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daniel craig <tsp> ( the frisky ) -- everyone 's favorite charmer , george clooney , is suiting up to play a hired assassin trying to get out of the profession after one last assignment in the american . ' the flick comes out in september and it 's about time that clooney gave james bond a run for his money ! he 's charismatic , cheeky , and looks fantastic in a suit how can you go wrong ? in honor of this new development , we 've rounded up the sexiest male spies of all time ! cue the spy who shagged me ' jokes . clive owen really steamed up the big screen with julia roberts in duplicity ' as rival spies engaging in espionage and foreplay . he also plays the best kind of spy , relying on his charisma and smarts instead of crazy gadgets . matt damon 's made a pretty fantastic spy as jason bourne in the bourne identity ' and its sequels . as a government assassin afflicted with amnesia , damon runs around trying to solve his identity crisis while the cia tries to kill him . he makes the classic playboy spy stereotype seem crass with his boyish good looks and devotion to his lady love . the frisky : amanda bynes is retiring at age 24 ! other young starlets we 'd like to see throw in the towel it 's hard to pinpoint who the sexiest bond was , but pierce brosnan did a good job of it in 1995 's goldeneye . ' between the british accent and the sophisticated chivalry , it was easy to see why women were throwing themselves at him when they were supposed to be taking him out . plus , brosnan is just so ridiculously pretty . the frisky : kate gosselin seeks her bodyguard 's approval before getting breast implants ? i 'd forgotten how dashing harrison ford was in his prime , but he really tugged at our heart strings in 1992 's patriot games . ' as a retired cia agent , harrison was forced to take on one last mission when a political group tried to kill his family . when you combine spy with family man , it becomes even harder not to love him ! his character is irreverent and passionate and no offense to chris pine , who 'll be reprising the role in 2012 's moscow ' but ford ca n't be easily replaced . the frisky : harrison ford and calista flockhart finally wed ! which celebrity couples waited the longest to tie the knot ? the only reason a lot of us watched mr. and mrs. smith ' was to see if the sparks between brad pitt and angelina jolie were obvious . and they were indeed . as husband and wife rival spies , the two created amazing sexual tension which occasionally erupted in incredibly realistic ways . the frisky : do you remember your first kiss as well as these 10 celebs ? the most-famous james bond , sean connery , really set the bar high in movies like 1967 's you only live twice , ' where bond brought his spy skills to japan to find a rocket that disappeared in orbit . he was young , fit , and with the scottish accent , it 's no wonder that he slayed the ladies of japan . in one of the best movies ever , charade , ' cary grant plays a name-changing government official who offers to help audrey hepburn find her dead husband 's fortune , which was stolen from the government during world war ii . a phony cia agent and cast of sketchy characters are convinced hepburn 's character knows where the money is and wo n't let her rest until the mystery is solved . bring on the cold war spy shenanigans ! the frisky : insane behavior on the real housewives of new jersey ' -- has bravo gone too far ? with all the scientology business , it 's easy to forget that tom cruise was once a total heartthrob . but way back in 1996 , he was a pretty convincing spy in mission : impossible . ' the gravity-defying acrobatics , black leather , and futuristic gadgets made cruise a fantastic action star and we 'll have to see if he 's still got it in him when he plays a secret agent in knight and day , ' which opens this week . the frisky : does a racy , fictionalized version of anne frank 's diary go too far ? in one of the first bond movies women were equally anxious to see , daniel craig brought new elements to 007 in casino royale . ' he was a bit scrappier than previous bonds , but those sexy blue swim trunks made us forgive the rough edges . he manages to be a sensitive bad boy , falling for the wrong women and narrowly escaping his own death . we 're still swooning . tm & © 2010 tmv , inc. | all rights reserved | harrison ford and daniel craig are just two of the sexiest male spies of all time |
sporn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- when makers of one of the most anticipated video games of the year invited users to help design part of the game , the gamers jumped at the chance to create animated characters . users will have the option to incorporate other people 's spore ' designs or choose to block them all . but some took it upon themselves to create something entirely different : a new kind of internet porn . it started when the makers of spore ' released a creature creator program that allowed users to develop their own characters to drum up hype before the game 's scheduled release in september . the game , a joint venture from sims ' creator will wright and electronic arts , allows users to create a unique creature and then control its evolution from a single cell into a complex cultural civilization . within 24 hours of the creature creator 's release , gamers had gone creature-crazy , designing millions of critters that were all thrown into a database and shown on a youtube channel for the public to see . but scrolling through the database -- past the three-legged sea horse , past the seven-eyed wildebeest and the half-motorcycle-half-pig -- revealed something many users did n't expect . buried among the more wholesome attempts were two-legged dancing testicles , a giant breast monster ' and a four-legged phallic fornication machine , ' for starters . watch bradshaw demonstrate the creature creator ' and spore ' » these naughty -- some would say obscene -- creations have spawned an internet meme nicknamed sporn , ' short for spore ' porn . for ea , the developer of spore , ' it 's the downside to tapping into the booming user-generated content arena , which has made sites like youtube , flickr , myspace , facebook and second life so popular . these games and sites often allow people to create and host their own content in addition to creating cartoon personas , called avatars , for themselves . many of the popular user-generated content sites have faced similar challenges in trying to control obscene material . in second life , users can read slustler , a cyberporn magazine , or buy programs that allow them to have animated sex with other characters . whether it 's modeling clay , dolls or crayons , a small number of people can be counted on to use it for something vulgar , ' said lucy bradshaw , spore 's ' executive producer . despite its sporn ' issues , spore ' is poised to become one of the most popular games because of its ability to let people tell their own story , rather than one mapped out for them , bradshaw said . rather than putting players in the shoes of luke skywalker or frodo baggins , we 're giving them the opportunity to be george lucas or peter jackson , as they create their own universe from scratch , ' she said . but for every george lucas and peter jackson , there 's always a spoiler . enter the spornmaster , a 37-year-old web developer who refused to give his name for this interview . he , like many others , has spent hours creating characters and turning them into sexual beings . it came up simply as something silly and juvenile to do , ' he said . the creatures are not just static . users can create animated scenarios for the characters to engage in , some of which include sexually graphic acts . when ea got word of the sporn creations , it began working with youtube to pull them down . players who repeatedly upload offensive content ' are warned , suspended and eventually banned , bradshaw said . but the policing is n't restricted to ea and youtube . users also are able to flag and report content that they find offensive . that angered some content creators , who feel that they should be able to create whatever they want . it was a totally ridiculous overreaction , ' the 37-year-old web developer said . i admit it is silly and juvenile , but i do n't think there 's anything perverted , vile or awful about it . if people find it offensive , they can simply not search for it online . no one is forcing anyone to see this content . ' in response , he created a site to preserve as many of his naughty creations as possible . he said many other creators of sporn have told him that they too were only joking around . but the web developer and other sporn creators have had their share of critics . on blogs and message boards , some have called these creators perverts . i consider this very similar to child pornography , at least to the extent of distributing the material to children , ' said 18-year-old michael james from calgary , alberta . james said he has flagged about 10 of the disgusting ' creations . ea plans to make sure nobody sees the content if they do n't want to , bradshaw said . when playing spore , ' users will be given three choices regarding people 's creations : to receive no outside content , to receive content from buddies only or to receive all external content . bradshaw hopes the sexual characters do n't spoil spore ' for everyone or get in the way of what she says is a revolutionary game . user-created content gives players total control over their game experience and empowers them to express their creativity in ways that they never thought possible , ' bradshaw said . it also gives them a powerful emotional connection to the game , since they 've created the world from scratch . ' miles moffit , a gamer attending the university of georgia who has created tons of clean ' characters on his own , is glad to know ea will be regulating what makes it into the game . moffit is eagerly awaiting the game 's september 7 release . and if by chance a sporn character shows up in his virtual spore ' world , he has a plan . my initial reaction to discovering it in my final game would be to ban it so it would n't show up again and then blow it to pieces for the sheer satisfaction of it , ' moffit said . go ahead , create a walking phallus . see how long it lasts in the databases and galaxies of'spore .' | some users have created sexual creatures , now known as sporn ' |
sporn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- when makers of one of the most anticipated video games of the year invited users to help design part of the game , the gamers jumped at the chance to create animated characters . users will have the option to incorporate other people 's spore ' designs or choose to block them all . but some took it upon themselves to create something entirely different : a new kind of internet porn . it started when the makers of spore ' released a creature creator program that allowed users to develop their own characters to drum up hype before the game 's scheduled release in september . the game , a joint venture from sims ' creator will wright and electronic arts , allows users to create a unique creature and then control its evolution from a single cell into a complex cultural civilization . within 24 hours of the creature creator 's release , gamers had gone creature-crazy , designing millions of critters that were all thrown into a database and shown on a youtube channel for the public to see . but scrolling through the database -- past the three-legged sea horse , past the seven-eyed wildebeest and the half-motorcycle-half-pig -- revealed something many users did n't expect . buried among the more wholesome attempts were two-legged dancing testicles , a giant breast monster ' and a four-legged phallic fornication machine , ' for starters . watch bradshaw demonstrate the creature creator ' and spore ' » these naughty -- some would say obscene -- creations have spawned an internet meme nicknamed sporn , ' short for spore ' porn . for ea , the developer of spore , ' it 's the downside to tapping into the booming user-generated content arena , which has made sites like youtube , flickr , myspace , facebook and second life so popular . these games and sites often allow people to create and host their own content in addition to creating cartoon personas , called avatars , for themselves . many of the popular user-generated content sites have faced similar challenges in trying to control obscene material . in second life , users can read slustler , a cyberporn magazine , or buy programs that allow them to have animated sex with other characters . whether it 's modeling clay , dolls or crayons , a small number of people can be counted on to use it for something vulgar , ' said lucy bradshaw , spore 's ' executive producer . despite its sporn ' issues , spore ' is poised to become one of the most popular games because of its ability to let people tell their own story , rather than one mapped out for them , bradshaw said . rather than putting players in the shoes of luke skywalker or frodo baggins , we 're giving them the opportunity to be george lucas or peter jackson , as they create their own universe from scratch , ' she said . but for every george lucas and peter jackson , there 's always a spoiler . enter the spornmaster , a 37-year-old web developer who refused to give his name for this interview . he , like many others , has spent hours creating characters and turning them into sexual beings . it came up simply as something silly and juvenile to do , ' he said . the creatures are not just static . users can create animated scenarios for the characters to engage in , some of which include sexually graphic acts . when ea got word of the sporn creations , it began working with youtube to pull them down . players who repeatedly upload offensive content ' are warned , suspended and eventually banned , bradshaw said . but the policing is n't restricted to ea and youtube . users also are able to flag and report content that they find offensive . that angered some content creators , who feel that they should be able to create whatever they want . it was a totally ridiculous overreaction , ' the 37-year-old web developer said . i admit it is silly and juvenile , but i do n't think there 's anything perverted , vile or awful about it . if people find it offensive , they can simply not search for it online . no one is forcing anyone to see this content . ' in response , he created a site to preserve as many of his naughty creations as possible . he said many other creators of sporn have told him that they too were only joking around . but the web developer and other sporn creators have had their share of critics . on blogs and message boards , some have called these creators perverts . i consider this very similar to child pornography , at least to the extent of distributing the material to children , ' said 18-year-old michael james from calgary , alberta . james said he has flagged about 10 of the disgusting ' creations . ea plans to make sure nobody sees the content if they do n't want to , bradshaw said . when playing spore , ' users will be given three choices regarding people 's creations : to receive no outside content , to receive content from buddies only or to receive all external content . bradshaw hopes the sexual characters do n't spoil spore ' for everyone or get in the way of what she says is a revolutionary game . user-created content gives players total control over their game experience and empowers them to express their creativity in ways that they never thought possible , ' bradshaw said . it also gives them a powerful emotional connection to the game , since they 've created the world from scratch . ' miles moffit , a gamer attending the university of georgia who has created tons of clean ' characters on his own , is glad to know ea will be regulating what makes it into the game . moffit is eagerly awaiting the game 's september 7 release . and if by chance a sporn character shows up in his virtual spore ' world , he has a plan . my initial reaction to discovering it in my final game would be to ban it so it would n't show up again and then blow it to pieces for the sheer satisfaction of it , ' moffit said . go ahead , create a walking phallus . see how long it lasts in the databases and galaxies of'spore .' | one sporn creator : i do n't think there 's anything perverted , vile or awful about it ' |
alex ferguson <tsp> ( cnn ) -- alex ferguson is the legendary manchester united coach who once sent a boot flying into the face of david beckham , but a british sculptor has revealed a softer side to the formidable scot . ferguson recently celebrated 26 years as united 's manager this week , during which time he has won trophies at home and abroad as well as gaining a fierce reputation for the hairdryer treatment ' he dishes out to his players . but that was not the man sculptor philip jackson encountered after being commissioned to produce a nine-foot bronze statue of ferguson which was unveiled on friday with a host of united legends in attendance . he 's a very interesting character , ' jackson , based in the english county of sussex , told cnn when asked about the 70-year-old united boss . he 's much more than you seen on the television . when he came down to the studio he said ,'did you know that gore vidal had died ?'and'have you read the new biography of charles de gaulle ?'he 's a very well-read man . ' over the last quarter of a century , ferguson has overseen united 's ascent to the top of english football . the old trafford team has won 12 league titles under his stewardship , helping it to a record 19 english championships overall , in addition to two european champions league triumphs . benign expression raised in the working-class district of govan in glasgow , the 70-year-old ferguson is a staunch supporter of the british labour party . as a manager ferguson has a no-nonsense reputation , letting go of top players like beckham , roy keane , jaap stam and ruud van nistelrooy when he senses they have outlived their usefulness to the united cause . a long-running spat with the bbc saw ferguson refuse to speak with the british broadcaster for seven years after a 2004 documentary made unproven allegations of wrongdoing against his football agent son jason . but fellow scotsman jackson wanted to capture a different side of ferguson for the sculpture which was unveiled during a ceremony ahead of saturday 's match with queens park rangers -- the team he faced in his first match in charge at old trafford in 1986 . i wanted him to have a slightly benign expression on his face , so that 's what he 's got . he 's wearing the sort of clothes he would wear at a match in the winter . ' amalgam jackson was already known to united 's hierarchy after producing sculptures of former manager matt busby and the legendary playing trio of george best , bobby charlton and denis law . i 'd already done the matt busby sculpture for manchester united some 12-15 years ago , ' said jackson , who in his role as royal sculptor has produced works ranging from the archangel gabriel and constantine the great to the young mozart . i did the united trinity of best , charlton and law and when that was completed we talked about doing alex . i did n't do anything immediately . there was an opportunity when his 25th anniversary came up and they decided to name a stand after him . so it was decided it should be done to go in front of that . ' in order to do justice to a man as respected as ferguson , jackson built up an in-depth knowledge of his personality and appearance during several meetings . i went up to see him , took a lot of photographs of him and spent some time watching him at a match , ' explained jackson , who also produced a sculpture of england 's world cup-winning squad of 1966 which is outside wembley stadium . i got a lot of photographs from the manchester united archives and also a lot of books that had been written about him . to start of piece of sculpture is almost like researching for a book , you have to get to know the person very well . it 's an amalgam of everything i 've seen of him and the meetings i 've had with him . i 've done him fairly pensive . he often stands on the edge of the pitch deciding on what 's going to happen next . that 's the moment i 've chosen to record . ' when capturing a character like ferguson , how did jackson select one stationary pose to epitomize a coach who is most often seen wildly gesticulating from the sidelines ? i imagine him standing on the touchline in deep concentration , about to say something to the team which is going to change the tactics somewhat , ' he replied . one of the things he does is when the team has won or someone has scored a goal , he tends to put his hands in the air and wave them backwards and forwards . that 's a very good pose for film , but it 's not a good pose for sculpture as it makes him look like he 's surrendering . ' ancient tradition sports stars have long been the subject of works of art , with the athletes of ancient greece often honored with carvings and statues . sports sculptures , the tradition goes back to greco-roman times , ' said jackson . if you look at greek sculpture , it 's all of athletes or people who took part in the games . it is carrying on a very long tradition . ' there are practical advantages of depicting sportsmen for sculptors . they have generally come to a job through being young , athletic sportsmen , ' added jackson . the theme of fitness continues throughout their life . it makes them easier to sculpt because their bodies are well proportioned . ' the sculpture of ferguson will be the latest in a long line of monuments proudly displayed by english football clubs . ferguson 's fellow scot bill shankly has a tribute outside liverpool 's anfield stadium for the three league titles he won for the club between 1964 and 1973 . newcastle united unveiled a statue of much-loved former manager bobby robson earlier this year . robson , england 's coach during the 1990 world cup , was a native of the north east and occupied the newcastle hotseat for five years . | alex ferguson will be honored with a statue outside man utd 's stadium |
