniment he 's so used to . to me it seemed like an exciting thing to just go and do , ' he said . i think this is as good as any album i 've ever made , and i listen to it probably more than any other record i 've ever made . ' cornell spoke to cnn about timbaland , twitter and throwing stuff out windows . the following is an edited version of the interview . cnn : some people have said that you 've lost your musical identity in this album . chris cornell : i do n't have one , really . i do n't want to have one . if i had a musical identity that was definable then it would be time to get into painting or something else . race car driving . cnn : so you would be happy to be experimental on your next album ? cornell : absolutely . cnn : so what was it like working with timbaland ? cornell : he did n't really have a particular direction in mind in terms of what he wanted me to do . he did what timbaland does , and i did what i do . we just wrote songs , which is really the best thing that came out of it . ... it does n't sound like anybody else 's record . it does n't sound like music i 've ever heard . it defies genre , and yet it 's very much a song-oriented album as well as an album-oriented album . ... the music never stops . i 've performed it that way . it 's almost like a movie soundtrack . cnn : how often do you twitter ? cornell : it depends . when i 'm out on the road , depending on the day , a couple times a day i 'll spend a half-hour or an hour or so . i 've found that doing vocal warm-ups and twitter at the same time , cause i 'm a multitasker . i can watch cnn -- because i do -- and then i can be online and do vocal warm-ups all at the same time . and only one of those things is way too boring . cnn : i read a couple of your tweets , and you said that you were having trouble sleeping . is that an occupational hazard ? cornell : probably , yeah . i think everybody has a hard time when you play ... [ a ] show and then you 're finished at 1:30 in the morning . it takes me an hour and a half to be able to eat after that and then to be able to sleep after that . it 's hard . cnn : what is the biggest misconception about being a rock musician ? cornell : my first answer would be that it 's just all a big party . but then i 've been in that situation or seen bands like that where it is all a big party . i think overall there 's this idea that it is n't work , that it is n't something that you have to put pretty much 100 percent of your focus and your being into , that it 's like winning the lottery in a sense . and i think if you 're a musician that 's had any kind of success there is a component to that . there 's some aspect to timing and luck , there 's talent obviously as well . but it 's a lot of traveling . it 's a lot of waiting , it 's a lot of leaving one city going into another city only to see the venue you 're going to play in when you arrive , playing for the audience and then leaving and going to the next city . cnn : have you ever thrown a really big object through a window ? cornell : yeah . i threw an amplifier , a small one , through a window only because me and a few friends of mine that were out on tour together just made the observation [ that ] our generation just does n't do stuff like that . so we sort of did it as kind of a ritualistic , ok , let 's participate in the real thing . ' there was a piece of duct tape on the amplifier that had my name on it . so i had to run down to the alley and take that tape off so that they would n't know who threw it off to the street . | former soundgarden , audioslave front man working with producer timbaland |
travis <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a 4-year-old arizona boy reported missing was found by horseback riders in a steep canyon monday morning after an 18-hour search , police said . travis mitchell appeared in good spirits ' and had no signs of injury , payson , arizona , police said in a statement . he was taken to a local hospital and reunited with his volunteers . travis was playing with several other children about 5 p.m. sunday in a wooded area of a neighborhood west of the payson airport , authorities said . when the children returned home , travis was not with them , payson police said in a statement . the boy 's parents and friends began searching and called police when they could not find him . several agencies were participating in the search monday , along with numerous friends , family and citizens of payson , ' police said . there is no indication of foul play at this time . ' travis was the third arizona toddler to be reported missing recently . the body of 2-year-old emmett trapp was found earlier this month about a mile from his home in yavapai county , lying in a muddy pit once used to collect waste products from a former mining site . he had been missing for two days . police said at the time there were no indications of foul play and that the cause of the child 's death appeared to be exposure . sylar newton , also 2 , went missing july 25 from a camping site in rimrock , arizona , and is presumed dead , police have said . cnn 's melanie whitley and hln 's natisha lance contributed to this report . | travis was last seen about 5 p.m. sunday |
travis <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a 4-year-old arizona boy reported missing was found by horseback riders in a steep canyon monday morning after an 18-hour search , police said . travis mitchell appeared in good spirits ' and had no signs of injury , payson , arizona , police said in a statement . he was taken to a local hospital and reunited with his volunteers . travis was playing with several other children about 5 p.m. sunday in a wooded area of a neighborhood west of the payson airport , authorities said . when the children returned home , travis was not with them , payson police said in a statement . the boy 's parents and friends began searching and called police when they could not find him . several agencies were participating in the search monday , along with numerous friends , family and citizens of payson , ' police said . there is no indication of foul play at this time . ' travis was the third arizona toddler to be reported missing recently . the body of 2-year-old emmett trapp was found earlier this month about a mile from his home in yavapai county , lying in a muddy pit once used to collect waste products from a former mining site . he had been missing for two days . police said at the time there were no indications of foul play and that the cause of the child 's death appeared to be exposure . sylar newton , also 2 , went missing july 25 from a camping site in rimrock , arizona , and is presumed dead , police have said . cnn 's melanie whitley and hln 's natisha lance contributed to this report . | new : 4-year-old travis mitchell has been found |
taj <tsp> mumbai , india ( cnn ) -- the last gunmen in a standoff at the taj mahal hotel in mumbai were killed early saturday , the city 's police chief told cnn sister station cnn-ibn , but another official said more attackers could be inside the hotel . it 's completely over , except for the fact that now we will start searching the hotel and sanitizing it against any explosives and against any other things that may have been left behind , ' police chief hussain gafoor said . the announcement coincided with the end of intermittent gunfire from the historic taj , which has been the scene of a violent and drawn-out standoff resulting in numerous deaths and injuries since wednesday . it also signaled a potential end to two nights and three days of terror attacks targeting several high-traffic landmarks in mumbai known to be frequented by tourists . the casualty toll from the attacks reached 160 dead and 327 wounded friday , officials said . however , j.k. dutt , director-general of the national security guard , said there could be more terrorists and that the operation was still ongoing . dutt also differed from gafoor on the number of gunmen involved , saying three , not two , had been killed . he appealed to guests hiding in their rooms to open their curtains to signal their presence to security officials , saying it would help police snipers determine whether someone in a room was actually a terrorist with a weapon . the announcements came shortly after a fire swept through the ground floor , enveloping much of the historic building . by 8:30 a.m. local time , the fire was under control , cnn-ibn reported . dutt said the fire had been set by the attackers as a diversionary tactic cnn-ibn also reported that someone had jumped from the hotel during the fire and appeared to be dead . it broadcast a picture of the body taken with a cell phone . on friday , scores of hostages trickled out of the taj and the nearby oberoi hotel ; some had spent as many as 48 hours huddled with strangers in guest rooms , closets or darkened banquet halls . it is still unclear who is behind the attacks , but the gunmen were men in their 20s who obviously had to be trained somewhere , ' a member of the indian navy 's commando unit said friday . watch the commando talk about the attackers » they fired at guests with no remorse ' and knew the layout of the hotels well enough to vanish ' after confronting security forces , the commando said . british parliament member sajjad karim was in a herd of people running from gunfire in the lobby of the taj when another gunman appeared before them and opened fire . from the very brief glimpse that i got of him , he was fairly young man of south asian appearance , and he was wearing a smile on his face as he started to spray the bullets , ' karim told cnn 's wolf blitzer . watch karim describe the gunman » karim said he spent eight hours barricaded in a room at the taj with 40 to 50 people before commandos rescued him . but many did not make it out alive . the 160 who died included westerners and asians of all walks of life , including indian police and military , five americans and a british yacht magnate . watch survivor say gunmen were targeting brits and americans » maharashtra state official bhushan gagrani said the death toll is expected to rise further . eleven terrorists have also been killed . earlier , police said they found 36 bodies during a sweep of the oberoi hotel ; they killed two militants and freed hundreds of trapped guests . americans alan scherr , 58 , and his daughter naomi , 13 , of virginia died at the oberoi . they were visiting india with a meditation group . read more about those killed in the terror attacks the bodies of five hostages were found at the chabad house jewish center , which houses the mumbai headquarters of the chabad community , a hasidic jewish movement . commandos stormed the building through a hole blasted in the wall . watch another day of terror in mumbai » after several hours of gunfire and explosions from inside , all went quiet , and cnn 's senior international correspondent nic robertson said it appeared that the operation was over . mumbai police commissioner hasan gafoor told cnn-ibn that the gunman at the taj was shooting and throwing grenades at security forces . gafoor said most of the attackers had been heavily armed . they were carrying an ak assault rifle , one or two handguns and grenades . ' throughout the day , there were explosions , some blowing out windows at the 105-year-old landmark . some guests have been able to get out of the building . watch cnn 's exclusive access to some of the wounded » the identity of the attackers remained a mystery . police said they came by boats to the waterfront near the gateway of india monument and the two hotels . indian naval and coast guard investigators have determined that two vessels recently seized in the arabian sea have no links to the mumbai attacks . a fishing trawler , however , remains in custody . the press trust of india , citing union cabinet minister kapil sibal , reported that the gunmen had worked for months to prepare , even setting up control rooms ' in the two luxury hotels that were targeted . indian authorities said no one had claimed responsibility , although the deccan mujahideen took credit in e-mails sent to several indian news outlets . interpol said it would send a delegation to india , and the u.s. federal bureau of investigation wants to send a team , but india has not officially asked for its help . pranab mukherjee , the external affairs minister for maharashtra state , said the preliminary investigation indicates that some elements in pakistan are involved . ' until the investigation is complete , it will be difficult to say where they came from and how they came , ' he said . indian prime minister manmohan singh also indicated that the gunmen came from pakistan 's largest city , karachi , in a call with his pakistani counterpart friday . in response , pakistani prime minister yousuf raza gilani said he would send a representative from his country 's intelligence agency to help with the investigation . a british security source told cnn that british security officials are investigating why two bodies believed to be those of terrorists were found with british identification documents . not everybody can fire the ak series of weapons ; not everybody can throw a grenade like that , ' a commando said outside the taj hotel . it is obvious that they were trained somewhere . ' watch an analyst says attackers had'combat experience'» the shell-shocked city woke friday to television images of indian soldiers rappelling down ropes from military choppers on to the roof of chabad house . the chabad-lubavitch international group said rabbi gavriel noach holtzberg , 29 , made a phone call to the israeli consulate to report gunmen in the house . in the middle of the conversation , the line went dead , ' the organization said . his wife , rivka , 28 , was also killed . the couple 's toddler son , moshe , escaped with his nanny , the organization said in a written statement . watch a rabbi vow that the community will raise victim 's son » the bodies of three other hostages were found in the building . two gunmen died in the battle at chabad house , cnn-ibn reported . cnn 's andrew stevens , mallika kapur , harmeet singh , sara sidner , alessio vinci , reza sayah and paula newton contributed to this report . | new : news coincides with end of gunfire at taj , signaling potential end of siege |
taj <tsp> mumbai , india ( cnn ) -- the last gunmen in a standoff at the taj mahal hotel in mumbai were killed early saturday , the city 's police chief told cnn sister station cnn-ibn , but another official said more attackers could be inside the hotel . it 's completely over , except for the fact that now we will start searching the hotel and sanitizing it against any explosives and against any other things that may have been left behind , ' police chief hussain gafoor said . the announcement coincided with the end of intermittent gunfire from the historic taj , which has been the scene of a violent and drawn-out standoff resulting in numerous deaths and injuries since wednesday . it also signaled a potential end to two nights and three days of terror attacks targeting several high-traffic landmarks in mumbai known to be frequented by tourists . the casualty toll from the attacks reached 160 dead and 327 wounded friday , officials said . however , j.k. dutt , director-general of the national security guard , said there could be more terrorists and that the operation was still ongoing . dutt also differed from gafoor on the number of gunmen involved , saying three , not two , had been killed . he appealed to guests hiding in their rooms to open their curtains to signal their presence to security officials , saying it would help police snipers determine whether someone in a room was actually a terrorist with a weapon . the announcements came shortly after a fire swept through the ground floor , enveloping much of the historic building . by 8:30 a.m. local time , the fire was under control , cnn-ibn reported . dutt said the fire had been set by the attackers as a diversionary tactic cnn-ibn also reported that someone had jumped from the hotel during the fire and appeared to be dead . it broadcast a picture of the body taken with a cell phone . on friday , scores of hostages trickled out of the taj and the nearby oberoi hotel ; some had spent as many as 48 hours huddled with strangers in guest rooms , closets or darkened banquet halls . it is still unclear who is behind the attacks , but the gunmen were men in their 20s who obviously had to be trained somewhere , ' a member of the indian navy 's commando unit said friday . watch the commando talk about the attackers » they fired at guests with no remorse ' and knew the layout of the hotels well enough to vanish ' after confronting security forces , the commando said . british parliament member sajjad karim was in a herd of people running from gunfire in the lobby of the taj when another gunman appeared before them and opened fire . from the very brief glimpse that i got of him , he was fairly young man of south asian appearance , and he was wearing a smile on his face as he started to spray the bullets , ' karim told cnn 's wolf blitzer . watch karim describe the gunman » karim said he spent eight hours barricaded in a room at the taj with 40 to 50 people before commandos rescued him . but many did not make it out alive . the 160 who died included westerners and asians of all walks of life , including indian police and military , five americans and a british yacht magnate . watch survivor say gunmen were targeting brits and americans » maharashtra state official bhushan gagrani said the death toll is expected to rise further . eleven terrorists have also been killed . earlier , police said they found 36 bodies during a sweep of the oberoi hotel ; they killed two militants and freed hundreds of trapped guests . americans alan scherr , 58 , and his daughter naomi , 13 , of virginia died at the oberoi . they were visiting india with a meditation group . read more about those killed in the terror attacks the bodies of five hostages were found at the chabad house jewish center , which houses the mumbai headquarters of the chabad community , a hasidic jewish movement . commandos stormed the building through a hole blasted in the wall . watch another day of terror in mumbai » after several hours of gunfire and explosions from inside , all went quiet , and cnn 's senior international correspondent nic robertson said it appeared that the operation was over . mumbai police commissioner hasan gafoor told cnn-ibn that the gunman at the taj was shooting and throwing grenades at security forces . gafoor said most of the attackers had been heavily armed . they were carrying an ak assault rifle , one or two handguns and grenades . ' throughout the day , there were explosions , some blowing out windows at the 105-year-old landmark . some guests have been able to get out of the building . watch cnn 's exclusive access to some of the wounded » the identity of the attackers remained a mystery . police said they came by boats to the waterfront near the gateway of india monument and the two hotels . indian naval and coast guard investigators have determined that two vessels recently seized in the arabian sea have no links to the mumbai attacks . a fishing trawler , however , remains in custody . the press trust of india , citing union cabinet minister kapil sibal , reported that the gunmen had worked for months to prepare , even setting up control rooms ' in the two luxury hotels that were targeted . indian authorities said no one had claimed responsibility , although the deccan mujahideen took credit in e-mails sent to several indian news outlets . interpol said it would send a delegation to india , and the u.s. federal bureau of investigation wants to send a team , but india has not officially asked for its help . pranab mukherjee , the external affairs minister for maharashtra state , said the preliminary investigation indicates that some elements in pakistan are involved . ' until the investigation is complete , it will be difficult to say where they came from and how they came , ' he said . indian prime minister manmohan singh also indicated that the gunmen came from pakistan 's largest city , karachi , in a call with his pakistani counterpart friday . in response , pakistani prime minister yousuf raza gilani said he would send a representative from his country 's intelligence agency to help with the investigation . a british security source told cnn that british security officials are investigating why two bodies believed to be those of terrorists were found with british identification documents . not everybody can fire the ak series of weapons ; not everybody can throw a grenade like that , ' a commando said outside the taj hotel . it is obvious that they were trained somewhere . ' watch an analyst says attackers had'combat experience'» the shell-shocked city woke friday to television images of indian soldiers rappelling down ropes from military choppers on to the roof of chabad house . the chabad-lubavitch international group said rabbi gavriel noach holtzberg , 29 , made a phone call to the israeli consulate to report gunmen in the house . in the middle of the conversation , the line went dead , ' the organization said . his wife , rivka , 28 , was also killed . the couple 's toddler son , moshe , escaped with his nanny , the organization said in a written statement . watch a rabbi vow that the community will raise victim 's son » the bodies of three other hostages were found in the building . two gunmen died in the battle at chabad house , cnn-ibn reported . cnn 's andrew stevens , mallika kapur , harmeet singh , sara sidner , alessio vinci , reza sayah and paula newton contributed to this report . | new : police chief says last gunmen in taj killed , authorities sanitizing ' hotel |
clinton <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- hillary clinton backed president barack obama 's historic easing of decades-old sanctions against cuba on wednesday and said she is deeply relieved ' by the release of u.s. contractor alan gross . clinton , who was secretary of state when gross was arrested in 2009 , backed obama in a statement wednesday night that was in stark contrast with her republican counterparts in the field of potential 2016 presidential contenders . i support president obama 's decision to change course on cuba policy , while keeping the focus on our principal objective -- supporting the aspirations of the cuban people for freedom , ' clinton said in a statement . she called gross 's release great news , ' and noted that as secretary of state , she pushed for his release , stayed in contact with gross 's family and called for a new direction in cuba . ' despite good intentions , our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the castro regime 's grip on power , ' clinton said . as i have said , the best way to bring change to cuba is to expose its people to the values , information and material comforts of the outside world , ' she said . the goal of increased u.s. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the cuban people . and the other nations of the americas should join us in this effort . ' her comments largely echo obama 's remarks . but republicans , like florida sen. marco rubio and former florida gov . jeb bush , called the move to ease the two countries'diplomatic strain a mistake , saying it would weaken the united states'negotiating position in pushing for democracy in the communist nation . | clinton called the release of u.s. contractor alan gross great news ' |
clinton <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- hillary clinton backed president barack obama 's historic easing of decades-old sanctions against cuba on wednesday and said she is deeply relieved ' by the release of u.s. contractor alan gross . clinton , who was secretary of state when gross was arrested in 2009 , backed obama in a statement wednesday night that was in stark contrast with her republican counterparts in the field of potential 2016 presidential contenders . i support president obama 's decision to change course on cuba policy , while keeping the focus on our principal objective -- supporting the aspirations of the cuban people for freedom , ' clinton said in a statement . she called gross 's release great news , ' and noted that as secretary of state , she pushed for his release , stayed in contact with gross 's family and called for a new direction in cuba . ' despite good intentions , our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the castro regime 's grip on power , ' clinton said . as i have said , the best way to bring change to cuba is to expose its people to the values , information and material comforts of the outside world , ' she said . the goal of increased u.s. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the cuban people . and the other nations of the americas should join us in this effort . ' her comments largely echo obama 's remarks . but republicans , like florida sen. marco rubio and former florida gov . jeb bush , called the move to ease the two countries'diplomatic strain a mistake , saying it would weaken the united states'negotiating position in pushing for democracy in the communist nation . | hillary clinton endorsed president barack obama 's announcement to normalize relations with cuba |
alan gross <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- hillary clinton backed president barack obama 's historic easing of decades-old sanctions against cuba on wednesday and said she is deeply relieved ' by the release of u.s. contractor alan gross . clinton , who was secretary of state when gross was arrested in 2009 , backed obama in a statement wednesday night that was in stark contrast with her republican counterparts in the field of potential 2016 presidential contenders . i support president obama 's decision to change course on cuba policy , while keeping the focus on our principal objective -- supporting the aspirations of the cuban people for freedom , ' clinton said in a statement . she called gross 's release great news , ' and noted that as secretary of state , she pushed for his release , stayed in contact with gross 's family and called for a new direction in cuba . ' despite good intentions , our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the castro regime 's grip on power , ' clinton said . as i have said , the best way to bring change to cuba is to expose its people to the values , information and material comforts of the outside world , ' she said . the goal of increased u.s. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the cuban people . and the other nations of the americas should join us in this effort . ' her comments largely echo obama 's remarks . but republicans , like florida sen. marco rubio and former florida gov . jeb bush , called the move to ease the two countries'diplomatic strain a mistake , saying it would weaken the united states'negotiating position in pushing for democracy in the communist nation . | clinton called the release of u.s. contractor alan gross great news ' |
clinton <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- how things change . in 2008 , after a bruising primary battle with hillary clinton , then-sen. barack obama was on the outs with former president bill clinton . this election cycle , clinton is one of obama 's most visible surrogates . obama and clinton were to appear together monday night at three new york city fundraisers , which are expected to bring in millions of dollars . in april , the two appeared side by side at the home of longtime clinton supporter and former democratic national committee chairman terry mcauliffe , raising $ 2.1 million for the obama campaign and the dnc . clinton and obama hit up the big apple the obama campaign is relying heavily on clinton , tapping into his network of wealthy donors and featuring him in campaign ads . clinton is also expected to hit the trail to rally voters leading up to the november election . clinton just wants to help , ' a source close to the former president said . his message is'i know what it takes on the economy , and obama is doing the right thing .'they 're not going to make the mistake of the gore campaign . they 're not going to put [ clinton ] on ice . ' obama 's relationship with the clintons has had its ups and downs . in 2007 , the former president took aim at the then-junior senator from illinois as inexperienced . you know , i 'm old-fashioned . i think it really -- i think a president ought to have done something for other people and for his country when you pick a president , ' clinton said . i mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the senate before he started running ? ' in early 2008 , when obama won the first-in-the-nation iowa caucuses and emerged as a real contender , he entered into an all-out feud with the former first couple . the tussle was on full display during a january 2008 debate . i 'm here , not my husband , ' hillary clinton said to obama . i ca n't tell who i 'm running against sometimes , ' obama retorted . the clinton source says , he held a grudge , she did n't . ' obama picking hillary clinton as his secretary of state helped heal some wounds . and he 's looked to bill clinton for help since taking office , hosting him at the white house during contentious negotiations with congress in december 2010 . i have a general rule , which is that whatever he asked me about my advice , and whatever i say , should become public only if he decides to make it public , ' clinton told reporters then . as obama struggles to appeal to white , working-class males , he hopes clinton can woo those voters in key southern and rust belt states . you would n't call the two men best of friends , but the lines of communication between the white house and the clinton circle are open , sources in both camps say . but even as the two are now on the same team , they 're not always reading from the same playbook . while the obama campaign tries to make a liability of presumptive republican nominee mitt romney 's past as the head of a private equity firm , clinton recently punched a hole in what has been a central campaign argument . i think he had a good business career , ' clinton said of romney last week on cnn 's piers morgan tonight . ' there 's no question that in terms of getting up and going to the office and , you know , basically performing the essential functions of the office , the man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold . ' romney smiles at clinton compliment clinton later clarified his remarks , but the damage was done . obama campaign reacts to clinton on cnn | there 's been missteps : clinton recently said romney had a sterling business career ' |
clinton <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- how things change . in 2008 , after a bruising primary battle with hillary clinton , then-sen. barack obama was on the outs with former president bill clinton . this election cycle , clinton is one of obama 's most visible surrogates . obama and clinton were to appear together monday night at three new york city fundraisers , which are expected to bring in millions of dollars . in april , the two appeared side by side at the home of longtime clinton supporter and former democratic national committee chairman terry mcauliffe , raising $ 2.1 million for the obama campaign and the dnc . clinton and obama hit up the big apple the obama campaign is relying heavily on clinton , tapping into his network of wealthy donors and featuring him in campaign ads . clinton is also expected to hit the trail to rally voters leading up to the november election . clinton just wants to help , ' a source close to the former president said . his message is'i know what it takes on the economy , and obama is doing the right thing .'they 're not going to make the mistake of the gore campaign . they 're not going to put [ clinton ] on ice . ' obama 's relationship with the clintons has had its ups and downs . in 2007 , the former president took aim at the then-junior senator from illinois as inexperienced . you know , i 'm old-fashioned . i think it really -- i think a president ought to have done something for other people and for his country when you pick a president , ' clinton said . i mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the senate before he started running ? ' in early 2008 , when obama won the first-in-the-nation iowa caucuses and emerged as a real contender , he entered into an all-out feud with the former first couple . the tussle was on full display during a january 2008 debate . i 'm here , not my husband , ' hillary clinton said to obama . i ca n't tell who i 'm running against sometimes , ' obama retorted . the clinton source says , he held a grudge , she did n't . ' obama picking hillary clinton as his secretary of state helped heal some wounds . and he 's looked to bill clinton for help since taking office , hosting him at the white house during contentious negotiations with congress in december 2010 . i have a general rule , which is that whatever he asked me about my advice , and whatever i say , should become public only if he decides to make it public , ' clinton told reporters then . as obama struggles to appeal to white , working-class males , he hopes clinton can woo those voters in key southern and rust belt states . you would n't call the two men best of friends , but the lines of communication between the white house and the clinton circle are open , sources in both camps say . but even as the two are now on the same team , they 're not always reading from the same playbook . while the obama campaign tries to make a liability of presumptive republican nominee mitt romney 's past as the head of a private equity firm , clinton recently punched a hole in what has been a central campaign argument . i think he had a good business career , ' clinton said of romney last week on cnn 's piers morgan tonight . ' there 's no question that in terms of getting up and going to the office and , you know , basically performing the essential functions of the office , the man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold . ' romney smiles at clinton compliment clinton later clarified his remarks , but the damage was done . obama campaign reacts to clinton on cnn | clinton just wants to help , ' a source close to the former president said |
clinton <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- how things change . in 2008 , after a bruising primary battle with hillary clinton , then-sen. barack obama was on the outs with former president bill clinton . this election cycle , clinton is one of obama 's most visible surrogates . obama and clinton were to appear together monday night at three new york city fundraisers , which are expected to bring in millions of dollars . in april , the two appeared side by side at the home of longtime clinton supporter and former democratic national committee chairman terry mcauliffe , raising $ 2.1 million for the obama campaign and the dnc . clinton and obama hit up the big apple the obama campaign is relying heavily on clinton , tapping into his network of wealthy donors and featuring him in campaign ads . clinton is also expected to hit the trail to rally voters leading up to the november election . clinton just wants to help , ' a source close to the former president said . his message is'i know what it takes on the economy , and obama is doing the right thing .'they 're not going to make the mistake of the gore campaign . they 're not going to put [ clinton ] on ice . ' obama 's relationship with the clintons has had its ups and downs . in 2007 , the former president took aim at the then-junior senator from illinois as inexperienced . you know , i 'm old-fashioned . i think it really -- i think a president ought to have done something for other people and for his country when you pick a president , ' clinton said . i mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the senate before he started running ? ' in early 2008 , when obama won the first-in-the-nation iowa caucuses and emerged as a real contender , he entered into an all-out feud with the former first couple . the tussle was on full display during a january 2008 debate . i 'm here , not my husband , ' hillary clinton said to obama . i ca n't tell who i 'm running against sometimes , ' obama retorted . the clinton source says , he held a grudge , she did n't . ' obama picking hillary clinton as his secretary of state helped heal some wounds . and he 's looked to bill clinton for help since taking office , hosting him at the white house during contentious negotiations with congress in december 2010 . i have a general rule , which is that whatever he asked me about my advice , and whatever i say , should become public only if he decides to make it public , ' clinton told reporters then . as obama struggles to appeal to white , working-class males , he hopes clinton can woo those voters in key southern and rust belt states . you would n't call the two men best of friends , but the lines of communication between the white house and the clinton circle are open , sources in both camps say . but even as the two are now on the same team , they 're not always reading from the same playbook . while the obama campaign tries to make a liability of presumptive republican nominee mitt romney 's past as the head of a private equity firm , clinton recently punched a hole in what has been a central campaign argument . i think he had a good business career , ' clinton said of romney last week on cnn 's piers morgan tonight . ' there 's no question that in terms of getting up and going to the office and , you know , basically performing the essential functions of the office , the man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold . ' romney smiles at clinton compliment clinton later clarified his remarks , but the damage was done . obama campaign reacts to clinton on cnn | the obama campaign is relying heavily on bill clinton 's connections |
clinton <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- how things change . in 2008 , after a bruising primary battle with hillary clinton , then-sen. barack obama was on the outs with former president bill clinton . this election cycle , clinton is one of obama 's most visible surrogates . obama and clinton were to appear together monday night at three new york city fundraisers , which are expected to bring in millions of dollars . in april , the two appeared side by side at the home of longtime clinton supporter and former democratic national committee chairman terry mcauliffe , raising $ 2.1 million for the obama campaign and the dnc . clinton and obama hit up the big apple the obama campaign is relying heavily on clinton , tapping into his network of wealthy donors and featuring him in campaign ads . clinton is also expected to hit the trail to rally voters leading up to the november election . clinton just wants to help , ' a source close to the former president said . his message is'i know what it takes on the economy , and obama is doing the right thing .'they 're not going to make the mistake of the gore campaign . they 're not going to put [ clinton ] on ice . ' obama 's relationship with the clintons has had its ups and downs . in 2007 , the former president took aim at the then-junior senator from illinois as inexperienced . you know , i 'm old-fashioned . i think it really -- i think a president ought to have done something for other people and for his country when you pick a president , ' clinton said . i mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the senate before he started running ? ' in early 2008 , when obama won the first-in-the-nation iowa caucuses and emerged as a real contender , he entered into an all-out feud with the former first couple . the tussle was on full display during a january 2008 debate . i 'm here , not my husband , ' hillary clinton said to obama . i ca n't tell who i 'm running against sometimes , ' obama retorted . the clinton source says , he held a grudge , she did n't . ' obama picking hillary clinton as his secretary of state helped heal some wounds . and he 's looked to bill clinton for help since taking office , hosting him at the white house during contentious negotiations with congress in december 2010 . i have a general rule , which is that whatever he asked me about my advice , and whatever i say , should become public only if he decides to make it public , ' clinton told reporters then . as obama struggles to appeal to white , working-class males , he hopes clinton can woo those voters in key southern and rust belt states . you would n't call the two men best of friends , but the lines of communication between the white house and the clinton circle are open , sources in both camps say . but even as the two are now on the same team , they 're not always reading from the same playbook . while the obama campaign tries to make a liability of presumptive republican nominee mitt romney 's past as the head of a private equity firm , clinton recently punched a hole in what has been a central campaign argument . i think he had a good business career , ' clinton said of romney last week on cnn 's piers morgan tonight . ' there 's no question that in terms of getting up and going to the office and , you know , basically performing the essential functions of the office , the man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold . ' romney smiles at clinton compliment clinton later clarified his remarks , but the damage was done . obama campaign reacts to clinton on cnn | obama hopes clinton can woo white , working-class men in key southern and rust belt states |
