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paladino <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a day after saying homosexuality is not an equally valid or successful option , ' new york gubernatorial candidate carl paladino denied being anti-gay monday but said it was disgusting ' that his opponent took his children to a gay pride parade . i 've been to one ( parade ) in toronto . i saw the men in their little speedos , gyrating on each other . i think that 's disgusting . and any father who would take his children to such things , is not really thinking of the fatherly responsibilities -- is more interested in politics , ' paladino told cnn at the columbus day parade in new york city . andrew cuomo , the new york attorney general and paladino 's democratic opponent , shot back later monday : he 's probably the last person i 'll take advice from ... on how to raise my daughters . ' paladino drew fire for a remark he made to an orthodox jewish group on sunday , in which he said he does n't want children to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option ( compared with heterosexuality ) ... it is n't . ' cuomo criticized his remarks sunday , as did an advocate for gays and lesbians and an organization for gay and lesbian republicans . paladino defended that remark monday , telling both today ' and abc 's good morning america ' that he was referring to the difficult path homosexuals face because of discrimination . it 's a very , very ugly experience for those who are discriminated against , ' he told today , ' adding that he has a nephew who is homosexual and also has homosexuals working for him . it 's terrible , and it should n't be . society should be more accepting of it . ' when i talk about issues such as this , i talk from my heart , ' he told nbc , and i expect that the press will properly interpret my remarks . if they do n't interpret my remarks correctly ... that 's wrong . ' my nephew is a wonderful boy and he 's gay , ' he told good morning america . ' i see the difficulty he suffers with every day with discriminatory people . ' paladino 's nephew , jeffrey hannon , a member of his campaign staff , declined to comment when contacted by cnn early monday . asked whether he believes homosexuality is a choice , paladino said , i 've had difficulty with that . my nephew tells me he did n't have that choice , and i believe it 's a very , very difficult life for a young person . i believe that young people should not necessarily be exposed to that without some really , really mature background first so they can learn to deal with it . it 's a very difficult thing , and i sensitize with it totally . ' he said his sunday remarks were taken out of context . a prepared version of his remarks , obtained by cnn from new york affiliate ny1 , contained two lines that paladino did not deliver . those lines said , there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual . that is not how god created us . ' paladino emphasized in a statement sunday night that he did not include those lines when he delivered his remarks , and said monday he had crossed them out from his prepared remarks . there was a couple lines in there that i deleted and never spoke , purposefully , because i did n't want to , ' he told cnn . it was unclear , however , how the lines got into his prepared statements . paladino at first suggested to today ' that the lines were written by members of the jewish group he was speaking to , although he later said he was n't sure whether they originated with a group member or one of his staff . he told good morning america ' he had dictated in general terms his remarks to a staffer who put the lines in his remarks . paladino told cnn he did n't know who wrote the remarks . somebody wrote them and gave them to our staff as their suggested position on something , ' he said . in his sunday statement , paladino said , apparently a few reporters relied upon suggested remarks distributed by my hosts at the synagogue in williamsburg after my departure , not the actual statement i made . ' the written remarks given to reporters were identical to paladino 's spoken comments other than the two sentences in question . paladino on monday denied being homophobic . i am 100 percent in favor of all gay rights and always have been . there 's one reservation . i do n't think they should be married , ' he told cnn . he told nbc he would recruit homosexuals to serve in key roles in his government if he is elected . paladino 's monday remarks came the same day new york police announced the arrest of an ninth suspect in a series of brutal , anti-gay hate crimes against four men . the incident in early october involved three victims being held against their will by as many as nine assailants who beat them in a vacant apartment and sodomized two of them , police said . a fourth victim was beaten and robbed in connection with the attacks . do n't misquote me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way , ' paladino said sunday . that would be a dastardly lie -- my approach is live and let live . ' i just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family , ' he said . asked on monday whether the timing of his remark was poor , given the incident , paladino said no . i think my comments were directed at just the confusion that people have had over this issue , ' he said . paladino also criticized cuomo for marching in new york 's gay pride parade in june . that 's not the example that we should be showing the children and certainly not in our schools , ' he said . asked about paladino 's comments later monday , cuomo called them cynical and divisive . they were reckless in light of recent violence that we 've had , ' cuomo said . they were divisive , they were the worst cynical politics trying to pit groups against one another . ' new york celebrates our diversity ' with festivities such as the columbus day parade and the gay rights parade , he said . you 're not going to make it a negative , you 're not going to play one off against another . we wo n't let it happen in new york . ' on sunday , cuomo spokesman josh vlasto called paladino 's comments homophobic and said they showed he was unfit to represent new york . ' gay rights groups also criticized paladino 's remarks . carl paladino 's comments would matter if they were coming from a serious political figure . however , they are not , ' said christopher barron , chairman of the gay conservative group goproud , in an e-mail to cnn . they are instead coming from the imploding campaign of a man with the personal baggage of john edwards and all the electability of alan keyes . ' the log cabin republicans of new york state also took issue with the candidate . carl paladino 's statements are unfortunate and show he lacks an understanding of what it means to be gay , ' said gregory t. angelo , chairman of the group . i think gay men and women -- my neighbors and your neighbors -- would be much better off and much more successful if they were allowed equal rights and the option of getting married and raising a family . i do n't want new yorkers to be brainwashed into thinking that ignorance is an equally valid and successful option . it is n't . ' but paladino 's campaign manager , michael caputo , stood by the gubernatorial candidate 's comments on homosexuality . carl paladino 's position on this is exactly equivalent to the catholic church , ' caputo told cnn . and if andrew cuomo has a problem with the catholic church 's position on abortion and homosexuality , he needs to take it up with his parish priest . ' paladino was seen on cell phone video by cnn affiliate ynn albany last month seemingly threatening new york post statehouse columnist fred dicker , after he was pressed to back up allegations he 'd made that cuomo had been unfaithful in his marriage . you send another goon to my daughter 's house , and i 'll take you out , buddy , ' paladino said , apparently referring to the post 's coverage of a daughter the candidate had out of wedlock . dicker shot back : you gon na take me out ? ' yeah . ' how you gon na do that ? ' watch , ' paladino said before walking off . paladino 's campaign issued a statement the next day claiming that the post sent a photographer to the buffalo-area house where paladino 's 10-year-old daughter lives . on october 5 , a statement on the candidate 's website about his ideas for economic reform in the state said , i 'm a builder , not a career politician . i may not always say things in the most delicate or diplomatic way , but i will always tell you the truth and the truth is new york state is in a death spiral . ' cnn 's cheryl robinson , mark preston and jason kessler contributed to this report . | gubernatorial candidate paladino denies being homophobic |
european <tsp> ( cnn ) -- diego costa and arda turan took part in training with atletico madrid teammates at the estadio da luz friday ahead the champions league final clash with city rivals real madrid . the pair have been an integral part of atletico 's title winning side but remain doubts for saturday 's fixture after being forced off during last weekend 's league clash with barcelona -- the match that saw atleti clinch la liga for the first time in 18 years . costa mainly trained alone on thursday but was able to join in drills with teammates friday . the naturalized spaniard , who has scored 36 goals in 51 appearances this season , reportedly flew to belgrade for horse-placenta treatment on a hamstring tear earlier this week while turan has nursed the hip-knock he sustained against the catalans at the club 's training base in madrid . atletico manager diego simeone , however , remained tight-lipped about the pair 's chances of making his starting lineup in lisbon on saturday . costa and arda are important players but they are just names , it will either be them playing or two others who know who they are , ' simeone told reporters . we will examine diego costa and the other injury doubts today . they trained better yesterday but we have to see how they feel , ' he added . the argentine is looking to become just the third non-european coach to win the continent 's premier club competition after compatriots luis carniglia and helenio herrera but is wary of an opponent he knows well . no two teams from the same city have ever contested the champions league final before or its predecessor , the european cup . we do n't know how madrid will play , we 've worked with different possibilities and we will try to block them and find a way to control the match the way we need , ' simeone said . the sides have met four times already this season with atletico claiming one league win against real 's two victories in the double-legged copa del rey semifinal . the other league match was drawn . real face injury concerns of their own ahead of the clash that could see them lift the illusive decima , ' their tenth european crown which has become an obsession since they won their ninth continental title in 2002 . star players cristiano ronaldo and gareth bale have been struggling for fitness in recent weeks but both are expected to play saturday . portuguese defender , pepe , and french striker , karim benzema , however , are less likely to make it . speaking to reporters friday , real boss carlo ancelotti said : we will assess the injuries at training . cristiano has trained without problems but pepe and benzema have n't trained this week . ' we will take the decision for tomorrow after this session which they will take part in , ' he added . ancelotti is aiming to lift the champions league trophy for the third time as a manager , having done so with ac milan in 2003 and 2007 . but reports have suggested the italian 's position could come under scrutiny should real fail to win saturday . los blancos claimed the copa del rey trophy in april but stumbled to a third placed finish in la liga behind atletico and barcelona . in what may have been comments relating to these reports , ancelotti said : i have clear memories of my last press conference before the 2007 final and i said'this may be my last press conference , let me enjoy it .'' it was n't , but this one may be - so let me enjoy it . there 's a thin line between an obsession and a dream , but my aim is to realize the dream , ' he said . real defender , sergio ramos , accompanied ancelotti at friday 's press conference and spoke effusively of his manager . since carlo ancelotti arrived he has emphasized hard work and intensity and now that is what real madrid are associated with , ' ramos said . he has playing experience which makes him different to other coaches . we realize the efforts many of our fans have to make to come , some will have been saving all year long and that is motivation for the team . ' even those who could n't come , we have to do everything possible to make them happy . ' see also : barcelona appoints luis enrique see also : edin dzeko urges world to help bosnia | real madrid aim to claim their tenth european title in lisbon |
european <tsp> ( cnn ) -- diego costa and arda turan took part in training with atletico madrid teammates at the estadio da luz friday ahead the champions league final clash with city rivals real madrid . the pair have been an integral part of atletico 's title winning side but remain doubts for saturday 's fixture after being forced off during last weekend 's league clash with barcelona -- the match that saw atleti clinch la liga for the first time in 18 years . costa mainly trained alone on thursday but was able to join in drills with teammates friday . the naturalized spaniard , who has scored 36 goals in 51 appearances this season , reportedly flew to belgrade for horse-placenta treatment on a hamstring tear earlier this week while turan has nursed the hip-knock he sustained against the catalans at the club 's training base in madrid . atletico manager diego simeone , however , remained tight-lipped about the pair 's chances of making his starting lineup in lisbon on saturday . costa and arda are important players but they are just names , it will either be them playing or two others who know who they are , ' simeone told reporters . we will examine diego costa and the other injury doubts today . they trained better yesterday but we have to see how they feel , ' he added . the argentine is looking to become just the third non-european coach to win the continent 's premier club competition after compatriots luis carniglia and helenio herrera but is wary of an opponent he knows well . no two teams from the same city have ever contested the champions league final before or its predecessor , the european cup . we do n't know how madrid will play , we 've worked with different possibilities and we will try to block them and find a way to control the match the way we need , ' simeone said . the sides have met four times already this season with atletico claiming one league win against real 's two victories in the double-legged copa del rey semifinal . the other league match was drawn . real face injury concerns of their own ahead of the clash that could see them lift the illusive decima , ' their tenth european crown which has become an obsession since they won their ninth continental title in 2002 . star players cristiano ronaldo and gareth bale have been struggling for fitness in recent weeks but both are expected to play saturday . portuguese defender , pepe , and french striker , karim benzema , however , are less likely to make it . speaking to reporters friday , real boss carlo ancelotti said : we will assess the injuries at training . cristiano has trained without problems but pepe and benzema have n't trained this week . ' we will take the decision for tomorrow after this session which they will take part in , ' he added . ancelotti is aiming to lift the champions league trophy for the third time as a manager , having done so with ac milan in 2003 and 2007 . but reports have suggested the italian 's position could come under scrutiny should real fail to win saturday . los blancos claimed the copa del rey trophy in april but stumbled to a third placed finish in la liga behind atletico and barcelona . in what may have been comments relating to these reports , ancelotti said : i have clear memories of my last press conference before the 2007 final and i said'this may be my last press conference , let me enjoy it .'' it was n't , but this one may be - so let me enjoy it . there 's a thin line between an obsession and a dream , but my aim is to realize the dream , ' he said . real defender , sergio ramos , accompanied ancelotti at friday 's press conference and spoke effusively of his manager . since carlo ancelotti arrived he has emphasized hard work and intensity and now that is what real madrid are associated with , ' ramos said . he has playing experience which makes him different to other coaches . we realize the efforts many of our fans have to make to come , some will have been saving all year long and that is motivation for the team . ' even those who could n't come , we have to do everything possible to make them happy . ' see also : barcelona appoints luis enrique see also : edin dzeko urges world to help bosnia | atletico madrid are looking to win clubs first european crown |
atletico madrid <tsp> ( cnn ) -- diego costa and arda turan took part in training with atletico madrid teammates at the estadio da luz friday ahead the champions league final clash with city rivals real madrid . the pair have been an integral part of atletico 's title winning side but remain doubts for saturday 's fixture after being forced off during last weekend 's league clash with barcelona -- the match that saw atleti clinch la liga for the first time in 18 years . costa mainly trained alone on thursday but was able to join in drills with teammates friday . the naturalized spaniard , who has scored 36 goals in 51 appearances this season , reportedly flew to belgrade for horse-placenta treatment on a hamstring tear earlier this week while turan has nursed the hip-knock he sustained against the catalans at the club 's training base in madrid . atletico manager diego simeone , however , remained tight-lipped about the pair 's chances of making his starting lineup in lisbon on saturday . costa and arda are important players but they are just names , it will either be them playing or two others who know who they are , ' simeone told reporters . we will examine diego costa and the other injury doubts today . they trained better yesterday but we have to see how they feel , ' he added . the argentine is looking to become just the third non-european coach to win the continent 's premier club competition after compatriots luis carniglia and helenio herrera but is wary of an opponent he knows well . no two teams from the same city have ever contested the champions league final before or its predecessor , the european cup . we do n't know how madrid will play , we 've worked with different possibilities and we will try to block them and find a way to control the match the way we need , ' simeone said . the sides have met four times already this season with atletico claiming one league win against real 's two victories in the double-legged copa del rey semifinal . the other league match was drawn . real face injury concerns of their own ahead of the clash that could see them lift the illusive decima , ' their tenth european crown which has become an obsession since they won their ninth continental title in 2002 . star players cristiano ronaldo and gareth bale have been struggling for fitness in recent weeks but both are expected to play saturday . portuguese defender , pepe , and french striker , karim benzema , however , are less likely to make it . speaking to reporters friday , real boss carlo ancelotti said : we will assess the injuries at training . cristiano has trained without problems but pepe and benzema have n't trained this week . ' we will take the decision for tomorrow after this session which they will take part in , ' he added . ancelotti is aiming to lift the champions league trophy for the third time as a manager , having done so with ac milan in 2003 and 2007 . but reports have suggested the italian 's position could come under scrutiny should real fail to win saturday . los blancos claimed the copa del rey trophy in april but stumbled to a third placed finish in la liga behind atletico and barcelona . in what may have been comments relating to these reports , ancelotti said : i have clear memories of my last press conference before the 2007 final and i said'this may be my last press conference , let me enjoy it .'' it was n't , but this one may be - so let me enjoy it . there 's a thin line between an obsession and a dream , but my aim is to realize the dream , ' he said . real defender , sergio ramos , accompanied ancelotti at friday 's press conference and spoke effusively of his manager . since carlo ancelotti arrived he has emphasized hard work and intensity and now that is what real madrid are associated with , ' ramos said . he has playing experience which makes him different to other coaches . we realize the efforts many of our fans have to make to come , some will have been saving all year long and that is motivation for the team . ' even those who could n't come , we have to do everything possible to make them happy . ' see also : barcelona appoints luis enrique see also : edin dzeko urges world to help bosnia | atletico madrid are looking to win clubs first european crown |
abduwali abdukhadir muse <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a somali suspect in the hijacking of the u.s.-flagged maersk alabama has been charged with piracy , a count that carries a minimum life sentence . abduwali abdukhadir muse arrives in the united states on monday . he was charged with piracy tuesday . abduwali abdukhadir muse also has been charged with conspiracy to seize a ship by force , conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and two firearm charges , according to a criminal complaint released by the u.s. attorney 's office in the southern district of new york . muse conducted himself as the leader ' of the pirates who allegedly took over the maersk alabama , according to the criminal complaint . a federal judge ruled tuesday that muse could be tried as an adult . u.s. magistrate judge andrew peck had ordered the media and public out of the courtroom earlier while he evaluated muse 's age . muse 's father in somalia told defense attorneys the young man was born on november 20 , 1993 -- making him 15 , the defense attorneys said . however , the prosecution argued otherwise , saying muse made statements that suggest he is older . before peck closed the courtroom , muse wiped his hand over his face at one point , and it appeared he was crying . he had worn a broad smile late monday when he arrived in new york escorted by a phalanx of law enforcement officers . see timeline of events that led to piracy case » muse was arrested in the hijacking of the maersk alabama , a cargo ship that pirates attacked on april 8 about 350 miles off the somali coast . see an interactive map of 2009 pirate attacks off the horn of africa » peck read the young man his rights and said attorneys had been appointed to represent him because the suspect did not have the resources to hire representation himself . muse said through an interpreter that he understood and said , i do n't have any money . ' pirates attacked the maersk alabama , a cargo ship , on april 8 about 350 miles off the somali coast . according to the criminal complaint , two of the 20 crew members -- all americans -- saw lights heading toward the maersk alabama around 4:30 a.m. on april 8 , while the ship was in the indian ocean . after a brief time , ' the lights disappeared , the complaint said , but about two hours later , the same crew members saw a small boat approaching and later heard what sounded like ' gunshots , the complaint said . crew member 1 then heard the ship 's captain -- later identified as capt . richard phillips -- on the radio saying that two pirates were on the ship 's bridge . a third crew member , crew member 3 , also heard the radio message and began shutting down the ship 's power , the complaint said . the complaint said muse , who was carrying a gun , was the first alleged pirate on the ship , and said the attackers used a portable ladder to climb on board . according to the complaint , muse had fired his gun at phillips , the captain said , and then took $ 30,000 from the ship 's safe after he forced phillips to open it . watch muse being hauled into court » muse demanded that the maersk alabama be stopped and that the crew give him the number of the ship 's owner , the complaint said . the captain then ordered the crew to the bridge after muse ordered him to do so , the complaint said , citing crew member 2 . muse then began canvassing the dark ship with crew member 2 as a guide , the complaint said . while they were going through the ship , crew member 3 , who had not come to the bridge , tackled muse to the ground , the complaint said . crew member 2 helped subdue muse , and the two tied the young man 's hands with wire and took him to the ship 's safe room , where several crew members were hiding . after several hours , the remaining pirates said they would leave the ship if muse was returned to them , and if a lifeboat was given to them . phillips boarded the lifeboat with them and the ship 's crew freed muse , who then boarded the lifeboat , according to the criminal complaint . the boat floated a short distance from the maersk , even as the navy 's uss bainbridge arrived the next day . over the next three days , officers on the bainbridge communicated with the pirates by radio . in those communications , the pirates threatened to kill the captain if they were not provided with safe passage away from the scene , ' the complaint said . at one point , phillips tried to escape and the pirates shot at him , the complaint said . on april 12 , muse boarded the uss bainbridge and demanded safe passage for himself and the other pirates in exchange for phillips'release . muse also received medical treatment while he was on the warship , the complaint said . while muse was away from the lifeboat , navy seals shot and killed the three remaining pirates . the u.s. navy recovered two loaded ak-47 assault rifles ; two gunstraps , each containing three ak-47 magazines ; one handgun magazine ; and multiple cell phones and handheld radios from the lifeboat , according to the complaint . cnn 's deb feyerick contributed to this report . | abduwali abdukhadir muse also faces conspiracy charges |
west <tsp> the brother of al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri is proposing to mediate a peace deal between the west and islamists . in an exclusive interview with cnn , mohamed al-zawahiri unveiled his proposal for the first time , saying he is in a unique position to help end the violence and that both sides need to make concessions . as the al qaeda leader 's brother , he says they are ideologically inseparable , and that if anyone can talk his brother out of violence it 's him . he is like so many former prisoners i 've met -- calm , collected , focused and utterly convinced by long held views examined , tested and reforged in incarceration . mohamed al-zawahiri is not a physically imposing man . his long beard is shading from gray to white , his features and figure drawn . ramadan is long over but he still fasts until the sun goes down . mohamed spent 14 years in egyptian jail on charges including terrorism and involvement in the 1981 assassination of president anwar sadat 1981 . he denies the charges . on 9/11 , al qaeda looks to syria to revive its fortunes for five years he was in solitary confinement in a cell 180 centimeters by 180 centimeters ( 6 feet by 6 feet ) where , locked in with his own thoughts , he had plenty of time to plan what to do when released . that day came a few months ago in may . he wants peace , he says , between muslims and non-muslims and has written a proposal that outlines the terms . he says he 's offering to be an intermediary between islamists and the united states and the west . i do n't represent a certain group . my role is a mediator between the west and them . ' a source with direct knowledge of egyptian government talks with jihadists in the sinai says al-zawahiri is helping negotiations . the source says al-zawahiri has the respect of the islamists and the trust of the new government . al-zawahiri says his offer puts him at risk from radical islamists , but says he is not acting from weakness or for personal gain . his six-page proposal offers a 10-year truce if the following terms are met . in brief they are : • u.s. and west to stop intervening in muslim lands• u.s. to stop interfering in muslim education• u.s. to end the war on islam• u.s. to release all islamist prisoners . the document also calls on islamists to change their behavior too : • stop attacks on western and u.s. interests• protect legitimate western and u.s. interests in muslim lands• stop provoking the u.s. and the west through his steely determination to get his voice heard and his message out it is hard to gauge how much hope al-zawahiri is really investing in his initiative . is he trying to get back in the jihadist spotlight he once occupied before his incarceration ? al qaeda diminished , but not gone back then he was military commander of islamic jihad that would later ally with al qaeda . back then he reportedly had disagreements with his brother about the way forward for the group . then came his came his arrest , long before 9/11 , picked up , he says , by egyptian authorities in the united arab emirates . he says he told his interrogators he could work a truce with islamists but he says his jailers did n't want to know . if this idea had succeeded , september 11 would not have even happened in the first place . i hope this opportunity today is not wasted . ' osama bin laden had a similar proposal in 2004 . it was followed a year later by the deadly 7/7 subway attack in london killing 52 people . al-zawahiri offers no guarantees that he has some quick fix . this is a very tough mission . you have to be logical . if you want to live in peace then you must make others feel that they will live in peace . ' he says his brother will listen to him , but admits he has n't talked to him in long over a decade . while he once had standing among his islamist peers , the reach of his influence today is hard to judge ; being connected by blood to one of the world 's most wanted men only carries so much weight . the cost , he says , of getting out of today 's conflict must be paid . we want to turn this page and forget the past . ' it would n't be the first time the terms are unacceptably high . analysis : al qaeda in yemen suffers another blow as top saudi member is killed | mohamed al-zawahiri puts forward plan to end muslim vs. west violence |
alex gibney <tsp> hbo is backing a documentary based on going clear , ' a book about scientology and hollywood -- and is n't taking any chances with the legal side of things . we have probably 160 lawyers ' looking at the film , hbo documentary films president sheila nevins told the hollywood reporter . ( hbo , like cnn , is a unit of time warner . ) going clear , ' by pulitzer prize-winning writer lawrence wright ( the looming tower ' ) , digs into the life of scientology founder l. ron hubbard and the influence his church has had on its believers , many of whom have close ties to hollywood . among tinseltown 's famous scientologists are john travolta and tom cruise . some of wright 's findings , including claims of abuse , did n't go over well with the church . the stories of alleged physical abuse are lies concocted by a small group of self-corroborating confessed liars . the hard evidence clearly shows that no such conduct ever occurred and that in fact there is evidence that shows it did not occur , ' the group 's spokeswoman , karin pouw , told cnn 's miguel marquez in 2013 . author of scientology book :'there have been a lot of tears in this story' the documentary is being directed by alex gibney , who won an oscar for 2007 's taxi to the dark side . ' hbo expects to air the documentary in 2015 . | documentary will be directed by alex gibney of taxi to the dark side ' fame |
congolese <tsp> ( cnn ) -- on march 18 , a congolese warlord known as bosco the terminator ' ntaganda surrendered to the u.s. embassy in rwanda . notorious for his alleged butchering of communities , including a 2008 massacre in which 150 people were killed by machetes , clubs and bullets , ntaganda will likely face trial at the international criminal court for war crimes seven years after his indictment . on a recent trip to eastern congo , i met patrick , a 25-year-old charcoal maker who had survived two attacks allegedly led by ntaganda . four months ago , working on a hot afternoon just south of the equator in kibumba in eastern congo , it seemed like a normal day for patrick . a week before , his wife had given birth to a baby boy , janvier . then suddenly , patrick heard a boom ! ' and he ran home as quickly as he could . patrick 's village had just been attacked by the m23 rebel group co-commanded by ntaganda . for patrick , it was the second time he had been displaced in four years by an armed group led by ntaganda . panting , he arrived back home , but his wife and newborn were nowhere to be found . then i heard the bombs land , and i had to flee , ' he told me in the displacement camp where he now struggles to survive on one meal per day . months later , patrick had still been unable to find his family in the camps , which now include more than 2 million people . my children used to crawl onto my lap , eat little candies i would buy them and make me laugh . now i ca n't go far to look for them , as i 'm afraid i 'll be abducted by rebels . i 'm told my house has been burned down . it 's so tough for me . i do n't know where they are . ... ' the terminator 's surrender has sparked jubilation in eastern congo after years of suffering under his ruthless rule , during which he also amassed millions of dollars through a conflict minerals smuggling ring . but will this single event create lasting change for the people of eastern congo who have suffered under repeated cycles of conflict for 18 years ? the answer hangs on three policy choices that must be made in the coming weeks . first , will war criminals be integrated back into the democratic republic of congo 's army ? the m23 rebel group that ntaganda co-led is full of officers with extremely poor human rights records of mass murders , child soldier recruitment and sexual violence . several of them are close to signing a peace deal to rejoin the congolese army in talks brokered by one of the rebel group 's alleged backers , uganda . previous peace deals that integrated war criminals into congo 's army , including ntaganda , reignited conflict soon thereafter as the warlords again behaved lawlessly . to stop this , newly appointed u.n. envoy mary robinson should immediately insist that any reintegration deals should be only for rank-and-file troops , not commanders most responsible for atrocities . to support this , the international criminal court should investigate and indict the commanders of m23 leaders and other armed groups most responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity , and the congolese justice system should prosecute other mutineers . second , will there be a peace process with strong international backing ? after years of failed peace agreements , there is finally a chance to address the underlying interests of rwanda , congo and uganda that have fueled conflict in eastern congo . this is possible now because of the strong new international pressure against external support to rebel groups , the removal of ntaganda , the lowered profitability of the trade in conflict minerals and the international monetary fund 's pressure on congo to enact governance reforms . robinson should start negotiations that would subsume the kampala talks , and the obama administration should follow the u.n. lead in appointing a senior-level envoy to the peace process and ensure that regional economic integration and security issues are brought to the fore of the process . third , will the international community vigorously support real governance reform in congo ? the u.s. and u.n. envoys should proactively back a root-and-branch congolese reform process to address critical issues that undergird the conflict , from decentralization to army reform . the process should include an impartially facilitated national dialogue that allows congolese civil society , including women leaders , to have a real voice at the table . when asked this year what could be done to end the war , patrick said , please tell president obama to arrest bosco , ( m23 commander ) sultani makenga and the ringleaders . if they 're not arrested , they 'll continue the war , and my life will always be on the run . ' at least one of these warlords is now in custody , but there will be no end to the war until the international community robustly backs a lasting peace and reform process that includes accountability for the worst war criminals . it is time to give patrick a chance to play with his children again and end this cyclical war once and for all . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of sasha lezhnev . | sasha lezhnev notes a notorious congolese warlord turned himself in |
alan turing <tsp> ( cnn ) a couple of weeks ago , the rally cry that had been bubbling in the wake of the imitation game ' suddenly grew louder . matt breen , editor-in-chief of the advocate and one of the most impassioned , trustworthy voices out there when it comes to politics and civil liberties , started a petition . visit pardon49k.org and you 'll see that it 's gathered more than 272,000 signatures already and counting . its call to action : a plea to the british government to grant pardons to the estimated 49,000 men who were convicted under the uk 's anti-gay laws , just as alan turing -- the computer scientist and world war ii codebreaker -- was in the 1950s . truth be told , most apologies given would be posthumous like the one turing received from gordon brown and queen elizabeth ii a few years back . but to ignore the injustice they all suffered just because they 're not there to hear us is to ignore history , do further injustice to their families , and that 's something we quite simply can not do . hearing of the overwhelming response that matt 's petition was receiving , outspoken gay actor/comedian stephen fry echoed the sentiment at a london screening of the film . members of turing 's family and the movie 's cast joined fry in drafting an open letter to britain 's political leaders , including david cameron , as well as the duke and duchess of cambridge -- insisting that those men deserved to have the stains of criminal conviction removed from their names . benedict cumberbatch , who so exquisitely plays turing in the movie , said it best perhaps : alan turing was not only prosecuted , but quite arguably persuaded to end his own life early , by a society who called him a criminal for simply seeking out the love he deserved , as all human beings do . sixty years later , that same government claimed to forgive ' him by pardoning him . i find this deplorable , because turing 's actions did not warrant forgiveness -- theirs did -- and the 49,000 other prosecuted men deserve the same . ' indeed , part of what makes telling turing 's story so important is that thousands like him experienced the same cruelty as he did , enduring relentless discrimination simply for attempting to live complete , fulfilled lives . i 've been a huge supporter of the imitation game ' from before its premiere and see it as this year 's best film because , as i said , it so poignantly reminds us that we can not ignore history . in minority communities like ours , we look to stories of legendary role models like turing or harvey milk for inspiration . instead of relying on oral traditions from family or friends , we must look to historians , artists , authors and moviemakers to help ensure that we remember where we came from . the heroes of our movement , alive or dead , are there to remind us of what we still need to strive towards . turing 's many achievements should have earned him royal accolades in the uk . his impact warranted no less than a presidential medal of freedom or nobel peace prize on this side of the atlantic . the work he did helped to defeat the spread of fascism , and yet in return , the government took away his freedom . his persecution at the hands of their laws ended his life with pain and suffering . that same injustice was shared by close to 50,000 of our lgbt forebears , who selflessly accomplished feats that benefit us still today . the imitation game ' and efforts inspired by it , like matt 's petition , guarantee that turing and men like him wo n't ever be forgotten . | lgbt campaigner chad griffin says story of ww2 codebreaker alan turing reminds us we can not ignore history |
naacp <tsp> after meeting with naacp leaders in ferguson , missouri , sen. rand paul told cnn 's wolf blitzer that the republicans party 's biggest mistake in recent decades has been not reaching out to african-american voters . the kentucky republican , who said his meeting went very well , ' said he laid out his views on demilitarizing police , reforming the criminal justice system and boosting urban economies . i do n't want to characterize how everybody else feels about what i said , but i think it was a good opening to the conversation , ' paul said in an interview set to air friday . i think in the republican party , the biggest mistake we 've made in the last several decades is we have n't gone into the african american community , into the naacp and say you know what , we are concerned about what 's going on in your cities and we have plans . they may be different than the democrats , but we do have plans and we do want to help . ' according to his office , participants in the meeting included members of the naacp , the urban league and several local business and church leaders . paul was one of the most outspoken republicans about the police response to protests that followed the august shooting death of michael brown , an unarmed teenager who was killed by a police officer in ferguson . angry demonstrations erupted this week in st. louis after another black teenager was fatally shot by a white police officer . supporters of brown were set to begin a weekend of marches and civil disobedience on friday , dubbed the weekend of resistance . ' there 's a sense of tension and unease that goes beyond just the shootings . i think the shooting has brought this to the surface , but there 's a sense of unease in the country , ' paul told blitzer . black unemployment is twice white unemployment and has been for decade after decade , ' he added . i know this president cares about trying to improve it but it has n't gotten better . ' paul , who 's seriously considering a run for president , discouraged violent reactions to the shootings , saying violence gets nowhere , and it actually sends us backwards . ' he instead encouraged people to channel any anger into registering voters . then you could have constructive change in the community , ' he continued , adding that the leaders of the community realize that . ' rand paul :'fight for justice now'on unfair sentencing asked by blitzer if paul thinks he could garner african american support in a run for president , paul said republicans wo n't ever win again ' unless they start competing for minority voters . we will not win again in our country because the country is a diverse country now , ' he said . and we ca n't have one party that monopolizes the various ethnic group votes . ' paul said in the meeting he proposed his economic freedom zones ' plan , which would aim to give tax incentives and financial breaks to depressed areas and neighborhoods in large cities , with the ultimate goal of stimulating the economy and drawing in more business . by dramatically lowering taxes in a city like ferguson , you would have more job opportunities , less tension , and less of sort of this problem that develops from crime , ' he said . rand paul : police militarization , war on drugs is'out of control' the first-term senator stressed that his libertarian-leanings on the war on drugs makes it pretty easy ' for him to speak out on the issue . he also highlighted legislation he 's proposed that would reform drug sentences and restore voting fights for felons convicted of nonviolent drug crimes . the senator has also been actively fighting against a defense department program that that provides military equipment to local police forces , emphasizing that the use of such equipment has gotten out of hand †” especially when it comes to the war on drugs . we 've got no business having no-knock raids at one in the morning , scaring the bejeezus out of people and getting them frightened , ' he said . drugs are a scourge . we need to keep our young people from using them ... but we need not to be filling up our prisons with these kids . we need not to be breaking down doors at two in the morning looking for drugs , sometimes in the wrong house . ' his outreach to african-americans comes after he was criticized in 2010 for questioning a portion of the 1964 civil rights act dealing with the rights of private property owners to turn certain people away . paul argued earlier this week in an interview that he was just a physician in a small town ' at the time of his comments . do you learn more about issues over time ? sure , but i was never against the civil rights act , ' he said . can rand paul break past controversy over civil rights act ? john gaskin iii , spokesman for st. louis county naacp , said in a statement that paul had called the local leaders to have a meeting . we were honored to have an informative discussion about the senator regarding ways that he can help to assist our civil rights agenda in washington and help to end police militarization , ' gaskin said . | rand paul talked to cnn 's wolf blitzer about his meeting in ferguson , missouri with the naacp . |
harris <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- australian children 's entertainer rolf harris , 84 , was found guilty monday in a london court of 12 charges of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 7 years old . the musician and artist , who painted a portrait of the queen for the monarch 's 80th birthday in 2006 , had been charged under operation yewtree , which is investigating allegations of decades of abuse by public figures , including the late tv entertainer jimmy savile . the offenses that harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970 . he was released on bail until friday , when he will be sentenced ; the judge , justice sweeney , warned him he could face jail , the press association reported . dozens more women who said they had been abused by the entertainer , including several in australia , alerted police during the trial , pa added . speaking outside southwark crown court after the verdict , detective mick orchard told reporters : rolf harris has habitually denied any wrongdoing , forcing his victims to recount their ordeal in public . he committed many offenses in plain sight of people as he thought his celebrity status placed him above the law . i want to thank the women who came forward for their bravery . i hope today 's guilty verdict will give them closure and help them to begin to move on with their lives . today 's case and verdict once again shows that we will always listen to , and investigate allegations regardless of the time frame or those involved . ' harris was once one of britain 's best-loved children 's entertainers . he had a string of hits in the 1960s , including tie me kangaroo down , sport , ' jake the peg ' and two little boys . ' he had a decades-long television career at the bbc and received several honors , including the order of the british empire . | rolf harris is found guilty in a london court of 12 charges of sexual abuse |
harris <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- australian children 's entertainer rolf harris , 84 , was found guilty monday in a london court of 12 charges of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 7 years old . the musician and artist , who painted a portrait of the queen for the monarch 's 80th birthday in 2006 , had been charged under operation yewtree , which is investigating allegations of decades of abuse by public figures , including the late tv entertainer jimmy savile . the offenses that harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970 . he was released on bail until friday , when he will be sentenced ; the judge , justice sweeney , warned him he could face jail , the press association reported . dozens more women who said they had been abused by the entertainer , including several in australia , alerted police during the trial , pa added . speaking outside southwark crown court after the verdict , detective mick orchard told reporters : rolf harris has habitually denied any wrongdoing , forcing his victims to recount their ordeal in public . he committed many offenses in plain sight of people as he thought his celebrity status placed him above the law . i want to thank the women who came forward for their bravery . i hope today 's guilty verdict will give them closure and help them to begin to move on with their lives . today 's case and verdict once again shows that we will always listen to , and investigate allegations regardless of the time frame or those involved . ' harris was once one of britain 's best-loved children 's entertainers . he had a string of hits in the 1960s , including tie me kangaroo down , sport , ' jake the peg ' and two little boys . ' he had a decades-long television career at the bbc and received several honors , including the order of the british empire . | harris charged under operation yewtree investigating abuse allegations by public figures |
harris <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- australian children 's entertainer rolf harris , 84 , was found guilty monday in a london court of 12 charges of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 7 years old . the musician and artist , who painted a portrait of the queen for the monarch 's 80th birthday in 2006 , had been charged under operation yewtree , which is investigating allegations of decades of abuse by public figures , including the late tv entertainer jimmy savile . the offenses that harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970 . he was released on bail until friday , when he will be sentenced ; the judge , justice sweeney , warned him he could face jail , the press association reported . dozens more women who said they had been abused by the entertainer , including several in australia , alerted police during the trial , pa added . speaking outside southwark crown court after the verdict , detective mick orchard told reporters : rolf harris has habitually denied any wrongdoing , forcing his victims to recount their ordeal in public . he committed many offenses in plain sight of people as he thought his celebrity status placed him above the law . i want to thank the women who came forward for their bravery . i hope today 's guilty verdict will give them closure and help them to begin to move on with their lives . today 's case and verdict once again shows that we will always listen to , and investigate allegations regardless of the time frame or those involved . ' harris was once one of britain 's best-loved children 's entertainers . he had a string of hits in the 1960s , including tie me kangaroo down , sport , ' jake the peg ' and two little boys . ' he had a decades-long television career at the bbc and received several honors , including the order of the british empire . | offenses harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970 |