united <tsp> ( cnn ) -- alex ferguson is the legendary manchester united coach who once sent a boot flying into the face of david beckham , but a british sculptor has revealed a softer side to the formidable scot . ferguson recently celebrated 26 years as united 's manager this week , during which time he has won trophies at home and abroad as well as gaining a fierce reputation for the hairdryer treatment ' he dishes out to his players . but that was not the man sculptor philip jackson encountered after being commissioned to produce a nine-foot bronze statue of ferguson which was unveiled on friday with a host of united legends in attendance . he 's a very interesting character , ' jackson , based in the english county of sussex , told cnn when asked about the 70-year-old united boss . he 's much more than you seen on the television . when he came down to the studio he said ,'did you know that gore vidal had died ?'and'have you read the new biography of charles de gaulle ?'he 's a very well-read man . ' over the last quarter of a century , ferguson has overseen united 's ascent to the top of english football . the old trafford team has won 12 league titles under his stewardship , helping it to a record 19 english championships overall , in addition to two european champions league triumphs . benign expression raised in the working-class district of govan in glasgow , the 70-year-old ferguson is a staunch supporter of the british labour party . as a manager ferguson has a no-nonsense reputation , letting go of top players like beckham , roy keane , jaap stam and ruud van nistelrooy when he senses they have outlived their usefulness to the united cause . a long-running spat with the bbc saw ferguson refuse to speak with the british broadcaster for seven years after a 2004 documentary made unproven allegations of wrongdoing against his football agent son jason . but fellow scotsman jackson wanted to capture a different side of ferguson for the sculpture which was unveiled during a ceremony ahead of saturday 's match with queens park rangers -- the team he faced in his first match in charge at old trafford in 1986 . i wanted him to have a slightly benign expression on his face , so that 's what he 's got . he 's wearing the sort of clothes he would wear at a match in the winter . ' amalgam jackson was already known to united 's hierarchy after producing sculptures of former manager matt busby and the legendary playing trio of george best , bobby charlton and denis law . i 'd already done the matt busby sculpture for manchester united some 12-15 years ago , ' said jackson , who in his role as royal sculptor has produced works ranging from the archangel gabriel and constantine the great to the young mozart . i did the united trinity of best , charlton and law and when that was completed we talked about doing alex . i did n't do anything immediately . there was an opportunity when his 25th anniversary came up and they decided to name a stand after him . so it was decided it should be done to go in front of that . ' in order to do justice to a man as respected as ferguson , jackson built up an in-depth knowledge of his personality and appearance during several meetings . i went up to see him , took a lot of photographs of him and spent some time watching him at a match , ' explained jackson , who also produced a sculpture of england 's world cup-winning squad of 1966 which is outside wembley stadium . i got a lot of photographs from the manchester united archives and also a lot of books that had been written about him . to start of piece of sculpture is almost like researching for a book , you have to get to know the person very well . it 's an amalgam of everything i 've seen of him and the meetings i 've had with him . i 've done him fairly pensive . he often stands on the edge of the pitch deciding on what 's going to happen next . that 's the moment i 've chosen to record . ' when capturing a character like ferguson , how did jackson select one stationary pose to epitomize a coach who is most often seen wildly gesticulating from the sidelines ? i imagine him standing on the touchline in deep concentration , about to say something to the team which is going to change the tactics somewhat , ' he replied . one of the things he does is when the team has won or someone has scored a goal , he tends to put his hands in the air and wave them backwards and forwards . that 's a very good pose for film , but it 's not a good pose for sculpture as it makes him look like he 's surrendering . ' ancient tradition sports stars have long been the subject of works of art , with the athletes of ancient greece often honored with carvings and statues . sports sculptures , the tradition goes back to greco-roman times , ' said jackson . if you look at greek sculpture , it 's all of athletes or people who took part in the games . it is carrying on a very long tradition . ' there are practical advantages of depicting sportsmen for sculptors . they have generally come to a job through being young , athletic sportsmen , ' added jackson . the theme of fitness continues throughout their life . it makes them easier to sculpt because their bodies are well proportioned . ' the sculpture of ferguson will be the latest in a long line of monuments proudly displayed by english football clubs . ferguson 's fellow scot bill shankly has a tribute outside liverpool 's anfield stadium for the three league titles he won for the club between 1964 and 1973 . newcastle united unveiled a statue of much-loved former manager bobby robson earlier this year . robson , england 's coach during the 1990 world cup , was a native of the north east and occupied the newcastle hotseat for five years . | jackson has worked with united on two previous commissions |
chinese <tsp> on the ninth floor of kunming 's no . 1 people 's hospital , overflowing patient beds crammed the narrow corridor sunday afternoon as anxious family members sat by their loved ones . like many others around him , dong wenxian sported a bandage around his head and appeared motionless in bed . he 's sleeping -- though his condition is n't stable yet , ' his daughter dong huixian told cnn . there 's still metal in his skull -- but he 's already the lucky one . ' the elder dong is one of more than 140 people injured in a deadly attack saturday night when ten knife-wielding assailants stormed the kunming railway station in southwestern china , seemingly hacking at anyone in sight and killing at least 29 people . the u.s. state department has condemned the attack , calling it a horrific , senseless act of violence ' in a statement . chinese president xi jinping has pledged to severely punish the terrorists in accordance with the law . ' authorities said police shot four perpetrators dead on the scene and captured a wounded female suspect . they have also linked the rampage to separatists from the country 's far western xinjiang region , where tensions between han chinese and the largely muslim uyghurs have sometimes turned violent . read more : understanding china 's restive far west dong , a 50-year-old street vendor from the countryside , was trying to buy a train ticket home to visit his sick mother when he was hacked . his whole face was covered in blood , ' his wife described the sight greeting the family at the hospital , which has received most of the people injured in the attack . we 're now waiting for him to go through surgery , ' said huixian , the 17-year-old daughter . but those with even more severe injuries need to be operated on first . ' those xinjiang people are just horrible and i hate their guts , ' she added . a spate of violent incidents has rocked restive xinjiang in recent months . only two weeks ago , police announced the death of 11 terrorists in a foiled attack in aksu prefecture . last october , a jeep carrying a uyghur family plowed into crowds in front of tiananmen gate in central beijing , killing two tourists and injuring 40 . authorities have responded by intensifying their crackdown on suspected islamic separatists , including the arrest last month of prominent uyghur scholar ilham tohti . the killings in kunming -- a city of more than six million residents , known for its mild weather and leisurely pace -- shocked the nation and occurred at a particularly sensitive time as chinese lawmakers are set to start their annual session wednesday to hear the first government work report under president xi 's leadership . far away from beijing but a short drive from dong 's hospital is a small , nameless street in front of the massive kunming railway station . lined with supermarkets , restaurants and a post office , it was again bustling with passengers hauling luggage sunday afternoon , the blood stains in the area already washed away . uniformed police , swat teams and paramilitary troops patrolling the station 's sprawling ground regularly passed the street on foot and in cars . food sellers on the sidewalk exchanged details they had seen or heard about the carnage . read more : china 's train station killings described as a terrorist attack chang changwei 's mobile phone shop was open but his mind kept wandering back to the night before when screaming crowds from the station suddenly ran toward his street . so many people were trying to find a place to hide , ' the 27-year-old shop owner recalled to cnn . the restaurant next to me and i let everyone in . ' i asked my wife and mother to bring my son inside , ' he continued . then i grabbed some metal pipes for myself and a few others , and said , we have to stick together to take them down . ' the attackers never came this way , but his mother 's recollection of the scene was more harrowing . i saw four people die nearby , ' said 58-year-old hu xuerong . one person was lying face down in the blood with a knife still stuck in his back . ' gallery : kunming terror attack , in photographs the most heartbreaking moment for hu came later , however . her 3-year-old grandson , after witnessing the horror , told her he was too scared to sleep . across chinese cyberspace , stories of the perpetrators not sparing children or the elderly during their killing spree have spread quickly and stirred the strongest emotions . in social media , some users'attempts to reflect on the root causes -- including waves of han migration into xinjiang and the treatment of uyghurs in their native land -- to the latest terror were quickly drowned out by the overwhelming sound of fury . chang , the shop owner , admitted he 'd never given much thought to xinjiang separatists . after the attack saturday night , however , he 's not sure what can be done to stop them for one simple reason . when they started hacking at people , they were already prepared to die , ' he said . they are not afraid to die . ' | the attack , attributed to uyghur separatists , sparked fury on chinese social media |
lohan <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- lindsay lohan must start serving a 30-day jail term next week after admitting that she violated her probation on a necklace theft conviction , a los angeles county judge ordered wednesday . it 's possible she could be booked in and booked out ' the same day , los angeles county sheriff spokesman steve whitmore said wednesday afternoon . it depends on the fluctuations of the day , what 's going on in the jail , ' whitmore said . after that , the actress must work at least 12 days a month at the county morgue until she completes the 53 remaining days on her court-ordered community service and she must attend 18 psychotherapy sessions , judge stephanie sautner told her . if lohan misses any of those goals , she will be returned to jail for another 270 days , the judge ruled . this is what we really call putting the keys to the jail in the defendant 's hands , ' sautner told lohan . the actress , who admitted violating her probation during a hearing wednesday , must report to the los angeles county jail by november 9 , the judge said . you are not to get house arrest or early release , except for that required by the law , ' sautner said . whitmore said that the early release program is part of the law , meaning lohan would likely get out quickly due to overcrowding . when sautner sentenced lohan to 120 days in jail last may , she ended up serving 35 days of home confinement instead , due to jail overcrowding and state rules that give prisoners credit for good behavior . it was not immediately clear how many days lohan will actually serve this month , if she ends up getting credit for good behavior . prosecutors said lohan missed 12 of 20 scheduled workdays at a downtown los angeles women 's center , part of the court-ordered community service imposed in may when she pleaded guilty to stealing a necklace from a venice , california , jewelry store . lohan , 25 , was already on probation for two drunken driving convictions from 2007 . she also canceled 14 of 19 scheduled appointments for court-ordered psychotherapy , they said . from what i see of you , you need a structure , ' sautner told lohan wednesday , instructing her to return to court each month , starting december 14 , to show she is complying with the schedule . if the actress stays on track , her probation would be eased on march 29 , 2012 , sautner said . if she does n't keep up with the requirements , she will serve the additional 270 days behind bars , the judge said . the full sentence imposed wednesday was 150 days for the necklace theft probation violation and 150 days for violating probation on the 2007 drunk driving conviction in beverly hills . while the original sentence included 360 hours of community service at a downtown los angeles women 's center , the judge said she did not want to put the skid row charity through the pain of lohan again . when the judge called the good shepherd center for homeless women , the charity refused to take lohan on as a worker saying you were a bad example , ' sautner said . but lohan seemed to find a good fit with her work at the los angeles county morgue , where deputy chief coroner ed winter said she worked four days in the past two weeks cleaning up . lohan reports for morgue duty ' so , the morgue is willing to keep you , ' the judge said . all of her community service work has been transferred there , she said . two weeks ago , the actress'father , michael lohan , told hln 's issues with jane velez-mitchell ' program that his daughter should n't be in jail , but in rehab . last week , michael lohan was arrested twice in two days for violating a court order to stay away from his former girlfriend . cnn learned wednesday that he is now in an administrative confinement ' cell in the infirmary section of orient road jail in tampa , florida , where he 's awaiting trial . michael lohan arrested lindsay lohan 's legal woes , which began four years ago with two drunk driving arrests , have been compounded by her failure to attend counseling classes , and alcohol and drug test failures . her probation is scheduled to end within a year unless lohan breaks any laws before then . it has been extended several times because of violations , including the failed alcohol and drug tests . it 's possible she could be booked in and booked out ' the same day . ' cnn 's michael martinez contributed to this report . | new : lohan could be booked in and out the same day , sheriff 's spokesman says |
paul teutul <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- huge news for american chopper ' fans : jesse james is returning to the network that made him famous to compete head-to-head against the teutuls on american chopper . ' marking his first appearance on discovery chanel in five years , the former monster garage ' star will guest star on chopper ' across two nights in december . not only that , but american chopper ' is going live for the first time -- pitting james , paul teutul , senior and paul teutul jr. in a bike-building battle at the hard rock hotel in las vegas . the face-off airs december 5 and 6 at 9 p.m. both nights . the first night is the regularly scheduled american chopper . ' you 'll see senior , junior and james building the bikes , and viewers will vote for their favorite . the second night is a live show from las vegas where the winning bike will be revealed . for chopper ' fans , this is the stuff of online message-board wish fulfillment . jesse james'documentary motorcycle mania ' helped launch the whole cable reality motorcycle craze back in 2000 , whereas relative later-comer american chopper ' helped bring the genre to a greater level in popularity . james then left discovery and went on to other ventures , including his short-lived spike tv series jesse james is a dead man ' ( and drawing international headlines for his divorce from sandra bullock ) . though james and the teutuls respective motorcycle garage shows overlapped during james'years at discovery ( monster garage ' ran from 2002-06 ; chopper ' has aired since 2003 ) , this event marks the first time the combustible personalities have gone head-to-head on one of the programs . see the full article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | james , paul teutul , senior and paul teutul jr. will be in a bike-building battle |
hbo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the normal heart , ' written by my friend , the brilliant playwright larry kramer , and based on his story during the earliest days of the aids epidemic , tells a tale that many of us lived through , and many others did not survive . it 's as relevant today as an hbo movie as when it premiered on the stage in new york city in 1985 . back then , the new york times refused to print the word gay , ' and new york mayor ed koch was agonizingly slow to respond to the unfolding epidemic . fear was everywhere . around the country , family members shunned infected relatives , doctors were afraid to touch aids patients , let alone treat them , and hospital wards filled up with young men covered in lesions , dying excruciating deaths . i 've almost lost track of the number of funerals i went to in those years . my friends were dying all around me -- i 'm lucky that i somehow survived . act up , the coalition that larry founded to address the crisis , coined the phrase silence equals death ' as its rallying cry , and it was no exaggeration . by the end of 1983 , aids had claimed 2,100 lives , but the government would hardly acknowledge that anything was awry . i ca n't help but wonder , if those in power had cared more , if they had done more , perhaps we could have ended this epidemic before it began to circle the globe . but they did n't care , they did n't act , and 36 million people have died of aids since . worldwide , another than 1.6 million people will die of aids this year . in the united states , there will be roughly 50,000 new infections . while the normal heart is a product of a specific time , it is not an artifact . there is still an aids crisis -- not only in sub-saharan africa , but right here in the america , in your state , in your community . and , just as in 1985 , it is silence , fear and stigma that continue to drive the epidemic . today , african-americans represent 12 % of the national population , but they account for 44 % of americans living with hiv , according to the centers for disease control and prevention . gay and bisexual men comprise only 2 % of the american population , but they represented 30 % of the nation 's hiv infections in 2010 . around 4,000 americans are infected with hiv each year because of injection drug use , and one in seven hiv-positive americans pass through a correctional facility each year . the crisis is particularly acute in the american south , where homophobia is rampant . i hope hbo 's production of the normal heart ' will compel a new generation to act up . there is so much work still to be done , but there 's also so much potential . the characters in the normal heart , ' living as they did in the 1980s , did n't understand what they or their friends were dying of , and they did n't have treatments to manage the disease . they hardly knew how to protect themselves . today , we know how to protect everyone , and we have the ability to treat every single person living with hiv . yet aids continues to prey upon the most vulnerable in our society : the poor , the incarcerated , sex workers , drug users , and those living in regions where intolerance and stigma are facts of life . today , as ever , silence equals death . elton john uses photography to fight aids as larry so forcefully taught us nearly 30 years ago -- and as he and ryan murphy , the director of the new hbo film , continue to remind us today -- we must speak out against injustice , act with compassion , and fight for equality . if enough of us raise our voices , we can finally begin to end this epidemic . editor 's note : hbo , like cnn , is owned by time warner . | he says the normal heart , ' an hbo film , portrays the days when many of his friends were dying |