lynn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- philadelphia district attorney seth williams said monday he will appeal a superior court 's decision to reverse monsignor william lynn 's conviction for covering up crimes of offending priests . a three-judge panel ruled thursday that lynn -- who had been the first roman catholic priest in the united states to be convicted of covering up the abuses of others -- should be released , reversing his 2012 conviction for one count of child endangerment . he originally was sentenced to three to six years . there is something wrong with this superior court panel , ' williams said . lynn 's conviction was for not removing a defrocked priest , edward avery , from active ministry in the 1990s after learning avery had molested a teen . avery pleaded guilty in march 2012 to sexually assaulting the 10-year-old altar boy during the 1998-99 school year and remains in prison . williams adamantly expressed his disapproval of the superior court 's decision . i am disgusted by the superior court 's cavalier , disregard for the child victims of pedophile priests and monsignor lynn 's role , ' williams told reporters . monsignor william lynn knew father avery had sexually molested children . ' lynn 's attorneys had convinced the superior court panel that the laws at the time only applied to people who directly supervised children . certainly , he ( williams ) has a prerogative to appeal . i do n't think his appeal will be successful , but he certainly has the right , ' lynn 's attorney , thomas bergstrom said . a spokesman for the state correctional institution at waymart , pennsylvania , told cnn that lynn 's bail had been posted , but he had n't been released , because of pending paperwork . lynn 's bail was $ 250,000 , bergstrom said . williams said it is undeniable lynn , now 62 , was responsible for endangering the child . we will charge everyone that we believe we have sufficient evidence within the statute of limitations to prosecute , ' williams said , no one is protected or untouchable -- wherever the evidence leads us we will go . ' lynn , now 62 , made no statement after last week 's ruling . after he was convicted 18 months ago , he said : i 've tried to serve god as best i could . my best was not good enough . ' cnn 's steve almasy contributed to this report . | lynn 's bail has been posted |
lynn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- philadelphia district attorney seth williams said monday he will appeal a superior court 's decision to reverse monsignor william lynn 's conviction for covering up crimes of offending priests . a three-judge panel ruled thursday that lynn -- who had been the first roman catholic priest in the united states to be convicted of covering up the abuses of others -- should be released , reversing his 2012 conviction for one count of child endangerment . he originally was sentenced to three to six years . there is something wrong with this superior court panel , ' williams said . lynn 's conviction was for not removing a defrocked priest , edward avery , from active ministry in the 1990s after learning avery had molested a teen . avery pleaded guilty in march 2012 to sexually assaulting the 10-year-old altar boy during the 1998-99 school year and remains in prison . williams adamantly expressed his disapproval of the superior court 's decision . i am disgusted by the superior court 's cavalier , disregard for the child victims of pedophile priests and monsignor lynn 's role , ' williams told reporters . monsignor william lynn knew father avery had sexually molested children . ' lynn 's attorneys had convinced the superior court panel that the laws at the time only applied to people who directly supervised children . certainly , he ( williams ) has a prerogative to appeal . i do n't think his appeal will be successful , but he certainly has the right , ' lynn 's attorney , thomas bergstrom said . a spokesman for the state correctional institution at waymart , pennsylvania , told cnn that lynn 's bail had been posted , but he had n't been released , because of pending paperwork . lynn 's bail was $ 250,000 , bergstrom said . williams said it is undeniable lynn , now 62 , was responsible for endangering the child . we will charge everyone that we believe we have sufficient evidence within the statute of limitations to prosecute , ' williams said , no one is protected or untouchable -- wherever the evidence leads us we will go . ' lynn , now 62 , made no statement after last week 's ruling . after he was convicted 18 months ago , he said : i 've tried to serve god as best i could . my best was not good enough . ' cnn 's steve almasy contributed to this report . | court overturns monsignor william lynn 's child endangerment conviction |
kobayashi <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- reigning hot dog-guzzling champ joey chestnut and nemesis takeru kobayashi of japan attempted to psych each other out thursday at the weigh-in for the 94th annual nathan 's famous fourth of july international hot dog-eating contest . competitive eaters joey chestnut and takeru kobayashi take part in an official staredown . ' chestnut and kobayashi glared long and menacingly into each other 's eyes in an official staredown . ' at last year 's contest , 25-year-old chestnut , a civil engineering student at san jose state university , eked out a win over kobayashi , 31 , in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece . it was chestnut 's second slim victory over kobayashi in as many years . kobayashi vowed he will avenge those two defeats on saturday . he also said he no longer suffers from the jawthritis ' that some cited as the culprit for his 2007 defeat , which snapped his six-year winning streak at coney island . chestnut , for his part , said he had no intention of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt -- competitive eating 's answer to golf 's green jacket . he is setting his sights this year on 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes . saturday 's competition will be partially about redemption for chestnut , too . in may , he suffered a stinging defeat to kobayashi in a loss he said really set a fire underneath me ' and made me hungry for this contest . ' chestnut revealed the extreme dietary regimen he is following in the days leading up to the contest . he said he is sticking to water to make sure he is empty ' when the mountain of hot dogs is placed in front of him . in addition to chestnut , kobayashi admitted to keeping a watchful eye on 32-year-old tim eater x ' janus , whose signature painted face was described by major league eating impresario richard shea as an attempt to mask his inner torment . ' in a recent trial round , janus downed a personal-best 55 hot dogs -- a weiner 's throw from the 59 that chestnut and kobayashi wolfed down last year . as a lead-in to the main event , major league eating on friday will hold a first-of-its-kind cross-species ' eating contest between three competitive eaters and three asian elephants . mle 's shea described it as the realization of one of his two lifelong dreams , the other being a scenario in which a dozen competitive eaters eat the entire contents of a convenience store . twenty finalists will compete in the championship on saturday . they were culled from 18 preliminary contests and comprise a who 's who of the world of competitive eating . for people who stuff their faces with record-breaking quantities of food , many of the contestants at the weigh-in boasted surprisingly svelte physiques . juliet lee , a 44-year-old maryland salon owner fresh off the feat of downing 13.23 pounds of cranberry sauce in 8 minutes , clocked in at a mere 105 pounds . kobayashi , at 123 pounds , lifted his t-shirt to reveal the sort of chiseled abdomen one would expect at a bodybuilding competition . others contestants were not quite as disconcertingly trim . fearsome world matzo ball-eating champion eric badlands ' booker tips the scales at 400 pounds . | kobayashi vowed to avenge defeat from last year |
kobayashi <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- reigning hot dog-guzzling champ joey chestnut and nemesis takeru kobayashi of japan attempted to psych each other out thursday at the weigh-in for the 94th annual nathan 's famous fourth of july international hot dog-eating contest . competitive eaters joey chestnut and takeru kobayashi take part in an official staredown . ' chestnut and kobayashi glared long and menacingly into each other 's eyes in an official staredown . ' at last year 's contest , 25-year-old chestnut , a civil engineering student at san jose state university , eked out a win over kobayashi , 31 , in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece . it was chestnut 's second slim victory over kobayashi in as many years . kobayashi vowed he will avenge those two defeats on saturday . he also said he no longer suffers from the jawthritis ' that some cited as the culprit for his 2007 defeat , which snapped his six-year winning streak at coney island . chestnut , for his part , said he had no intention of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt -- competitive eating 's answer to golf 's green jacket . he is setting his sights this year on 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes . saturday 's competition will be partially about redemption for chestnut , too . in may , he suffered a stinging defeat to kobayashi in a loss he said really set a fire underneath me ' and made me hungry for this contest . ' chestnut revealed the extreme dietary regimen he is following in the days leading up to the contest . he said he is sticking to water to make sure he is empty ' when the mountain of hot dogs is placed in front of him . in addition to chestnut , kobayashi admitted to keeping a watchful eye on 32-year-old tim eater x ' janus , whose signature painted face was described by major league eating impresario richard shea as an attempt to mask his inner torment . ' in a recent trial round , janus downed a personal-best 55 hot dogs -- a weiner 's throw from the 59 that chestnut and kobayashi wolfed down last year . as a lead-in to the main event , major league eating on friday will hold a first-of-its-kind cross-species ' eating contest between three competitive eaters and three asian elephants . mle 's shea described it as the realization of one of his two lifelong dreams , the other being a scenario in which a dozen competitive eaters eat the entire contents of a convenience store . twenty finalists will compete in the championship on saturday . they were culled from 18 preliminary contests and comprise a who 's who of the world of competitive eating . for people who stuff their faces with record-breaking quantities of food , many of the contestants at the weigh-in boasted surprisingly svelte physiques . juliet lee , a 44-year-old maryland salon owner fresh off the feat of downing 13.23 pounds of cranberry sauce in 8 minutes , clocked in at a mere 105 pounds . kobayashi , at 123 pounds , lifted his t-shirt to reveal the sort of chiseled abdomen one would expect at a bodybuilding competition . others contestants were not quite as disconcertingly trim . fearsome world matzo ball-eating champion eric badlands ' booker tips the scales at 400 pounds . | last year chestnut won after a tiebreaker with kobayashi |
kobayashi <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- reigning hot dog-guzzling champ joey chestnut and nemesis takeru kobayashi of japan attempted to psych each other out thursday at the weigh-in for the 94th annual nathan 's famous fourth of july international hot dog-eating contest . competitive eaters joey chestnut and takeru kobayashi take part in an official staredown . ' chestnut and kobayashi glared long and menacingly into each other 's eyes in an official staredown . ' at last year 's contest , 25-year-old chestnut , a civil engineering student at san jose state university , eked out a win over kobayashi , 31 , in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece . it was chestnut 's second slim victory over kobayashi in as many years . kobayashi vowed he will avenge those two defeats on saturday . he also said he no longer suffers from the jawthritis ' that some cited as the culprit for his 2007 defeat , which snapped his six-year winning streak at coney island . chestnut , for his part , said he had no intention of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt -- competitive eating 's answer to golf 's green jacket . he is setting his sights this year on 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes . saturday 's competition will be partially about redemption for chestnut , too . in may , he suffered a stinging defeat to kobayashi in a loss he said really set a fire underneath me ' and made me hungry for this contest . ' chestnut revealed the extreme dietary regimen he is following in the days leading up to the contest . he said he is sticking to water to make sure he is empty ' when the mountain of hot dogs is placed in front of him . in addition to chestnut , kobayashi admitted to keeping a watchful eye on 32-year-old tim eater x ' janus , whose signature painted face was described by major league eating impresario richard shea as an attempt to mask his inner torment . ' in a recent trial round , janus downed a personal-best 55 hot dogs -- a weiner 's throw from the 59 that chestnut and kobayashi wolfed down last year . as a lead-in to the main event , major league eating on friday will hold a first-of-its-kind cross-species ' eating contest between three competitive eaters and three asian elephants . mle 's shea described it as the realization of one of his two lifelong dreams , the other being a scenario in which a dozen competitive eaters eat the entire contents of a convenience store . twenty finalists will compete in the championship on saturday . they were culled from 18 preliminary contests and comprise a who 's who of the world of competitive eating . for people who stuff their faces with record-breaking quantities of food , many of the contestants at the weigh-in boasted surprisingly svelte physiques . juliet lee , a 44-year-old maryland salon owner fresh off the feat of downing 13.23 pounds of cranberry sauce in 8 minutes , clocked in at a mere 105 pounds . kobayashi , at 123 pounds , lifted his t-shirt to reveal the sort of chiseled abdomen one would expect at a bodybuilding competition . others contestants were not quite as disconcertingly trim . fearsome world matzo ball-eating champion eric badlands ' booker tips the scales at 400 pounds . | chestnut : kobayashi beat me in may contest and set a fire underneath me ' |
kobayashi <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- reigning hot dog-guzzling champ joey chestnut and nemesis takeru kobayashi of japan attempted to psych each other out thursday at the weigh-in for the 94th annual nathan 's famous fourth of july international hot dog-eating contest . competitive eaters joey chestnut and takeru kobayashi take part in an official staredown . ' chestnut and kobayashi glared long and menacingly into each other 's eyes in an official staredown . ' at last year 's contest , 25-year-old chestnut , a civil engineering student at san jose state university , eked out a win over kobayashi , 31 , in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece . it was chestnut 's second slim victory over kobayashi in as many years . kobayashi vowed he will avenge those two defeats on saturday . he also said he no longer suffers from the jawthritis ' that some cited as the culprit for his 2007 defeat , which snapped his six-year winning streak at coney island . chestnut , for his part , said he had no intention of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt -- competitive eating 's answer to golf 's green jacket . he is setting his sights this year on 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes . saturday 's competition will be partially about redemption for chestnut , too . in may , he suffered a stinging defeat to kobayashi in a loss he said really set a fire underneath me ' and made me hungry for this contest . ' chestnut revealed the extreme dietary regimen he is following in the days leading up to the contest . he said he is sticking to water to make sure he is empty ' when the mountain of hot dogs is placed in front of him . in addition to chestnut , kobayashi admitted to keeping a watchful eye on 32-year-old tim eater x ' janus , whose signature painted face was described by major league eating impresario richard shea as an attempt to mask his inner torment . ' in a recent trial round , janus downed a personal-best 55 hot dogs -- a weiner 's throw from the 59 that chestnut and kobayashi wolfed down last year . as a lead-in to the main event , major league eating on friday will hold a first-of-its-kind cross-species ' eating contest between three competitive eaters and three asian elephants . mle 's shea described it as the realization of one of his two lifelong dreams , the other being a scenario in which a dozen competitive eaters eat the entire contents of a convenience store . twenty finalists will compete in the championship on saturday . they were culled from 18 preliminary contests and comprise a who 's who of the world of competitive eating . for people who stuff their faces with record-breaking quantities of food , many of the contestants at the weigh-in boasted surprisingly svelte physiques . juliet lee , a 44-year-old maryland salon owner fresh off the feat of downing 13.23 pounds of cranberry sauce in 8 minutes , clocked in at a mere 105 pounds . kobayashi , at 123 pounds , lifted his t-shirt to reveal the sort of chiseled abdomen one would expect at a bodybuilding competition . others contestants were not quite as disconcertingly trim . fearsome world matzo ball-eating champion eric badlands ' booker tips the scales at 400 pounds . | reigning hot dog-guzzling champ joey chestnut , takeru kobayashi have staredown |
call of duty <tsp> ( cnn ) -- since the xbox one 's release last fall , customers have been waiting ( some more patiently than others ) for that one great game that would single-handedly justify the purchase of the next-generation video game console . titanfall , ' the first game from respawn entertainment , appears ready to assume the mantle . first revealed at e3 2013 in los angeles , titanfall ' had already garnered more than 60 awards before its release last week . now , players are getting their first shot to play as the athletic pilots of monstrously large robotic titans , stomping across highly detailed terrain in a game even the makers of the xbox say could be one for the ages . we think ( titanfall ) can very much be a game-defining moment for xbox one as a platform because of how much it has lit up the imagination of gamers everywhere and how it takes advantage of the unique features of xbox one , ' said microsoft xbox chief marketing and strategy officer yusuf mehdi . i think people really are excited about it . it is why people spent hundreds of dollars to have the best game experience possible . ' some of the creators of titanfall ' have a pretty good idea what it is like to have that kind of pressure on a game . respawn founder and ceo vince zampella was also the ceo of infinity ward , which developed the hit , call of duty ' series . zampella told cnn he is amazed about the level of excitement for his new game , and welcomes the expectations . you put your heart into it . you want it to be the best thing ever and you want it to be universally accepted as well , ' he said . it blows us away -- the enthusiasm for the title . ' asked if the expectations were too great for titanfall , ' he said with a laugh , if i say yes , it makes me look like i do n't have confidence in the game . if i say no , it feels like i 'm being arrogant . ' zampella said titanfall ' could n't have existed without the increased gaming power and features of the xbox one console . he said microsoft 's cloud architecture allows designers to raise the visual and competitive level of the game without sacrificing other elements . where we take advantage of it really is using microsoft 's back end to do things we could n't normally do in multiplayer games like putting all that ai ( artificial intelligence ) and that extra flash in those cinematic moments , ' he said . we are able to do much more with the game . with microsoft providing that to us , that 's money and resources that we really did n't have . ' microsoft 's mehdi said game developers were able to store a lot of the computing that titanfall ' uses directly onto microsoft servers . that 's something unique that we 've done with these dedicated servers , ' he said . we 've spent a lot of money to back every xbox one console with hundreds of thousands of servers to have great gameplay . ' titanfall 's ' appeal lies in its ability to allow many people to play together in a rich environment with exciting gameplay , much like call of duty ' did on the xbox 360 . zampella said the real adventure and fun begins when players realize how much freedom they have during the game . it really is about that balance of gameplay where sometimes you are in a titan , sometimes you 're not . sometimes you want to be , sometimes you do n't . both sides ( pilot and titan ) are powerful and feel good and have a benefit in a different way , ' he said . it is n't just about getting to point b and crushing everybody . it is a whole , very balanced pilot ballet , i guess . ' early launch reaction was generally good , with servers for the xbox one holding up well under the stress of the initial rush . pc users have had some issues with connection problems , but respawn is said to be working on those for a quick resolution . and it looks like the game itself is helping sell an entire system . sales of the xbox one in great britain have nearly doubled since friday , when titanfall ' was released there . we have had a tradition of a big , multiplayer , epic game that defines each one of our console generations , ' mehdi said . whether it was the original xbox with'halo ,'there has always been a great game to define the generation .'titanfall'is certainly going to be one of those for xbox one , no question . ' | title is by call of duty ' creators |
statue of liberty <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a stolen statue of liberty replica has resurfaced in a disturbing video posted on youtube that shows someone decapitating the blindfolded lady and smashing her head into pieces . the youtube video shows a gloved hand sawing off lady liberty 's head before smashing it . the 200-pound replica was stolen less than a month ago from vox pop , a coffee shop in brooklyn . it 's very disturbing , ' shop operator debi ryan told cnn , adding the video struck a chord similar to that of terrorist assassination videos . i do n't know what it means . ... i do n't know who would do this . ' the youtube video begins with a waving american flag , and then shows a gloved hand sawing off the head of the statue before crushing it . the slogans we do n't want your freedom ' and death to america ' flash across the screen during the one-minute video , which is dated july fourth . it was anonymously e-mailed to the daily news and ryan earlier this week . ryan said she 's sure the statue in the video is the one stolen from her cafe . she 's unique . i know my girl , ' she said of the statue . we just had her completely refurbished , outfitted with a solar torch and painted . ' authorities told cnn they are handling the case as a larceny rather than separately investigating the youtube video . we want to verify who sent the e-mail with the video and see if they 're responsible , ' police said . a sign on the store , located in ditmas park , reads , books , coffee , democracy , ' near where the 8-foot replica of lady liberty used to stand outside . the self-described community coffee shop is also a bookstore and a spot for artists and performers . we 've created a space here that 's owned by the community , ' ryan said . we 're all about freedom of speech and freedom to be who you are and say whatever you think . ' but ryan does n't consider the youtube video featuring her stolen statue appropriate free speech . vox pop stands for freedom of speech . you do n't get to steal somebody else 's property to send that message . we have to respect each other , ' she said . although the coffee shop recently faced economic problems and neighborhood tension , the motive behind the statue 's theft remains unknown . as for whether there will be a replacement statue , ryan said , i 'm hoping . i think she belongs here . but she added , whether we have a physical statue or not , what she stands for remains here . ' | video shows statue of liberty replica blindfolded before it 's decapitated , smashed |
marlo manning <tsp> kingston , massachusetts ( cnn ) -- two weeks ago , a growth was found on the chest of sara polcari 's 6-year-old dog , charlie . given charlie 's history with cancer -- he had one of his hind legs amputated in march to get rid of a tumor -- the veterinarian recommended immediate surgery . the timing could n't have been worse . polcari had just been laid off from her job , and now she and her husband were looking at an $ 850 bill . she was also six months pregnant . it 's like ,'what are we going to do ? now ? really ? of all times ?' polcari said . it 's really tough to meet our bills and to have this large amount of cost for charlie coming up , it was just really unexpected . ' the polcaris had been able to pay for charlie 's amputation by raising money through family and friends . but now , they did n't know what to do . that 's when the vet told them about fairy dogparents , a nonprofit that helps dog owners pay for their pets'needs during times of economic hardship . we filled out the online application , and i got a phone call that night saying that they would love to help , ' sara polcari said . since it started in 2009 , fairy dogparents has provided aid for nearly 400 dogs in massachusetts : $ 150,000 worth of dog food and medical care . it 's to prevent dogs from being surrendered to shelters or euthanized when their owners can not afford care , ' said marlo manning , who founded fairy dogparents . financial hardship is a very common reason why people surrender their animals to a shelter . and once they do that , it 's not a choice that you can undo . ' between 2 million and 2.5 million dogs enter u.s. shelters each year , and between 1 million and 2 million of those are euthanized , according to estimates from the american society for the prevention of cruelty to animals . the aspca also says that as many as 1 million pets in america are at risk of becoming homeless because of the recent economic downturn . i 've never had to choose between caring for my dogs or caring for myself , ' said manning , 39 . most of the people we help , they 're doing their best to get back on track . and then a crisis happens with their dog . and it 's just one more thing that they ca n't afford . ... ' it 's emotionally taxing on them because they think ,'if i ca n't even take care of this dog , what right do i have to have it ?'so we want to take that burden away and say :'you do have a right to have it . get through this , and we 'll help you .'and through that , we give them a little ray of hope . ' do you know a hero ? nominations are open for 2013 cnn heroes manning knows how much an ailing dog can cost . she and her husband adopted their first dog , ladybug , from a shelter in 2005 , when ladybug was 10 years old . in the four years she spent with the couple , the pooch developed a host of health issues , including vertigo , dementia and ultimately cancer . over time , the costs for ladybug 's medicine , vet bills and special food averaged about $ 300 to $ 400 a month , manning said . having gone through a job loss myself , i thought :'i 'm really glad that we had ladybug when we did , because we were able to afford it . if it had happened at a different point in time , i do n't know what we would 've done . we could n't have given up on her . she 'd never give up on us .' after ladybug died , manning still had hundreds of dollars'worth of pet medications and prescription food . with the veterinarian 's help , she donated them to another dog owner in need . but she was left wanting to do more . when manning went to retrieve ladybug 's ashes from the veterinarian 's office , she asked the staff whether they knew of a way to sponsor the dog of a family less fortunate . they did not , but they directed her to a local newspaper article that discussed the growing need . ( on ) the cover of the local paper was a story about dogs being tied to the front of shelters because people could n't afford to keep them anymore . they could n't afford to feed them , never mind get them medicine , ' manning recalled . with ladybug , her remains by my side ... within seconds , i melted into a puddle and could n't stop crying . i said ,'i have to do something .' when manning founded fairy dogparents , her goal was to help three families in her first year . she exceeded that expectation by 24 . i had such a hole in my heart ; i had to fill it , ' manning said . and i could n't fill it by running out and getting another dog . i chose to find a way to sponsor other people who could not afford to keep their dog . because ( ladybug ) came from a shelter , it had two meanings for me . one was to keep her memory alive . and the other was to keep another dog from going to a shelter since that system is already stressed enough as it is . ' dog owners can apply online for financial help , which is all funded by private donations . the nonprofit is able to subsidize up to $ 800 a year for a dog 's acute or chronic care and $ 300 a year for general wellness needs . for dogs who have needs exceeding those limits , the group has also hosted online fundraisers . the money is given directly to the vet or pharmacy , ' manning said . and the dog owner is responsible for at least 15 % of the cost . ' dogs must also be spayed or neutered to receive help . the average applicant makes a maximum of $ 2,000 a month before taxes . the group prioritizes the elderly , people with disabilities and people whose unemployment benefits have expired . a lot of the people that we sponsor ... have already lost so much that the one thing they try to hang on to is their dog , ' manning said . a lot of them have lost their jobs . they 've lost their homes . some have even lost their significant other or their loved ones . and the dog , to them , is some sort of normal or a tie to a happier time . and they do n't want to have to make that devastating decision . ' oftentimes , families who turn to manning 's group are facing life-and-death scenarios related to their dogs . manning says 75 % of the grants her group has awarded have paid for emergency treatment that spared the dogs from being euthanized . we 're just completely surprised that they were just able to help us out with the full ( sponsorship ) amount , ' polcari said of the assistance her family received . it was just such a blessing , and we 'll be forever grateful that charlie gets this second chance . ' for manning , who also has a full-time job at a market research firm , being able to provide those second chances is a tribute to ladybug 's memory . every picture you see of a dog we 've helped , every story that we tell , it 's a happy ending . this dog is with its family and never had to go into a shelter , ' manning said , beaming . it 's living happily ever after at home . and that 's why we 're called the fairy dogparents , because much like ( in ) cinderella , we 're in the background . the dog does n't even know we exist , and we 're just making sure it gets to the ball . ' want to get involved ? check out the fairy dogparents website at www.fairydogparents.org and see how to help . | marlo manning 's nonprofit provides financial aid to families so they can keep their dogs |
pistorius <tsp> pretoria , south africa ( cnn ) -- reeva steenkamp told oscar pistorius she was afraid of him and his temper less than three weeks before he shot and killed her , the judge in his murder trial was told monday . i 'm scared of you sometimes , of how you snap at me , ' the south african model told pistorius in a long chat message . you have picked on me incessantly , ' she wrote , calling pistorius nasty ' after he apparently accused her of flirting with someone at a party . i was not flirting with anyone today and i feel sick that you suggested that , ' she told him via whatsapp , according to the police officer who downloaded their chats after pistorius shot and killed her . you do everything to throw tantrums , ' she said , concluding the message : i 'm certainly very unhappy and sad . ' police capt . francois moller , who downloaded the messages from steenkamp 's iphone , said that 90 % of the chats between the two were normal and loving . but there were several that accused pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness . less than a week before he killed her , she wrote him another long message after he apparently lost his temper with her as they left a public event together . she reached the exit before he did , she wrote , adding : i did n't think you would criticize me for doing that , especially so loudly that others could hear .... i regard myself as a lady and i did n't feel like one after we left . ' pistorius admits that he killed steenkamp , firing four shots through a closed door in his house in the early hours of february 14 , 2013 . three hit her , with the last one probably killing her almost instantly , according to the pathologist who performed the autopsy . but pistorius says he thought she was a nighttime intruder in his pitch-black house and believed he was firing in self-defense . he pleaded not guilty to murder . read the messages'terrified screaming' moller 's testimony came after a neighbor of pistorius said on the witness stand that she heard terrified , terrified screaming ' the morning the olympian killed his girlfriend . questioned by prosecutor gerrie nel , anette stipp said she awoke early the morning of february 14 , 2013 , and heard terrified , terrified screaming ... it sounds to me as if there 's a family murder , why else would she scream like that . ' stipp described hearing a series of three shots , a woman screaming , also a man screaming , and then three more shots before the screaming stopped . her husband , dr. johan stipp , testified earlier in the trial . the trial was originally scheduled to last until march 20 but will now continue until the middle of may , the south african court hearing the case said sunday . trial extended to mid-may the trial , which entered its fourth week on monday , will continue until april 4 , then break for a one-week recess before resuming from april 14 until may 16 , the pretoria court announced in a written statement . it said all parties involved ' had agreed to the dates . the trial began march 3 . there has been intense media interest in the case in south africa and beyond . pistorius first achieved global fame as an outstanding double amputee sprinter who ran with special prostheses that earned him the nickname blade runner . ' judge thokozile masipa will decide the verdict with the help of two lay people called assessors . south africa does not have jury trials . in south africa , premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence with a minimum of 25 years . pistorius also could get five years for each of two unrelated gun indictments and 15 years for a firearms charge he also faces . if he is n't convicted of premeditated murder , the sprinter could face a lesser charge of culpable homicide , a crime based on negligence . the sentence for culpable homicide is at the judge 's discretion . almost the entire trial has been televised , though individual witnesses can choose not to be shown on television . cnn 's ed payne and cnn legal analyst kelly phelps contributed to this report . | pistorius says he thought she was an intruder and shot in self-defense |
pistorius <tsp> pretoria , south africa ( cnn ) -- reeva steenkamp told oscar pistorius she was afraid of him and his temper less than three weeks before he shot and killed her , the judge in his murder trial was told monday . i 'm scared of you sometimes , of how you snap at me , ' the south african model told pistorius in a long chat message . you have picked on me incessantly , ' she wrote , calling pistorius nasty ' after he apparently accused her of flirting with someone at a party . i was not flirting with anyone today and i feel sick that you suggested that , ' she told him via whatsapp , according to the police officer who downloaded their chats after pistorius shot and killed her . you do everything to throw tantrums , ' she said , concluding the message : i 'm certainly very unhappy and sad . ' police capt . francois moller , who downloaded the messages from steenkamp 's iphone , said that 90 % of the chats between the two were normal and loving . but there were several that accused pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness . less than a week before he killed her , she wrote him another long message after he apparently lost his temper with her as they left a public event together . she reached the exit before he did , she wrote , adding : i did n't think you would criticize me for doing that , especially so loudly that others could hear .... i regard myself as a lady and i did n't feel like one after we left . ' pistorius admits that he killed steenkamp , firing four shots through a closed door in his house in the early hours of february 14 , 2013 . three hit her , with the last one probably killing her almost instantly , according to the pathologist who performed the autopsy . but pistorius says he thought she was a nighttime intruder in his pitch-black house and believed he was firing in self-defense . he pleaded not guilty to murder . read the messages'terrified screaming' moller 's testimony came after a neighbor of pistorius said on the witness stand that she heard terrified , terrified screaming ' the morning the olympian killed his girlfriend . questioned by prosecutor gerrie nel , anette stipp said she awoke early the morning of february 14 , 2013 , and heard terrified , terrified screaming ... it sounds to me as if there 's a family murder , why else would she scream like that . ' stipp described hearing a series of three shots , a woman screaming , also a man screaming , and then three more shots before the screaming stopped . her husband , dr. johan stipp , testified earlier in the trial . the trial was originally scheduled to last until march 20 but will now continue until the middle of may , the south african court hearing the case said sunday . trial extended to mid-may the trial , which entered its fourth week on monday , will continue until april 4 , then break for a one-week recess before resuming from april 14 until may 16 , the pretoria court announced in a written statement . it said all parties involved ' had agreed to the dates . the trial began march 3 . there has been intense media interest in the case in south africa and beyond . pistorius first achieved global fame as an outstanding double amputee sprinter who ran with special prostheses that earned him the nickname blade runner . ' judge thokozile masipa will decide the verdict with the help of two lay people called assessors . south africa does not have jury trials . in south africa , premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence with a minimum of 25 years . pistorius also could get five years for each of two unrelated gun indictments and 15 years for a firearms charge he also faces . if he is n't convicted of premeditated murder , the sprinter could face a lesser charge of culpable homicide , a crime based on negligence . the sentence for culpable homicide is at the judge 's discretion . almost the entire trial has been televised , though individual witnesses can choose not to be shown on television . cnn 's ed payne and cnn legal analyst kelly phelps contributed to this report . | new : chat messages show reeva was afraid of pistorius sometimes |
pistorius <tsp> pretoria , south africa ( cnn ) -- reeva steenkamp told oscar pistorius she was afraid of him and his temper less than three weeks before he shot and killed her , the judge in his murder trial was told monday . i 'm scared of you sometimes , of how you snap at me , ' the south african model told pistorius in a long chat message . you have picked on me incessantly , ' she wrote , calling pistorius nasty ' after he apparently accused her of flirting with someone at a party . i was not flirting with anyone today and i feel sick that you suggested that , ' she told him via whatsapp , according to the police officer who downloaded their chats after pistorius shot and killed her . you do everything to throw tantrums , ' she said , concluding the message : i 'm certainly very unhappy and sad . ' police capt . francois moller , who downloaded the messages from steenkamp 's iphone , said that 90 % of the chats between the two were normal and loving . but there were several that accused pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness . less than a week before he killed her , she wrote him another long message after he apparently lost his temper with her as they left a public event together . she reached the exit before he did , she wrote , adding : i did n't think you would criticize me for doing that , especially so loudly that others could hear .... i regard myself as a lady and i did n't feel like one after we left . ' pistorius admits that he killed steenkamp , firing four shots through a closed door in his house in the early hours of february 14 , 2013 . three hit her , with the last one probably killing her almost instantly , according to the pathologist who performed the autopsy . but pistorius says he thought she was a nighttime intruder in his pitch-black house and believed he was firing in self-defense . he pleaded not guilty to murder . read the messages'terrified screaming' moller 's testimony came after a neighbor of pistorius said on the witness stand that she heard terrified , terrified screaming ' the morning the olympian killed his girlfriend . questioned by prosecutor gerrie nel , anette stipp said she awoke early the morning of february 14 , 2013 , and heard terrified , terrified screaming ... it sounds to me as if there 's a family murder , why else would she scream like that . ' stipp described hearing a series of three shots , a woman screaming , also a man screaming , and then three more shots before the screaming stopped . her husband , dr. johan stipp , testified earlier in the trial . the trial was originally scheduled to last until march 20 but will now continue until the middle of may , the south african court hearing the case said sunday . trial extended to mid-may the trial , which entered its fourth week on monday , will continue until april 4 , then break for a one-week recess before resuming from april 14 until may 16 , the pretoria court announced in a written statement . it said all parties involved ' had agreed to the dates . the trial began march 3 . there has been intense media interest in the case in south africa and beyond . pistorius first achieved global fame as an outstanding double amputee sprinter who ran with special prostheses that earned him the nickname blade runner . ' judge thokozile masipa will decide the verdict with the help of two lay people called assessors . south africa does not have jury trials . in south africa , premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence with a minimum of 25 years . pistorius also could get five years for each of two unrelated gun indictments and 15 years for a firearms charge he also faces . if he is n't convicted of premeditated murder , the sprinter could face a lesser charge of culpable homicide , a crime based on negligence . the sentence for culpable homicide is at the judge 's discretion . almost the entire trial has been televised , though individual witnesses can choose not to be shown on television . cnn 's ed payne and cnn legal analyst kelly phelps contributed to this report . | pistorius is accused of intentionally killing girlfriend reeva steenkamp in 2013 |