snowden <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the united states is biding its time in its effort to get fugitive leaker edward snowden delivered to its custody , hoping that russia wearies of him and ecuador decides against granting him asylum , senior u.s. officials said wednesday . snowden , the former national security agency computer contractor who exposed details of u.s. surveillance programs , faces espionage charges if shipped back home . he is currently cooling his heels at moscow 's international airport , where he arrived sunday from hong kong . time is our friend , ' one senior administration official told cnn . the russians now just want him gone , and i 'm not sure if they care at this point if he goes to a country that might be inclined to send him back . ' the state department revoked snowden 's passport after charges were brought last week . officials in hong kong , a semi-autonomous chinese territory , said it needed more information before it could act on a u.s. request to hold him there . wikileaks said snowden flew out of hong kong on refugee papers issued by ecuador , where he has requested asylum , but ecuador 's deputy foreign minister said wednesday that his country had provided him no documents . 4 options for the u.s. to get snowden back russian president vladimir putin said his government wo n't hand snowden over to u.s. authorities , but seemed eager to wash his hands of the issue . the sooner he selects his final destination point , the better both for us and for himself , ' putin said tuesday during a visit to finland . snowden has the assistance of wikileaks , the organization that facilitates the disclosure of classified information . ecuador has already granted asylum to wikileaks founder julian assange , who has been holed up in the country 's embassy in london for a year after losing a court battle to avoid extradition to sweden . washington has urged countries where snowden may be headed , including ecuador , to turn him away . but the senior administration official said ecuadorian officials appear to be avoiding high-level discussions on the matter . their ambassador to washington is out of the country , and their foreign minister is on a trip to asia . speaking in vietnam this week , ecuadorian foreign minister ricardo patino said his government will consider the u.s. request when it decides on snowden 's plea for asylum , which the united states considers a sign that the highest levels of the ecuadorian government have gotten the message . the administration official said the fact that ecuador is not rushing a decision is the best possible news , since snowden will remain a hot potato in the russians'hands during that time . snowden : i took job to gather evidence u.s.-ecuadorian ties have been strained during the administration of ecuador 's current president , rafael correa . a leftist ally of the late venezuelan president hugo chavez , correa closed an outpost at an ecuadorian air base that the u.s. military used to conduct anti-drug operations . washington and quito expelled each others'ambassadors in 2011 after an american diplomatic cable published by wikileaks suggested that correa was aware of acts of corruption by the police high command , and the united states has criticized recent laws that international observers say limit press freedoms . the $ 20 million the united states provides in aid to ecuador is a relatively small amount , and the administration is holding off on talk of any additional pressure until its government makes a decision on asylum . we are not at the point where we are making threats yet , ' the official said . we are reserving the harder line until they know for sure whether the ecuadorians are willing to take him in . ' | nsa leaker snowden faces u.s. espionage charges |
snowden <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the united states is biding its time in its effort to get fugitive leaker edward snowden delivered to its custody , hoping that russia wearies of him and ecuador decides against granting him asylum , senior u.s. officials said wednesday . snowden , the former national security agency computer contractor who exposed details of u.s. surveillance programs , faces espionage charges if shipped back home . he is currently cooling his heels at moscow 's international airport , where he arrived sunday from hong kong . time is our friend , ' one senior administration official told cnn . the russians now just want him gone , and i 'm not sure if they care at this point if he goes to a country that might be inclined to send him back . ' the state department revoked snowden 's passport after charges were brought last week . officials in hong kong , a semi-autonomous chinese territory , said it needed more information before it could act on a u.s. request to hold him there . wikileaks said snowden flew out of hong kong on refugee papers issued by ecuador , where he has requested asylum , but ecuador 's deputy foreign minister said wednesday that his country had provided him no documents . 4 options for the u.s. to get snowden back russian president vladimir putin said his government wo n't hand snowden over to u.s. authorities , but seemed eager to wash his hands of the issue . the sooner he selects his final destination point , the better both for us and for himself , ' putin said tuesday during a visit to finland . snowden has the assistance of wikileaks , the organization that facilitates the disclosure of classified information . ecuador has already granted asylum to wikileaks founder julian assange , who has been holed up in the country 's embassy in london for a year after losing a court battle to avoid extradition to sweden . washington has urged countries where snowden may be headed , including ecuador , to turn him away . but the senior administration official said ecuadorian officials appear to be avoiding high-level discussions on the matter . their ambassador to washington is out of the country , and their foreign minister is on a trip to asia . speaking in vietnam this week , ecuadorian foreign minister ricardo patino said his government will consider the u.s. request when it decides on snowden 's plea for asylum , which the united states considers a sign that the highest levels of the ecuadorian government have gotten the message . the administration official said the fact that ecuador is not rushing a decision is the best possible news , since snowden will remain a hot potato in the russians'hands during that time . snowden : i took job to gather evidence u.s.-ecuadorian ties have been strained during the administration of ecuador 's current president , rafael correa . a leftist ally of the late venezuelan president hugo chavez , correa closed an outpost at an ecuadorian air base that the u.s. military used to conduct anti-drug operations . washington and quito expelled each others'ambassadors in 2011 after an american diplomatic cable published by wikileaks suggested that correa was aware of acts of corruption by the police high command , and the united states has criticized recent laws that international observers say limit press freedoms . the $ 20 million the united states provides in aid to ecuador is a relatively small amount , and the administration is holding off on talk of any additional pressure until its government makes a decision on asylum . we are not at the point where we are making threats yet , ' the official said . we are reserving the harder line until they know for sure whether the ecuadorians are willing to take him in . ' | snowden has asked ecuador for asylum ; the u.s. has warned against granting it |
european <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it happens at the end of january every year -- an apparently mad and desperate dash to sign players as european football 's transfer window draws to an agonizing close . club officials man the phones , fax machines at the ready to sneak registrations inside the deadline . football agents , desperate to secure their clients a lucrative last-minute move , frantically try to negotiate contracts and transfer fees before the clock strikes midnight and the chance has disappeared . it often seems like a classic case of panic-buying , as clubs seek to bolster their squads for the second half of the season , but the last-day scramble is the culmination of weeks of negotiations between all the involved parties , says british agent mel stein . generally speaking , if somebody genuinely wants to buy a player , they will have earmarked him well before the window opens , ' says stein , who represented former england stars such as alan shearer and paul gascoigne . who are january 's top transfer targets ? you 've got to have a player that wants to leave and wants to join the club who wants to buy him . so you 've got to push all of those pieces together , which sometimes is a lot more difficult than it sounds . ' since 2002 , european clubs have only been able to add to their rosters during two transfer windows -- which generally run in the offseason between july 1 and august 31 and midseason throughout the month of january . as a result , deadline day has become a biannual ritual , with fans glued to tv screens in the hope their club will pull off a shock transfer coup . stein says the restrictions the windows have placed on clubs have added extra strain to transfer negotiations . there will have been some sort of contact , either formal or informal , well before the window opens , ' he explained . so if you date it from there to when the player actually signs , i 'd say you 're talking about an average of three or four weeks . i 've got one or two deals that are bubbling under . people wait until the last minute and it 's absolutely ridiculous . these deals could have happened weeks ago and yet managers are jockeying for position , they do n't get the money from the club and then the club changes its mind at the last minute . ' stein says the 1992 transfer of gascoigne , who was then 25 and in his prime , from london club tottenham hotspur to rome-based lazio was particularly difficult . the injuries , the financial problems spurs were experiencing , the tax money element of it -- it was a very complicated transaction , it really was , ' he recalls . i lived and breathed it for months . i had an all-night session with lazio , worked all the way through the night and did n't go to bed . ' european football 's governing body uefa has attempted to cut reckless spending by introducing financial fair play regulations -- a set of rules which sanction clubs for spending beyond their means . stein believes the eagerness of teams to lower their wage bills and conform to the new rules has changed how transfers are set in motion , with clubs now eager to offload high-earning stars . a couple of years ago , 95 % of transfers would have been player instigated . nowadays , with the financial restraints on clubs , i would say over 50 % are club instigated , ' he says . i had a player who was astonished to learn that i 'd been phoned by a manager who was telling me that my player was available because he was fairly high on that club 's wage list and they wanted to reduce their budget . ' this year 's january window has been dominated by one player whose club want remove him from the wage bill , manchester city 's carlos tevez . the argentina striker has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the english leaders since being fined by the club for refusing to come on as a substitute during a european champions league match with bayern munich in september . tevez has been linked with italian giants ac and inter milan and big-spending french outfit paris saint-germain , but was looking likely to remain at city as the deadline approached . so what would be stein 's advice to the 27-year-old , who captained city to the club 's first trophy in 35 years last season and topped the team 's scoring charts -- but has not played for city since the incident in germany ? you 've got man city who want him out but do n't want to lose a fortune . you 've got tevez jogging along a beach in south america and you 've any number of people putting him around to clubs who probably ca n't afford him anyway , ' stein says . that is a total nightmare transaction . i 'm not saying it 's one i would n't like to be involved in because it would be an enormous challenge to see that one through . i 'd say ,'you 're a professional footballer , you 're only going to be playing until you 're 35 , you need to get yourself playing . this is stupid , you 've got to do something .' | tuesday marks the closure of european football 's january transfer window |
alan shearer <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it happens at the end of january every year -- an apparently mad and desperate dash to sign players as european football 's transfer window draws to an agonizing close . club officials man the phones , fax machines at the ready to sneak registrations inside the deadline . football agents , desperate to secure their clients a lucrative last-minute move , frantically try to negotiate contracts and transfer fees before the clock strikes midnight and the chance has disappeared . it often seems like a classic case of panic-buying , as clubs seek to bolster their squads for the second half of the season , but the last-day scramble is the culmination of weeks of negotiations between all the involved parties , says british agent mel stein . generally speaking , if somebody genuinely wants to buy a player , they will have earmarked him well before the window opens , ' says stein , who represented former england stars such as alan shearer and paul gascoigne . who are january 's top transfer targets ? you 've got to have a player that wants to leave and wants to join the club who wants to buy him . so you 've got to push all of those pieces together , which sometimes is a lot more difficult than it sounds . ' since 2002 , european clubs have only been able to add to their rosters during two transfer windows -- which generally run in the offseason between july 1 and august 31 and midseason throughout the month of january . as a result , deadline day has become a biannual ritual , with fans glued to tv screens in the hope their club will pull off a shock transfer coup . stein says the restrictions the windows have placed on clubs have added extra strain to transfer negotiations . there will have been some sort of contact , either formal or informal , well before the window opens , ' he explained . so if you date it from there to when the player actually signs , i 'd say you 're talking about an average of three or four weeks . i 've got one or two deals that are bubbling under . people wait until the last minute and it 's absolutely ridiculous . these deals could have happened weeks ago and yet managers are jockeying for position , they do n't get the money from the club and then the club changes its mind at the last minute . ' stein says the 1992 transfer of gascoigne , who was then 25 and in his prime , from london club tottenham hotspur to rome-based lazio was particularly difficult . the injuries , the financial problems spurs were experiencing , the tax money element of it -- it was a very complicated transaction , it really was , ' he recalls . i lived and breathed it for months . i had an all-night session with lazio , worked all the way through the night and did n't go to bed . ' european football 's governing body uefa has attempted to cut reckless spending by introducing financial fair play regulations -- a set of rules which sanction clubs for spending beyond their means . stein believes the eagerness of teams to lower their wage bills and conform to the new rules has changed how transfers are set in motion , with clubs now eager to offload high-earning stars . a couple of years ago , 95 % of transfers would have been player instigated . nowadays , with the financial restraints on clubs , i would say over 50 % are club instigated , ' he says . i had a player who was astonished to learn that i 'd been phoned by a manager who was telling me that my player was available because he was fairly high on that club 's wage list and they wanted to reduce their budget . ' this year 's january window has been dominated by one player whose club want remove him from the wage bill , manchester city 's carlos tevez . the argentina striker has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the english leaders since being fined by the club for refusing to come on as a substitute during a european champions league match with bayern munich in september . tevez has been linked with italian giants ac and inter milan and big-spending french outfit paris saint-germain , but was looking likely to remain at city as the deadline approached . so what would be stein 's advice to the 27-year-old , who captained city to the club 's first trophy in 35 years last season and topped the team 's scoring charts -- but has not played for city since the incident in germany ? you 've got man city who want him out but do n't want to lose a fortune . you 've got tevez jogging along a beach in south america and you 've any number of people putting him around to clubs who probably ca n't afford him anyway , ' stein says . that is a total nightmare transaction . i 'm not saying it 's one i would n't like to be involved in because it would be an enormous challenge to see that one through . i 'd say ,'you 're a professional footballer , you 're only going to be playing until you 're 35 , you need to get yourself playing . this is stupid , you 've got to do something .' | agent mel stein has represented former england stars paul gascoigne and alan shearer |
dirnt <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- green day canceled the rest of its north american club tour dates for this year and has postponed all january and february shows to give lead singer billie joe armstrong more time to deal with substance abuse issues , the rock band said monday . obviously the timing for this is n't ideal , but billie joe 's well-being is our main concern , ' bass player mike dirnt said . armstrong , who sought treatment for substance abuse two days after his expletive-laden meltdown during a show in las vegas in september , is doing well , ' dirnt said . when the band announced on september 23 that its charismatic frontman would get help for substance abuse , it did not specify the nature of his problems . the 2012 club tour was set to launch on november 26 in seattle 's paramount theatre and end in tempe , arizona , on december 10 . the shows , which also included stops in california , oregon and nevada , will not be rescheduled . the 21-city tour that was scheduled to start on january 7 in green bay , wisconsin , and conclude on february 8 at the mgm grand garden arena in las vegas will be rescheduled , the group 's announcement said . it was in las vegas at the mgm grand that armstrong 's infamous onstage meltdown happened , during the iheartradio music festival . video from the event , captured on youtube , shows armstrong cursing profusely after cutting a song short . he then went on a profanity-filled rant , pointing to a sign indicating green day had only one minute left in its set , far shorter than he 'd expected . you 've got to be ... kidding me , ' said armstrong , noting his longevity on the music scene and disparaging teen pop sensation justin bieber , who was not among the festival performers . this is a ... joke . ' armstrong then slammed his guitar onto the stage , shredding it , and tossed its remnants into the crowd . he then flashed his middle finger and walked off the stage . the band later issued an apology , telling fans that our set was not cut short by clear channel and to apologize to those we offended at the iheartradio festival in las vegas . ' iheartradio is a division of clear channel broadcasting . while fans ca n't see green day live onstage anytime soon , the group is moving up the release date of the album green day tre ! ' to december 11 , 2012 , from its original date of january 15 , 2013 . we feel bad we have to delay our tour , so to make up for it we want to give our fans the music earlier than we had planned , ' drummer tre cool said . if we could n't be there to play it for you live , the least we could do was give you the next best thing . ' armstrong was rushed to a hospital in italy in september due to illness , ' dirnt said then in a video posted on the band 's website . after forming in 1987 , the veteran punk band broke through in 1994 with the release of dookie , ' which sold 15 million copies and earned the band a grammy for best alternative music performance . green day continued to produce hit albums , like insomniac , ' nimrod ' and warning . ' in 2004 , the band took another major step forward with the release of american idiot , ' which won a grammy for best rock album and inspired a rock opera ' years later by the same name . the rockers have remained relevant in subsequent years , including capturing yet another grammy in 2009 for the politically charged album 21st century breakdown . ' cnn 's denise quan contributed to this report . | armstrong , who sought treatment in september , is doing well , ' dirnt says |
dirnt <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- green day canceled the rest of its north american club tour dates for this year and has postponed all january and february shows to give lead singer billie joe armstrong more time to deal with substance abuse issues , the rock band said monday . obviously the timing for this is n't ideal , but billie joe 's well-being is our main concern , ' bass player mike dirnt said . armstrong , who sought treatment for substance abuse two days after his expletive-laden meltdown during a show in las vegas in september , is doing well , ' dirnt said . when the band announced on september 23 that its charismatic frontman would get help for substance abuse , it did not specify the nature of his problems . the 2012 club tour was set to launch on november 26 in seattle 's paramount theatre and end in tempe , arizona , on december 10 . the shows , which also included stops in california , oregon and nevada , will not be rescheduled . the 21-city tour that was scheduled to start on january 7 in green bay , wisconsin , and conclude on february 8 at the mgm grand garden arena in las vegas will be rescheduled , the group 's announcement said . it was in las vegas at the mgm grand that armstrong 's infamous onstage meltdown happened , during the iheartradio music festival . video from the event , captured on youtube , shows armstrong cursing profusely after cutting a song short . he then went on a profanity-filled rant , pointing to a sign indicating green day had only one minute left in its set , far shorter than he 'd expected . you 've got to be ... kidding me , ' said armstrong , noting his longevity on the music scene and disparaging teen pop sensation justin bieber , who was not among the festival performers . this is a ... joke . ' armstrong then slammed his guitar onto the stage , shredding it , and tossed its remnants into the crowd . he then flashed his middle finger and walked off the stage . the band later issued an apology , telling fans that our set was not cut short by clear channel and to apologize to those we offended at the iheartradio festival in las vegas . ' iheartradio is a division of clear channel broadcasting . while fans ca n't see green day live onstage anytime soon , the group is moving up the release date of the album green day tre ! ' to december 11 , 2012 , from its original date of january 15 , 2013 . we feel bad we have to delay our tour , so to make up for it we want to give our fans the music earlier than we had planned , ' drummer tre cool said . if we could n't be there to play it for you live , the least we could do was give you the next best thing . ' armstrong was rushed to a hospital in italy in september due to illness , ' dirnt said then in a video posted on the band 's website . after forming in 1987 , the veteran punk band broke through in 1994 with the release of dookie , ' which sold 15 million copies and earned the band a grammy for best alternative music performance . green day continued to produce hit albums , like insomniac , ' nimrod ' and warning . ' in 2004 , the band took another major step forward with the release of american idiot , ' which won a grammy for best rock album and inspired a rock opera ' years later by the same name . the rockers have remained relevant in subsequent years , including capturing yet another grammy in 2009 for the politically charged album 21st century breakdown . ' cnn 's denise quan contributed to this report . | billie joe 's well-being is our main concern , ' bass player mike dirnt says |
avlon <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- among the political threats wielded by donald trump in his carnival barker quest for the presidency is that if denied the republican nomination , he would run as an independent . as an independent myself , i usually cheer the prospect of any independent campaign . it shakes up the arrogant assumption that our elections are wholly owned subsidiaries of the two major parties and their respective special interests . but trump has already burned his bridges with most independent voters by choosing to go full birther and pander to the far right wing of the gop . it 's a shame because in his purely ceo persona , trump could have mounted a semi-credible independent campaign . look at what ross perot was able to accomplish with such an appeal nearly 20 years ago or what mayor michael bloomberg has done in new york to date . an independent candidate running on a proven record of executive leadership , job creation and improving american competitiveness could be a serious presidential candidate this time around . especially because a new washington post/abc poll shows that 41 % of american voters now identify as independents . we are the plurality and provide the balance of power in any election . independent voters tend to be closer to republicans on economic issues and closer to democrats on social issues . in other words , they are fiscally conservative but socially liberal . they hate hyper-partisanship and special-interest gridlock in washington , and they have been deficit hawks since at least the days of perot . it 's perhaps useful to remember that perot campaigned primarily on reducing the deficit and the debt at a time when america was struggling to get out of a recession and many people thought that japan was a rising power that would eclipse the united states . now , many of those same conditions exist , with china taking the place of japan in the rise and fall of great powers ' narrative . but crucially , perot was decidedly liberal-to-libertarian in his social beliefs . he was avowedly abortion rights and even back then supported gays in the military . the ceo candidate is usually liberated from social issue litmus tests by saying that what people do in their private lives does n't affect on-the-job performance . a guy such as trump could embody the old libertarian line , i want the government out of the boardroom and the bedroom . ' many would cheer . but instead , trump has done a 180-degree reversal on abortion ( like mitt romney before him ) in the hopes of winning the gop nomination , because abortion-rights republicans have become an endangered species despite the endurance of individual freedom ' rhetoric . ( we can get into how barry goldwater 's wife co-founded arizona planned parenthood in the 1930s another time . ) even worse , he made a strategic decision to pander to the outer reaches of american politics by embracing thoroughly discredited conspiracy theories to drum up support from the fringe . this has succeeded in the short run , compounded by his already high name recognition . but it will hurt both trump and the gop in the long run , while nuking any hope he had of appealing to independent voters . if trump were to try and run as an independent , he could still win enough votes to poll in the low single digits of the popular vote , as pat buchanan did before him . but given his super-rich persona -- now added to his opportunistic endorsement of obama derangement syndrome -- his votes would come entirely out of the republican nominee 's hide , opening the door for president obama 's re-election . in contrast , perot 's independent campaign won 19 % of the popular vote in 1992 -- coming in second in terms of all-time independent presidential candidacies to theodore roosevelt 's progressive party presidential campaign in 1912 . they won votes from the vast vital center of the american electorate . trump would not . trump has debased himself and any ideas he had of a political career with the serial idiocies he 's articulated in this flirtation with a presidential campaign . of course , there will be a cadre of political consultants who encourage him to run because they see dollar signs in their eyes , not because they are thinking of the good of the republic . this is predictable but pathetic . independent voters are now the largest and fastest-growing segment of the electorate . at the end of the day , we decide which party will win control of congress or which candidate will win the presidency . but a candidate who panders to the extremes and parades his own irresponsibility can not assume that he 'll win independent votes just because he slaps the independent label on a self-funded candidacy . a credible independent candidate needs to be a consistent advocate for the principled positions independent voters care about -- reducing the deficit and debt while combating hyper-partisanship . trump made a decision to inflame polarization in the pursuit of self-promotion . as a result , he sacrificed his right to be taken seriously as well as any claims he had to represent independent voters credibly in the 2012 election . the opinions expressed in this column are solely those of john avlon . | avlon : trump 's embrace of birther rhetoric would doom his appeal to most independent voters |
avlon <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- among the political threats wielded by donald trump in his carnival barker quest for the presidency is that if denied the republican nomination , he would run as an independent . as an independent myself , i usually cheer the prospect of any independent campaign . it shakes up the arrogant assumption that our elections are wholly owned subsidiaries of the two major parties and their respective special interests . but trump has already burned his bridges with most independent voters by choosing to go full birther and pander to the far right wing of the gop . it 's a shame because in his purely ceo persona , trump could have mounted a semi-credible independent campaign . look at what ross perot was able to accomplish with such an appeal nearly 20 years ago or what mayor michael bloomberg has done in new york to date . an independent candidate running on a proven record of executive leadership , job creation and improving american competitiveness could be a serious presidential candidate this time around . especially because a new washington post/abc poll shows that 41 % of american voters now identify as independents . we are the plurality and provide the balance of power in any election . independent voters tend to be closer to republicans on economic issues and closer to democrats on social issues . in other words , they are fiscally conservative but socially liberal . they hate hyper-partisanship and special-interest gridlock in washington , and they have been deficit hawks since at least the days of perot . it 's perhaps useful to remember that perot campaigned primarily on reducing the deficit and the debt at a time when america was struggling to get out of a recession and many people thought that japan was a rising power that would eclipse the united states . now , many of those same conditions exist , with china taking the place of japan in the rise and fall of great powers ' narrative . but crucially , perot was decidedly liberal-to-libertarian in his social beliefs . he was avowedly abortion rights and even back then supported gays in the military . the ceo candidate is usually liberated from social issue litmus tests by saying that what people do in their private lives does n't affect on-the-job performance . a guy such as trump could embody the old libertarian line , i want the government out of the boardroom and the bedroom . ' many would cheer . but instead , trump has done a 180-degree reversal on abortion ( like mitt romney before him ) in the hopes of winning the gop nomination , because abortion-rights republicans have become an endangered species despite the endurance of individual freedom ' rhetoric . ( we can get into how barry goldwater 's wife co-founded arizona planned parenthood in the 1930s another time . ) even worse , he made a strategic decision to pander to the outer reaches of american politics by embracing thoroughly discredited conspiracy theories to drum up support from the fringe . this has succeeded in the short run , compounded by his already high name recognition . but it will hurt both trump and the gop in the long run , while nuking any hope he had of appealing to independent voters . if trump were to try and run as an independent , he could still win enough votes to poll in the low single digits of the popular vote , as pat buchanan did before him . but given his super-rich persona -- now added to his opportunistic endorsement of obama derangement syndrome -- his votes would come entirely out of the republican nominee 's hide , opening the door for president obama 's re-election . in contrast , perot 's independent campaign won 19 % of the popular vote in 1992 -- coming in second in terms of all-time independent presidential candidacies to theodore roosevelt 's progressive party presidential campaign in 1912 . they won votes from the vast vital center of the american electorate . trump would not . trump has debased himself and any ideas he had of a political career with the serial idiocies he 's articulated in this flirtation with a presidential campaign . of course , there will be a cadre of political consultants who encourage him to run because they see dollar signs in their eyes , not because they are thinking of the good of the republic . this is predictable but pathetic . independent voters are now the largest and fastest-growing segment of the electorate . at the end of the day , we decide which party will win control of congress or which candidate will win the presidency . but a candidate who panders to the extremes and parades his own irresponsibility can not assume that he 'll win independent votes just because he slaps the independent label on a self-funded candidacy . a credible independent candidate needs to be a consistent advocate for the principled positions independent voters care about -- reducing the deficit and debt while combating hyper-partisanship . trump made a decision to inflame polarization in the pursuit of self-promotion . as a result , he sacrificed his right to be taken seriously as well as any claims he had to represent independent voters credibly in the 2012 election . the opinions expressed in this column are solely those of john avlon . | in a column published in april , john avlon explores trump 's prospects as an independent candidate |
va <tsp> u.s. veterans are dying because of delays in diagnosis and treatment at va hospitals . at least 19 veterans have died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies or endoscopies , at various va hospitals or clinics , cnn has learned . that 's according to an internal document from the u.s. department of veterans affairs , obtained exclusively by cnn , that deals with patients diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and 2011 . hospital delays are killing war vets the veterans were part of 82 vets who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or endoscopies . barry coates is one of the veterans who has suffered from a delay in care . coates was having excruciating pain and rectal bleeding in 2011 . for a year the army veteran went to several va clinics and hospitals in south carolina , trying to get help . but the va 's diagnosis was hemorrhoids , and aside from simple pain medication he was told he might need a colonoscopy . congress demands answers on va deaths ' the problem was getting worse and i was having more pain , ' coates said , talking about one specific va doctor who he saw every few months . she again examined me and gave me some prescriptions for other things as far as pain and stuff like that and i noticed again she made another comment --'may need colonoscopy .' i told her that something needed to be done , ' said coates . but nothing was ever set up ... a consult was never set up . ' i had already been in pain and suffering from this problem for over six months and it was n't getting better , ' coates said . i told her that if you were in as much pain as i was and had been going through you would n't wait another two months to see what 's going on . you would probably do it this week . ' coates waited months , even begging for an appointment to have his colonoscopy . but he only found himself on a growing list of veterans also waiting for appointments and procedures . he was finally told he could have a colonoscopy , many months later . i took it upon my own self to call the department that scheduled that and ask them about it . and they said this was the earliest appointment that i could get . and i explained to the lady what i had already been through and how much pain i had , and i said if i wait this long there might not be ... ( anything ) we can do about it then . i could be even dead by then . and the only thing she could tell me was'i understand that , sir , but i do n't have any control over that .' finally about a year after first complaining to his doctors of the pain , coates got a colonoscopy and doctors discovered a cancerous tumor the size of a baseball . the now 44-year-old veteran is undergoing chemotherapy in an effort to save his life . it is unclear whether anyone responsible at the va has been fired , demoted or even admonished for the delays in care and treatment . some of the people responsible may have even received bonuses in recent years for their work , despite the delays in care or treatment for the veterans . according to the document obtained by cnn , 10 veterans are confirmed to have died in the south carolina and georgia region alone . and the document shows 29 vets or their families were sent the disclosures , notifying them they had serious adverse events ' because of delayed care . and according to the document the problems go far beyond georgia or south carolina . in the florida region , five veterans are dead , and 14 vets or their families were sent the disclosures , notified that they suffered adverse events ' because of delayed or denied care or diagnosis , according to the exclusive document . in the rocky mountain region , two veterans died , and four families were sent the disclosures or notified . in the texas region , seven vets or their families were sent disclosures about adverse events and serious injuries suffered because of delayed care . coates filed a legal claim , citing the failure of the columbia ( south carolina ) va medical center to timely diagnose his rectal cancer . ' the va settled , but admitted no wrong-doing . i do n't know what my outcome is going to be , ' said coates . i just try to live every day like it 's my last day . ' the new document obtained by cnn shows a worse problem than has previously been made public by the va. as cnn has previously reported , as many as 7,000 veterans were on a backlog list -- waiting too long for colonscopies or endoscopies -- at va facilities in columbia , south carolina and augusta , georgia . after cnn 's detailed accounting of dela-related deaths at the columbia and augusta va hospitals , a bi-partisan group of congressmen visited the hospitals , demanding answers . we have a duty to make sure that the veterans who serve get the best health care possible , ' said rep. john barrow , d-georgia . and it is very obvious that for too long and for too many folks that has n't happened . ' the va said the backlog at those two hospitals has been solved , but that is not a good enough explanation for rep. jeff miller , the chair of the house veterans affairs committee . the fact that we 've had veterans who have died in the very facilities that are supposed to be taking care of them , and not by natural means , by means that could have been prevented is egregious , ' said miller , r-florida . and it 's not acceptable . ' miller said the va , from the top down , has consistently ignored his committee 's requests to find out who is responsible . even with the delays in care which have led to deaths and serious injuries , the congressman said not a single person has been fired or even demoted , and in fact some of those responsible may have even gotten bonuses . i grieve for the families who lost loved ones that could have been with them this christmas that would be celebrating 2014 today had the backlog not existed , ' said miller . that 's not what anybody in this country wants for our veterans . ' he said the lack of accountability is what angers him most . that 's why we asked the question again today , with members of the south carolina delegation and georgia delegation , tell us exactly who was disciplined and how . i do n't want to hear the excuse anymore that'it was multi-faceted . ... there were many people involved' said miller . well if there were many people involved then they all need to go . we are not asking for one particular person , we want to know exactly why things happened and who was held responsible , at this point publicly , we have n't seen anybody held responsible . ' cnn has made repeated requests for interviews with top officials at the va , including president obama 's appointed head of the department of veterans affairs , secretary eric shinseki . the requests have all been denied , or ignored . the va did issue a written statement from dr. robert petzel , the under secretary for health at the department of veterans affairs . in the statement , petzel wrote that the department of veterans affairs ( va ) cares deeply for every veteran we are privileged to serve . our goal is to provide the best quality , safe and effective health care our veterans have earned and deserve . we take seriously any issue that occurs at any one of the more than 1,700 va health care facilities across the country . ' he also stated : as a result of the consult delay issue va discovered at two of our medical centers , the veterans health administration ( vha ) conducted a national review of consults across the system . we have redesigned the consult process to better monitor consult timeliness . we continue to take action to strengthen oversight mechanisms and prevent a similar delay at another va medical center . we take any issue of this nature extremely seriously and offer our sincerest condolences to families and individuals who have been affected and lost a loved one . ' in august 2007 , presidential candidate barack obama gave a campaign speech to veterans specifically addressing wait lists , denied care and poor treatment of vets . he promised his administration would be different . no veteran should have to fill out a 23-page claim to get care , or wait months -- even years -- to get an appointment at the va , ' said then-candidate obama . when we fail to keep faith with our veterans , the bond between our nation and our nation 's heroes becomes frayed . when a veteran is denied care , we are all dishonored . ' but coates said for him the speech is an empty promise . someone needs to stand and face the person who suffered and the veterans who have died and say ,'hey it was me , i let the ball drop ,' he said . how many lives are we going to lose from this ? ' when is it going to be corrected ? ' | the delays occurred at va hospitals and clinics |
barry coates <tsp> u.s. veterans are dying because of delays in diagnosis and treatment at va hospitals . at least 19 veterans have died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies or endoscopies , at various va hospitals or clinics , cnn has learned . that 's according to an internal document from the u.s. department of veterans affairs , obtained exclusively by cnn , that deals with patients diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and 2011 . hospital delays are killing war vets the veterans were part of 82 vets who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or endoscopies . barry coates is one of the veterans who has suffered from a delay in care . coates was having excruciating pain and rectal bleeding in 2011 . for a year the army veteran went to several va clinics and hospitals in south carolina , trying to get help . but the va 's diagnosis was hemorrhoids , and aside from simple pain medication he was told he might need a colonoscopy . congress demands answers on va deaths ' the problem was getting worse and i was having more pain , ' coates said , talking about one specific va doctor who he saw every few months . she again examined me and gave me some prescriptions for other things as far as pain and stuff like that and i noticed again she made another comment --'may need colonoscopy .' i told her that something needed to be done , ' said coates . but nothing was ever set up ... a consult was never set up . ' i had already been in pain and suffering from this problem for over six months and it was n't getting better , ' coates said . i told her that if you were in as much pain as i was and had been going through you would n't wait another two months to see what 's going on . you would probably do it this week . ' coates waited months , even begging for an appointment to have his colonoscopy . but he only found himself on a growing list of veterans also waiting for appointments and procedures . he was finally told he could have a colonoscopy , many months later . i took it upon my own self to call the department that scheduled that and ask them about it . and they said this was the earliest appointment that i could get . and i explained to the lady what i had already been through and how much pain i had , and i said if i wait this long there might not be ... ( anything ) we can do about it then . i could be even dead by then . and the only thing she could tell me was'i understand that , sir , but i do n't have any control over that .' finally about a year after first complaining to his doctors of the pain , coates got a colonoscopy and doctors discovered a cancerous tumor the size of a baseball . the now 44-year-old veteran is undergoing chemotherapy in an effort to save his life . it is unclear whether anyone responsible at the va has been fired , demoted or even admonished for the delays in care and treatment . some of the people responsible may have even received bonuses in recent years for their work , despite the delays in care or treatment for the veterans . according to the document obtained by cnn , 10 veterans are confirmed to have died in the south carolina and georgia region alone . and the document shows 29 vets or their families were sent the disclosures , notifying them they had serious adverse events ' because of delayed care . and according to the document the problems go far beyond georgia or south carolina . in the florida region , five veterans are dead , and 14 vets or their families were sent the disclosures , notified that they suffered adverse events ' because of delayed or denied care or diagnosis , according to the exclusive document . in the rocky mountain region , two veterans died , and four families were sent the disclosures or notified . in the texas region , seven vets or their families were sent disclosures about adverse events and serious injuries suffered because of delayed care . coates filed a legal claim , citing the failure of the columbia ( south carolina ) va medical center to timely diagnose his rectal cancer . ' the va settled , but admitted no wrong-doing . i do n't know what my outcome is going to be , ' said coates . i just try to live every day like it 's my last day . ' the new document obtained by cnn shows a worse problem than has previously been made public by the va. as cnn has previously reported , as many as 7,000 veterans were on a backlog list -- waiting too long for colonscopies or endoscopies -- at va facilities in columbia , south carolina and augusta , georgia . after cnn 's detailed accounting of dela-related deaths at the columbia and augusta va hospitals , a bi-partisan group of congressmen visited the hospitals , demanding answers . we have a duty to make sure that the veterans who serve get the best health care possible , ' said rep. john barrow , d-georgia . and it is very obvious that for too long and for too many folks that has n't happened . ' the va said the backlog at those two hospitals has been solved , but that is not a good enough explanation for rep. jeff miller , the chair of the house veterans affairs committee . the fact that we 've had veterans who have died in the very facilities that are supposed to be taking care of them , and not by natural means , by means that could have been prevented is egregious , ' said miller , r-florida . and it 's not acceptable . ' miller said the va , from the top down , has consistently ignored his committee 's requests to find out who is responsible . even with the delays in care which have led to deaths and serious injuries , the congressman said not a single person has been fired or even demoted , and in fact some of those responsible may have even gotten bonuses . i grieve for the families who lost loved ones that could have been with them this christmas that would be celebrating 2014 today had the backlog not existed , ' said miller . that 's not what anybody in this country wants for our veterans . ' he said the lack of accountability is what angers him most . that 's why we asked the question again today , with members of the south carolina delegation and georgia delegation , tell us exactly who was disciplined and how . i do n't want to hear the excuse anymore that'it was multi-faceted . ... there were many people involved' said miller . well if there were many people involved then they all need to go . we are not asking for one particular person , we want to know exactly why things happened and who was held responsible , at this point publicly , we have n't seen anybody held responsible . ' cnn has made repeated requests for interviews with top officials at the va , including president obama 's appointed head of the department of veterans affairs , secretary eric shinseki . the requests have all been denied , or ignored . the va did issue a written statement from dr. robert petzel , the under secretary for health at the department of veterans affairs . in the statement , petzel wrote that the department of veterans affairs ( va ) cares deeply for every veteran we are privileged to serve . our goal is to provide the best quality , safe and effective health care our veterans have earned and deserve . we take seriously any issue that occurs at any one of the more than 1,700 va health care facilities across the country . ' he also stated : as a result of the consult delay issue va discovered at two of our medical centers , the veterans health administration ( vha ) conducted a national review of consults across the system . we have redesigned the consult process to better monitor consult timeliness . we continue to take action to strengthen oversight mechanisms and prevent a similar delay at another va medical center . we take any issue of this nature extremely seriously and offer our sincerest condolences to families and individuals who have been affected and lost a loved one . ' in august 2007 , presidential candidate barack obama gave a campaign speech to veterans specifically addressing wait lists , denied care and poor treatment of vets . he promised his administration would be different . no veteran should have to fill out a 23-page claim to get care , or wait months -- even years -- to get an appointment at the va , ' said then-candidate obama . when we fail to keep faith with our veterans , the bond between our nation and our nation 's heroes becomes frayed . when a veteran is denied care , we are all dishonored . ' but coates said for him the speech is an empty promise . someone needs to stand and face the person who suffered and the veterans who have died and say ,'hey it was me , i let the ball drop ,' he said . how many lives are we going to lose from this ? ' when is it going to be corrected ? ' | it took a year for veteran barry coates to get a colonoscopy |