team usa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- as coach keith nelson studied the opposing team , he realized his players were at a big disadvantage . their future opponents moved quickly around the court , passing the puck with strength and agility . his floor hockey team was out of shape . while in their hearts they were champions , their bodies were n't quite ready for the challenge ahead . if team usa was going to win at the special olympics world winter games , nelson thought , they had some conditioning to do . nelson has been a special olympics coach in riverside , california , for 11 years . his oldest son , ryan , 29 , has asperger 's syndrome , a high-functioning form of autism . when ryan nelson outgrew youth soccer , he joined the special olympics program . since then , he has added basketball , floor hockey and track and field events to his athletic resume . i have asperger 's ; i am just like you nelson decided his son would set an example for the floor hockey team . father and son gave up soda and switched to water . they replaced sugary snacks with fruits and vegetables , focusing on eating an overall healthier diet . over the next few months , the younger nelson lost 25 pounds . nelson took his plan to the rest of the team , recruiting his other son , tyler , to design a training program . he put the challenge out there and i accepted it , ' said teddy leonard , captain of team usa . the players began working out five to six days a week . they started slow , doing low-impact exercises and lots of stretches to prevent injury . since they did n't have a lot of equipment , they used their bodies to strength train ; push-ups , sit-ups and burpees became second nature . it was very hard at first , ' goalie lisa salim said . i thought to myself ,'am i going to do this ?'' with special olympics , shriver leaves legacy of hope the teammates held each other accountable for healthy eating as well . if one person was caught drinking soda or chowing down on chocolate , the whole team did extra exercises at the next practice . the whole team suffered because one person stepped out of line , ' leonard said . it helps you learn . ...'i do n't want to do ( any ) more burpees so i 'm going to stop this .' their efforts paid off . the team blew by its goal of losing a combined 300 pounds before the winter games . fourteen players dropped a total of 400 pounds in preparation for their trip to pyeongchang , south korea . henry young , a type ii diabetic , got to significantly cut back on his insulin injections . salim now shops for dresses that are six sizes smaller . leonard , one of the team 's biggest losers , dropped more than 50 pounds . i 'm so proud of them , and i 'm proud of myself , ' leonard said . i feel great now . i feel good . i feel like now everything that i 've been wanting is coming . ' salim used to have trouble making it through more than three minutes of a floor hockey game . i could n't move as fast ... because i was always getting tired , ' she said . but working out consistently and eating healthier has upped her game . i 'm able to be on a run all the time , ' salim said . i hope i never come back to being the way i used to be . ' one teen 's journey to special olympics the weight loss has affected more than his team 's physical abilities , nelson said . they 've become more confident , working harder on and off the court . we have a saying in our team that we 're champions , but we 're champions in everything we do , ' nelson said . we 're champions in how we work , how we walk around and how we want to live our lives . i think the exercise and nutrition program is just part of that . ' leonard has even learned to control his anger issues , whether that 's an effect of the weight loss or his team 's continuous support is unclear . he plans to continue losing weight after the team returns home ; he wants to drop from 350 to 280 pounds . this is forever , ' he said . i 'm not going to stop doing it . no matter what happens , i 'm not going to quit . ' special olympics takes on use of'r-word ' | the team usa floor hockey team needed more endurance , agility for winter games |
north korea <tsp> ( cnn ) -- u.s. drug agents in thailand took custody of five men wanted in the united states on allegations of being part of a drug ring that sought to traffic in north korean methamphetamine and other drugs , cnn has learned . the men , who have british , filipino , taiwanese and slovak citizenship , were being flown to new york to face charges , according to a source . thai authorities announced the arrests after the men were turned over to u.s. authorities . a u.s. law enforcement official said the charges would be made public soon . the men are part of a broader investigation that federal prosecutors made public in september , filing charges against a group of former u.s. and european ex-military men in a murder-for-hire and drug-importation plot . the drug enforcement administration concocted a sting operation and arrested joseph hunter , a former u.s. army sniper trainer nicknamed rambo , and four others in the sting case . the five more recently arrested were expelled by thai authorities and put on a dea plane to new york . additional details of the charges could n't be learned because they remain under seal . drug trafficking from north korea has occurred for decades with at least 50 documented incidents . in previous years , north korea had been linked to shipments of heroin and methamphetamine , according to the cia world factbook . in 2003 , a north korean ship , pong su which was carrying nearly 300 pounds of heroin , was seized along the eastern coast of australia after a four-day chase . there is n't enough information to determine whether the north korean government is currently involved in drug trafficking , according to the 2013 international narcotics control strategy report issued by the u.s. state department ' there have been no confirmed reports of large-scale drug trafficking involving dprk ( democratic people 's republic of korea ) state entities since 2004 , ' it stated . this suggests that state-sponsored drug trafficking may have ceased or been sharply reduced , or that the dprk regime has become more adept at concealing state-sponsored trafficking of illicit drugs . ' the report also highlighted that the proximity and availability of precursor chemicals in china likely contribute to the production of methamphetamine within north korea . ' it alluded to reported transactions between north korean traffickers and organized crime groups . corrupt security agents and government officials are likely responsible for transnational drug operations , according to a different report published in north korean review in 2010 . there is great difficulty in collecting data or accurate information regarding drug trafficking because of the secrecy in north korea . so the report 's authors , minwoo yun and eunyoung kim relied on interviews with 28 north korean defectors living in china and thailand as well as various documents . they could not be reached wednesday for this story . their report alleges that in the 1980s , the north korean state deliberately chose various transnational crime businesses including drug trafficking ' during economically troubled times . the north koreans specialized in heroin trade and kept the drug away from the ordinary population . once the economy veered into famine and economic disaster in the 1990s , individuals desperate to survive turned to private drug enterprise , according to yun and kim 's report . corrupt agents and officials sold drugs to transnational organized crime operations through the north korea-china border , they wrote . family members also became private drug traffickers , they added . after poppy production failed due to weather , methamphetamine became more popular , according to a 2007 drug trafficking and north korea report prepared for the u.s. congress . one of the interviewees in yun and kim 's report said that the city of hamhueng is the center of methamphetamine production , because it produces the country 's chemicals . internally , north koreans started using opium instead of hard-to-obtain and pricey medication , according to the report . and recreational drug users are more likely wealthy businessmen or members of the party , according to south korean media . more recently , methamphetamine is more widely used in north korea as stricter china border controls forced drug producers to seek a local market for ice , ' according to a report in the spring 2013 edition of the journal north korean review . | north korea has been producing drugs since the 1980s , report says |
united states <tsp> ( cnn ) -- u.s. drug agents in thailand took custody of five men wanted in the united states on allegations of being part of a drug ring that sought to traffic in north korean methamphetamine and other drugs , cnn has learned . the men , who have british , filipino , taiwanese and slovak citizenship , were being flown to new york to face charges , according to a source . thai authorities announced the arrests after the men were turned over to u.s. authorities . a u.s. law enforcement official said the charges would be made public soon . the men are part of a broader investigation that federal prosecutors made public in september , filing charges against a group of former u.s. and european ex-military men in a murder-for-hire and drug-importation plot . the drug enforcement administration concocted a sting operation and arrested joseph hunter , a former u.s. army sniper trainer nicknamed rambo , and four others in the sting case . the five more recently arrested were expelled by thai authorities and put on a dea plane to new york . additional details of the charges could n't be learned because they remain under seal . drug trafficking from north korea has occurred for decades with at least 50 documented incidents . in previous years , north korea had been linked to shipments of heroin and methamphetamine , according to the cia world factbook . in 2003 , a north korean ship , pong su which was carrying nearly 300 pounds of heroin , was seized along the eastern coast of australia after a four-day chase . there is n't enough information to determine whether the north korean government is currently involved in drug trafficking , according to the 2013 international narcotics control strategy report issued by the u.s. state department ' there have been no confirmed reports of large-scale drug trafficking involving dprk ( democratic people 's republic of korea ) state entities since 2004 , ' it stated . this suggests that state-sponsored drug trafficking may have ceased or been sharply reduced , or that the dprk regime has become more adept at concealing state-sponsored trafficking of illicit drugs . ' the report also highlighted that the proximity and availability of precursor chemicals in china likely contribute to the production of methamphetamine within north korea . ' it alluded to reported transactions between north korean traffickers and organized crime groups . corrupt security agents and government officials are likely responsible for transnational drug operations , according to a different report published in north korean review in 2010 . there is great difficulty in collecting data or accurate information regarding drug trafficking because of the secrecy in north korea . so the report 's authors , minwoo yun and eunyoung kim relied on interviews with 28 north korean defectors living in china and thailand as well as various documents . they could not be reached wednesday for this story . their report alleges that in the 1980s , the north korean state deliberately chose various transnational crime businesses including drug trafficking ' during economically troubled times . the north koreans specialized in heroin trade and kept the drug away from the ordinary population . once the economy veered into famine and economic disaster in the 1990s , individuals desperate to survive turned to private drug enterprise , according to yun and kim 's report . corrupt agents and officials sold drugs to transnational organized crime operations through the north korea-china border , they wrote . family members also became private drug traffickers , they added . after poppy production failed due to weather , methamphetamine became more popular , according to a 2007 drug trafficking and north korea report prepared for the u.s. congress . one of the interviewees in yun and kim 's report said that the city of hamhueng is the center of methamphetamine production , because it produces the country 's chemicals . internally , north koreans started using opium instead of hard-to-obtain and pricey medication , according to the report . and recreational drug users are more likely wealthy businessmen or members of the party , according to south korean media . more recently , methamphetamine is more widely used in north korea as stricter china border controls forced drug producers to seek a local market for ice , ' according to a report in the spring 2013 edition of the journal north korean review . | 5 men arrested in thailand are being flown to the united states , cnn has learned |
hill <tsp> eric hill , who was a contestant in the upcoming season of the bachelorette , ' died this week from injuries suffered in a paragliding accident . hill , 31 , was an adventurer with a goal of setting a world record by visiting every country on earth in 1,200 days , but he interrupted his journey this spring to participate in the abc reality competition . he was gliding off a steep hill in draper , utah , sunday when his parachute partially collapsed and swung him into the hillside like a pendulum , ' salt lake county unified fire spokesman brian anderton told cnn . although he was not far above the ground when he fell and he was wearing a helmet , hill hit with quite a bit of velocity , ' causing severe injuries , anderton said . hill was flown to university of utah medical center , where he later died , according to anderton and facebook postings by hill 's sister karen tracy . bachelorette ' producers sent a statement to cnn saying they are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic passing of our friend , eric hill . ' eric inspired us every day with his passion , his courage and his adventurous spirit , and for that we are very thankful , ' the show 's statement said . on behalf of our cast , crew and producers , we send our love , our thoughts and our prayers to eric 's family during this difficult time . ' the 10th season of the show premieres on may 19 . hill 's facebook page and website proclaimed that he would visit every country in world record time ' while sharing the awesome that exists in every country , especially with the people ! ' his global odyssey ' page said : but this is not your ordinary travel blog , for you see , you will decide what he does ( and what he eats ) in virtually every country . from skydiving over australia , to eating scorpions on the great wall of china , we 'll be posting items for you to vote on ... and he promises to do as you command ! ' eric took very calculated risks , he was never reckless , ' a note posted on his facebook page said . | eric hill interrupted his global odyssey ' to compete in the bachelorette ' |
hill <tsp> eric hill , who was a contestant in the upcoming season of the bachelorette , ' died this week from injuries suffered in a paragliding accident . hill , 31 , was an adventurer with a goal of setting a world record by visiting every country on earth in 1,200 days , but he interrupted his journey this spring to participate in the abc reality competition . he was gliding off a steep hill in draper , utah , sunday when his parachute partially collapsed and swung him into the hillside like a pendulum , ' salt lake county unified fire spokesman brian anderton told cnn . although he was not far above the ground when he fell and he was wearing a helmet , hill hit with quite a bit of velocity , ' causing severe injuries , anderton said . hill was flown to university of utah medical center , where he later died , according to anderton and facebook postings by hill 's sister karen tracy . bachelorette ' producers sent a statement to cnn saying they are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic passing of our friend , eric hill . ' eric inspired us every day with his passion , his courage and his adventurous spirit , and for that we are very thankful , ' the show 's statement said . on behalf of our cast , crew and producers , we send our love , our thoughts and our prayers to eric 's family during this difficult time . ' the 10th season of the show premieres on may 19 . hill 's facebook page and website proclaimed that he would visit every country in world record time ' while sharing the awesome that exists in every country , especially with the people ! ' his global odyssey ' page said : but this is not your ordinary travel blog , for you see , you will decide what he does ( and what he eats ) in virtually every country . from skydiving over australia , to eating scorpions on the great wall of china , we 'll be posting items for you to vote on ... and he promises to do as you command ! ' eric took very calculated risks , he was never reckless , ' a note posted on his facebook page said . | hill 's parachute partially collapsed , slamming him into a hillside sunday |