occupy central <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in 2012 , china announced that in 2017 hong kong could elect its chief executive through universal suffrage . ' previously , the leader of the hong kong government was picked by an election committee of between 800 and 1,200 members , most of whom were trusted by beijing . in effect , beijing had established procedures that ensured that a member of the territory 's establishment would be in charge . but china 's 2012 promise created hopes among the public that the chief executive would be picked through a truly democratic election . those hopes have now been dashed , and it is likely that china has bought itself more instability , not less . beijing preserves control on august 31 , the standing committee of the national people 's congress announced a decision regarding the procedures for the next chief executive election . if the plan is actually passed , hong kong will get universal suffrage in the narrow sense that eligible voters will be the ones to pick the chief executive , not an election committee . but beijing has preserved significant control by instituting a restrictive process for nominating candidates . it insisted that a nominating committee would pick candidates ( not political parties , and not by popular nomination ) . and surprise , surprise : the nominating committee will be modeled on the old election committee . the new body would be composed mainly of people who are sympathetic to beijing 's desire for order and who do n't want to see hong kong 's economic growth , in which many of the members are invested , disrupted by politics . in addition , over half of the nominating committee would have to approve each candidate , which means that no pan-democrat could get nominated if beijing disapproved of him or her . so under the plan hong kong voters would have a choice , but the pro-democracy camp suspects that the choice will be among two or three like-minded and beijing-friendly candidates . will it be approved ? this new system is unlikely to be established because it must be approved by a two-thirds vote of hong kong 's legislature . if pro-democracy lawmakers stick together , they have enough votes to veto the scheme , in which case the selection procedure reverts to the prior , small-circle ' system . that would be a great tragedy . a sensible compromise was objectively possible -- one that democratized the nominating process in such a way that produced a competitive election and a clear choice between an establishment and pro-democracy candidate . that was an approach that would have likely commanded two-thirds approval . in the short-term , hong kong faces the prospect of major disruption , because the more radical elements of the pan-democratic camp , which have insisted on nomination of candidates through citizen petition , have now promised to mount a campaign to occupy central , ' the major business district , through large demonstrations and even civil disobedience . the radicals'proposal was always unrealistic and not necessary to achieve a competitive election . the hong kong police are perfectly capable of controlling the protests ( still , the people 's liberation army is waiting in reserve ) . but whatever one thinks of occupy central 's goals and tactics , it has given voice to the more general public desire for genuine democracy and to frustration at beijing 's rigidity . why invite trouble ? why did china choose this course of action ? first of all , it has feared that if pan-democrats ran the hong kong government , they would use it as a base to destabilize communist party rule in the rest of china . second , it believed that the united states and britain were manipulating the pan-democrats to further their own disruptive goals . ( both fears have no basis in reality , but what counts is that beijing believes them ) . third , the chinese government and the hong kong tycoons it listens to worried that a democratic election would increase demands for costly social welfare programs . fourth , there was the prospect of continued disruption if hong kong radicals concluded that beijing would always back down in the face of mass protest . finally , chinese leaders may have worried that granting genuine democracy to hong kong would stimulate similar demands in china . problems compounded ? in the end , beijing opted for the certainty of knowing that it could control hong kong 's leadership by controlling the nomination process for the chief executive election . it will likely achieve that goal , but the price will be continuing instability from a frustrated public . true universal suffrage would not have solved all of the governance problems of what is becoming a more unequal and polarized society . but without genuine elections to legitimize hong kong 's leaders , solving those problems will be impossible . | pro-democracy campaigners in hong kong are angry , occupy central ' protests planned |
scotland <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- more than 700 years after william wallace died fighting for scottish independence , and more than 300 years after scotland and england came together in a united kingdom , a new agreement could lead to an independent scotland . british prime minister david cameron and his scottish counterpart , first minister alex salmond , signed a deal in edinburgh , scotland , on monday paving the way for scots to vote on independence from the united kingdom , cameron 's office announced on twitter . the referendum , expected to be held in 2014 , would allow scots a straight yes-or-no vote on staying in the union . the yes scotland ' campaign launched in may , trying to build a groundswell of support for an independent scotland , ' with the backing of several famous scots , most notably actor sean connery . salmond and his scottish national party ( snp ) , which holds power in the scottish parliament , have pushed for the vote . a survey released last week by tns-bmrb showed that only 28 % of scots favor leaving the united kingdom . that 's somewhat in line with an ipsos mori poll of 1,002 scots , taken in late august , that showed sharp political differences within scotland . that survey showed that more than 60 % of snp supporters desire full independence . however , only about a third of all the scots polled wanted to break away from the united kingdom . some detractors have expressed concern about scotland 's economic viability as an independent state . but oil from the north sea , off the scottish coast , has enriched the united kingdom for decades . and the snp , on its website , says independence could create an environment where our existing and new private industries can grow more easily , ' and the party touts a country that retains the british pound , while its future european union membership creates the benefits of open borders , shared rights , free trade and extensive cooperation . ' cameron has vocally opposed scottish independence . in february , he said he was 100 % clear that i will fight with everything i have to keep our united kingdom together , ' since an intact united kingdom , consisting of england , scotland , wales and northern ireland , is stronger , safer , richer and fairer . ' in medieval times , scotland fought for freedom from england , which mel gibson dramatically depicted in his academy award-winning movie braveheart . ' not long after wallace died in the early 1300s , robert the bruce led scotland to independence , and it remained an autonomous nation until the act of union joined scotland and england in 1707 . the united kingdom returned some autonomy to scotland , wales and northern ireland , and gave them the right to form their own parliaments , in the late 1990s . cnn 's saskya vandoorne , matthew chance and dave gilbert contributed to this report . | british pm david cameron and most scots polled are against an autonomous scotland |
washington <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a man opens fire in a national park , killing a ranger who was attempting to stop him after he blew through a vehicle checkpoint . a second man is suspected in the stabbing deaths of four homeless men in southern california . both men , u.s. military veterans , served in iraq -- and both , according to authorities and those who knew them , returned home changed men after their combat service . iraq war vet could face death penalty a coincidence -- two recent high-profile cases ? or a sign of an increase in hostile behavior as u.s. troops complete their withdrawal from iraq , similar to that seen when u.s. troops returned home from the vietnam war ? you 're going to see this more and more over the next 10 years , ' said shad meshad , founder of the national veterans foundation , who has been working with veterans since 1970 . ... there 's a percentage that come back , depending on how much trauma and how much killing they 're involved in , they 're going to act out . ' margaret anderson , a ranger at washington state 's mount rainier national park , was shot to death on new year 's day . police believe benjamin colton barnes , who served in iraq from 2007 to 2009 , was responsible for the shooting . after a manhunt , authorities found barnes'body face down in a creek in the park . according to court documents obtained by cnn affiliate kiro , the woman with whom barnes was in a custody dispute said she believed he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his deployment . barnes was emotionally unstable , vindictive and anger-prone , the woman said , and owned many knives and guns . the woman said she was frightened to be in the same state with him , the documents said . in california , former marine cpl . itzcoatl campo is accused of stabbing four homeless men to death . according to the military , campo was deployed to iraq during 2008 . a friend of his , who asked to be identified only as brian , told cnn monday that something happened ' after campo returned from iraq . he was a little bit more serious . it seemed like there was something on his mind , ' brian said . he seemed really depressed and down , and things in his life were n't looking that well . ' his father , refugio campo , told the orange county register that upon his return , his son began talking about things that did n't make any sense , ' like the end of the world . it 's important to note , experts said , that the two cases represent the extreme end of a spectrum of behavior signifying difficulties faced by returning troops , and some experience little difficulty , if any . what we do n't want to do is stigmatize veterans by saying they 're walking time bombs , ' said elspeth ritchie , chief clinical officer for the washington , d.c. , department of mental health and a former u.s. army colonel . they 're not . ' but study after study has highlighted the struggles faced by troops returning home , including substance abuse , relationship problems , aggression or depression , she and others noted . some may have trouble sitting still in college classes , ritchie said . others may react with aggression at a perceived threat , such as being pulled over for a traffic violation , meshad said . still others have trouble riding in or driving vehicles because they are used to the threat of ieds ( improvised explosive devices ) , or may react aggressively to a sudden move , even one by their spouse , he said . it 's embedded in ( the service member ) to do that , ' meshad said . it looks brutal , it is brutal , it 's horrible , it 's heinous , but they switch on like that because they have n't been switched off . ' suicide is also a growing problem . the army reported a record-high number of suicides in july 2011 , with the deaths of 33 active- and reserve-component service members categorized as suicides . while homicides by former troops are n't tracked , many of the dynamics leading to suicidal behavior are similar to those seen in murder-suicides or homicides , ritchie said . the u.s. department of veterans affairs and others have made strides in addressing ptsd in veterans , the experts said . other groups and resources , such as the wounded warrior project , are also available . but many veterans have trouble seeking help , said paul ragan , an associate professor of psychiatry at vanderbilt university who works with returning service members . big boys do n't cry , ' he said . every veteran he works with in his clinic is married , he said . it 's because their wives are the ones who helped bring them in . ' i 'm not seeing everybody out there , ' he said . i 'm not seeing a random sampling of all the returning vets . i 'm seeing the ones who make it in , and they make it in largely through the auspices of a loved one who helps get them over that hump . ... the heroes in my clinic are the wives who 've learned to adjust and adapt . ' absent that support , some vets may not take that step , he said . one of ptsd 's fundamental features , ragan noted , is a lack of trust : in one 's self , in others , in humans , that the world will give them a fair shake . ... there is this tremendous hurdle for them to overcome to get treatment . ' ragan and meshad noted that people who are trained killers can have trouble switching out of that role after returning home . they come home full of war energy ... and it 's hard for them to have a relationship with anybody other than somebody in your unit , ' meshad said . your unit is removed . you 're now around a touchy-feely wife or girlfriend that you do n't understand . ' combat veterans who may have killed or witnessed the deaths of women and children are plagued by guilt , which affects relationships with their own families , he said . meshad said a significant effort to deprogram soldiers should be made before they leave the military . while the marines do have a program , he said , many troops do n't listen ; those who do have said it 's oversimplified . ' issues such as employment , education and housing must also be examined as part of an overall effort to support veterans , ritchie said . the va and the military can only do so much , ' ritchie said . it really takes a nationwide effort and a local community effort ... this is an issue that 's not going to go away . it 's going to be with us for 10 , 20 , 30 years . ' | veterans are accused of homicides in washington and california |
mark frost <tsp> ( cnn ) -- prepare a pot of damn fine coffee and enjoy a slice of cherry pie : twin peaks ' is coming back . the offbeat tv series , created by david lynch and mark frost , will be returning to television in 2016 , according to a strange ( of course ) video posted on showtime 's youtube channel . the original show ran on abc in 1990 and 1991 and spawned a 1992 theatrical film directed by lynch , twin peaks : fire walk with me . ' dear twitter friends ... it is happening again ... # damngoodcoffee , ' lynch tweeted . according to a press release from showtime , twin peaks ' will be a limited series of nine episodes . lynch and frost will write and produce each one and lynch will direct all nine . when it debuted , twin peaks ' was like nothing else that had ever aired on television . lynch ( then best known as the director of eraserhead ' and blue velvet ' ) and frost -- who had written for hill street blues ' -- created an eerie story starring kyle maclachlan as fbi agent dale cooper , who had come to the pacific northwest town of twin peaks to investigate the murder of a high school girl named laura palmer . the murder mystery was only the entry point into a bizarre world , one that was alternately drily witty and brutally violent . the straight-arrow cooper was fond of a diner 's damn fine coffee ' and pie to an almost absurd degree . the show featured a one-armed man , a dancing dwarf , rumblings at the local lumber mill and a malevolent spirit named bob . the tone was set with angelo badalamenti 's ghostly theme music . in addition to maclachlan , the show starred ray wise , lara flynn boyle , peggy lipton and joan chen . twin peaks ' started off a huge hit , but as the plot became more obscure and the mood became darker , the audience dwindled , especially in the second season . however , those who stayed with it were a hardcore bunch , enough to prompt the theatrical film so lynch could tie up some loose ends ( or not , being lynch ) . despite diverse reviews , the show remains one of the most influential in television history , with its involvement of a noted movie director , its willingness to take audiences to far-out places , its deliberate pace and its obsessed-about plot points and character tics . in many ways , it was ahead of its time . showtime plans to show the entire run of the tv series before the premiere of the new twin peaks ' episodes . what more can i say --'twin peaks'with david lynch and mark frost on showtime in 2016 ! ' said showtime president david nevins . to quote agent cooper ,'i have no idea where this will lead us , but i have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange .'' | david lynch , mark frost bringing back twin peaks ' |
americans <tsp> ( cnn ) -- smoking is bad for you , and by now , most of us know it . an estimated 4.5 million u.s. adolescents are cigarette smokers . it seems that studies on the dangers of smoking come out every week . just recently , after an article appeared in the journal pediatrics , we were introduced to the concept of third-hand smoke , the potentially toxic residue that lingers in curtains , clothing , hair , etc . after the smoke itself blows away . to recap : smoking exponentially increases your risk of developing lung cancer ( and other lung diseases , like emphysema and chronic bronchitis ) and puts you at higher risk for cancer of the mouth , throat , larynx , esophagus , bladder , pancreas , kidney , cervix and stomach . smoking also elevates the risk of cardiovascular disease , stroke and insulin resistance . and , as if all that were n't bad enough , it causes wrinkles . yet stand on virtually any streetcorner of any city or town in the united states , and you will see people smoking . so , who exactly -- in the face of all the mounting scientific evidence , social stigma and legal bans -- still lights up ? according to the cdc , about 43.4 million americans ( 19.8 percent of the population ) smoke . look around you . if you are in kentucky , the state with the highest smoking rate , more than one out of every four people ( 28.3 percent ) around you smokes . on the other end of the spectrum is utah , with just over one person in 10 ( 11.7 percent ) a smoker . find the smoking rate in your state » here 's the good news : smoking prevalence in the entire country has gone under 20 percent for first time in over 50 years , ' said dr. richard hurt , director of the nicotine dependence center at the mayo clinic . for women , it 's 18 percent in most places , and for men it 's hovering at about 20 percent . we have gone from one in two men smoking to one in five -- a very dramatic change -- and one in three women to one in five . ' here 's the bad news : smoking rates are unlikely to drop to the national health objective of 12 percent by 2010 . hurt , who is also a professor of medicine at the mayo clinic college of medicine in rochester , minnesota , is a former three-pack-a-day smoker . unlike most smokers , he picked up the habit during college ; according to the cdc , about 90 percent of heavy smokers start in high school . and studies show that the younger you are when you start , the more likely you 'll become a heavy smoker as an adult . according to the american cancer society , each day more than 3,500 people younger than 18 try their first cigarette , and 1,100 others become regular daily smokers . about one-third of these kids will eventually die from a smoking-related disease . retired radio broadcaster and ireporter gerald dimmitt , 65 , has smoked since he was 14 . i 've always smoked a pipe , ' he said . i have successfully quit about 40 times . ' but , he says , he always restarted , because it calms me down . ' ireport.com : do you still smoke ? dimmitt has even more incentive to quit now , since developing lesions and irritation in his mouth . after speaking to his doctor , he received a prescription for chantix , a pill to aid with smoking cessation . but when he went to pick up his prescription at the pharmacy , he was charged $ 139 ( because it 's not generic ) for two weeks worth . outraged , he left the chantix behind . if smoking is so dangerous ... why then do they want to charge $ 139 to make me stop ? there is something very wrong with that . i guess they would rather pay to take care of lung cancer , ' he said . some would-be smokers pick up their first cigarette to fit in . i started smoking at 12 years old to be part of the'in'crowd . it never got me into the'in'crowd , but with my first cigarette , i was totally hooked , ' wrote lori jerome , 45 , a former bartender and now full-time university student from canada . said lisa smith , ' 44 , a recently laid-off administrator from minnesota , i began smoking in junior high school because i wanted to fit in with a certain crowd . however , that group of friends is looooong gone from my life and i still have the nasty habit . ' smith did n't want her last name used . hurt says the reason many people start , and continue , is peer influence . but he also blames targeted promotions by tobacco companies ( like virginia slims targeting women in the 1970s and other brands targeting inner-city minority groups today ) and the movies . there is a lot of research right now that shows that smoking in the movies has made a comeback . ... it clearly affects start-up smoking among young people . ' as for things that prevent children from smoking , hurt cites higher cigarette taxes and smoke-free zones , like offices and restaurants . those two public health policies do three things : reduce smoking among continuing smokers , help people to stop smoking and reduce the chances of our children starting to smoke , because it de-normalizes it . ... the child interprets smoke-free as the social norm , ' he said . that 's why children of smokers are much more likely to become smokers themselves : smoke-filled surroundings is their norm . of course , society 's perception of smoking has changed a lot since the days of doctors actually endorsing one brand or another in the first half of last century . dimmitt recalls ashtrays in church pews , smoking in the classroom and blowing pipe smoke all over the students ! ' when i was born , my mother was allowed to smoke in the hospital room with me in there , ' jerome said . when i had my adult children , we were allowed to smoke in the day room on the maternity ward floor , although the babies were not allowed in there . when i had my youngest children , ages 5 and 8 now , you could n't smoke in the hospital . how the times have changed . ' now , smokers in some places face smoking bans in certain public and private spaces , and unspoken -- and sometimes overt -- hostilities . smith , a mother of six , wrote , it 's so socially unacceptable where i live , and none of my current friends or relatives smoke . in fact , i do n't even smoke out in public anymore -- unless it 's dark and i 'm in my car . i feel it 's such a disgusting and stinky habit . ' dulcie long , 50 , of denver , colorado , said , i wo n't say i feel actual'social discrimination ,'but it is something i feel a sense of shame about and do my best not to smoke in the presence of friends . none of my friends smoke , and i 'm very uncomfortable doing it anywhere near them . ' even dimmitt switched from a pipe to cigarettes when he was working with youngsters so he would n't reek so much . not only have attitudes towards smoking changed , the profile of smokers has changed , too . the demographics have changed so much that now , more often than not , it 's the disadvantaged who are still smoking compared to the highly educated , highly trained people , ' hurt said . it is pretty clear that the prevalence of smoking in groups of people is related to education status , which is a surrogate for income status . ... when you go down the income ladder , the smoking prevalence rises . some groups of severely disadvantaged people have smoking rates of 30 to 40-plus percent . ' hurt says that there is also a much higher prevalence of smoking among people with mental health disorders like depression , alcoholics , drug users and schizophrenics . but movers and shakers are not immune . president-elect barack obama has struggled with , and seems to have conquered , his habit . former president clinton was known to sit on the balcony of the white house and enjoy a cigar ( his wife , secretary of state-designate hilary clinton , officially made the white house a smoke-free zone ) . first lady laura bush admits to being an ex-smoker . plenty of celebrities -- like actresses salma hayek , katherine heigl and eva longoria parker -- have been caught , cigarette in mouth , by the paparazzi . even actor patrick swayze , who is battling pancreatic cancer , admitted that he continues to smoke . which brings us back to the inescapable fact that , worldwide , an estimated 4 million adults die each year of tobacco-caused diseases . said hurt , this is only product that i know on the face of the earth which , if it is used as recommended by manufacturer , kills 60 percent of its customers . ' | despite health effects , bans and social pressure , 20 percent americans smoke |
angelo binno <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a blind michigan man , rejected by three law schools after scoring poorly on the law school admission test , is suing the american bar association , arguing that the group 's exam requirements discriminate against the visually impaired . in a suit filed tuesday in the u.s. district court for the eastern district of michigan , angelo binno alleges the chicago-based aba prevents law schools from waiving the admission test , known as the lsat , for blind applicants . the suit alleges that visually impaired students face considerable difficulties with visually-oriented parts of the exam . the association 's rules require students to take a valid and reliable ' test . binno 's lawsuit counters that the lsat is the only widely used , commercially available exam for assessing law school applicants , leaving , in effect , no alternative . the suit says according to aba policy , schools could face sanctions , be put on probation , or lose accreditation if they fail to comply . binno says this violates protections for the disabled provided by the americans with disabilities act of 1990 . i want to help disabled and disadvantaged people who otherwise would struggle to have their voices be heard , ' binno said . a spokesperson for the aba said its lawyers have not yet seen the lawsuit , nor been served with documentation , and the association could not comment at this time . the law school admissions council , a private not-for-profit group based in newtown , pennsylvania , administers more than 100,000 lsats annually , according to its website . before 1997 , law schools could decide whether blind people must take the exam , according to binno 's lawyer , richard bernstein , who is also blind . the lsat was waived for bernstein in 1995 . he graduated from northwestern university school of law in 1999 . the litigation focuses on the analytical reasoning or so-called logic games section of the test , which requires spatial reasoning and diagramming of visual concepts for successful completion by most applicants , ' according to the suit . the complaint includes a copy of logic games from an lsat given in 2007 . the directions atop the section of the test say it may be useful to draw a rough diagram ' in figuring out the answers to some questions . it 's a situation where blind or visually impaired people ca n't interpret a diagram since they do n't have spatial perceptions , ' bernstein said . so how is it fair to require that type of question to get into law school ? at the end of the day , blind people ca n't draw . ' according to binno 's lawsuit , being unable to competitively answer questions on a quarter of the exam causes plaintiff substantial embarrassment , emotional distress , and mental anguish during the exam , which adversely impacts his overall performance . ' binno , who is not suing for monetary damages but retains the right to do so , wants the aba to change its policies on blind applicants and the lsat . i want the american bar association to stop telling blind people that they have to draw pictures in order to go to law school , ' binno said . binno , 28 , is fluent in three languages , finished high school in three years , graduated from wayne state university in detroit and worked with a unit of the u.s. department of homeland security with a high-level security clearance handling applications and credentials of immigrants , according to the lawsuit . he was laid off in 2008 and has focused on getting into law school for the past three years . binno is blind from birth with a condition called retinitis pigmentosa . we 're fighting so we can have more disabled attorneys who are going to create more disabled rights , ' said bernstein , who teaches social justice at the university of michigan , and said he runs marathons and has completed an iron man triathlon . | angelo binno of michigan is blind , and he aspires to go to law school |
japan <tsp> tokyo , japan ( cnn ) -- a japanese coast guard crew member has confessed to leaking a video of a boat collision that sparked a recent diplomatic battle between china and japan , officials said wednesday . it was unclear whether the crew member would be arrested for putting the video online , police said . the video , posted on youtube , shows what is thought to be the chinese fishing trawler ramming into a ship , thought to be a japanese coast guard vessel . the crash video had not been released to the public and japanese lawmakers were alarmed that it had been on the video-sharing website . the fact that the video was leaked is a big mistake for the government , ' hiroshi kawauchi , a legislator of the ruling democratic party of japan , said last week . it is totally different from presenting it to the public in an official manner , and it leads the people 's further erosion of faith in japan 's government . ' the september incident sparked a diplomatic squabble between the two nations . after the collision , japan detained the crew of the chinese fishing boat off the disputed islands in the east china sea . china calls the islands the diaoyu ; japan calls them the senkaku . in response to the detainments , china made increasingly aggressive diplomatic threats . beijing also halted ministerial-level talks with tokyo , and both sides canceled trips to each other 's nations . japan has since released the fishing crew , which china says was stopped illegally . japan initially accused the captain of obstructing japanese public officers while they performed duties . but authorities later said that releasing him was in the interest of maintaining relations with china . though the leaking of the video has alarmed japanese officials , officials in china have questioned its accuracy . some in the chinese government dismissed the video saying it had been edited . cnn 's kyung lah contributed to this report . | video shows boat collision that started a diplomatic row between china and japan |
hayden <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. intelligence agencies believe osama bin laden is isolated from al qaeda and spending much of his energy merely surviving , the head of the cia said on thursday . osama bin laden remains on the run despite a $ 25 million reward for his capture . cia director michael hayden said hunting down bin laden remains his agency 's priority . he is putting a lot of energy into his own survival -- a lot of energy into his own security , ' hayden said in a speech at the atlantic council in washington . in fact , he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads , ' he said . in recent weeks , there have been several u.s. missile strikes by unmanned drones around the afghanistan-pakistan border . the united states maintains that taliban and al qaeda forces operate with relative impunity in tribal areas along pakistan 's border with afghanistan and use those areas as staging grounds to attack u.s. forces and their allies inside afghanistan . hayden said al qaeda has been hurt by a sustained fight with the united states and its allies , but remains a threat . al qaeda has suffered serious setbacks , but it remains a determined , adaptive enemy unlike any our nation has ever faced , ' hayden said . the war is far from over . ' regardless of whether bin laden is actively helping lead the terrorist organization , the cia believes capturing or killing him would be a huge blow to al qaeda , according to hayden . this is an organization that has never been through a change at the top , ' he said . for 20 years , bin laden has been the visionary , the inspiration or harmonizing force behind al qaeda . ' hayden said it remained to be seen whether bin laden 's deputy , ayman al-zawahiri , could maintain unity in the ranks without him . the truth is , we simply do n't know what would happen if bin laden is killed or captured . but i 'm willing to bet that whatever happens , it would work in our favor , ' hayden said . | he is putting a lot of energy into his own survival , ' hayden tells atlantic council |
hayden <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. intelligence agencies believe osama bin laden is isolated from al qaeda and spending much of his energy merely surviving , the head of the cia said on thursday . osama bin laden remains on the run despite a $ 25 million reward for his capture . cia director michael hayden said hunting down bin laden remains his agency 's priority . he is putting a lot of energy into his own survival -- a lot of energy into his own security , ' hayden said in a speech at the atlantic council in washington . in fact , he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads , ' he said . in recent weeks , there have been several u.s. missile strikes by unmanned drones around the afghanistan-pakistan border . the united states maintains that taliban and al qaeda forces operate with relative impunity in tribal areas along pakistan 's border with afghanistan and use those areas as staging grounds to attack u.s. forces and their allies inside afghanistan . hayden said al qaeda has been hurt by a sustained fight with the united states and its allies , but remains a threat . al qaeda has suffered serious setbacks , but it remains a determined , adaptive enemy unlike any our nation has ever faced , ' hayden said . the war is far from over . ' regardless of whether bin laden is actively helping lead the terrorist organization , the cia believes capturing or killing him would be a huge blow to al qaeda , according to hayden . this is an organization that has never been through a change at the top , ' he said . for 20 years , bin laden has been the visionary , the inspiration or harmonizing force behind al qaeda . ' hayden said it remained to be seen whether bin laden 's deputy , ayman al-zawahiri , could maintain unity in the ranks without him . the truth is , we simply do n't know what would happen if bin laden is killed or captured . but i 'm willing to bet that whatever happens , it would work in our favor , ' hayden said . | hayden says cia believes capturing bin laden would be huge blow to al qaeda |
hayden <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. intelligence agencies believe osama bin laden is isolated from al qaeda and spending much of his energy merely surviving , the head of the cia said on thursday . osama bin laden remains on the run despite a $ 25 million reward for his capture . cia director michael hayden said hunting down bin laden remains his agency 's priority . he is putting a lot of energy into his own survival -- a lot of energy into his own security , ' hayden said in a speech at the atlantic council in washington . in fact , he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads , ' he said . in recent weeks , there have been several u.s. missile strikes by unmanned drones around the afghanistan-pakistan border . the united states maintains that taliban and al qaeda forces operate with relative impunity in tribal areas along pakistan 's border with afghanistan and use those areas as staging grounds to attack u.s. forces and their allies inside afghanistan . hayden said al qaeda has been hurt by a sustained fight with the united states and its allies , but remains a threat . al qaeda has suffered serious setbacks , but it remains a determined , adaptive enemy unlike any our nation has ever faced , ' hayden said . the war is far from over . ' regardless of whether bin laden is actively helping lead the terrorist organization , the cia believes capturing or killing him would be a huge blow to al qaeda , according to hayden . this is an organization that has never been through a change at the top , ' he said . for 20 years , bin laden has been the visionary , the inspiration or harmonizing force behind al qaeda . ' hayden said it remained to be seen whether bin laden 's deputy , ayman al-zawahiri , could maintain unity in the ranks without him . the truth is , we simply do n't know what would happen if bin laden is killed or captured . but i 'm willing to bet that whatever happens , it would work in our favor , ' hayden said . | bin laden isolated from al qaeda 's daily operations , michael hayden says |
hayden <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. intelligence agencies believe osama bin laden is isolated from al qaeda and spending much of his energy merely surviving , the head of the cia said on thursday . osama bin laden remains on the run despite a $ 25 million reward for his capture . cia director michael hayden said hunting down bin laden remains his agency 's priority . he is putting a lot of energy into his own survival -- a lot of energy into his own security , ' hayden said in a speech at the atlantic council in washington . in fact , he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads , ' he said . in recent weeks , there have been several u.s. missile strikes by unmanned drones around the afghanistan-pakistan border . the united states maintains that taliban and al qaeda forces operate with relative impunity in tribal areas along pakistan 's border with afghanistan and use those areas as staging grounds to attack u.s. forces and their allies inside afghanistan . hayden said al qaeda has been hurt by a sustained fight with the united states and its allies , but remains a threat . al qaeda has suffered serious setbacks , but it remains a determined , adaptive enemy unlike any our nation has ever faced , ' hayden said . the war is far from over . ' regardless of whether bin laden is actively helping lead the terrorist organization , the cia believes capturing or killing him would be a huge blow to al qaeda , according to hayden . this is an organization that has never been through a change at the top , ' he said . for 20 years , bin laden has been the visionary , the inspiration or harmonizing force behind al qaeda . ' hayden said it remained to be seen whether bin laden 's deputy , ayman al-zawahiri , could maintain unity in the ranks without him . the truth is , we simply do n't know what would happen if bin laden is killed or captured . but i 'm willing to bet that whatever happens , it would work in our favor , ' hayden said . | hayden says al qaeda hurt by sustained fights with u.s. but remains a threat |