mullen <tsp> sanaa , yemen ( cnn ) -- the yemeni government has lost control over five provinces , and security in the country is deteriorating , the nation 's acting president told cnn in an exclusive interview wednesday . in his first interview with a western tv network , vice president abdu rabu mansoor hadi detailed how u.s. drones are using voice recognition to target al qaeda leaders and help the government win back control . hadi has been yemen 's acting president since june 3 , when president ali abdullah saleh was wounded in an attack on the mosque at the presidential palace . during wednesday 's hour-long meeting , hadi said saleh 's wounds from what he described as an assassination attempt were so severe that he has no idea when the president will return from medical treatment in saudi arabia . hadi said he saw saleh immediately after the bomb attack . the 68-year-old ruler 's chest had been pierce by a piece of wood and his face , arms and upper body had been burned , hadi said . but , he added , the president 's health was improving daily . the interview in the sprawling and heavily defended defense ministry underlined the many challenges facing the vice president , who many in the opposition consider to be a weak placeholder until the president returns from saudi arabia . he acknowledges that his house is surrounded by opposing forces , but he challenges claims that he is unable to use the presidential palace . hadi says he calls saleh 's son , commander of the powerful republican guard at the palace , whenever he wants to give him orders . he countered opposition accusations that he has no power , saying he has been given full authority to sign a new , u.n.-sponsored peace proposal . he outlined plans that are even less favorable to saleh 's opponents than a gulf cooperation council initiative he has already turned down . hadi said the new deal would have saleh stepping down only when a new president has been elected , a far cry from the gulf council proposal that would have saleh handing power to hadi after 30 days with new elections within 60 days . at times , hadi -- who lived in britain during the 1960s -- shifted uncomfortably in his seat , even joking at the end of the interview that he felt he 'd been through an interrogation . nevertheless , he gave a robust defense of saleh , challenging the widely held view that the embattled leader is now part of the problem , rather than part of the solution . saleh still has 3 million supporters , hadi said . he is part of the political balance here in yemen . he has been an expert in dealing with all differences , and with all political and tribal differences , ' hadi said . when asked how al qaeda may have been taking advantage of deteriorating security , hadi said government forces were targeting them aggressively . he detailed an ongoing operation in the southern abyan province , where the capital recently fell to al qaeda . he also gave an account of how u.s. spy planes eavesdrop on al qaeda conversations , running voice recognition analysis that is shared with yemeni authorities , the cia and the fbi before targets are attacked . hadi said there are two types of drones . one is taking pictures and collecting information , and the other one is carrying missiles . drones carrying missiles , actually these missiles could not be fired ... unless the voice of the enemy himself is recorded , ' he said . often , he said , the united states provides the targeting information and yemeni military forces carry out the attacks . hadi offered few insights into how he plans to end yemen 's spiraling economic hardships , growing fuel and power shortages and rising food prices -- issues that have sparked massive anti-government protests over the past several months and have worsened sharply since the president left for treatment in saudi arabia . but he said he expected saleh to make a speech to the nation in the coming hours that will help change the situation . and he said the u.n.-sponsored peace proposal will create a new , parliamentary political system in yemen , so it will wipe out or vanish any grievances , any complaints . ' saleh went to saudi arabia for treatment after doctors examined him shortly after the attack in early june . they recommended he get attention from specialists , including an eye doctor . since arriving there , he said , the president had been improving and fully intends to return . but when asked when that would be , he said he did not know . it could be months . this is a decision up to the doctors . ... i have no idea about the exact date when he is coming , ' hadi said . in washington , chairman of the joint chiefs of staff adm. mike mullen said the chaos in yemen has been a source of concern to the united states for years . al qaeda , the federated group that 's in yemen , is an incredibly dangerous group that has taken full advantage of the chaos that has been in that country , ' he told the national press club . but , he added , the military can not provide the whole answer . the security piece is a necessary condition , but it is insufficient in and of itself and it 's taken us a long time to figure that out . ' | new : there 's not a military answer anywhere , ' says adm. mullen |
kevin hart <tsp> ( cnn ) -- boisterous and uninhibited on screen , comedic actor kevin hart has quietly risen to the top in hollywood . five years ago , hart was best known as a comedian on the cusp of a breakthrough ; now he 's dominating the comedy stage and the screen . his january film release , ride along , ' opened at no . 1 , and there are high expectations for his next movie , think like a man too , ' coming out friday . with a devoted fan base and an unrepentant work ethic , the 33-year-old has quietly transformed into a burgeoning powerhouse . how exactly did he do it ? let 's recount : 1 . persistence like with most entertainers , hart is familiar with the valleys that come before finding fame . the philadelphia native and one-time shoe salesman initially began performing in the late '90s under the name lil kev the bastard , ' but the comedy career he was angling for suffered from a slow start . instead of dropping out for good , hart worked with a mentor and re-evaluated his position : he started performing under his own name and began to hit with his brand of loud , physical comedy that drew from personal stories . while doing stand-up , he also branched out into acting , landing roles in judd apatow productions such as undeclared ' ( 2002 ) and the 40-year-old virgin ' ( 2005 ) . his 2004 tv series , the big house , ' did n't take off , but no matter -- his satiric take on reality tv , bet 's real husbands of hollywood , ' has been picked up for a third season . the one thing about the business of entertainment is that you have to learn patience , ' hart told entertainment weekly in 2011 after the independent release of his comedy tour , laugh at my pain , ' did surprisingly well at the box office . the thing with patience is your time will come , there 's just no telling when . your job is to be ready when the time comes . ' 2 . authenticity a huge part of hart 's appeal is his willingness to mine his own fears and foibles for comedy gold , a practice that made laugh at my pain ' and the 2013 top performer that followed , let me explain , ' major moneymakers . his father 's struggle with addiction , his divorce and ( especially ) his short stature are all topics that hart unabashedly broaches in his routines with a quick and sharp wit . his comedy comes from such a real place , ' hart 's frequent co-star , seth rogen , told rolling stone . and he 's funny as hell . ' 3 . versatility what 's made hart such an inescapable presence is his ability to mix up his repertoire . he 's become a master of stand-up comedy , executive-produces and stars in a spoof comedy series , can host an mtv awards show and is a natural with the raunchy comedy of apatow 's universe . and on the other hand , he can also slip into the family-friendly world of abc 's modern family ' with ease . ( yes , that was hart guest-starring as the dunphys'neighbor , andre , in 2011 and 2012 . ) from the 2012 rom-com release the five-year engagement ' to the 2013 sports flick grudge match ' with robert de niro and sylvester stallone , there are n't many worlds that hart ca n't inhabit . 4 . cultivating an audience with more than 10 million followers on twitter and an eagerness to connect with his fans , hart is the antithesis of the unreachable a-lister . this is a guy who was named forbes'sixth-highest earning comedian of 2013 -- but still promises to make surprise appearances at local movie theaters . that 's the kind of intimacy that could make fans stick around for the long haul . 5 . no breaks by his own admission , hart is industrious . but you do n't need to hear him say it -- he often uses the phrase , everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to do the work ! ' -- to know that 's true . once his 2014 raft of movies is done -- which include ride along , ' about last night ' and now think like a man too ' -- hart has at least another five projects in the works through 2016 . see more content about the funny business at cnn comedy . | kevin hart has transformed himself into a box-office powerhouse |
sprint nextel <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- cell phone users will get text message alerts of emergencies under a new nationwide alert system approved late wednesday by the federal communications commission , according to fcc spokesman robert kenny . an emergency text message would be sent in the event of a widespread disaster , severe weather or child abduction . under the plan , the fcc will appoint a federal agency to create the messages and pass them on to cell phone companies that choose to participate , an fcc representative said earlier . once that agency is named , the participating cell phone providers would have 10 months to comply with the new system 's requirements . it is essential that we support and advance new ways to share critical , time-sensitive information with them in times of crisis , ' fcc chairman kevin j. martin said in a written statement . earlier , the fcc representative explained how the plan would work . cell phone companies that voluntarily opt into the system would send text-based alert messages to subscribers in response to three types of events : t-mobile , verizon , sprint nextel and at & t all stated that they would be likely to opt into the alert system if it is passed by the fcc . while we obviously need to review the details of the fcc 's decision , we look forward to offering mobile emergency alerts to our customers , ' at & t said in a written statement . a sprint representative said the company would participate if the fcc adopts the plan exactly as it was recommended by an advisory group . a federal agency , yet to be appointed , would create the messages and information that would go to the participating cell phone companies , an fcc spokesman said . once that agency is named , all carriers that opt into the system will have to meet the requirements of the system within 10 months . subscribers would be able to opt out of receiving the messages , according to the current plan , and carriers would be required to provide vibration or audio attention signals with a distinct sound for people with disabilities . the alert system plan was generated from an act congress passed in 2006 that looked at emergency communications . the act directed the national telecommunications and information administration , the department of homeland security , the fcc and other agencies to work together to enhance and expand the capabilities of emergency communications in the united states . e-mail to a friend | t-mobile , verizon , sprint nextel and at & t say they would opt into system |
beautiful heartache <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- in her first television interview since mel gibson went public with their relationship in april , his girlfriend , oksana grigorieva , made it clear to cnn : i 'd like to be known for my music . ' oksana grigorieva and mel gibson are expecting a child this year . still , the 39-year-old singer was willing to talk about her beau and her pregnancy , as well as her new album , beautiful heartache . ' beautiful heartache ' was released to itunes on july 23 by icon distribution , gibson 's company , which up until now has handled only soundtracks for his movies . he 's an incredible artist , ' grigorieva said . a visionary . he enabled me to produce this album , for my music to live . ' the oscar-winning ( braveheart ' ) filmmaker also directed four music videos for grigorieva during a whirlwind week in mexico . watch grigorieva talk about gibson , love » ' they 're like dramatic miniature films -- a whirlpool of different , exciting , bright images . that 's quite rare , ' she said . the music videos and music are available on her web site , www.oksana.fm . grigorieva has a background in music . she said she was classically trained as a pianist in her native russia , and both her parents are musicians . in 2006 , a song she penned called un dia llegara ' was recorded by josh groban for his album awake . ' though she describes her album as being about different facets of love , ' she cautions that listeners should n't overthink the lyrics . this album is not autobiographical -- maybe only partially so . it 's not a diary . ' gibson , 53 , and his wife of nearly 30 years , robyn , filed for divorce in april . the two have seven children . grigorieva and gibson were first photographed together on the set of his movie edge of darkness , ' according to people magazine . grigorieva is pregnant with gibson 's child and is to give birth this year . she said the couple has opted not to learn the sex of the child . it will be her second child , after alexander , her 12-year-old son with actor timothy dalton . i 'm already buying things in gender-neutral colors . it 's very cute , ' she chuckled . alexander , she added , is excited about having a sibling . he 's like a little man , protecting me . he 's looking forward to it very much . ' grigorieva says she and gibson have no immediate plans for marriage . we do n't know yet . we have n't really talked about it , ' she admitted . she acknowledged that her relationship with gibson has given her a unique opportunity to present her skills . if you think about it , every talent needs a serious push and help from somebody who is stronger , because it 's pretty much impossible for anybody to succeed in this industry . so i 've become very lucky , and i 'm very grateful , ' she said . you do n't control the situations or the people you meet . i did not plan this . i 'm just doing what i 've always been doing . it 's not like i 've changed my goals at all . ' in the meantime , grigorieva is adapting to life in the public eye . it has n't been too bad , actually . there was a period of time where it was a little bit difficult , but now it 's much better , ' she said . before embarking on limited press for the new album , gibson did offer a few words of advice , she added : just be myself and speak the truth . what i most like to talk about is my music and'beautiful heartache .'and that 's pretty much it . ' | grigorieva has a new album , beautiful heartache ' |
united states <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the death toll from a string of hurricanes and tropical storms in haiti has risen to nearly 800 people , an official with the haitian red cross says . a man carries drinking water through the flooded streets of gonaives , haiti , last month . jean pierre guiteau , the group 's executive officer , said they suspected the numbers may climb further because many people were still missing . heavy rainfall from four major storms in august and september created fatal flooding and mudslides in haiti . tropical storm fay caused flooding and significant damage when it hit the impoverished island nation . heavy rains from hurricane gustav , considered a major hurricane , caused destructive mudslides after it made landfall in haiti on august 26 , the u.s. national hurricane center said . tropical storm hanna passed over northern haiti in early september , bringing heavy rain and flooding . ike , another major hurricane , caused flooding and mudslides . the united states has provided more than $ 30 million in humanitarian assistance to haiti in the wake of the storms , the u.s. agency for international development said . the united nations'central emergency response fund has allocated more than $ 4 million for post-hurricane humanitarian aid , the agency said . the u.s. navy sent the uss kearsarge to haiti last month to deliver more than 1,400 metric tons of relief supplies , in support of usaid and the world food program . it delivered heavy lift helicopters to carry rice , water , plywood and other supplies to haitians , and also carried medical and engineering teams to remote parts of the country . even before the tropical weather struck haiti , an estimated 2.3 million haitians had fallen into food insecurity , with dramatic increases in prices for staple foods , usaid has said . | united states has provided more than $ 30 million in humanitarian aid |
italy <tsp> fumicino , italy ( cnn ) -- under a canopy of elegant italian pines , the foundations of a mini roman coliseum are at once unmistakable and exhilarating . the intricate statue head archeologists unearthed while excavating the site at fumicino , italy in early 2009 the structure at portus , ' the romans'ancient mediterranean port , has remained undiscovered for eighteen centuries until now . university of southampton archaeologists have just this summer uncovered the remains of an amphitheater , a roman warehouse and the ruins of an imperial palace even though archaeologists have been digging at this site since the 19th century . it 's true i think also to say that we have kind of rediscovered it because the great italian archaeologist rodolfo lanciani reported the discovery of a theater in the 1860s but nobody could actually find it , ' says professor simon keay , a leading expert on roman archaeology at the university of southampton . watch a report on the site 's discovery » ' there is only one imperial rome , and rome only had one imperial port and portus is that port . in a sense it is trying to give an idea not only of the importance by virtue of that but also because the archaeological potential of it is huge , ' adds keay . the site is a feast for the eyes in the true roman sense . excavations have unearthed priceless treasures apart from the foundations of the amphitheater . see images of the site » an exquisite white marble head of a statue was found close to the site of the amphitheater . experts believe it could be a bust of ulysses or possibly a greek sailor . rare and finely carved fragments of columns have also been found . when we first started the project , everything you would have seen here was grass , a couple of trees , ' explains keay . we very nearly fell into a hole because we could n't actually see what we were doing . clearly we have completely exposed this area and because these buildings are so big it is only by uncovering large areas of them that we can actually understand their function and their development , ' says keay . the site is ironically less than a mile from rome 's modern transport hub , fumicino international airport , and this discovery owes more than a nod to modern technology . using modern sensors , ground-penetrating radar and probes , researchers complied computer images of what lay beneath . they were dazzled by what modern technology revealed about the ancient past . so we then played around with it on the computer screen , we did a virtual reconstruction of it and amphitheater shape grew out of the screen and we knew that we were on to something very special , ' says keay . the excavations in fumicino , italy , just outside rome , continue in a joint project named portus ' with the university of southampton , the british school at rome , the italian archaeological superintendency for ostia and the university of cambridge . | archeologists are excavating site in fumicino , italy , just outside rome |
david <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- actress patricia clarkson has a giggle whenever she thinks about the handwritten letter she received from the great woody allen . woody allen , patricia clarkson , evan rachel wood and larry david worked together on whatever works . ' the actress , who first worked with the famed director on the 2008 film vicky cristina barcelona , ' was tickled by a letter on allen 's personal stationery in which he said he had written a part for her , but if you have something better to do , i 'll understand . ' you know , he had me at the letter , ' clarkson said . it 's woody allen !'if you have something better to do'? woody , come on ! ' clarkson definitely made time to perform in allen 's latest film , whatever works . ' the movie centers on a quirky , grouchy new yorker -- played by the aptly cast larry david -- who abandons his privileged life to become more bohemian and hooks up with a younger woman played by evan rachel wood . david , the seinfeld ' co-creator known for his curmudgeonly ways and his hit hbo series curb your enthusiasm , ' had appeared briefly in two earlier allen films , radio days ' and new york stories . ' ew ranks every single allen film david said he was slightly hesitant about embracing a role as large as that of boris yellnikoff in whatever works . ' i read the script and i looked at the first page and there 's boris all over the first page , then i turned to page 50 , and there 's boris on page 50 , then i went to the last page , and there 's a big monologue by this character boris , and i thought ,'oh , wow , this is something ,' david said . so i called [ allen ] up on the phone , and i said ,'i do n't know if i can do this , you 're making a big mistake !' watch david talk about allen encouraging him to stretch ' » david said allen convinced him that he could pull it off . he said he enjoyed his time acting for the iconic director who , he said , was great to work with and allowed his actors freedom . if you 're not comfortable with something , he does n't want you to do it , ' david said . he does n't mind if you change his words -- he 's very easy . it was very easy to work with him . ' it was n't as easy to work with clarkson , david said , because she is such an amazing talent . you forget that you 're in the movie because you 're just enjoying what she 's doing , ' david said . then all of a sudden it dawns on you ,'oh , hey , i 've got a line coming up , i better get back to this movie .' clarkson , who recently garnered buzz for her appearance in the justin timberlake-andy samberg motherlover ' snl skit , plays marietta , the mother of yellnikoff 's young paramour . she echoed david 's admiration and said working with the comedian in an allen-helmed film was incredible . you have a part written by woody , you 're being directed by woody , and then you 're acting with larry david , ' she said . it 's just genius , genius , genius , and then you have evan rachel wood , who 's this beautiful , amazing emerging star . i was in heaven every single day on that set . ' the movie marks wood 's debut in a comedy , and like david , she found the experience a bit daunting at first . not only am i doing woody allen dialogue , but opposite larry , ' she said . thank god he was just as nervous as i was , because he does'curb ,'but that 's mainly improv , so he never had to really memorize lines before . ' her character melody , wood said , is n't exactly dumb , but she is earnest . she is incredibly naïve and just a very sweet southern girl who sees the good in everything and everybody and is determined to have a happy life , while boris is determined to have a miserable one , ' she said . i think that 's why they end up together . opposites attract . ' and even though wood grew up in north carolina , she said allen encouraged her to tap even further into her roots for the role . woody always told me ,'more southern , more southern ,' she said . i was so worried about going over the top , and he really pushed me . i 'm glad he did . ' although some of the characters hail from below the mason-dixon line , whatever works ' was shot in the mainstay setting of most of allen 's films , new york city . clarkson , who was born in new orleans but lives in new york , said she marvels at how the director is able to attack similar themes like love , romance and the life of new york intellectuals while still keeping his films fresh . and yet , i do n't know how he does it , ' clarkson said . and for me , this character , he takes this kind of archetypal southern character , and he 's such a yankee , yet he figures out this beautiful way to come at this character fresh , which is almost impossible , and he did it . ' | movie stars larry david , rachel evan wood and patricia clarkson |
david <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- actress patricia clarkson has a giggle whenever she thinks about the handwritten letter she received from the great woody allen . woody allen , patricia clarkson , evan rachel wood and larry david worked together on whatever works . ' the actress , who first worked with the famed director on the 2008 film vicky cristina barcelona , ' was tickled by a letter on allen 's personal stationery in which he said he had written a part for her , but if you have something better to do , i 'll understand . ' you know , he had me at the letter , ' clarkson said . it 's woody allen !'if you have something better to do'? woody , come on ! ' clarkson definitely made time to perform in allen 's latest film , whatever works . ' the movie centers on a quirky , grouchy new yorker -- played by the aptly cast larry david -- who abandons his privileged life to become more bohemian and hooks up with a younger woman played by evan rachel wood . david , the seinfeld ' co-creator known for his curmudgeonly ways and his hit hbo series curb your enthusiasm , ' had appeared briefly in two earlier allen films , radio days ' and new york stories . ' ew ranks every single allen film david said he was slightly hesitant about embracing a role as large as that of boris yellnikoff in whatever works . ' i read the script and i looked at the first page and there 's boris all over the first page , then i turned to page 50 , and there 's boris on page 50 , then i went to the last page , and there 's a big monologue by this character boris , and i thought ,'oh , wow , this is something ,' david said . so i called [ allen ] up on the phone , and i said ,'i do n't know if i can do this , you 're making a big mistake !' watch david talk about allen encouraging him to stretch ' » david said allen convinced him that he could pull it off . he said he enjoyed his time acting for the iconic director who , he said , was great to work with and allowed his actors freedom . if you 're not comfortable with something , he does n't want you to do it , ' david said . he does n't mind if you change his words -- he 's very easy . it was very easy to work with him . ' it was n't as easy to work with clarkson , david said , because she is such an amazing talent . you forget that you 're in the movie because you 're just enjoying what she 's doing , ' david said . then all of a sudden it dawns on you ,'oh , hey , i 've got a line coming up , i better get back to this movie .' clarkson , who recently garnered buzz for her appearance in the justin timberlake-andy samberg motherlover ' snl skit , plays marietta , the mother of yellnikoff 's young paramour . she echoed david 's admiration and said working with the comedian in an allen-helmed film was incredible . you have a part written by woody , you 're being directed by woody , and then you 're acting with larry david , ' she said . it 's just genius , genius , genius , and then you have evan rachel wood , who 's this beautiful , amazing emerging star . i was in heaven every single day on that set . ' the movie marks wood 's debut in a comedy , and like david , she found the experience a bit daunting at first . not only am i doing woody allen dialogue , but opposite larry , ' she said . thank god he was just as nervous as i was , because he does'curb ,'but that 's mainly improv , so he never had to really memorize lines before . ' her character melody , wood said , is n't exactly dumb , but she is earnest . she is incredibly naïve and just a very sweet southern girl who sees the good in everything and everybody and is determined to have a happy life , while boris is determined to have a miserable one , ' she said . i think that 's why they end up together . opposites attract . ' and even though wood grew up in north carolina , she said allen encouraged her to tap even further into her roots for the role . woody always told me ,'more southern , more southern ,' she said . i was so worried about going over the top , and he really pushed me . i 'm glad he did . ' although some of the characters hail from below the mason-dixon line , whatever works ' was shot in the mainstay setting of most of allen 's films , new york city . clarkson , who was born in new orleans but lives in new york , said she marvels at how the director is able to attack similar themes like love , romance and the life of new york intellectuals while still keeping his films fresh . and yet , i do n't know how he does it , ' clarkson said . and for me , this character , he takes this kind of archetypal southern character , and he 's such a yankee , yet he figures out this beautiful way to come at this character fresh , which is almost impossible , and he did it . ' | david plays a grouchy new yorker who takes up with the younger wood |
virginia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a 47-year-old virginia man was charged monday with interfering with a flight crew during a flight last week in which he allegedly became intoxicated and unruly , leading authorities to scramble fighter jets and the pilot to make an emergency landing . the incident occurred friday when muhammad abu tahir , a pakistani national and lawful permanent u.s. resident of glen allen , virginia , was aboard airtran airways flight 39 from atlanta , georgia , to san francisco , california . during the flight , a flight attendant served tahir , seated in coach , three airplane-serving-sized bottles of wine , then refused to serve him more , according to a two-page affidavit filed monday by the fbi . he appealed to the senior flight attendant , who granted him a fourth , then a fifth bottle , both of which he downed quickly , it said . tahir then went to a bathroom in the rear of the plane and closed the door , opening it a few minutes later and placing his shoes and socks outside the door , then retreating back inside , the affidavit said . a short time later , tahir again opened the lavatory door revealing that he was shaving with no shirt on , ' it added . when a flight attendant knocked on the door and encouraged him to leave the bathroom so others could use it , tahir refused and started yelling at the flight attendant that he was being disrespected , ' it said . notified of the passenger 's behavior , the captain advised the senior flight attendant to enlist the help of a passenger to stand outside the lavatory in case help was needed , it said . but tahir continued yelling and refused to obey the crew , at one point grabbing the senior flight attendant by her arms and hands , releasing her only after a passenger interceded , the affidavit said . by this time , a fire extinguisher had been carried to the rear of the plane for possible use against the man and a beverage cart was repositioned to contain tahir , according to the affidavit . while tahir remained inside the lavatory , the pilot made an emergency landing in colorado springs , colorado , where police officers took tahir to the el paso county jail , where he remained monday . tahir told the fbi that he felt he was being disrespected when the flight attendants denied his request for food , which was being served in business class , the affidavit said . the charges tahir faces will be read wednesday in u.s. district court in denver and a detention hearing and preliminary hearing are to be scheduled for later in the week . it is crucial that the flying public obey the commands of the flight crew , ' said u.s. attorney david gaouette . if convicted , tahir faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $ 250,000 fine , or both , as well as restitution to the airline . the incident was the second in three days in which north american aerospace defense command fighter jets were scrambled in response to a passenger deemed disruptive . on wednesday , norad escorted a hawaii-bound plane back to its origination city of portland , oregon , after a passenger gave a flight attendant a note that was interpreted as being threatening . the passenger , joseph hedlund johnson , 56 , told the fbi he had n't intended to scare anyone with the note , which began , i thought i was going to die , ' and referenced the television show gilligan 's island . ' | 47-year-old virginia man charged with interfering with a flight crew |
us <tsp> tokyo ( financial times ) -- japan has posted its narrowest trade deficit for nine months , helped by a big rise in the value of shipments to the us , which has toppled china as japan 's number one export destination . provisional figures released on thursday by japan 's finance ministry showed that overall exports rose 1.1 per cent in march from a year earlier to y6.3tn ( $ 64bn ) , while imports -- boosted by fuel to replace idled nuclear capacity -- were up 5.5 per cent to y6.6tn . the resulting y362bn deficit was the smallest since a small surplus recorded last june , on an unadjusted basis . figures for the full fiscal year to the end of march , also published on thursday , showed that japan 's exports to china fell 9 per cent to y11.3tn , while exports to the us rose 10 per cent to y11.4tn . the data suggest japan 's revival under a new prime minister will rely more on the outlook in the us than in china , which helped japan 's export-dependent economy through the difficult post-lehman period . trade between asia 's two largest economies has been knocked by the slowdown in china and also by the effects of a diplomatic dispute between tokyo and beijing over a chain of islands in the east china sea . meanwhile , data for march showed a revival in big-ticket orders from the us . shipments of transport equipment and machinery accounted for 2.1 and 3.3 percentage points of the 7 per cent year-on-year increase , respectively . the us surrendered its position as japan 's top destination for exports early in 2009 , following china 's aggressive fiscal stimulus amid the global financial crisis . monthly shipments to the us have exceeded those to china since then , but mainly during january and february , when trade patterns are distorted by new-year holidays in china . japan 's overall trade deficit stood at y8.2tn for the fiscal year ended in march , the widest since records began . the nation 's trade balance slipped into deficit in march 2011 , following the huge earthquake that ruptured supply chains and triggered the closure of almost all of japan 's nuclear reactors . the y922bn deficit recorded in march , on a seasonally-adjusted basis , was the 25th in a row since then . © the financial times limited 2013 | us demand shrinks japan trade deficit to narrowest in nine months |
us <tsp> tokyo ( financial times ) -- japan has posted its narrowest trade deficit for nine months , helped by a big rise in the value of shipments to the us , which has toppled china as japan 's number one export destination . provisional figures released on thursday by japan 's finance ministry showed that overall exports rose 1.1 per cent in march from a year earlier to y6.3tn ( $ 64bn ) , while imports -- boosted by fuel to replace idled nuclear capacity -- were up 5.5 per cent to y6.6tn . the resulting y362bn deficit was the smallest since a small surplus recorded last june , on an unadjusted basis . figures for the full fiscal year to the end of march , also published on thursday , showed that japan 's exports to china fell 9 per cent to y11.3tn , while exports to the us rose 10 per cent to y11.4tn . the data suggest japan 's revival under a new prime minister will rely more on the outlook in the us than in china , which helped japan 's export-dependent economy through the difficult post-lehman period . trade between asia 's two largest economies has been knocked by the slowdown in china and also by the effects of a diplomatic dispute between tokyo and beijing over a chain of islands in the east china sea . meanwhile , data for march showed a revival in big-ticket orders from the us . shipments of transport equipment and machinery accounted for 2.1 and 3.3 percentage points of the 7 per cent year-on-year increase , respectively . the us surrendered its position as japan 's top destination for exports early in 2009 , following china 's aggressive fiscal stimulus amid the global financial crisis . monthly shipments to the us have exceeded those to china since then , but mainly during january and february , when trade patterns are distorted by new-year holidays in china . japan 's overall trade deficit stood at y8.2tn for the fiscal year ended in march , the widest since records began . the nation 's trade balance slipped into deficit in march 2011 , following the huge earthquake that ruptured supply chains and triggered the closure of almost all of japan 's nuclear reactors . the y922bn deficit recorded in march , on a seasonally-adjusted basis , was the 25th in a row since then . © the financial times limited 2013 | japan 's march deficit was y362bn , or about us $ 3.7bn |
us <tsp> tokyo ( financial times ) -- japan has posted its narrowest trade deficit for nine months , helped by a big rise in the value of shipments to the us , which has toppled china as japan 's number one export destination . provisional figures released on thursday by japan 's finance ministry showed that overall exports rose 1.1 per cent in march from a year earlier to y6.3tn ( $ 64bn ) , while imports -- boosted by fuel to replace idled nuclear capacity -- were up 5.5 per cent to y6.6tn . the resulting y362bn deficit was the smallest since a small surplus recorded last june , on an unadjusted basis . figures for the full fiscal year to the end of march , also published on thursday , showed that japan 's exports to china fell 9 per cent to y11.3tn , while exports to the us rose 10 per cent to y11.4tn . the data suggest japan 's revival under a new prime minister will rely more on the outlook in the us than in china , which helped japan 's export-dependent economy through the difficult post-lehman period . trade between asia 's two largest economies has been knocked by the slowdown in china and also by the effects of a diplomatic dispute between tokyo and beijing over a chain of islands in the east china sea . meanwhile , data for march showed a revival in big-ticket orders from the us . shipments of transport equipment and machinery accounted for 2.1 and 3.3 percentage points of the 7 per cent year-on-year increase , respectively . the us surrendered its position as japan 's top destination for exports early in 2009 , following china 's aggressive fiscal stimulus amid the global financial crisis . monthly shipments to the us have exceeded those to china since then , but mainly during january and february , when trade patterns are distorted by new-year holidays in china . japan 's overall trade deficit stood at y8.2tn for the fiscal year ended in march , the widest since records began . the nation 's trade balance slipped into deficit in march 2011 , following the huge earthquake that ruptured supply chains and triggered the closure of almost all of japan 's nuclear reactors . the y922bn deficit recorded in march , on a seasonally-adjusted basis , was the 25th in a row since then . © the financial times limited 2013 | us topples china as number one export destination |
japan <tsp> tokyo ( financial times ) -- japan has posted its narrowest trade deficit for nine months , helped by a big rise in the value of shipments to the us , which has toppled china as japan 's number one export destination . provisional figures released on thursday by japan 's finance ministry showed that overall exports rose 1.1 per cent in march from a year earlier to y6.3tn ( $ 64bn ) , while imports -- boosted by fuel to replace idled nuclear capacity -- were up 5.5 per cent to y6.6tn . the resulting y362bn deficit was the smallest since a small surplus recorded last june , on an unadjusted basis . figures for the full fiscal year to the end of march , also published on thursday , showed that japan 's exports to china fell 9 per cent to y11.3tn , while exports to the us rose 10 per cent to y11.4tn . the data suggest japan 's revival under a new prime minister will rely more on the outlook in the us than in china , which helped japan 's export-dependent economy through the difficult post-lehman period . trade between asia 's two largest economies has been knocked by the slowdown in china and also by the effects of a diplomatic dispute between tokyo and beijing over a chain of islands in the east china sea . meanwhile , data for march showed a revival in big-ticket orders from the us . shipments of transport equipment and machinery accounted for 2.1 and 3.3 percentage points of the 7 per cent year-on-year increase , respectively . the us surrendered its position as japan 's top destination for exports early in 2009 , following china 's aggressive fiscal stimulus amid the global financial crisis . monthly shipments to the us have exceeded those to china since then , but mainly during january and february , when trade patterns are distorted by new-year holidays in china . japan 's overall trade deficit stood at y8.2tn for the fiscal year ended in march , the widest since records began . the nation 's trade balance slipped into deficit in march 2011 , following the huge earthquake that ruptured supply chains and triggered the closure of almost all of japan 's nuclear reactors . the y922bn deficit recorded in march , on a seasonally-adjusted basis , was the 25th in a row since then . © the financial times limited 2013 | us demand shrinks japan trade deficit to narrowest in nine months |
japan <tsp> tokyo ( financial times ) -- japan has posted its narrowest trade deficit for nine months , helped by a big rise in the value of shipments to the us , which has toppled china as japan 's number one export destination . provisional figures released on thursday by japan 's finance ministry showed that overall exports rose 1.1 per cent in march from a year earlier to y6.3tn ( $ 64bn ) , while imports -- boosted by fuel to replace idled nuclear capacity -- were up 5.5 per cent to y6.6tn . the resulting y362bn deficit was the smallest since a small surplus recorded last june , on an unadjusted basis . figures for the full fiscal year to the end of march , also published on thursday , showed that japan 's exports to china fell 9 per cent to y11.3tn , while exports to the us rose 10 per cent to y11.4tn . the data suggest japan 's revival under a new prime minister will rely more on the outlook in the us than in china , which helped japan 's export-dependent economy through the difficult post-lehman period . trade between asia 's two largest economies has been knocked by the slowdown in china and also by the effects of a diplomatic dispute between tokyo and beijing over a chain of islands in the east china sea . meanwhile , data for march showed a revival in big-ticket orders from the us . shipments of transport equipment and machinery accounted for 2.1 and 3.3 percentage points of the 7 per cent year-on-year increase , respectively . the us surrendered its position as japan 's top destination for exports early in 2009 , following china 's aggressive fiscal stimulus amid the global financial crisis . monthly shipments to the us have exceeded those to china since then , but mainly during january and february , when trade patterns are distorted by new-year holidays in china . japan 's overall trade deficit stood at y8.2tn for the fiscal year ended in march , the widest since records began . the nation 's trade balance slipped into deficit in march 2011 , following the huge earthquake that ruptured supply chains and triggered the closure of almost all of japan 's nuclear reactors . the y922bn deficit recorded in march , on a seasonally-adjusted basis , was the 25th in a row since then . © the financial times limited 2013 | japan 's march deficit was y362bn , or about us $ 3.7bn |