indiegogo <tsp> at the dawn of the 20th century , nikola tesla wanted to save the world from fuel dependency . now , an internet cartoonist wants to save tesla 's last remaining laboratory as a tribute to the futurist inventor . the structure , a 94-by-94-foot building , was the location where tesla hoped to develop wireless communications and clean , free energy for everyone in the early 1900s . he moved his operation to the wardenclyffe tower in shoreham , new york , in 1902 -- so named because of a 187-foot tower rising from the ground ( as well as being sunk 120 feet below it ) that was to be one of the great transmitters for his wireless energy dream . the facility was lost a few years later due to debts tesla racked up , and the huge tower was demolished in 1917 . the site would ultimately become a superfund location because of silver and cadmium toxicity in the ground after a photographic film company used it for nearly 48 years . it has now been cleaned up and is no longer harmful . tesla died penniless and in debt in 1943 . currently , the building and surrounding land sit idle and are up for sale . matthew inman , the creator of web cartoon the oatmeal , ' is joining forces with a nonprofit group , the tesla science center at wardenclyffe , to help preserve the facility as a science center and museum honoring the father of the electric age . ''fringe'star examines real weird science ' tesla is an unsung hero , and there are very few monuments to him in the united states . i feel like that 's something we need to fix , ' inman said . i made a comic about tesla on my site . it got the most'likes'on facebook that i 've ever seen in my career . combine ( the fact ) that i 've got this army of tesla fans and the experience and success with my other fund-raiser , i felt like i was the ideal person to step in to control . ' inman 's previous experience with the indiegogo crowdfunding site stemmed from a potential lawsuit and his subsequent campaign to raise money for the national wildlife federation and the american cancer society . this current effort , bluntly titled let 's build a goddamn tesla museum , ' exploded after it was launched , raising more than $ 750,000 within five days . it had topped $ 792,000 as of tuesday morning . the goal was to raise enough money to buy the property and begin efforts to restore the facility . the asking price is $ 1.6 million , and inman 's goal of $ 850,000 would be matched by a new york state grant for the same amount , raising a total of $ 1.7 million . inman said he was shocked by how much , and how quickly , people have donated to save tesla 's lab . what i expected to happen was we 'd raise 20 or 30 grand and trickle over for the next six weeks . i did n't expect to average $ 27,000 per hour ( in the first few days ) , ' he said . that was insane . ' inman used the power of social media and drew from his 700,000 fans on facebook , 300,000 followers on twitter and over 1 million followers on google+ to get his campaign rolling . he 's also asked the general electric company , co-founded by tesla rival thomas edison , to contribute , and received a modest amount ' from elon musk , co-founder of paypal and tesla motors . the site quickly sold out of donation perks , items people could receive for their gift . so the campaign created new perks , using tesla 's love of the number 3 in the amount . tesla , for the past year or two on the internet , has risen as a cult hero to geek people , ' inman said . i think a lot of people are donating , not to say how noble they are , but are willing to support him . ' wardenclyffe was the last official laboratory where tesla worked . jane alcorn , president of the tesla science center , said he moved into offices in new york city later , but wardenclyffe was his final experimental location . that fact , along with his efforts to develop green energy , is why the site holds special significance . tesla viewed the earth as a generator of electricity . he believed that each of the planets resonates , ' alcorn explained . if you could tap into that resonance , you would be able to tap into the energy that is in the earth and you could bounce it off the ionosphere to any other place on the globe . ' read more space and science news on cnn 's light years blog designed by stanford white , a pre-eminent architect at the time , the square brick building was originally split down the middle , creating two large rectangular rooms for experiments . the tall tower and the overturned bowl at the top loomed over the countryside , and started out as a transmitter of messages while tesla turned his thoughts and creativity toward global energy . tesla foresaw the wireless transmissions we do with our cell phones and our laptops , ' alcorn said . he said there would come a day when people would send pictures , messages , words from one place to another without wires . ' the inventor convinced banker and philanthropist j.p. morgan of how beneficial such wireless communication would be to business and received financial backing for his project . but after guglielmo marconi sent his radio signal across the atlantic in 1901 , morgan pulled his funding . eventually , the property was lost in 1915 -- to pay off a debt to george boldt of the waldorf-astoria hotel -- before tesla could realize his dream of free electricity for everyone . the u.s. government destroyed the tower in 1917 , fearing german spies were using it to send messages during world war i . the property changed hands a couple more times and is currently owned by agfa-gevaert , a technology company based in belgium . the company put the property up for sale in 2009 and got an offer from a potential buyer who wanted to develop the land . that created a sense of urgency for alcorn 's group , which has been working for nearly 17 years to preserve it . when we heard that , and there was a letter of interest with a price involved , all of that made us a little bit wary and concerned because someone could come along and purchase this property before we had an opportunity to make an offer , she said . but we did n't have the money to make an offer . ' she said her group made a plea on the internet to the people involved , which attracted the attention of inman . he reached out to alcorn to offer his online influence and experience to the effort . alcorn said the money raised by the indiegogo campaign would just purchase the property and facility , not finance the cleanup or restoration of the building into a museum . if the group is successful in its bid , she expects it will be a couple of years before the museum opens , while additional funding and exhibits are arranged . comments : edison overrated ? readers praise legacy of inventor nikola tesla | creator of the oatmeal , ' matthew inman , has raised $ 750,000 via indiegogo |
ukraine <tsp> u.s. president barack obama on tuesday hailed the achievements of the nuclear security summit here , including some countries'agreements to give their highly enriched uranium to the united states for degrading . we 've seen such steps as belgium and italy completing the removal of their excess supplies of highly enriched uranium and plutonium so that those supplied can be eliminated , ' he said at a joint news conference with mark rutte , the prime minister of the netherlands . and dozens of other nations have agreed to take steps to improve nuclear security in their own countries and to support global efforts , the u.s. president said . so what 's been valuable about this summit is that it has not just been talk , it 's been action . ' hours after obama landed monday in the netherlands for the summit , the white house announced a deal to dispose of huge quantities of nuclear material from japan . obama credited the heads of state who participated in the effort , as well as the extraordinary work of foreign ministers and sherpas and others who have helped to move this process forward . ' the united states is doing its part , too , by installing more radiation detection equipment at ports and other transit sites to thwart would-be smugglers of nuclear materials ; by developing guidelines to strengthen cybersecurity at nuclear power plants ; and by pursuing production of an isotope used in medicine that does not require weapons-usable materials , he said . but more work is to be done to fully secure all nuclear and radiological material ... so that it can no longer pose a risk to our citizens , ' he added . given the catastrophic consequences of even a single attack , we can not be complacent . ' he noted that ukraine agreed at the first such summit , in 2010 , to remove its highly enriched uranium from its nuclear fuel sites . had that not happened , those dangerous nuclear materials would still be there now , and the difficult situation we are dealing with in ukraine today would involve yet another level of concern . ' before the next such summit , to be held in 2016 in chicago , we have to set very clearly what are the actionable items that we 've already identified that we know can get done if we have the political will to do them , and let 's go ahead and get them done , ' he said . tuesday 's session marked the third such gathering of world leaders since obama helped launched the initiative in 2009 . according to a report issued last year by the center for nonproliferation studies , the united states will spend at least $ 179 billion over the nine fiscal years of 2010-2018 on its nuclear arsenal . | ukraine gave up its highly enriched uranium in 2010 |
obama <tsp> u.s. president barack obama on tuesday hailed the achievements of the nuclear security summit here , including some countries'agreements to give their highly enriched uranium to the united states for degrading . we 've seen such steps as belgium and italy completing the removal of their excess supplies of highly enriched uranium and plutonium so that those supplied can be eliminated , ' he said at a joint news conference with mark rutte , the prime minister of the netherlands . and dozens of other nations have agreed to take steps to improve nuclear security in their own countries and to support global efforts , the u.s. president said . so what 's been valuable about this summit is that it has not just been talk , it 's been action . ' hours after obama landed monday in the netherlands for the summit , the white house announced a deal to dispose of huge quantities of nuclear material from japan . obama credited the heads of state who participated in the effort , as well as the extraordinary work of foreign ministers and sherpas and others who have helped to move this process forward . ' the united states is doing its part , too , by installing more radiation detection equipment at ports and other transit sites to thwart would-be smugglers of nuclear materials ; by developing guidelines to strengthen cybersecurity at nuclear power plants ; and by pursuing production of an isotope used in medicine that does not require weapons-usable materials , he said . but more work is to be done to fully secure all nuclear and radiological material ... so that it can no longer pose a risk to our citizens , ' he added . given the catastrophic consequences of even a single attack , we can not be complacent . ' he noted that ukraine agreed at the first such summit , in 2010 , to remove its highly enriched uranium from its nuclear fuel sites . had that not happened , those dangerous nuclear materials would still be there now , and the difficult situation we are dealing with in ukraine today would involve yet another level of concern . ' before the next such summit , to be held in 2016 in chicago , we have to set very clearly what are the actionable items that we 've already identified that we know can get done if we have the political will to do them , and let 's go ahead and get them done , ' he said . tuesday 's session marked the third such gathering of world leaders since obama helped launched the initiative in 2009 . according to a report issued last year by the center for nonproliferation studies , the united states will spend at least $ 179 billion over the nine fiscal years of 2010-2018 on its nuclear arsenal . | obama : the u.s. is doing its part , too , with installation of more radiation detection equipment |
obama <tsp> u.s. president barack obama on tuesday hailed the achievements of the nuclear security summit here , including some countries'agreements to give their highly enriched uranium to the united states for degrading . we 've seen such steps as belgium and italy completing the removal of their excess supplies of highly enriched uranium and plutonium so that those supplied can be eliminated , ' he said at a joint news conference with mark rutte , the prime minister of the netherlands . and dozens of other nations have agreed to take steps to improve nuclear security in their own countries and to support global efforts , the u.s. president said . so what 's been valuable about this summit is that it has not just been talk , it 's been action . ' hours after obama landed monday in the netherlands for the summit , the white house announced a deal to dispose of huge quantities of nuclear material from japan . obama credited the heads of state who participated in the effort , as well as the extraordinary work of foreign ministers and sherpas and others who have helped to move this process forward . ' the united states is doing its part , too , by installing more radiation detection equipment at ports and other transit sites to thwart would-be smugglers of nuclear materials ; by developing guidelines to strengthen cybersecurity at nuclear power plants ; and by pursuing production of an isotope used in medicine that does not require weapons-usable materials , he said . but more work is to be done to fully secure all nuclear and radiological material ... so that it can no longer pose a risk to our citizens , ' he added . given the catastrophic consequences of even a single attack , we can not be complacent . ' he noted that ukraine agreed at the first such summit , in 2010 , to remove its highly enriched uranium from its nuclear fuel sites . had that not happened , those dangerous nuclear materials would still be there now , and the difficult situation we are dealing with in ukraine today would involve yet another level of concern . ' before the next such summit , to be held in 2016 in chicago , we have to set very clearly what are the actionable items that we 've already identified that we know can get done if we have the political will to do them , and let 's go ahead and get them done , ' he said . tuesday 's session marked the third such gathering of world leaders since obama helped launched the initiative in 2009 . according to a report issued last year by the center for nonproliferation studies , the united states will spend at least $ 179 billion over the nine fiscal years of 2010-2018 on its nuclear arsenal . | it has not just been talk , it has been action , ' obama says of the nuclear summit |
iraq <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- nearly two decades after the first gulf war and six years after saddam hussein was removed from power , iraq still is subject to 73 united nations resolutions . a march 1991 photo shows burning oil wells in kuwait damaged by iraq military forces . now iraq 's foreign minister says his country will not regain full sovereignty and independence without getting rid of these resolutions . ' speaking to reporters in washington , hoshyar zebari said monday that iraq has paid billions ' of dollars under chapter 7 of the u.n. sanctions placed on iraq as a result of the 1990 iraq invasion of kuwait and subsequent war . the u.n. security council is reviewing the sanctions , and zebari said he had intensive discussions ' in new york with members of the security council . he said i think the outcome is positive . ' we felt a great deal of good will that , really , time has come for iraq to get rid of all these restrictions and to regain its international standing and position as a normal country . ' the iraqi foreign minister said bringing iraq out of chapter 7 is an american commitment also ' since iraq signed the status of forces agreement with the united states , which governs the presence of u.s. forces in iraq , based on its understanding that the u.s. would help iraq to come out of chapter 7 . foreign minister zebari said the sanctions impose a heavy burden on iraq -- it continues to pay 5 percent of its oil revenues to kuwait , down from the initial 30 percent . iraq 's security forces , he told reporters , have proven they are capable of defending themselves and the country . ' in the next six months , however , he said , the country faces some risks . what can be seen as problems could become crises unless this administration keeps its focus and support to push the situation forward ; otherwise this overall strategy of responsible redeployment could be undermined . ' if that happens , zebari said , it will impact what the u.s. is doing in the middle east , in the arab peace process , with iran , even in afghanistan because iraq is such a crucial player in the region . ' | iraq has paid billions of dollars ' under u.n. 's chapter 7 , foreign minister says |
iraq <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- nearly two decades after the first gulf war and six years after saddam hussein was removed from power , iraq still is subject to 73 united nations resolutions . a march 1991 photo shows burning oil wells in kuwait damaged by iraq military forces . now iraq 's foreign minister says his country will not regain full sovereignty and independence without getting rid of these resolutions . ' speaking to reporters in washington , hoshyar zebari said monday that iraq has paid billions ' of dollars under chapter 7 of the u.n. sanctions placed on iraq as a result of the 1990 iraq invasion of kuwait and subsequent war . the u.n. security council is reviewing the sanctions , and zebari said he had intensive discussions ' in new york with members of the security council . he said i think the outcome is positive . ' we felt a great deal of good will that , really , time has come for iraq to get rid of all these restrictions and to regain its international standing and position as a normal country . ' the iraqi foreign minister said bringing iraq out of chapter 7 is an american commitment also ' since iraq signed the status of forces agreement with the united states , which governs the presence of u.s. forces in iraq , based on its understanding that the u.s. would help iraq to come out of chapter 7 . foreign minister zebari said the sanctions impose a heavy burden on iraq -- it continues to pay 5 percent of its oil revenues to kuwait , down from the initial 30 percent . iraq 's security forces , he told reporters , have proven they are capable of defending themselves and the country . ' in the next six months , however , he said , the country faces some risks . what can be seen as problems could become crises unless this administration keeps its focus and support to push the situation forward ; otherwise this overall strategy of responsible redeployment could be undermined . ' if that happens , zebari said , it will impact what the u.s. is doing in the middle east , in the arab peace process , with iran , even in afghanistan because iraq is such a crucial player in the region . ' | iraq 's fm says his country wo n't be fully independent until u.n. sanctions end |
youtube <tsp> ( mashable ) -- update we 've just heard from the nhl , who tell us : the nhl is not in discussions with youtube to stream live games . the nhl has not had conversations with the google spokespeople mentioned in the bloomberg report . ' youtube may be a hot bed for lip dub videos and life-casting teens , but soon sports fans could find a good reason to flock to the site : youtube is reportedly in talks with the national basketball association and the national hockey league to broadcast games live . last year , youtube announced that it would begin live-streaming indian premier league cricket matches , a venture that was apparently very successful . according to business week , the games brought in 55 million visits from more than 250 countries . gautam anand , google 's director of content partnerships for asia pacific , recently said that youtube plans to show more live sports , but declined to elaborate on the particulars of talks with the nba and nhl . google is apparently also talking with other pro sports leagues , as well as soccer leagues in europe . it 's fair to say that there will be a lot more appealing sports content you 'll see on youtube , ' anand said . we have ongoing conversations with pretty much everyone . ' by offering such content , youtube and google can boost their ad revenue , seeing as how viewers would be spending more time on the site . lately , we 've been seeing youtube seemingly getting more serious about being an entertainment hub , rather than a forum for cat videos . just the other week , it was rumored that youtube ceo salar kamangar will be building out the site 's recently instated talent program ( last july , the video-sharing site announced its youtube partner grants program to ramp up quality content ) by offering big-name stars their own youtube channels . in addition , parent company google recently acquired widevine , an on-demand video service known for its multiplatform drm and adaptive streaming technologies , and the web has been buzzing for months about the possibility of it acquiring web video production company , new next networks . what do you think of the prospect of watching live games on youtube ? would you tune in ? © 2010 mashable.com . all rights reserved . | youtube reportedly in talks with nba and nhl to broadcast games live |