lisa-michele russo <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- in a city as big as new york , finding long-lost loved ones is no easy task -- especially after they 've died . for elaine joseph , it took decades . during a massive blizzard in 1978 , doctors tried to save her newborn daughter , who was suffering from what turned out to be a fatal heart condition . joseph , who was still recovering from giving birth at the city 's beth israel medical center , said hospital officials notified her of her baby 's death and had her sign off on a city burial . it was a nightmare , ' said joseph , who was then 23 years old and later found it nearly impossible to find where her daughter 's remains were buried . for years and years , i did n't even know where to look , ' she said . i did n't know what to do . ' joseph did n't get answers until much later , when she met a woman named melinda hunt of westchester , new york . hunt , 53 , has made it her life 's work to document the undocumented at hart island , reportedly the nation 's largest taxpayer-funded potter 's field -- a term used for a place where the unclaimed dead are buried . the site , located at the western end of long island sound , dates to the mid-1860s , when it was used as a union training camp during the american civil war and then as a prisoner-of-war camp for captured confederate soldiers . but today , its use as a public burial ground is n't always common knowledge -- even to the families of those entombed there . and observers say keeping track of the island 's current inhabitants remains a challenge . joseph said she first found hunt by happenstance during an internet search , a part of her unending attempt to locate her daughter 's remains . for 33 years , i 've been trying to find where my child is , ' said joseph , who said her baby 's official burial records were missing . joseph contacted hunt through her website at hartisland.net -- a resource hunt created for family and friends in search of lost loved ones , as well as a nod of acknowledgment to the city 's unclaimed dead . hunt suspected joseph 's child was buried on hart island despite the incomplete records . she worked on joseph 's behalf , contacting city officials who eventually granted joseph access to the island . though it remains uncertain whether her daughter is buried there , it appears very likely . i started the hart island project having lost a number of friends to aids in the 1980s , ' hunt said . many of these people in their 20s simply disappeared . ' she first began taking photographs on the thin jut of land , which sits just off the bronx shoreline , in 1991 . authorities later made the area off-limits to the general public . hunt has since produced a documentary about the island and has put on art exhibits featuring her own drawings of its inhabitants devised from photos taken during their lives . she is also founder of the hart island project , a nonprofit organization largely dedicated to informing the public of the island 's inhabitants . after submitting a series of freedom of information act requests to the city , hunt got her hands on thousands of the island 's burial records and worked to create an online database . she currently has more than 60,000 records listed online . and while hunt has focused on new york 's hart island , many other regions of the country have similar sites . in los angeles , unknown bodies are cremated and buried in a los angeles county burial site . in chicago , most john and jane does are buried at a cook county public cemetery outside city limits . but in gotham , where some 50,000 deaths are reported each year , about 1,200 unknowns are buried on hart island , according to new york 's department of correction . it is now the final resting place for up to a million people . city officials say they 've tried to create a more official database for public users . but until that happens , those like joseph and new jersey resident lisa-michele russo have turned to hunt and her website for help . from an early age , russo called herself a twin-less twin , ' having lost her twin brother , anthony , at birth . i knew , ' she said , and she pressed her parents until they eventually told her about anthony . as a twin , you 're born together , but you do n't die together . ' still , her parents remained reluctant to discuss her brother 's death . it was n't something that my parents liked to talk about , ' said the now 38-year-old blairstown resident . it was a heartbreaking situation . ' her mother , who was a 21-year-old parent coping with the emotional fallout of having a still-born child , also decided on a city burial . for russo , that meant anthony went missing . i had all these strong feelings that i needed to do something for him , ' she said . her years-long search for his grave had gone cold until 2009 when she , like joseph , enlisted hunt 's help after finding her hart island website . using anthony 's death certificate , hunt again petitioned city officials to arrange a visit to the island for the baby 's now-adult sister . the request was eventually granted . we do our best to accommodate every legitimate request , ' said department of correction spokeswoman sharman stein , who noted that in most cases , family members must first provide documentation proving that their loved ones are buried on the island before they visit . joseph 's case , in which records were incomplete , was among the exceptions . russo said her trip , however , was restricted to a single gazebo overlooking the plots . her cell phone and camera were also temporarily confiscated by authorities after she arrived by ferry -- an experience akin to an excursion on a cruise ship , ' she said . we were never left alone . ' still , the visit seemed to fill a void . she is helping so many people and she does n't know any of us , ' russo said of hunt . in october , hunt testified at a city council hearing to amend new york 's administrative code and force the department of correction to cede control of the island , arguing that the agency was n't equipped to operate a place that ought to be open to the public . to me it 's a basic human rights issue to be able to visit the dead , ' hunt said . the department of correction declined to comment on her petition , but noted security concerns and a lack of public facilities as reasons to keep the area restricted . hart island currently employs inmate labor from neighboring correctional institutions to maintain the graves . hunt , who sustains the hart island project largely through donations and sales of her documentary and artwork , says she 's recently received a grant from the state 's council on the arts to create a posthumous wiki ' -- a user-generated database of stories , photos and information about those on hart island . since her website launched in 2009 , hunt says , more than 2,000 people from around the world have registered to search for their lost friends and family members . | hunt also helped lisa-michele russo track down her twin brother , who died at birth |
royals <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with the world series on the line , radio stations in san francisco are n't taking any chances . starting tuesday the san francisco giants will face off against the kansas city royals in baseball 's championship series , and two local radio stations decided they 'd send a message . no offense , lorde , but for the duration of the world series , kfog radio will be a royals ' -free zone , ' the radio station posted on it 's facebook page . we 're sure you understand . ' 7 reasons why kansas city 's a winner lorde , the 17-year-old pop star from new zealand , won a song of the year grammy earlier this year for her no . 1 hit , royals . ' koit said its ban was prompted by listener complaints . so @ 965koit banned the lorde song royals ? that 's awesome ! ' tweeted someone known as the sassy petit . but not everyone thinks the ban rules . louis vargas opined on kfog 's facebook page that the ban will make no difference in the series outcome , calling the move absurd . tony last complained that the song does n't actually have anything to do with the opposing team . ' others commented that the lyrics actually seem to be anti-royals . we 'll never be royals , ' lorde sings . it dd n't run in our blood . ' still others , not caught up in the love affair , greeted the announcement with more of a shrug . is n't that song so last year ? ' commented jennifer farr hutchison on kfog 's facebook page . feel free to make that a permanent policy , ' wrote an apparent royals ' hater . the kiwi sensation may be banned in the bay area , but in kansas city they 're letting her rule their airwaves . kansas city 's 99.7 the point put out a plans to play royals ' at the top of every hour on the opening night of the world series . a few angry san franciscans who do n't have a song called'giants'wo n't rain on our parade , ' the station 's program director is quoted as saying . | giants and royals face off in game 1 of world series tuesday night |
royals <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with the world series on the line , radio stations in san francisco are n't taking any chances . starting tuesday the san francisco giants will face off against the kansas city royals in baseball 's championship series , and two local radio stations decided they 'd send a message . no offense , lorde , but for the duration of the world series , kfog radio will be a royals ' -free zone , ' the radio station posted on it 's facebook page . we 're sure you understand . ' 7 reasons why kansas city 's a winner lorde , the 17-year-old pop star from new zealand , won a song of the year grammy earlier this year for her no . 1 hit , royals . ' koit said its ban was prompted by listener complaints . so @ 965koit banned the lorde song royals ? that 's awesome ! ' tweeted someone known as the sassy petit . but not everyone thinks the ban rules . louis vargas opined on kfog 's facebook page that the ban will make no difference in the series outcome , calling the move absurd . tony last complained that the song does n't actually have anything to do with the opposing team . ' others commented that the lyrics actually seem to be anti-royals . we 'll never be royals , ' lorde sings . it dd n't run in our blood . ' still others , not caught up in the love affair , greeted the announcement with more of a shrug . is n't that song so last year ? ' commented jennifer farr hutchison on kfog 's facebook page . feel free to make that a permanent policy , ' wrote an apparent royals ' hater . the kiwi sensation may be banned in the bay area , but in kansas city they 're letting her rule their airwaves . kansas city 's 99.7 the point put out a plans to play royals ' at the top of every hour on the opening night of the world series . a few angry san franciscans who do n't have a song called'giants'wo n't rain on our parade , ' the station 's program director is quoted as saying . | san francisco stations ban no . 1 hit royals ' from bay area radio prior to world series |
bay area <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with the world series on the line , radio stations in san francisco are n't taking any chances . starting tuesday the san francisco giants will face off against the kansas city royals in baseball 's championship series , and two local radio stations decided they 'd send a message . no offense , lorde , but for the duration of the world series , kfog radio will be a royals ' -free zone , ' the radio station posted on it 's facebook page . we 're sure you understand . ' 7 reasons why kansas city 's a winner lorde , the 17-year-old pop star from new zealand , won a song of the year grammy earlier this year for her no . 1 hit , royals . ' koit said its ban was prompted by listener complaints . so @ 965koit banned the lorde song royals ? that 's awesome ! ' tweeted someone known as the sassy petit . but not everyone thinks the ban rules . louis vargas opined on kfog 's facebook page that the ban will make no difference in the series outcome , calling the move absurd . tony last complained that the song does n't actually have anything to do with the opposing team . ' others commented that the lyrics actually seem to be anti-royals . we 'll never be royals , ' lorde sings . it dd n't run in our blood . ' still others , not caught up in the love affair , greeted the announcement with more of a shrug . is n't that song so last year ? ' commented jennifer farr hutchison on kfog 's facebook page . feel free to make that a permanent policy , ' wrote an apparent royals ' hater . the kiwi sensation may be banned in the bay area , but in kansas city they 're letting her rule their airwaves . kansas city 's 99.7 the point put out a plans to play royals ' at the top of every hour on the opening night of the world series . a few angry san franciscans who do n't have a song called'giants'wo n't rain on our parade , ' the station 's program director is quoted as saying . | san francisco stations ban no . 1 hit royals ' from bay area radio prior to world series |
world series <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with the world series on the line , radio stations in san francisco are n't taking any chances . starting tuesday the san francisco giants will face off against the kansas city royals in baseball 's championship series , and two local radio stations decided they 'd send a message . no offense , lorde , but for the duration of the world series , kfog radio will be a royals ' -free zone , ' the radio station posted on it 's facebook page . we 're sure you understand . ' 7 reasons why kansas city 's a winner lorde , the 17-year-old pop star from new zealand , won a song of the year grammy earlier this year for her no . 1 hit , royals . ' koit said its ban was prompted by listener complaints . so @ 965koit banned the lorde song royals ? that 's awesome ! ' tweeted someone known as the sassy petit . but not everyone thinks the ban rules . louis vargas opined on kfog 's facebook page that the ban will make no difference in the series outcome , calling the move absurd . tony last complained that the song does n't actually have anything to do with the opposing team . ' others commented that the lyrics actually seem to be anti-royals . we 'll never be royals , ' lorde sings . it dd n't run in our blood . ' still others , not caught up in the love affair , greeted the announcement with more of a shrug . is n't that song so last year ? ' commented jennifer farr hutchison on kfog 's facebook page . feel free to make that a permanent policy , ' wrote an apparent royals ' hater . the kiwi sensation may be banned in the bay area , but in kansas city they 're letting her rule their airwaves . kansas city 's 99.7 the point put out a plans to play royals ' at the top of every hour on the opening night of the world series . a few angry san franciscans who do n't have a song called'giants'wo n't rain on our parade , ' the station 's program director is quoted as saying . | giants and royals face off in game 1 of world series tuesday night |
world series <tsp> ( cnn ) -- with the world series on the line , radio stations in san francisco are n't taking any chances . starting tuesday the san francisco giants will face off against the kansas city royals in baseball 's championship series , and two local radio stations decided they 'd send a message . no offense , lorde , but for the duration of the world series , kfog radio will be a royals ' -free zone , ' the radio station posted on it 's facebook page . we 're sure you understand . ' 7 reasons why kansas city 's a winner lorde , the 17-year-old pop star from new zealand , won a song of the year grammy earlier this year for her no . 1 hit , royals . ' koit said its ban was prompted by listener complaints . so @ 965koit banned the lorde song royals ? that 's awesome ! ' tweeted someone known as the sassy petit . but not everyone thinks the ban rules . louis vargas opined on kfog 's facebook page that the ban will make no difference in the series outcome , calling the move absurd . tony last complained that the song does n't actually have anything to do with the opposing team . ' others commented that the lyrics actually seem to be anti-royals . we 'll never be royals , ' lorde sings . it dd n't run in our blood . ' still others , not caught up in the love affair , greeted the announcement with more of a shrug . is n't that song so last year ? ' commented jennifer farr hutchison on kfog 's facebook page . feel free to make that a permanent policy , ' wrote an apparent royals ' hater . the kiwi sensation may be banned in the bay area , but in kansas city they 're letting her rule their airwaves . kansas city 's 99.7 the point put out a plans to play royals ' at the top of every hour on the opening night of the world series . a few angry san franciscans who do n't have a song called'giants'wo n't rain on our parade , ' the station 's program director is quoted as saying . | san francisco stations ban no . 1 hit royals ' from bay area radio prior to world series |
santa cruz island <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a coast guardsman died sunday after a suspicious ' boat rammed his small vessel off the coast of southern california , an official said . chief petty officer terrell horne was one of two coast guard members thrown off their cutter 's small boat when the suspect 's panga-style vessel suddenly increased speed and maneuvered directly ' at them , then struck the boat , said capt . james jenkins . having a traumatic head injury , horne was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel upon his arrival on shore at port hueneme . chief petty officer horne was an outstanding coast guard member , ' jenkins said . and he gave his life in service , enforcing the laws of this nation . ' the crew of a coast guard patrol aircraft spotted the panga-style boat near santa cruz island , suspecting it was engaged in illegal activity , ' said jenkins , who did not elaborate on the type of activity . a panga is a work boat often used off the coast of mexico or central america that is engine-powered and typically 25 to 45 feet in length , the coast guard captain explained . the aircraft 's crew alerted the captain of the cutter halibut , an 87-foot patrol boat , which headed to the scene and noticed the panga operating with no lights . ' a small boat was dispatched from the halibut and headed closer to the suspect vessel . then , the panga accelerated and hit the small boat , forcing horne and another coast guard member overboard . two coast guard colleagues on the same small boat quickly ' recovered their shipmates , and all four boarded the halibut as it headed to the nearest port . the other coast guardsman tossed overboard was treated and released later sunday morning from a hospital after suffering relatively minor injuries , ' jenkins said . the panga boat fled the scene but was later interdicted by a different coast guard boat and helicopter , he added . two people were then detained , the coast guard said in a news release , without specifying any charges . the coast guard , along with its law enforcement partners at the federal , state and local level , are actively working to make sure all of the individuals who are involved with this illegal activity are brought to justice , ' jenkins said . | coast guardsmen spot a suspicious panga boat near santa cruz island , california |
the breakfast club <tsp> ( cnn ) the cast of the breakfast crew ' escaped from principal richard vernon 30 years ago , but a draft script of the 1985 teen classic has just been found in a filing cabinet in the school district where it was filmed , the chicago tribune reported . one day a few weeks ago , one of the assistants was going through a filing cabinet and found a file that had a manuscript from'the breakfast club'dated sept. 21 , 1983 , ' ken wallace , superintendent of maine township high school district 207 in suburban chicago , told the newspaper . it 's a first draft of the screenplay by john hughes , ' wallace said . the manuscript sports the approval signature of the district 's then-superintendent and reveals that molly ringwald 's character , claire standish , was originally to be named cathy douglas , according to the tribune . the movie was filmed at the maine north high school building , which was auctioned off by the district years ago and is now occupied by the illinois state police , according to the tribune . the file was discovered at maine south high school as district officials prepared to move to a newly acquired building next door . wallace told the tribune that he would like to find a way to display the script as a piece of film -- and district -- history . the odds of having such an iconic movie filmed and associated with your district are astronomical , ' he told the newspaper . the breakfast club ' returns to theaters 30 years later | the breakfast club ' script was found in a high school filing cabinet 30 years later |
russia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- u.s. president barack obama and his vice-president , joe biden , wo n't be there . as a matter of fact , neither will the heads of state from france or canada . but the good news for russian president vladimir putin is that fifa president sepp blatter will be at the sochi winter olympics . so far only lithuania 's president , dalia grybauskaitä— -- an outspoken critic of the russian government -- has openly said that she is boycotting the games for political reasons . the winter games have been bedeviled by allegations of corruption leading to cost overruns and russia 's attitude towards homosexuality however blatter , who heads world football 's governing body and is a member of the international olympic committee ( ioc ) , believes threats to skip the games over russia 's anti-gay laws would be counterproductive . gay rights activists have been protesting against the law which was passed in june 2013 which prohibits talking about homosexuality in front of children . the law has been widely criticized by western leaders who have called it archaic and discriminatory , leading to politicians from around the world deciding to snub the games . but blatter , whose own organization is facing criticism for holding the 2014 world cup in brazil amid protests and domestic unrest says the opportunity for dialogue outweighs a boycott . these two events ( sochi and the world cup in brazil ) have one thing in common : they have both been misused as a platform for political disputes , ' he said in his column in fifa 's weekly magazine . in the case of the winter olympics , this dispute is coming to a head with threats to boycott the games . such a boycott would change nothing . on the contrary , it may be interpreted as a refusal to establish a dialogue on the issue , as was the case with boycotts of the olympic games in moscow in 1980 or in los angeles in 1984 . i believe that such a major event presents a perfect opportunity to strike up conversations and cultivate contacts . ' russian president vladimir putin has already stated that no athlete would face discrimination at february 's games while protestors will have designated zones in sochi to make their protests . blatter , the man who infamously said that racism on the pitch could be settled by a handshake , believes that by traveling to sochi , it will allow issues such as homosexuality to be discussed in front of a larger audience . it is also likely that unpleasant issues will be addressed , because fifa 's fight against discrimination does not end with the anti-racism campaign , ' he added . we must fight every form of social exclusion . anyone who decides to boycott the winter olympics in sochi will be surrendering on this important issue , just as anyone running away from a problem will never be able to resolve it . this reason alone is why it is important for me to travel to russia . ' | protestors have voiced opposition to russia 's anti-gay laws |
android <tsp> ( wired ) -- from the results of the pwn2own hacking competition , it looks like android and windows phone 7 are tough nuts to crack . it took only two days for hackers to crack into the apple and blackberry operating systems during the three-day pwn2own tournament last week , while android and windows phone 7 models were abandoned and left unhacked by the end of the contest . is this because their operating systems are more secure ? yes and no . the survival of a target at pwn2own does not automatically declare it safer than a target that went down , ' last year 's internet explorer pwn2own winner peter vreugdenhil cautions . the contestants who were lined up to beat the android and wp7 devices in the competition withdrew for a variety of reasons . pwn2own , now in its fifth year , is a hacking competition divided into two areas : web browsers and mobile phones . this year , microsoft internet explorer 8 , apple safari 5.0.3 , mozilla firefox , and google chrome were the web-browser targets . in the mobile phone category , the dell venue pro ( windows phone 7 ) , apple iphone 4 ( ios ) , blackberry torch 9800 ( blackberry 6 ) and nexus s ( android ) were targeted . the os and browser versions were frozen last week ( so for example , apple 's safari 5.0.4 update was not used ) , ensuring that all contestants are working on the same version of each os . pwning and owning occurs if the hacker defeats the frozen version . if the exploit they used still exists in the current firmware , they are also eligible to receive a monetary prize . the 2011 pwn2own competition ran march 9 to 11 . vreugdenhil says many different factors determine how hard a target is to hack . there 's the safety of the software itself , the exploit mitigations that are already in place for that software , and then the amount of research that has already been conducted ( which can speed up the process of writing an actual exploit ) . firefox and chrome web browsers were also left undefeated because contestants withdrew from pwn2own . chrome has the advantages of having multiple exploit-mitigation techniques that certainly make it more difficult to hack . as for android , we see no particular reason why android would be harder to hack than one of the other targets . ' safari , chrome , iphone , android and blackberry all use webkit in their browsers , which means that they are all susceptible to exploitation through the browser -- and that 's exactly how the iphone and blackberry were attacked . charlie miller , a pwn2own veteran , worked with dion blazakis to hack the iphone 4 in this year 's competition using a flaw in its mobile safari web browser and a specially-crafted webpage . ' a team of 3 ( vincenzo iozzo , willem pinckaers , and ralf philipp weinmenn ) defeated the blackberry torch using a similar technique . so what did the contest 's organizers think of the outcome of 2011 's pwn2own ? vreugdenhil and other organizers were not surprised that the iphone went down quickly . it has been a major target and a lot of research has already been done on that platform . android 's survival was a bit of a surprise , since it is also a big target and had four contestants lined up . although no device is unhackable , some factors contribute to a safer product . for those that are out to find the safest phone on the market , vreugdenhil says you 'll want to compare features such as dep ( data execution prevention ) , aslr ( address space layout randomization ) , sandboxing , code signing and the ease with which software can be updated on the device . subscribe to wired magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a free gift ! click here ! copyright 2010 wired.com . | at pwn2own hacking competition , android and windows phone 7 tough nuts to crack |
mary-kate olsen <tsp> ( instyle.com ) -- what was your favorite trend of 2010 ? did you slip into a slim-fitting pair of tailored trousers , like drew barrymore ? did you pair your coziest socks with your sexiest heels , like leighton meester ? or maybe you took your short shorts from the gym to the office , like gwyneth paltrow . we 've scoured the red carpets to round up the best fads of the year . click through our gallery to see which celebrities jumped on the trend wagon -- and which styles you were savvy enough to rock yourself ! evening shorts shorts are finally getting respect outside the park -- at the office , at dinner , and even on the red carpet , seen on the likes of gwyneth paltrow and jennifer connelly . flaunt it if you 've got it , ladies ! silly bandz grade-schoolers started the fad , but now stars like sarah jessica parker , mary-kate olsen , and kelly ripa sport 'em . stacked on a wrist , silly bandz look like the usual rubber circlets you wrap around a ponytail . slip 'em off , though , and a menagerie appears . see all the top celebrity fashion trends of 2010 socks and heels be careful whose style you mock . nerds could be harbingers of future fashion . remember snickering at those who wore sandals with athletic hose , or short boots with rolled-down stockings ? better put a sock in it now , or rather you may wind up putting one on with your stacked heel like leighton meester . mixed prints it 's tricky and potentially disastrous , but when the right patterns go with the correct proportion , the results are electrifying . see : olivia palermo . instyle.com : how to shop like a fashion editor ladylike dresses bye , bye boyfriend blazer ! stars like carey mulligan embraced full-skirts and cinched waists -- not slouchy , super-sized menswear . jeggings there 's no equivocating about this option . jeggings -- jeans that fit as close as leggings -- is a contraction that provokes either relishing or recoiling . everyone in hollywood from sienna miller to lauren conrad has been seen sporting the look . is the next wave paint-on denim ? instyle.com : find your most flattering jeans tailored trousers remember real pants ? not leggings , harems , dhotis , skinnies , cargos , boot-cuts or overalls , but tailored , comfortable , great-to-stride-in trousers ? drew barrymore did -- and she looks wonderfully pulled together in them ! buy now and hoard them in case they vanish again . minimalism celebrities like zoe saldana said goodbye to the avant-garde , instead favoring clean lines and refined tones . instyle.com : more celebrity fashion finds layered chains multiple chains , as seen on molly sims , are a subtle evolution from the statement necklace . they offer more variety while providing the same impact . faux-fur vest minx or fox , they 're not : faux-fur vests like kim kardashian 's are animal- and closet-friendly -- they 're suitable toppers for almost anything . see more of 2010 's top celebrity fashion trends , only on instyle.com ! get a free trial issue of instyle - click here ! copyright © 2011 time inc. all rights reserved . | stars like sarah jessica parker , mary-kate olsen and kelly ripa wear silly bandz |
sarah jessica parker <tsp> ( instyle.com ) -- what was your favorite trend of 2010 ? did you slip into a slim-fitting pair of tailored trousers , like drew barrymore ? did you pair your coziest socks with your sexiest heels , like leighton meester ? or maybe you took your short shorts from the gym to the office , like gwyneth paltrow . we 've scoured the red carpets to round up the best fads of the year . click through our gallery to see which celebrities jumped on the trend wagon -- and which styles you were savvy enough to rock yourself ! evening shorts shorts are finally getting respect outside the park -- at the office , at dinner , and even on the red carpet , seen on the likes of gwyneth paltrow and jennifer connelly . flaunt it if you 've got it , ladies ! silly bandz grade-schoolers started the fad , but now stars like sarah jessica parker , mary-kate olsen , and kelly ripa sport 'em . stacked on a wrist , silly bandz look like the usual rubber circlets you wrap around a ponytail . slip 'em off , though , and a menagerie appears . see all the top celebrity fashion trends of 2010 socks and heels be careful whose style you mock . nerds could be harbingers of future fashion . remember snickering at those who wore sandals with athletic hose , or short boots with rolled-down stockings ? better put a sock in it now , or rather you may wind up putting one on with your stacked heel like leighton meester . mixed prints it 's tricky and potentially disastrous , but when the right patterns go with the correct proportion , the results are electrifying . see : olivia palermo . instyle.com : how to shop like a fashion editor ladylike dresses bye , bye boyfriend blazer ! stars like carey mulligan embraced full-skirts and cinched waists -- not slouchy , super-sized menswear . jeggings there 's no equivocating about this option . jeggings -- jeans that fit as close as leggings -- is a contraction that provokes either relishing or recoiling . everyone in hollywood from sienna miller to lauren conrad has been seen sporting the look . is the next wave paint-on denim ? instyle.com : find your most flattering jeans tailored trousers remember real pants ? not leggings , harems , dhotis , skinnies , cargos , boot-cuts or overalls , but tailored , comfortable , great-to-stride-in trousers ? drew barrymore did -- and she looks wonderfully pulled together in them ! buy now and hoard them in case they vanish again . minimalism celebrities like zoe saldana said goodbye to the avant-garde , instead favoring clean lines and refined tones . instyle.com : more celebrity fashion finds layered chains multiple chains , as seen on molly sims , are a subtle evolution from the statement necklace . they offer more variety while providing the same impact . faux-fur vest minx or fox , they 're not : faux-fur vests like kim kardashian 's are animal- and closet-friendly -- they 're suitable toppers for almost anything . see more of 2010 's top celebrity fashion trends , only on instyle.com ! get a free trial issue of instyle - click here ! copyright © 2011 time inc. all rights reserved . | stars like sarah jessica parker , mary-kate olsen and kelly ripa wear silly bandz |
southwest <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a southwest airlines jetliner sustained substantial damage when its nose gear collapsed during landing in new york and it skidded down the runway , injuring 10 people . the national transportation safety board said on tuesday that the extent of damage to the boeing 737-700 prompted it to launch a full investigation of monday 's incident at laguardia airport . when the nose wheel collapsed it did n't just neatly fold back up there but it produced collateral damage in the nose wheel well , ' safety board spokesman eric weiss told cnn . separately , southwest reached out to flight 345 passengers , some of whom reported chaos and confusion in the cabin as the plane slid down 7,000-foot runway 4 with its nose scraping the tarmac . airline officials , in e-mails obtained by cnn , apologized for the unexpected experience ' and inconvenience and expressed concern for their well being . southwest is refunding air fares and sending them complimentary tickets for future travel . southwest , the largest domestic airline , did not respond to efforts by cnn to confirm the e-mails . passengers recounted the final harrowing moments of what had been a delayed , but uneventful flight from nashville . kathy boles , a passenger , said a strong jolt ' shook the cabin when the gear failed and the nose slammed into the tarmac at about 5:40 p.m . et . it was just a bang and a bounce , and then a slam on the brakes and a skidding feeling , ' boles told cnn 's anderson cooper 360â° . ' i feel extremely blessed to have come off that , ' she said . it just really felt like the plane could have broken in half , it was such a hard impact . ' fellow passenger anastasia elliot said the situation was pretty chaotic . ' we hit the ground pretty hard and slid , ' she said . there was a lot of smoke filling the plane , just a lot of smoke and burnt rubber . ' another passenger said it felt like the plane crashed and then skidded to a stop . everything in the plane that was loose went flying forward , ' bill roland said . there were cell phones , ipads , books ( and ) drinks all skidded up . ' passengers escaped the plane down emergency chutes . laguardia flight delays related to the incident impacted the morning rush as crews removed the disabled twin-engine jet from the edge of the runway where it came to rest . it was towed to a hangar . by evening , delays had returned , but they were tied to normal stormy summer weather along the east coast . ntsb protocol involves reviewing cockpit voice and data recorders as well as interviewing crew members and reviewing flight logs and maintenance records . boeing and the federal aviation administration will also be party to the investigation as is customary . southwest said in a statement that it was working with the ntsb and boeing . the plane , which entered service nearly 14 years ago , was last inspected on july 18 , southwest said . no details about the inspection were released . in addition to 10 hurt on the plane , a port authority police officer was treated for heat exhaustion , the agency said . initially , the faa said the crew reported a possible nose gear problem before landing but later amended that to say no issues were noted ahead of time after a review of air controller tapes . the 737 has a conventional hydraulic landing gear system -- a unit under each wing and a steerable wheel that extends from under the nose . pilots can land safely with only the main gear operable as those wheels absorb the weight of the plane when it first meets the runway . the nose is then set down for the remainder of the landing roll . nose gear problems on commercial jets occur from time to time , but the crew normally would be alerted to any issue during approach by warning lights and would have time to abort a landing or come in on just the back wheels . southwest is the biggest domestic airline and flies only 737s . it has more than 600 of the workhorse aircraft in its fleet . monday 's incident followed a runway crash of an asiana airlines jetliner in san francisco last month . investigators in that crash will not determine a cause for several months at least , but initial attention has focused on actions of the crew during approach . in may : plane lands without landing gear at newark cnn 's caleb silver , poppy harlow , and mary snow contributed to this report . | new : southwest reaches out to passengers of flight 345 |
marlon <tsp> ( essence ) -- essence.com correspondent roland s. martin talks with marlon jackson , brother of michael jackson and a member of the jackson 5 , about the death of his younger brother , the king of pop . ' marlon jackson smiles for photographers at the 8th annual bmi urban awards in september 2008 . roland s. martin : marlon , how did you find out about michael 's death ? marlon jackson : i talked to frank dileo , michael 's manager . frank told me that michael last night was complaining about not feeling well . michael 's doctor went over to see him , and frank said , marlon , from last night to this morning , i do n't know what happened . ' when they got to him this morning , he was n't breathing . they rushed him to the hospital and could n't bring him around . that 's what happened . they do n't know what happened . martin : when was the last time you saw michael ? jackson : it was may 14 at a family gathering . i had just gotten back from africa . michael looked great . he was looking well . he was getting ready to go into rehearsals for his tour . i do n't know what happened . martin : there were some reports he was n't feeling well and was in a wheelchair . jackson : he was n't in a wheelchair . he was walking around with his kids . when we saw him , he was n't in a wheelchair . we all talked . he was doing great . martin : was that the last time you spoke with him ? jackson : may 14 was the last time i spoke with him . the last time i saw him . martin : have you talked to any of your other family members about his death ? jackson : i 've been trying to get a hold of my mom . i talked to jackie . i talked to tito . they feel the same way . a piece of our heart -- a piece of us went with him . it was a shock to them , too . i talked to my brother jackie and he said , marlon , is it true ? ' i said , i 'm calling them right now to see if it 's true . ' that 's when i called frank dileo and i could n't get to my mom . i talked to him the first time and he was at the house and my mom was in the background crying , and she was just upset . martin : was michael still at the house ? jackson : michael had passed . frank told me , we lost him . ' martin : and you said a doctor saw him last night , but he did n't see a need to take him to the hospital ? jackson : he did n't take him to the hospital . this morning he was n't breathing and they rushed him to the hospital . he was going to be 51 in august . gone too soon . martin : marlon , it 's amazing to look at the reaction from all over the world . people are at the hospital , at the jackson family home in gary , indiana , at his star on the walk of fame . essence.com : read michael jackson 's obit jackson : i never knew the effect the jackson 5 had on people until i began traveling with a major broadcasting network , and people would say our songs were the reason for them getting married . me and my brothers did what we did because we loved it . that 's the way we thought . i 'm happy that we did get a chance to just bring happiness to everybody , and michael took it to another level to bring people happiness . he cared about people a lot . michael was known all over the world , and that 's why people care , and it 's nice to see that people care . not only did they grow up with my brother , but they grew up with the jackson 5 . he 's definitely going to be missed . we are always going to remember him . we can not forget him . essence.com : michael jackson 's life in photos martin : i hear the comparisons to elvis presley and people looking to him a generation later . i know it 's very soon after the death of michael , but should something like graceland be established so the next generation is aware of michael 's impact ? jackson : he 's going to live on . he has left a legacy and it 's going to be forever , and i really feel that in my heart . i want people to concentrate on those things that he did for people . he did a lot of positive things . he 's going to live forever . i 'm going to miss him . the memories , all the great things he has done , and my family is going to miss him . it 's hard . it 's really hard for us right now . martin : for the world he was the king of pop . ' but for you , he was your younger brother . jackson : and that 's the way we saw him , as a younger brother . it 's like when anyone else loses their family member . it hurts . it hurts right now . it really hurts | marlon has n't seen michael in a month , says he looked good ' |