kandel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- neuroscientists love aplysia . they are a type of sea slug that grows to be about a foot long . with only 20,000 nerve cells -- compared with about 100 billion found in the human brain -- aplysia are the perfect lab animals for brain researchers hoping to isolate a crucial connection . plus , they 're just attractive to look at , ' says dr. eric kandel , a biochemistry and biophysics professor at columbia university . kandel won the 2000 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his work with aplysia -- or more specifically , for his work on the biological mechanisms of memory storage . for decades , kandel has studied how we create short-term and long-term memories at the molecular level . his work has shown what genes are changed during the learning process , how these genes are altered and how the changes contribute to the growth of new connections in the brain . cnn spoke with kandel about his research and why he 's fascinated by the human brain . the following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity : cnn : why do you think the nobel prize committee recognized your work ? dr. eric kandel : there are two forms ( of memory ) . one is complex forms of memory , which require the hippocampus and ( are called ) explicit memory storage . the very simple forms like driving a car -- once you know how to do it , you do it automatically -- we call that implicit memory storage . and the two involve different systems in the brain . being a romantic , i started out with alden spencer to study the hippocampus . i 'm thinking ,'that 's the seat of complex memory , and i want to get complicated .'and we succeeded to record from the hippocampus . we were the first scientists to do this and we were euphoric . a medical miracle : saving cholera victims but after a while , we realized that studying the cells in a region involved in memory is necessary but not sufficient . you 've got to see how a memory is formed . you 've got to see how information comes into the hippocampus and how it is stored over the long term . and when we tried to see what comes into the hippocampus , we found it very complicated to analyze . so i realized we had to take a very different approach . rather than studying the most complex form of memory in a very complicated animal , we had to take the most simple form -- an implicit form of memory -- in a very simple animal . so i began to look around for very simple animals . and i focused in on the marine snail aplysia . my colleagues and i found that learning involves alterations in the strength of communication between nerve cells . nerve cells communicate with one another at specialized points called synapses . and these synapses are plastic -- they can be modified by learning . if you produce a short-term memory -- if you look up a telephone number you just remember for a short period of time ( or ) you meet somebody and remember their name briefly -- you have a transient change in the strength of communication . but if you have a long-term memory , you alter the expression of genes in the brain and you grow new synaptic connections . so as i tell my friends , if you remember anything about this conversation , you will have a different brain than you started out with before the conversation . cnn : so would memory work the same in a human as it does in a snail ? in other words , is what you 've discovered applicable to us ? kandel : yes and no . obviously human memory is much more complicated than memory of a snail . we can learn things that they ca n't learn , obviously . we ( have ) conscious experiences as well as unconscious experiences . so the level of complexity is infinitely greater . but the remarkable thing that darwin discovered is that evolution is very conservative . if it finds through natural selection that some set of mechanisms work , it tends to retain those mechanisms in perpetuity . and this is what one finds with the learning process . 10 women who changed medicine cnn : what led you to neuroscience research ? kandel : i had no interest in science whatsoever . i went to medical school after having decided to do so somewhere between my junior and senior year at harvard -- very late . i initially wanted to be an intellectual historian . and i did n't particularly enjoy the science courses ; even in medical school , i enjoyed the clinical work much more than the basic science courses . but i found working in the lab is so completely different than reading a textbook about it . you know , you 're planning strategies ; you 're working with your own hands . there 's essential satisfaction in running experiments . i remember having dinner with my wife before we were married and telling her ,'you know , i can see doing this for the rest of my life , but it 's ridiculous . you do n't have any money and i do n't have any money . we want to raise a family , and i 've got to earn a living going into private practice .'and she goes ,'money is of no significance .'she has never uttered those magic words again , i can assure you ( laughs ) . but that , at the moment , was quite inspirational . cnn : why has memory research held your attention for so long ? kandel : well , i think it 's a fascinating problem because it 's so central to everything we do . i once had the privilege of going to a willem de kooning retrospective at moma ( the museum of modern art in new york ) . de kooning already had alzheimer 's disease . with alzheimer 's disease , you lose explicit memory , complicated memory , so he would have difficulty recognizing people . but he would go into studio , and he 'd be another person because for a gifted painter , painting is like an implicit skill . it 's like driving a car -- after you learn it , you can do it automatically . and he did some beautiful paintings when he had fairly advanced alzheimer 's disease . clive wearing -- the choir conductor in england -- had a severe explicit memory deficit . he could n't recognize people , places . but when he sat down at the piano , he could play almost as well as he ever did . if you ask him afterward ,'what 's it like to play the piano ?'he would say ,'what are you talking about ? i have n't played the piano in 20 years .'it 's amazing . the other reason memory is so important is there is a number of a diseases that affect memory storage , and we 'd like to know how they work so we can try to remedy them . mom 's death inspires doctor 's work cnn : there 's been a lot of talk lately about mapping ' the brain . why is that important ? kandel : the brain is the most complex object in the universe . and it is so important that we understand it , not only to understand ourselves and who we are , but also to be able to overcome many of the miseries that affect the brain . it 's not just schizophrenia and depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety syndromes and autism . it 's huntington 's disease and parkinson 's disease and alzheimer 's disease -- dreadful disorders that we want to be able to help people with . so this is a major challenge . to see the president of the united states announce this first , in his state of the union address , and then more recently at the white house -- and i had the privilege of being there -- is very exciting . they introduced president obama by saying , this is our scientist in chief , and obama broadly took on that title . so i think it 's wonderful . cnn : in 2004 , you said that we could have effective memory drugs in two years . why do you think that 's proved to be a bit more difficult than expected ? kandel : we have a reasonably good understanding of the molecular underpinnings of age-related memory loss . with alzheimer 's disease , i think the understanding is surprisingly good . but if we 're so smart , how come we 're not rich ? how come we do n't have treatments for alzheimer 's disease ? there are two possibilities -- one is that we 're deceiving ourselves and our understanding is much less complete than we think it is . or , and i think this is a real possibility , we are starting to treat people too late in the disorder . by the time they come to us with symptoms of alzheimer 's disease , they 've had the disease for 10 years . now if , god forbid , somebody has breast cancer or colon cancer for 10 years and you sought treatment then , that 's pretty darn late if they 're ( even ) still alive at that particular point with this severe form of cancer . so the whole thrust in alzheimer 's disease -- or at least an important thrust -- is to try to get early diagnoses so we can treat people much earlier than we are now treating them . cnn : when you first began your research , did you think we 'd get this far ? kandel : well , you know , it 's a relative thing . when i started , we knew , on the level that i now work , practically nothing . we knew the anatomy a bit , we knew a lot from clinical insights , but we had very little insight into the underlying mechanism . and we 've made a lot of progress on that , not just in learning but in perception and motor coordination and development . but if you look at where we want to go , what we ultimately want to understand , and how large the task is , one has to be very modest . ... there 's much , much more to be studied , and much , much more to be learned . moreover , the clinical benefits that we 've gained out of what we 've learned so far have been modest . the best is yet to come . | dr. eric kandel studies how we create short- and long-term memories |
kandel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- neuroscientists love aplysia . they are a type of sea slug that grows to be about a foot long . with only 20,000 nerve cells -- compared with about 100 billion found in the human brain -- aplysia are the perfect lab animals for brain researchers hoping to isolate a crucial connection . plus , they 're just attractive to look at , ' says dr. eric kandel , a biochemistry and biophysics professor at columbia university . kandel won the 2000 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his work with aplysia -- or more specifically , for his work on the biological mechanisms of memory storage . for decades , kandel has studied how we create short-term and long-term memories at the molecular level . his work has shown what genes are changed during the learning process , how these genes are altered and how the changes contribute to the growth of new connections in the brain . cnn spoke with kandel about his research and why he 's fascinated by the human brain . the following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity : cnn : why do you think the nobel prize committee recognized your work ? dr. eric kandel : there are two forms ( of memory ) . one is complex forms of memory , which require the hippocampus and ( are called ) explicit memory storage . the very simple forms like driving a car -- once you know how to do it , you do it automatically -- we call that implicit memory storage . and the two involve different systems in the brain . being a romantic , i started out with alden spencer to study the hippocampus . i 'm thinking ,'that 's the seat of complex memory , and i want to get complicated .'and we succeeded to record from the hippocampus . we were the first scientists to do this and we were euphoric . a medical miracle : saving cholera victims but after a while , we realized that studying the cells in a region involved in memory is necessary but not sufficient . you 've got to see how a memory is formed . you 've got to see how information comes into the hippocampus and how it is stored over the long term . and when we tried to see what comes into the hippocampus , we found it very complicated to analyze . so i realized we had to take a very different approach . rather than studying the most complex form of memory in a very complicated animal , we had to take the most simple form -- an implicit form of memory -- in a very simple animal . so i began to look around for very simple animals . and i focused in on the marine snail aplysia . my colleagues and i found that learning involves alterations in the strength of communication between nerve cells . nerve cells communicate with one another at specialized points called synapses . and these synapses are plastic -- they can be modified by learning . if you produce a short-term memory -- if you look up a telephone number you just remember for a short period of time ( or ) you meet somebody and remember their name briefly -- you have a transient change in the strength of communication . but if you have a long-term memory , you alter the expression of genes in the brain and you grow new synaptic connections . so as i tell my friends , if you remember anything about this conversation , you will have a different brain than you started out with before the conversation . cnn : so would memory work the same in a human as it does in a snail ? in other words , is what you 've discovered applicable to us ? kandel : yes and no . obviously human memory is much more complicated than memory of a snail . we can learn things that they ca n't learn , obviously . we ( have ) conscious experiences as well as unconscious experiences . so the level of complexity is infinitely greater . but the remarkable thing that darwin discovered is that evolution is very conservative . if it finds through natural selection that some set of mechanisms work , it tends to retain those mechanisms in perpetuity . and this is what one finds with the learning process . 10 women who changed medicine cnn : what led you to neuroscience research ? kandel : i had no interest in science whatsoever . i went to medical school after having decided to do so somewhere between my junior and senior year at harvard -- very late . i initially wanted to be an intellectual historian . and i did n't particularly enjoy the science courses ; even in medical school , i enjoyed the clinical work much more than the basic science courses . but i found working in the lab is so completely different than reading a textbook about it . you know , you 're planning strategies ; you 're working with your own hands . there 's essential satisfaction in running experiments . i remember having dinner with my wife before we were married and telling her ,'you know , i can see doing this for the rest of my life , but it 's ridiculous . you do n't have any money and i do n't have any money . we want to raise a family , and i 've got to earn a living going into private practice .'and she goes ,'money is of no significance .'she has never uttered those magic words again , i can assure you ( laughs ) . but that , at the moment , was quite inspirational . cnn : why has memory research held your attention for so long ? kandel : well , i think it 's a fascinating problem because it 's so central to everything we do . i once had the privilege of going to a willem de kooning retrospective at moma ( the museum of modern art in new york ) . de kooning already had alzheimer 's disease . with alzheimer 's disease , you lose explicit memory , complicated memory , so he would have difficulty recognizing people . but he would go into studio , and he 'd be another person because for a gifted painter , painting is like an implicit skill . it 's like driving a car -- after you learn it , you can do it automatically . and he did some beautiful paintings when he had fairly advanced alzheimer 's disease . clive wearing -- the choir conductor in england -- had a severe explicit memory deficit . he could n't recognize people , places . but when he sat down at the piano , he could play almost as well as he ever did . if you ask him afterward ,'what 's it like to play the piano ?'he would say ,'what are you talking about ? i have n't played the piano in 20 years .'it 's amazing . the other reason memory is so important is there is a number of a diseases that affect memory storage , and we 'd like to know how they work so we can try to remedy them . mom 's death inspires doctor 's work cnn : there 's been a lot of talk lately about mapping ' the brain . why is that important ? kandel : the brain is the most complex object in the universe . and it is so important that we understand it , not only to understand ourselves and who we are , but also to be able to overcome many of the miseries that affect the brain . it 's not just schizophrenia and depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety syndromes and autism . it 's huntington 's disease and parkinson 's disease and alzheimer 's disease -- dreadful disorders that we want to be able to help people with . so this is a major challenge . to see the president of the united states announce this first , in his state of the union address , and then more recently at the white house -- and i had the privilege of being there -- is very exciting . they introduced president obama by saying , this is our scientist in chief , and obama broadly took on that title . so i think it 's wonderful . cnn : in 2004 , you said that we could have effective memory drugs in two years . why do you think that 's proved to be a bit more difficult than expected ? kandel : we have a reasonably good understanding of the molecular underpinnings of age-related memory loss . with alzheimer 's disease , i think the understanding is surprisingly good . but if we 're so smart , how come we 're not rich ? how come we do n't have treatments for alzheimer 's disease ? there are two possibilities -- one is that we 're deceiving ourselves and our understanding is much less complete than we think it is . or , and i think this is a real possibility , we are starting to treat people too late in the disorder . by the time they come to us with symptoms of alzheimer 's disease , they 've had the disease for 10 years . now if , god forbid , somebody has breast cancer or colon cancer for 10 years and you sought treatment then , that 's pretty darn late if they 're ( even ) still alive at that particular point with this severe form of cancer . so the whole thrust in alzheimer 's disease -- or at least an important thrust -- is to try to get early diagnoses so we can treat people much earlier than we are now treating them . cnn : when you first began your research , did you think we 'd get this far ? kandel : well , you know , it 's a relative thing . when i started , we knew , on the level that i now work , practically nothing . we knew the anatomy a bit , we knew a lot from clinical insights , but we had very little insight into the underlying mechanism . and we 've made a lot of progress on that , not just in learning but in perception and motor coordination and development . but if you look at where we want to go , what we ultimately want to understand , and how large the task is , one has to be very modest . ... there 's much , much more to be studied , and much , much more to be learned . moreover , the clinical benefits that we 've gained out of what we 've learned so far have been modest . the best is yet to come . | kandel won the 2000 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his work |
hamzeh <tsp> ( cnn ) the 911 caller in tel aviv sounded panicked , his voice loud and urgent . she was stabbed in the head ! ' go to hamasger street , the caller shouted . a man stabbed nine people , including the driver of a bus and passengers on wednesday , in what police are calling a terror attack . the girl , was she conscious ? the 911 operator asked . yes , yes , she is crying , she is conscious , ' the caller answered . the attacker was a 23-year-old palestinian from the west bank city of tulkarem , authorities said . police shot him in the leg after he got off the bus . he was arrested and is being questioned , they said . the suspect was identified as hamzeh matrouk , said israeli authorities and the suspect 's family . his uncle , ahmad matrouk , said his nephew lives with his mother in the west bank city of ramallah . the suspect 's father lives in another west bank city , tulkarem , where the uncle was interviewed by cnn . hamzeh has no political affiliation , ' the uncle said . we were called by the israeli military to come in for questioning . his father , mother and myself , we went and they were asking us about his political affiliation . we said that hamzeh never had any political affiliation . ' when asked what could be a motive for the suspect 's attack , the uncle said it was because of what he sees of suffering of the palestinians by israel . the daily attacks by the extremist jews and israelis on the aqsa mosque and especially this summer the killing of more than 2,100 palestinians by israel in gaza . ' the suspect works as an electrician supporting his mother and his younger brothers , the uncle said . he came to see his father last night and his friends last night , and he was in his nature nothing suspicious , ' the uncle said . the uncle said his nephew , born in late 1992 , was age 22 , not 23 as authorities reported . israeli authorities could n't be immediately reached for comment to clarify the suspect 's age , but a government website stated the suspect was born in 1992 , was originally from tulkarem , and had no prior arrests . witnesses and police say that when the attacker boarded the bus and stabbed the driver and a few passengers , the driver tried to fight back by spraying the assailant with pepper spray , veering the bus , pumping the brakes and opening the doors . some passengers were able to get out and get away . the attacker ran after them and stabbed a few people on his way out of the bus . prison guards who were in their car behind the bus got out of their vehicle and chased the assailant , witnesses and police said . the attacker was shot in the leg and apprehended . four victims were seriously wounded , according to emergency responders . five people were either lightly or moderately injured , emergency services said . several other passengers were treated for shock . one person was severely injured , officials told cnn , and the attacker remains in moderate condition at a tel aviv hospital . the terror of the victims and the chaos during the attack was captured in other 911 calls . an injured woman can be heard telling an operator , my body is covered with blood . ' in a separate call , another woman says , i have here a wounded man who is heavily bleeding , someone has to come for help , he is bleeding from the head from his neck , that is what i see . ' the operator tells her to find a clean piece of cloth and press it against the man 's wounds . a hamas spokesman , izzat al-risheq , who is based in qatar , praised the attack , according to the times of israel and haaretz . the heroic stabbing incident against the zionist in tel aviv is a daring and heroic act , ' he reportedly said . it comes as a natural response to the terrorist occupation crimes against our people . ' israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu fired back , casting a net of blame around hamas and the palestinian authority , which together form a unity government . the terrorist attack in tel aviv is the direct result of the poisonous incitement being disseminated by the palestinian authority against the jews and their state . this same terrorism is trying to attack us in paris , brussels and everywhere . ' the u.s. embassy in israel , on its website , said that due to security concerns on israel 's northern border , all u.s. government personnel must get advance approval to travel within 1.5 miles of the lebanese border or east of route 98 in the golan heights . and , it said , in light of the bus attack , u.s. government employees are prohibited from using public buses throughout israel and the west bank . there has been a string of attacks against israeli residents in recent months . here is a look at a few of them : -- a palestinian man threw acid on an israeli family near a jerusalem checkpoint in december , israeli authorities said . -- a teenage palestinian girl with a knife stabbed an israeli man in the west bank , israeli police said . -- two palestinian cousins stormed a jerusalem synagogue in mid-november with a gun and butcher 's knives , killing five . they were shot dead by police . -- days later , israeli authorities said they foiled a plot by palestinians to assassinate israeli foreign minister avigdor lieberman . -- more than a week earlier , attackers stabbed one israeli soldier to death in tel aviv and three more israelis near a west bank settlement , the idf said . one of the west bank victims also died . -- in early november , a palestinian man driving a van plowed into pedestrians at a train stop in eastern jerusalem , killing two . another 12 people were injured . the man died in police gunfire after also attacking people with a metal bar , police said . -- in october , a palestinian man rammed his car into commuters waiting at a light rail stop in jerusalem , killing a baby and wounding several other people , israeli police said . the driver of the vehicle was shot as he tried to flee and later died . -- also in october , according to a palestinian state news report , an israeli man killed a 5-year-old palestinian girl when he ran her down in a car as she walked home from kindergarten . the attack reportedly also injured a second 5-year-old girl . cnn 's amir tal , michael schwartz and kareem khadder in jerusalem contributed to this report . | we said that hamzeh never had any political affiliation , ' uncle says about nephew |
toronto city council <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the tv show of embattled toronto mayor rob ford was canceled tuesday , just one day after it debuted . he and his brother hosted ford nation ' on canada 's sun news network . it beat our record of 100,000 viewers , ' but the time and production the show required does not make it a viable option , said kory teneycke , vice president of sun news network . the ford brothers will appear as regular guests on sun news programming , he said . the show debuted monday , the same day the toronto city council voted to strip the mayor of most of his powers in a tumultuous meeting during which a charging ford knocked down one of its members . roughly two weeks after ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine in a drunken stupor ' -- an admission forced by a drug investigation that resulted in extortion charges against a friend -- the mayor said he was done apologizing . he called monday 's vote a coup d'etat ' and compared it to iraq 's invasion of kuwait in 1990 , warning council members , what goes around , comes around , friends . ' undeterred , the council voted 36-5 to slash the budget of the mayor 's office and transfer most of his duties to the deputy mayor . city councilor karen stintz said ford does n't understand the issues he 's facing , ' and monday 's votes reduce him to a figurehead . ' ford says he did n't lie about crack use the council already has called on ford to take a leave of absence and voted to strip him of his emergency powers . in monday 's session , ford and his brother , city councilor doug ford , sparred with hecklers in the council gallery who chanted shame , shame , shame ' during a recess . during that break , rob ford stomped over to his brother , knocking down councilor pam mcconnell in the process , an apparently accidental act for which the mayor had to issue another apology . opinion : toronto mayor could be your neighbor cnn 's shelia steffen and matt smith contributed to this report . | on monday , the toronto city council voted to strip ford of most of his powers |
velez-mitchell <tsp> editor 's note : jane velez-mitchell is host of the hln show , issues with jane velez-mitchell , ' a topical event-driven show with a wide range of viewpoints . velez-mitchell is the author of secrets can be murder : what america 's most sensational crimes tell us about ourselves . ' jane velez-mitchell says tougher penalties are needed to keep sex offenders from committing more crimes . new york ( cnn ) -- early last month , beautiful 25-year-old laura garza went missing . her family holds out hope she is still alive . an aspiring dancer from texas , garza moved to new york city to pursue her career . on december 2nd , she went to the posh manhattan nightclub marquee to blow off some steam with her friend . security video shows garza leaving the club with convicted sex offender michael mele , according to the new york police department . nypd officials confirmed that mele then drove garza about an hour away toward his apartment . garza was reported missing the next day . new york state police searched mele 's apartment and court documents indicate officers observed apparent bite marks on mele 's hand and scratches on his back and shoulder . according to court records and state police , large pieces of carpet were missing from his apartment and days later , carpet pieces that seemed to match mele 's were found on the side of a nearby road . search parties have been combing roads , woods , and swampland , and police divers searched for clues in a nearby lake , but the search has gone cold in recent weeks . mele is in jail for violating probation and is a suspect , but he has not been charged in garza 's disappearance , according to state police . laura garza is still missing more than a month later . her family has joined search efforts in new york and prays they will find her alive , but police are treating the case as a homicide . the worst part about this tragic story ? it may have been preventable . laura garza had no idea she was leaving that club with a sex offender . after all , most of them look pretty normal . few fit the hollywood stereotype of the creepy guy wearing a trench coat and driving a white van . laura garza may have been unaware who she was with that night , but the legal system certainly knew him . michael mele previously pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault , including one count of masturbating in front of two women . and he was violating probation . and he had an outstanding warrant for allegedly exposing himself to a woman in a mall parking lot . mele has n't been convicted of anything in this case or charged in garza 's disappearance , but even if he is innocent , the larger question of how the criminal justice system deals with sex offenders remains a vital issue . in a sane world , mele is not a free man on that night , able to allegedly target laura garza . but we do n't live in a sane world . we live in a world where sexual assault is business as usual . where 's the outrage ? the garza case is a microcosm of a societal problem . as a nation , we must realize there is no such thing as a minor ' sexual offense -- because sex offenders often start small and graduate to more serious crimes . according to a 2003 department of justice study , 78 percent of imprisoned sex offenders had prior arrests and 28 percent had prior arrests for sex crimes . according to the same study , one quarter of men serving time for rape and 19 percent of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense that landed them in prison . the formula is simple . sex offenders start off by nabbing the easy prey -- committing the so-called minor ' sexual offenses like flashing random women , or the crimes michael mele committed . then , after getting away with it or receiving a slap on the wrist , they become hungrier and develop into full-fledged predators . and it 's only when they sink their teeth into their prey that the legal system finally brings down the hammer . but it 's too late . to stop this progression , we must start treating all sexual offenses as major crimes . in the same justice department study , on average , the sex offenders served less than half of their sentences . so basically that means paris hilton served more of her sentence than the average person convicted of a sex crime does . i 'm glad our justice system has its priorities straight . the simple answer is to take all sex offenders off the streets , from the moment they commit the first minor ' offense . i 'm not just talking about putting them behind bars . we need to rehabilitate these predators at the earliest stage possible , before their behavior worsens . and if the prisons are too crowded to hold them , how about releasing some of the nonviolent drug offenders to make some room ? they ca n't be worse than sex offenders on the prowl who , compared with non-sex offenders released from prison , are four times more likely to be rearrested for a sex crime , according to a government study . this problem is out in the open . i see it . my viewers see it . but how many laura garzas will it take to before politicians and judges see it and are willing to do something about it ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of jane velez-mitchell . | jane velez-mitchell : sex offenders are often let out on the street too soon |
velez-mitchell <tsp> editor 's note : jane velez-mitchell is host of the hln show , issues with jane velez-mitchell , ' a topical event-driven show with a wide range of viewpoints . velez-mitchell is the author of secrets can be murder : what america 's most sensational crimes tell us about ourselves . ' jane velez-mitchell says tougher penalties are needed to keep sex offenders from committing more crimes . new york ( cnn ) -- early last month , beautiful 25-year-old laura garza went missing . her family holds out hope she is still alive . an aspiring dancer from texas , garza moved to new york city to pursue her career . on december 2nd , she went to the posh manhattan nightclub marquee to blow off some steam with her friend . security video shows garza leaving the club with convicted sex offender michael mele , according to the new york police department . nypd officials confirmed that mele then drove garza about an hour away toward his apartment . garza was reported missing the next day . new york state police searched mele 's apartment and court documents indicate officers observed apparent bite marks on mele 's hand and scratches on his back and shoulder . according to court records and state police , large pieces of carpet were missing from his apartment and days later , carpet pieces that seemed to match mele 's were found on the side of a nearby road . search parties have been combing roads , woods , and swampland , and police divers searched for clues in a nearby lake , but the search has gone cold in recent weeks . mele is in jail for violating probation and is a suspect , but he has not been charged in garza 's disappearance , according to state police . laura garza is still missing more than a month later . her family has joined search efforts in new york and prays they will find her alive , but police are treating the case as a homicide . the worst part about this tragic story ? it may have been preventable . laura garza had no idea she was leaving that club with a sex offender . after all , most of them look pretty normal . few fit the hollywood stereotype of the creepy guy wearing a trench coat and driving a white van . laura garza may have been unaware who she was with that night , but the legal system certainly knew him . michael mele previously pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault , including one count of masturbating in front of two women . and he was violating probation . and he had an outstanding warrant for allegedly exposing himself to a woman in a mall parking lot . mele has n't been convicted of anything in this case or charged in garza 's disappearance , but even if he is innocent , the larger question of how the criminal justice system deals with sex offenders remains a vital issue . in a sane world , mele is not a free man on that night , able to allegedly target laura garza . but we do n't live in a sane world . we live in a world where sexual assault is business as usual . where 's the outrage ? the garza case is a microcosm of a societal problem . as a nation , we must realize there is no such thing as a minor ' sexual offense -- because sex offenders often start small and graduate to more serious crimes . according to a 2003 department of justice study , 78 percent of imprisoned sex offenders had prior arrests and 28 percent had prior arrests for sex crimes . according to the same study , one quarter of men serving time for rape and 19 percent of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense that landed them in prison . the formula is simple . sex offenders start off by nabbing the easy prey -- committing the so-called minor ' sexual offenses like flashing random women , or the crimes michael mele committed . then , after getting away with it or receiving a slap on the wrist , they become hungrier and develop into full-fledged predators . and it 's only when they sink their teeth into their prey that the legal system finally brings down the hammer . but it 's too late . to stop this progression , we must start treating all sexual offenses as major crimes . in the same justice department study , on average , the sex offenders served less than half of their sentences . so basically that means paris hilton served more of her sentence than the average person convicted of a sex crime does . i 'm glad our justice system has its priorities straight . the simple answer is to take all sex offenders off the streets , from the moment they commit the first minor ' offense . i 'm not just talking about putting them behind bars . we need to rehabilitate these predators at the earliest stage possible , before their behavior worsens . and if the prisons are too crowded to hold them , how about releasing some of the nonviolent drug offenders to make some room ? they ca n't be worse than sex offenders on the prowl who , compared with non-sex offenders released from prison , are four times more likely to be rearrested for a sex crime , according to a government study . this problem is out in the open . i see it . my viewers see it . but how many laura garzas will it take to before politicians and judges see it and are willing to do something about it ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of jane velez-mitchell . | velez-mitchell says we must treat all sex offenses as serious crimes |
no child left behind <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- education secretary arne duncan said wednesday his department estimates that four out of five schools in the united states will not make their no child left behind ' benchmarks by the law 's target year of 2014 -- and when the test scores are counted for the current school year , numbers could show that u.s. schools are already at that failure rate . he blamed that failure rate on the law itself , not on schools . this law has created dozens of ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed . we should get out of the business of labeling schools as failures and create a new law that is fair and flexible , and focused on the schools and students most at risk , ' duncan told the house committee on education and the workforce . under the no child left behind law , originally passed in 2001 , all students are expected to meet a level of proficiency ' by 2014 . because standards under no child left behind are higher from year to year as 2014 approaches , the percentage of schools that are not meeting adequate yearly progress ' could rise from the current level of 37 % to 82 % , duncan said . duncan pointed out that federal law requires states and districts to implement the same set of interventions in every school that is not meeting ayp , regardless of the individual needs and circumstances of those schools . ' under the education department 's estimates , 82 % of america 's schools could be labeled'failing'and , over time , the required remedies for all of them are the same -- which means we will really fail to serve the students in greatest need , ' said duncan . by mandating and prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions , no child left behind took away the ability of local and state educators to tailor solutions to the unique needs of their students , ' duncan said calling the concept fundamentally flawed . ' duncan was on capitol hill to both push for the reauthorization and revamping of the no child left behind law , and to defend president barack obama 's budget request for 2012 . the 2012 budget request comes to $ 77.4 billion -- an increase of $ 4.5 billion over the 2011 request . republicans on the committee questioned any increase in the budget in the current economic climate . committee chairman rep. john kline , r-minnesota , said in his opening remarks , as we work to answer the question about the appropriate role for the federal government in education , one thing is for sure : it must be less costly and less intrusive . ' rep. duncan hunter , r-california , asked the secretary if he though he could be successful without an increase in funding saying , if you cut the right way and put the money into the systems that you know work , could you do that ? ' the education secretary answered , we have to do that , anyway , and i continue to think we under-invest ' compared to higher-performing countries . | almost 40 % of u.s. schools are not now meeting goals for no child left behind , ' he says |
chatham <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the massachusetts division of marine fisheries has tagged two great white sharks off cape cod in an area where shark sightings have been reported , state officials said sunday . a great white shark is tagged saturday off cape cod , massachusetts . shark sightings closed nearby beaches . the first tagging saturday marked the first time a great white shark had been successfully tagged in the atlantic ocean off the u.s. coast , the division said in a statement . a second shark was tagged saturday afternoon , officials said . the taggings took place in the waters near chatham , massachusetts , two days after greg skomal , shark expert for the division of marine fisheries , reported as many as five large sharks were seen near monomoy island , a national wildlife refuge off the southern elbow of cape cod . the island is about a mile away from chatham 's lighthouse beach , a public swimming area . chatham 's beaches were closed to swimmers after the sightings , skomal said . cnn affiliate wcvb reported that all of chatham 's east-facing beaches were closed after three sharks came within 75 yards of the coastline . watch who is making money from sharks » the beaches will be off-limits to swimmers until the middle of the week , officials told wcvb . after the sightings , skomal and other biologists set out to identify the species , the division statement said . skomal identified a great white shark on friday , and then the two were tagged saturday . the tags , which use satellite-based technology to record where a shark travels , allow scientists to better understand migratory patterns , ' the division statement said . great white sharks are relatively rare in new england , the division statement said , but have been seen feeding near seal colonies . massachusetts has recorded only four shark attacks since 1670 , two of which were fatal . the last fatal shark attack in massachusetts happened in 1936 . researchers have also tagged great white sharks off the coast of south africa . | beaches in chatham , massachusetts , closed after shark sightings |
la paz <tsp> ( cnn ) -- urban transport in bolivia 's administrative capital of la paz has always been about what goes up and down . situated in a deep canyon more than 10,000 feet above sea level , the andean metropolis is one of the highest cities in the world . densely populated barrios ( neighborhoods ) occupy the hills encompassing the bustling city center , rising a further 1,400 feet towards the satellite town of el alto . while these lofty locations create a dramatic setting -- particularly at night when the slopes are illuminated by thousands of house and street lights -- servicing them with reliable transit services has long proven difficult . bus journeys that are only a few miles long can often take up to an hour during busy periods as heavy traffic clogs the city 's steep and narrow streets . see also : silk road railways link asia and europe come the second half of 2014 , however , an all-new system of mass transportation is set to reduce the burden on these chaotic roadways . the la paz urban gondola will consist of three separate service lines stretching across a combined 10.7 kilometer ( 6.1 mile ) area of the city . these giant structures , most commonly associated with ski-resorts or mountaintop tourist spots , will cater for a combined hourly capacity of 9,000 passengers and come in at a reported cost of $ 235 million dollars . with individual pods traveling at a speed of 18 kilometers per hour ( 11 mph ) , the gondola aims to offer a transit system many times faster than more traditional modes of city transportation . as it currently stands , one person coming in the morning from el alto to the south area spends between one and a half and two hours to reach his destination , ' explained javier telleria , ceo of doppelmayr bolivia , the company behind the project . with the gondola , this same journey will take 24 minutes . ' the capacity may be lower when compared to a metro line or a railway but these options are not suitable on these slopes , ' he added . they are also much cheaper and cause less disruption during the building process as they can be built in a straight line and take up a fraction of the space that a road or railway line would require . ' socio-economic benefits these sentiments were echoed by michael mcdaniel , a designer from innovation firm frog design and advocate of an urban gondola for austin , texas , in an interview with marketplace earlier this year . he estimated that the cost of building a gondola comes in at between $ 3 million and $ 12 million per mile , comparing favorably against $ 400 million per mile for subway systems and $ 36 million per mile for light rail systems . see also : introducing the world 's biggest ship cost benefits like these have been key in convincing south american cities like la paz that urban gondolas are a viable and economical transport solution . rio de janeiro , medellin and caracas have all introduced similar systems in recent years . when these projects have been successful , they have brought with them a wide range of social and economic benefits . medellin 's metrocable , which connects some of the city 's poorest districts with its main metro line , was even recognized as a key factor in the colombian city winning the prestigious urban land institute'most innovative city of the year'award in early 2013 . marketing executive at doppelmayr , ekkehard assmann , meanwhile speaks of private compliments the company received from venezuelan officials regarding the caracas teleferico ' project and how it has increased economic opportunity ' as well as lowered crime rates ' in many poorer and previously disconnected areas where stations are located . bridging urban islands for steven dale , founder of the canada based website , the gondola project , these observations speak to the wider benefits of gondolas when introduced into the right type of urban environment . being able to connect people from an island , which is what these barrios often are , to the wider city where they can access economic , social and cultural opportunities , that 's the real value , ' dale said . you would n't have been able to do it in certain places without a cable car ' due to the various building and topographical challenges , he added . see also : could drones be the new highways ? such positive social outcomes have got other cities around the world thinking about their own transport needs and the potential benefits urban gondolas can bring . projects are reportedly in the works in the likes of lagos in nigeria and the city of toulouse in france , according to the gondola project . whether these ventures meet with the same success however is far from certain . the london legacy many skeptics point to the cable car ' system built in east london to connect the o2 arena and the excel exhibition centre across the river thames during the 2012 olympic games as an example of an urban gondola project gone wrong . although used by large numbers of people during the olympics , passenger numbers today are a fraction of what they were when the facility first opened , according to figures provided to cnn by local politicians . the surrounding area is connected to major tube and light railway transport routes but is not home to a large residential population that would have any practical need to use the structure frequently , explained london assembly member , john biggs . it 's a nice bit of tourist infrastructure but it 's not a serious mass transit solution in this part of london , ' biggs said . it has an annual operating cost which is a six figure sum . this is massively greater than the revenue from fares income . ' see also : 8 spectacular infrastructure projects although critical of the london project , biggs believes the gondola concept itself can still offer a valuable urban transit option if constructed in locations where there is demand and the economic case can be justified . many towns ( in south america ) have quite a hilly landscape and they are a good way of getting people out to the suburbs , ' he said . there are ( also ) other parts of the world like across shipping lanes where they can in fact be quite useful , but none of these things really applied to london , ' biggs added . | an urban gondola 10.7 kilometers in length is being designed and built in the bolivian city of la paz |
la paz <tsp> ( cnn ) -- urban transport in bolivia 's administrative capital of la paz has always been about what goes up and down . situated in a deep canyon more than 10,000 feet above sea level , the andean metropolis is one of the highest cities in the world . densely populated barrios ( neighborhoods ) occupy the hills encompassing the bustling city center , rising a further 1,400 feet towards the satellite town of el alto . while these lofty locations create a dramatic setting -- particularly at night when the slopes are illuminated by thousands of house and street lights -- servicing them with reliable transit services has long proven difficult . bus journeys that are only a few miles long can often take up to an hour during busy periods as heavy traffic clogs the city 's steep and narrow streets . see also : silk road railways link asia and europe come the second half of 2014 , however , an all-new system of mass transportation is set to reduce the burden on these chaotic roadways . the la paz urban gondola will consist of three separate service lines stretching across a combined 10.7 kilometer ( 6.1 mile ) area of the city . these giant structures , most commonly associated with ski-resorts or mountaintop tourist spots , will cater for a combined hourly capacity of 9,000 passengers and come in at a reported cost of $ 235 million dollars . with individual pods traveling at a speed of 18 kilometers per hour ( 11 mph ) , the gondola aims to offer a transit system many times faster than more traditional modes of city transportation . as it currently stands , one person coming in the morning from el alto to the south area spends between one and a half and two hours to reach his destination , ' explained javier telleria , ceo of doppelmayr bolivia , the company behind the project . with the gondola , this same journey will take 24 minutes . ' the capacity may be lower when compared to a metro line or a railway but these options are not suitable on these slopes , ' he added . they are also much cheaper and cause less disruption during the building process as they can be built in a straight line and take up a fraction of the space that a road or railway line would require . ' socio-economic benefits these sentiments were echoed by michael mcdaniel , a designer from innovation firm frog design and advocate of an urban gondola for austin , texas , in an interview with marketplace earlier this year . he estimated that the cost of building a gondola comes in at between $ 3 million and $ 12 million per mile , comparing favorably against $ 400 million per mile for subway systems and $ 36 million per mile for light rail systems . see also : introducing the world 's biggest ship cost benefits like these have been key in convincing south american cities like la paz that urban gondolas are a viable and economical transport solution . rio de janeiro , medellin and caracas have all introduced similar systems in recent years . when these projects have been successful , they have brought with them a wide range of social and economic benefits . medellin 's metrocable , which connects some of the city 's poorest districts with its main metro line , was even recognized as a key factor in the colombian city winning the prestigious urban land institute'most innovative city of the year'award in early 2013 . marketing executive at doppelmayr , ekkehard assmann , meanwhile speaks of private compliments the company received from venezuelan officials regarding the caracas teleferico ' project and how it has increased economic opportunity ' as well as lowered crime rates ' in many poorer and previously disconnected areas where stations are located . bridging urban islands for steven dale , founder of the canada based website , the gondola project , these observations speak to the wider benefits of gondolas when introduced into the right type of urban environment . being able to connect people from an island , which is what these barrios often are , to the wider city where they can access economic , social and cultural opportunities , that 's the real value , ' dale said . you would n't have been able to do it in certain places without a cable car ' due to the various building and topographical challenges , he added . see also : could drones be the new highways ? such positive social outcomes have got other cities around the world thinking about their own transport needs and the potential benefits urban gondolas can bring . projects are reportedly in the works in the likes of lagos in nigeria and the city of toulouse in france , according to the gondola project . whether these ventures meet with the same success however is far from certain . the london legacy many skeptics point to the cable car ' system built in east london to connect the o2 arena and the excel exhibition centre across the river thames during the 2012 olympic games as an example of an urban gondola project gone wrong . although used by large numbers of people during the olympics , passenger numbers today are a fraction of what they were when the facility first opened , according to figures provided to cnn by local politicians . the surrounding area is connected to major tube and light railway transport routes but is not home to a large residential population that would have any practical need to use the structure frequently , explained london assembly member , john biggs . it 's a nice bit of tourist infrastructure but it 's not a serious mass transit solution in this part of london , ' biggs said . it has an annual operating cost which is a six figure sum . this is massively greater than the revenue from fares income . ' see also : 8 spectacular infrastructure projects although critical of the london project , biggs believes the gondola concept itself can still offer a valuable urban transit option if constructed in locations where there is demand and the economic case can be justified . many towns ( in south america ) have quite a hilly landscape and they are a good way of getting people out to the suburbs , ' he said . there are ( also ) other parts of the world like across shipping lanes where they can in fact be quite useful , but none of these things really applied to london , ' biggs added . | those behind the la paz project hope it will reduce traffic congestion and connect some of the city 's poorest areas |