youtube <tsp> ( mashable ) -- update we 've just heard from the nhl , who tell us : the nhl is not in discussions with youtube to stream live games . the nhl has not had conversations with the google spokespeople mentioned in the bloomberg report . ' youtube may be a hot bed for lip dub videos and life-casting teens , but soon sports fans could find a good reason to flock to the site : youtube is reportedly in talks with the national basketball association and the national hockey league to broadcast games live . last year , youtube announced that it would begin live-streaming indian premier league cricket matches , a venture that was apparently very successful . according to business week , the games brought in 55 million visits from more than 250 countries . gautam anand , google 's director of content partnerships for asia pacific , recently said that youtube plans to show more live sports , but declined to elaborate on the particulars of talks with the nba and nhl . google is apparently also talking with other pro sports leagues , as well as soccer leagues in europe . it 's fair to say that there will be a lot more appealing sports content you 'll see on youtube , ' anand said . we have ongoing conversations with pretty much everyone . ' by offering such content , youtube and google can boost their ad revenue , seeing as how viewers would be spending more time on the site . lately , we 've been seeing youtube seemingly getting more serious about being an entertainment hub , rather than a forum for cat videos . just the other week , it was rumored that youtube ceo salar kamangar will be building out the site 's recently instated talent program ( last july , the video-sharing site announced its youtube partner grants program to ramp up quality content ) by offering big-name stars their own youtube channels . in addition , parent company google recently acquired widevine , an on-demand video service known for its multiplatform drm and adaptive streaming technologies , and the web has been buzzing for months about the possibility of it acquiring web video production company , new next networks . what do you think of the prospect of watching live games on youtube ? would you tune in ? © 2010 mashable.com . all rights reserved . | last year , youtube began live-streaming indian premier league cricket matches |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it 's all over now . germany won the world cup , which ca n't have surprised anyone who watched it demolish brazil en route to the championship . but according to cnn 's calculations , brazil should have taken home the trophy . while lionel messi was battling thomas muller to be the tournament 's top goal scorer , while tim howard and guillermo ochoa were batting away shots on goal , while roy hodgson and fabio capello were stalking the sidelines , cnn was looking at the bigger picture . we started with the fifa world ranking for each team going into the world cup , starting with spain ranked number one , all the way down to australia at 62 . then we looked at how much each country was paying its manager . russia topped that table , paying capello nearly $ 11.5 million a year , according to nick harris of sporting intelligence . england came a distant second , with italy , brazil and switzerland rounding out the top five . soccer-mad mexico came dead last , paying manager miguel herrera about $ 214,000 . next we added in each country 's population size , since bigger countries have larger pools to draw potential soccer stars from . the united states was the biggest country to qualify , followed by brazil , nigeria , russia and japan . bosnia-herzegovina and uruguay were the smallest , both with populations under 4 million . then we averaged the three measures -- ranking , manager salary and population size -- to come up with our own prediction for how each team would fare in the world cup . our predicted winner : brazil . it was the second-largest country in the tournament , ranked third in the world by fifa , and with manager luiz felipe scolari 's $ 3.8 million salary putting him fourth . it fared well enough in the group stages , but once things got serious , the hosts completely fell apart , conceding 10 goals in their last two matches and scoring only 1 . that left it in 4th place , three below where we predicted it should end up . germany , on the other hand , overperformed , but not by much . we picked it to come second , and it came first , for a rating of +1 . our statistics also tell us who the biggest over- and under-achievers of the tournament were . some are obvious . the numbers suggest costa rica should have come 27th overall , but it trounced the big boys in the group of death and came out 8th , by fifa 's official statistics . second-place argentina also did far better than our predictions . yes , it was ranked fifth in the world going into the tournament , but it did n't shell out big money for a manager -- alejandro sabella was the 22nd-best paid coach -- and argentina falls in the middle of the population table . of course , having messi be one member of that population makes a difference , even if the hand of god did n't touch him in the final . spain , on the other hand , was a giant dud . ranked third in the cnn table , it actually came 23rd . only one nation came out worse : england . ranked 10th in the world , with the second-best paid manager and and the 11th-largest population , we think it should have come fifth . it came 26th . italy and russia also suffered in our rankings , partly for paying their managers so handsomely . we say italy should have come third , not 22nd , and russia should have tied at sixth place with the united states . russia actually came 24th , while team usa came 15th . the numbers also show one remarkable coincidence . on paper , belgium and greece are almost identical . belgium was ranked 11th by fifa . greece was ranked 12th . both have populations of about 11 million people , and the two nations paid their managers exactly the same salary . both teams did better than we predicted . we picked greece to come 18th , but it managed 13th . belgium did even better , coming sixth , nine places higher than our calculations suggested . cnn 's patrick sung , manuela lanza and john sinnott contributed to this report . | cnn worked up its own rankings for how each team should have done |
dhaka <tsp> ( cnn ) -- more than 160 protesters were arrested sunday during a violent opposition strike in bangladesh , police said . among those held were at least five leaders of the opposition bangladesh nationalist party ( bnp ) . officers said they provoked the strikers to damage public property . security forces used tear gas and batons in some areas to break up unruly demonstrations , police commissioner a.k.m shahidul hoque told cnn by phone from dhaka , the bangladeshi capital . about 18 officers were injured when protesters pelted them with stones , he said . but hoque claimed the 12-hour shutdown had little impact on attendance in government offices . in addition , rail , river and air traffic was normal , although private long-route transport mostly stayed off the road , he said . in dhaka , between 1,000 and 1,500 activists held demonstrations in small groups , hoque said . the largest protest in the city numbered about 300 strikers , he added . iqbal khan chowdhury , additional home secretary for bangladesh , told cnn that road traffic in the city of dhaka was relatively less . traffic on the road was not like other days , ' he remarked . protests were also reported from some other divisional headquarters of the country outside dhaka , he said . the opposition bnp called sunday 's general strike , the first in bangladesh in over three years , to protest against the governance of prime minister sheikh hasina . the bnp accuses her government of failure in dealing with corruption and of suppressing opposition voices . bnp leader fakarul islam alamgir alleged security forces were aggressive on sunday in dealing with demonstrators . chowdhury denied the charges , saying police were duty-bound to maintain public order . in the meantime , the bnp 's alamgir said his party would hold a public meeting monday in dhaka as a mark of protest . hasina 's awami league party-led alliance swept bangladesh elections in december 2008 in a landslide . she took the oath of office in january 2009 . | protests also reported from outside dhaka |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- an audio message reportedly from al qaeda 's deputy chief vows revenge for israel 's air and ground assault on gaza and calls the jewish state 's actions against hamas militants a gift ' from u.s. president-elect barack obama . al qaeda 's ayman al-zawahiri is said to address muslims in gaza in an audio message released tuesday . the speaker , identified as ayman al-zawahiri , addresses muslims in gaza . he said the violence is one part of a series of a crusade war against islam and these air strikes are a gift from obama before he takes office , and ( egyptian president ) hosni mubarak , that traitor , is the main partner in your siege and killing . ' the message , posted tuesday on various islamist web sites with a picture of al-zawahiri next to an image of a wounded child , urges militants to rally against israel . my muslim brothers and mujahedeens in gaza and all over palestine , with the help of god we are with you in the battle , we will direct our strikes against the crusader jewish coalition wherever we can . ' the 10-minute message also address muslims worldwide , claiming that obama was portrayed as the savior who will come and change american policy ' during the u.s. election but is now killing your brothers and sisters in gaza without mercy or even pity . ' obama 's transition team did not immediately respond to the message . earlier tuesday , the president-elect said he was deeply concerned ' about the loss of life in gaza and israel , and he promised to make the issue a top priority in his administration . it was obama 's first public reaction to the ongoing fighting between israel and hamas militants in gaza , which began with israeli air strikes 11 days ago . he reiterated that only one president can speak for the united states at a time . starting at the beginning of our administration , we are going to engage effectively and consistently to try to resolve the conflicts that exist in the middle east , ' obama said . cnn senior international correspondent nic robertson said the al qaeda message speaks to al-zawahiri 's cause in two ways : it bashes the new u.s. president before he takes office and it criticizes mubarak , who has drawn al-zawahiri 's ire for not allowing goods and aid through egypt 's border with gaza . al-zawahiri is a native of egypt who has served jail time there . robertson , who is reporting from the israeli-gaza border , noted on cnn 's situation room ' that al-zawahiri got the message out quickly -- within 12 days , that 's very fast . ' he said that indicated there 's many issues there that are dear to him . ' | in address , al-zawahiri says violence a gift ' from obama before he takes office |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- an audio message reportedly from al qaeda 's deputy chief vows revenge for israel 's air and ground assault on gaza and calls the jewish state 's actions against hamas militants a gift ' from u.s. president-elect barack obama . al qaeda 's ayman al-zawahiri is said to address muslims in gaza in an audio message released tuesday . the speaker , identified as ayman al-zawahiri , addresses muslims in gaza . he said the violence is one part of a series of a crusade war against islam and these air strikes are a gift from obama before he takes office , and ( egyptian president ) hosni mubarak , that traitor , is the main partner in your siege and killing . ' the message , posted tuesday on various islamist web sites with a picture of al-zawahiri next to an image of a wounded child , urges militants to rally against israel . my muslim brothers and mujahedeens in gaza and all over palestine , with the help of god we are with you in the battle , we will direct our strikes against the crusader jewish coalition wherever we can . ' the 10-minute message also address muslims worldwide , claiming that obama was portrayed as the savior who will come and change american policy ' during the u.s. election but is now killing your brothers and sisters in gaza without mercy or even pity . ' obama 's transition team did not immediately respond to the message . earlier tuesday , the president-elect said he was deeply concerned ' about the loss of life in gaza and israel , and he promised to make the issue a top priority in his administration . it was obama 's first public reaction to the ongoing fighting between israel and hamas militants in gaza , which began with israeli air strikes 11 days ago . he reiterated that only one president can speak for the united states at a time . starting at the beginning of our administration , we are going to engage effectively and consistently to try to resolve the conflicts that exist in the middle east , ' obama said . cnn senior international correspondent nic robertson said the al qaeda message speaks to al-zawahiri 's cause in two ways : it bashes the new u.s. president before he takes office and it criticizes mubarak , who has drawn al-zawahiri 's ire for not allowing goods and aid through egypt 's border with gaza . al-zawahiri is a native of egypt who has served jail time there . robertson , who is reporting from the israeli-gaza border , noted on cnn 's situation room ' that al-zawahiri got the message out quickly -- within 12 days , that 's very fast . ' he said that indicated there 's many issues there that are dear to him . ' | in obama 's first public reaction to the violence , he says he is deeply concerned ' |
italy <tsp> ( cnn ) -- world cup holders italy came back from a goal behind to secure an unconvincing 1-1 draw with paraguay in their opening group f match . the south americans took a deserved lead after 39 minutes through antolin alcaraz 's header but an error from goalkeeper justo villar gifted daniele de rossi the equalizer in the second half . italy improved as the game wore on but failed to force a winning goal amid driving rain at the green point stadium in cape town . they will have to raise their performance level if they are to match brazil 's tally of five world cups in south africa . i just regret that we did not get the points we deserved , but sometimes that 's what happens , you get less than you deserve , ' italy coach marcelo lippi told afp . the important thing is this was not a decisive game . what is important is that people now realise we are here and have got our act together . ' as has become characteristic in this tournament , the opening exchanges were extremely cautious with both sides limited to shots from distance . paraguay opened italy up with a sharp counter-attack after 21 minutes , the ball breaking to aureliano torres on the edge of the area , but he dragged his shot wastefully wide . perhaps unsurprisingly the opening goal came from a set piece , with alcaraz jumping above italy captain fabio cannavaro and de rossi to meet torres 's free-kick with a firm header into the corner . italy appeared relieved when the half-time whistle arrived having struggled to cope with paraguay 's pressing game and spent much of the time bickering with each other or the referee . the defending champions were forced into a change at the break with goalkeeper gianluigi buffon replaced by federico marchetti . italy raised the tempo of the game in the second half and simone pepe almost converted a fine cross from gianluca zambrotta . but the south americans remained a danger on the break and enrique vera should have done better with a shot which found the side netting . with the game seemingly drifting away , italy coach marcelo lippi made a crucial change , bringing on mauro camoranesi and reverting from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 system . the rethink energized italy and their equalizer arrived just after the hour mark . a corner kick from the left flew over the outstretched fist of villar , leaving de rossi with a simple tap-in on the volley . villar was a busy man for the rest of the game , pulling off saves from pepe and riccardo montolivo as italy pressed for a winner but paraguay held on for a creditable draw . we played this game equally against the current world champions , ' paraguay coach gerardo martini told afp . to play against such a rival with such skills is a very good sign for us . it gives is a lot of confidence going ahead in this tournament . ' new zealand takes on slovakia in the other group f game on tuesday . | defending champions italy labor to 1-1 draw with paraguay in cape town |
latin america <tsp> ( cnn ) -- well , so much for the idea that americans do n't care about soccer . the u.s. national team made it out of the so-called group of death ' thursday to advance to the knockout round of competition at the fifa world cup in brazil . regardless of how much further the stars and stripes advance in the biggest sporting event on the planet , they already have revealed something that even casual observers can see . soccer is now woven inextricably into the fabric of american life . television viewership numbers continue to set new highs with each u.s. game the proverbial office water cooler has been abuzz with chatter about the u.s. team 's dramatic 2-1 win over ghana and its heartbreaking , last second 2-2 tie with portugal . where are you watching the game ' has become the question of the day . thousands filled the streets for viewing parties in chicago , pittsburgh , kansas city , seattle and washington -- in the middle of the workday . soccer used to be their game -- the europeans , the south americans , the africans . today it is our game too , bringing the nation together in a passionate embrace of its athleticism , its skill and , yes , its excitement . but it has n't always been this way . even after the u.s. hosted the world cup for the first time in 1994 -- setting attendance records that still stand today -- many still dismissed soccer as somehow not quite american . some , like political commentator ann coulter , still do . she wrote thursday in the clarion ledger : i promise you : no american whose great-grandfather was born here is watching soccer , ' she said in an op-ed . one can only hope that , in addition to learning english , these new americans will drop their soccer fetish with time . ' a few million americans disagree . slowly , but surely though , soccer has grown on us as a nation . why ? a changing america has become younger and more diverse , and those two demographics simply love soccer more than their parents . increased immigration from regions where you learn how to kick a soccer ball as soon as you learn how to walk -- latin america , africa , europe -- and particularly , our growing hispanic population , is only deepening the nation 's relationship with soccer . in the u.s. , the latino population has soared to 17 % , according to the u.s. census . and that number is only growing . and by most estimates , the u.s. will be more non-white than white somewhere around 2043 , with most of that growth coming from countries where soccer is the dominant sport . and members of the millennial generation -- those born between 1980 and the early 2000s -- have been big drivers of the growth in soccer in the u.s . between 1990 and today , the number of players registered in organized youth soccer programs doubled to 4 million , according to the u.s. soccer federation , the governing body for the game in the united states . while most baby boomers cut their sporting teeth on football , basketball and baseball , today 's young adults are arguably the first generation to grow up with soccer as a major sport in their lives from their earliest childhood memories . it 's a widely shared experience among today 's young adults . today , soccer is the second favorite sport for those 12 to 24 years old . it 's the third largest participation sport in the country . soccer is the team sport with the highest growth rate over the past decade . that 41 % of players are women only broadens its appeal . u.s teams performing increasingly well on the international stage has n't hurt either . the u.s. men 's national team has qualified for seven consecutive world cups . our women 's national team is ranked no . 1 in the world . while interest naturally peaks among aficionados and novices alike during a mega event like the world cup , and subsides afterward , this is not a passing fad . total attendance at soccer matches in the u.s. in 2013 exceeded 10 million , according to attendance figures compiled by u.s. soccer . our country has become the largest market in the world for international matches , according to the u.s. soccer federation , the governing body for the game in the united states . at the professional level , major league soccer has expanded to 22 markets and there is more soccer on television in the u.s. than any other country in the world . some 2,928 matches from around the world were shown live in 2012 . tv ratings for the world cup have already topped the nba finals and the world series in america -- sunday 's game against portugal brought in more than 25 million viewers and was the most-watch soccer match in u.s. history . it is a niche no more . but we need to make it even more accessible . for example , the standard pay-to-play model -- where participation in local leagues can cost parents as much as $ 1,800 per child , not including travel -- has been a barrier to access for children and families in low-income communities . the u.s. soccer foundation is working to provide thousands of children and families in under-resourced communities with easy and affordable access to quality soccer programming and safe places to play . not too many years ago , the standard joke was that soccer was the game of the future -- and always would be . well , it seems the future is finally here and it 's here to stay . join us on facebook.com/cnnopinion . | growth is spurred from regions like latin america , africa , europe , where soccer is the primary sport |