marlon <tsp> ( essence ) -- essence.com correspondent roland s. martin talks with marlon jackson , brother of michael jackson and a member of the jackson 5 , about the death of his younger brother , the king of pop . ' marlon jackson smiles for photographers at the 8th annual bmi urban awards in september 2008 . roland s. martin : marlon , how did you find out about michael 's death ? marlon jackson : i talked to frank dileo , michael 's manager . frank told me that michael last night was complaining about not feeling well . michael 's doctor went over to see him , and frank said , marlon , from last night to this morning , i do n't know what happened . ' when they got to him this morning , he was n't breathing . they rushed him to the hospital and could n't bring him around . that 's what happened . they do n't know what happened . martin : when was the last time you saw michael ? jackson : it was may 14 at a family gathering . i had just gotten back from africa . michael looked great . he was looking well . he was getting ready to go into rehearsals for his tour . i do n't know what happened . martin : there were some reports he was n't feeling well and was in a wheelchair . jackson : he was n't in a wheelchair . he was walking around with his kids . when we saw him , he was n't in a wheelchair . we all talked . he was doing great . martin : was that the last time you spoke with him ? jackson : may 14 was the last time i spoke with him . the last time i saw him . martin : have you talked to any of your other family members about his death ? jackson : i 've been trying to get a hold of my mom . i talked to jackie . i talked to tito . they feel the same way . a piece of our heart -- a piece of us went with him . it was a shock to them , too . i talked to my brother jackie and he said , marlon , is it true ? ' i said , i 'm calling them right now to see if it 's true . ' that 's when i called frank dileo and i could n't get to my mom . i talked to him the first time and he was at the house and my mom was in the background crying , and she was just upset . martin : was michael still at the house ? jackson : michael had passed . frank told me , we lost him . ' martin : and you said a doctor saw him last night , but he did n't see a need to take him to the hospital ? jackson : he did n't take him to the hospital . this morning he was n't breathing and they rushed him to the hospital . he was going to be 51 in august . gone too soon . martin : marlon , it 's amazing to look at the reaction from all over the world . people are at the hospital , at the jackson family home in gary , indiana , at his star on the walk of fame . essence.com : read michael jackson 's obit jackson : i never knew the effect the jackson 5 had on people until i began traveling with a major broadcasting network , and people would say our songs were the reason for them getting married . me and my brothers did what we did because we loved it . that 's the way we thought . i 'm happy that we did get a chance to just bring happiness to everybody , and michael took it to another level to bring people happiness . he cared about people a lot . michael was known all over the world , and that 's why people care , and it 's nice to see that people care . not only did they grow up with my brother , but they grew up with the jackson 5 . he 's definitely going to be missed . we are always going to remember him . we can not forget him . essence.com : michael jackson 's life in photos martin : i hear the comparisons to elvis presley and people looking to him a generation later . i know it 's very soon after the death of michael , but should something like graceland be established so the next generation is aware of michael 's impact ? jackson : he 's going to live on . he has left a legacy and it 's going to be forever , and i really feel that in my heart . i want people to concentrate on those things that he did for people . he did a lot of positive things . he 's going to live forever . i 'm going to miss him . the memories , all the great things he has done , and my family is going to miss him . it 's hard . it 's really hard for us right now . martin : for the world he was the king of pop . ' but for you , he was your younger brother . jackson : and that 's the way we saw him , as a younger brother . it 's like when anyone else loses their family member . it hurts . it hurts right now . it really hurts | marlon learned about brother 's death through michael 's manager |
moscow <tsp> moscow ( cnn ) -- moscow is a city defined by its scale . everything is massive , like the 10-lane roads that run through the city . the buildings are vast and monumental , as befits the capital of the world 's biggest country , ' said matthew chance , a cnn senior international correspondent who has lived in moscow for six years . russia is about 1.8 times the size of the united states and more than 10 million people call moscow home , according to the cia world factbook . it 's a huge city with price tags to match . moscow is regularly ranked among the world 's most expensive cities . that means limos and bling everywhere , ' chance said . cnn.com asked chance to share some of his favorite spots : where can you get the best view of the city ? from sparrow hills , which overlook the river and the cityscape below . there are some beautiful walks through the park there , and it 's a handy place to pick up a soviet-era souvenir from the stalls that line the road . insider trip tips : berlin what 's the biggest misconception about the city ? that it is ugly . it 's actually quite beautiful in many parts , especially at night when it is lit up . which restaurant would you take your loved one to for an anniversary or other special occasion ? depends on if you want to be flashy or subdued . galleria ( located on petrovka ulitsa ) would be one flash option , though in moscow there are many others . on the more romantic side , georgian food at tiflis ( on ostozhenka ulitsa ) could work for you . what is your favorite neighborhood ? patriarch 's ponds is my favorite . it 's got the feel of a village and is crammed with interesting little shops and cafes , including a favorite bar ( klava ) and excellent bakery ( volkonsky ) . it also has a beautiful pond , which is relaxing to stroll around in summer . it becomes an ice rink in winter . where do you go to relax ? sanduny banya , the ultimate traditional russian sauna . you can get rubbed down with a hard brush , beaten with birch branches or simply bask in the searing heat of the steam . when it all gets too much , plunge into the ice cold pool , then retire to eat shrimps and drink hot tea with lemon and honey . i 'm feeling relaxed just ( talking ) about it . insider trip tips : seattle what essential thing should visitors see/experience if they only have a few hours ? if you want to see something iconic , then you have to go to red square to see st basil 's cathedral ( see above ) . take a photo . then go to banya . how do tourists stick out , and what 's the best way to blend in ? they stick out by not speaking russian , or by speaking russian badly . what 's the biggest tourist trap ' ? is there one that 's actually worth seeing ? lenin 's tomb on red square , ballet at the bolshoi theatre , the kremlin armory . all touristy , all worth seeing . where was your most memorable meal ? there 's a surprisingly excellent indian restaurant , darbar , on the top floor of the hotel sputnik on leninsky prospect . it has indian staff , who all speak english , and fabulous views over city . insider trip tips : wolf blitzer 's washington where 's your favorite place to spend a night out of town ? a friend 's dacha , or country house , perhaps . but if you want to spend a night away from moscow , hop on the new bullet train and head to st. petersburg . are there local specialty dishes or drinks that visitors must try ? vodka and caviar , with blinis ( pancakes ) and sour cream . what is a good local souvenir ? a furry hat , with ear flaps . have you been to moscow ? share your tips in the comments section below . | more than 10 million people call moscow home |
moscow <tsp> moscow ( cnn ) -- moscow is a city defined by its scale . everything is massive , like the 10-lane roads that run through the city . the buildings are vast and monumental , as befits the capital of the world 's biggest country , ' said matthew chance , a cnn senior international correspondent who has lived in moscow for six years . russia is about 1.8 times the size of the united states and more than 10 million people call moscow home , according to the cia world factbook . it 's a huge city with price tags to match . moscow is regularly ranked among the world 's most expensive cities . that means limos and bling everywhere , ' chance said . cnn.com asked chance to share some of his favorite spots : where can you get the best view of the city ? from sparrow hills , which overlook the river and the cityscape below . there are some beautiful walks through the park there , and it 's a handy place to pick up a soviet-era souvenir from the stalls that line the road . insider trip tips : berlin what 's the biggest misconception about the city ? that it is ugly . it 's actually quite beautiful in many parts , especially at night when it is lit up . which restaurant would you take your loved one to for an anniversary or other special occasion ? depends on if you want to be flashy or subdued . galleria ( located on petrovka ulitsa ) would be one flash option , though in moscow there are many others . on the more romantic side , georgian food at tiflis ( on ostozhenka ulitsa ) could work for you . what is your favorite neighborhood ? patriarch 's ponds is my favorite . it 's got the feel of a village and is crammed with interesting little shops and cafes , including a favorite bar ( klava ) and excellent bakery ( volkonsky ) . it also has a beautiful pond , which is relaxing to stroll around in summer . it becomes an ice rink in winter . where do you go to relax ? sanduny banya , the ultimate traditional russian sauna . you can get rubbed down with a hard brush , beaten with birch branches or simply bask in the searing heat of the steam . when it all gets too much , plunge into the ice cold pool , then retire to eat shrimps and drink hot tea with lemon and honey . i 'm feeling relaxed just ( talking ) about it . insider trip tips : seattle what essential thing should visitors see/experience if they only have a few hours ? if you want to see something iconic , then you have to go to red square to see st basil 's cathedral ( see above ) . take a photo . then go to banya . how do tourists stick out , and what 's the best way to blend in ? they stick out by not speaking russian , or by speaking russian badly . what 's the biggest tourist trap ' ? is there one that 's actually worth seeing ? lenin 's tomb on red square , ballet at the bolshoi theatre , the kremlin armory . all touristy , all worth seeing . where was your most memorable meal ? there 's a surprisingly excellent indian restaurant , darbar , on the top floor of the hotel sputnik on leninsky prospect . it has indian staff , who all speak english , and fabulous views over city . insider trip tips : wolf blitzer 's washington where 's your favorite place to spend a night out of town ? a friend 's dacha , or country house , perhaps . but if you want to spend a night away from moscow , hop on the new bullet train and head to st. petersburg . are there local specialty dishes or drinks that visitors must try ? vodka and caviar , with blinis ( pancakes ) and sour cream . what is a good local souvenir ? a furry hat , with ear flaps . have you been to moscow ? share your tips in the comments section below . | moscow is regularly ranked among the world 's most expensive cities |
moscow <tsp> moscow ( cnn ) -- moscow is a city defined by its scale . everything is massive , like the 10-lane roads that run through the city . the buildings are vast and monumental , as befits the capital of the world 's biggest country , ' said matthew chance , a cnn senior international correspondent who has lived in moscow for six years . russia is about 1.8 times the size of the united states and more than 10 million people call moscow home , according to the cia world factbook . it 's a huge city with price tags to match . moscow is regularly ranked among the world 's most expensive cities . that means limos and bling everywhere , ' chance said . cnn.com asked chance to share some of his favorite spots : where can you get the best view of the city ? from sparrow hills , which overlook the river and the cityscape below . there are some beautiful walks through the park there , and it 's a handy place to pick up a soviet-era souvenir from the stalls that line the road . insider trip tips : berlin what 's the biggest misconception about the city ? that it is ugly . it 's actually quite beautiful in many parts , especially at night when it is lit up . which restaurant would you take your loved one to for an anniversary or other special occasion ? depends on if you want to be flashy or subdued . galleria ( located on petrovka ulitsa ) would be one flash option , though in moscow there are many others . on the more romantic side , georgian food at tiflis ( on ostozhenka ulitsa ) could work for you . what is your favorite neighborhood ? patriarch 's ponds is my favorite . it 's got the feel of a village and is crammed with interesting little shops and cafes , including a favorite bar ( klava ) and excellent bakery ( volkonsky ) . it also has a beautiful pond , which is relaxing to stroll around in summer . it becomes an ice rink in winter . where do you go to relax ? sanduny banya , the ultimate traditional russian sauna . you can get rubbed down with a hard brush , beaten with birch branches or simply bask in the searing heat of the steam . when it all gets too much , plunge into the ice cold pool , then retire to eat shrimps and drink hot tea with lemon and honey . i 'm feeling relaxed just ( talking ) about it . insider trip tips : seattle what essential thing should visitors see/experience if they only have a few hours ? if you want to see something iconic , then you have to go to red square to see st basil 's cathedral ( see above ) . take a photo . then go to banya . how do tourists stick out , and what 's the best way to blend in ? they stick out by not speaking russian , or by speaking russian badly . what 's the biggest tourist trap ' ? is there one that 's actually worth seeing ? lenin 's tomb on red square , ballet at the bolshoi theatre , the kremlin armory . all touristy , all worth seeing . where was your most memorable meal ? there 's a surprisingly excellent indian restaurant , darbar , on the top floor of the hotel sputnik on leninsky prospect . it has indian staff , who all speak english , and fabulous views over city . insider trip tips : wolf blitzer 's washington where 's your favorite place to spend a night out of town ? a friend 's dacha , or country house , perhaps . but if you want to spend a night away from moscow , hop on the new bullet train and head to st. petersburg . are there local specialty dishes or drinks that visitors must try ? vodka and caviar , with blinis ( pancakes ) and sour cream . what is a good local souvenir ? a furry hat , with ear flaps . have you been to moscow ? share your tips in the comments section below . | a good moscow souvenir is a furry hat with ear flaps |
erich nowsch <tsp> ( cnn ) the photo shows a young man , his hair short and his eyes looking at the ground as he walks out of a car . the only thing he 's wearing above the waist is a necklace -- unless you count his tattoos and the handcuffs behind his back . this is erich nowsch . most of america first saw his face and learned his name thursday , when las vegas police announced the 19-year-old 's arrest in connection to what they called a road rage incident february 12 that ended with a mother of four mortally wounded by a gunshot . but at least for a brief period two years ago , nowsch seemingly had no qualms about putting himself out there on social media . the profile photo on what appears to be his facebook page , last updated in january 2013 , shows him with his tongue wagging , his hand tattooed , with a ballcap on his head and thick chain around his neck . he 's holding what appears to be a wad of cash , including at least one $ 100 bill . nowsch 's apparent intagram profile is from around the same time ; the last posts were in march 2013 . it has a clear theme , though , with the majority of pictures showing marijuana in its various forms and some of the teenager seemingly smoking it . the header for that page ? moblife18 . it 's not clear how any of his past led to nowsch 's arrest thursday , one week after his neighbor tammy meyers was shot . it could have nothing to do with it ; authorities have not pinpointed a motive or state of mind in the alleged road rage incident and shooting , or during nowsch 's later short-lived standoff with police . still , meyers'husband , robert , said that he and others knew about nowsch before this happened , and what they knew was n't good . we knew how bad he was , ' robert meyers told reporters . but we did n't know it was this bad . ' erich nowsch spent friday in the clark county detention center on charges of murder , attempted murder and discharging a gun from a vehicle in a prohibited area . he 's set to have his first day in court on monday . it was unclear thursday night whether nowsch had an attorney ; court documents detailing his charges did n't list a lawyer . and his distraught mother was n't talking , turning away reporters . police are looking for another suspect . but they believe it was nowsch who shot tammy meyers soon after she 'd gotten out of her car outside her las vegas home , about a block from his own home . twists , turns in deadly las vegas case authorities believe the shooting stemmed from an earlier encounter with a man who they say drove sped past her as she was returning home after giving her 15-year-old daughter a driving lesson . the daughter honked the horn , prompting the car to stop . a man got out of the car and confronted them . robert meyers told hln 's nancy grace that the man threatened to kill his wife and daughter . tammy meyers returned home , dropped off her daughter and picked up her 22-year-old son , who was armed . the mother and son then drove away and tracked down a man thought to be nowsch , only to lose sight of him . soon after , a car showed up in the meyers'cul-de-sac . the family has said there were three people in the car . gunfire broke out . the son told police that he and his mother were fired upon , and he shot back . tammy meyers was shot once in the head . she died two days later , on valentine 's day . she was 44 years old . that was the extent of what authorities knew about the back-and-forth between nowsch and tammy meyers until thursday , according to las vegas police capt . chris tomaino . it was then that robert meyers first told reporters that nowsch and his wife had known each other for some time . his wife had spent countless hours at the park consoling this boy , ' he said . she was really good to him . she fed him , she gave him money . she told him to pull his pants up and to be a man , ' robert meyers added . more times than i can count . ' cnn 's sara sidner , steve almasy , amanda watts and anneclaire stapleton contributed to this report . | erich nowsch , 19 , faces murder and 2 other charges tied to incidents in las vegas |
englishman <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it is the role that every fan of the beautiful game counts on but which few people envy . the much-maligned position of the football referee is a job that attracts criticism , controversy and castigation on an almost weekly basis with little glory in return . real madrid coach jose mourinho is the latest to add his voice to the deafening boom of dissent so often aimed at various men in black around the world . despite a 5-1 victory for his side against murcia in spain 's cop del rey , the portuguese boss let rip at the referee paradas romero 's record of showing more then six yellow cards per match . romero added to this with a red card for mourinho himself , after the 47-year-old told the official to go f * * * himself ' during the game , according to the ref . the incident follows similar controversy in britain where manchester united 's game against english title rivals tottenham last month ended in farce when mark clattenburg allowed portugal winger nani to score despite his clear handball in the build-up . should referees be relegated too ? clattenburg 's clanger came hot on the heals of referee dougie mcdonald 's blooper in scotland where he awarded a penalty to celtic against rivals dundee united , before overturning his own decision before the kick was taken . in honor of all of the above , fanzone takes a look at the best moments of on-pitch gaffes from soccer 's finest : brazilian ball boy scores equalizing goal silvia regina de oliveira was the first woman to ever referee a match in the brazilian national championship , and went on to handle games at the 2004 olympics . but her career went into decline two years later when she inexplicably awarded santacruzense a late equalizer against atletico sorocaba in a paulista football federation cup clash . one of the home team 's players had fired a shot into the outside of the net , and the waiting ball boy took the chance to cheekily evade the visiting goalkeeper and tap a shot over the goal-line . de oliveira did not see the incident , but noticed the ball was in the net , so consulted with her linesman and awarded a goal -- sparking scenes of mayhem as the atletico players protested . despite the video evidence , the result of the match was allowed to stand . i should have trusted my own vision , ' de oliveira later admitted . three yellow cards equals one red top english referee graham poll sabotaged his hopes of controlling a world cup final in 2006 when he made a massive blunder in australia 's 2-2 draw with croatia in a group-stage game in germany . poll booked josip simunic after an hour and then in the final minute of regulation time -- but forgot to send the croatian from the pitch . he had the chance to compound his error in time added on when he handed simunic a third yellow card . it was third time unlucky for poll , who had correctly dismissed croatia 's dario simic and australia 's brett emerton after giving the duo their second respective bookings just minutes earlier . poll , who later admitted putting simunic 's first yellow card against australia defender craig moore 's name in his notebook , was widely mocked as the video spread around the internet , and the 42-year-old 's house was blockaded by media . it opened my eyes as to who my real friends are and how much my family meant to me , ' he said . fabiano one-ups maradona with double handball french referee stephane lannoy was left with egg on his face after allowing luis fabiano to clearly handle the ball twice before scoring his second goal in the 3-1 win over the ivory coast at the 2010 world cup . lannoy was pictured laughing with the brazil striker when he questioned him about how he had controlled the ball . i was n't sure if it was the elbow , the upper arm or the chest . so i decided to have a talk with him , he said it was chest . thereafter , i could do nothing but allow the goal . it was after the match i realized that fabiano had been dishonest , ' lannoy told l'equipe newspaper . lannoy had a nightmare match , later sending off kaka for a second yellow card after ivory coast 's kader keita went down in a heap following an innocuous collision with the brazil playmaker . lannoy was duped again in a european champions league match this month , when he waved play on and failed to book barcelona 's jose pinto after the goalkeeper whistled to distract an opposing player . pinto was subsequently handed a two-match ban for improper conduct for deceiving copenhagen forward cesar santin , who thought lannoy had blown for offside when he broke clear of the defense . the case of the'ghost penalty' emerson acuna was little known outside his native colombia until december 2008 , when the striker pulled off one of the most outrageous referee cons in the history of sport . the atletico junior player , nicknamed the parasite , ' flung himself to the ground despite not being within meters of any opposing america da cali players . the match official surprised everyone possessing a modicum of visual capacity when he awarded a spotkick despite having a clear view of acuna 's swan-dive , and the home team converted the penalty and went on to win 2-0 . however , acuna did not escape completely unpunished as he was sent off for another incident later in the match . a quick half german referee wolf-dieter ahlenfelder secured his place in tales of notoriety with some decidedly erratic behavior in a 1975 bundesliga match between werder bremen and hannover 96 . he mistakenly blew for halftime only 29 minutes into what should be a three-quarter-hour period before a linesman pointed out his error , reported german journalist eberhard spohd . having finally completed the half , ahlenfelder stuck his tongue out at a photographer , leading bremen 's president bohmert to quip : for this show we could have charged a higher entrance fee . ' spohd said that ahlenfelder initially denied drinking alcohol , but later admitted to consuming schnapps . we are men -- we do n't drink fanta , ' the official reportedly said . a thorny problem scottish referee les mottram managed to be picked for the 1994 world cup panel despite an embarrassing mistake in a domestic match the year before . mottram failed to award a goal when a shot by dundee united 's patrick connolly rebounded out of the net off a supporting stanchion and into the arms of a partick thistle player , who handed the ball to his goalkeeper . mottram somehow missed all that had transpired , not even noticing the illegal handball , and waved play on . after the world cup in the u.s. , where he ordered an amazing 13 minutes of injury-time in bolivia 's 0-0 draw with south korea , he left the unpaid ranks and took up a professional contract refereeing in japan 's j-league . dundee won their match against partick 4-0 , but english second division side watford were denied a victory in 2008 when opponents reading were awarded a goal for a shot which did not go between the posts . linesman nigel bannister convinced 25-year-old referee stuart attwell that the ball had in fact crossed the line , prompting a now retired poll to comment in his column with british newspaper the daily mail : this is the most bizarre situation i 've ever seen in 40 years watching football and 27 years refereeing . ' the goal that never was perhaps it is fitting that the last word should go to clattenburg , who is unlikely to be on tottenham 's christmas card list . he has the reputation of being one of england 's best referees , despite the nani incident and this major error in another match at manchester united 's old trafford ground . clattenburg became the youngest englishman to reach fifa 's international list at the age of 30 in 2006 , but the year before he was vilified by tottenham fans after failing to spot that pedro mendes'speculative long-range effort had bounced off united goalkeeper carroll 's chest and over the goal-line . the hapless northern irishman scrambled back into his own net and shoveled the ball back into the field of play , and the match ended in a goalless draw . clattenburg was suspended from refereeing for eight months from august 2008 following an investigation into his business activities , having been charged with a breach of contract by his ruling body , professional game match officials limited . | englishman finally sends off player after giving him three yellow cards |
brazil <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it is the role that every fan of the beautiful game counts on but which few people envy . the much-maligned position of the football referee is a job that attracts criticism , controversy and castigation on an almost weekly basis with little glory in return . real madrid coach jose mourinho is the latest to add his voice to the deafening boom of dissent so often aimed at various men in black around the world . despite a 5-1 victory for his side against murcia in spain 's cop del rey , the portuguese boss let rip at the referee paradas romero 's record of showing more then six yellow cards per match . romero added to this with a red card for mourinho himself , after the 47-year-old told the official to go f * * * himself ' during the game , according to the ref . the incident follows similar controversy in britain where manchester united 's game against english title rivals tottenham last month ended in farce when mark clattenburg allowed portugal winger nani to score despite his clear handball in the build-up . should referees be relegated too ? clattenburg 's clanger came hot on the heals of referee dougie mcdonald 's blooper in scotland where he awarded a penalty to celtic against rivals dundee united , before overturning his own decision before the kick was taken . in honor of all of the above , fanzone takes a look at the best moments of on-pitch gaffes from soccer 's finest : brazilian ball boy scores equalizing goal silvia regina de oliveira was the first woman to ever referee a match in the brazilian national championship , and went on to handle games at the 2004 olympics . but her career went into decline two years later when she inexplicably awarded santacruzense a late equalizer against atletico sorocaba in a paulista football federation cup clash . one of the home team 's players had fired a shot into the outside of the net , and the waiting ball boy took the chance to cheekily evade the visiting goalkeeper and tap a shot over the goal-line . de oliveira did not see the incident , but noticed the ball was in the net , so consulted with her linesman and awarded a goal -- sparking scenes of mayhem as the atletico players protested . despite the video evidence , the result of the match was allowed to stand . i should have trusted my own vision , ' de oliveira later admitted . three yellow cards equals one red top english referee graham poll sabotaged his hopes of controlling a world cup final in 2006 when he made a massive blunder in australia 's 2-2 draw with croatia in a group-stage game in germany . poll booked josip simunic after an hour and then in the final minute of regulation time -- but forgot to send the croatian from the pitch . he had the chance to compound his error in time added on when he handed simunic a third yellow card . it was third time unlucky for poll , who had correctly dismissed croatia 's dario simic and australia 's brett emerton after giving the duo their second respective bookings just minutes earlier . poll , who later admitted putting simunic 's first yellow card against australia defender craig moore 's name in his notebook , was widely mocked as the video spread around the internet , and the 42-year-old 's house was blockaded by media . it opened my eyes as to who my real friends are and how much my family meant to me , ' he said . fabiano one-ups maradona with double handball french referee stephane lannoy was left with egg on his face after allowing luis fabiano to clearly handle the ball twice before scoring his second goal in the 3-1 win over the ivory coast at the 2010 world cup . lannoy was pictured laughing with the brazil striker when he questioned him about how he had controlled the ball . i was n't sure if it was the elbow , the upper arm or the chest . so i decided to have a talk with him , he said it was chest . thereafter , i could do nothing but allow the goal . it was after the match i realized that fabiano had been dishonest , ' lannoy told l'equipe newspaper . lannoy had a nightmare match , later sending off kaka for a second yellow card after ivory coast 's kader keita went down in a heap following an innocuous collision with the brazil playmaker . lannoy was duped again in a european champions league match this month , when he waved play on and failed to book barcelona 's jose pinto after the goalkeeper whistled to distract an opposing player . pinto was subsequently handed a two-match ban for improper conduct for deceiving copenhagen forward cesar santin , who thought lannoy had blown for offside when he broke clear of the defense . the case of the'ghost penalty' emerson acuna was little known outside his native colombia until december 2008 , when the striker pulled off one of the most outrageous referee cons in the history of sport . the atletico junior player , nicknamed the parasite , ' flung himself to the ground despite not being within meters of any opposing america da cali players . the match official surprised everyone possessing a modicum of visual capacity when he awarded a spotkick despite having a clear view of acuna 's swan-dive , and the home team converted the penalty and went on to win 2-0 . however , acuna did not escape completely unpunished as he was sent off for another incident later in the match . a quick half german referee wolf-dieter ahlenfelder secured his place in tales of notoriety with some decidedly erratic behavior in a 1975 bundesliga match between werder bremen and hannover 96 . he mistakenly blew for halftime only 29 minutes into what should be a three-quarter-hour period before a linesman pointed out his error , reported german journalist eberhard spohd . having finally completed the half , ahlenfelder stuck his tongue out at a photographer , leading bremen 's president bohmert to quip : for this show we could have charged a higher entrance fee . ' spohd said that ahlenfelder initially denied drinking alcohol , but later admitted to consuming schnapps . we are men -- we do n't drink fanta , ' the official reportedly said . a thorny problem scottish referee les mottram managed to be picked for the 1994 world cup panel despite an embarrassing mistake in a domestic match the year before . mottram failed to award a goal when a shot by dundee united 's patrick connolly rebounded out of the net off a supporting stanchion and into the arms of a partick thistle player , who handed the ball to his goalkeeper . mottram somehow missed all that had transpired , not even noticing the illegal handball , and waved play on . after the world cup in the u.s. , where he ordered an amazing 13 minutes of injury-time in bolivia 's 0-0 draw with south korea , he left the unpaid ranks and took up a professional contract refereeing in japan 's j-league . dundee won their match against partick 4-0 , but english second division side watford were denied a victory in 2008 when opponents reading were awarded a goal for a shot which did not go between the posts . linesman nigel bannister convinced 25-year-old referee stuart attwell that the ball had in fact crossed the line , prompting a now retired poll to comment in his column with british newspaper the daily mail : this is the most bizarre situation i 've ever seen in 40 years watching football and 27 years refereeing . ' the goal that never was perhaps it is fitting that the last word should go to clattenburg , who is unlikely to be on tottenham 's christmas card list . he has the reputation of being one of england 's best referees , despite the nani incident and this major error in another match at manchester united 's old trafford ground . clattenburg became the youngest englishman to reach fifa 's international list at the age of 30 in 2006 , but the year before he was vilified by tottenham fans after failing to spot that pedro mendes'speculative long-range effort had bounced off united goalkeeper carroll 's chest and over the goal-line . the hapless northern irishman scrambled back into his own net and shoveled the ball back into the field of play , and the match ended in a goalless draw . clattenburg was suspended from refereeing for eight months from august 2008 following an investigation into his business activities , having been charged with a breach of contract by his ruling body , professional game match officials limited . | female official in brazil awards goal after ball boy puts shot into visiting team 's net |
grammy <tsp> hollywood , california ( cnn ) -- singer christina aguilera joined fellow grammy award winners alicia keys and john legend for cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' which honored the top 10 cnn heroes of 2008 . christina aguilera performs her hit single beautiful ' at cnn heroes : an all-star tribute . ' the show , taped before an audience of more than 2,500 at the kodak theatre in hollywood , premiered on the global networks of cnn on thanksgiving night . liz mccartney , dedicated to helping survivors of hurricane katrina rebuild their homes , was named 2008 cnn hero of the year . mccartney , who will receive $ 100,000 to continue her work just outside new orleans , was selected from among the top 10 cnn heroes after six weeks of online voting at cnn.com . more than 1 million votes were cast . to the country and the world , i ask you to please join us , ' said mccartney , of st. bernard parish , louisiana . together we can continue to rebuild families'homes and lives . ... if you join us , we 'll be unstoppable . ' hosted by cnn 's anderson cooper , cnn heroes : an all-star tribute ' featured musical performances by aguilera , keys and legend . keys sang superwoman , ' her tribute to women around the world , from her hit album as i am . ' aguilera performed her hit single beautiful . ' legend , backed by the world-renowned agape choir , performed if you 're out there , ' from his just-released album , evolver . ' all three performances echoed the spirit of the cnn heroes campaign , which salutes everyday people accomplishing extraordinary things in their communities and beyond . in this time of economic turmoil , it is such a relief to know that there are people like these heroes , people who care more for others than they do for themselves , ' cooper said . the top 10 cnn heroes , chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 3,700 viewer nominations , were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter . each of the top 10 heroes receives $ 25,000 . actors cameron diaz , salma hayek , john krasinski , forest whitaker , meg ryan , terrence howard , lucy liu , jessica biel , kate beckinsale and selena gomez were among the stars joining in cnn 's tribute to the top 10 . see key moments from the show , including presentations and performances » in addition , actor hugh jackman presented people magazine 's 2008 heroes among us award to six recipients honored by the magazine . award-winning producer-director joel gallen returned to executive produce this year 's program . among his credits , gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the september 11 terrorist attacks and hurricane katrina , winning an emmy award and a peabody award for america : a tribute to heroes . ' the kodak theatre is best known as the first permanent home of the academy awards . in alphabetical order , the top 10 cnn heroes of 2008 as chosen by the blue-ribbon panel are : tad agoglia , houston , texas : agoglia 's first response team provides immediate help to areas hit by natural disasters . in a little more than a year , he and his crew have helped thousands of victims at more than 15 sites across the united states , free of charge . yohannes gebregeorgis , addis ababa , ethiopia : moved by the lack of children 's books and literacy in his native ethiopia , gebregeorgis established ethiopia reads , bringing free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of ethiopian children . carolyn lecroy , norfolk , virginia : after serving time in prison , lecroy started the messages project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents . she and volunteer camera crews have taped roughly 3,000 messages from inmates to their children . anne mahlum , philadelphia , pennsylvania : on her daily morning jogs , mahlum used to run past homeless men . today , she 's helping to transform lives by running with them , and others as part of her back on my feet program . liz mccartney , st. bernard parish , louisiana : mccartney moved to new orleans to dedicate herself to helping hurricane katrina survivors move back into their homes . her nonprofit , st. bernard project , has rebuilt the homes of more than 120 families for free . phymean noun , toronto , ontario : growing up in cambodia , noun struggled to complete high school . today , she offers hundreds of cambodian children who work in phnom penh 's trash dump a way out through free schooling and job training . david puckett , savannah , georgia : puckett started pipo missions to bring ongoing prosthetic and orthotic care to those in need . since november 2000 , he has helped more than 420 people in southeastern mexico , free of charge . maria ruiz , el paso , texas : several times a week , ruiz crosses the border into juarez , mexico , bringing food , clothing and toys to hundreds of impoverished children and their families . marie da silva , los angeles , california : having lost 14 family members to aids , the nanny funds a school in her native malawi , where half a million children have been orphaned by the disease . viola vaughn , kaolack , senegal : the detroit , michigan , native moved to senegal to retire . instead , a group of failing schoolchildren asked her to help them pass their classes . today , her 10,000 girls program is helping hundreds of girls succeed in school and run their own businesses . | grammy winners christina aguilera , alicia keys and john legend performed |