brian david mitchell <tsp> ( cnn ) -- brian david mitchell , the homeless street preacher who abducted , raped and kept a 14-year-old elizabeth smart captive for nine months , was sentenced to life in prison wednesday . we believe it is an appropriate , just and long overdue result for our community , for the smart family and of course , most importantly , elizabeth , ' said carlie christensen , u.s. attorney for utah . u.s. district judge dale kimball issued the sentence wednesday . a jury found mitchell guilty in december of smart 's 2002 kidnapping . mitchell 's heinous conduct , the evidence of his propensity to reoffend mandated such a sentence , ' christensen said . beaming before a group of reporters gathered outside the federal courthouse , smart , now 23 , said she was thrilled ' with the sentence -- the maximum allowable under the law . as i said during court , and i 'll say it again now , i absolutely 100 % believe that brian david mitchell knew exactly what he was doing when he kidnapped me , and all the events that followed . ... today is the ending of a very long chapter , and the beginning of a very beautiful chapter for me , ' she said . wednesday 's sentencing occurred nearly nine years after smart was abducted . this case demonstrates that the road to justice can be painstakingly long and emotional , ' james mctighe , the fbi special agent in charge of the case , said after the sentencing . however , this case also demonstrates that justice will be served no matter how many days , months or years it may take . ' smart testified for three days during mitchell 's more than four-week trial . i felt that because of what he had done to me , i was marked , ' she said during her testimony . i was n't the same . my personal value had dropped . i was nothing . another person could never love me . ' she testified that she awoke to find a man holding a cold steel blade to her neck on june 5 , 2002 . she was taken from her bed and marched up a rugged mountain path in her red silk pajamas . when they reached mitchell 's remote camp , smart testified she was sealed ' to her captor in a marriage ceremony , raped and shackled between two trees with a metal cable . she said she was degraded and treated like an animal . ' smart said she was raped nearly every day during nine months in captivity and forced to drink alcohol , smoke cigarettes and watch mitchell have sex with his legal wife , wanda barzee . she was forced to wear robes and a veil in public and was not permitted to speak to other people . she said she feared mitchell would act on his threats to kill her and her family if she did . she said mitchell told her their marriage was preordained and that she would be by his side as he took seven times seven wives and successfully battled the antichrist . they would hold exalted positions in god 's new kingdom , she was told . smart told reporters wednesday that she was determined to dedicate her life to child advocacy , to help stop and prevent future kidnapping crimes , sexual crimes against children , against anyone . ' she noted that the sentencing also occurred on national missing children 's day . her father , standing beside her , held up posters depicting several children who were recently abducted . i think one of the biggest ways to overcome any trial in life , to heal from any kind of experience , is by helping those around you , because by lifting those around you up , you end up lifting yourself up as well , ' smart said . | a jury found brian david mitchell guilty in december |
erik fagan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- two gonzaga university students could be suspended or even expelled after using a handgun to defend themselves from an intruder in their university-owned apartment , an act which the university says violates the school 's weapons policy . gonzaga university , a private , four-year university in spokane , washington , says the students violated the school 's weapons policy by having firearms in their apartment , which is in a complex near the campus . on the night of october 24 , students erik fagan and daniel mcintosh were in their apartment when there was a knock on the door . fagan told cnn affiliate kxly in spokane that he opened the door and a stranger , who said he 'd just gotten out of jail , asked for $ 15 . fagan told kxly he offered the man a blanket and a can of food , but did n't feel comfortable ' giving the man money because he was a stranger . my gut instinct was telling me i was n't going to be able to get that door closed before he came through , ' fagan told kxly . as the man started coming through the door , fagan said , he yelled for his roommate , daniel mcintosh . mcintosh said he came to the door with his pistol drawn , and the students said the man turned and ran away . because the apartments are owned by gonzaga , both police and campus security responded when fagan and mcintosh called 911 . according to the gonzaga 's executive vice president earl martin , all university housing is patrolled at regular intervals by campus security , though this particular apartment complex is n't gated and secured key cards or codes are n't required for entrance . a short while after the incident , police captured the man , whom they identified as a six-time convicted felon . at about 2 a.m. , campus security officers returned to fagan and mcintosh 's apartment and confiscated a pistol and a shotgun from the apartment . dean chuang , attorney for fagan and mcintosh , said the shotgun is owned by fagan , who uses it to hunt periodically , and it was n't used in the incident . he added that the pistol that was used in the incident belonged to mcintosh , and was a gift to him from his grandfather several years ago . mcintosh has a state-issued permit to carry a concealed handgun , chuang said . in washington state , gun owners are not required to register their weapons . in a disciplinary board hearing on friday , the board , made up of three faculty members and two students , found fagan and mcintosh guilty of two infractions -- possessing weapons on school grounds and putting others in danger by the use of weapons , according to chuang . chuang told cnn the students expect to hear later this week what disciplinary action will be taken by the board . fagan and mcintosh both face suspension or expulsion . both are seniors and have exemplary records , chuang said . meantime , fagan and mcintosh have asked university security to return their firearms , but that has n't yet happened . according to chuang , one of the students had never lived in campus housing and was unaware of the school 's weapons policy . the other , he said , was aware of the policy but did n't think it applied to him because the apartment is n't on campus . they had the right to defend themselves and others , regardless of what the policy says , ' chuang told cnn . though the university could n't talk about specifics of this case due to privacy laws , martin said , i 'm not aware of other instances like this in particular . ' the policy , which is on the university 's official website , states that weapons , which includes firearms , are prohibited at any location on campus , or within university residences . ' in a statement released saturday by university president thayne mcculloh , there have been calls for a re-examination of the university 's policies relating to firearms . mcculloh said in the release he believes this is an opportunity for the university community to objectively re-examine the policy and openly debate perspectives and contextual issues . ' mcculloh 's statement said he has asked the vice president for student development to work with several campus organizations to facilitate a campus dialogue focused on this issue . ' meantime , he added , the current student handbook and code of conduct remain in effect . louisiana kidnap victim 's cousin kicks down door , shoots and kills abductor cnn 's rick martin and jackie castillo contributed to this story | erik fagan and daniel mcintosh used a pistol to scare away a convicted felon from their apartment |
red cross <tsp> osh , kyrgyzstan ( cnn ) -- the flow of refugees fleeing southern kyrgyzstan has gone from a flood to a trickle , the uzbekistan foreign ministry said . uzbekistan authorities said even though the flow of people had slowed down they were still dealing with an estimated 120,000 refugees . aid workers were calling the fallout from ethnic clashes in kyrgyzstan a humanitarian crisis . no one from kyrgyzstan 's interim government had made official contact with them since refugees flooded into their country , the uzbekistan foreign ministry said . foreign ministry officials said they were surprised and concerned that they have not had official contact with their neighbor during this crisis . the violence between ethnic kyrgyz and ethnic uzbeks had calmed down earlier this week after more than 170 people were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded . but gunfire was heard thursday from the center of osh , kyrgyzstan , a sign that the violent ethnic clashes may be intensifying again . gunfire in the hard-hit city had been heard only at night . thursday was the first time cnn producers on the scene have heard daytime gunfights . the clashes , which started last week , were part of the most serious outbreak of ethnic violence in the former soviet republic since 1990 , when hundreds of people died in skirmishes between uzbeks and kyrgyz in osh . u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon called uzbekistan 's president islam karimov from london on wednesday , thanking karimov for his help with the humanitarian situation , according to a statement from ban 's office . the secretary-general promised assistance to affected people in southern kyrgyzstan and those seeking refuge in uzbekistan , and said he intended to consult with key members of the u.n. security council upon his return to new york later wednesday . one u.n. plane , loaded with tons of tents , landed in the area wednesday and others were on the way . several countries , including the united states , germany and russia , have also sent aid . the international committee of the red cross said along with refugees there was an estimated 60,000 internally displaced people in kyrgyzstan . francois blancy , deputy head of the red cross regional office in uzbekistan , said more aid is needed . we are now at the peak of the humanitarian crisis , ' blancy said . cnn 's matthew chance and nic robertson contributed to this report . | red cross estimates that there are also 60,000 internally displaced people |
osh <tsp> osh , kyrgyzstan ( cnn ) -- the flow of refugees fleeing southern kyrgyzstan has gone from a flood to a trickle , the uzbekistan foreign ministry said . uzbekistan authorities said even though the flow of people had slowed down they were still dealing with an estimated 120,000 refugees . aid workers were calling the fallout from ethnic clashes in kyrgyzstan a humanitarian crisis . no one from kyrgyzstan 's interim government had made official contact with them since refugees flooded into their country , the uzbekistan foreign ministry said . foreign ministry officials said they were surprised and concerned that they have not had official contact with their neighbor during this crisis . the violence between ethnic kyrgyz and ethnic uzbeks had calmed down earlier this week after more than 170 people were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded . but gunfire was heard thursday from the center of osh , kyrgyzstan , a sign that the violent ethnic clashes may be intensifying again . gunfire in the hard-hit city had been heard only at night . thursday was the first time cnn producers on the scene have heard daytime gunfights . the clashes , which started last week , were part of the most serious outbreak of ethnic violence in the former soviet republic since 1990 , when hundreds of people died in skirmishes between uzbeks and kyrgyz in osh . u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon called uzbekistan 's president islam karimov from london on wednesday , thanking karimov for his help with the humanitarian situation , according to a statement from ban 's office . the secretary-general promised assistance to affected people in southern kyrgyzstan and those seeking refuge in uzbekistan , and said he intended to consult with key members of the u.n. security council upon his return to new york later wednesday . one u.n. plane , loaded with tons of tents , landed in the area wednesday and others were on the way . several countries , including the united states , germany and russia , have also sent aid . the international committee of the red cross said along with refugees there was an estimated 60,000 internally displaced people in kyrgyzstan . francois blancy , deputy head of the red cross regional office in uzbekistan , said more aid is needed . we are now at the peak of the humanitarian crisis , ' blancy said . cnn 's matthew chance and nic robertson contributed to this report . | new : more gunfire heard in osh |
russia <tsp> moscow ( cnn ) -- two members of the female punk rock band pussy riot have fled russia , the group said . in regard to the pursuit , two of our members have successfully fled the country ! recruiting foreign feminists to prepare new actions , ' the group said on twitter . a russian court this month sentenced three members of the band to two years in prison after they were found guilty of hooliganism for performing a song critical of president vladimir putin in a church . five members had taken part in the performance , but authorities had managed to arrest only three . russian police were searching for the other two participants . while pussy riot tweeted sunday that two members fled the country because of the danger , ' pyotr verzilov , husband of jailed band member nadezdha tolokonnikova , would not say monday whether the two who have fled took part in the february performance in moscow 's christ the savior cathedral . two girls have left the country to protect themselves . they are in the safe place . talking about whether they will stay there forever , it 's hard to say because nothing lasts forever . probably they will return one day . but you must remember that there are 12 or even 14 members who are still in russia and participate in the band 's work now , ' he said . verzilov would not say whether the two have formally applied for asylum in another country . the sentencing and conviction of tolokonnikova , maria alyokhina and yekaterina samutsevich triggered international condemnation . cnn 's alla eshchenko and josh levs contributed to this report . | russia was searching for two members who took part in a controversial performance |
amanpour <tsp> ( cnn ) -- no one teaches reporters how to cover a war , much less wars that include genocide . most of us rely on the wisdom of experienced colleagues and a lot of on-the-job training . cnn 's christiane amanpour in a sarajevo cemetery ; she returned to bosnia for scream bloody murder . ' my first war assignment -- bosnia , in the 1990s -- included visits to the sarajevo morgue to see the bodies . how else would a journalist know exactly how many muslim children were cut down by bosnian serb snipers ? how else could we put names to civilians left faceless by mortar shells from the surrounding hills ? i learned what it means to bear witness . i found my voice and my mission in bosnia . i learned to seek the facts , to tell the truth no matter how difficult or unpopular . i learned that objectivity meant covering all sides and giving all sides their hearing , but never to draw a false moral equivalence when none exists . i learned never to equate victims with their aggressors . i learned that there are limits to the style of journalism that goes : on the one hand , on the other hand . ' most of all , i learned that as reporters our words and our actions have consequences and that we must use this powerful platform , television , responsibly . but how many times have people asked me , when i 've come back from a place like bosnia or rwanda : is it really that bad ? i have found that many people want to believe that i am exaggerating . i guess they do not want to believe such evil can exist . or perhaps they just do not want to be pushed into that moral space where they would have to take a stand and do something . genocide is hard to imagine -- despite all we know about the holocaust . or perhaps , ironically , as a result of it being the most documented event in modern history . many people now believe that if the extermination is not done on the nazis'industrial scale or is less than complete , it is not genocide . they are wrong . genocide is mass murder with the intent to wipe out a significant part of an ethnic , religious or national group . it means killing people not because of what they did , but because of who they are . it is the world 's most heinous crime . and it continues , despite an international treaty written 60 years ago this month . with a unanimous vote on december 9 , 1948 , the fledgling united nations adopted the convention on the prevention and punishment of genocide . the signatories committed themselves to act , although the convention does not say what intervention is required . and sure enough , instead of using the convention as a springboard to action , political leaders in the ensuing years have invoked reason after reason not to stop the bloodshed . if there is any hopeful sign , it is in the voices of people with the emotional and intellectual courage to stand up and scream bloody murder -- often at personal or professional risk . some are members of the political establishment who believe that doing the right thing is also the pragmatic thing to do . others are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances . what makes them do it ? over the course of filming a two-hour documentary , i found a few common threads . unlike politicians who make policy from the detachment of their national capitals , these men and women have been on the front lines . like father françois ponchaud , a french missionary in cambodia when the khmer rouge seized power in 1975 , they have seen the victims'suffering first hand . like peter galbraith , an idealistic staff member on the u.s. senate foreign relations committee who wanted the u.s. to punish saddam hussein for using chemical weapons against the kurds , they are convinced that the accounts of refugees are true . and like richard holbrooke , a u.s. diplomat whose jewish grandfather fled germany when hitler came to power , they see where action -- sometimes military action -- can make a difference . none considered himself a hero . and some , like canadian lt. gen. romeo dallaire , who led a u.n. peacekeeping force in rwanda , believe they did not do enough . dallaire was one of those good men who put on a uniform and felt that it meant something , that he was actually there to make a difference . unfortunately , he was sent to rwanda with an impossible mandate and without the backing of the international community . he was helpless to stop the slaughter of 800,000 to 1 million ethnic tutsis at the hands of their hutu countrymen . imagine if that had happened to you or me ? how would we be able to live with ourselves ? ireport.com : have a question for amanpour ? send it in in any single crisis , i can understand that political leaders are under pressure not to intervene . but stepping back to look at the consistent pattern , one must ask : is it acceptable ? in the 1970s , the carter administration touted human rights as a core value in u.s. foreign policy , but knew that military intervention against the khmer rouge in cambodia was politically inconceivable after the disastrous war in vietnam . in the 1980s , the reagan administration was courting iraq as an ally against iran and as a market for u.s. exports when saddam hussein was gassing the kurds ; a punishing trade embargo would have destroyed the budding relationship . in the 1990s , the clinton administration would not take military action against the bosnian serbs without backing from the european allies . watch bosnia 's president discuss the 1991 u.n. arms embargo on the former yugoslavia » and some u.s. officials even avoided characterizing the slaughter in rwanda in 1994 as genocide lest it lead to a call for action under the u.n. genocide convention . military force : the last resort ? or the first resort ? » but three years into the bosnian war -- after the massacre at srebrenica -- the u.s. finally forged a coalition of previously reluctant allies to bomb the bosnian serb military positions . they stopped the war , then led the peace process and the peace enforcement that has survived to this day . and because we the press , the storytellers , finally made it impossible for our western democratic governments to tolerate mass murder of men , women and children in the age of 24/7 satellite tv , 3½ years later , the u.s. led its allies in a pre-emptive strike against genocide in kosovo . nato , established to protect the west during the cold war , had launched its largest military strike -- for a purely humanitarian mission . and today , there is a grassroots american movement that has brought the genocide in darfur to such prominence . we 're always told that evil happens when good men do nothing . and the question -- my question as a reporter and as a witness to history is : will we ever learn ? or will i or my children or my successors be reporting on this same kind of atrocity and inhumanity for years and years to come ? this is what i do n't understand about the human race . so thank goodness for the few good men and women who summon the courage to do something in the face of evil , to stand up and confront it . they give me hope . | cnn 's christiane amanpour traveled the globe for documentary on genocide |
amanpour <tsp> ( cnn ) -- no one teaches reporters how to cover a war , much less wars that include genocide . most of us rely on the wisdom of experienced colleagues and a lot of on-the-job training . cnn 's christiane amanpour in a sarajevo cemetery ; she returned to bosnia for scream bloody murder . ' my first war assignment -- bosnia , in the 1990s -- included visits to the sarajevo morgue to see the bodies . how else would a journalist know exactly how many muslim children were cut down by bosnian serb snipers ? how else could we put names to civilians left faceless by mortar shells from the surrounding hills ? i learned what it means to bear witness . i found my voice and my mission in bosnia . i learned to seek the facts , to tell the truth no matter how difficult or unpopular . i learned that objectivity meant covering all sides and giving all sides their hearing , but never to draw a false moral equivalence when none exists . i learned never to equate victims with their aggressors . i learned that there are limits to the style of journalism that goes : on the one hand , on the other hand . ' most of all , i learned that as reporters our words and our actions have consequences and that we must use this powerful platform , television , responsibly . but how many times have people asked me , when i 've come back from a place like bosnia or rwanda : is it really that bad ? i have found that many people want to believe that i am exaggerating . i guess they do not want to believe such evil can exist . or perhaps they just do not want to be pushed into that moral space where they would have to take a stand and do something . genocide is hard to imagine -- despite all we know about the holocaust . or perhaps , ironically , as a result of it being the most documented event in modern history . many people now believe that if the extermination is not done on the nazis'industrial scale or is less than complete , it is not genocide . they are wrong . genocide is mass murder with the intent to wipe out a significant part of an ethnic , religious or national group . it means killing people not because of what they did , but because of who they are . it is the world 's most heinous crime . and it continues , despite an international treaty written 60 years ago this month . with a unanimous vote on december 9 , 1948 , the fledgling united nations adopted the convention on the prevention and punishment of genocide . the signatories committed themselves to act , although the convention does not say what intervention is required . and sure enough , instead of using the convention as a springboard to action , political leaders in the ensuing years have invoked reason after reason not to stop the bloodshed . if there is any hopeful sign , it is in the voices of people with the emotional and intellectual courage to stand up and scream bloody murder -- often at personal or professional risk . some are members of the political establishment who believe that doing the right thing is also the pragmatic thing to do . others are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances . what makes them do it ? over the course of filming a two-hour documentary , i found a few common threads . unlike politicians who make policy from the detachment of their national capitals , these men and women have been on the front lines . like father françois ponchaud , a french missionary in cambodia when the khmer rouge seized power in 1975 , they have seen the victims'suffering first hand . like peter galbraith , an idealistic staff member on the u.s. senate foreign relations committee who wanted the u.s. to punish saddam hussein for using chemical weapons against the kurds , they are convinced that the accounts of refugees are true . and like richard holbrooke , a u.s. diplomat whose jewish grandfather fled germany when hitler came to power , they see where action -- sometimes military action -- can make a difference . none considered himself a hero . and some , like canadian lt. gen. romeo dallaire , who led a u.n. peacekeeping force in rwanda , believe they did not do enough . dallaire was one of those good men who put on a uniform and felt that it meant something , that he was actually there to make a difference . unfortunately , he was sent to rwanda with an impossible mandate and without the backing of the international community . he was helpless to stop the slaughter of 800,000 to 1 million ethnic tutsis at the hands of their hutu countrymen . imagine if that had happened to you or me ? how would we be able to live with ourselves ? ireport.com : have a question for amanpour ? send it in in any single crisis , i can understand that political leaders are under pressure not to intervene . but stepping back to look at the consistent pattern , one must ask : is it acceptable ? in the 1970s , the carter administration touted human rights as a core value in u.s. foreign policy , but knew that military intervention against the khmer rouge in cambodia was politically inconceivable after the disastrous war in vietnam . in the 1980s , the reagan administration was courting iraq as an ally against iran and as a market for u.s. exports when saddam hussein was gassing the kurds ; a punishing trade embargo would have destroyed the budding relationship . in the 1990s , the clinton administration would not take military action against the bosnian serbs without backing from the european allies . watch bosnia 's president discuss the 1991 u.n. arms embargo on the former yugoslavia » and some u.s. officials even avoided characterizing the slaughter in rwanda in 1994 as genocide lest it lead to a call for action under the u.n. genocide convention . military force : the last resort ? or the first resort ? » but three years into the bosnian war -- after the massacre at srebrenica -- the u.s. finally forged a coalition of previously reluctant allies to bomb the bosnian serb military positions . they stopped the war , then led the peace process and the peace enforcement that has survived to this day . and because we the press , the storytellers , finally made it impossible for our western democratic governments to tolerate mass murder of men , women and children in the age of 24/7 satellite tv , 3½ years later , the u.s. led its allies in a pre-emptive strike against genocide in kosovo . nato , established to protect the west during the cold war , had launched its largest military strike -- for a purely humanitarian mission . and today , there is a grassroots american movement that has brought the genocide in darfur to such prominence . we 're always told that evil happens when good men do nothing . and the question -- my question as a reporter and as a witness to history is : will we ever learn ? or will i or my children or my successors be reporting on this same kind of atrocity and inhumanity for years and years to come ? this is what i do n't understand about the human race . so thank goodness for the few good men and women who summon the courage to do something in the face of evil , to stand up and confront it . they give me hope . | amanpour : the few people who stand up and confront evil give me hope |
hong kong <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- nestled within hong kong 's dense skyscraper jungle , a $ 640,000 property sits among some of the world 's most expensive commercial and residential spaces . the price might sound like a steal . this asian financial capital has the world 's priciest property , according to savills . since the start of 2010 , average hong kong home prices have doubled . but the price tag mentioned here is neither for a home nor an office . it is for a parking space : a slab of undecorated concrete , stained by black motor oil , about 8-feet-by-16-feet in size . price per square foot : nearly $ 5,000 . jacinto tong has owned and used this space for the past ten years . described in local media as the tycoon of parking spaces , ' he is effusive when talking about this particular priceless ' gem . i think this is the best car park space i ever had , ' said the ceo of gale well group , a property firm that owns hundreds of residential and commercial spaces across the city . you can go straight to the office and the elevator . only 20 steps -- 20 steps ! ' the ceo does not own just one $ 640,000 parking space . tong owns two . if he were to sell he could bank $ 1.3 million . people do n't mind paying more , ' boasted tong . but i 'm not eager to sell . ' and yet that is the reality for hong kong . according to the latest parking rate survey by colliers international , the global property services firm , this city has the most exorbitant monthly parking fees in the asia-pacific . hong kong 's monthly median parking rate was $ 744.72 in 2011 . with less than a dollar 's difference , tokyo came in as asia 's number two . the reason for hong kong 's pricey parking rates is rooted in governmental curbs on the city 's residential market , said buggle lau , chief analyst at midland realty , one of the city 's largest real estate companies . many analysts believe hong kong 's property market is a bubble waiting to burst . to deflate it slowly , the government has introduced a series of increasingly stringent policies since november 2010 . these have made it more expensive for investors to buy or flip homes for a quick profit . the regulations have produced desired results , said lau , leading to a 31 % fall in home sale transactions over the past 23 months . but , as a side effect , the squeeze on residential investors has pushed them into commercial property , like parking spaces , which have no such price curbs yet . while homes sale transaction volumes have fallen since november 2010 , trade in parking spaces has risen more than 25 % , lau added . the volume of industrial , commercial and retail have surged 16 % as well . fast price rises and higher yields on leased parking spaces have attracted more investors to this niche market . if you look at this year 's ( total sales ) number , it 's the highest in the past ten years or so , ' lau said . through november of this year , hong kong had car park transactions totaling $ 751 million . in 2010 , it was $ 525 million . ' this rise marks an increase of 43 % so far this year . tong , the parking space tycoon , breaks down rental yields by property category . the lowest yield of all property is ( retail ) shops , maybe less than 2 % . the second thing is commercial , which is about 2 % to 2.5 % , and then residential which is about 3 % . parking spaces should be about 5 % . ' hence , some of hong kong 's hottest investment vehicles are where people keep their motorized ones . but lau , the property analyst , cautions against casual investment in parking spaces . if hong kong 's economy stalls the first thing people will get rid of will be their cars . no car means no need for a parking space . but a home will always have a use . if you buy a parking space , ' said lau , you ca n't live in it . ' vivian kam contributed to this report | in hong kong 's central district , an executive recently offered $ 640,000 for a parking space |
hong kong <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- nestled within hong kong 's dense skyscraper jungle , a $ 640,000 property sits among some of the world 's most expensive commercial and residential spaces . the price might sound like a steal . this asian financial capital has the world 's priciest property , according to savills . since the start of 2010 , average hong kong home prices have doubled . but the price tag mentioned here is neither for a home nor an office . it is for a parking space : a slab of undecorated concrete , stained by black motor oil , about 8-feet-by-16-feet in size . price per square foot : nearly $ 5,000 . jacinto tong has owned and used this space for the past ten years . described in local media as the tycoon of parking spaces , ' he is effusive when talking about this particular priceless ' gem . i think this is the best car park space i ever had , ' said the ceo of gale well group , a property firm that owns hundreds of residential and commercial spaces across the city . you can go straight to the office and the elevator . only 20 steps -- 20 steps ! ' the ceo does not own just one $ 640,000 parking space . tong owns two . if he were to sell he could bank $ 1.3 million . people do n't mind paying more , ' boasted tong . but i 'm not eager to sell . ' and yet that is the reality for hong kong . according to the latest parking rate survey by colliers international , the global property services firm , this city has the most exorbitant monthly parking fees in the asia-pacific . hong kong 's monthly median parking rate was $ 744.72 in 2011 . with less than a dollar 's difference , tokyo came in as asia 's number two . the reason for hong kong 's pricey parking rates is rooted in governmental curbs on the city 's residential market , said buggle lau , chief analyst at midland realty , one of the city 's largest real estate companies . many analysts believe hong kong 's property market is a bubble waiting to burst . to deflate it slowly , the government has introduced a series of increasingly stringent policies since november 2010 . these have made it more expensive for investors to buy or flip homes for a quick profit . the regulations have produced desired results , said lau , leading to a 31 % fall in home sale transactions over the past 23 months . but , as a side effect , the squeeze on residential investors has pushed them into commercial property , like parking spaces , which have no such price curbs yet . while homes sale transaction volumes have fallen since november 2010 , trade in parking spaces has risen more than 25 % , lau added . the volume of industrial , commercial and retail have surged 16 % as well . fast price rises and higher yields on leased parking spaces have attracted more investors to this niche market . if you look at this year 's ( total sales ) number , it 's the highest in the past ten years or so , ' lau said . through november of this year , hong kong had car park transactions totaling $ 751 million . in 2010 , it was $ 525 million . ' this rise marks an increase of 43 % so far this year . tong , the parking space tycoon , breaks down rental yields by property category . the lowest yield of all property is ( retail ) shops , maybe less than 2 % . the second thing is commercial , which is about 2 % to 2.5 % , and then residential which is about 3 % . parking spaces should be about 5 % . ' hence , some of hong kong 's hottest investment vehicles are where people keep their motorized ones . but lau , the property analyst , cautions against casual investment in parking spaces . if hong kong 's economy stalls the first thing people will get rid of will be their cars . no car means no need for a parking space . but a home will always have a use . if you buy a parking space , ' said lau , you ca n't live in it . ' vivian kam contributed to this report | on average , hong kong is the third most expensive place to park in the world |
uefa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- real madrid coach jose mourinho has been given a one-game touchline ban with another suspended after two of his players received late red cards in their champions league win over ajax last week . midfielder xabi alonso and right-back sergio ramos were both sent off in the dying moments of real 's win in amsterdam after getting second yellow cards for inexplicable acts of time-wasting with their team leading 4-0 . the spanish club 's coach jose mourinho has been suspended from coaching activities for two uefa club competition matches , of which the second is deferred for a probationary period of three years . he was also fined €40,000 , uefa announced on its website tuesday . uefa confirmed that the punishments were for improper conduct ' but gave no further details . five-star barcelona thrash real madrid the dismissal of the pair leaves them banned for real 's final group g match with marseille , which is of no consequence with the team already qualified for the last 16 . press speculation has suggested that the sendings off were deliberate to give themselves a disciplinary clean state for the crucial knockout stages . alonso and ramos were also both fined by uefa , while goalkeeper iker casillas and reserve keeper jerzy dudek were punished after being shown on television allegedly passing messages to them from the dugout . spanish international teammates alonso and ramos were fined €20,000 each , with a €10,000 fine given to casillas while dudek was ordered to pay €5,000 ' the red cards given to alonso and ramos stand , and they have therefore been suspended for one uefa club competition match , ' added uefa . nine-time european champions real were also fined €120,000 over the club and have three days to launch an appeal . the ban completes a miserable 24 hours for portuguese boss mourinho after seeing his side thrashed 5-0 by arch-rivals barcelona in el clasico on monday night . | real madrid coach sanctioned by uefa for improper conduct ' |
real madrid <tsp> ( cnn ) -- real madrid coach jose mourinho has been given a one-game touchline ban with another suspended after two of his players received late red cards in their champions league win over ajax last week . midfielder xabi alonso and right-back sergio ramos were both sent off in the dying moments of real 's win in amsterdam after getting second yellow cards for inexplicable acts of time-wasting with their team leading 4-0 . the spanish club 's coach jose mourinho has been suspended from coaching activities for two uefa club competition matches , of which the second is deferred for a probationary period of three years . he was also fined €40,000 , uefa announced on its website tuesday . uefa confirmed that the punishments were for improper conduct ' but gave no further details . five-star barcelona thrash real madrid the dismissal of the pair leaves them banned for real 's final group g match with marseille , which is of no consequence with the team already qualified for the last 16 . press speculation has suggested that the sendings off were deliberate to give themselves a disciplinary clean state for the crucial knockout stages . alonso and ramos were also both fined by uefa , while goalkeeper iker casillas and reserve keeper jerzy dudek were punished after being shown on television allegedly passing messages to them from the dugout . spanish international teammates alonso and ramos were fined €20,000 each , with a €10,000 fine given to casillas while dudek was ordered to pay €5,000 ' the red cards given to alonso and ramos stand , and they have therefore been suspended for one uefa club competition match , ' added uefa . nine-time european champions real were also fined €120,000 over the club and have three days to launch an appeal . the ban completes a miserable 24 hours for portuguese boss mourinho after seeing his side thrashed 5-0 by arch-rivals barcelona in el clasico on monday night . | real madrid coach sanctioned by uefa for improper conduct ' |
mi5 <tsp> in the wake of an alleged terrorist attack on one of its soldiers , britain is forming a task force that will examine the dynamics behind extremist groups in the country , prime minister david cameron 's office announced sunday . the group , led by cameron , will have a general focus on extremist groups , but accept that in practice the greatest threat is from islamist extremists , ' a statement from downing street said . the muslim council of britain said the task force needs to look at extremism from all quarters ' while forming an effective strategy . in doing so , we hope wisdom prevails as we reflect on the response of these past few days and the missed opportunities of previous years , ' said a statement from the council 's secretary-general , farooq murad . we must be vigilant and ensure we do not inadvertently give into the demands of all extremists : making our society less free , divided and suspicious of each other . lessons from the past indicate that policies and measures taken in haste can exacerbate extremism . ' the brutal slaying wednesday of british soldier lee rigby near the royal artillery barracks in a working-class neighborhood in southeast london shocked people across the united kingdom . it also triggered a far right-wing street demonstration saturday in northern england , in which irate protesters called for muslims to leave britain . late sunday , a mosque caught fire in the city of grimsby on the country 's east coast , and police arrested two men on suspicion of arson . the blaze coincided with inciting messages on social media by a small minority of individuals , ' according to humberside county police . those people should be aware that we are monitoring these sites in humberside and we will take action against those intent on attempting to incite violence or post messages of a racial nature , ' police warned . woolwich arrests nine people have been arrested in connection with the woolwich attack , including three men who were taken into custody saturday and another on sunday . the three arrested saturday were released early monday on bail , police said . the men were being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder , the metropolitan police said in a statement . police did not detail how they were allegedly tied to the killing nor did they release their identities , saying only that the men -- ages 21 , 22 , 24 and 28 -- were arrested by detectives from the counter terrorism command and taken to a south london police station . two men arrested at the scene of the killing are now under guard in south london hospitals after being shot in a confrontation with police . britain 's mi5 intelligence agency will report the results of a preliminary investigation into the suspects this week to the intelligence and security committee , government sources said . the report is expected to be confidential . two women who were arrested thursday were released shortly thereafter without charge . right-wing demo addressing the crowd saturday in newcastle , far-right english defence league leader tommy robinson said that rigby 's killing should be a wake-up call to british citizens . we can not allow this soldier 's death to be in vain , ' robinson said . we are the only ones who dare say it . when did the truth become hate speech ? ' police estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 people attended the rally . a counter demonstration drew a few hundred people , police said . rigby 's family visited the scene of his death on sunday . | source : mi5 sending confidential report to intelligence and security committee this week |
paris <tsp> ( cnn ) nations working on a global treaty to combat climate change and handle its ill effects have come to a basic draft agreement at conference in lima , peru . the elements hammered out in two weeks by about 190 countries at the 20th conference of parties ( cop20 ) will serve as the basis for an international climate treaty to be signed in paris next year , the u.n . framework convention on climate change said sunday . that treaty , which is supposed to detail nations'responsibilities in the fight against climate change , will come into effect in 2020 . the lima draft announced sunday determines that developed countries and developing nations will take on differing responsibilities in the fight against global warming in light of different national circumstances . ' the details of those responsibilities are to be determined later . it also calls on richer countries to help poorer ones finance their goals -- especially countries hurt most by the adverse effects of climate change ' that are working to mitigate that damage . initial disagreement between nations over the distribution of responsibilities and costs had brought negotiations to a deadlock , causing the conference to be extended by two days . a handful of developed and developing countries pledged contributions to the green climate fund -- designed to finance sustainable development -- boosting it to nearly $ 10.2 billion . cnn 's christine theodorou contributed to his report . | the draft agreement will serve as the basis for a treaty to be signed in paris next year |
schumacher <tsp> ( cnn ) -- michael schumacher , the most successful driver in formula 1 history and one of the world 's highest-profile athletes , remains in critical condition after suffering severe head trauma in a skiing accident in the french alps , hospital officials said monday . doctors who have been treating schumacher at the university hospital center of grenoble said at a news conference that it was too early to say what the driver 's prognosis might be . in a prepared statement , schumacher 's family thanked doctors for doing everything possible to help michael . ' they also thanked people around the world for the outpouring of support . the german , who retired from the elite motorsport for the second time in 2012 , fell and hit his head on a rock sunday , said the director of the meribel resort where schumacher was skiing . schumacher was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital and required immediate brain surgery , officials said . so far , he has undergone one operation and is being kept in a coma , they said monday . schumacher , who turns 45 friday , won a record seven world titles in his spectacular formula 1 career and also holds nearly every scoring record in the book by a considerable margin , ' according to the motorsport 's official website . he dominated the competition for the best part of a decade , winning five world championships in a row between 2000 and 2004 . schumacher suffered serious injury once during his career in the high-speed sport , breaking his leg in a crash at the british grand prix in 1999 . why induced comas help injured brains wearing a helmet his skiing accident happened while he was off-piste ( on unmarked slopes ) sunday morning in the mountains between georges bauduis piste and la biche piste , resort director christophe gernignon-lecomte said . schumacher was wearing a helmet when he hit his head , gernignon-lecomte said . rescuers reached him minutes later , and he was airlifted to a nearby hospital , the director said . doctors at the grenoble hospital said that without the helmet 's protection , schumacher would n't have made it to the operating table . the cause of the accident , which is being investigated by police , remains unclear , gernignon-lecomte said . schumacher was not alone ' when he fell , his spokeswoman sabine kehm said in a prepared statement . but nobody else was involved , she said .'a great champion' former french formula 1 driver olivier panis visited the hospital in grenoble on sunday but was not able to see schumacher , cnn affiliate bfm tv reported . as i am here in grenoble , i want to come to him and say hello , for old times'sake . he is a great champion and someone very loved in formula 1 , ' panis told bfm . schumacher has a wife , corinna , and two children , gina-maria and mick . his brother ralf was also a formula 1 driver . schumacher made his formula 1 debut in 1991 and won a record seven world titles -- five of them with ferrari -- by the time he retired for the first time at the end of the 2006 championship . in that period of temporary retirement , he was involved in a motorcycle crash in spain in 2009 that left him with a lingering neck injury , which delayed his racing comeback . he returned to the formula 1 track with the revived mercedes team in 2010 but struggled to repeat his earlier glories . his best finish was third place at last year 's european grand prix in valencia , his only podium position in three seasons with the german manufacturer .'a very good skier' sunday 's accident occurred at a popular ski resort in an area known for its challenging slopes above the tree line . if you are anything less than a really experienced skier , it 's very easy to lose your bearings , because you do n't see much in the way of vegetation around you or anything else , ' said paul hochman , a former contributing editor at ski magazine . it 's just literally all white , all snow . ' british journalist kevin garside told cnn that schumacher is a very good skier ' but acknowledged that he is fearless ' -- like most formula 1 drivers . these people do n't recognize fear like you and i do . there is no gene in their body that lets them go slow , ' garside said . schumacher was n't a skier when he joined ferrari ( in 1996 ) , but by the end he was excellent , ' he said . each year ferrari used to have a media week in the alps in italy and they would always have a race -- and it was always schumacher who won . he was a genuinely quick skier . but he was always very mindful of the danger around him , ' garside added . i approached him for an interview at the top of the slope , and he said it would have to be quick as he wanted to check the piste . that meant he wanted to make sure he understood the slopes , the cambers , even though it was only a fun race . ' cnn 's elwyn lopez , jonathan mann and christina macfarlane contributed to this report . | michael schumacher 's family thanks doctors for doing everything possible ' |