milly dowler <tsp> ( cnn ) -- news international , publisher of the now-defunct news of the world newspaper in great britain , has agreed to pay 2 million british pounds -- the equivalent of $ 3.2 million -- to the family of british teen milly dowler , who disappeared in 2002 and was later found dead . rupert murdoch , the chairman of chief executive of news corporation , the parent company of news international , personally apologized to dowler 's family in july amid allegations that news of the world journalists listened to voice-mail messages on the girl 's phone while she was missing . as the founder of the company , i was appalled to find out what happened , ' murdoch said after speaking with the family in july . allegations that journalists hacked into the girl 's voice-mail were part of a larger phone-hacking scandal that rocked britain this year , prompting several arrests , resignations and hearings in parliament . as part of the settlement , announced friday by news international and the dowler family , murdoch will pay 1 million british pounds -- about $ 1.6 million -- to charities chosen by the dowler family . those charities represent causes close to milly and those that provide support to other victims of crime , ' in a statement that news international and the dowler family issued friday . milly dowler was 13 when she disappeared . nothing that has been agreed will ever bring back milly or undo the traumas of her disappearance and the horrendous murder trial earlier this year , ' the dowler family said in a statement . the only way that a fitting tribute could be agreed was to ensure that a very substantial donation to charity was made in milly 's memory . we hope that projects will be undertaken so that some good can come from this . ' murdoch apologized again friday for news of the world 's actions . the behaviour that the news of the world exhibited towards the dowlers was abhorrent and i hope this donation underscores my regret for the company 's role in this awful event , ' he said in the statement . i also hope that through the personal donation something positive can be done in memory of their daughter . ' | new : milly dowler 's family hopes some good ' comes out of settlement |
gulf cartel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- mexico 's military has notched an important success for president felipe calderon with the arrest of jorge eduardo costilla sanchez , the reputed boss of the powerful gulf drug cartel . costilla , nicknamed el coss , ' was captured without a fight in the coastal city of tampico , in the border state of tamaulipas , navy spokesman jose luis vergara said thursday . wednesday 's arrest -- together with the seizure of weapons , vehicles and jewels -- is a much needed achievement for calderon , whose offensive against drug cartels has done little to stem drug-related violence or the volume of drugs transported through mexico . the mustachioed costilla , handcuffed and wearing a checkered long-sleeve shirt under a bulletproof vest , was presented before reporters . mexican marines chased a vehicle of armed men into a residence in tampico , where they surprised ' costilla and arrested him , vergara said . costilla is said to head a criminal group considered the third-most powerful in mexico . el coss is an important actor , ' said george grayson , professor of government at the college of william & mary and expert of drug cartels . his capture is a tremendous blow to the gulf cartel . ' five others were arrested with costilla , and of five of his bodyguards were arrested after a shootout in a separate city , vergara said . some of them wore camouflage uniforms when they were presented next to costilla . there are rewards in mexico and the united states for costilla 's arrest . costilla has been indicted in the united states , accused of drug trafficking and threatening u.s. law enforcement officials in november 1999 . in that incident , according to the u.s. state department , costilla and other suspected gulf cartel leaders allegedly stopped federal agents and pointed ak-47 rifles at them . the agents were allowed to leave after a standoff . the state department offered a reward of up to $ 5 million for information leading to costilla 's arrest . in mexico , where costilla is on the government 's list of the 37 most-wanted traffickers , officials offered more than $ 2 million for his capture . while not as powerful as it once was , the gulf cartel is one of mexico 's major drug trafficking organizations . costilla assumed a top role after the arrest of former gulf cartel boss osiel cardenas guillen and became the top leader after a rift with cardenas'relatives in the organization , authorities have said . as costilla rose in the cartel hierarchy , the group controlled smuggling routes in northeastern mexico by using its enforcement arm , known as los zetas , authorities have said . but los zetas later split into its own violent cartel , and for several years has been fighting the gulf cartel for the lucrative turf . el coss survived internal divisions and directed violent confrontations in tamaulipas and nuevo leon against his former allies , los zetas , ' vergara said . the arrest is the latest in a series of blows against the gulf cartel , based in the city of matamoros , across the border from brownsville , texas . this month , mario cardenas guillen , reputed leader of the gulf faction loyal to the cardenas family , was also arrested by the military . costilla 's arrest was the result of intense intelligence ' work by the navy , and information gleaned from mario cardenas'arrest , vergara said . the rival zetas , who operate in the same northeastern part of the country , may seem poised to take advantage of their rival 's vulnerability . but grayson said internal divisions within the zetas will prevent them from turning the heat up on the gulf cartel , and that the sinaloa cartel will be the trafficking group most likely to strengthen its position . in the past , surges in violence have been recorded after the killing or capture of cartel bosses . internal rifts within the gulf cartel and zetas could lead to fights and alliances in a kaleidoscope situation , ' grayson said . the other big winner is the mexican navy and its marines , who again proved they are effective at going after high-profile targets , he said . in 2009 , the marines were responsible for another of the calderon administration 's biggest gets when they killed kingpin arturo beltran leyva in a shootout . the u.s. drug enforcement administration has provided intelligence to mexican authorities during several operations , including the one that brought an end to beltran leyva . but the arrest of costilla was a mexican operation , ' said the u.s. drug agency 's spokesman , rusty payne . obviously when a major cartel leader is arrested and brought to justice , it is significant . dea congratulates the government of mexico and their brave military for their continued success in apprehending top drug traffickers , ' payne said . | costilla is said to be the leader of the gulf cartel |
al-shabaab <tsp> five al-shabaab militants are dead after they attacked an african union military base in somalia on thursday , au officials said . the militants attacked the halane military base in mogadishu , somalia 's largest base for african union troops , according to the african union mission in somalia . two militants detonated themselves inside the halane base and three were shot dead by au troops during the raid , amisom spokesman ali aden houmed said . three au soldiers and a civilian died in the attack , amisom said on its website . the amisom statement said other personnel at halane are safe and secure . ' some of the attackers wore somali military uniforms during the lunchtime raid on the facility located close to mogadishu international airport , the au said . a spokesman for the al qaeda-linked terror group described the attack on the heavily fortified base -- which also houses several u.n. and international agencies -- on radio andalus , a pro-al-shabaab broadcaster . our mujahedeen forces detonated a car bomb at the entrance of the halane compound ... then managed to enter the facility , ' sheikh abdiaziz abu musab said . a firefight then broke out with troops , he said . maman s. sidikou , special representative of the au commission chairperson ( srcc ) for somalia and head of amisom , offered his condolences to the families of the victims and applauded the quick response and bravery of the ... troops in quelling this reprehensible attack , ' according to amisom . al-shabaab has been waging war in somalia in an effort to implement a stricter form of islamic law , or sharia . established in 2007 , the u.n.-backed amisom currently has some 20,000 african union troops deployed in the impoverished nation to conduct peace support operations ' and to stabilize the situation . ' what is al-shabaab and what does it want ? | african union : 5 al-shabaab were killed in the raid |
al-shabaab <tsp> five al-shabaab militants are dead after they attacked an african union military base in somalia on thursday , au officials said . the militants attacked the halane military base in mogadishu , somalia 's largest base for african union troops , according to the african union mission in somalia . two militants detonated themselves inside the halane base and three were shot dead by au troops during the raid , amisom spokesman ali aden houmed said . three au soldiers and a civilian died in the attack , amisom said on its website . the amisom statement said other personnel at halane are safe and secure . ' some of the attackers wore somali military uniforms during the lunchtime raid on the facility located close to mogadishu international airport , the au said . a spokesman for the al qaeda-linked terror group described the attack on the heavily fortified base -- which also houses several u.n. and international agencies -- on radio andalus , a pro-al-shabaab broadcaster . our mujahedeen forces detonated a car bomb at the entrance of the halane compound ... then managed to enter the facility , ' sheikh abdiaziz abu musab said . a firefight then broke out with troops , he said . maman s. sidikou , special representative of the au commission chairperson ( srcc ) for somalia and head of amisom , offered his condolences to the families of the victims and applauded the quick response and bravery of the ... troops in quelling this reprehensible attack , ' according to amisom . al-shabaab has been waging war in somalia in an effort to implement a stricter form of islamic law , or sharia . established in 2007 , the u.n.-backed amisom currently has some 20,000 african union troops deployed in the impoverished nation to conduct peace support operations ' and to stabilize the situation . ' what is al-shabaab and what does it want ? | al-shabaab says it detonated a car bomb to breach au 's heavily fortified base in mogadishu |
p2p <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- i 'm having a vision of the near future . boom or bust ? experts have varying predictions on the future of cds and albums as we know them . i see an artist pictured with her best friend . the friend is her manager and webmaster . the caption congratulates them for a gold click award from amazon.com for 500,000 play events . the two gals do n't mention the riaa , best buy or any label . they are thanking facebook . they are thirteen years old . ' these words from well-known music artists'rights advocate , educator and industry commentator , moses avalon , illustrate the degree to which the music industry is in rapid change . almost symbolic of this change is the significant deal between social networking web site myspace and three major record labels -- sony bmg , universal music group and warner music group -- to form myspace music . the company is set to launch later in september , and for the record labels involved , it offers the chance to establish a greater online presence and earn advertising income as they challenge the effects of p2p file-sharing and the proliferation of online music promotion web sites . myspace music will allow users to listen to any song from the catalogs of the music giants for free . they will also be able to create playlists on their own page , and purchase tracks -- all while consuming advertisements . such a project has been almost inevitable as record labels scramble for answers to declining album sales . but does myspace music offer the solution ? while most experts believe record labels and the wider music industry have a strong future , there are mixed feelings about myspace music as a panacea for album sales . do you think recording industry can have a strong future in the face of the internet ? degree leader in music industries at birmingham city university , andrew dubber , believes the company will not have a massive impact on sales . i do n't think it 's going to have an impact on album sales or how many singles are sold , ' he said . this is just one of these cases where big businesses are getting together ... it 's just mutually beneficial . it 's kind of'business as usual'for the companies . ' long-time music industry figure bob lefsetz was more critical of the new venture . radio on demand , in one 's home , in front of the computer , which is what myspace actually is , is not a sexy alternative to owning what you want and taking it to the beach , to the party , to your workout , ' he said . avalon , however , told cnn he was optimistic about its chances . it 's going to be an accounting nightmare and wrought with speed-bumps , but it 's a step in the right direction . they know they ca n't simply survive selling cds . the future is clearly in digital . it gives them an important piece of leverage over itunes , ' he said . working against the record labels is a plethora of other online music promoters . the likes of tunecore.com , rawrip.com , sellaband.com and prominent social networking sites have all offered opportunities for artists to get their name and music to a global audience . however , will these sites be enough to topple the recording label giants ? not for a second , said avalon . these are massive entities that are not just simply going to go away . they are still making money . ' he said the web sites were claiming a space in the market , but they are no match for the labels . we will see pretty soon an indie artist who finally sells 500,000 albums just off the downloads . but , if you are talking about someone who wants a worldwide hit or to sell a million or more cds there 's still no way to do that other than through a major record label , ' avalon said . dubber agreed about the power of the labels . while you may not need a record label to get yourself out there , you still need a lot of the things that a record label has . it used to be that there were signed and un-signed artists . now there 's a big , long gray area . ' lefsetz told cnn that record labels had too many valuable catalogs to disappear , but he felt they would decline if they did not find a new business model . what does the future hold then ? avalon sees some major changes , but also continuity , describing the current situation as the beginning of a new beginning ' . it 's ( album sales ) probably going to continue to decline , but not at the level we have seen . the reason they are always going to be around is because there are so many cd players in everything . ' he believes that file-sharing is a fad ' and predicts it will fade in popularity . lefsetz disagrees , saying that the industry needs to either legitimize file-sharing or create something just as good ' that is also cheap . avalon also forecasts more deals where'sales'can be regained as music gets bundled in with products . he cites cellular phone companies offering downloads as a part of pay-monthly packages . such a service has been announced by nokia in the united kingdom , where subscribers can get a year of unlimited access to the nokia music store catalogue . although the move has drawn comment from analysts , who believe this could rival itunes and form a future path for the industry , lefsetz is again skeptical , saying : do n't give me any restrictions on when , where or what i can download ! ' lefsetz instead sees the future in a new business model for selling music , which offers the sale of bundled music at cheaper prices . he predicts it wo n't be the companies that create the change . somebody under the age of 30 is going to create a trusted model and everybody will go with them . it 's not going to be a corporation , it will be an entrepreneur , ' he said . dubber , meanwhile , is not convinced that the music industry will find a new model . there 's a lot of people trying to find the'new model'. my thought is that there is n't one . we are not in a period of change that 's going to settle into one new thing . ' as fresh developments are realized , and the nature of music sales ' transforms , avalon suggests the way in which we define successful ' records will need to change . he questions whether it would be fair to celebrate artists only for their album sales when other musicians may not gain the same recognition for having 500,000 downloads from a web site . and avalon 's answer : surely not . | experts agree industry needs a new model to overcome p2p file sharing |
haiti <tsp> port-au-prince , haiti ( cnn ) -- high in the hills above the haitian capital , artist levoy exil paints at his terrace studio . the man who began a career using beets , carrots , tomatoes and black beans for paint creates vibrant abstractions of life and nature . a year ago , he infused a celestial oil painting with hues of purplish red -- symbolizing blood -- after he gazed outward and for a moment the verdant landscape turned to black . he knew then that something bad was coming . he saw the blood he had imagined on the streets of port-au-prince on january 12 when the earth heaved and 150,000 people perished . it 's now apparent that among the earthquake 's widespread destruction were museums , galleries and other places that contained haiti 's artistic treasures , including exil 's work . they were a troubled nation 's legacy , a key source of economic trade with the rest of the world -- and undeniable symbols of hope . lost , perhaps , forever . the earthquake 's blow to haitian art is staggering : the centre d'art , which launched the haitian arts movement in the 1940s , is severely damaged . the musee d'art nader , which housed more than 12,000 pieces from the largest private collection in haiti , collapsed . murals in the trinity cathedral , assembled by some of haiti 's best-known artists , came crashing down . there is no art museum run by the government of haiti , ' said georges nader jr. , who runs a gallery near the nader museum opened by his father . this is for me like patrimony for haiti . we were holding this collection for future generations . what will happen now ? i do n't know . ' the significance of art in haiti may be hard for outsiders to understand . but with few functioning institutions , few outlets of expression , haiti 's brightly colored depictions -- some laced with spiritual traditions of voodoo culture -- of sun and sea , people and animals serve as memory for a country that has suffered under dictatorships and failed governments and is today the poorest in the americas . with unemployment as high as 85 percent and a majority of haitians reeling in abject poverty , art has also emerged as an economic lifeline . they 're painting their lives . they 're recording their history , ' said camille scully , executive director of iowa 's waterloo center for the arts and co-president of the haitian art society . and they 're very accessible because of the colors and style . everyone who sees haitian art tends to buy it because they respond to it . ' scully said efforts are under way to enlist conservationists to help haiti , and a flurry of e-mails shared by collectors , curators , gallery owners and other interested parties show the urgency people are feeling to support the arts community . one key figure who 's been weighing in on the need to save what can be saved is gerald alexis , a leading haitian art historian , critic and curator . haiti has a long enough history of not conserving its art , alexis said from his quebec city , quebec , home . an earthquake in colonial times , fires and hurricanes , as wells as riots , revolutions and government-mandated raids of voodoo temples , destroyed much of the creativity that pre-dated the 1940s artistic boom . for this reason , salvaging art , including the oldest piece in haiti -- an 1822 painting buried in the national palace -- matters . haiti 's art will tell future generations