cnn hero of the year <tsp> hollywood , california ( cnn ) -- singer christina aguilera joined fellow grammy award winners alicia keys and john legend for cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' which honored the top 10 cnn heroes of 2008 . christina aguilera performs her hit single beautiful ' at cnn heroes : an all-star tribute . ' the show , taped before an audience of more than 2,500 at the kodak theatre in hollywood , premiered on the global networks of cnn on thanksgiving night . liz mccartney , dedicated to helping survivors of hurricane katrina rebuild their homes , was named 2008 cnn hero of the year . mccartney , who will receive $ 100,000 to continue her work just outside new orleans , was selected from among the top 10 cnn heroes after six weeks of online voting at cnn.com . more than 1 million votes were cast . to the country and the world , i ask you to please join us , ' said mccartney , of st. bernard parish , louisiana . together we can continue to rebuild families'homes and lives . ... if you join us , we 'll be unstoppable . ' hosted by cnn 's anderson cooper , cnn heroes : an all-star tribute ' featured musical performances by aguilera , keys and legend . keys sang superwoman , ' her tribute to women around the world , from her hit album as i am . ' aguilera performed her hit single beautiful . ' legend , backed by the world-renowned agape choir , performed if you 're out there , ' from his just-released album , evolver . ' all three performances echoed the spirit of the cnn heroes campaign , which salutes everyday people accomplishing extraordinary things in their communities and beyond . in this time of economic turmoil , it is such a relief to know that there are people like these heroes , people who care more for others than they do for themselves , ' cooper said . the top 10 cnn heroes , chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 3,700 viewer nominations , were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter . each of the top 10 heroes receives $ 25,000 . actors cameron diaz , salma hayek , john krasinski , forest whitaker , meg ryan , terrence howard , lucy liu , jessica biel , kate beckinsale and selena gomez were among the stars joining in cnn 's tribute to the top 10 . see key moments from the show , including presentations and performances » in addition , actor hugh jackman presented people magazine 's 2008 heroes among us award to six recipients honored by the magazine . award-winning producer-director joel gallen returned to executive produce this year 's program . among his credits , gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the september 11 terrorist attacks and hurricane katrina , winning an emmy award and a peabody award for america : a tribute to heroes . ' the kodak theatre is best known as the first permanent home of the academy awards . in alphabetical order , the top 10 cnn heroes of 2008 as chosen by the blue-ribbon panel are : tad agoglia , houston , texas : agoglia 's first response team provides immediate help to areas hit by natural disasters . in a little more than a year , he and his crew have helped thousands of victims at more than 15 sites across the united states , free of charge . yohannes gebregeorgis , addis ababa , ethiopia : moved by the lack of children 's books and literacy in his native ethiopia , gebregeorgis established ethiopia reads , bringing free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of ethiopian children . carolyn lecroy , norfolk , virginia : after serving time in prison , lecroy started the messages project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents . she and volunteer camera crews have taped roughly 3,000 messages from inmates to their children . anne mahlum , philadelphia , pennsylvania : on her daily morning jogs , mahlum used to run past homeless men . today , she 's helping to transform lives by running with them , and others as part of her back on my feet program . liz mccartney , st. bernard parish , louisiana : mccartney moved to new orleans to dedicate herself to helping hurricane katrina survivors move back into their homes . her nonprofit , st. bernard project , has rebuilt the homes of more than 120 families for free . phymean noun , toronto , ontario : growing up in cambodia , noun struggled to complete high school . today , she offers hundreds of cambodian children who work in phnom penh 's trash dump a way out through free schooling and job training . david puckett , savannah , georgia : puckett started pipo missions to bring ongoing prosthetic and orthotic care to those in need . since november 2000 , he has helped more than 420 people in southeastern mexico , free of charge . maria ruiz , el paso , texas : several times a week , ruiz crosses the border into juarez , mexico , bringing food , clothing and toys to hundreds of impoverished children and their families . marie da silva , los angeles , california : having lost 14 family members to aids , the nanny funds a school in her native malawi , where half a million children have been orphaned by the disease . viola vaughn , kaolack , senegal : the detroit , michigan , native moved to senegal to retire . instead , a group of failing schoolchildren asked her to help them pass their classes . today , her 10,000 girls program is helping hundreds of girls succeed in school and run their own businesses . | liz mccartney of st. bernard parish , louisiana , named cnn hero of the year |
white house <tsp> ( cnn ) -- barack obama 's two daughters had another reason to high-five their dad 's election to the presidency tuesday night : they 're getting a puppy . president bush 's dog barney walks in the white house rose garden in 2007 . sasha and malia , ' obama said in his victory speech at chicago 's grant park , i love you both so much , and you have earned the new puppy that 's coming with us to the white house . ' the new white house pet will follow in the paw-steps of a menagerie of animals that have had the run of 1600 pennsylvania avenue over the years . the bush family shared their eight years at the white house with a cat , a feisty english springer spaniel and two scottish terriers -- all of whom have their own pages on the president 's web site . the clintons'washington stay included a cat , socks , who did not get along with their chocolate labrador retriever , buddy . and millie the springer spaniel 's canine view of life in the white house -- as told to ' then-first lady barbara bush -- became a best-seller that outsold the memoirs of president george h.w . bush . while many presidents took to heart president harry truman 's admonishment -- if you want a friend in washington , get a dog ' -- first pets have come in all shapes , sizes and species . thomas jefferson kept two grizzly bears in a cage on the white house lawn , while john quincy adams is said to have let his alligator use a bathtub inside . calvin coolidge walked his raccoons on a leash . theodore roosevelt 's sons escorted their pet pony onto the white house elevator to cheer up a sick sibling . and perhaps the strangest of all : martin van buren briefly owned two tiger cubs , a gift from the sultan of oman . pets have sometimes been a boon to a president 's image . but some have also taken a bite out of their popularity . animal lovers howled in protest when lyndon b. johnson picked up his beagles , him and her , by the ears to provide photographers a better view . on the other hand , richard nixon -- running for vice president and accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions -- successfully defended himself in his famous checkers speech . ' the only gift he ever accepted was a little cocker spaniel dog ' that his daughter named checkers , nixon said . and i just want to say this , right now , that regardless of what they say about it , we are going to keep it , ' he added . come january , the obamas will make history by becoming the first african-american family to move into the white house . but if malia , 10 , and sasha , 7 , get what they 've been promised , the new tenants will keep one long-standing tradition alive ... and wagging . | white house has a history of president pets -- from dogs to tiger cubs |
bush <tsp> ( cnn ) -- barack obama 's two daughters had another reason to high-five their dad 's election to the presidency tuesday night : they 're getting a puppy . president bush 's dog barney walks in the white house rose garden in 2007 . sasha and malia , ' obama said in his victory speech at chicago 's grant park , i love you both so much , and you have earned the new puppy that 's coming with us to the white house . ' the new white house pet will follow in the paw-steps of a menagerie of animals that have had the run of 1600 pennsylvania avenue over the years . the bush family shared their eight years at the white house with a cat , a feisty english springer spaniel and two scottish terriers -- all of whom have their own pages on the president 's web site . the clintons'washington stay included a cat , socks , who did not get along with their chocolate labrador retriever , buddy . and millie the springer spaniel 's canine view of life in the white house -- as told to ' then-first lady barbara bush -- became a best-seller that outsold the memoirs of president george h.w . bush . while many presidents took to heart president harry truman 's admonishment -- if you want a friend in washington , get a dog ' -- first pets have come in all shapes , sizes and species . thomas jefferson kept two grizzly bears in a cage on the white house lawn , while john quincy adams is said to have let his alligator use a bathtub inside . calvin coolidge walked his raccoons on a leash . theodore roosevelt 's sons escorted their pet pony onto the white house elevator to cheer up a sick sibling . and perhaps the strangest of all : martin van buren briefly owned two tiger cubs , a gift from the sultan of oman . pets have sometimes been a boon to a president 's image . but some have also taken a bite out of their popularity . animal lovers howled in protest when lyndon b. johnson picked up his beagles , him and her , by the ears to provide photographers a better view . on the other hand , richard nixon -- running for vice president and accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions -- successfully defended himself in his famous checkers speech . ' the only gift he ever accepted was a little cocker spaniel dog ' that his daughter named checkers , nixon said . and i just want to say this , right now , that regardless of what they say about it , we are going to keep it , ' he added . come january , the obamas will make history by becoming the first african-american family to move into the white house . but if malia , 10 , and sasha , 7 , get what they 've been promised , the new tenants will keep one long-standing tradition alive ... and wagging . | president bush had three dogs and cat , president clinton a dog and cat |
kathryn bigelow <tsp> ( cnn ) -- things are starting to move along for the remake of kathryn bigelow 's point break ' that was first announced in september 2011 . alcon entertainment announced wednesday that ericson core will direct the project . core got his start in cinematography , serving as the director of photography for films like the fast and the furious ' and daredevil . ' his feature directorial debut was 2006 football film invincible , ' which starred mark wahlberg .'dexter': yvonne strahovski returning core is taking on sports again with point break , ' but the remake may not focus on surfing like the 1991 original . according to a press release from alcon , the new film is set in the world of international extreme sports . ' an undercover fbi agent , like keanu reeves'character in bigelow 's film , will again infiltrate a ring of criminals . production on the point break ' remake is set to begin in late 2013 . see the original article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | ericson core will direct the remake of kathryn bigelow 's point break ' |
ipad <tsp> taking a cue from some of its competitors , apple on tuesday announced a smaller version of its popular ipad tablet -- the ipad mini . and the company that introduced the concept of tablet computers to millions did n't waste any time bashing those competitor in the process . others have tried to make tablets smaller than the ipad and they 've failed miserably , ' said apple senior vice president phil schiller . these are not great experiences . ' at a media event , he unveiled the 7.9-inch tablet , which is 7.2 millimeters wide ( the width of a pencil , schiller said ) and weighs less than 7/10ths of a pound . it will have the same display-resolution specs as last year 's ipad 2 , not the high-definition retina display ' of the newest ipad , which also got an update on tuesday . the ipad mini 's display will be nearly an inch bigger than those of competitors like amazon 's kindle fire and google 's nexus 7 . it will also be somewhat more expensive . the smaller ipad will start at $ 329 for a 16gb , wi-fi only version , ranging up to $ 659 for a 64gb model with cellular capability . those prices are at the high end of what analysts had predicted . the new kindle fire hd and the nexus 7 sell for $ 199 . microsoft surface tablet goes on sale for $ 499 pre-orders for the devices begin friday , and the wi-fi only ipad mini will go on sale in stores november 2 . models that have wi-fi and can connect over cellular networks will start shipping in a few weeks . the device 's screen has the same proportions as the larger ipads , meaning that apps designed for the tablet should also look good on the mini . apple promises 10 hours of battery life , and the mini will have front- and rear-facing cameras like its bigger cousins . it also will have the lightning ' connector that came new on the iphone 5 and new ipods . this is n't just a shrunken-down ipad , ' schiller said . it 's an entirely new design . ' as with other recent apple events , today 's main announcement was n't much of a secret . leaks ahead of the event sketched out most of the relevant details , from dimensions of the smaller ipad to what sizes it would come in . the apple event started off with upgrades to the mac lineup , and a joke about expectations for the day . you knew there would be something called'mini'in this presentation , did n't you ? ' said schiller , while presenting an update of the company 's smallest desktop computer , the mac mini . it starts at $ 599 for 4 gb of ram . schiller opened by unveiling the new version of apple 's top-selling macbook , the 13-inch macbook pro . the new version has a high-definition retina display ' screen for the first time and is 3/4 of an inch thick -- 20 percent thinner than the current 13-inch macbook pro . it weighs 3.5 pounds , making it the lightest macbook pro ever , schiller said . its price starts at $ 1,699 . both the mac mini and the new macbook pro begin shipping today . ipad mini worth buying ? schiller also showed off a sleeker and more powerful version of apple 's iconic desktop , the imac . it starts at $ 1,299 and begins shipping in november . released only six months ago , apple 's newest full-sized ipad also got an update , getting a faster a6x processing chip , an improved camera and , like the iphone 5 , 4g lte capabilities . apple 's full-sized ipad has been a huge success and still dominates the overall tablet market , so why go small now ? the biggest demand for non-apple tablets has been for less expensive 7-inch devices such as amazon 's kindle fire , samsung 's galaxy tab , google 's nexus 7 and barnes and noble 's nook . a smaller ipad would challenge these competitors head on , combining their popular size with apple 's killer features : the ios operating system , apple 's app and media ecosystem , and quality design . the kindle fire is great for buying books , movies and shows from amazon , and the nexus 7 has google 's well-stocked play store for media and apps . however , tablets have proven they can do more than just entertain , and customers might be drawn to the quality and quantity of apple 's app store selection . developers have been creating top-notch apps for the ipad for more than two years . the smaller ipad 's screen is expected to have the same aspect ratio , so those apps would work the same on the new device . when the ipad came out , it was intended to be a consumption device . ads for the tablet showed people reclining in various environments , clutching the ipad like a book . the spacious 10-inch screen was ideal for watching movies and tv shows , playing games , surfing the web and otherwise consuming content . that 's how most tablet owners use their devices . tablets are homebodies , used most often in the living room ( 30 % of the time according to nielsen ) followed by the bedroom ( 21 % of the time ) . fully half the time they 're using tablets , they do n't leave the couch or the bed , ' said forrester analyst sarah rotman epps . if you can do everything on the smaller ipad you can on the larger ipad -- that plus the added convenience of being able to take it with you more places could take the wind out of the sales of amazon . ' a smaller , lighter device is more portable , and people might not be as afraid of taking a cheaper tablet out into the big bad world where it would be less protected . that would also be a boost for apple in the education market , which it has been courting heavily . apple ipad mini price gives rivals breathing room | just six months old , bigger ipad also gets a refresh |
ipad <tsp> taking a cue from some of its competitors , apple on tuesday announced a smaller version of its popular ipad tablet -- the ipad mini . and the company that introduced the concept of tablet computers to millions did n't waste any time bashing those competitor in the process . others have tried to make tablets smaller than the ipad and they 've failed miserably , ' said apple senior vice president phil schiller . these are not great experiences . ' at a media event , he unveiled the 7.9-inch tablet , which is 7.2 millimeters wide ( the width of a pencil , schiller said ) and weighs less than 7/10ths of a pound . it will have the same display-resolution specs as last year 's ipad 2 , not the high-definition retina display ' of the newest ipad , which also got an update on tuesday . the ipad mini 's display will be nearly an inch bigger than those of competitors like amazon 's kindle fire and google 's nexus 7 . it will also be somewhat more expensive . the smaller ipad will start at $ 329 for a 16gb , wi-fi only version , ranging up to $ 659 for a 64gb model with cellular capability . those prices are at the high end of what analysts had predicted . the new kindle fire hd and the nexus 7 sell for $ 199 . microsoft surface tablet goes on sale for $ 499 pre-orders for the devices begin friday , and the wi-fi only ipad mini will go on sale in stores november 2 . models that have wi-fi and can connect over cellular networks will start shipping in a few weeks . the device 's screen has the same proportions as the larger ipads , meaning that apps designed for the tablet should also look good on the mini . apple promises 10 hours of battery life , and the mini will have front- and rear-facing cameras like its bigger cousins . it also will have the lightning ' connector that came new on the iphone 5 and new ipods . this is n't just a shrunken-down ipad , ' schiller said . it 's an entirely new design . ' as with other recent apple events , today 's main announcement was n't much of a secret . leaks ahead of the event sketched out most of the relevant details , from dimensions of the smaller ipad to what sizes it would come in . the apple event started off with upgrades to the mac lineup , and a joke about expectations for the day . you knew there would be something called'mini'in this presentation , did n't you ? ' said schiller , while presenting an update of the company 's smallest desktop computer , the mac mini . it starts at $ 599 for 4 gb of ram . schiller opened by unveiling the new version of apple 's top-selling macbook , the 13-inch macbook pro . the new version has a high-definition retina display ' screen for the first time and is 3/4 of an inch thick -- 20 percent thinner than the current 13-inch macbook pro . it weighs 3.5 pounds , making it the lightest macbook pro ever , schiller said . its price starts at $ 1,699 . both the mac mini and the new macbook pro begin shipping today . ipad mini worth buying ? schiller also showed off a sleeker and more powerful version of apple 's iconic desktop , the imac . it starts at $ 1,299 and begins shipping in november . released only six months ago , apple 's newest full-sized ipad also got an update , getting a faster a6x processing chip , an improved camera and , like the iphone 5 , 4g lte capabilities . apple 's full-sized ipad has been a huge success and still dominates the overall tablet market , so why go small now ? the biggest demand for non-apple tablets has been for less expensive 7-inch devices such as amazon 's kindle fire , samsung 's galaxy tab , google 's nexus 7 and barnes and noble 's nook . a smaller ipad would challenge these competitors head on , combining their popular size with apple 's killer features : the ios operating system , apple 's app and media ecosystem , and quality design . the kindle fire is great for buying books , movies and shows from amazon , and the nexus 7 has google 's well-stocked play store for media and apps . however , tablets have proven they can do more than just entertain , and customers might be drawn to the quality and quantity of apple 's app store selection . developers have been creating top-notch apps for the ipad for more than two years . the smaller ipad 's screen is expected to have the same aspect ratio , so those apps would work the same on the new device . when the ipad came out , it was intended to be a consumption device . ads for the tablet showed people reclining in various environments , clutching the ipad like a book . the spacious 10-inch screen was ideal for watching movies and tv shows , playing games , surfing the web and otherwise consuming content . that 's how most tablet owners use their devices . tablets are homebodies , used most often in the living room ( 30 % of the time according to nielsen ) followed by the bedroom ( 21 % of the time ) . fully half the time they 're using tablets , they do n't leave the couch or the bed , ' said forrester analyst sarah rotman epps . if you can do everything on the smaller ipad you can on the larger ipad -- that plus the added convenience of being able to take it with you more places could take the wind out of the sales of amazon . ' a smaller , lighter device is more portable , and people might not be as afraid of taking a cheaper tablet out into the big bad world where it would be less protected . that would also be a boost for apple in the education market , which it has been courting heavily . apple ipad mini price gives rivals breathing room | apple unveils smaller ipad mini tablet |
paris <tsp> paris ( cnn ) -- president malam bacai sanha of guinea-bissau died early monday , according to an official at the west african nation 's embassy in paris . he was 64 . the official said sanha was in paris for treatment , and died at val-de-grace hospital . sanha became president in september 2009 , months after the assassination of president joao bernardo vieira . sanha had served as interim president and defeated another former president , kumba yala , in a runoff election . guinea-bissau 's history has been marked by military coups and attempted coups since the nation of 1.5 million gained independence from portugal in 1974 . those conflicts ravaged the nation 's infrastructure and economy and left it among the poorest in the world . despite sanha 's coming to power in what international observers deemed a fair and peaceful election , his tenure was marked by turmoil among the country 's military and political leadership . last month , united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon condemned the use of violence in what was suspected to be a military coup attempt , saying in a statement , the primacy of the lawful civilian authorities according to the constitution must be respected . ' and , despite the parliament 's call to fight drug trafficking , guinea-bissau is still considered an increasingly important transit point for cocaine en route from south america to europe , according to the cia factbook . | president malam bacai sanha died at val-de-grace hospital in paris on monday |
catalina escobar <tsp> cartagena , colombia ( cnn ) -- when a 12-day-old boy died in her arms , catalina escobar was devastated . she was working as a volunteer in the maternity clinic at one of the largest hospitals in cartagena , colombia . at that time -- october 2000 -- such incidents were n't that unusual ; on average , at least one infant a day died at the overcrowded and underfunded facility . but when escobar learned that the baby 's teenage mother had not been able to raise the money for treatment that would 've saved his life , she was crushed . his mother [ needed ] $ 30 that i had in my pocket . i will never forget that , ' she said . it was a preventable death . ' less than a week later , escobar endured another , more personal loss : her second son , 16-month-old juan felipe , died in a tragic accident when he fell from the balcony of her home . she was overwhelmed by grief . it was agony , ' said escobar . i did n't want any mother to feel the same pain , so ... i took action . ' the successful businesswoman sold her international trading company and dedicated herself to helping the city 's most impoverished children and their young mothers . in the last 10 years , her juan felipe gomez escobar foundation -- named for her late son -- has brought health care to tens of thousands of children in cartagena and provided more than 2,000 teenage mothers with counseling , education and job training . at first , escobar focused on lowering the infant mortality rate at the hospital where she 'd volunteered . it was more than double the national average . she built a state-of-the-art neo-natal unit , brought in experts to train the clinic 's staff and established a program to cover the medical costs for babies born to impoverished mothers . five years later , the rate of infant deaths at the hospital had dropped 67 % . from the start , escobar noticed that 70 % of the mothers she was working with were between the ages of 14 and 16 . most lived in the slums outside of the city , which have grown during the last decade as people have fled violence in the northern areas of the country . you see these girls , [ with ] their tiny faces ... they 're babies holding babies , ' said escobar , 42 . she realized that the only way to ensure the long-term health of the children was to enable these teenage girls to break the cycle of poverty . when a girl gets pregnant , she drops out of school . ... next year , she 's going to be pregnant again , ' escobar said . she 's repeating the same patterns of the mother , the grandmother . ' the colombian government reports that nearly 20 % of girls between 15 and 19 years old are or have been pregnant -- nearly triple the u.s. rate . in cartagena , where one-third of residents live at or below the poverty line , it 's an equation that means these young mothers have very little chance of improving their lives . escobar is hoping to change that through her teen mothers program , which aims to teach young women how to support themselves and their children . it started with just 30 girls in 2002 , but it has expanded in the last decade . with the opening of her foundation 's new center last year , 400 pregnant teens and young mothers now enroll every year . built in one of the city 's many slums , the center is an elegant , modern structure , equipped with a daycare , medical center , cafeteria and classrooms . it 's light years away from the impoverished world of these teen mothers . for escobar , that 's the whole point . when they come here , this is a piece of heaven [ on ] earth , ' she said . they deserve the very best . ' for the first year , young mothers come to the center every weekday , leaving their babies at the daycare while they attend classes . they receive instruction on basic hygiene -- many have never encountered indoor plumbing before -- and learn how to care for their infants . because food is often scarce at home , the girls also receive a hearty hot lunch . during the first six months , the teens take part in therapy sessions to help them understand their new reality and responsibilities . escobar says that many of the teens she 's worked with have been victims of rape and sexual abuse , so counselors work intensively with each girl . the goal is to help them come to terms with their past so they can focus on the future . the center also teaches teenage mothers about reproductive health and contraception . girls tell me they do n't understand how they got pregnant . they think it 's from a kiss , ' escobar said . they do n't know that the option of using condoms exists . ' do you know a hero ? nominations are open for 2013 cnn heroes while the program aims to prevent future pregnancies , escobar also wants to give these young mothers the tools they need to change their lives . the girls can finish high school on site , take computer classes or learn vocational skills like sewing or jewelry-making . the teens also make and sell products at the center 's bakery , which helps fund the program , and the foundation offers micro-loans to help them start their own businesses . the program also helps mothers find jobs or provides them scholarships to help them continue their education at a trade school or university . the teens return to the center every week so escobar 's staff can track their progress and assist with any problems . within two to four years , escobar wants her girls to be providing for their families and be on their way to a better life . she says that two-thirds of those who 've completed the program have gone on to find jobs . i want my girls to be empowered , ' she said . earning money provides them with independence and allows them to gain back control of their lives . ' that 's exactly what yerlis bautista has been able to do . she dropped out of school when she got pregnant at 16 , but through escobar 's foundation , she enrolled in a beauty salon course . she recently earned her diploma , an accomplishment that makes her glow with pride . i feel great , since i was able to accomplish a goal that i had wanted , ' bautista said . now i am working in the best beauty salon ... earning a good salary . ' she said escobar and the program gave her a new outlook on life . it is better to go forward with my future , to not just sit around like other girls , ' she said . because i have been a fighter , i have found a better future for my child . ... i will keep fighting so he can have everything . ' escobar believes that attitude change is what will help these young mothers have long-term success . for her , each girl she helps is cause for celebration . these teen mothers are my own daughters , ' escobar said . when they get here and they make it through , i feel so proud of them . ' escobar is always looking for more ways to have more impact . in 2005 , she established a medical clinic that has provided health care to more than 84,000 low-income residents of the community -- mostly young mothers and their children . and she 's planning to build an early childhood education center where the girls can bring their children ages 1-5 . in the coming years , she is hoping to expand her program throughout colombia . while escobar has accomplished a great deal in the last decade , one thing is clear : her personal war on poverty has just begun . i 'm so passionate about it because we are seeing progress . ... we are changing the lives of these girls , ' escobar said . i wake up every single morning thinking ,'what else can i do to help them ?' want to get involved ? check out the juan felipe gomez escobar foundation website at juanfe.org and see how to help . cnn 's laura klairmont contributed to this report . | catalina escobar began a foundation to improve children 's health |
cnn heroes <tsp> cartagena , colombia ( cnn ) -- when a 12-day-old boy died in her arms , catalina escobar was devastated . she was working as a volunteer in the maternity clinic at one of the largest hospitals in cartagena , colombia . at that time -- october 2000 -- such incidents were n't that unusual ; on average , at least one infant a day died at the overcrowded and underfunded facility . but when escobar learned that the baby 's teenage mother had not been able to raise the money for treatment that would 've saved his life , she was crushed . his mother [ needed ] $ 30 that i had in my pocket . i will never forget that , ' she said . it was a preventable death . ' less than a week later , escobar endured another , more personal loss : her second son , 16-month-old juan felipe , died in a tragic accident when he fell from the balcony of her home . she was overwhelmed by grief . it was agony , ' said escobar . i did n't want any mother to feel the same pain , so ... i took action . ' the successful businesswoman sold her international trading company and dedicated herself to helping the city 's most impoverished children and their young mothers . in the last 10 years , her juan felipe gomez escobar foundation -- named for her late son -- has brought health care to tens of thousands of children in cartagena and provided more than 2,000 teenage mothers with counseling , education and job training . at first , escobar focused on lowering the infant mortality rate at the hospital where she 'd volunteered . it was more than double the national average . she built a state-of-the-art neo-natal unit , brought in experts to train the clinic 's staff and established a program to cover the medical costs for babies born to impoverished mothers . five years later , the rate of infant deaths at the hospital had dropped 67 % . from the start , escobar noticed that 70 % of the mothers she was working with were between the ages of 14 and 16 . most lived in the slums outside of the city , which have grown during the last decade as people have fled violence in the northern areas of the country . you see these girls , [ with ] their tiny faces ... they 're babies holding babies , ' said escobar , 42 . she realized that the only way to ensure the long-term health of the children was to enable these teenage girls to break the cycle of poverty . when a girl gets pregnant , she drops out of school . ... next year , she 's going to be pregnant again , ' escobar said . she 's repeating the same patterns of the mother , the grandmother . ' the colombian government reports that nearly 20 % of girls between 15 and 19 years old are or have been pregnant -- nearly triple the u.s. rate . in cartagena , where one-third of residents live at or below the poverty line , it 's an equation that means these young mothers have very little chance of improving their lives . escobar is hoping to change that through her teen mothers program , which aims to teach young women how to support themselves and their children . it started with just 30 girls in 2002 , but it has expanded in the last decade . with the opening of her foundation 's new center last year , 400 pregnant teens and young mothers now enroll every year . built in one of the city 's many slums , the center is an elegant , modern structure , equipped with a daycare , medical center , cafeteria and classrooms . it 's light years away from the impoverished world of these teen mothers . for escobar , that 's the whole point . when they come here , this is a piece of heaven [ on ] earth , ' she said . they deserve the very best . ' for the first year , young mothers come to the center every weekday , leaving their babies at the daycare while they attend classes . they receive instruction on basic hygiene -- many have never encountered indoor plumbing before -- and learn how to care for their infants . because food is often scarce at home , the girls also receive a hearty hot lunch . during the first six months , the teens take part in therapy sessions to help them understand their new reality and responsibilities . escobar says that many of the teens she 's worked with have been victims of rape and sexual abuse , so counselors work intensively with each girl . the goal is to help them come to terms with their past so they can focus on the future . the center also teaches teenage mothers about reproductive health and contraception . girls tell me they do n't understand how they got pregnant . they think it 's from a kiss , ' escobar said . they do n't know that the option of using condoms exists . ' do you know a hero ? nominations are open for 2013 cnn heroes while the program aims to prevent future pregnancies , escobar also wants to give these young mothers the tools they need to change their lives . the girls can finish high school on site , take computer classes or learn vocational skills like sewing or jewelry-making . the teens also make and sell products at the center 's bakery , which helps fund the program , and the foundation offers micro-loans to help them start their own businesses . the program also helps mothers find jobs or provides them scholarships to help them continue their education at a trade school or university . the teens return to the center every week so escobar 's staff can track their progress and assist with any problems . within two to four years , escobar wants her girls to be providing for their families and be on their way to a better life . she says that two-thirds of those who 've completed the program have gone on to find jobs . i want my girls to be empowered , ' she said . earning money provides them with independence and allows them to gain back control of their lives . ' that 's exactly what yerlis bautista has been able to do . she dropped out of school when she got pregnant at 16 , but through escobar 's foundation , she enrolled in a beauty salon course . she recently earned her diploma , an accomplishment that makes her glow with pride . i feel great , since i was able to accomplish a goal that i had wanted , ' bautista said . now i am working in the best beauty salon ... earning a good salary . ' she said escobar and the program gave her a new outlook on life . it is better to go forward with my future , to not just sit around like other girls , ' she said . because i have been a fighter , i have found a better future for my child . ... i will keep fighting so he can have everything . ' escobar believes that attitude change is what will help these young mothers have long-term success . for her , each girl she helps is cause for celebration . these teen mothers are my own daughters , ' escobar said . when they get here and they make it through , i feel so proud of them . ' escobar is always looking for more ways to have more impact . in 2005 , she established a medical clinic that has provided health care to more than 84,000 low-income residents of the community -- mostly young mothers and their children . and she 's planning to build an early childhood education center where the girls can bring their children ages 1-5 . in the coming years , she is hoping to expand her program throughout colombia . while escobar has accomplished a great deal in the last decade , one thing is clear : her personal war on poverty has just begun . i 'm so passionate about it because we are seeing progress . ... we are changing the lives of these girls , ' escobar said . i wake up every single morning thinking ,'what else can i do to help them ?' want to get involved ? check out the juan felipe gomez escobar foundation website at juanfe.org and see how to help . cnn 's laura klairmont contributed to this report . | do you know a hero ? nominations are open for 2013 cnn heroes |
games <tsp> ( cnn ) -- take one dentist , a catsuit , a horse and a barrel , and you have a world champion . four days a week , 25-year-old joanne eccles examines teeth in kinross , north of edinburgh . she spends the rest of her time clad in spandex , performing gymnastics on a horse . her sport ? vaulting . the british rider is the favorite for august 's world equestrian games , having won world titles in 2010 and 2012 . i 've been vaulting since i was eight . after that , everything had to fit around it , ' she says . i 'm maybe not quite so enthusiastic about being a dentist , but i can earn a living and still get the most out of my vaulting . ' here are the basics : you get on a moving horse and perform leaps , handstands , tumbles and other acrobatic moves on the animal 's back , while it canters in a circle . you can compete as an individual ( where eccles excels ) , as a pair ( the pas de deux ' ) or as a team of six . men and women of all ages can compete together . eccles sometimes performs with her 22-year-old sister hannah , who has also represented britain . i still get to throw my little sister around , it 's brilliant , ' she says . even her father , john , is involved . he is joanne 's lunger ' -- which means his job is to guide the horse from the center of the arena while she competes . lunging is an important job : when vaulters win medals , the lunger gets one , too . ( the horse , meanwhile , must settle for everyone 's lasting gratitude . ) the lunger is in constant contact and communication with the horse , ' explains craig coburn , a leading vaulting judge . you have to work to keep the horse 's pace and tempo , keep it paying attention to what 's going on . ' eccles says her dad was less than impressed as a spectator at her early domestic competitions . he thought it was so boring , ' she recalls . but then i was the reserve for a big international event , and he realized that if you 're at a high level , it 's a brilliant sport . so he looked into getting a horse himself , he got into it , and now he 's a coach and judge as well as my lunger . ' john eccles is not the first parent to revise their opinion of vaulting . when sheri benjamin took her eight-year-old girl to pick up hay for their rabbit at a nearby california farm , she had not planned on raising a vaulting world champion . however , there was a demonstration taking place at the farm , and a coach overheard daughter megan 's excitement . we knew nothing about it , ' recalls benjamin . you ca n't imagine our amazement when we went up to this ranch , and here were these athletes on the backs of horses , doing all sorts of gymnastics and dance moves . i looked at that and thought , no way in hell am i going to let megan do this . ' five years later , the benjamins had a horse on each side of the atlantic . by the age of 18 , in 2006 , megan benjamin had won world gold for the united states . i swear i 'm not a bad mom , ' adds sheri , who claims vaulting is statistically safer than playing on a playground . when megan first wanted to ride a horse , they said she was too young to go into the regular riding program , but they would let her vault -- because an adult controls the horse , and a three-year-old can do it with the horse at walking pace . they can build up . ' this is where the barrel comes in . if you go straight to the horse with a new move , chances are you will eat sand after a nasty fall moments later . a vaulting barrel is the answer . you can build your own , ' explains coburn . it 's basically an oil drum with four steel legs on the bottom -- long and round , with handles on it , and wrapped in padding . ' you practice new moves on a mat and then go on to the barrel , says former competitor lucy bell , who now manages the british team at big events . the horses themselves are wrapped up in cotton wool , you train on them just a couple of times a week , ' she explains . the rest of the time ? you 'd be on that barrel . ' new moves , and new links between moves , are the lifeblood of the sport . something the judges have n't seen before , so the sport progresses , ' says bell . for eccles , that means the one-handed handstand -- a move many would find tricky on the ground , but which she must pull off while balancing upside-down on a cantering horse . a new move sets you apart from the rest and nobody else had done a one-handed handstand before , ' eccles says . i tried it in france last month and it worked . now a lot of people know i can do it , so there is more pressure to do it again . ' flexibility is an obvious asset for a vaulter -- the sport attracts plenty of young gymnasts , though eccles insists she had very little bend as a child . i had to be held down and stretched by three other people , which i absolutely hated , ' she recalls . strength is another vital component , sometimes masked by the necessity for vaulters to compete in all-in-one catsuits . what megan had going for her was her upper-body strength , ' sheri benjamin says of her daughter , who played ice hockey before taking up vaulting . after she had been vaulting for two or three years , we went to watch the x games , and there was a marine corps recruiting booth which had a pullup contest . megan waited in line , got up there and popped off 25 pullups , aged 10 or 11 . all the boys behind her melted out of the line after she finished . the recruiter said she could be a marine any time . ' as a judge , coburn looks for exactly the right balance of skills before awarding scores ( from one to a maximum of 10 ) . i 'm looking for a vaulter that is smooth , and light , and in harmony with the horse . they 're not springing off the horse like it 's a trampoline , they are in motion with the horse as if they are one , ' he says . when you leap off the back of a horse , if you are in perfect harmony , you go up as the horse 's stride is going up -- so you leap without jumping . when you land down on the horse , you land in sync with the horse , as softly as a feather on the ground . performances will give you goosebumps when that 's the case . ' so who are the goosebumps candidates ' at the world equestrian games ? germany is historically the sport 's leading nation . austria and france are contenders , and the u.s. has improved dramatically . but sheri benjamin believes eccles , the defending individual champion , is still the best . she is the person to beat , ' says benjamin , whose daughter retired from vaulting in 2012 . it amazes me that she continued to vault through dental school . ' bell , who will be eccles'team manager at the games in normandy , adds : joanne is very calm , she can focus completely on what she has to do . between her and her dad , they 've taken every single part of the sport and worked out what you need to achieve . ' eccles herself is , for now , secretly watching vaulting clips over lunch with her dental nurse at the surgery . however , she has two tournament wins to her name in the past month and feels ready to return to the spotlight . when i started , we were just having a laugh , ' she says . we were lucky to do so well . now , it feels like we 're riding on the back of success . it gets better and better . ' | the 25-year-old is favorite to come out on top at the games in august |