schumacher <tsp> ( cnn ) -- michael schumacher , the most successful driver in formula 1 history and one of the world 's highest-profile athletes , remains in critical condition after suffering severe head trauma in a skiing accident in the french alps , hospital officials said monday . doctors who have been treating schumacher at the university hospital center of grenoble said at a news conference that it was too early to say what the driver 's prognosis might be . in a prepared statement , schumacher 's family thanked doctors for doing everything possible to help michael . ' they also thanked people around the world for the outpouring of support . the german , who retired from the elite motorsport for the second time in 2012 , fell and hit his head on a rock sunday , said the director of the meribel resort where schumacher was skiing . schumacher was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital and required immediate brain surgery , officials said . so far , he has undergone one operation and is being kept in a coma , they said monday . schumacher , who turns 45 friday , won a record seven world titles in his spectacular formula 1 career and also holds nearly every scoring record in the book by a considerable margin , ' according to the motorsport 's official website . he dominated the competition for the best part of a decade , winning five world championships in a row between 2000 and 2004 . schumacher suffered serious injury once during his career in the high-speed sport , breaking his leg in a crash at the british grand prix in 1999 . why induced comas help injured brains wearing a helmet his skiing accident happened while he was off-piste ( on unmarked slopes ) sunday morning in the mountains between georges bauduis piste and la biche piste , resort director christophe gernignon-lecomte said . schumacher was wearing a helmet when he hit his head , gernignon-lecomte said . rescuers reached him minutes later , and he was airlifted to a nearby hospital , the director said . doctors at the grenoble hospital said that without the helmet 's protection , schumacher would n't have made it to the operating table . the cause of the accident , which is being investigated by police , remains unclear , gernignon-lecomte said . schumacher was not alone ' when he fell , his spokeswoman sabine kehm said in a prepared statement . but nobody else was involved , she said .'a great champion' former french formula 1 driver olivier panis visited the hospital in grenoble on sunday but was not able to see schumacher , cnn affiliate bfm tv reported . as i am here in grenoble , i want to come to him and say hello , for old times'sake . he is a great champion and someone very loved in formula 1 , ' panis told bfm . schumacher has a wife , corinna , and two children , gina-maria and mick . his brother ralf was also a formula 1 driver . schumacher made his formula 1 debut in 1991 and won a record seven world titles -- five of them with ferrari -- by the time he retired for the first time at the end of the 2006 championship . in that period of temporary retirement , he was involved in a motorcycle crash in spain in 2009 that left him with a lingering neck injury , which delayed his racing comeback . he returned to the formula 1 track with the revived mercedes team in 2010 but struggled to repeat his earlier glories . his best finish was third place at last year 's european grand prix in valencia , his only podium position in three seasons with the german manufacturer .'a very good skier' sunday 's accident occurred at a popular ski resort in an area known for its challenging slopes above the tree line . if you are anything less than a really experienced skier , it 's very easy to lose your bearings , because you do n't see much in the way of vegetation around you or anything else , ' said paul hochman , a former contributing editor at ski magazine . it 's just literally all white , all snow . ' british journalist kevin garside told cnn that schumacher is a very good skier ' but acknowledged that he is fearless ' -- like most formula 1 drivers . these people do n't recognize fear like you and i do . there is no gene in their body that lets them go slow , ' garside said . schumacher was n't a skier when he joined ferrari ( in 1996 ) , but by the end he was excellent , ' he said . each year ferrari used to have a media week in the alps in italy and they would always have a race -- and it was always schumacher who won . he was a genuinely quick skier . but he was always very mindful of the danger around him , ' garside added . i approached him for an interview at the top of the slope , and he said it would have to be quick as he wanted to check the piste . that meant he wanted to make sure he understood the slopes , the cambers , even though it was only a fun race . ' cnn 's elwyn lopez , jonathan mann and christina macfarlane contributed to this report . | doctors say it 's too early to give a prognosis for schumacher |
boko haram <tsp> as many as 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeastern nigeria by heavily armed boko haram islamists who arrived in trucks , vans and buses , officials and witnesses said . the group has recently stepped up attacks in the region , and its leader released a video last month threatening to kidnap girls from schools . dozens of gunmen stormed the government girls secondary school in chibok , about 130 km ( 81 miles ) west of maiduguri , on monday night as the students slept in their dormitories , officials said . they engaged the soldiers guarding the school in a lengthy gun battle and then herded the girls onto vehicles . many girls were abducted by the rampaging gunmen who stormed the school in a convoy of vehicles , ' said emmanuel sam , an education official in chibok . sam could not say exactly how many girls were kidnapped , but one student who managed to get away said at least 200 students were taken . the boko haram attackers came to town around 9 p.m. and made straight for the school where they had a gun battle with soldiers stationed at the school and killed two soldiers , ' said chibok resident maina babagana . the gunmen then burned homes and businesses in the town in borno state as they fled with the girls , witnesses said . a military spokesman in the region declined to comment on the abduction , saying the nigerian defence ministry would issue statement later . a student who was among about a dozen girls who managed to escape from their abductors recounted her ordeal . they forced us into trucks , buses and vans , some of which were carrying food stuffs and petrol . they left with us in a convoy into the bush , ' said the student , who declined to be named for security reasons . a group of motorcyclists flanked the convoy to ensure none of us escaped . ' at one point , one of the trucks broke down and the girls on that vehicle were transferred to another one , the student said . the broken down truck was set on fire , she added . when another vehicle broke down and the men tried to fix it , some of us jumped out of the vehicles and ran into the bush . we later found our way back to chibok , ' she said . boko haram , which translates as western education is sin , ' is known to have carried out deadly attacks on other schools in the northeast . in a clip released by the group march 23 , leader abubakar shekau threatened to launch raids and abduct girls from schools . in early march , borno state government closed all of its 85 secondary schools and sent more than 120,000 students home following increasing boko haram attacks on schools . | the girls were sleeping in their dormitories when boko haram attacked |
boko haram <tsp> as many as 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeastern nigeria by heavily armed boko haram islamists who arrived in trucks , vans and buses , officials and witnesses said . the group has recently stepped up attacks in the region , and its leader released a video last month threatening to kidnap girls from schools . dozens of gunmen stormed the government girls secondary school in chibok , about 130 km ( 81 miles ) west of maiduguri , on monday night as the students slept in their dormitories , officials said . they engaged the soldiers guarding the school in a lengthy gun battle and then herded the girls onto vehicles . many girls were abducted by the rampaging gunmen who stormed the school in a convoy of vehicles , ' said emmanuel sam , an education official in chibok . sam could not say exactly how many girls were kidnapped , but one student who managed to get away said at least 200 students were taken . the boko haram attackers came to town around 9 p.m. and made straight for the school where they had a gun battle with soldiers stationed at the school and killed two soldiers , ' said chibok resident maina babagana . the gunmen then burned homes and businesses in the town in borno state as they fled with the girls , witnesses said . a military spokesman in the region declined to comment on the abduction , saying the nigerian defence ministry would issue statement later . a student who was among about a dozen girls who managed to escape from their abductors recounted her ordeal . they forced us into trucks , buses and vans , some of which were carrying food stuffs and petrol . they left with us in a convoy into the bush , ' said the student , who declined to be named for security reasons . a group of motorcyclists flanked the convoy to ensure none of us escaped . ' at one point , one of the trucks broke down and the girls on that vehicle were transferred to another one , the student said . the broken down truck was set on fire , she added . when another vehicle broke down and the men tried to fix it , some of us jumped out of the vehicles and ran into the bush . we later found our way back to chibok , ' she said . boko haram , which translates as western education is sin , ' is known to have carried out deadly attacks on other schools in the northeast . in a clip released by the group march 23 , leader abubakar shekau threatened to launch raids and abduct girls from schools . in early march , borno state government closed all of its 85 secondary schools and sent more than 120,000 students home following increasing boko haram attacks on schools . | boko haram is against western education , has launched several attacks on schools |
diallo <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the woman accusing former international monetary fund chief dominique strauss-kahn of sexually assaulting her insisted she was telling the truth from my heart , ' in an interview broadcast monday . i want justice . i want him to go to jail , ' nafissatou diallo told abc . i want him to know you can not use your power when you do something like this . ' the 32-year-old hotel maid , whose credibility has been called into question by prosecutors and strauss-kahn 's lawyers , said she was terrified when she found out how powerful strauss-kahn was . when she saw news reports explaining that the man she was accusing was a leading candidate for the french presidency , i said ,'oh , my god .'i was crying . i said ,'they 're going to kill me , i 'm going to die .' that 's because in her native guinea , west africa , accusing a powerful man like that ' would put her life in danger , she said . diallo 's choice to go public with her accusations in the middle of a pending criminal investigation is extremely unusual . she spoke with both abc and newsweek magazine . cnn previously has not identified diallo , given the network 's policy against naming alleged sexual assault victims . but it is now naming her , in light of her decision to make her case to the media . on may 14 , diallo accused strauss-kahn , 62 , of assaulting and trying to rape her at manhattan 's sofitel hotel , where she was an employee . he was charged in new york with sexual abuse and attempted rape , pleading not guilty on all counts . he insists the encounter with diallo was consensual . strauss-kahn 's attorneys william taylor and benjamin brafman issued a revised statement monday standing by their earlier claim that diallo is the first accuser in history to conduct a media campaign to persuade a prosecutor to pursue charges against an innocent person from whom she wants money . ' these efforts are a desperate distraction from the key fact that ms. diallo has had to admit to misleading these very same prosecutors from the beginning . and , her lawyers know that her claim for money suffers a fatal blow when the criminal charges are dismissed as they must be , ' the statement said . accompanied by her lawyers , diallo plans to meet on wednesday with prosecutors in manhattan , a source close to the investigation tells cnn . this would be the first such meeting in nearly a month . relations between the two parties have been strained since diallo 's attorney kenneth thompson held a news conference in which he graphically detailed the alleged attack and then accused prosecutors of abandoning his client . in addition to the state case , thompson said monday that he plans to file a lawsuit this week against strauss-kahn on behalf of diallo . strauss-kahn 's lawyers said , referring to diallo and her attorney 's actions , said , the number of rallies , press conferences and media events they have orchestrated is exceeded only by the number of lies and misstatements she has made to law enforcement , friends , medical professionals and reporters ... it is time for this unseemly circus to stop . ' thompson shot back , accusing strauss-kahn 's attorneys of conducting an unprecedented smear campaign against the victim of a violent sexual attack . ' because of those contemptible , baseless and anonymous attacks , ms. diallo was forced to come forward in order to put a face to the brutal crime , ' thompson said in a statement . on july 1 , a judge freed strauss-kahn from house arrest after prosecutors presented evidence showing that diallo admitted she had lied about the specifics of her whereabouts after the incident and , from her past , the details of an asylum application and information she put on tax forms . prosecutors said she admitted lying on the asylum application about having been a victim of a gang rape , even providing details of that attack . she cried when she first told prosecutors about the alleged gang rape , but in a subsequent interview , she admitted it never occurred . she said the fabricated account on the asylum application was made with the assistance of a man who provided her with a cassette recording of the facts ' so that she could memorize them . abc reported that in the interview , diallo acknowledged mistakes . ' but she insisted that her story of what happened in the hotel is the unvarnished truth . he came to me and grabbed my breasts , ' she told abc , adding that she asked him to stop and said i do n't want to lose my job . ' i was like ,'stop this , stop this ,' she said in the interview . but , she insisted , strauss-kahn kept pushing me back to the hallway . ... i was so afraid . i was so scared . ' in the interview with newsweek , conducted at her lawyer 's office in new york city , diallo said strauss-kahn was naked when he slammed the door shut to his luxury hotel room , forced himself upon her and tried to make her perform oral sex on him . she said she was nervous ' and scared ' when she eventually ran from strauss-kahn 's hotel room , ending an incident that took about 15 minutes . strauss-kahn was initially arrested at new york 's john f. kennedy international airport while on board a paris-bound plane . his arrest created an international furor , prompting his resignation as imf chief as new york judge michael obus ordered him held under a $ 6 million bail . political watchers in france said he would no longer be a likely candidate for the upcoming presidential election . while prosecutors have questioned diallo 's credibility , the charges against strauss-kahn have not been dismissed . there have been further twists in recent weeks , including writer tristane banon 's filing of a complaint accusing strauss-kahn of attempted rape in france , stemming from an alleged 2003 incident in paris . a lawyer for strauss-kahn in france said he subsequently filed a counterclaim against banon for false declarations . diallo filed a libel lawsuit against the new york post and five of its reporters after the newspaper reported that the woman accusing strauss-kahn was a prostitute . the paper cited anonymous sources and said it stands by its reporting . because of him , they call me a prostitute , ' diallo said in the newsweek interview , blaming strauss-kahn for the accusations . strauss-kahn 's next court date for the new york incident is scheduled for august 1 . the hearing had been pushed back from mid-july as prosecutors tried to determine whether to drop the charges or move forward in the case , said erin duggan , communications director for manhattan district attorney cyrus vance . on sunday , amid the fresh attention related to diallo 's interviews , duggan declined to comment on what she called the pending criminal case . ' to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system , the rights of the victim and the rights of the accused , we will not discuss the facts or evidence in what remains an ongoing investigation , ' she said in a statement . cnn 's susan candiotti and adam reiss contributed to this report . | new : nafissatou diallo will meet with prosectuors wednesday , a source says |
diallo <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the woman accusing former international monetary fund chief dominique strauss-kahn of sexually assaulting her insisted she was telling the truth from my heart , ' in an interview broadcast monday . i want justice . i want him to go to jail , ' nafissatou diallo told abc . i want him to know you can not use your power when you do something like this . ' the 32-year-old hotel maid , whose credibility has been called into question by prosecutors and strauss-kahn 's lawyers , said she was terrified when she found out how powerful strauss-kahn was . when she saw news reports explaining that the man she was accusing was a leading candidate for the french presidency , i said ,'oh , my god .'i was crying . i said ,'they 're going to kill me , i 'm going to die .' that 's because in her native guinea , west africa , accusing a powerful man like that ' would put her life in danger , she said . diallo 's choice to go public with her accusations in the middle of a pending criminal investigation is extremely unusual . she spoke with both abc and newsweek magazine . cnn previously has not identified diallo , given the network 's policy against naming alleged sexual assault victims . but it is now naming her , in light of her decision to make her case to the media . on may 14 , diallo accused strauss-kahn , 62 , of assaulting and trying to rape her at manhattan 's sofitel hotel , where she was an employee . he was charged in new york with sexual abuse and attempted rape , pleading not guilty on all counts . he insists the encounter with diallo was consensual . strauss-kahn 's attorneys william taylor and benjamin brafman issued a revised statement monday standing by their earlier claim that diallo is the first accuser in history to conduct a media campaign to persuade a prosecutor to pursue charges against an innocent person from whom she wants money . ' these efforts are a desperate distraction from the key fact that ms. diallo has had to admit to misleading these very same prosecutors from the beginning . and , her lawyers know that her claim for money suffers a fatal blow when the criminal charges are dismissed as they must be , ' the statement said . accompanied by her lawyers , diallo plans to meet on wednesday with prosecutors in manhattan , a source close to the investigation tells cnn . this would be the first such meeting in nearly a month . relations between the two parties have been strained since diallo 's attorney kenneth thompson held a news conference in which he graphically detailed the alleged attack and then accused prosecutors of abandoning his client . in addition to the state case , thompson said monday that he plans to file a lawsuit this week against strauss-kahn on behalf of diallo . strauss-kahn 's lawyers said , referring to diallo and her attorney 's actions , said , the number of rallies , press conferences and media events they have orchestrated is exceeded only by the number of lies and misstatements she has made to law enforcement , friends , medical professionals and reporters ... it is time for this unseemly circus to stop . ' thompson shot back , accusing strauss-kahn 's attorneys of conducting an unprecedented smear campaign against the victim of a violent sexual attack . ' because of those contemptible , baseless and anonymous attacks , ms. diallo was forced to come forward in order to put a face to the brutal crime , ' thompson said in a statement . on july 1 , a judge freed strauss-kahn from house arrest after prosecutors presented evidence showing that diallo admitted she had lied about the specifics of her whereabouts after the incident and , from her past , the details of an asylum application and information she put on tax forms . prosecutors said she admitted lying on the asylum application about having been a victim of a gang rape , even providing details of that attack . she cried when she first told prosecutors about the alleged gang rape , but in a subsequent interview , she admitted it never occurred . she said the fabricated account on the asylum application was made with the assistance of a man who provided her with a cassette recording of the facts ' so that she could memorize them . abc reported that in the interview , diallo acknowledged mistakes . ' but she insisted that her story of what happened in the hotel is the unvarnished truth . he came to me and grabbed my breasts , ' she told abc , adding that she asked him to stop and said i do n't want to lose my job . ' i was like ,'stop this , stop this ,' she said in the interview . but , she insisted , strauss-kahn kept pushing me back to the hallway . ... i was so afraid . i was so scared . ' in the interview with newsweek , conducted at her lawyer 's office in new york city , diallo said strauss-kahn was naked when he slammed the door shut to his luxury hotel room , forced himself upon her and tried to make her perform oral sex on him . she said she was nervous ' and scared ' when she eventually ran from strauss-kahn 's hotel room , ending an incident that took about 15 minutes . strauss-kahn was initially arrested at new york 's john f. kennedy international airport while on board a paris-bound plane . his arrest created an international furor , prompting his resignation as imf chief as new york judge michael obus ordered him held under a $ 6 million bail . political watchers in france said he would no longer be a likely candidate for the upcoming presidential election . while prosecutors have questioned diallo 's credibility , the charges against strauss-kahn have not been dismissed . there have been further twists in recent weeks , including writer tristane banon 's filing of a complaint accusing strauss-kahn of attempted rape in france , stemming from an alleged 2003 incident in paris . a lawyer for strauss-kahn in france said he subsequently filed a counterclaim against banon for false declarations . diallo filed a libel lawsuit against the new york post and five of its reporters after the newspaper reported that the woman accusing strauss-kahn was a prostitute . the paper cited anonymous sources and said it stands by its reporting . because of him , they call me a prostitute , ' diallo said in the newsweek interview , blaming strauss-kahn for the accusations . strauss-kahn 's next court date for the new york incident is scheduled for august 1 . the hearing had been pushed back from mid-july as prosecutors tried to determine whether to drop the charges or move forward in the case , said erin duggan , communications director for manhattan district attorney cyrus vance . on sunday , amid the fresh attention related to diallo 's interviews , duggan declined to comment on what she called the pending criminal case . ' to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system , the rights of the victim and the rights of the accused , we will not discuss the facts or evidence in what remains an ongoing investigation , ' she said in a statement . cnn 's susan candiotti and adam reiss contributed to this report . | the ex-imf chief 's attorneys cite diallo 's lies and say her campaign is about getting money |
diallo <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the woman accusing former international monetary fund chief dominique strauss-kahn of sexually assaulting her insisted she was telling the truth from my heart , ' in an interview broadcast monday . i want justice . i want him to go to jail , ' nafissatou diallo told abc . i want him to know you can not use your power when you do something like this . ' the 32-year-old hotel maid , whose credibility has been called into question by prosecutors and strauss-kahn 's lawyers , said she was terrified when she found out how powerful strauss-kahn was . when she saw news reports explaining that the man she was accusing was a leading candidate for the french presidency , i said ,'oh , my god .'i was crying . i said ,'they 're going to kill me , i 'm going to die .' that 's because in her native guinea , west africa , accusing a powerful man like that ' would put her life in danger , she said . diallo 's choice to go public with her accusations in the middle of a pending criminal investigation is extremely unusual . she spoke with both abc and newsweek magazine . cnn previously has not identified diallo , given the network 's policy against naming alleged sexual assault victims . but it is now naming her , in light of her decision to make her case to the media . on may 14 , diallo accused strauss-kahn , 62 , of assaulting and trying to rape her at manhattan 's sofitel hotel , where she was an employee . he was charged in new york with sexual abuse and attempted rape , pleading not guilty on all counts . he insists the encounter with diallo was consensual . strauss-kahn 's attorneys william taylor and benjamin brafman issued a revised statement monday standing by their earlier claim that diallo is the first accuser in history to conduct a media campaign to persuade a prosecutor to pursue charges against an innocent person from whom she wants money . ' these efforts are a desperate distraction from the key fact that ms. diallo has had to admit to misleading these very same prosecutors from the beginning . and , her lawyers know that her claim for money suffers a fatal blow when the criminal charges are dismissed as they must be , ' the statement said . accompanied by her lawyers , diallo plans to meet on wednesday with prosecutors in manhattan , a source close to the investigation tells cnn . this would be the first such meeting in nearly a month . relations between the two parties have been strained since diallo 's attorney kenneth thompson held a news conference in which he graphically detailed the alleged attack and then accused prosecutors of abandoning his client . in addition to the state case , thompson said monday that he plans to file a lawsuit this week against strauss-kahn on behalf of diallo . strauss-kahn 's lawyers said , referring to diallo and her attorney 's actions , said , the number of rallies , press conferences and media events they have orchestrated is exceeded only by the number of lies and misstatements she has made to law enforcement , friends , medical professionals and reporters ... it is time for this unseemly circus to stop . ' thompson shot back , accusing strauss-kahn 's attorneys of conducting an unprecedented smear campaign against the victim of a violent sexual attack . ' because of those contemptible , baseless and anonymous attacks , ms. diallo was forced to come forward in order to put a face to the brutal crime , ' thompson said in a statement . on july 1 , a judge freed strauss-kahn from house arrest after prosecutors presented evidence showing that diallo admitted she had lied about the specifics of her whereabouts after the incident and , from her past , the details of an asylum application and information she put on tax forms . prosecutors said she admitted lying on the asylum application about having been a victim of a gang rape , even providing details of that attack . she cried when she first told prosecutors about the alleged gang rape , but in a subsequent interview , she admitted it never occurred . she said the fabricated account on the asylum application was made with the assistance of a man who provided her with a cassette recording of the facts ' so that she could memorize them . abc reported that in the interview , diallo acknowledged mistakes . ' but she insisted that her story of what happened in the hotel is the unvarnished truth . he came to me and grabbed my breasts , ' she told abc , adding that she asked him to stop and said i do n't want to lose my job . ' i was like ,'stop this , stop this ,' she said in the interview . but , she insisted , strauss-kahn kept pushing me back to the hallway . ... i was so afraid . i was so scared . ' in the interview with newsweek , conducted at her lawyer 's office in new york city , diallo said strauss-kahn was naked when he slammed the door shut to his luxury hotel room , forced himself upon her and tried to make her perform oral sex on him . she said she was nervous ' and scared ' when she eventually ran from strauss-kahn 's hotel room , ending an incident that took about 15 minutes . strauss-kahn was initially arrested at new york 's john f. kennedy international airport while on board a paris-bound plane . his arrest created an international furor , prompting his resignation as imf chief as new york judge michael obus ordered him held under a $ 6 million bail . political watchers in france said he would no longer be a likely candidate for the upcoming presidential election . while prosecutors have questioned diallo 's credibility , the charges against strauss-kahn have not been dismissed . there have been further twists in recent weeks , including writer tristane banon 's filing of a complaint accusing strauss-kahn of attempted rape in france , stemming from an alleged 2003 incident in paris . a lawyer for strauss-kahn in france said he subsequently filed a counterclaim against banon for false declarations . diallo filed a libel lawsuit against the new york post and five of its reporters after the newspaper reported that the woman accusing strauss-kahn was a prostitute . the paper cited anonymous sources and said it stands by its reporting . because of him , they call me a prostitute , ' diallo said in the newsweek interview , blaming strauss-kahn for the accusations . strauss-kahn 's next court date for the new york incident is scheduled for august 1 . the hearing had been pushed back from mid-july as prosecutors tried to determine whether to drop the charges or move forward in the case , said erin duggan , communications director for manhattan district attorney cyrus vance . on sunday , amid the fresh attention related to diallo 's interviews , duggan declined to comment on what she called the pending criminal case . ' to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system , the rights of the victim and the rights of the accused , we will not discuss the facts or evidence in what remains an ongoing investigation , ' she said in a statement . cnn 's susan candiotti and adam reiss contributed to this report . | diallo acknowledges that she has made mistakes , ' abc reports |
u.s. state department <tsp> jerusalem ( cnn ) -- citing security concerns , the u.s. state department has revoked the visas it recently issued to three gaza students who were awarded fulbright scholarships to study in the united states . sari bashi , who advocates freedom of movement for palestinians , says their access to education is restricted . it marks the second time in two months that the united states has gone back on its offer to the palestinian students to take part in the american government-sponsored scholarship program . the three students who had their visas revoked were sent a letter from the american consulate in jerusalem , dated august 4 . the department of state has revoked your nonimmigrant visa ' because information has come to light that you may be inadmissible to the united states and ineligible to receive a visa under section 212 ( a ) ( 3 ) of the immigration and nationality act , which prohibits issuance of a visa to aliens for security and related grounds , ' the letter said . the letter did not elaborate on what the security concerns were . a state department official told cnn that the agency could not disclose any information about the reason for the visa revocation , but that the students would be allowed to reapply for a visa at some point in the future . the three students are among seven gaza-based fulbright scholars who made headlines when in may the state department sent them e-mail notifications saying their scholarships could not be completed because the israeli government would not issue them exit visas from gaza . state department spokesman sean mccormack admitted that the u.s. authorities had not taken up the matter with israel until after the matter became public . the scholarships were only reinstated after secretary of state condoleezza rice expressed her unhappiness with the situation and the state department spokesman admitted that a faulty decision-making process ' led to the communication . according to sari bashi , the executive-director of gisha , an israeli non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of movement for palestinians and has been working closely with the students , four of the seven fulbright students were cleared for travel out of gaza by israel , but the remaining three were prevented from leaving gaza by the israeli government , citing security concerns . in an unusual move , the american consulate in jerusalem processed the remaining three students'visa applications with mobile fingerprinting equipment at the israel- gaza border and granted the visas three weeks later at the end of july . bashi said on tuesday that one of the three students , fidaa abed , had already left gaza for the united states and upon arrival at the airport in washington was informed that his visa had been revoked and was sent back to amman , jordan , with instructions to return to gaza . the other two fulbright students remain in gaza . bashi said that while the situation of the three students is one of tremendous concern , ' it only underscores what she says is the larger problem of lack of access to higher education for hundreds of gaza students who have been accepted into universities outside of gaza but are prevented from leaving due to israeli restrictions . bashi said that alongside the few students denied visas for procedural , technical , or undisclosed security reasons , there are hundreds of students with valid visas in danger of losing their places at foreign universities because israel refuses to even consider their requests to leave gaza . denying talented young people their right to access education does not contribute to building a better future in the region , ' bashi said . israeli government officials have long maintained that its restrictions on allowing students to travel outside of gaza are based only on security considerations . we do act to facilitate students wishing to study at western universities where they are exposed to liberal and democratic values , ' an israeli government official said on tuesday . but , the official said , israel distinguishes between students wanting to study in the west and those wanting to study in places like pakistan , saudi arabia or syria or the west bank . in the case of the west bank , the official said hamas could use this as a way of strengthening its activist base in the west bank , which would be detrimental to israel 's security . there is no reason why we should do that , ' the israeli official said . on the matter of the three students , the official said : the process of israeli-american contacts on the matter did not cease , and more specific information was provided . ' | u.s. state department cites security concerns as reason visas were withdrawn |
white house <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. president barack obama is considering airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops to help save thousands of iraq 's shiite turkmen , who officials said wednesday are facing a potential slaughter at the hands of fighters with the so-called islamic state . these kinds of options are on the table because they do alleviate some of the suffering that is sustained by religious and ethnic minorities that are being persecuted or at least threatened ' by isis , white house press secretary josh earnest said during a briefing . the news followed reports of a new round of u.s. airstrikes targeting isis positions near the kurdish regional capital of irbil .'possible imminent massacre' isis fighters have besieged the town of amerli , 70 miles north of baquba , since the sunni extremists swept into iraq from syria since mid-june . the town 's fewer than 20,000 residents are without power . residents are enduring harsh living conditions with severe food and water shortages , and a complete absence of medical services -- and there are fears of a possible imminent massacre , ' u.n. high commissioner for human rights navi pillay said this week . their situation echoes the ordeal of iraq 's ethnic yazidis , whose plight after they were forced to flee into the mountains to escape isis militants triggered u.s. aid drops and the first u.s. airstrikes against isis . similar to the chaotic scenes that played out in the sinjar mountains , iraqi military helicopters have been carrying out food drops and picking up turkmen desperate to get out . which groups are at risk in iraq ? scant defenses surrounded on four sides , the 17,400 residents have had to defend themselves with only the help of local police , masrwr aswad of iraq 's human rights commission has said . isis have vowed to push the shiite turkmen out , calling them heretics . turkmen are descendants of a turkic-speaking , traditionally nomadic people , who share culture ties with turkey . there are sunni and shiite turkmen in iraq , and they account for up to 3 % of iraq 's population . the united nations estimates that of the besieged turkmen population in amerli , roughly 10,000 are women and children . turkmen have been subjected to violence before at the hands of sunni extremists . in 2008 , a truck bomb exploded in amerli , killing more than 100 people and leveling homes and businesses . at the time , it was considered one of the single deadliest attacks of the iraq war . u.s. airstrikes hit isis on wednesday , american warplanes carried out three airstrikes near irbil , destroying a number of vehicles and a building , the u.s. military said . among the vehicles was a humvee , the military said . isis seized a large number of military vehicles either abandoned or captured from syrian and iraqi forces . gen. lloyd j. austin iii , commander of the u.s. central command , met with top officials in baghdad and irbil on wednesday to discuss u.s.-iraq defense cooperation and regional security issues , ' the u.s. embassy in baghdad said . austin met with leaders including iraqi president fuad masum and prime minister-designate haider al-abadi in baghdad , and kurdistan regional government president masoud barzani , the embassy said in a statement . u.n. report alleges atrocities the airstrikes in iraq came as a u.n. human rights investigators accused both isis and syrian government forces of committing war crimes and atrocities in their brutal fight in syria . the u.n. report released wednesday said that public executions , torture and mock crucifixions have become regular fixtures in isis-controlled areas of syria . it also said that the extremist group is forcing children to fight . among the most disturbing findings in this report are accounts of large training camps , where children , mostly boys , from the age of 14 are recruited and trained to fight in the ranks of isis along with adults , ' said paulo pinheiro , the chairman of the u.n. commission of inquiry on syria . the report also accuses the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad of repeatedly using chemical weapons against civilians . the u.n. investigators said the syrian government dropped what was thought to be chlorine gas on civilian areas on eight different occasions in april . the government forces are believed to have made particular use of barrel bombs dropped by helicopters to unleash the gas , said vitit muntarbhorn , a commissioner with the inquiry . video posted on social media purports to show several of the alleged chlorine attacks . while cnn ca n't independently confirm the video , it shows a number of syrian civilians fleeing the smoky aftermath of an explosion with their faces covered . more video shows wounded civilians , including children , in a field hospital . some are having difficulty breathing , several are treated with oxygen masks . the investigators say they hope to use their evidence to build a case for future prosecution at the international criminal court . u.s. airstrikes in syria ? barbara starr reported from washington , and chelsea j. carter reported and wrote from atlanta . cnn 's anna coren , hala gorani and jethro mullen contributed to this report . | airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops are being considered , white house official says |
amerli <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. president barack obama is considering airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops to help save thousands of iraq 's shiite turkmen , who officials said wednesday are facing a potential slaughter at the hands of fighters with the so-called islamic state . these kinds of options are on the table because they do alleviate some of the suffering that is sustained by religious and ethnic minorities that are being persecuted or at least threatened ' by isis , white house press secretary josh earnest said during a briefing . the news followed reports of a new round of u.s. airstrikes targeting isis positions near the kurdish regional capital of irbil .'possible imminent massacre' isis fighters have besieged the town of amerli , 70 miles north of baquba , since the sunni extremists swept into iraq from syria since mid-june . the town 's fewer than 20,000 residents are without power . residents are enduring harsh living conditions with severe food and water shortages , and a complete absence of medical services -- and there are fears of a possible imminent massacre , ' u.n. high commissioner for human rights navi pillay said this week . their situation echoes the ordeal of iraq 's ethnic yazidis , whose plight after they were forced to flee into the mountains to escape isis militants triggered u.s. aid drops and the first u.s. airstrikes against isis . similar to the chaotic scenes that played out in the sinjar mountains , iraqi military helicopters have been carrying out food drops and picking up turkmen desperate to get out . which groups are at risk in iraq ? scant defenses surrounded on four sides , the 17,400 residents have had to defend themselves with only the help of local police , masrwr aswad of iraq 's human rights commission has said . isis have vowed to push the shiite turkmen out , calling them heretics . turkmen are descendants of a turkic-speaking , traditionally nomadic people , who share culture ties with turkey . there are sunni and shiite turkmen in iraq , and they account for up to 3 % of iraq 's population . the united nations estimates that of the besieged turkmen population in amerli , roughly 10,000 are women and children . turkmen have been subjected to violence before at the hands of sunni extremists . in 2008 , a truck bomb exploded in amerli , killing more than 100 people and leveling homes and businesses . at the time , it was considered one of the single deadliest attacks of the iraq war . u.s. airstrikes hit isis on wednesday , american warplanes carried out three airstrikes near irbil , destroying a number of vehicles and a building , the u.s. military said . among the vehicles was a humvee , the military said . isis seized a large number of military vehicles either abandoned or captured from syrian and iraqi forces . gen. lloyd j. austin iii , commander of the u.s. central command , met with top officials in baghdad and irbil on wednesday to discuss u.s.-iraq defense cooperation and regional security issues , ' the u.s. embassy in baghdad said . austin met with leaders including iraqi president fuad masum and prime minister-designate haider al-abadi in baghdad , and kurdistan regional government president masoud barzani , the embassy said in a statement . u.n. report alleges atrocities the airstrikes in iraq came as a u.n. human rights investigators accused both isis and syrian government forces of committing war crimes and atrocities in their brutal fight in syria . the u.n. report released wednesday said that public executions , torture and mock crucifixions have become regular fixtures in isis-controlled areas of syria . it also said that the extremist group is forcing children to fight . among the most disturbing findings in this report are accounts of large training camps , where children , mostly boys , from the age of 14 are recruited and trained to fight in the ranks of isis along with adults , ' said paulo pinheiro , the chairman of the u.n. commission of inquiry on syria . the report also accuses the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad of repeatedly using chemical weapons against civilians . the u.n. investigators said the syrian government dropped what was thought to be chlorine gas on civilian areas on eight different occasions in april . the government forces are believed to have made particular use of barrel bombs dropped by helicopters to unleash the gas , said vitit muntarbhorn , a commissioner with the inquiry . video posted on social media purports to show several of the alleged chlorine attacks . while cnn ca n't independently confirm the video , it shows a number of syrian civilians fleeing the smoky aftermath of an explosion with their faces covered . more video shows wounded civilians , including children , in a field hospital . some are having difficulty breathing , several are treated with oxygen masks . the investigators say they hope to use their evidence to build a case for future prosecution at the international criminal court . u.s. airstrikes in syria ? barbara starr reported from washington , and chelsea j. carter reported and wrote from atlanta . cnn 's anna coren , hala gorani and jethro mullen contributed to this report . | isis fighters have besieged the town of amerli since june |
tokyo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a smoky fire broke out aboard an empty japan airlines 787 dreamliner in boston on monday in the latest glitch for the much-heralded boeing model . the japan airlines plane , which had arrived at logan airport from tokyo at 10 a.m. , was being prepared for a noon departure at a gate when a maintenance worker noticed smoke and called emergency crews . upon arrival , we observed a heavy smoke condition in the entire cabin , ' said bob donahue , chief of the massport fire rescue department . we found a fire condition about midship in the avionics compartment underneath . we advanced an aggressive , offensive fire attack . ' batteries used to start the auxiliary power unit , which provides electricity for ground operations , are located in the small area in the belly of the plane . we did have a flare-up . there was a small explosion -- one of the batteries -- and we again went in with a secondary attack and were again able to knock it down , ' donahue said . japan airlines confirmed the cause of the fire in a news release . it said 172 passengers and 11 crew members had been on the plane . everyone had disembarked when the fire was discovered , the airline said . one firefighter had a skin irritation from the material used to put the fire out , but no one else was injured . donahue says it 's not likely this could have happened during flight when the auxiliary power unit was not in use . this is an extremely serious situation , ' kevin hiatt , a former pilot and vice president with the flight safety foundation , told cnn . if there is any problem i think you will see something come out very shortly . ' monday 's incident is not the first mechanical problem for the 787 series , which was delivered to airlines starting in 2011 after years of manufacturing delays and cost overruns . the jal plane was delivered in december . in 2010 , fire caused a 787 test flight to lose primary electrical power while flying from yuma , arizona , to laredo , texas . it landed safely using backup systems and the 42 people aboard evacuated using emergency slides . an engine failed during tests on the ground in south carolina in july 2012 and inspectors found a similar problem on another aircraft in september . in december , another relatively new 787 operated by united airlines diverted safely to new orleans after experiencing mechanical problems . the 787 , being a new airplane , does have teething problems , ' john goglia , a former member of the national transportation safety board , told cnn . goglia , a former airline mechanic , said it is common for new planes to have these kinds of problems . ' while serious , hiatt did not think these issues are a sign of larger concerns with the 787 program . there does not appear to be a common thread in the problems the planes have seen , ' he told cnn . if they had another situation , a fire , that was in that same locality you 'd start to say yes , we 've got something else that is going on . ' boeing said it was investigating the incident and noted it was too early to draw any parallels . we need to give our technical teams time to really understand the event , ' lori gunter , spokeswoman for the 787 program , said in a statement . anything offered now would be speculation and likely incorrect . it 's just too early to make comparisons to other events or to draw conclusions . ' the ntsb sent a team to investigate the incident . it 's one of our'most wanted list'issues , fire in transportation , ' eric weiss , a board spokesman , said . cnn 's yoko wakatsuki contributed to this report . | no passengers aboard ; 787 had just arrived from tokyo |