who they are and where they come from , ' alexis said . it 's our heritage . and although people think that in poor countries such concepts are unnecessary , they are indeed the only thing we have . our cultural heritage is our pride . ' in port-au-prince , nader has been frantically trying to rescue the thousands of pieces his father lovingly collected over four decades . among the masters : hector hyppolite . philome obin . prefete duffaut . wilson bigaud . nader pulled out an oil-on-cardboard floral still-life painted by hyppolite in 1945 that now looks more like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing . some of the artworks housed in the centre d'arts , which was in a wooden structure , will be more repairable , he said . what do you do when cement gouges cardboard or canvas ? this ? only cement can do this , ' he said , picking up some of his punctured pieces . on the day of the quake , nader 's 79-year-old parents were in their bedroom on the top floor of the building that houses the museum . they were pulled from the rubble after the museum collapsed . nader could not hold back tears when he thought of the suffering around him and stopped the conversation to recompose himself . the cultural loss can hardly compare . at that time , the paintings were my last concern , ' he continued . there were lives at stake . ' but since then , he has been going back to the rubble every day to salvage what he can . he knows he has to -- for the sake of his country . on the second floor of his gallery , he and his staff have been collecting damaged pieces , their vibrant colors dulled by the dust . this is like a hospital for paintings , ' he said , watching his staff strip off frames and backings . he picked up a damaged portrait of a fruit vendor by antonio joseph . he grew to manhood looking at the painting on his bedroom wall . it 's one of his favorites . so far , nader has rescued about 1,000 pieces ; 70 percent need restoration . that was one room in the museum . kent shankle , the curator for iowa 's waterloo center for the arts , which houses the largest public collection of haitian art in the united states , said he hopes there is a silver lining to the tragedy . hopefully this is raising awareness and shedding light on both the beauty of haiti and its people , as well as the incredible needs there , ' he said . and , perhaps it will fuel a new wave of art that reveals the resilience of people here . we 've survived . it 's a blessing , ' said artist jean louis maxan . maxan depicted jean-bertrand aristide 's exit from haiti in 2004 , an acrylic-on-canvas painting of american air ' waiting to take the disgraced president away . now , he said , he will paint people screaming , piles of bodies and tents blanketing the city 's open spaces . high above the misery , exil , too , said he will paint again . when nature tells him it is right . it 's a great loss for all of us , ' exil said of the earthquake . but life continues and we will continue to create . ' he will rely on the lush , undulating landscape before him . the sun and the moon . and the distant sea . he will make beauty blossom from the ugliness below . for the future of haiti . cnn 's moni basu reported from port-au-prince , haiti . cnn 's jessica ravitz reported from atlanta , georgia . | they 're painting their lives . they 're recording their history , ' expert says of haiti artists |
henry cavill <tsp> ( cnn ) -- this summer 's superman blockbuster is getting a sequel -- and it 's going to unite the man of steel with the caped crusader for the first time on the big screen . warner bros. pictures announced saturday at comic-con that superman will pair with his fellow justice league hero batman in the upcoming yet-to-be-named film , expected to begin production in 2014 . man of steel ' director zack snyder will direct the film , and current superman henry cavill will star , warner bros. said . the new batman has yet to be cast . snyder 's reimagining of superman in man of steel ' broke the record for the biggest june opening , taking in $ 125.1 million in its first weekend . it has since raked in a total of $ 630 million worldwide , warner bros. said . superman and batman together on the big screen is a dream come true for dc ( comics ) fans everywhere , ' said diane nelson , president of dc entertainment . snyder told comic-con fans he 's excited to work with cavill again and take the story to the next chapter . metallica unveils film footage at comic-con ' it 's beyond mythological to have superman and our new batman facing off , since they are the greatest superheroes in the world , ' he said . snyder strongly hinted that the heroes will be rivals in the movie . cnn partner entertainment weekly reported that man of steel ' actor harry lennix took the stage with snyder and read a line from frank miller 's 1986 book , the dark knight returns , ' in which batman wages battle with the man from krypton . i want you to remember , clark . in all the years to come . in all your most private moments . i want you to remember my hand at your throat . i want you to remember the one man who beat you , ' lennix read from the book . amy adams , laurence fishburne and diane lane also return for the new film , warner bros. said . another serving of kick-ass ' christian bale , who starred as batman in three film installments of the dark knight , ' told entertainment weekly this month that he would n't be starring in a fourth . dark knight ' director christopher nolan also said he was n't opting for a fourth movie in the franchise , the magazine said . nolan will , however , have a hand in the upcoming superman-batman film -- he 's serving as one of the executive producers , warner bros. said . warner bros. and dc comics , the publisher of superman ' titles , are both units of time warner , cnn 's parent company . cnn 's henry hanks contributed to this report . | current superman henry cavill will star , but batman christian bale will not |
zack snyder <tsp> ( cnn ) -- this summer 's superman blockbuster is getting a sequel -- and it 's going to unite the man of steel with the caped crusader for the first time on the big screen . warner bros. pictures announced saturday at comic-con that superman will pair with his fellow justice league hero batman in the upcoming yet-to-be-named film , expected to begin production in 2014 . man of steel ' director zack snyder will direct the film , and current superman henry cavill will star , warner bros. said . the new batman has yet to be cast . snyder 's reimagining of superman in man of steel ' broke the record for the biggest june opening , taking in $ 125.1 million in its first weekend . it has since raked in a total of $ 630 million worldwide , warner bros. said . superman and batman together on the big screen is a dream come true for dc ( comics ) fans everywhere , ' said diane nelson , president of dc entertainment . snyder told comic-con fans he 's excited to work with cavill again and take the story to the next chapter . metallica unveils film footage at comic-con ' it 's beyond mythological to have superman and our new batman facing off , since they are the greatest superheroes in the world , ' he said . snyder strongly hinted that the heroes will be rivals in the movie . cnn partner entertainment weekly reported that man of steel ' actor harry lennix took the stage with snyder and read a line from frank miller 's 1986 book , the dark knight returns , ' in which batman wages battle with the man from krypton . i want you to remember , clark . in all the years to come . in all your most private moments . i want you to remember my hand at your throat . i want you to remember the one man who beat you , ' lennix read from the book . amy adams , laurence fishburne and diane lane also return for the new film , warner bros. said . another serving of kick-ass ' christian bale , who starred as batman in three film installments of the dark knight , ' told entertainment weekly this month that he would n't be starring in a fourth . dark knight ' director christopher nolan also said he was n't opting for a fourth movie in the franchise , the magazine said . nolan will , however , have a hand in the upcoming superman-batman film -- he 's serving as one of the executive producers , warner bros. said . warner bros. and dc comics , the publisher of superman ' titles , are both units of time warner , cnn 's parent company . cnn 's henry hanks contributed to this report . | man of steel ' director zack snyder will direct the film |
britain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- british tv host piers morgan said taking over for retiring larry king is like replacing frank sinatra 's las vegas show . how can you follow a legend like that ? ' morgan said after news that he will take over larry king 's prime-time hour starting january . and then you think what a challenge , what an honor to be able to fill the shoes of someone like larry king -- for me as a tv interviewer , which is primarily what i do back in england . i have watched him over the last 25 years interviewing the most interesting people in the world and to be ... without a doubt the most famous tv interviewer in tv history . ' morgan will replace king 's longtime show with a candid , in-depth newsmaker interview program , ' cnn announced wednesday . morgan , best known to american viewers as a judge on nbc 's america 's got talent , ' has most recently hosted piers morgan 's life stories ' on television in the united kingdom . piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures , holding them accountable for their words and deeds , ' said cnn-us president jon klein . he is able to look at all aspects of the news with style and humor with an occasional good laugh in the process . ' morgan 's show , which was not named in the cnn news release , will air live on cnn-us at 9 p.m . et and will air worldwide on cnn-international in more than 200 countries , the network said . morgan will be based in new york , but also will work from los angeles and london , cnn said . morgan named lindsay lohan , mel gibson , hillary clinton , sarah palin as some people he 'd like to interview . but whom would he want for his first interview ? ' larry king would be it , ' morgan said . he knows everybody . i find him fascinating . he has an amazing recall for people and events . i love his enthusiasm . ' king announced this summer that he was stepping aside from cnn 's larry king live , ' a show he began hosting in 1985 . morgan , 45 , began his journalism career as a newspaper reporter in the united kingdom for the wimbledon news . in 1994 , when he was 28 , morgan became the youngest editor ever at rupert murdoch 's news of the world . he moved to the daily mirror as editor-in-chief in 1995 , a post he held for nine years . he left the mirror under a cloud of controversy in 2004 , after the publication of photos purported to be of abused iraqi prisoners . the newspaper later acknowledged the images were faked , saying it was the victim of a hoax . morgan went on to become a television personality , hosting interview programs on the bbc and itv . simon cowell hired morgan as a judge on the top-rated britain 's got talent . ' his print journalism career continued beyond the mirror , including a monthly interview column for gq magazine . morgan also writes two regular columns for the mail on sunday newspaper , which he will continue . in addition , he will provide regular columns to cnn.com , the network said . | he has been a judge on america 's got talent ' and britain 's got talent ' |
danny boyle <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- the world watched , as the london 2012 olympic games opened with director danny boyle 's elaborate ode to england , and furiously tapped their reaction on social media . but one comment on twitter has sparked a political fracas on the home soil of the games , as a british member of parliament lamented the multi-cultural crap ' of the £27 million ( $ 42.4 million ) ceremony . entitled isle of wonder , ' boyle -- the oscar-winning director best known for hit movies trainspotting ' and slumdog millionaire ' -- put together a star-studded on-field dramatization that drew on shakespeare and brit pop to chart britain from its pastoral roots through the industrial revolution to james bond , harry potter and the beatles . the most leftie opening ceremony i have ever seen -- more than beijing , the capital of a communist state ! welfare tribute next ? ' wrote aidan burley , a conservative party mp who was fired as a ministerial aide in david cameron 's government after revelations he attended a nazi-themed stag party in france last year . thank god the athletes have arrived ! now we can move on from leftie multi-cultural crap . bring back red arrows , shakespeare and the stones ! ' he added minutes later . burley backpedaled after the strong online backlash against his comments , posting : seems my tweet has been misunderstood . i was talking about the way it was handled in the show , not multiculturalism itself . ' queen opens the london 2012 olympics there was a great deal of comparison being drawn between the london ceremony and the 2008 beijing olympics . @ legallyblondekf wrote : ha ! london sees your zillion drummers drumming in unison and raises you a deaf drummer . your move china , ' referring to deaf scottish percussionist evelyn glennie leading drummers during the london ceremony . like london , a pre-eminent director -- zhang yimou , director of films such as the 1991 film raise the red lantern ' and more recently the flowers of war , ' starring christian bale -- choreographed the beijing ceremony . ( london 's ) opening ceremony was a far cry from beijing 's . even the director of the london olympics ceremony complained of the budget being too small , having only 27 million pounds , ' user haluo-yuan wrote on sina weibo , the largest micro-blogging site in china , where state censors block twitter . there 's no comparison with the formidable china . ' china 's best olympic hopes in london still , commentators on sina weibo were largely complimentary of the london ceremony -- although many complained about getting up at 4 a.m. in china to watch the event live . london 's olympic opening ceremony certainly was interesting , but it ca n't be said that it was superior to beijing 's . it can only be said that each had its merits , ' wrote zhang yiwu , a professor at peking university with 3 million followers on sina weibo . beijing 's olympics and its immense grandeur were hosted by a developing country , by a country that had never hosted the olympics before , ' he added . now , we can relax but must also understand to strive for new heights of dignity . there 's no need for contentious feeling . each has its own beauty . ' ai weiwei , the chinese artist and activist , helped design the iconic bird 's nest stadium for the 2008 beijing olympics before he fell afoul with authorities and is now under house arrest on tax evasion charges . he wrote saturday : the london opening ceremony is free , relaxed and touching , smoothly switching between different time and space , expressing confidence . it 's the festival of modern citizens . ' athletes themselves were posting from inside the london arena , such as lebron james , the three-time nba mvp who is playing for the u.s. basketball team . james was up late into the night feeding images to instagram from his view of the ceremony inside the stadium . me with one of the best the game of basketball has to offer , ' he wrote , tweeting a photo alongside u.s. teammate kobe bryant . decoded : boyle 's olympic spectacular indeed , the real-time social media scrum seemed to take some of the fun out of the ceremony for viewers in the u.s. , where the broadcast on nbc was tape-delayed to run during prime time hours . gareth m. skarka @ gmskarka wrote : hey @ nbcolympics -- there 's still # openingceremony occurring . you already tape-delayed it . howsabout letting us watch it , not interviews ? added charles johnson @ lizardoid : nbc news in la is still stubbornly pretending the olympics opening ceremony is just beginning . after the ceremony , director boyle tweeted : thank you , everyone , for your kind words ! means the world to me . proud to be british . ' cnn 's alexis lai , cy xu and hilary whiteman contributed to this report | social media reaction was largely positive to director danny boyle 's $ 42 million production |
amaa <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- smoking in youth-rated movies has not declined despite a pledge two years ago by hollywood studios to encourage producers to show less gratuitous smoking , ' according to an anti-smoking group . the american medical association alliance has been trying to get movie studios to make smoking-free films . the american medical association alliance , pointing to research that big-screen smoking leads teens to pick up the tobacco habit , called for an r rating for any movie with smoking scenes . the head of the group that gives u.s. movies their ratings , however , said the smoke has been clearing from youth-rated movies , a result of the film industry 's sensitivity to the issue . the alliance , the medical association 's advocacy arm , launched a summer campaign this week aimed at publicly shaming studios into making smoke-free films . research has shown that one-third to one-half of all young smokers in the united states can be attributed to smoking these youth see in movies , ' said dr. jonathan fielding , head of the los angeles county public health department . fielding cited another study that he said found that adolescents whose favorite movie stars smoked on screen are significantly more likely to be smokers themselves and to have a more accepting attitude toward smoking . ' the motion picture association of america , the industry group that issues ratings and parental guidance for u.s. films , added smoking scenes as a factor in ratings two years ago , but fielding said it has not made a difference . in all , 56 percent of the top box office movies with smoking released between may 2007 and may 2009 were youth-rated films -- g , pg or pg-13 , ' he said . joan graves , who chairs the motion picture association 's movie rating committee , offered her own statistics , based on all of the 900 films rated each year , not just the top movies included in fielding 's numbers . the association has given no g ratings in the past two years to a movie with smoking , graves said . overall , 55 percent of the movies rated in the past two years showed some smoking , but 75 percent of those with smoking scenes were given r ratings , graves said . twenty-one percent were rated pg-13 and the remaining 5 percent were pg , she said . a g movie is deemed suitable for all audiences , while a pg rating is a signal to parents that a film may include some material they might consider inappropriate for children . pg-13 indicates a stronger warning that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 . no one under 17 can be admitted to see an r movie without a parent or guardian . american medical association alliance president sandi frost used as her chief example of a movie with gratuitous smoking ' this month 's blockbuster x-men origins : wolverine , ' which was rated pg-13 for intense sequences of action and violence , and some partial nudity . ' millions of children have been exposed to the main star of the film , hugh jackman , with a cigar in his mouth in various scenes , ' frost said . i 'm willing to bet that not one child would have enjoyed that movie or mr. jackman 's performance any less if he had n't been smoking . ' a spokesman for twentieth century fox , the studio responsible for the wolverine movie series , said jackman 's cigar was never lit and it was limited to just two scenes . in one scene , the cigar is shot out of his mouth , prompting jackman 's wolverine character to suggest its loss would lead to clean living -- an anti-smoking statement -- the studio spokesman said . he said that while the wolverine character has a cigar in his mouth in almost every panel of the comic book series , producers made a conscious decision ' to limit the cigar in the movie . the american medical association alliance , hoping to draw studio executives'attention , hired a mobile billboard to drive around the major studios this week . the billboard shows a teenage girl asking the question ,'which movie studios will cause me to smoke this summer ?' frost said . the alliance will keep an online scorecard throughout the summer to count how many tobacco impressions each studio delivers to g , pg and pg-13 audiences , ' she said . at the end of the summer , whichever studio has delivered the most tobacco impressions to youth audiences will be named in a billboard that will run outside of their headquarters , ' she said . motion picture association of america spokeswoman angela martinez said the group is very sensitive to the concerns of parents about the purpose of the rating systems . ' it 's reflective of society , ' martinez said . it 's really a tool for parents to help determine what their kids see . ' they began factoring smoking scenes into the ratings two years ago as a reflection of changes in society and health concerns , ' she said . smoking is rated like all the other factors , including violence and sex , ' she said . fielding said it should be absolute -- and not just a factor . any movie with smoking should be rated r , ' he said . and if they worry about an r rating hurting their profits , then they should work with studios to remove smoking from films that hurt youth . ' graves , whose committee makes the decisions , indicated such a zero-tolerance policy would not be accepted . | amaa says that kids who watch smoking often turn to habit |