games <tsp> ( cnn ) -- take one dentist , a catsuit , a horse and a barrel , and you have a world champion . four days a week , 25-year-old joanne eccles examines teeth in kinross , north of edinburgh . she spends the rest of her time clad in spandex , performing gymnastics on a horse . her sport ? vaulting . the british rider is the favorite for august 's world equestrian games , having won world titles in 2010 and 2012 . i 've been vaulting since i was eight . after that , everything had to fit around it , ' she says . i 'm maybe not quite so enthusiastic about being a dentist , but i can earn a living and still get the most out of my vaulting . ' here are the basics : you get on a moving horse and perform leaps , handstands , tumbles and other acrobatic moves on the animal 's back , while it canters in a circle . you can compete as an individual ( where eccles excels ) , as a pair ( the pas de deux ' ) or as a team of six . men and women of all ages can compete together . eccles sometimes performs with her 22-year-old sister hannah , who has also represented britain . i still get to throw my little sister around , it 's brilliant , ' she says . even her father , john , is involved . he is joanne 's lunger ' -- which means his job is to guide the horse from the center of the arena while she competes . lunging is an important job : when vaulters win medals , the lunger gets one , too . ( the horse , meanwhile , must settle for everyone 's lasting gratitude . ) the lunger is in constant contact and communication with the horse , ' explains craig coburn , a leading vaulting judge . you have to work to keep the horse 's pace and tempo , keep it paying attention to what 's going on . ' eccles says her dad was less than impressed as a spectator at her early domestic competitions . he thought it was so boring , ' she recalls . but then i was the reserve for a big international event , and he realized that if you 're at a high level , it 's a brilliant sport . so he looked into getting a horse himself , he got into it , and now he 's a coach and judge as well as my lunger . ' john eccles is not the first parent to revise their opinion of vaulting . when sheri benjamin took her eight-year-old girl to pick up hay for their rabbit at a nearby california farm , she had not planned on raising a vaulting world champion . however , there was a demonstration taking place at the farm , and a coach overheard daughter megan 's excitement . we knew nothing about it , ' recalls benjamin . you ca n't imagine our amazement when we went up to this ranch , and here were these athletes on the backs of horses , doing all sorts of gymnastics and dance moves . i looked at that and thought , no way in hell am i going to let megan do this . ' five years later , the benjamins had a horse on each side of the atlantic . by the age of 18 , in 2006 , megan benjamin had won world gold for the united states . i swear i 'm not a bad mom , ' adds sheri , who claims vaulting is statistically safer than playing on a playground . when megan first wanted to ride a horse , they said she was too young to go into the regular riding program , but they would let her vault -- because an adult controls the horse , and a three-year-old can do it with the horse at walking pace . they can build up . ' this is where the barrel comes in . if you go straight to the horse with a new move , chances are you will eat sand after a nasty fall moments later . a vaulting barrel is the answer . you can build your own , ' explains coburn . it 's basically an oil drum with four steel legs on the bottom -- long and round , with handles on it , and wrapped in padding . ' you practice new moves on a mat and then go on to the barrel , says former competitor lucy bell , who now manages the british team at big events . the horses themselves are wrapped up in cotton wool , you train on them just a couple of times a week , ' she explains . the rest of the time ? you 'd be on that barrel . ' new moves , and new links between moves , are the lifeblood of the sport . something the judges have n't seen before , so the sport progresses , ' says bell . for eccles , that means the one-handed handstand -- a move many would find tricky on the ground , but which she must pull off while balancing upside-down on a cantering horse . a new move sets you apart from the rest and nobody else had done a one-handed handstand before , ' eccles says . i tried it in france last month and it worked . now a lot of people know i can do it , so there is more pressure to do it again . ' flexibility is an obvious asset for a vaulter -- the sport attracts plenty of young gymnasts , though eccles insists she had very little bend as a child . i had to be held down and stretched by three other people , which i absolutely hated , ' she recalls . strength is another vital component , sometimes masked by the necessity for vaulters to compete in all-in-one catsuits . what megan had going for her was her upper-body strength , ' sheri benjamin says of her daughter , who played ice hockey before taking up vaulting . after she had been vaulting for two or three years , we went to watch the x games , and there was a marine corps recruiting booth which had a pullup contest . megan waited in line , got up there and popped off 25 pullups , aged 10 or 11 . all the boys behind her melted out of the line after she finished . the recruiter said she could be a marine any time . ' as a judge , coburn looks for exactly the right balance of skills before awarding scores ( from one to a maximum of 10 ) . i 'm looking for a vaulter that is smooth , and light , and in harmony with the horse . they 're not springing off the horse like it 's a trampoline , they are in motion with the horse as if they are one , ' he says . when you leap off the back of a horse , if you are in perfect harmony , you go up as the horse 's stride is going up -- so you leap without jumping . when you land down on the horse , you land in sync with the horse , as softly as a feather on the ground . performances will give you goosebumps when that 's the case . ' so who are the goosebumps candidates ' at the world equestrian games ? germany is historically the sport 's leading nation . austria and france are contenders , and the u.s. has improved dramatically . but sheri benjamin believes eccles , the defending individual champion , is still the best . she is the person to beat , ' says benjamin , whose daughter retired from vaulting in 2012 . it amazes me that she continued to vault through dental school . ' bell , who will be eccles'team manager at the games in normandy , adds : joanne is very calm , she can focus completely on what she has to do . between her and her dad , they 've taken every single part of the sport and worked out what you need to achieve . ' eccles herself is , for now , secretly watching vaulting clips over lunch with her dental nurse at the surgery . however , she has two tournament wins to her name in the past month and feels ready to return to the spotlight . when i started , we were just having a laugh , ' she says . we were lucky to do so well . now , it feels like we 're riding on the back of success . it gets better and better . ' | world equestrian games champion joanne eccles is also a dentist |
new hampshire <tsp> ( cnn ) -- legislatures in all 50 states , the district of columbia , guam , the virgin islands and puerto rico met in 2009 , leading to the enactment of 40,697 laws , many of which take effect january 1 . the new laws cover a variety of areas , from texting and tanning beds to human trafficking and seat-belt safety . new hampshire , oregon and illinois join 16 other states that prohibit motorists from sending text messages while driving . gloria wilhelm fought for the illinois law after her son , matt , was struck and killed while he was riding his bike by a driver who was downloading cell phone ring tones . these are incredibly selfish and dangerous behaviors , ' she said . a new law in oregon requires children under the age of 16 to wear a seat belt on an all-terrain vehicle or in a car while on public property . same-sex couples will be able to marry in new hampshire beginning january 1 under new hampshire general court hb 436 , and the state joins massachusetts , connecticut , vermont and iowa in legalizing same-sex marriages . in california , sb 54 requires the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states while such marriages were legal in california . the legislation covers same-sex marriages performed between june 16 , 2008 , and november 5 , 2008 , when a ballot initiative , proposition 8 , banned same-sex marriage in the state constitution . a california measure that limits trans fat in restaurant food also takes effect january 1 . enacted in 2008 , it requires restaurants to use oils , margarines and shortenings that have less than half a gram of trans fat per serving . a similar provision will apply to baked goods in 2011 . a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants that will take effect in north carolina , the nation 's biggest producer of tobacco , has drawn mixed reactions . i find it rather annoying that they 're going to turn me into the police , ' tavern owner van allston said . not all laws become effective january 1 . state constitutions or statutes typically establish when laws go into effect , and the date is written into the specific piece of legislation . cnn 's kara finnstrom and emanuella grinberg contributed to this report . | new hampshire , oregon , illinois join 16 other states that prohibit texting while driving |
new hampshire <tsp> ( cnn ) -- legislatures in all 50 states , the district of columbia , guam , the virgin islands and puerto rico met in 2009 , leading to the enactment of 40,697 laws , many of which take effect january 1 . the new laws cover a variety of areas , from texting and tanning beds to human trafficking and seat-belt safety . new hampshire , oregon and illinois join 16 other states that prohibit motorists from sending text messages while driving . gloria wilhelm fought for the illinois law after her son , matt , was struck and killed while he was riding his bike by a driver who was downloading cell phone ring tones . these are incredibly selfish and dangerous behaviors , ' she said . a new law in oregon requires children under the age of 16 to wear a seat belt on an all-terrain vehicle or in a car while on public property . same-sex couples will be able to marry in new hampshire beginning january 1 under new hampshire general court hb 436 , and the state joins massachusetts , connecticut , vermont and iowa in legalizing same-sex marriages . in california , sb 54 requires the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states while such marriages were legal in california . the legislation covers same-sex marriages performed between june 16 , 2008 , and november 5 , 2008 , when a ballot initiative , proposition 8 , banned same-sex marriage in the state constitution . a california measure that limits trans fat in restaurant food also takes effect january 1 . enacted in 2008 , it requires restaurants to use oils , margarines and shortenings that have less than half a gram of trans fat per serving . a similar provision will apply to baked goods in 2011 . a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants that will take effect in north carolina , the nation 's biggest producer of tobacco , has drawn mixed reactions . i find it rather annoying that they 're going to turn me into the police , ' tavern owner van allston said . not all laws become effective january 1 . state constitutions or statutes typically establish when laws go into effect , and the date is written into the specific piece of legislation . cnn 's kara finnstrom and emanuella grinberg contributed to this report . | new hampshire joins four other states in legalizing same-sex marriage |
isis <tsp> ( cnn ) dozens of militants -- believed to be isis members -- attacked several iraqi security posts and checkpoints in western iraq 's anbar province tuesday morning , leaving at least 11 people dead and 18 others wounded , security officials in iraq said . the attacks , involving a suicide bomber , rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns , happened in the town of jubbat al shamiya , about 150 miles ( 240 kilometers ) northwest of baghdad , security officials in the anbar capital of ramadi said . anbar is a western province largely controlled by isis , or the islamic state in iraq and syria , the sunni muslim extremist group that has used brutal tactics such as mass kidnappings , beheadings and other abuses against civilians and armed foes to capture vast swaths of territory in iraq and syria in the past few years . most of those killed and wounded in tuesday 's attacks were iraqi security force and local awakening council members , the security officials said . awakening councils , also known as the sons of iraq and sahawat , are made up of sunni muslim fighters who turned against al qaeda and have been active in iraq since 2006 . the u.s.-backed councils were credited as being a major factor in a drop in violence across iraq a few years ago , after the strife that followed the u.s.-led invasion that toppled iraqi leader saddam hussein in 2003 . but council members recently have become targets for isis , which has waged war to establish what it says is an islamic caliphate . also tuesday , isis militants attacked the albu risha police station in northern ramadi , killing several police officers and injuring at least two other people , the security officials said . the battle for the station began early tuesday , the ramadi security officials said . after about two hours of clashes between isis militants and police officers , isis managed to take over the station . ramadi is about 70 miles ( 110 kilometers ) west of baghdad . the anbar capital has been one of the province 's few holdouts against isis . anbar is home to al asad air base , where 320 u.s. troops , mostly marines , are stationed as part of an effort to advise and assist iraqi forces fighting isis . isis'campaign , and the military response to it by iraqi forces supported by air power from a u.s.-led international coalition , left a bloody toll in iraq in 2013 . at least 17,049 civilians were recorded killed in iraq last year , roughly double the number recorded in 2013 , according to the iraq body count monitoring project . cnn 's laura smith-spark and jethro mullen contributed to this report . | isis also took over police station in anbar 's capital , killing several police officers , officials say |
mainzer <tsp> ( cnn ) malala yousafzai 's stellar career has included a nobel peace prize . last week , she made it into outer space . a nasa astrophysicist has named an asteroid after the teenage education activist from pakistan , who was gravely wounded by a pakistani taliban gunman for promoting the right of girls'to go to school . it took a meticulous medical response to save her life more than two years ago . but malala recovered with no serious neurological damage to become a powerhouse for her cause . after reading her story , scientist amy mainzer , who also consults for pbs on a children 's educational science show , decided malala deserved to be immortalized . so , she attached her name to the heavens . thousands of asteroids swarm through the solar system mainly between mars and jupiter . mainzer , working at the jet propulsion laboratory , discovered asteroid 316201 in june 2010 , which gave her the right to name it . my postdoctoral fellow dr. carrie nugent brought to my attention the fact that although many asteroids have been named , very few have been named to honor the contributions of women ( and particularly women of color ) , ' mainzer wrote in a note to malala . mainzer gave it the name 316201 malala , or 2010 ml48 . malala 's asteroid circles the sun between mars and jupiter every five and half years , mainzer said . it is about 4 kilometers in diameter , and its surface is very dark , the color of printer toner . ' as a scientist , her support for malala 's work is logical . when girls around the world also get educations , it increases human potential . we desperately need the brainpower of all smart people to solve some of humanity 's most difficult problems , and we ca n't afford to reject half the population 's , ' mainzer wrote . | mainzer also works on educating children about science |
mainzer <tsp> ( cnn ) malala yousafzai 's stellar career has included a nobel peace prize . last week , she made it into outer space . a nasa astrophysicist has named an asteroid after the teenage education activist from pakistan , who was gravely wounded by a pakistani taliban gunman for promoting the right of girls'to go to school . it took a meticulous medical response to save her life more than two years ago . but malala recovered with no serious neurological damage to become a powerhouse for her cause . after reading her story , scientist amy mainzer , who also consults for pbs on a children 's educational science show , decided malala deserved to be immortalized . so , she attached her name to the heavens . thousands of asteroids swarm through the solar system mainly between mars and jupiter . mainzer , working at the jet propulsion laboratory , discovered asteroid 316201 in june 2010 , which gave her the right to name it . my postdoctoral fellow dr. carrie nugent brought to my attention the fact that although many asteroids have been named , very few have been named to honor the contributions of women ( and particularly women of color ) , ' mainzer wrote in a note to malala . mainzer gave it the name 316201 malala , or 2010 ml48 . malala 's asteroid circles the sun between mars and jupiter every five and half years , mainzer said . it is about 4 kilometers in diameter , and its surface is very dark , the color of printer toner . ' as a scientist , her support for malala 's work is logical . when girls around the world also get educations , it increases human potential . we desperately need the brainpower of all smart people to solve some of humanity 's most difficult problems , and we ca n't afford to reject half the population 's , ' mainzer wrote . | astrophysicist amy mainzer says she was was touched by malala 's story of determination |
malala <tsp> ( cnn ) malala yousafzai 's stellar career has included a nobel peace prize . last week , she made it into outer space . a nasa astrophysicist has named an asteroid after the teenage education activist from pakistan , who was gravely wounded by a pakistani taliban gunman for promoting the right of girls'to go to school . it took a meticulous medical response to save her life more than two years ago . but malala recovered with no serious neurological damage to become a powerhouse for her cause . after reading her story , scientist amy mainzer , who also consults for pbs on a children 's educational science show , decided malala deserved to be immortalized . so , she attached her name to the heavens . thousands of asteroids swarm through the solar system mainly between mars and jupiter . mainzer , working at the jet propulsion laboratory , discovered asteroid 316201 in june 2010 , which gave her the right to name it . my postdoctoral fellow dr. carrie nugent brought to my attention the fact that although many asteroids have been named , very few have been named to honor the contributions of women ( and particularly women of color ) , ' mainzer wrote in a note to malala . mainzer gave it the name 316201 malala , or 2010 ml48 . malala 's asteroid circles the sun between mars and jupiter every five and half years , mainzer said . it is about 4 kilometers in diameter , and its surface is very dark , the color of printer toner . ' as a scientist , her support for malala 's work is logical . when girls around the world also get educations , it increases human potential . we desperately need the brainpower of all smart people to solve some of humanity 's most difficult problems , and we ca n't afford to reject half the population 's , ' mainzer wrote . | astrophysicist amy mainzer says she was was touched by malala 's story of determination |
europe <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the arrest of drug kingpin joaquin el chapo ' guzman is a monumental moment in the world 's war on drugs . that he was hiding in plain sight -- in a beach resort hotel in the mexican riviera town of mazatlan -- is as dramatic a twist in the manhunt for guzman as is the narrative behind his life and his control of the international sinaloa drug cartel . guzman captured after years on the run here are three reasons why the arrest of guzman -- now being held by mexican authorities and sought for extradition by u.s. authorities -- matters so much . 1 . his legend chicago declared him and his use of the city as a drug-dealing hub as public enemy no . 1 , joining bygone gangster al capone in that distinction . west point 's combating terrorism center devoted a report to the international presence of guzman and his drug trafficking . perhaps most importantly , el chapo is synonymous with narco culture and its lurid glorification . guzman , 56 , is the drug kingpin extraordinaire . el chapo , which means shorty ' in spanish , inspires american rap songs and a genre of mexican ballads called narcocorridos . all i wan na be is el chapo , three billion dollars in pesos ' is part of the chorus to a 2012 rap by gucci mane . maybe the most potent message of el chapo 's arrest is how it undermines his most audacious myth -- that he could never be caught again , unfindable in mexico 's back country . guzman had been caught once before by mexican authorities , in 2001 , but he escaped from a high-security mexican prison . lore holds that he slipped out of the prison by hiding in a laundry basket . he kind of plays up to it . all these guys do , ' scott stewart , vice president at stratfor , a global intelligence firm , said about the el chapo legends . it just kind of adds to the whole mythology -- kind of like the old pulp western books they used to write about these outlaws . ' guzman had eluded authorities since the 2001 prison break because he cultivated an old-school mafia style of bribing officials at every level of government throughout latin america , officials said . 2 . one of the world 's most wanted guzman 's drug operation is believed to have penetrated not just all of the americas , but europe , australia and west africa as well , according to the west point report . the united states remains the most important demand market for sinaloa federation products†” marijuana , cocaine , and methamphetamines . the european union and australia , however , have proven attractive due to the economics of price elasticity and their distance from the supply source , ' according to the report . but authorities have been mounting pressure on guzman 's sinaloa cartel in recent months . his lieutenants have been killed or captured by mexican authorities . earlier police operations yielded a trove of intelligence , including cell phone and other data , a u.s. law enforcement official said . that helped mexican authorities and u.s. drug enforcement administration agents hunting guzman gain confidence in recent weeks that they could arrest him . although it 's a ridiculous phrase , the world 's most wanted drug lord is accurate , ' said malcom beith , author of the last narco , ' which is about mexico 's drug war . there 's tons of other drug lords around , but i think the sinaloa cartel , given its growth , given its influence hemispheric and otherwise , i think that puts him on the top . ' phil jordan , who spent three decades with the dea and headed the agency 's el paso intelligence center , also characterized guzman in superlatives . when you arrest the most powerful man in the americas and in mexico , if you talk to any cartel member , they 'll say that he 's more powerful than mexican president pena nieto , ' jordan said . this would be a significant blow to the overall operations not only in the americas , but chapo guzman had expanded to europe . he was all over the place . ' even forbes magazine put guzman among its world 's most powerful people since 2009 . forbes estimated his fortune at more than $ 1 billion . 3 . u.s. indictments guzman 's arrest has re-energized mexican and u.s. lawmen who spent years tracking his cartel and yet unable to capture him -- until now . the united states does n't want to see guzman escape again . that 's why they are eager to see him extradited to the united states as soon as possible , where he is named in multiple federal drug indictments and has been on the dea 's most-wanted list . it is a significant arrest , provided he gets extradited immediately to the united states , ' jordan told cnn . if he does not get extradited , then he will be allowed to escape within a period of time . ' added one u.s. official : now comes the hard part . ' that official was referring to guzman 's extradition to the united states . the legend of'el chapo ' | drug dealing in australia , europe , africa made him one of the world 's most wanted |
medvedev <tsp> new delhi , india ( cnn ) -- close allies since the soviet days , india and russia marked the first decade of their strategic partnership with a slew of agreements at their annual summit tuesday . in their talks , visiting russian president dmitry medvedev and indian prime minister manmohan singh reviewed cooperation in military , technical , energy , high-technology and telecommunications . both pledged to boost two-way trade , an area they accept as a weak part of their multi-faceted relationship . the two countries aim to achieve a trade target of $ 20 billion by 2015 , up from about $ 7.5 billion last year , a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting between the russian and indian leaders noted . the sides recognized that considerable potential exists for mutually beneficial investments by the russian federation and india in the privatization programs and programs aimed at fostering technological innovation in their respective economies , ' it read . india and russia share a robust collaboration in defense , with moscow supplying more than 60 percent of military hardware to new delhi . apart from 11 agreements the two countries signed during the medvedev-singh news conference , a contract for joint design and development of fifth-generation fighter aircraft was also being concluded on the margins of the current summit , officials say . india 's hindustan aeronautics limited and russia 's sukhoi design bureau and rosoboronexport will be involved in the proposed project , according to the external affairs ministry . other pacts the two nations reached sought greater collaboration in a range of fields , such as information technology , hydrocarbons and in the vital nuclear energy sector . at present , two nuclear power plants are being built in southern india with russian assistance . talks , singh noted , were on for the construction of additional russian-designed reactors . both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in bilateral cooperation in the nuclear-energy sector and looked forward to further broadening and strengthening ties in this area , ' the joint statement said . india attaches a huge priority to its ties with russia , which it calls a time-tested friend . russia is a time-tested friend of india that has stood by us in our times of need in the past . ours is a special and privileged strategic partnership . it is a partnership that has and will continue to develop independent of our relations with other countries , ' singh remarked . the two nations forged a strategic partnership in 2000 and have since been holding summits every year . our talks have been comprehensive and result oriented . we have signed several important agreements covering a large number of sectors . this reflects our mutual desire to bring our cooperation in other areas at par with our traditionally strong cooperation in the defense and nuclear fields , ' singh told reporters . medvedev 's trip to new delhi follows similar trade-promoting visits by u.s. president barack obama , france 's nicolas sarkozy and chinese premier wen jiabao . | talks between medvedev and singh cover a range of issues |
peshawar <tsp> peshawar , pakistan ( cnn ) -- at least 12 people have been killed in a multiple bombing tuesday afternoon at a movie theater in pakistan 's northwestern city of peshawar , a hospital official said . syed jamil shah , press officer for the city 's lady reading hospital , said at least 17 others were injured . a senior peshawar police officer , ijaz ahmed , said three hand grenades hit the shama cinema , which is infamous in the city for showing pornographic movies . one blast was inside the cinema , and the other two outside , he told reporters . the movie theater had received security threats , and police had advised that metal detectors should be set up outside it . this advice was not heeded , ahmed said . a witness , waliur rehman , told cnn he was watching a film when the blast rocked the building . people started running outside . there was a cloud of dust and smoke , ' he said . the first blast was followed by another -- and then another -- explosion . ' no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack . shahidullah shahid , spokesman for the pakistan taliban , also known as tehreek e taliban pakistan , denied any involvement by the militant group . peshawar , the capital city of khyber pakhtunkhwa province in northwest pakistan , borders the tribal districts that are a stronghold of the pakistan taliban . a week ago a suicide bomber blew himself up near a hotel restaurant in peshawar , killing nine people and injuring more than 30 others , according to local officials . journalist zahir shah sherazi reported from peshawar , and laura smith-spark wrote in london . cnn 's sophia saifi contributed to this report from islamabad , pakistan . | at least 12 people have died in the attack , a peshawar hospital representative says |
haiti <tsp> port-au-prince , haiti ( cnn ) -- a few days ago we observed the two-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated haiti , killing an estimated 220,000 people , injuring 300,000 , and leaving more than 1 million homeless . since that day , blame for haiti 's acute vulnerability and subsequent slow recovery has been traded among the government , international donors and humanitarian organizations . but for haitians , placing blame is useless . even the day after the earthquake , beneath the rubble and dust , still lay the joy of our people -- our beloved haiti was still there , waiting to be rebuilt . today , while many bemoan the slow state of recovery , communities all over haiti are working hard , transforming the disaster into an opportunity . to be sure , there is much rebuilding work to be done , but strong haitian women are critical to the effort and leading the way . photos : haiti 's children , two years later yes , progress is slow . the statistics are staggering . more than 500,000 people are still living in tents in an estimated 758 camps . too many families are suffering without access to clean water and health care , and a devastating cholera outbreak has killed 6,700 haitians , with more getting sick every day . an estimated 70 % of the population do not have regular employment ; job opportunities remain very scarce . but two years is hardly enough time to rebuild a country that was hit so badly , and already so crippled . even before the earthquake , haiti was the poorest country in the americas , with almost 80 % living below the poverty line . but now , there are very visible signs of hope : nearly half of all earthquake rubble has been removed , for example , and some 430 kilometers ( 270 miles ) of roads have been rebuilt or repaired . for families and communities fractured by the earthquake , progress has been less visible . they have had to come together to rebuild lives and livelihoods , often in new and creative ways . children are going back to school and learning how to protect themselves against cholera , parents are creating small businesses and adapting to new farming methods , and community groups are developing systems to access basic services like clean water . these innovations and rebuilding strategies , which began as means of survival , are laying the groundwork for a new haiti . much of this groundwork is being laid locally , and by women . there are so many haitians who are eager to do more to help their communities ; they just need a small window of opportunity . there are many organizations helping to create those opportunities . oxfam alone has seen more than 1,600 women receive literacy and budget training , and small grants to start businesses to help support their families . in the rural area of nippes , farmers have developed 4,748 plots of land on which trees , crops , fruit , and livestock are raised together in order to maximize productivity and land use . local groups also led an effort to rebuild a workshop in the martissant neighborhood of greater port-au-prince to help more than 200 artisans restart their work as steel-craft and construction material workers . one amazing haitian is kenia lainã© , a young woman in the artibonite river valley of northern haiti . she is one of 4.5 million haitians who earn their living as small-scale farmers or part of the agricultural sector . kenia recently decided to try her hand at growing rice using a new technique called the system of rice intensification . sri uses less seed , less fertilizer , and less water , and grows more rice . so kenia found a landowner near where she lives who would allow her to experiment on a small , 100-square-meter ( 1,100-square-foot ) plot . the other farmers teased her when she transplanted her seedlings individually in rows , spaced farther apart , instead of in clumps of four or five , which would allow them to grow stronger roots and better resist pests and diseases . several weeks later , a heavy rain flattened the rice growing near kenia 's plot , but hers survived . by the end of october , kenia was expecting a strong harvest , and there is suddenly a lot of interest in sri in her community . there is now a pilot project to teach 135 farmers the sri system . esline belcombe , who lost her husband in the earthquake , lives in corail camp with her 2-year-old daughter , her mother , and a nephew . esline is the president of one of several water committees in corail , a large camp of 20,000 people , where oxfam has installed about 1.6 kilometers ( a mile ) of new underground piping to deliver clean water . she received training from oxfam to manage water and sanitation facilities in her area . her committee purchases water from a supplier and sells the water at designated kiosks , where camp residents are taught how to buy from safe sources . the profits are used to help the community buy more water and storage supplies . esline says the key to the committee 's success is managing its own system . she said , we want to form our own company to collect and remove rubbish , and then to employ young people who ca n't find work . this is our community now , and we should be responsible . i feel happy and proud to be involved in this work . ' two years later , as we commemorate the lives of family and friends lost , we begin a new chapter with much work ahead of us . for haitians to truly survive and build a stronger country , they must be empowered . resilience is not enough . resilience can become resignation -- and we should fight any resignation to conditions that are unacceptable for human life . citizens like kenia and esline are not victims ' of the earthquake . they make up a new haiti , an aspect of life that you may not see in many of the news stories about this second anniversary . but to us , they represent the promise of a vibrant haitian future . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of yolette etienne . | etienne : innovations empower citizens to not be resigned to bad conditions , to build new haiti |