boston <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a smoky fire broke out aboard an empty japan airlines 787 dreamliner in boston on monday in the latest glitch for the much-heralded boeing model . the japan airlines plane , which had arrived at logan airport from tokyo at 10 a.m. , was being prepared for a noon departure at a gate when a maintenance worker noticed smoke and called emergency crews . upon arrival , we observed a heavy smoke condition in the entire cabin , ' said bob donahue , chief of the massport fire rescue department . we found a fire condition about midship in the avionics compartment underneath . we advanced an aggressive , offensive fire attack . ' batteries used to start the auxiliary power unit , which provides electricity for ground operations , are located in the small area in the belly of the plane . we did have a flare-up . there was a small explosion -- one of the batteries -- and we again went in with a secondary attack and were again able to knock it down , ' donahue said . japan airlines confirmed the cause of the fire in a news release . it said 172 passengers and 11 crew members had been on the plane . everyone had disembarked when the fire was discovered , the airline said . one firefighter had a skin irritation from the material used to put the fire out , but no one else was injured . donahue says it 's not likely this could have happened during flight when the auxiliary power unit was not in use . this is an extremely serious situation , ' kevin hiatt , a former pilot and vice president with the flight safety foundation , told cnn . if there is any problem i think you will see something come out very shortly . ' monday 's incident is not the first mechanical problem for the 787 series , which was delivered to airlines starting in 2011 after years of manufacturing delays and cost overruns . the jal plane was delivered in december . in 2010 , fire caused a 787 test flight to lose primary electrical power while flying from yuma , arizona , to laredo , texas . it landed safely using backup systems and the 42 people aboard evacuated using emergency slides . an engine failed during tests on the ground in south carolina in july 2012 and inspectors found a similar problem on another aircraft in september . in december , another relatively new 787 operated by united airlines diverted safely to new orleans after experiencing mechanical problems . the 787 , being a new airplane , does have teething problems , ' john goglia , a former member of the national transportation safety board , told cnn . goglia , a former airline mechanic , said it is common for new planes to have these kinds of problems . ' while serious , hiatt did not think these issues are a sign of larger concerns with the 787 program . there does not appear to be a common thread in the problems the planes have seen , ' he told cnn . if they had another situation , a fire , that was in that same locality you 'd start to say yes , we 've got something else that is going on . ' boeing said it was investigating the incident and noted it was too early to draw any parallels . we need to give our technical teams time to really understand the event , ' lori gunter , spokeswoman for the 787 program , said in a statement . anything offered now would be speculation and likely incorrect . it 's just too early to make comparisons to other events or to draw conclusions . ' the ntsb sent a team to investigate the incident . it 's one of our'most wanted list'issues , fire in transportation , ' eric weiss , a board spokesman , said . cnn 's yoko wakatsuki contributed to this report . | firefighters battle smoke in cabin of japan airlines jet in boston |
white house <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- david austin is one of the few outsiders who has seen firsthand how people live in the north korean countryside , and he describes a population lethargic ' from malnutrition . just two weeks ago , he visited an orphanage as part of his work as the north korea program director for the relief organization mercy corps . he said the last protein children had eaten was in january -- eggs . that tells us not only are they not getting a balanced diet but in terms of the rations , they 're getting only about 60 % of what a child needs , ' he said . austin describes widespread severe malnourishment and an entire generation ' that is stunted physically , developmentally because of chronic malnutrition . ' no sign of north korean rocket launch according to austin , in seven visits since 2007 , he has been to dozens of orphanages and hospitals and more than 19 private homes . he says he is troubled that the united states plans to call off a massive shipment of food aid as a result of the anticipated rocket launch by north korea between now and monday . pyongyang insists that the rocket is necessary to put a weather satellite in orbit , but washington and seoul consider it a ballistic missile test in disguise . such launches by north korea breach u.n. security council resolutions . under a recent food deal with the united states , north korea agreed to refrain from long range missile launches and nuclear tests . in exchange , the united states would provide what austin described as a year 's worth of corn-soy porridge mixed with vegetable oil for children younger than 10 and pregnant women . the food would n't taste delicious but it saves lives , ' austin said , noting that it would have helped 2.4 million people . at the white house , president barack obama 's aides suggest their hands are tied after pyongyang announced the launch just weeks after the food deal was agreed . the north koreans' blatant disregard for their commitments makes it impossible for the united states to provide the nutritional assistance that it had hoped to provide for the north korean people , ' said jay carney , the white house press secretary . some observers have doubts about the white house 's approach . i have real questions about whether we should have linked humanitarian food assistance to the nuclear missile program in the first place , ' said mike green , who was senior director for asian affairs at the national security council during the bush administration . it is not the fault of the average north korean who needs the food , who is at starvation level , that the regime is developing nuclear missiles . ' he said the threatened missile launch was a provocation that should have been predictable . ' but green acknowledged that if the north koreans flaunt the deal , sending the food would be a political liability for the administration at home , and it would look weak internationally . ' austin of mercy corps was careful not to criticize the obama administration . but he did say the administration had previously made it clear it would send food to north korea if there was a verified need for that aid . we know there is a need and we know we can met the need . as a humanitarian organization we are saying there is an opportunity to do that , ' austin said . i do n't want to assign blame . but i 'm saying there is an opportunity to engage positively and constructively with a group of people the white house describes as innocent and starving , and we can do that . ' | white house officials suggest their hands are tied by north korea 's actions |
rafsanjani <tsp> tehran , iran ( cnn ) -- a former iranian presidential candidate is calling on one of the islamic republic 's most powerful clerics to approve a special committee to investigate alleged mistreatment of detainees arrested in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections . mehdi karrubi says an impartial committee ' is needed to investigate alleged mistreatment of detainees . in an open letter to ali akbar hashemi rafsanjani posted saturday on his party 's web site , reformist mehdi karrubi says an impartial committee ' is needed to investigate these tragedies with transparency until they are resolved . ' he said he is willing to lead the investigation in a truthful , unbiased fashion . ' the letter is dated july 29 and was posted on the karrubi 's eetemade-melli ( national trust ) party 's web site , called saham news . the web site said the letter was posted after rafsanjani failed to respond . the treatment of detainees at iran 's prisons has increasingly become a high profile issue , with human-rights groups accusing guards of conducting harsh interrogations , beatings , sleep deprivation , and threats of torture to coerce false confessions . iranian media reported that ayatollah ali khamenei , iran 's supreme leader , ordered one prison , kahrizak , shut down amid reports it did not measure up to the required standards . kahrizak 's chief was fired and arrested over allegations of detainee mistreatment , according to local reports saturday . a special parliamentary committee has made rounds at tehran 's evin prison , but did not find any signs of abuse , according to recent media reports . hundreds of detainees have since been reportedly released from evin , though political figures ' were held and put on trial . in his plea for an investigation , karrubi says he has heard descriptions of torture and violence that make his body shake , ' though he does n't specify a prison . some of the former detainees have told of such brutal and violent , repeated rapes of the young women [ in detention ] that have caused irreparable damage to their reproductive systems , ' karrubi says in the letter . others have raped our detained young men with such brutality that they [ the victims ] have been afflicted by depression and are no longer speaking with anyone and refuse to leave the dark corners of their houses . ' he adds that an investigation will teach a lesson to the thugs and criminals in the future and prevent the smearing of the reputation of the islamic republic . ' rafsanjani -- a former president and head of the assembly of experts , the council responsible for appointing or removing the supreme leader -- called for the release of the detainees during a highly anticipated july 17 sermon at friday prayers . he backed iranian opposition leader mir hossein moussavi in the presidential election , in which hardline president mahmoud ahmadinejad was declared the overwhelming winner . karrubi and moussavi unsuccessfully challenged the results for weeks , and ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term last week . rafsanjani himself has been accused of helping fuel the post-election unrest as part of recent mass trials of the remaining detainees over the past week . | mehdi karrubi calls for investigation in letter to rafsanjani posted on web site |
european <tsp> ( cnn ) -- few of us can imagine living the opulent downton abbey ' lives of the fictional crawley family at the turn of the 20th century . there were servants to address one 's every material need , dinner in white tie and lavish gowns , and rules designed to keep the upper crust on top and the lower classes in their place . you almost have to see the sprawling estate to believe that the lifestyle existed , yet the trip to visit highclere castle , the estate used by the television show in rural england , may cost more than the less well-to-do american can afford . there 's no need to cross the pond to get a taste of that life . although the united states did not have lords or ladies living on grand estates , there were american millionaires who made their fortunes by harnessing the resources of a new country . with an eye to the style of their european counterparts , they built mansions on extensive grounds to show off their power and wealth . so if you 're entering a period of downton ' withdrawal , consider a peek into america 's historic high life . the places where masterpieces are born ' these homes represented the creation of immense wealth at the turn of the century in the united states , the kind of wealth acquired through fundamental commodities like water , gold , oil and food , ' said katherine malone-france , the national trust for historic preservation 's historic sites director of outreach , education and support . these estates represented the taste and sophistication of their owners , as well as the skills and labors of those who built them and worked in them . these places were icons then and now , and they make for great television and fantastic places to visit as historic sites , because they contain all of those complex , compelling and interwoven stories . ' the new american wealthy did n't have hundreds of years to build their fancy homes and reputations , yet the vanderbilts , rockefellers and other wealthy families built houses to last for generations . these are just a handful of the homes where they were living large around the same time as the downton abbey ' story lines . downton abbey creates tourism boom the rockefellers : hudson valley , new york with the economic engine that is new york nearby , it makes sense that the country 's new wealthy would build their homes and country homes in the city 's suburbs and nearby hudson valley . the vanderbilts , roosevelts and goulds all had homes in the area . completed in 1913 , kykuit was the home of standard oil founder and philanthropist john d. rockefeller and the next three generations of his family . the six-story home , now a national trust for historic preservation property operated by the rockefeller brothers fund , is open to the public for tours . make sure to tour the gardens to see new york gov . nelson rockefeller 's 20th-century sculpture collection , including the works of alexander calder , henry moore and pablo picasso . kykuit 's elaborate gardens also feature classical sculpture , pavilions , fountains and hudson river views . the douglas family : cedar rapids , iowa like the fictional crawleys , the douglas family was touched by the sinking of the titanic . although the brucemore estate was built for wealthy widow caroline sinclair and her six children in 1886 , the sinclair family lived there just 20 years . the george and irene douglas family and its descendants , known for douglas & co. and quaker oats , lived there from 1906 to 1981 . it was george 's brother walter who perished on the titanic . reports say his wife , mahala , asked him to join her on a lifeboat . he replied , no , i must be a gentleman ' and went to join a group of men waiting for later lifeboats . his body was recovered later and identified by his monogrammed shirt . visitors can tour the 21-room queen anne style mansion and grounds . the booths : bloomfield hills , michigan the canadian-born owner of an ironworks company , george booth settled in detroit when he married ellen warren scripps , the daughter of the founder of the detroit news . the booths purchased a rundown farm in bloomfield hills to turn into their summer home and eventually built a new year-round home , cranbrook house , which was completed in 1908 . george booth became a leading patron of the american arts and crafts movement in the early 20th century , and it showed in the designs he chose for his home and the art he collected . the couple also started six education and arts institutions on their property , including the famous cranbrook academy of art . while still alive , they deeded the house , much of its contents and the surrounding property to the cranbrook foundation they created , living the rest of their lives not as owners but under a life trust at cranbrook house . it is the oldest surviving manor home in the metro detroit area . the vanderbilts : asheville , north carolina george vanderbilt did n't care for the city life as much as the rest of his family . so it was no surprise that after he visited the mountains of north carolina , he eventually built his 250-room estate in asheville . the biltmore was completed in 1895 , when he was still single . vanderbilt married edith stuyvesant dresser in paris in 1898 , and the couple raised their only child at biltmore . descendants of the vanderbilts still own and operate the estate as a for-profit company , and the home is now open to the public for tours . there 's a 10,000-volume library , a bowling alley , a banquet hall featuring a 70-foot ceiling , an indoor pool and the artwork of pierre auguste renoir and john singer sargent , among others . architect richard morris hunt modeled the house after three 16th-century french chateaux . with more than 30 bedrooms , it 's still shy of the 50 plus bedrooms at downton 's highclere castle . still , biltmore seems more than adequate for a house party . do n't miss the butler 's tour if you want to see how the other half lived on the estate . modern guests can stay at an inn built in 2001 or a historic cottage that once served as the gardener 's house . the bourns : woodside , california filoli was completed in 1917 as the country estate for mr. and mrs. william bowers bourn , san franciscans whose money came from water and gold . filoli is just 30 miles outside san francisco . the european influence can be found all over the property : tuscan columns in the portico , art from the bourns'travels to europe and even some of the house 's walls . ( the house library was copied from the library at denham place , a 1690s home in england . ) the expansive formal gardens were designed and constructed between 1917 and 1929 . the next owners lived in the house until 1975 , when the house and formal gardens were donated to the national trust for historic preservation . the berwinds : newport , rhode island downton fans might remember that the mother of american-born cora , the countess of grantham , had a home in newport . that 's where rich americans summered , and it 's where visitors can tour several grand homes at a time . mr. and mrs. edward julius berwind , who made their money in coal mining , built the elms as their summer residence in newport . now one of the famous newport mansions and a national historic landmark , the elms was finished in 1901 . unlike some residents of fictional downton , who grudgingly adapted to modern conveniences like telephones and electricity , the berwinds had the elms outfitted with the latest modern conveniences . the house was among the first in newport to be fully electrified with no gas backup . there was even an early ice maker . the couple 's art collection featured 18th-century venetian and french paintings and renaissance ceramics . to get a good sense of life among the servants , the preservation society of newport county , which owns and operates 10 historic properties in newport , added an elms servant life tour last year . | inspired by their european counterparts , rich americans collected european art |
prince-boateng <tsp> ( cnn ) -- catania manager rolando maran was not even alive the last time his club claimed a home win over ac milan in the top-flight . maran was born on july 14 , 1963 , just two months after catania had pulled off victory against a milan team which would go on to win the european cup three days later . led by the prolific jose altafini , milan went on to defeat a benfica side which had won the trophy in each of the previous two years and claim the title as the first italian team to have won the competition . what a contrast to that of a few days earlier when catania pulled off a famous victory , courtesy of a goal from bruno petroni -- a player on loan from ac 's famous rivals , internazionale . back to the future fast forward to the present day and maran was hoping his side could reverse their awful record against the rossoneri . it began in perfect fashion when nicola legrottaglie headed home francesco lodi 's corner with just 11 minutes on the clock . milan stuns leaders juventus milan , looking for back-to-back wins in serie a for the first time this season following its victory against juventus last week , looked lethargic in the opening exchanges . sergio almiron should have doubled catania 's advantage but sent his free header wide of the goal from just six-yards . it was not until the second period that milan really began to exert its dominance and even then it took the sending off of pablo barrientos to inspire them . red card barrientos , already on a booking , only had himself to blame after taking a pointless swipe at antonio nocerino which earned him a second yellow card . that gave milan the boost it was looking for and el shaarway fired home a 53rd minute equalizer . milan forged into the lead three minutes later as boateng beat lodi , before unleashing a rasping effort into the top corner . milan continued to dominate with el shaarawy and robinho both missing glorious opportunities to seal the points , while urby emanuelson hit a post . milan were reduced to 10-men in the final minute when boateng was dismissed for a rash challenge . but el shaarway sealed the win , bending home his second of the night and 12th of the season to fire milan up to seventh place and leave maran dreaming of that famous victory . | stephen el shaarawy scored twice and kevin prince-boateng was also on target |
prince-boateng <tsp> ( cnn ) -- catania manager rolando maran was not even alive the last time his club claimed a home win over ac milan in the top-flight . maran was born on july 14 , 1963 , just two months after catania had pulled off victory against a milan team which would go on to win the european cup three days later . led by the prolific jose altafini , milan went on to defeat a benfica side which had won the trophy in each of the previous two years and claim the title as the first italian team to have won the competition . what a contrast to that of a few days earlier when catania pulled off a famous victory , courtesy of a goal from bruno petroni -- a player on loan from ac 's famous rivals , internazionale . back to the future fast forward to the present day and maran was hoping his side could reverse their awful record against the rossoneri . it began in perfect fashion when nicola legrottaglie headed home francesco lodi 's corner with just 11 minutes on the clock . milan stuns leaders juventus milan , looking for back-to-back wins in serie a for the first time this season following its victory against juventus last week , looked lethargic in the opening exchanges . sergio almiron should have doubled catania 's advantage but sent his free header wide of the goal from just six-yards . it was not until the second period that milan really began to exert its dominance and even then it took the sending off of pablo barrientos to inspire them . red card barrientos , already on a booking , only had himself to blame after taking a pointless swipe at antonio nocerino which earned him a second yellow card . that gave milan the boost it was looking for and el shaarway fired home a 53rd minute equalizer . milan forged into the lead three minutes later as boateng beat lodi , before unleashing a rasping effort into the top corner . milan continued to dominate with el shaarawy and robinho both missing glorious opportunities to seal the points , while urby emanuelson hit a post . milan were reduced to 10-men in the final minute when boateng was dismissed for a rash challenge . but el shaarway sealed the win , bending home his second of the night and 12th of the season to fire milan up to seventh place and leave maran dreaming of that famous victory . | catania 's pablo barrientos and milan 's prince-boateng both shown red cards |
south african <tsp> an attempted military coup took place in the remote and mountainous nation of lesotho on saturday , prime minister thomas thabane said in an interview aired by south african broadcaster enca . in my political life , it was not the first time that i saw this kind of activity by the lesotho army , ' thabane said . a lot of effort has been made to reform the military and to make it a normal army that is subject to the civilian authority , ' he said . sometimes referred to as the kingdom of the sky , ' lesotho is completely landlocked by south africa and is the only country in the world where all of the land lies above 1,000 meters . it has a population of nearly 2 million and covers an area slightly smaller than the u.s. state of maryland , according to the world factbook . the lesotho government is seeking the assistance of the south african government and other neighboring states , thabane said . the prime minister said that since the lesotho military was looking for him , he decided to get out of the way , ' and fled to an unknown location . he told the broadcaster he would not resign . we ca n't have coups d'etat in 2014 . if there are political problems people must sit ( down ) and talk , ' said clayson monyela , a spokesman for the south african foreign ministry . monyela said that the lesotho military 's actions bear the hallmarks of a coup d'état . ' kamalesh sharma , secretary-general of the commonwealth of nations , condemned the reported coup attempt and urged the military in lesotho to respect civilian authority , constitutional order and the rule of law . there is zero tolerance in the commonwealth of any unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government , ' he said in a statement . democracy and the rule of law are central tenets of our association ... and any action to subvert constitutional civilian rule is unacceptable . ' lesotho has been independent of the united kingdom since 1966 , but continues on as a member of the 53-nation commonwealth . thabane became prime minister in 2012 , when he formed the kingdom 's first coalition government , according to the cia world factbook . elections are next due in 2017 . jen psaki , a spokeswoman for the u.s. state department , said the united states is deeply concerned by clashes between security forces today in lesotho . ' psaki called upon all parties to remain committed to a peaceful political dialogue and to follow democratic processes ' in order to resolve the conflict . lesotho is known for its herd boys , ' children as young as 5 who tend flocks of cattle in remote locations and often miss out on education . prince harry established a charity , sentebale , to help the country meet educational challenges . | he tells a south african broadcaster that he fled because the military was looking for him |
jean stapleton <tsp> ( cnn ) -- she made it big decades ago , yet jean stapleton still has plenty of fans . some of those fans are entertainers themselves , who either worked with stapleton or were awed and inspired by her work . others enjoyed her performances while sitting in a broadway theater or watching from their living rooms . below are a sampling a celebrity reactions , most of them from twitter :'' all in the family'star jean stapleton dies at 90 . one of my favorites has passed away . jean was brilliant . rip ' -- michael chiklis ' it 's a sad day . rip jean stapleton . # legend # icon # oneofakind ' -- mackenzie phillips ' jean stapleton , beloved as edith in all in the family dies at 90 . she was unforgettable in that role ... rest in peace ... ' -- bette midler ' those were the days ... rest in peace jean stapleton ' -- lynda carter ' jean stapleton was a great actress and a wonderful lady . she was edith bunker . ' -- larry king ' saddened to hear about jean stapleton . she was a gifted actress and comedienne . mbb ' -- william shatner ' rip jean stapleton , a great actor whose range was unbelievable , deep and majestic . ' -- roseanne barr ' all in the family was a great show , acting may have been best in sitcom history . jean stapleton was unreal , will not be forgotten . # ripedith ' -- mike greenberg ' ms. stapleton was a spectacular actress but her role with mr. lear behind the scenes was as funny and authentic as any in tv history . rip . ' -- richard lewis ' jean stapleton -- - an extraordinary actress and part of 1 of the best tv shows in history . thank you and rest in peace . xo ' -- debra messing ' r.i.p . jean stapleton , such a sweet lady ! ! ' -- dick van dyke ' tonight i dedicate @ annieonbroadway to the great jean stapleton and her gorgeous memory . # jeanstapleton ' -- jane lynch ' jean was a brilliant comedienne with exquisite timing . working with her was one of the greatest experiences of my life . ' -- rob reiner , who starred on all in the family ' with stapleton , in a statement ' i was at my computer when her glorious children , john and pam , phoned me , and i told them i was working on my memoir , and reflecting on the time i was father to my personal family on mooncrest drive while also fathering archie and edith and three other families on cbs . and i added -- so , at 90 , here still is jean stapleton ,'always where she is ,'helping me to see my own frailties and humanity yet again . no one gave more profound'how to be a human being'lessons than jean stapleton . goodbye edith , darling . ' -- norman lear , the producer and director of all in the family ' | rob reiner says jean stapleton had exquisite timing ' |
islamic <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- the taliban and the government of north west frontier province in pakistan have agreed to a permanent cease-fire in the nation 's volatile swat valley , an official said . girls study this week in pakistan 's swat valley . education for girls is an issue in peace talks there . syed mohammad javed , commissioner for the malakand region , which includes swat valley , told reporters in mingora that the two parties had agreed to make permanent a 10-day cease-fire declared earlier this week . javed said the agreement meant boys schools will reopen on monday and camps will be set up for swat residents who have fled the fighting or whose homes had been destroyed . the agreement comes as part of ongoing talks between sufi mohammad , a pro-taliban cleric , and his son-in-law maulana fazlullah , the taliban commander in swat . taliban spokesman muslim khan confirmed the cease-fire . however , fazlullah spoke on the radio saturday , saying although the commissioner announced a permanent cease-fire , the taliban will meet again after the 10-day truce expires and decide whether it will be extended . earlier this week , pakistani government officials announced they had agreed with the taliban to allow strict islamic law , or sharia , to be implemented in the entire malakand division . watch what sharia law requires » it marked a major concession by the pakistani government in its attempt to hold off taliban militants who have terrorized the region with beheadings , kidnappings , and the destruction of girls'schools . the fighting has displaced nearly half of swat 's population , according to government sources . fazlullah said saturday the implementation of sharia law was very important for peace . like javed , he said schools for boys will be opened soon . he said he was not against education of girls , but against the syllabus of their education . the issue of education for girls was still under discussion , javed said . nearly 8,000 people died as a result of militant-related violence in pakistan in 2008 , according to the pakistan institute of peace studies . on saturday , a nato oil tanker truck was the target of a roadside bombing on its way to afghanistan . one one person was killed , a local official said . two other people were wounded in the attack saturday morning in the landi kotal area of khyber agency , one of seven semi-autonomous tribal agencies along the afghan border , said the official , with the khyber agency political agent 's office . | establishment of strict islamic law is key to agreement |
putin <tsp> a spectacular closing ceremony brought an end to the 2014 sochi paralympic games sunday . in front of russian president vladimir putin , the ceremony embraced the theme of reaching the impossible . ' some 547 athletes from 45 countries competed for the 72 gold medals on offer -- with host nation russia coming out on top . russia claimed 30 gold medals and 80 in total , way ahead of germany which finished in second place . on the day where a referendum was held in crimea , ukraine flagbearer , biathlete and cross-country skier lyudmila pavlenko entered the stadium wearing a top emblazoned with the word peace ' . but her actions did not overshadow a ceremony which involved 462 performers and 8,000 volunteers . international paralympic commitee president philip craven told spectators at the stadium : the paralympic spirit has united and infected us all . proud paralympians -- your inspirational athletic performances have redefined the boundaries of possibility . you have shown the world that absolutely anything is possible and that life is about amazing capabilities and not perceived deficiencies . with record numbers of highly enthusiastic spectators supporting you all , you have shown what real grit and determination looks like . through record tv audiences and media coverage , you have opened up the eyes of the world to what the human spirit can achieve . ' russia 's hero of the games was roman petushkov who won six gold medals -- the most by any individual at a single paralympics . the 36-year-old , who lost both his legs in a car accident eight years ago , made his paralympic debut in vancouver where he won two medals . after winning five world titles in the sweden last year , he responded to the pressure magnificently with six golds . competing in the seated division of cross country and biathlon , he won the 7.5kilometer , 12km and 15km biathlon as well as the cross country 1km , 15km and the 4x2.5km relay . one of the other outstanding stories of the games was the achievement of brian mckeever , who won his 10th paralympic title . the 34-year-old visually impaired cross-country skier , competing in his fourth paralympics , won three gold medals in sochi and could yet defend his titles at korea 2018 . germany 's anna schaffelhuber was a five-time gold medal winner at sochi following a series of sublime sit-ski displays . schaffelhuber won the women 's giant slalom sunday to go on top of the downhill , super g , slalom and super combined in the women 's sitting class in sochi . speaking at the closing ceremony , russia 's deputy prime minister , dmitry kozak , told spectators that the games had gone far beyond sports competitions . ' he said : they showed what people from different countries and nationalities different cultures and traditions are capable of when they are united by a single goal and an inspired dream . attitudes toward people with an impairment have changed among russian society . the paralympic winter games have become a catalyst for our efforts to create a barrier-free environment in russia . the games are over , but we promise that this important work will continue throughout our vast country . ' | president putin attended ceremony |
russia <tsp> a spectacular closing ceremony brought an end to the 2014 sochi paralympic games sunday . in front of russian president vladimir putin , the ceremony embraced the theme of reaching the impossible . ' some 547 athletes from 45 countries competed for the 72 gold medals on offer -- with host nation russia coming out on top . russia claimed 30 gold medals and 80 in total , way ahead of germany which finished in second place . on the day where a referendum was held in crimea , ukraine flagbearer , biathlete and cross-country skier lyudmila pavlenko entered the stadium wearing a top emblazoned with the word peace ' . but her actions did not overshadow a ceremony which involved 462 performers and 8,000 volunteers . international paralympic commitee president philip craven told spectators at the stadium : the paralympic spirit has united and infected us all . proud paralympians -- your inspirational athletic performances have redefined the boundaries of possibility . you have shown the world that absolutely anything is possible and that life is about amazing capabilities and not perceived deficiencies . with record numbers of highly enthusiastic spectators supporting you all , you have shown what real grit and determination looks like . through record tv audiences and media coverage , you have opened up the eyes of the world to what the human spirit can achieve . ' russia 's hero of the games was roman petushkov who won six gold medals -- the most by any individual at a single paralympics . the 36-year-old , who lost both his legs in a car accident eight years ago , made his paralympic debut in vancouver where he won two medals . after winning five world titles in the sweden last year , he responded to the pressure magnificently with six golds . competing in the seated division of cross country and biathlon , he won the 7.5kilometer , 12km and 15km biathlon as well as the cross country 1km , 15km and the 4x2.5km relay . one of the other outstanding stories of the games was the achievement of brian mckeever , who won his 10th paralympic title . the 34-year-old visually impaired cross-country skier , competing in his fourth paralympics , won three gold medals in sochi and could yet defend his titles at korea 2018 . germany 's anna schaffelhuber was a five-time gold medal winner at sochi following a series of sublime sit-ski displays . schaffelhuber won the women 's giant slalom sunday to go on top of the downhill , super g , slalom and super combined in the women 's sitting class in sochi . speaking at the closing ceremony , russia 's deputy prime minister , dmitry kozak , told spectators that the games had gone far beyond sports competitions . ' he said : they showed what people from different countries and nationalities different cultures and traditions are capable of when they are united by a single goal and an inspired dream . attitudes toward people with an impairment have changed among russian society . the paralympic winter games have become a catalyst for our efforts to create a barrier-free environment in russia . the games are over , but we promise that this important work will continue throughout our vast country . ' | russia finished top of medal table with 30 golds |
northern virginia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- sitting inside the quaint tasting room of chateau o'brien , an award-winning french-style winery in the blue ridge mountains of northern virginia , co-owner debbie o'brien pours some of the best red wine in the region . the original structure for chateau o'brien was an old french farmhouse that howard o'brien , debbie 's husband , transformed into a first-class winery known for its large copper doors , wrap-around sundeck and rich aged wines that include a medium-bodied malbec , a full-bodied cabernet franc , an elegant petit verdot , and the fast-selling tannat limited reserve and late harvest tannat . the secret to chateau o'brien 's success : we grow our own grapes , ' said howard o'brien , who owns three sprawling virginia vineyards . chateau o'brien is one of about 230 wineries in the state , many of them small , boutique operations that specialize in regional wines . virginia is relatively new to the wine-making industry by european standards , but it 's quickly gaining notoriety among wine enthusiasts from across the country . virginia ranks fifth in the nation for number of wineries and for wine grape production . as evidence of the emerging quality of virginia wines , the u.s. treasury department designated middleburg , virginia , as the newest american viticulture area . many wineries in northern virginia are situated about 50 miles from washington , which makes the experience great for day trips or weekend retreats . tasting fees at most northern virginia wineries range from $ 6 to $ 15 per person , and while some virginia wine loyalists are somewhat optimistically comparing the region to napa valley and sonoma , there are indeed several standouts that can compete with some of the nation 's better wineries . take delaplane cellars , a family winery owned by jim and betsy dolphin that boasts panoramic views of the northern virginia mountains in a spacious , contemporary setting . at delaplane , the wine is tasty and the amenities do n't stop at the views : the homemade sausage is excellent and the dolphins also serve generous portions of olive oil and freshly ground pepper for dipping . on weekends , delaplane pairs tastings with live jazz . wines at delaplane cellars include crisp whites like chardonnay and viognier and complex red wines that include melange rouge , william 's gap reserve , and cabernet franc . all of our wines are made from authentic virginia grapes , ' according to delaplane 's website . our goal is to craft delicious single vineyard wines . ' it must be working . on a recent visit to delaplane cellars , the large tasting room was crowded and every table overlooking the mountains was filled . i overheard several people talking about how much they enjoyed the wine , and a couple next to me bought six bottles immediately after their tasting . do n't leave without trying the cabernet franc with the homemade sausage ; it 's a real treat . if you want to bring the kids along , consider barrel oak winery , a family-friendly operation where you can take your own picnic lunch . the winery also offers complimentary juice boxes for children . for red wines only , visit boxwood wineries in middleburg , virginia , a picturesque property owned by john kent cooke , the former owner of the nfl 's washington redskins . the winery features merlot , malbec , cabernet franc , petit verdot and cabernet sauvignon . boxwood has received three decanter magazine world wine awards and has been featured in the washington post and washingtonian magazine . but for customers seeking a personal touch , there 's an unexpected pleasure that comes with visiting chateau o'brien : the o'briens . howard , a passionate wine expert from new york , and debbie , a charming businesswoman from alabama , both enjoy conversing with customers and keeping them smiling . debbie , who is extremely familiar with the art of wine-making , also prepares snack offerings such as ham and cheese croissants , fine cheese plates , fresh baguettes and gourmet chocolates to pair with wines that age two or three years in french oak barrels . on march 9 and 10 , the winery is hosting a st. patrick 's weekend celebration with live irish music and traditional irish fare for $ 25 per person . since chateau o'brien opened in 2006 , the o'briens are fast becoming known for their tannat , a grape traditionally grown in southern france and uruguay . since the tannat flourishes in humid climates , virginia is the perfect region to harvest the grape . o'brien 's tannat has won awards in new york and internationally . we wait for the grapes to become ripe , not when it 's convenient to serve the wine , ' o'brien said . it 's all about the fruit -- and patience . ' here 's a tip : spend a few extra bucks ( $ 35 per person ) for the private tasting in howard 's stone-covered cellar where he regales guests with stories from long ago summers and serves fine wine only sold in the private cellar . you wo n't regret it . wine country stays consider staying in paris -- paris , virginia , that is . the ashby inn & restaurant is only a 10-minute drive from delaplane cellars . it 's a great place to spend one night or a weekend after visiting virginia 's wineries and driving through the countryside . the inn offers 10 charming rooms on three acres -- six rooms in the main house and four in the school house . the restaurant is open for breakfast , lunch and dinner . take time out to rent a bike and pedal quietly around the peaceful grounds or drive 20 minutes to the nearest golf course . for a more upscale hotel experience and a romantic getaway , try the goodstone inn & restaurant in middleburg . it 's a bit pricey , but for special occasions like birthdays , anniversaries or valentine 's day , you wo n't be disappointed . the property sits on 265 acres of rolling pastures in the shadows of the blue ridge mountains . there are 18 rooms in six separate cottages . the rooms are beautiful and well-appointed , some with jacuzzis . there 's also a common area downstairs , a full kitchen with utensils and refrigerators stocked with bottled water . get a room on the top floors for better views . the restaurant serves great food for breakfast , lunch and dinner . take a stroll around the property , swim in the pool , and here 's a tip : grab a bottle of wine and a blanket and pick your spot on the sprawling pasture at sunset . watching the burnt-orange sun slowly dropping behind the mountains is a perfect end to a great day . | for a quick getaway from d.c. , try one of northern virginia 's friendly tasting rooms |
nirvana <tsp> ( cnn ) -- all apologies , but here we are now , 17 years after nirvana 's breakthrough album irreversibly changed music , and the naked baby pictured on its cover is still chasing dollars . spencer elden , 17 , recreates his pose from 1991 's nirvana nevermind ' album . spencer elden , the underwater infant pursuing a dollar bill on the cover of 1991 's nevermind , ' is doing swimmingly these days , having graduated a year early from a los angeles-area high school . being the nirvana baby ' -- as elden calls himself -- has been profitable . now 17 , elden says he was paid $ 1,000 to re-enact the famous pool pose for photographers . compare that to the original shoot , which paid $ 200 . stuff happens like random cool situations where i get paid $ 500 just to go hang out , ' elden said . people just call me up and they 're like ,'hey you 're the nirvana baby , right ? well just come and swim in my pool and we 'll give you some money .' read more about elden and the 1991 photo shoot not everyone can say their naked baby picture has become part of america 's pop-culture psyche . like nirvana , elden hopes to entertain us . he wants to be an artist or graphic designer . elden has snagged an internship with street artist shepard fairey , creator of the ubiquitous warhol-esque red , white and blue barack obama posters . fairey heard elden interviewed on the radio and one thing led to another , said the teen . random fame has been a really good foot in the door , ' he said . a hollywood film role might be in the works , but elden and his father , who is also a designer and artist , are n't revealing any details . some director 's been calling me and wondering maybe about doing a movie with me as one of the characters in it , ' said elden . it sounds like fun . ' it 's all very exciting , he said , for a self-described normal teen who spends a lot of time drawing . really , all he wants is a guest spot on the howard stern show . ' i think it would be fun just to hang out and chill with him for a while , ' he said of the xm/sirius radio host . all the hoopla swirling around elden proves that nirvana 's musical contribution stands the test of 17 years as a major milestone in music history . nevermind ' has become a pop culture rarity : a specific item widely regarded as a pivotal point in cultural change . the album marks the musical shift from the bouncy , upbeat rhythms and melodies that were popular in the 1980s to the dour and cynical grunge ' music that audiences widely embraced in the 1990s . ireport : show us your grunge days and reflect on nevermind ' with nevermind , ' grunge , as the mainstream press dubbed it , had risen from underground alternative ' to the global mainstream . ireporter : nirvana taught me how to play music the triumph blew 1980s-style poodle-hair metal ' music off the map , wrote rolling stone magazine , which in 2003 ranked nevermind ' at no . 17 of the 500 greatest albums of all time . even when the album ascended to the top of the charts , it made its own rebellious statement , dethroning the king of pop by knocking michael jackson 's album dangerous ' from billboard 's no . 1 spot . nevermind ' essentially sowed the seeds for music that defined the 1990s , said tom moon , author of 1,000 recordings to hear before you die . ' you could argue that whatever american indie alternative rock was , by the time nirvana came along , it became something different after that . ' front man kurt cobain proved himself to be a great hooksman , ' said moon , especially with the album 's breakout track smells like teen spirit . ' cobain 's verses are sort of atmospheric sometimes ' and then bust down the door ' with an explosive chorus , ' moon said . they were n't the first to do this , but nirvana took it in a much more abrupt direction . it 's exciting and it still works . ' that point was echoed last month when pitchfork media , a cultural oracle for indie geeks , listed the song among its top 500 tunes from punk to the present . ' time magazine chimed in and praised the song 's four-chord power sequence that never , ever changes ' which , although unique , mixes the rhythm from boston 's more than a feeling . ' if you 'd asked one hundred sex pistols/ramones wannabes how f-b-flat-a-flat resolves , one hundred of them would 've told you it goes to c , duh . kurt [ cobain ] knocked the world on its ass by choosing d-flat instead , ' wrote time 's claire suddath . nirvana 's promise was cut short in 1994 by cobain 's suicide at age 27 in his seattle , washington , home . but the band 's success opened the flood gates for flannel-clad , angst-ridden rockers including pearl jam , soundgarden and others . it was no accident that alice in chains , screaming trees and bands like that connected in the wake of what nirvana did , ' said moon . the musical ideas that nirvana was about were so powerful they could n't help but spread . ' | nirvana baby , ' now 17 , trades on his fame and is in talks for a movie role |
nirvana <tsp> ( cnn ) -- all apologies , but here we are now , 17 years after nirvana 's breakthrough album irreversibly changed music , and the naked baby pictured on its cover is still chasing dollars . spencer elden , 17 , recreates his pose from 1991 's nirvana nevermind ' album . spencer elden , the underwater infant pursuing a dollar bill on the cover of 1991 's nevermind , ' is doing swimmingly these days , having graduated a year early from a los angeles-area high school . being the nirvana baby ' -- as elden calls himself -- has been profitable . now 17 , elden says he was paid $ 1,000 to re-enact the famous pool pose for photographers . compare that to the original shoot , which paid $ 200 . stuff happens like random cool situations where i get paid $ 500 just to go hang out , ' elden said . people just call me up and they 're like ,'hey you 're the nirvana baby , right ? well just come and swim in my pool and we 'll give you some money .' read more about elden and the 1991 photo shoot not everyone can say their naked baby picture has become part of america 's pop-culture psyche . like nirvana , elden hopes to entertain us . he wants to be an artist or graphic designer . elden has snagged an internship with street artist shepard fairey , creator of the ubiquitous warhol-esque red , white and blue barack obama posters . fairey heard elden interviewed on the radio and one thing led to another , said the teen . random fame has been a really good foot in the door , ' he said . a hollywood film role might be in the works , but elden and his father , who is also a designer and artist , are n't revealing any details . some director 's been calling me and wondering maybe about doing a movie with me as one of the characters in it , ' said elden . it sounds like fun . ' it 's all very exciting , he said , for a self-described normal teen who spends a lot of time drawing . really , all he wants is a guest spot on the howard stern show . ' i think it would be fun just to hang out and chill with him for a while , ' he said of the xm/sirius radio host . all the hoopla swirling around elden proves that nirvana 's musical contribution stands the test of 17 years as a major milestone in music history . nevermind ' has become a pop culture rarity : a specific item widely regarded as a pivotal point in cultural change . the album marks the musical shift from the bouncy , upbeat rhythms and melodies that were popular in the 1980s to the dour and cynical grunge ' music that audiences widely embraced in the 1990s . ireport : show us your grunge days and reflect on nevermind ' with nevermind , ' grunge , as the mainstream press dubbed it , had risen from underground alternative ' to the global mainstream . ireporter : nirvana taught me how to play music the triumph blew 1980s-style poodle-hair metal ' music off the map , wrote rolling stone magazine , which in 2003 ranked nevermind ' at no . 17 of the 500 greatest albums of all time . even when the album ascended to the top of the charts , it made its own rebellious statement , dethroning the king of pop by knocking michael jackson 's album dangerous ' from billboard 's no . 1 spot . nevermind ' essentially sowed the seeds for music that defined the 1990s , said tom moon , author of 1,000 recordings to hear before you die . ' you could argue that whatever american indie alternative rock was , by the time nirvana came along , it became something different after that . ' front man kurt cobain proved himself to be a great hooksman , ' said moon , especially with the album 's breakout track smells like teen spirit . ' cobain 's verses are sort of atmospheric sometimes ' and then bust down the door ' with an explosive chorus , ' moon said . they were n't the first to do this , but nirvana took it in a much more abrupt direction . it 's exciting and it still works . ' that point was echoed last month when pitchfork media , a cultural oracle for indie geeks , listed the song among its top 500 tunes from punk to the present . ' time magazine chimed in and praised the song 's four-chord power sequence that never , ever changes ' which , although unique , mixes the rhythm from boston 's more than a feeling . ' if you 'd asked one hundred sex pistols/ramones wannabes how f-b-flat-a-flat resolves , one hundred of them would 've told you it goes to c , duh . kurt [ cobain ] knocked the world on its ass by choosing d-flat instead , ' wrote time 's claire suddath . nirvana 's promise was cut short in 1994 by cobain 's suicide at age 27 in his seattle , washington , home . but the band 's success opened the flood gates for flannel-clad , angst-ridden rockers including pearl jam , soundgarden and others . it was no accident that alice in chains , screaming trees and bands like that connected in the wake of what nirvana did , ' said moon . the musical ideas that nirvana was about were so powerful they could n't help but spread . ' | nirvana 's nevermind ' album marked major musical turning point , critics say |