etienne <tsp> port-au-prince , haiti ( cnn ) -- a few days ago we observed the two-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated haiti , killing an estimated 220,000 people , injuring 300,000 , and leaving more than 1 million homeless . since that day , blame for haiti 's acute vulnerability and subsequent slow recovery has been traded among the government , international donors and humanitarian organizations . but for haitians , placing blame is useless . even the day after the earthquake , beneath the rubble and dust , still lay the joy of our people -- our beloved haiti was still there , waiting to be rebuilt . today , while many bemoan the slow state of recovery , communities all over haiti are working hard , transforming the disaster into an opportunity . to be sure , there is much rebuilding work to be done , but strong haitian women are critical to the effort and leading the way . photos : haiti 's children , two years later yes , progress is slow . the statistics are staggering . more than 500,000 people are still living in tents in an estimated 758 camps . too many families are suffering without access to clean water and health care , and a devastating cholera outbreak has killed 6,700 haitians , with more getting sick every day . an estimated 70 % of the population do not have regular employment ; job opportunities remain very scarce . but two years is hardly enough time to rebuild a country that was hit so badly , and already so crippled . even before the earthquake , haiti was the poorest country in the americas , with almost 80 % living below the poverty line . but now , there are very visible signs of hope : nearly half of all earthquake rubble has been removed , for example , and some 430 kilometers ( 270 miles ) of roads have been rebuilt or repaired . for families and communities fractured by the earthquake , progress has been less visible . they have had to come together to rebuild lives and livelihoods , often in new and creative ways . children are going back to school and learning how to protect themselves against cholera , parents are creating small businesses and adapting to new farming methods , and community groups are developing systems to access basic services like clean water . these innovations and rebuilding strategies , which began as means of survival , are laying the groundwork for a new haiti . much of this groundwork is being laid locally , and by women . there are so many haitians who are eager to do more to help their communities ; they just need a small window of opportunity . there are many organizations helping to create those opportunities . oxfam alone has seen more than 1,600 women receive literacy and budget training , and small grants to start businesses to help support their families . in the rural area of nippes , farmers have developed 4,748 plots of land on which trees , crops , fruit , and livestock are raised together in order to maximize productivity and land use . local groups also led an effort to rebuild a workshop in the martissant neighborhood of greater port-au-prince to help more than 200 artisans restart their work as steel-craft and construction material workers . one amazing haitian is kenia lainã© , a young woman in the artibonite river valley of northern haiti . she is one of 4.5 million haitians who earn their living as small-scale farmers or part of the agricultural sector . kenia recently decided to try her hand at growing rice using a new technique called the system of rice intensification . sri uses less seed , less fertilizer , and less water , and grows more rice . so kenia found a landowner near where she lives who would allow her to experiment on a small , 100-square-meter ( 1,100-square-foot ) plot . the other farmers teased her when she transplanted her seedlings individually in rows , spaced farther apart , instead of in clumps of four or five , which would allow them to grow stronger roots and better resist pests and diseases . several weeks later , a heavy rain flattened the rice growing near kenia 's plot , but hers survived . by the end of october , kenia was expecting a strong harvest , and there is suddenly a lot of interest in sri in her community . there is now a pilot project to teach 135 farmers the sri system . esline belcombe , who lost her husband in the earthquake , lives in corail camp with her 2-year-old daughter , her mother , and a nephew . esline is the president of one of several water committees in corail , a large camp of 20,000 people , where oxfam has installed about 1.6 kilometers ( a mile ) of new underground piping to deliver clean water . she received training from oxfam to manage water and sanitation facilities in her area . her committee purchases water from a supplier and sells the water at designated kiosks , where camp residents are taught how to buy from safe sources . the profits are used to help the community buy more water and storage supplies . esline says the key to the committee 's success is managing its own system . she said , we want to form our own company to collect and remove rubbish , and then to employ young people who ca n't find work . this is our community now , and we should be responsible . i feel happy and proud to be involved in this work . ' two years later , as we commemorate the lives of family and friends lost , we begin a new chapter with much work ahead of us . for haitians to truly survive and build a stronger country , they must be empowered . resilience is not enough . resilience can become resignation -- and we should fight any resignation to conditions that are unacceptable for human life . citizens like kenia and esline are not victims ' of the earthquake . they make up a new haiti , an aspect of life that you may not see in many of the news stories about this second anniversary . but to us , they represent the promise of a vibrant haitian future . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of yolette etienne . | yolette etienne : haitians not blaming others for earthquake ruin , they 're working to rebuild |
etienne <tsp> port-au-prince , haiti ( cnn ) -- a few days ago we observed the two-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated haiti , killing an estimated 220,000 people , injuring 300,000 , and leaving more than 1 million homeless . since that day , blame for haiti 's acute vulnerability and subsequent slow recovery has been traded among the government , international donors and humanitarian organizations . but for haitians , placing blame is useless . even the day after the earthquake , beneath the rubble and dust , still lay the joy of our people -- our beloved haiti was still there , waiting to be rebuilt . today , while many bemoan the slow state of recovery , communities all over haiti are working hard , transforming the disaster into an opportunity . to be sure , there is much rebuilding work to be done , but strong haitian women are critical to the effort and leading the way . photos : haiti 's children , two years later yes , progress is slow . the statistics are staggering . more than 500,000 people are still living in tents in an estimated 758 camps . too many families are suffering without access to clean water and health care , and a devastating cholera outbreak has killed 6,700 haitians , with more getting sick every day . an estimated 70 % of the population do not have regular employment ; job opportunities remain very scarce . but two years is hardly enough time to rebuild a country that was hit so badly , and already so crippled . even before the earthquake , haiti was the poorest country in the americas , with almost 80 % living below the poverty line . but now , there are very visible signs of hope : nearly half of all earthquake rubble has been removed , for example , and some 430 kilometers ( 270 miles ) of roads have been rebuilt or repaired . for families and communities fractured by the earthquake , progress has been less visible . they have had to come together to rebuild lives and livelihoods , often in new and creative ways . children are going back to school and learning how to protect themselves against cholera , parents are creating small businesses and adapting to new farming methods , and community groups are developing systems to access basic services like clean water . these innovations and rebuilding strategies , which began as means of survival , are laying the groundwork for a new haiti . much of this groundwork is being laid locally , and by women . there are so many haitians who are eager to do more to help their communities ; they just need a small window of opportunity . there are many organizations helping to create those opportunities . oxfam alone has seen more than 1,600 women receive literacy and budget training , and small grants to start businesses to help support their families . in the rural area of nippes , farmers have developed 4,748 plots of land on which trees , crops , fruit , and livestock are raised together in order to maximize productivity and land use . local groups also led an effort to rebuild a workshop in the martissant neighborhood of greater port-au-prince to help more than 200 artisans restart their work as steel-craft and construction material workers . one amazing haitian is kenia lainã© , a young woman in the artibonite river valley of northern haiti . she is one of 4.5 million haitians who earn their living as small-scale farmers or part of the agricultural sector . kenia recently decided to try her hand at growing rice using a new technique called the system of rice intensification . sri uses less seed , less fertilizer , and less water , and grows more rice . so kenia found a landowner near where she lives who would allow her to experiment on a small , 100-square-meter ( 1,100-square-foot ) plot . the other farmers teased her when she transplanted her seedlings individually in rows , spaced farther apart , instead of in clumps of four or five , which would allow them to grow stronger roots and better resist pests and diseases . several weeks later , a heavy rain flattened the rice growing near kenia 's plot , but hers survived . by the end of october , kenia was expecting a strong harvest , and there is suddenly a lot of interest in sri in her community . there is now a pilot project to teach 135 farmers the sri system . esline belcombe , who lost her husband in the earthquake , lives in corail camp with her 2-year-old daughter , her mother , and a nephew . esline is the president of one of several water committees in corail , a large camp of 20,000 people , where oxfam has installed about 1.6 kilometers ( a mile ) of new underground piping to deliver clean water . she received training from oxfam to manage water and sanitation facilities in her area . her committee purchases water from a supplier and sells the water at designated kiosks , where camp residents are taught how to buy from safe sources . the profits are used to help the community buy more water and storage supplies . esline says the key to the committee 's success is managing its own system . she said , we want to form our own company to collect and remove rubbish , and then to employ young people who ca n't find work . this is our community now , and we should be responsible . i feel happy and proud to be involved in this work . ' two years later , as we commemorate the lives of family and friends lost , we begin a new chapter with much work ahead of us . for haitians to truly survive and build a stronger country , they must be empowered . resilience is not enough . resilience can become resignation -- and we should fight any resignation to conditions that are unacceptable for human life . citizens like kenia and esline are not victims ' of the earthquake . they make up a new haiti , an aspect of life that you may not see in many of the news stories about this second anniversary . but to us , they represent the promise of a vibrant haitian future . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of yolette etienne . | etienne : innovations empower citizens to not be resigned to bad conditions , to build new haiti |
fourth of july <tsp> ( cnn ) -- two people were killed and three others were in critical condition saturday when a truck carrying fireworks on north carolina 's outer banks exploded , officials said . smoke from the explosion of a truck carrying fireworks rises over ocracoke island , north carolina , saturday . jamie tunnell , hyde county spokeswoman , said the fireworks were to be used for the annual fourth of july show on ocracoke island , and the five people were members of the crew setting up the display . the truck exploded at the ocracoke island docks . one person was killed at the scene , while another died at a hospital from injuries sustained in the blast , tunnell said . emergency crews and firefighters arrived . tunnell said two volunteer firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation and exhaustion . joseph chestnut , 16 , was working at the ride the wind kayak-rental stand in ocracoke when he heard the explosion across the harbor . he thought a home under construction had collapsed , he told cnn 's ireport . ireport.com : smoke rises from explosion site ' i saw all these fireworks blowing up , ' he said . they were low , and i knew that something was wrong . ' watch images from the scene » ' it was just really scary . there 's never been an accident like that before that i 've seen here , ' chestnut added . the hatteras island ferry service was temporarily suspended , but had reopened by midday , and highway 12 was clear , she said . the island , which is part of the cape hatteras national seashore , can be reached only by ferry , private boat or plane . the fbi and the u.s. bureau of alcohol , tobacco , firearms and explosives were going to investigate on saturday , she said . | the five were to set up fourth of july show on ocracoke island in outer banks |
nasa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- maybe your mother told you it 's not polite to stare . it was n't safe either , nasa said , for those who looked at thursday 's partial solar eclipse . do n't stare , ' nasa said . even at maximum eclipse , a sliver of sun peeking out from behind the moon can still cause pain and eye damage . direct viewing should only be attempted with the aid of a safe solar filter . ' the show in the sky reached its height at 5:45 p.m . et , nasa said , meaning the eastern half of the country should have gotten a view before the backdrop of golden twilight hues . the moon clipped the sun and should have made it look like a fingernail as it set in the west for most of the country and canada . people living in the central time zone had the best view , nasa said . new england and hawaii will miss out on this one . the eclipse was expected to last for over two hours . protect your eyes nasa urged people viewing the eclipse to protect their eyes . nasa suggested some old tricks for viewing indirectly , like punching a hole in cardboard and projecting the light seeping through it onto a surface away from the sun . or letting a tree do the work for you : overlapping leaves create a myriad of natural little pinhole cameras , each one casting an image of the crescent-sun onto the ground beneath the canopy , ' nasa said . if you missed this one , the next solar eclipse over north america will occur in about three years -- and it will be a more dramatic and rare total eclipse . | nasa : protect your eyes with special filters or indirect methods when viewing any eclipse |
nasa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- maybe your mother told you it 's not polite to stare . it was n't safe either , nasa said , for those who looked at thursday 's partial solar eclipse . do n't stare , ' nasa said . even at maximum eclipse , a sliver of sun peeking out from behind the moon can still cause pain and eye damage . direct viewing should only be attempted with the aid of a safe solar filter . ' the show in the sky reached its height at 5:45 p.m . et , nasa said , meaning the eastern half of the country should have gotten a view before the backdrop of golden twilight hues . the moon clipped the sun and should have made it look like a fingernail as it set in the west for most of the country and canada . people living in the central time zone had the best view , nasa said . new england and hawaii will miss out on this one . the eclipse was expected to last for over two hours . protect your eyes nasa urged people viewing the eclipse to protect their eyes . nasa suggested some old tricks for viewing indirectly , like punching a hole in cardboard and projecting the light seeping through it onto a surface away from the sun . or letting a tree do the work for you : overlapping leaves create a myriad of natural little pinhole cameras , each one casting an image of the crescent-sun onto the ground beneath the canopy , ' nasa said . if you missed this one , the next solar eclipse over north america will occur in about three years -- and it will be a more dramatic and rare total eclipse . | people in the central time zone got the best view , nasa says |
bundesliga <tsp> ( cnn ) -- newly-crowned bundesliga champions borussia dortmund extended their unbeaten league run to 27 matches on saturday with a thumping 5-2 win against relegated kaiserslautern . paraguay striker lucas barrios scored a hat-trick with german teenager mario goetze and croatia midfielder ivan perisic adding the other two goals as dortmund chase down more league records . in attack , we were very good , but we did n't concentrate very well in defence . at the end , everything worked well and i am very pleased with the result , ' dortmund coach jurgen klopp said . his team have already set a new record for the longest unbeaten run in a german season and now have their sights set on overhauling bayern munich 's record points tally of 79 achieved twice in the 1970s . a win in the final match of the season against freiberg will see dortmund finished the season with 81 points . after beating real madrid in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the champions league semifinal on wednesday , bayern munich concluded the week with a 2-0 win at home to stuttgart . mario gomez and thomas mueller were on target for the bavarians who were playing their last game at the allianz arena before returning to play chelsea in the champions league final on may 19 . schalke will be joining dortmund and bayern in next season 's champions league draw after they beat hertha berlin 4-0 . two goals from dutch striker klaas-jan huntelaar helped secure third spot in the league . defeat leaves hertha still battling to avoid automatic relegation with 16th-placed cologne who also lost on saturday , going down 4-1 at freiburg . a goalless draw for moenchengladbach against augsburg ensures fourth place and a champions league play-off place . stefan kiessling scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for fifth-placed bayer leverkusen over hanover , while wolfsburg were 3-1 winners over werder bremen . | jurgen klopp 's team now a win away from beating bayern munich 's bundesliga points tally record |
world war ii <tsp> ( cnn ) -- former gunsmoke ' actor james arness , who played marshal matt dillon in the western tv series for 20 years , died friday from natural causes , according to his website . he was 88 . over the two decades of gunsmoke ' episodes from 1955 to 1975 , arness worked with hundreds of actors , some of them just up-and-comers such as harrison ford , burt reynolds and charles bronson . he also worked with bette davis . arness left behind a letter to his fans , which was posted on his website after his death : ' i had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends . the best part of my life was my family , especially my wife , janet . many of you met her at dodge city so you understand what a special person she is , ' arness wrote . i wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of'gunsmoke ,' the thing ,' how the west was won'and all the other fun projects i was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of . i had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years . ew : why arness was greatest tv western lawman ' i was honored to have served in the army for my country . i was at anzio during wwii and it makes you realize how very precious life is , ' arness wrote . thank you again for all the many letters , cards , emails and gifts we received from you over the years . you are and always have been truly appreciated , ' he concluded . born in minneapolis , minnesota , on may 26 , 1923 , arness later served in the army and was sent in 1944 to anzio , the italian beach that the army said was the setting for the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind . arness was wounded in his right leg and received the purple heart . according to an army website , during the four months of the anzio campaign , the allied vi corps experienced more than over 29,200 combat casualties ( 4,400 killed , 18,000 wounded , and 6,800 prisoners or missing ) and 37,000 noncombat casualties . german combat losses were estimated at 27,500 ( 5,500 killed , 17,500 wounded , and 4,500 prisoners or missing ) , according to the army . arness'acting debut was in a movie called the farmer 's daughter ' opposite loretta young . he worked for john wayne 's film production company batjac and made movies with wayne including islands in the sky , ' hondo , ' the sea chase ' and big jim mclain . ' arness also acted in the 1951 sci-fi classic the thing , ' and his 6-foot-7 height made the creature more believable , according to his website . after gunsmoke , ' arness continued acting in television in the mini-series how the west was won ' in 1978-79 and mclain 's law ' in 1981-82 . in addition to his wife , arness is survived by two sons and six grandchildren . the services will be private . | arness was a world war ii hero who received the purple heart |
purple heart <tsp> ( cnn ) -- former gunsmoke ' actor james arness , who played marshal matt dillon in the western tv series for 20 years , died friday from natural causes , according to his website . he was 88 . over the two decades of gunsmoke ' episodes from 1955 to 1975 , arness worked with hundreds of actors , some of them just up-and-comers such as harrison ford , burt reynolds and charles bronson . he also worked with bette davis . arness left behind a letter to his fans , which was posted on his website after his death : ' i had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends . the best part of my life was my family , especially my wife , janet . many of you met her at dodge city so you understand what a special person she is , ' arness wrote . i wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of'gunsmoke ,' the thing ,' how the west was won'and all the other fun projects i was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of . i had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years . ew : why arness was greatest tv western lawman ' i was honored to have served in the army for my country . i was at anzio during wwii and it makes you realize how very precious life is , ' arness wrote . thank you again for all the many letters , cards , emails and gifts we received from you over the years . you are and always have been truly appreciated , ' he concluded . born in minneapolis , minnesota , on may 26 , 1923 , arness later served in the army and was sent in 1944 to anzio , the italian beach that the army said was the setting for the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind . arness was wounded in his right leg and received the purple heart . according to an army website , during the four months of the anzio campaign , the allied vi corps experienced more than over 29,200 combat casualties ( 4,400 killed , 18,000 wounded , and 6,800 prisoners or missing ) and 37,000 noncombat casualties . german combat losses were estimated at 27,500 ( 5,500 killed , 17,500 wounded , and 4,500 prisoners or missing ) , according to the army . arness'acting debut was in a movie called the farmer 's daughter ' opposite loretta young . he worked for john wayne 's film production company batjac and made movies with wayne including islands in the sky , ' hondo , ' the sea chase ' and big jim mclain . ' arness also acted in the 1951 sci-fi classic the thing , ' and his 6-foot-7 height made the creature more believable , according to his website . after gunsmoke , ' arness continued acting in television in the mini-series how the west was won ' in 1978-79 and mclain 's law ' in 1981-82 . in addition to his wife , arness is survived by two sons and six grandchildren . the services will be private . | arness was a world war ii hero who received the purple heart |
bolivia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- fifa has launched an investigation into two international friendly matches held in turkey last week that yielded seven penalties amid claims of heavy betting patterns . bolivia beat latvia 2-1 in the resort of antalya hours before bulgaria and estonia played out a 2-2 draw on the same ground . all the goals scored came from the penalty spot . we can confirm that fifa has requested the match report from the federations , ' a fifa spokesperson told cnn . at the moment we do n't have much more information . we can only say we have started an investigation and we require the reports from all federations . ' spokesman mihkel uiboleht said last thursday that his estonian football association had been informed about possible manipulation ' after the matches . the friendly was organized by an agency with whom we will not work any more , ' he said in quotes reported by the uk press association . we received information of possible manipulation even before the game as the same agency also organized the match between latvia and bolivia and there was the same scenario there . ' | the matches , bolivia versus latvia and bulgaria-estonia , produced seven penalties |
reeves <tsp> curtis reeves jr. , the man charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting a man inside a florida movie theater in january , was released from a florida jail on $ 150,000 bond friday . reeves had been held in the pasco county jail without bond since he shot and killed 43-year-old navy veteran chad oulson after a confrontation over oulson 's text messaging inside a movie theater in the tampa suburb of wesley chapel . an appeals court ruled thursday that the record suggests no special circumstances or other factors that would justify a reasoned discretionary decision to deny pretrial release . ' on friday , judge pat siracusa -- who wrote in his ruling that the court was hesitant to announce in open court ... the specific enumeration of reasons to deny bond , ' -- adopted the appeals court ruling . siracusa 's bond conditions stipulate that the 71-year-old reeves is allowed to leave his home only to attend church , court dates , medical appointments , and to go to the grocery store . the former police officer must also surrender all firearms in his home to either the pasco sheriff 's office or to his lawyer , richard escobar , ' according to the order . escobar said reeves is a wonderful family man ' and a church-going man ' who is coming home to resume his life and help prepare his defense . ' a spokesman for oulson 's wife said the news was a difficult pill to swallow . ' he ripped her family apart and now he can be home , be in his own bed , and see his children and grandchildren , ' said t.j. grimaldi , nicole oulson 's attorney . it is unbelievably unfair . ' heated argument escalated the hearing in february that resulted in reeves initially being denied bond served almost as a mini-trial . over 12 hours of testimony was heard over two days from witnesses who had also gone to see lone survivor ' that day . one patron , charles cummings , testified he overheard reeves and oulson talking , and at one point , the latter said , i 'm just texting my 2-year-old daughter . ' soon after that , a very agitated ' reeves left the theater , then returned a few minutes later . at that point , a fairly calm oulson asked aloud whether he could check a voice mail from his daughter 's babysitter , according to mark douglas turner , a retired air force veteran . the situation devolved after more words were exchanged . alan hamilton , an off-duty sumter county sheriff 's corporal , said he heard oulson say , i am trying to text my f * * king daughter , if you do n't mind . ' popcorn flew in reeves'direction soon after . and almost immediately , ' recalled turner , who said oulson threw the bag , the gun comes out and there are shots fired . ' escobar said friday that reeves used the law of self-defense to preserve his life just like every citizen has the right to do , ' and described oulson 's conduct in the theater as violent . but grimaldi warned friday that with reeves back on the street , it could happen again . reeves is an absolute danger to society , ' said grimaldi . he went from throwing popcorn in someone 's face to murdering someone . this could happen to someone else . ' witness describes shooting | reeves shot and killed chad oulson in january after an argument over text messaging |
reeves <tsp> curtis reeves jr. , the man charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting a man inside a florida movie theater in january , was released from a florida jail on $ 150,000 bond friday . reeves had been held in the pasco county jail without bond since he shot and killed 43-year-old navy veteran chad oulson after a confrontation over oulson 's text messaging inside a movie theater in the tampa suburb of wesley chapel . an appeals court ruled thursday that the record suggests no special circumstances or other factors that would justify a reasoned discretionary decision to deny pretrial release . ' on friday , judge pat siracusa -- who wrote in his ruling that the court was hesitant to announce in open court ... the specific enumeration of reasons to deny bond , ' -- adopted the appeals court ruling . siracusa 's bond conditions stipulate that the 71-year-old reeves is allowed to leave his home only to attend church , court dates , medical appointments , and to go to the grocery store . the former police officer must also surrender all firearms in his home to either the pasco sheriff 's office or to his lawyer , richard escobar , ' according to the order . escobar said reeves is a wonderful family man ' and a church-going man ' who is coming home to resume his life and help prepare his defense . ' a spokesman for oulson 's wife said the news was a difficult pill to swallow . ' he ripped her family apart and now he can be home , be in his own bed , and see his children and grandchildren , ' said t.j. grimaldi , nicole oulson 's attorney . it is unbelievably unfair . ' heated argument escalated the hearing in february that resulted in reeves initially being denied bond served almost as a mini-trial . over 12 hours of testimony was heard over two days from witnesses who had also gone to see lone survivor ' that day . one patron , charles cummings , testified he overheard reeves and oulson talking , and at one point , the latter said , i 'm just texting my 2-year-old daughter . ' soon after that , a very agitated ' reeves left the theater , then returned a few minutes later . at that point , a fairly calm oulson asked aloud whether he could check a voice mail from his daughter 's babysitter , according to mark douglas turner , a retired air force veteran . the situation devolved after more words were exchanged . alan hamilton , an off-duty sumter county sheriff 's corporal , said he heard oulson say , i am trying to text my f * * king daughter , if you do n't mind . ' popcorn flew in reeves'direction soon after . and almost immediately , ' recalled turner , who said oulson threw the bag , the gun comes out and there are shots fired . ' escobar said friday that reeves used the law of self-defense to preserve his life just like every citizen has the right to do , ' and described oulson 's conduct in the theater as violent . but grimaldi warned friday that with reeves back on the street , it could happen again . reeves is an absolute danger to society , ' said grimaldi . he went from throwing popcorn in someone 's face to murdering someone . this could happen to someone else . ' witness describes shooting | curtis reeves jr. was released on $ 150k bond friday |
reeves <tsp> curtis reeves jr. , the man charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting a man inside a florida movie theater in january , was released from a florida jail on $ 150,000 bond friday . reeves had been held in the pasco county jail without bond since he shot and killed 43-year-old navy veteran chad oulson after a confrontation over oulson 's text messaging inside a movie theater in the tampa suburb of wesley chapel . an appeals court ruled thursday that the record suggests no special circumstances or other factors that would justify a reasoned discretionary decision to deny pretrial release . ' on friday , judge pat siracusa -- who wrote in his ruling that the court was hesitant to announce in open court ... the specific enumeration of reasons to deny bond , ' -- adopted the appeals court ruling . siracusa 's bond conditions stipulate that the 71-year-old reeves is allowed to leave his home only to attend church , court dates , medical appointments , and to go to the grocery store . the former police officer must also surrender all firearms in his home to either the pasco sheriff 's office or to his lawyer , richard escobar , ' according to the order . escobar said reeves is a wonderful family man ' and a church-going man ' who is coming home to resume his life and help prepare his defense . ' a spokesman for oulson 's wife said the news was a difficult pill to swallow . ' he ripped her family apart and now he can be home , be in his own bed , and see his children and grandchildren , ' said t.j. grimaldi , nicole oulson 's attorney . it is unbelievably unfair . ' heated argument escalated the hearing in february that resulted in reeves initially being denied bond served almost as a mini-trial . over 12 hours of testimony was heard over two days from witnesses who had also gone to see lone survivor ' that day . one patron , charles cummings , testified he overheard reeves and oulson talking , and at one point , the latter said , i 'm just texting my 2-year-old daughter . ' soon after that , a very agitated ' reeves left the theater , then returned a few minutes later . at that point , a fairly calm oulson asked aloud whether he could check a voice mail from his daughter 's babysitter , according to mark douglas turner , a retired air force veteran . the situation devolved after more words were exchanged . alan hamilton , an off-duty sumter county sheriff 's corporal , said he heard oulson say , i am trying to text my f * * king daughter , if you do n't mind . ' popcorn flew in reeves'direction soon after . and almost immediately , ' recalled turner , who said oulson threw the bag , the gun comes out and there are shots fired . ' escobar said friday that reeves used the law of self-defense to preserve his life just like every citizen has the right to do , ' and described oulson 's conduct in the theater as violent . but grimaldi warned friday that with reeves back on the street , it could happen again . reeves is an absolute danger to society , ' said grimaldi . he went from throwing popcorn in someone 's face to murdering someone . this could happen to someone else . ' witness describes shooting | reeves'lawyer says his client acted in self-defense |
thompson <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a man authorities want to question in the slaying of a 7-year-old girl , whose body was dumped in a landfill , appeared in a florida court wednesday on child pornography charges after being extradited from mississippi . jarred harrell , 24 , faces 29 counts of possession of child pornography in clay county , florida . clay county sheriff rick beseler has said harrell is also sought for questioning in the abduction and murder of somer thompson , but has not said why . harrell was arrested in meridian , mississippi , by federal agents earlier this month , and florida gov . charlie crist asked mississippi gov . haley barbour to extradite him . the arrest followed a search of harrell 's residence , clay county authorities said . somer thompson was last seen in the clay county town of orange park on october 19 . her body was found in a landfill in folkston , georgia , about 55 miles north of there . authorities have not said how she was killed . somer 's 10-year-old sister told police that somer had been in a fight with another girl at school earlier that day and that she brought up the subject while she and her brother walked somer home from school . somer ran off , apparently upset . the sister said she lost sight of somer in a group of other children leaving the school , according to a police report . police said in october that witnesses including several children reported seeing her that day on a sidewalk in front of a vacant house that was being renovated following a fire . at wednesday 's hearing , a judge continued harrell 's $ 1 million bond . | thompson was abducted in october ; her body was found in a georgia landfill |
thompson <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a man authorities want to question in the slaying of a 7-year-old girl , whose body was dumped in a landfill , appeared in a florida court wednesday on child pornography charges after being extradited from mississippi . jarred harrell , 24 , faces 29 counts of possession of child pornography in clay county , florida . clay county sheriff rick beseler has said harrell is also sought for questioning in the abduction and murder of somer thompson , but has not said why . harrell was arrested in meridian , mississippi , by federal agents earlier this month , and florida gov . charlie crist asked mississippi gov . haley barbour to extradite him . the arrest followed a search of harrell 's residence , clay county authorities said . somer thompson was last seen in the clay county town of orange park on october 19 . her body was found in a landfill in folkston , georgia , about 55 miles north of there . authorities have not said how she was killed . somer 's 10-year-old sister told police that somer had been in a fight with another girl at school earlier that day and that she brought up the subject while she and her brother walked somer home from school . somer ran off , apparently upset . the sister said she lost sight of somer in a group of other children leaving the school , according to a police report . police said in october that witnesses including several children reported seeing her that day on a sidewalk in front of a vacant house that was being renovated following a fire . at wednesday 's hearing , a judge continued harrell 's $ 1 million bond . | police want to question him the death of somer thompson , 7 |
halloween party <tsp> ( instyle ) -- need some halloween costume inspiration ? see how your favorite celebrities celebrate the most frightful night of the year : kim kardashian ' poisonous ! ! ! ' the reality star tweeted of her poison ivy outfit . stacy keibler with jewelry by graziela and dana rebecca designs , keibler looked boo-tiful as the host of a halloween masquerade at the hyde bellagio in las vegas . christina aguilera christina aguilera toted boyfriend matthew rutler as the knight to her queen for their festivities in los angeles . alyson hannigan the actress played the role of a scarecrow , while daughter satyana dressed as a pumpkin . halloween 2012 : best celebrity-inspired halloween costumes annalynne mccord the actress channeled the victorian era to host the haunted seduction halloween party held at pure nightclub in las vegas . michelle trachtenberg the actress brought tim burton 's blue girl with wine ' piece of artwork to life in new york . halloween 2012 : cupcakes from the bakeries stars love fergie with teddy bear , trophy , sash , and tiara in hand , the singer played the perfect toddler beauty queen at heidi klum 's halloween bash at ph-d at dream downtown in new york . dita von teese the burlesque star pulled a piece out of her closet for maroon 5 's hollywood halloween . last minute decision to go out for halloween ... scraping through my wardrobe for something that resembles a costume . no problem ! ' she tweeted of her emergency costume . leona lewis the singer represented a tragic pageant queen , sash and all . lauren conrad the reality-star-turned-fashion-designer reworked a cute red and white polka dot dress into a minnie mouse costume . miranda kerr the victoria 's secret angel stepped into the ring at catch rooftop in new york city to host a bash as a circus ringmaster . see 51 more celebrities in halloween costumes ! get a free trial issue of instyle - click here ! copyright © 2011 time inc. all rights reserved . | annalynne mccord channeled the victorian era to host a halloween party in las vegas |
musharraf <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- former pakistani president pervez musharraf pledged in a speech sunday to return to his country later this month , despite word from authorities that he will be arrested when he does so . i am coming , pakistan , ' musharraf told thousands of supporters via video link in the southern city of karachi . attempts have been made to scare me , but i am not afraid of anything . ' he pledged to return between january 27 and 30 . when he does , pakistani officials said , musharraf will be arrested in connection with the 2007 assassination of former prime minister benazir bhutto . chaudhry zulfiqar ali , a special public prosecutor in the assassination case , said a rawalpindi court has already issued an arrest warrant for musharraf . they are bound to execute the order unless a higher court sets aside the orders , ' ali said , adding that musharraf is accused of conspiring in the assassination . musharraf 's attorney , chaudry faisal , said the threat of arrest is politically motivated and has no legal bearing . the warrant is being challenged in court , the attorney said . he described the claim that musharraf could be arrested at any time upon return as absurd . ' the former president said sunday that he will return even at the risk of his life . speaking to cnn after addressing the crowd in karachi , musharraf said he had declined to provide a specific date because of security concerns . he spoke about the possibility of arrest , but said he expects he will be fine , so long as the judiciary plays its just role , and there are no interruptions . ' there is a vacuum in pakistan of trustworthy leaders , which is being filled by others . to exploit this vacuum , i have to be back now , ' musharraf said . he described his support as scattered , and said he needs to build it again from the ground up . this is a do-or-die moment for me and my party . i need to muster all the support i can , ' he said . musharraf , who resigned in 2008 , is expected to fly into pakistan from the united arab emirates later this month , accompanied by up to 500 supporters , said jawed siddiqi , spokesman for the former president 's all pakistan muslim league party . president musharraf told me that although the possibility of arrest is there -- there is no way of knowing what will happen , and how dangerous the situation is , until one jumps into the situation head first , ' he said . elections are set to take place in pakistan next year ; musharraf intends to run . on sunday , he told pakistanis that other politicians have failed leading the country , but i succeeded 100 % . ' when i took charge of the country , it was surrounded in huge problems , ' he said . ... today , we have to decide whether we need change or we need the same faces . ' terrorism in pakistan , he said , is at its peak . we are alone in the world . ' he said he restored pakistan 's economic development , increased its global standing and strengthened the armed forces . musharraf resigned in 2008 as the country 's ruling coalition began taking steps to impeach him . he was succeeded by asif zardari , bhutto 's widower . in 2010 , the united nations released a report that said musharraf 's government had failed to protect bhutto before her 2007 assassination . musharraf has rejected such accusations , saying that bhutto had police protection and took unnecessary risks . bhutto 's assassination turned public opinion strongly against musharraf in 2008 and led to his resignation and self-exile in london . in 2010 , musharraf said the timing of his return to pakistan would depend on the environment there . my going back is dependent , certainly , on an environment to be created in pakistan and also , i would say , with certainty , that whenever the signs of the next election comes up , i will be there in pakistan , ' he said . cnn 's aliza kassim , shaan khan and journalist wajahat s. khan contributed to this report . | musharraf plans to return to his home country sometime between january 27 and 30 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.