nirvana <tsp> ( cnn ) -- all apologies , but here we are now , 17 years after nirvana 's breakthrough album irreversibly changed music , and the naked baby pictured on its cover is still chasing dollars . spencer elden , 17 , recreates his pose from 1991 's nirvana nevermind ' album . spencer elden , the underwater infant pursuing a dollar bill on the cover of 1991 's nevermind , ' is doing swimmingly these days , having graduated a year early from a los angeles-area high school . being the nirvana baby ' -- as elden calls himself -- has been profitable . now 17 , elden says he was paid $ 1,000 to re-enact the famous pool pose for photographers . compare that to the original shoot , which paid $ 200 . stuff happens like random cool situations where i get paid $ 500 just to go hang out , ' elden said . people just call me up and they 're like ,'hey you 're the nirvana baby , right ? well just come and swim in my pool and we 'll give you some money .' read more about elden and the 1991 photo shoot not everyone can say their naked baby picture has become part of america 's pop-culture psyche . like nirvana , elden hopes to entertain us . he wants to be an artist or graphic designer . elden has snagged an internship with street artist shepard fairey , creator of the ubiquitous warhol-esque red , white and blue barack obama posters . fairey heard elden interviewed on the radio and one thing led to another , said the teen . random fame has been a really good foot in the door , ' he said . a hollywood film role might be in the works , but elden and his father , who is also a designer and artist , are n't revealing any details . some director 's been calling me and wondering maybe about doing a movie with me as one of the characters in it , ' said elden . it sounds like fun . ' it 's all very exciting , he said , for a self-described normal teen who spends a lot of time drawing . really , all he wants is a guest spot on the howard stern show . ' i think it would be fun just to hang out and chill with him for a while , ' he said of the xm/sirius radio host . all the hoopla swirling around elden proves that nirvana 's musical contribution stands the test of 17 years as a major milestone in music history . nevermind ' has become a pop culture rarity : a specific item widely regarded as a pivotal point in cultural change . the album marks the musical shift from the bouncy , upbeat rhythms and melodies that were popular in the 1980s to the dour and cynical grunge ' music that audiences widely embraced in the 1990s . ireport : show us your grunge days and reflect on nevermind ' with nevermind , ' grunge , as the mainstream press dubbed it , had risen from underground alternative ' to the global mainstream . ireporter : nirvana taught me how to play music the triumph blew 1980s-style poodle-hair metal ' music off the map , wrote rolling stone magazine , which in 2003 ranked nevermind ' at no . 17 of the 500 greatest albums of all time . even when the album ascended to the top of the charts , it made its own rebellious statement , dethroning the king of pop by knocking michael jackson 's album dangerous ' from billboard 's no . 1 spot . nevermind ' essentially sowed the seeds for music that defined the 1990s , said tom moon , author of 1,000 recordings to hear before you die . ' you could argue that whatever american indie alternative rock was , by the time nirvana came along , it became something different after that . ' front man kurt cobain proved himself to be a great hooksman , ' said moon , especially with the album 's breakout track smells like teen spirit . ' cobain 's verses are sort of atmospheric sometimes ' and then bust down the door ' with an explosive chorus , ' moon said . they were n't the first to do this , but nirvana took it in a much more abrupt direction . it 's exciting and it still works . ' that point was echoed last month when pitchfork media , a cultural oracle for indie geeks , listed the song among its top 500 tunes from punk to the present . ' time magazine chimed in and praised the song 's four-chord power sequence that never , ever changes ' which , although unique , mixes the rhythm from boston 's more than a feeling . ' if you 'd asked one hundred sex pistols/ramones wannabes how f-b-flat-a-flat resolves , one hundred of them would 've told you it goes to c , duh . kurt [ cobain ] knocked the world on its ass by choosing d-flat instead , ' wrote time 's claire suddath . nirvana 's promise was cut short in 1994 by cobain 's suicide at age 27 in his seattle , washington , home . but the band 's success opened the flood gates for flannel-clad , angst-ridden rockers including pearl jam , soundgarden and others . it was no accident that alice in chains , screaming trees and bands like that connected in the wake of what nirvana did , ' said moon . the musical ideas that nirvana was about were so powerful they could n't help but spread . ' | spencer elden , featured on nirvana 's iconic album , is an aspiring artist |
philippe cousteau <tsp> ( cnn ) -- cnn international 's going green ' is back for another series of special programming with extreme science , ' a special one-hour documentary that will take viewers on a journey where scientists study global warming in one of the coldest places on earth . airing july 16 and 17 and hosted by special correspondent , environmentalist and explorer philippe cousteau , the documentary will showcase his journey to the arctic and the significance of the science studied in the extreme conditions . extreme science ' will be followed by going green : green pioneers , ' the second installment of this year 's green weeks , starting july 18 , 2011 . the week of special in-depth reports looks at the world 's pioneers who are working to make a difference at the front lines of our world 's environmental challenges . the series culminates with green pioneers , ' a half-hour program hosted by philippe cousteau . green pioneers ' focuses on the people who are using innovative ways to tackle today 's environmental challenges . watch on cnn international : extreme science saturday , 16 july : 4pm et sunday , 17 july : 5am et saturday , 30 july : 9am , 4pm et sunday , 31 july : 5am et going green : green pioneers saturday , 23 july : 9am , 4pm et sunday , 24 july : 5am et tuesday , 26 july : 630am , 130pm et | the documentary will be hosted by cnn special correspondent , philippe cousteau |
extreme science <tsp> ( cnn ) -- cnn international 's going green ' is back for another series of special programming with extreme science , ' a special one-hour documentary that will take viewers on a journey where scientists study global warming in one of the coldest places on earth . airing july 16 and 17 and hosted by special correspondent , environmentalist and explorer philippe cousteau , the documentary will showcase his journey to the arctic and the significance of the science studied in the extreme conditions . extreme science ' will be followed by going green : green pioneers , ' the second installment of this year 's green weeks , starting july 18 , 2011 . the week of special in-depth reports looks at the world 's pioneers who are working to make a difference at the front lines of our world 's environmental challenges . the series culminates with green pioneers , ' a half-hour program hosted by philippe cousteau . green pioneers ' focuses on the people who are using innovative ways to tackle today 's environmental challenges . watch on cnn international : extreme science saturday , 16 july : 4pm et sunday , 17 july : 5am et saturday , 30 july : 9am , 4pm et sunday , 31 july : 5am et going green : green pioneers saturday , 23 july : 9am , 4pm et sunday , 24 july : 5am et tuesday , 26 july : 630am , 130pm et | cnn international will air extreme science , ' exploring global warming in the arctic , in july 2011 |
secret service <tsp> the secret service is stretched beyond its limits ' and needs more training , more staff and a director from outside its ranks -- and the white house needs a better fence -- an independent review has found . an eight-page executive summary of the report , produced by a panel of four outside experts appointed by the department of homeland security , was released thursday . the report said the congressional budget process has left secret service directors guessing how much more they might be able to squeeze out of appropriators each year and building their plans around that -- without looking at how much the mission , done right , actually costs . ' it said the secret service likely needs a funding bump , and that its handling of its budgetary process has led to fewer and fewer hours for training . the average special agent on the president 's protective detail received just 42 hours of training in 2013 , while its uniformed division officers got an average of just about 25 minutes of training each , the report said . providing more time for training requires increased staffing , but the secret service needs more agents and officers even beyond the levels required to allow for in-service training , ' the report said . the president and other protectees can not receive the best possible protection when agents and officers are deployed for longer and longer hours with fewer and fewer days off . ' interim secret service director testifies on agency 's failures the white house also needs a new fence , the panel said . it recommended that the 7.5-foot fence be at least four or five feet taller , without horizontal bars that make for easy hand and footholds and with its top curved outward . any of these adjustments , the panel is certain , can be made without diminishing the aesthetic beauty or historic character of the white house grounds , ' the report said . more important , the panel said , is the secret service 's leadership . it recommended that the director come from outside the service ' who is removed from organizational traditions and personal relationships ' can make the kind of top-to-bottom overhaul of the group that the panel said is necessary . opinion : do we want a fortress white house ? the panel said it heard from both the 50 secret service members and 120 outside officials it interviewed that the service is too insular ' today . from agents to officers to supervisors , we heard a common desire : more resources would help , but what we really need is leadership , ' the report said . homeland security secretary jeh johnson had tapped the panel to conduct a broad review of the secret service after a sept. 19 incident in which a man climbed the fence , ran across the north lawn and ran into the white house before agents stopped him . the review was conducted by tom perrelli , a former associate attorney general ; mark filip , a former deputy attorney general ; danielle gray , a former cabinet affairs secretary ; and joseph hagin , the former white house deputy chief of staff for operations . how the secret service could beef up white house security johnson called the panel 's recommendations -- detailed in an executive summary made public on thursday -- astute , thorough and fair . ' it is now up to the leadership of the secret service and the department of homeland security to ensure that all the recommendations are carefully considered , ' johnson said in a statement . in fact , some of the panel 's recommendations are similar to others made in past agency reviews , many of which were never implemented , ' he said . this time must be different . ' | an independent review of the secret service has found that it needs more training and more staff |
duke <tsp> the world finally knows how to address the latest addition to the british royal family : hrh prince george alexander louis of cambridge . the baby boy is third in line to the throne , after grandfather prince charles and father prince william . here 's some of the history behind the young prince 's three names : royal baby : what 's next ? george ' george ' -- the front-runner before the announcement , according to many uk bookmakers -- was the name of queen elizabeth 's father , king george vi , who reigned from 1936 until his death in 1952 . he assumed the throne on the abdication of his brother , edward viii . his life was depicted in the oscar-winning movie the king 's speech . ' george i , born in germany , became king in 1714 . he was followed by a line of kings with the same name , including george iii , who was known for his bouts of insanity . the name is also a patriotic choice for many in the uk : saint george , patron saint of england , is known for his legendary defeat of a dragon in the third century . his feast day is celebrated on april 23 , ( the date also associated with the birth of william shakespeare , england 's most revered writer ) . despite its royal connections , george has humble origins , derived as it is from the greek name georgios ' meaning earth worker ' or farmer . ' other historical georges : composer george frideric handel ( 1685-1759 ) , first president of the united states george washington ( 1732-1799 ) , and the pacific explorer george vancouver ( 1757-1798 ) . authors mary anne evans and eric arthur blair also chose george as their pen names : george eliot ( 1819-1880 ) and george orwell ( 1903-1950 ) respectively . alexander this gallant title means defender of men , ' from the latin form of the greek name alexandros . ' alexander iii of macedon ( 356-323 b.c . ) , better known as alexander the great , courageously ruled and conquered many parts of the world before his untimely death at age 32 . the name alexander ' is a feature of the dutch royal family : willem-alexander ascended to the throne after the abdication of his mother queen beatrix earlier this year . other historical alexanders : english poet alexander pope ( 1688-1744 ) , american statesman alexander hamilton ( 1755-1804 ) , scottish-canadian explorer alexander mackenzie ( 1764-1820 ) , russian poet alexander pushkin ( 1799-1837 ) and alexander graham bell ( 1847-1922 ) , the scottish-born inventor of the telephone . louis the name louis ' originates from the english and french interpretations of the german name ludwig , which can be interpreted as renowned warrior . ' louis was the first name of lord mountbatten , uncle of george 's great-grandfather prince philip , duke of edinburgh , and mentor to prince charles . he was killed by the ira while holidaying in ireland in 1979 . no british monarch has been named louis , but it is very popular across the english channel in france , where 18 kings have taken the name from 814 onward . louis xiv , the sun king , reigned from 1643 until 1715 and was hailed by many as the greatest monarch of his age because of the growth in french power and the opulence of his court , which included the palace of versailles . louis xvi was the king of france from 1774 until 1792 , when he was found guilty of treason after the revolution and executed in 1793 . other historical figures named louis : french scientist louis pasteur ( 1822-1895 ) ; métis leader louis riel ( 1844-1885 ) , who led a rebellion against canada ; and scottish author robert louis stevenson ( 1850-1894 ) , who wrote treasure island ' and dr. jekyll and mr . hyde . ' royal babies : five things you did n't know kate 's baby : heir for a new century ? | the duke and duchess of cambridge have named their son george alexander louis |
doble filo <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- hip hop is one u.s. commodity that has made it past the trade embargo to cuba . cuban rap duo doble filo ' say hip hop allows them to embrace social issues . cuba has developed a homegrown rap movement , inspired by the sounds and fashions of u.s. hip hop . but what makes cuban rappers different is that rather than celebrating bling , girls and guns , their lyrics address social issues in a country where free speech is tightly controlled . cuban rap began to surface in the 1990s , a grassroots affair , with songs recorded in rappers'bedrooms and distributed on cassette tapes . the island 's fledgling hip hop scene was given a boost in 1999 , when it was endorsed by the government as an authentic expression of cuban culture . ' in the following years the government set up the cuban rap agency ( cra ) to promote the scene , as well as a record label , asere productions , ' and a rap magazine called movimiento . ' government approval helped cuban hip hop emerge from the underground , but some see that endorsement as a gilded cage . formed in 1996 , rap duo doble filo ' ( double edged ' ) have been part of the havana scene since the beginning and work with the cuban rap agency . but rapper irak saenz admits there are contradictions in being part of the system . it does limit our creative freedom , ' he told cnn . the cra has an agenda that goes with the government 's agenda . it does n't limit me but it does force me to be creative in how i express my ideas . ' along with fellow cuban rap duo los aldeanos ' ( the villagers ' ) doble filo ' work with u.s. hip hop audio/visual label , emetrece productions . but los aldeanos ' , who formed in 2003 , are part of a younger generation of cuban rappers . they do n't belong the cra , and nor do they want to . they are defiantly underground and outspoken . hip hop is an art form speaks the truth about how people are living , ' says aldo rodriguez , one half of los aldeanos . their track niñito cubano ' is about a young boy growing up during cuba 's special period ' , when the fall of the soviet union brought hardship to the island . their forthright lyrics about life in cuba do n't make them any friends among cuba 's authorities , and that limits their opportunities on the island . our lyrics do n't always go with the standard cuban rhetoric and often that wo n't get airplay , ' says rodriguez . i can be famous in other countries , but here they wo n't let me play a concert in a theater . ' listen to doble filo and los aldeanos here » doble filo 's saenz has performed the u.s. with fellow cubans obsesion ' , a tour that included playing on the same bill as u.s. rap stars kanye west and the roots . he says that where his generation of rappers was forced to limit the way it talked about the realities of daily life , the new generation is bolder with its lyrics . bian rodriguez , also known as el b , the other member of los aldeanos , ' says hip hop gives voice to the concerns of ordinary cubans . people tell me they need this music , not just because they can identify with what we are saying , but because they feel that maybe we can say things they might be afraid to say publicly , ' he told cnn . like most other cuban rap groups , los aldeanos ' are n't yet in a position to make a living from their music . el b has won cuba 's red bull freestyle rapping championship three years in a row , but he still has a day job as a primary school teacher . a lack of funds and equipment means the island 's hip hop producers have to use a certain amount of ingenuity when it comes to recording their music . doble filo 's producer edgaro explains that in the group 's early days , he would make tracks by looping the last few bars of songs on cassette tapes . these days , edgaro produces songs on his pc , but the software is pirated from copies brought into the country and circulated on the streets . it simply is n't available in the stores . more about cuba 's arts : carlos acosta takes cnn on a tour of havana . » as the scene develops the groups are getting more ambitious . doble filo are now incorporating live musicians into their sound , weaving in elements of traditional cuban music , and they are set to release their debut album despierta ' ( wake up ' ) through emetrece productions . emetrece is run by melisa riviere , a ph.d. candidate in the anthropology department at the university of minnesota . more than just promoting good music , she says emetrece is trying to educate , and to challenge the u.s. embargo on cuba . like cuba 's rappers , she sees hip hop as a tool for social change . as el b puts it , i think one of the things people take from the music is the idea that we can do anything , we can change anything , we can be anything we want . ' | rap groups doble filo ' and los aldeanos ' speak out about life in cuba |
cubans <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- hip hop is one u.s. commodity that has made it past the trade embargo to cuba . cuban rap duo doble filo ' say hip hop allows them to embrace social issues . cuba has developed a homegrown rap movement , inspired by the sounds and fashions of u.s. hip hop . but what makes cuban rappers different is that rather than celebrating bling , girls and guns , their lyrics address social issues in a country where free speech is tightly controlled . cuban rap began to surface in the 1990s , a grassroots affair , with songs recorded in rappers'bedrooms and distributed on cassette tapes . the island 's fledgling hip hop scene was given a boost in 1999 , when it was endorsed by the government as an authentic expression of cuban culture . ' in the following years the government set up the cuban rap agency ( cra ) to promote the scene , as well as a record label , asere productions , ' and a rap magazine called movimiento . ' government approval helped cuban hip hop emerge from the underground , but some see that endorsement as a gilded cage . formed in 1996 , rap duo doble filo ' ( double edged ' ) have been part of the havana scene since the beginning and work with the cuban rap agency . but rapper irak saenz admits there are contradictions in being part of the system . it does limit our creative freedom , ' he told cnn . the cra has an agenda that goes with the government 's agenda . it does n't limit me but it does force me to be creative in how i express my ideas . ' along with fellow cuban rap duo los aldeanos ' ( the villagers ' ) doble filo ' work with u.s. hip hop audio/visual label , emetrece productions . but los aldeanos ' , who formed in 2003 , are part of a younger generation of cuban rappers . they do n't belong the cra , and nor do they want to . they are defiantly underground and outspoken . hip hop is an art form speaks the truth about how people are living , ' says aldo rodriguez , one half of los aldeanos . their track niñito cubano ' is about a young boy growing up during cuba 's special period ' , when the fall of the soviet union brought hardship to the island . their forthright lyrics about life in cuba do n't make them any friends among cuba 's authorities , and that limits their opportunities on the island . our lyrics do n't always go with the standard cuban rhetoric and often that wo n't get airplay , ' says rodriguez . i can be famous in other countries , but here they wo n't let me play a concert in a theater . ' listen to doble filo and los aldeanos here » doble filo 's saenz has performed the u.s. with fellow cubans obsesion ' , a tour that included playing on the same bill as u.s. rap stars kanye west and the roots . he says that where his generation of rappers was forced to limit the way it talked about the realities of daily life , the new generation is bolder with its lyrics . bian rodriguez , also known as el b , the other member of los aldeanos , ' says hip hop gives voice to the concerns of ordinary cubans . people tell me they need this music , not just because they can identify with what we are saying , but because they feel that maybe we can say things they might be afraid to say publicly , ' he told cnn . like most other cuban rap groups , los aldeanos ' are n't yet in a position to make a living from their music . el b has won cuba 's red bull freestyle rapping championship three years in a row , but he still has a day job as a primary school teacher . a lack of funds and equipment means the island 's hip hop producers have to use a certain amount of ingenuity when it comes to recording their music . doble filo 's producer edgaro explains that in the group 's early days , he would make tracks by looping the last few bars of songs on cassette tapes . these days , edgaro produces songs on his pc , but the software is pirated from copies brought into the country and circulated on the streets . it simply is n't available in the stores . more about cuba 's arts : carlos acosta takes cnn on a tour of havana . » as the scene develops the groups are getting more ambitious . doble filo are now incorporating live musicians into their sound , weaving in elements of traditional cuban music , and they are set to release their debut album despierta ' ( wake up ' ) through emetrece productions . emetrece is run by melisa riviere , a ph.d. candidate in the anthropology department at the university of minnesota . more than just promoting good music , she says emetrece is trying to educate , and to challenge the u.s. embargo on cuba . like cuba 's rappers , she sees hip hop as a tool for social change . as el b puts it , i think one of the things people take from the music is the idea that we can do anything , we can change anything , we can be anything we want . ' | they say hip hop lets them talk about issues ordinary cubans can not |
uk <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- police have launched an investigation after a young disabled sportsman traveled to switzerland to commit suicide , uk media report . daniel james , who played rugby for england under-16s , was paralyzed during match practice last year . daniel james , 23 , from sinton green in western england was paralyzed from the chest down in march 2007 when a rugby scrum collapsed on top of him during match practice , dislocating his spine , the uk 's press association has reported . worcestershire coroner 's service , which is conducing an inquest into the circumstances of his death , states on its web site that james died on september 12 after he traveled to switzerland with a view to ending his own life . he was admitted to a clinic where he died . ' the inquest was adjourned on september 19 for reports . west mercia police say that a man and a woman are helping the force with their enquiries . assisting someone to commit suicide is illegal in the uk , as it is in most other european countries . what do you think of assisted suicide ? james , who played rugby for england under-16s , was a university student at the time of his injury last year . he is believed to be the youngest person from the uk to have traveled to switzerland to commit suicide . in a statement friday , reported by pa , james'parents said that he had attempted to kill himself several times already . watch why james opted for suicide » ' his death was an extremely sad loss for his family , friends and all those that care for him but no doubt a welcome relief from the'prison'he felt his body had become and the day-to-day fear and loathing of his living existence , as a result of which he took his own life . this is the last way that the family wanted dan 's life to end but he was , as those who know him are aware , an intelligent , strong-willed and some say determined young man , ' pa reported james'parents as saying . the family suffered considerably over the last few months and do wish to be left in peace to allow them to grieve appropriately . ' james'parents added that their son , an intelligent young man of sound mind , ' had never come to terms with his condition and was not prepared to live what he felt was a second-class existence ' . adrian harling , the family solicitor , would not comment on the investigation , pa reported . more than 100 people from the uk who have committed suicide in switzerland have traveled to the dignitas clinic in forch . it is not known if james attended the clinic . switzerland , along with belgium , luxembourg and the netherlands , are the only european countries where authorities will not prosecute those who assist with suicide . | it is illegal in uk and much of europe to assist with suicide |
illinois <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the nation 's suburban schools added 3.4 million students to their rolls over the past 15 years -- and nearly all of them were minorities , according to a study released tuesday . jean bonner teaches fourth-graders last month at middleburg elementary in suburban washington . yet the new arrivals resulted in only a modest increase in the individual schools'racial and ethnic diversity , the study said . the school districts look like they are more diverse , but within your school districts , if the whites are in one school , the blacks in a different school and the hispanics in yet a different school , it does n't necessarily mean the suburban whites have more black and hispanic classmates -- because they do n't go to the same school , ' said richard fry , senior research associate at the pew hispanic center in washington , who wrote the report . using federal government data , fry found that minority students made up 99 percent of the increase in suburban school enrollment between the 1993-94 and 2006-07 school years . during that time , the student body at the nation 's suburban schools went from 72 percent white to 59 percent white ; from 12 percent black to 15 percent black ; from 11 percent hispanic to 20 percent hispanic ; and from 5 percent asian to 6 percent asian . the diversity , however , is not reflected at the individual school level . for example , in 2006-07 , the typical white suburban student attended a school whose student body was 75 percent white , down from 83 percent white in 1993-94 , fry wrote . so at a time when the white share of student enrollment in suburban school districts was falling by 13 percentage points , the exposure of the typical white suburban student to minority students in his or her own school was growing by a little more than half that much -- or 8 percentage points , ' the report said . from another point of view , the typical black suburban student attended a school in 2006-07 that was 34 percent white , down from 43 percent white in 1993-94 . but latino suburban students tended to become more segregated over the same time period -- in 2006-07 , the typical such student was in a school that was 49 percent latino , versus 42 percent latino in 1993-94 . suburban schools accounted for most of the change in demographics , according to the study , accounting for two-thirds of the 5.1 million increase in the number of students nationwide over that time period . city schools tended to be more segregated than their suburban counterparts , the study said , with the typical urban black student attending a school with 60 percent black enrollees ; and the typical latino student attending a school with 63 percent latino enrollment . minority students in rural areas and in towns tended to be more exposed to whites than were their suburban counterparts . the typical black student in a town or rural area attended a school where whites composed 47 percent of the student body and blacks 44 percent . the typical latino student in a town or rural area attended a school where whites made up 43 percent of the student body , and latinos made up 47 percent . asians in suburban schools saw only a slight uptick in isolation -- from 23 percent asian to 24 percent asian over the time period . however , white students are n't going to school with as many black and hispanic students as the aggregate school district enrollment numbers indicate , ' fry said in a telephone interview . school diversity has long been considered an important marker of racial equality in education . when students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds do not attend the same schools , the potential exists that they also may not attend the same type of schools , i.e. , schools of similar quality and level of resources , ' fry wrote . racial differences in school quality ... can not exist if schools are racially balanced . ' the study identified the nation 's most-segregated suburban school district as maywood-melrose park-broadview 89 school district in suburban chicago , illinois , based on its dissimilarity index ' of 0.79 . that index means that 79 percent of the district 's minority students would have to be moved to different schools in order for the schools'student bodies to mirror the ethnic makeup of the surrounding population , he said . the 0.74 figure for suburban atlanta , georgia 's , dekalb county means you would have to move about three-quarters of dekalb county 's black students to a different school ' in order to get racial balance , he said . calls to school superintendents in both districts were not immediately returned . the suburbs seem to have grown a lot more diverse , ' fry concluded . the place you 'd expect to see it is among kids . but when you actually look at where kids go to school , it 's not clear that white kids are going to school with a whole bunch more different classmates than they used to -- a little bit more , but not as much as the aggregate measures would suggest . ' | most-segregated suburban district lies in suburban chicago , illinois , study finds |
guzman <tsp> u.s. officials have deported a woman believed to be the daughter of mexico 's most wanted drug lord . alejandrina gisselle guzman salazar was deported on tuesday , her lawyer said , a day after she pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a false visa . shortly after guzman salazar 's arrest in october , a u.s. federal official told cnn that she was the daughter of joaquin el chapo ' guzman , who authorities have said heads mexico 's sinaloa cartel . on wednesday , her lawyers declined to comment on whether she was related to the accused drug lord . i do n't know the answer to that , and it was n't part of the case . ... we never asked , because it was n't relevant , whether it was true or not , ' attorney guadalupe valencia said . read more : mexican police deny accused drug lord 's government corruption claims another attorney for guzman salazar , jan ronis , said he watched her cross into tijuana , mexico , on tuesday , but he declined to comment on where she headed after that . in october , u.s. customs and border protection agents arrested guzman salazar at the international crossing in san ysidro , california . a spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment wednesday on whether she had been deported , citing privacy rules . u.s. district judge cathy ann bencivengo ordered her released on time served after a hearing monday , according to court documents . in a plea agreement , she admitted to possessing and attempting to use a fraudulent visa to gain entry to the united states . guzman salazar is between seven and eight months'pregnant , valencia said . she entered with a false visa in october because she wanted to give birth in the united states , he said . all these facts were part of the public record that she wanted to come and have her baby here , ' he said . we live in the greatest country in the world , and people want to come here to live and give their kids an opportunity to be here , so that was it . ' guzman salazar is a doctor working as a general practitioner , he said . when she 's back in mexico , hopefully she can go on living her normal private life , ' valencia said . el chapo ' guzman is the boss of the sinaloa cartel , one of mexico 's most powerful drug trafficking operations . his nickname , which means shorty , ' matches his 5-foot-6-inch frame , though he has climbed to great heights in the drug smuggling business . forbes magazine has estimated el chapo ' is worth $ 1 billion . the u.s. treasury department has declared him the most influential trafficker in the world , and mexican authorities have been on his tail since his 2001 escape from a mexican prison in a laundry cart . 17 killed in attempted prison break in northern mexico antique shotgun puts former marine behind bars in mexico | alejandrina gisselle guzman salazar was deported tuesday , her lawyer says |
guzman <tsp> u.s. officials have deported a woman believed to be the daughter of mexico 's most wanted drug lord . alejandrina gisselle guzman salazar was deported on tuesday , her lawyer said , a day after she pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a false visa . shortly after guzman salazar 's arrest in october , a u.s. federal official told cnn that she was the daughter of joaquin el chapo ' guzman , who authorities have said heads mexico 's sinaloa cartel . on wednesday , her lawyers declined to comment on whether she was related to the accused drug lord . i do n't know the answer to that , and it was n't part of the case . ... we never asked , because it was n't relevant , whether it was true or not , ' attorney guadalupe valencia said . read more : mexican police deny accused drug lord 's government corruption claims another attorney for guzman salazar , jan ronis , said he watched her cross into tijuana , mexico , on tuesday , but he declined to comment on where she headed after that . in october , u.s. customs and border protection agents arrested guzman salazar at the international crossing in san ysidro , california . a spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment wednesday on whether she had been deported , citing privacy rules . u.s. district judge cathy ann bencivengo ordered her released on time served after a hearing monday , according to court documents . in a plea agreement , she admitted to possessing and attempting to use a fraudulent visa to gain entry to the united states . guzman salazar is between seven and eight months'pregnant , valencia said . she entered with a false visa in october because she wanted to give birth in the united states , he said . all these facts were part of the public record that she wanted to come and have her baby here , ' he said . we live in the greatest country in the world , and people want to come here to live and give their kids an opportunity to be here , so that was it . ' guzman salazar is a doctor working as a general practitioner , he said . when she 's back in mexico , hopefully she can go on living her normal private life , ' valencia said . el chapo ' guzman is the boss of the sinaloa cartel , one of mexico 's most powerful drug trafficking operations . his nickname , which means shorty , ' matches his 5-foot-6-inch frame , though he has climbed to great heights in the drug smuggling business . forbes magazine has estimated el chapo ' is worth $ 1 billion . the u.s. treasury department has declared him the most influential trafficker in the world , and mexican authorities have been on his tail since his 2001 escape from a mexican prison in a laundry cart . 17 killed in attempted prison break in northern mexico antique shotgun puts former marine behind bars in mexico | a u.s. federal official says she is the daughter of joaquin el chapo ' guzman |
guzman <tsp> u.s. officials have deported a woman believed to be the daughter of mexico 's most wanted drug lord . alejandrina gisselle guzman salazar was deported on tuesday , her lawyer said , a day after she pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a false visa . shortly after guzman salazar 's arrest in october , a u.s. federal official told cnn that she was the daughter of joaquin el chapo ' guzman , who authorities have said heads mexico 's sinaloa cartel . on wednesday , her lawyers declined to comment on whether she was related to the accused drug lord . i do n't know the answer to that , and it was n't part of the case . ... we never asked , because it was n't relevant , whether it was true or not , ' attorney guadalupe valencia said . read more : mexican police deny accused drug lord 's government corruption claims another attorney for guzman salazar , jan ronis , said he watched her cross into tijuana , mexico , on tuesday , but he declined to comment on where she headed after that . in october , u.s. customs and border protection agents arrested guzman salazar at the international crossing in san ysidro , california . a spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment wednesday on whether she had been deported , citing privacy rules . u.s. district judge cathy ann bencivengo ordered her released on time served after a hearing monday , according to court documents . in a plea agreement , she admitted to possessing and attempting to use a fraudulent visa to gain entry to the united states . guzman salazar is between seven and eight months'pregnant , valencia said . she entered with a false visa in october because she wanted to give birth in the united states , he said . all these facts were part of the public record that she wanted to come and have her baby here , ' he said . we live in the greatest country in the world , and people want to come here to live and give their kids an opportunity to be here , so that was it . ' guzman salazar is a doctor working as a general practitioner , he said . when she 's back in mexico , hopefully she can go on living her normal private life , ' valencia said . el chapo ' guzman is the boss of the sinaloa cartel , one of mexico 's most powerful drug trafficking operations . his nickname , which means shorty , ' matches his 5-foot-6-inch frame , though he has climbed to great heights in the drug smuggling business . forbes magazine has estimated el chapo ' is worth $ 1 billion . the u.s. treasury department has declared him the most influential trafficker in the world , and mexican authorities have been on his tail since his 2001 escape from a mexican prison in a laundry cart . 17 killed in attempted prison break in northern mexico antique shotgun puts former marine behind bars in mexico | authorities say el chapo ' guzman his the head of mexico 's sinaloa cartel |
guzman <tsp> u.s. officials have deported a woman believed to be the daughter of mexico 's most wanted drug lord . alejandrina gisselle guzman salazar was deported on tuesday , her lawyer said , a day after she pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a false visa . shortly after guzman salazar 's arrest in october , a u.s. federal official told cnn that she was the daughter of joaquin el chapo ' guzman , who authorities have said heads mexico 's sinaloa cartel . on wednesday , her lawyers declined to comment on whether she was related to the accused drug lord . i do n't know the answer to that , and it was n't part of the case . ... we never asked , because it was n't relevant , whether it was true or not , ' attorney guadalupe valencia said . read more : mexican police deny accused drug lord 's government corruption claims another attorney for guzman salazar , jan ronis , said he watched her cross into tijuana , mexico , on tuesday , but he declined to comment on where she headed after that . in october , u.s. customs and border protection agents arrested guzman salazar at the international crossing in san ysidro , california . a spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment wednesday on whether she had been deported , citing privacy rules . u.s. district judge cathy ann bencivengo ordered her released on time served after a hearing monday , according to court documents . in a plea agreement , she admitted to possessing and attempting to use a fraudulent visa to gain entry to the united states . guzman salazar is between seven and eight months'pregnant , valencia said . she entered with a false visa in october because she wanted to give birth in the united states , he said . all these facts were part of the public record that she wanted to come and have her baby here , ' he said . we live in the greatest country in the world , and people want to come here to live and give their kids an opportunity to be here , so that was it . ' guzman salazar is a doctor working as a general practitioner , he said . when she 's back in mexico , hopefully she can go on living her normal private life , ' valencia said . el chapo ' guzman is the boss of the sinaloa cartel , one of mexico 's most powerful drug trafficking operations . his nickname , which means shorty , ' matches his 5-foot-6-inch frame , though he has climbed to great heights in the drug smuggling business . forbes magazine has estimated el chapo ' is worth $ 1 billion . the u.s. treasury department has declared him the most influential trafficker in the world , and mexican authorities have been on his tail since his 2001 escape from a mexican prison in a laundry cart . 17 killed in attempted prison break in northern mexico antique shotgun puts former marine behind bars in mexico | attorney : guzman salazar is pregnant and wanted to give birth in the united states |
thai <tsp> ( cnn ) -- he does n't know how old he is , but he thinks he 's 7 . his name is khin zaw lin . he 's lived in a garbage dump virtually his entire life . khin zaw lin lives in a thai garbage dump with only his adopted mother and his toy gun to protect him . i find lin walking in a festering landscape of rotting food , plastic bags and junk at the mae sot garbage dump in thailand near the thai-myanmar border . his parents are long gone . his home is a makeshift shelter made from salvaged bags , cloth and wood . lin is one of about 300 refugees in the dump who survive on other people 's trash . many are children . some are women with babies . their daily routine follows the same pattern : they mill about the dump , waiting for the next truck to arrive , hoping for enough discarded food to get them through the day . lin pokes through the rubbish with a machete . he says he collects bottles and plastic for three cents a sack . he shows me his feet , which were filthy and ribbed with cuts . he tells me through an interpreter that he ca n't afford shoes . he walks barefoot through the treacherous landscape . my assistant told me about lin 's home while he was researching another story on the border area in myanmar , the country once known as burma . i found it hard to believe at first , but i was curious . i persuaded my camera crew to make the six-hour drive from bangkok . when we arrive at the dump , people are afraid of us . we 'd been told there are orphans living at the dump , but people are wary . they think we are there to take away the orphans or ask for bribes . i tell them i want to help , and i am eventually directed to lin . he greets me with a soft , hoarse voice . but he 's all energy and purpose when he resumes plucking bottles from the mountain of trash . a recycling firm offers the closest thing to steady employment for lin and his family . it buys what bottles and plastics lin and others salvage . lin gives the money to his adopted mother . she tells me that lin 's biological mother gave him to her in myanmar when he was a baby because she could n't cope with the responsibility . life under the military junta in myanmar can be brutal . the country 's economy is collapsing , and torture and rape under the country 's military regime is commonplace . lin 's new mother decided to flee to thailand in search of a better life . she found a garbage dump instead . still , she says scavenging for food in the dump is actually an improvement on her previous life . as i listen to lin 's story , a question keeps going through my mind : how can a 7-year-old spend his entire childhood in this squalor ? watch as lin and others root through the dump » perhaps it 's because lin is invisible -- he does n't have a passport or papers . he is part of special group of refugees from myanmar that do n't officially exist . the united nations established refugee camps in thailand for those who flee myanmar , but the camps are reserved only for victims of political persecution . refugees fear if they enter a refugee camp , they 'll be classified as migrant workers and deported . as a result , these refugees are trapped in the garbage dump -- not enough money to go elsewhere and no prospects back home . i thought i had become accustomed to the grinding poverty i had encountered in parts of asia . i 've met my fair share of children who are denied the luxury of hope . but lin 's story angers me . i feel close to losing all objectivity . near the end of my meeting with lin , i ask his adopted mother if she , and lin , would ever escape the rubbish dump . her answer is as hard as the world she and lin inhabit . never . ' e-mail to a friend | boy part of refugee community in thai garbage dump |
inter milan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- barcelona midfielder alexander hleb has turned down a move to inter milan in favor of returning to bundesliga club stuttgart on loan for the season . alexander hleb is presented to the media after completing his loan move to former club stuttgart . hleb had been expected to be part of the swap deal that saw zlatan ibrahimovic and samuel eto'o switch clubs earlier this week . but the 28-year-old belarus international has opted against joining cameroon striker eto'o at the san siro due to the limited prospects of regular football under jose mourinho , and instead decided to return to germany . hleb left stuttgart four years ago to move to english premier league side arsenal , where he spent three seasons -- including reaching the champions league final in 2006 , which the gunners lost to barcelona . top 20 summer transfer targets hleb eventually ended up moving to the nou camp last summer , but struggled to claim a place in the side and was omitted from the 18-man squad that beat manchester united in this year 's champions league final . hleb told stuttgart 's official web site he had moved to markus babbel 's side because of their prospects for the coming season . i have opted for stuttgart because the team has great potential and i am convinced that we can achieve a lot together , ' the 28-year-old said . stuttgart general manager horst heldt added : we have signed a world class player with alexander hleb . he will increase the quality of our squad even further . ' stuttgart had seen moves for both real madrid 's klaas jan huntelaar and vagner love of cska moscow break down in recent weeks . | barcelona midfielder alexander hleb has turned down a switch to inter milan |
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