daily show <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- viewers may have to get used to a steady stream of reruns now that television and film writers have gone on strike . members of the writers guild of america manned picket lines monday morning outside nbc studios at rockefeller plaza , carrying signs and yelling , on the first day of the writers guild of america 's strike against studios and production companies . late-night talk show and comedy shows , including the tonight show with jay leno , ' the late show with david letterman ' and late night with conan o'brien , ' have announced they 'll air reruns monday night and until further notice . if the strike continues , it could affect soap operas and prime-time television programs as well . i support them , ' leno said of the writers . people get the wrong idea about how much writers make . ' watch leno back striking writers » the writers'union says the strike , which began at 12:01 a.m. pt ( 3:01 a.m . et ) , is necessary to protect their members'future incomes as the shows they write are increasingly distributed over new media , primarily through internet downloading . a last-day effort to reach a new work agreement collapsed sunday night despite the writers conceding a demand for a doubling of how much they are paid for dvd sales . this had been considered the major stumbling block to a deal . the dvd situation has always been a catastrophe , ' warren leight , the executive producer of nbc 's law and order : criminal intent , ' said monday . but , he stressed , at the moment , we have no piece of the internet at all . ' watch what 's at stake » while studios have been hoarding scripts for months in anticipation of a strike , some television shows that are more topical -- particularly late-night tv talk shows -- are expected to immediately go to reruns . watch 30 rock 's ' tina fey talk about the issues » ' it 's affecting us in the most visible way possible , ' john oliver , a writer and correspondent for the daily show , ' told cnn on monday as he stood amid the pickets , who carried signs that read on strike ' and pencils down . ' the group had also brought a large inflatable rat , which they had tethered to metal railings set up along the street . we 're off the air , ' oliver said . we 'd much rather work than stand in the cold . writers are people who fear the sunlight , ' he added , smiling . however , he said , the writers need new contracts that incorporate new media 's impact . clearly , revenue is being created ' from new media , he said , but we are not receiving any of it . ' in hollywood , california , writers marched monday outside paramount pictures , carrying signs and shouting over traffic and honks from supporters . dozens more picketed outside nbc studios in burbank , calif. on sunday night , the president of the alliance of motion picture and television producers ( amptp ) criticized the wga negotiators for walking out of the talks . when we asked if they would'stop the clock'for the purpose of delaying the strike to allow negotiations to continue , they refused , ' said amptp president nick counter . the union 's statement early monday morning said that while it chose to withdraw its dvd proposal -- which they say would have doubled writers'residuals -- the studios and production companies were still insisting on a framework concerning internet distribution that makes a mockery of any residual , ' the statement said . the wga said producers want to deny the union future jurisdiction over scripts written for most new media and have offered no economic proposal for the parts of new media writing the guild wants covered . other rules demanded by producers would give writers no residuals when a movie is streamed online or during a window ' when online consumers have free reuse of downloads , the wga said . counter placed the blamed for the failed talks on the negotiators for the writers . we made an attempt at meeting them in a number of their key areas , including internet streaming and jurisdiction in new media , ' counter said . ultimately , the guild was unwilling to compromise on most of their major demands . ' while working writers are generally paid well , they depend on residuals to get them through often-frequent times of unemployment . and , as video ipods and internet downloads increasingly supplant traditional television and movie theaters , writers confront a changing industry . reality television has been another wake-up call for writers , since most do not require scripts . american idol ' and other hit shows should not be affected by a prolonged strike . amptp said that 67 percent -- 64 of 96 -- television series this season are scripted , down from 81 percent just two seasons ago . late-night television hosts like david letterman , jay leno and jimmy kimmel , as well as programs like the daily show , ' are feeling the pinch of the strike first . because of their topical nature , networks do not typically shoot these shows in advance . daytime soaps normally stockpile about 30 days in advance and most prime-time shows would likely make it through the end of the year without any major impact on programming . a spokeswoman for the guild , sherry goldman , told cnn on monday that the strike would not affect news divisions . but networks would have to resort to reruns , news programs and reality shows to fill the schedule in 2008 if a strike were to drag on . if the strike lingers , the wga faces the danger of writers opting out of full membership for financial core ' status , which would allow them to return to work . they would lose their voting privileges , but retain all benefits . the last wga strike 20 years ago lasted five and a half months . it cost the entertainment industry an estimated $ 500 million . e-mail to a friend copyright 2007 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report . | daily show ' writer : it 's affecting us in the most visible way possible ' |
haiti <tsp> ( cnn ) -- there was a phrase , or so we have long been told , that was heard in occupied europe during world war ii . it was often said as a whisper , the story goes . it had the sound of a prayer . the words were so simple , but to people who were feeling utterly abandoned and who needed help , those words meant so much . four words : ' the americans are coming . ' sometimes we forget about the power of those words , and about how , for so long , they defined the real meaning of what this country , at its best , could be . sometimes , in the midst of all the bad news , in the midst of the mistakes this country inevitably makes , we lose sight of how much the people of the united states are counted on by those in need . which is why the humanitarian efforts in haiti this month , in the wake of the earthquake , have been a reminder of who we are when we strive to find our finest selves . the relief efforts have been an international undertaking ; the heartache on the streets of haiti has summoned compassionate and heroic assistance from around the globe , all of it deserving of praise and gratitude . but the united states has been at the forefront , as it has so often seemed to be in so many places when hope was in short supply . it is almost beyond imagining to think what has been in the terrified minds of the citizens of haiti who have been without water , without food , without a way to rescue their trapped and dying children . when there is nothing left to depend on , when all is desolation and despair , what must the hungry and the hurt wish for as they look into the empty distance ? someone to care . someone to travel many miles , with the will and the means to heal . the slowness with which medical supplies and water and heavy equipment have reached the people of haiti has been thoroughly reported . some of the results of the relief effort have been troubling , beset by bottlenecks and breakdowns under arduous conditions . but this is not about the frustrations in getting the job done . it is about the american impulse to help . there is nothing particularly controversial , these days , about pointing out the failings of the united states . you can say just about any derogatory thing about the u.s. , and it 's not especially shocking . we 're used to hearing it . already , as the tragedy in haiti continues to unfold , there have been pockets of harsh criticism of america 's efforts to help . french cooperation minister alain joyandet alluded to the united states occupying ' haiti instead of assisting it . it is not the first time the united states has been chastised , and it will not be the last . the history of the u.s. involvement in haiti has not always been a happy or unsullied one . but perhaps we can take just a moment to think about the honor that is inherent in being the ones who , at junctures like this one , are counted on -- the ones who show up , every time . during world war ii , those four words -- the americans are coming ' -- referred to the armed forces who had traveled across the ocean to liberate the people the nazis had enslaved . in times of natural disaster , the context is different . in haiti the words refer to the 82nd airborne , yes , but they also refer to the american doctors who are volunteering their time and risking their own safety to soothe the pain of people they had never before met . the words refer to the american volunteers assisting at haitian orphanages , not giving up on the children who have no families to comfort them . the words refer to the american search-and-rescue teams who work past the point of exhaustion as they seek signs of the living among the rubble , and they refer to the americans back home who , during difficult economic times in the u.s. , have donated their money to help people who , for now , have no way to say thank you . the focus of the news will shift soon enough -- that shift has already started . there will be other crises , other major stories . we , as a country and as individuals , will continue to be imperfect . there will be political squabbles and high-decibel partisan fights . we will at times focus on the trivial and the coarse . at such times , we might do well to pause and recall the sound of those four words . and to let the words remind us that , when we set our souls to it , we still can aspire to be the hope of the world . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of bob greene . | haiti aid operation continues tradition of u.s. helping around the world , says bob greene |
liverpool <tsp> ( cnn ) -- kenny dalglish last managed a football club more than a decade ago , and he was given a stark reminder of how much the game has changed since then as manchester united spoiled his return to the hotseat at liverpool on sunday . the 59-year-old , known as king kenny ' by the english club 's fans after winning eight league titles and three european crowns as player and then manager , saw liverpool beaten 1-0 in his first match in charge , an fa cup third-round tie at old trafford . the club 's arch-rivals united scored a second-minute penalty through ryan giggs after daniel agger made a small amount of contact with dimitar berbatov , then influential captain steven gerrard was sent off after half an hour for a two-footed challenge on michael carrick . dalglish , a dour scot used to the physical demands of 1970s and '80s football , ruefully reflected on the decisions of referee howard webb , who officiated at the 2010 world cup final in july . the penalty is a joke . i have seen the replay and unless they have changed the rules , it is no penalty , ' he told reporters following his first match as a manager since leaving scottish club celtic in 2000 . did liverpool make the right decision ? the other one , i can not see that as a red card either . in the dressing-room before the game , someone said to me the game 's not changed that much . i said'i thought it was a non-contact sport .'maybe i was right . ' dalglish 's next task following his appointment to the end of this season as replacement for roy hodgson is to prepare liverpool for wednesday 's premier league trip to blackpool , with the club 12th in the table just four points above the bottom three . liverpool lost at home to the unfancied promoted club in october under hodgson before new american owners new england sports ventures bought out tom hicks and george gillett . liverpool appoint legend dalglish dalglish 's first liverpool reign ended in february 1991 when he resigned after a 4-4 draw with city rivals everton , who will visit anfield next sunday . united won through to the fourth round of england 's historic knockout competition , with a trip to third division southampton on january 29 or 30 . manager alex ferguson expects england striker wayne rooney to be ready to return from an ankle injury well before then . wayne came out for training on friday and we thought he would make today , ' he told reporters . but he just felt it again . at that point , we said no . there was no point . ' the premier league leaders hope to have serbia defender nemanja vidic back against tottenham on sunday . meanwhile , chelsea also progressed to the fourth round of the fa cup with a thumping 7-0 win over managerless second division club ipswich on sunday . the two-time defending champions lifted the pressure on their own boss carlo ancelotti with their biggest victory since 1908 as young forward daniel sturridge and england midfielder frank lampard both scored twice and french striker nicolas anelka netted his first goal in two months . the london side went into the match in the worst run of league form since owner roman abramovich took over in 2003 , but had few problems in setting up a clash with everton as they seek to become the first team since the 1880s to win the cup three times in a row . ipswich , who sacked former manchester united star and sunderland manager roy keane on friday , suffered the worst defeat in the club 's 132-year history -- surpassing the 6-1 reverse to west ham in august . manchester city face an fa cup replay after the club 's former manager sven eriksson led second division leicester to a 2-2 home draw . leicester took the lead after just 50 seconds as new defender sol bamba scored from close range following a corner , but premier league high-flyers hit back through james milner and captain carlos tevez to lead at halftime . however , leicester drew level in the 64th minute through andy king after england goalkeeper joe hart spilled a cross from paul gallagher to keep alive the club 's hopes of a fourth-round tie with third division notts county -- shock victors against sunderland on saturday . tottenham , who announced earlier in the day that david beckham 's proposed loan move had been called off , will make the short trip to london rivals fulham following a 3-0 victory at home to third division charlton . spurs'19-year-old midfielder andros townsend opened the scoring , then england striker jermain defoe netted twice against his former club . | ten-man liverpool lose 1-0 to manchester united in third round of fa cup |
liverpool <tsp> ( cnn ) -- kenny dalglish last managed a football club more than a decade ago , and he was given a stark reminder of how much the game has changed since then as manchester united spoiled his return to the hotseat at liverpool on sunday . the 59-year-old , known as king kenny ' by the english club 's fans after winning eight league titles and three european crowns as player and then manager , saw liverpool beaten 1-0 in his first match in charge , an fa cup third-round tie at old trafford . the club 's arch-rivals united scored a second-minute penalty through ryan giggs after daniel agger made a small amount of contact with dimitar berbatov , then influential captain steven gerrard was sent off after half an hour for a two-footed challenge on michael carrick . dalglish , a dour scot used to the physical demands of 1970s and '80s football , ruefully reflected on the decisions of referee howard webb , who officiated at the 2010 world cup final in july . the penalty is a joke . i have seen the replay and unless they have changed the rules , it is no penalty , ' he told reporters following his first match as a manager since leaving scottish club celtic in 2000 . did liverpool make the right decision ? the other one , i can not see that as a red card either . in the dressing-room before the game , someone said to me the game 's not changed that much . i said'i thought it was a non-contact sport .'maybe i was right . ' dalglish 's next task following his appointment to the end of this season as replacement for roy hodgson is to prepare liverpool for wednesday 's premier league trip to blackpool , with the club 12th in the table just four points above the bottom three . liverpool lost at home to the unfancied promoted club in october under hodgson before new american owners new england sports ventures bought out tom hicks and george gillett . liverpool appoint legend dalglish dalglish 's first liverpool reign ended in february 1991 when he resigned after a 4-4 draw with city rivals everton , who will visit anfield next sunday . united won through to the fourth round of england 's historic knockout competition , with a trip to third division southampton on january 29 or 30 . manager alex ferguson expects england striker wayne rooney to be ready to return from an ankle injury well before then . wayne came out for training on friday and we thought he would make today , ' he told reporters . but he just felt it again . at that point , we said no . there was no point . ' the premier league leaders hope to have serbia defender nemanja vidic back against tottenham on sunday . meanwhile , chelsea also progressed to the fourth round of the fa cup with a thumping 7-0 win over managerless second division club ipswich on sunday . the two-time defending champions lifted the pressure on their own boss carlo ancelotti with their biggest victory since 1908 as young forward daniel sturridge and england midfielder frank lampard both scored twice and french striker nicolas anelka netted his first goal in two months . the london side went into the match in the worst run of league form since owner roman abramovich took over in 2003 , but had few problems in setting up a clash with everton as they seek to become the first team since the 1880s to win the cup three times in a row . ipswich , who sacked former manchester united star and sunderland manager roy keane on friday , suffered the worst defeat in the club 's 132-year history -- surpassing the 6-1 reverse to west ham in august . manchester city face an fa cup replay after the club 's former manager sven eriksson led second division leicester to a 2-2 home draw . leicester took the lead after just 50 seconds as new defender sol bamba scored from close range following a corner , but premier league high-flyers hit back through james milner and captain carlos tevez to lead at halftime . however , leicester drew level in the 64th minute through andy king after england goalkeeper joe hart spilled a cross from paul gallagher to keep alive the club 's hopes of a fourth-round tie with third division notts county -- shock victors against sunderland on saturday . tottenham , who announced earlier in the day that david beckham 's proposed loan move had been called off , will make the short trip to london rivals fulham following a 3-0 victory at home to third division charlton . spurs'19-year-old midfielder andros townsend opened the scoring , then england striker jermain defoe netted twice against his former club . | ryan giggs scores early penalty then liverpool captain steven gerrard is sent off |
linux <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- catherine schmidt-jones , or kitty as she 's known to her friends , is , in her words , an obscure music teacher in champaign , illinois . ' kitty schmidt-jones , whose connexions modules have been viewed over 7 million times but that 's not strictly true : schmidt-jones is far from obscure . through her online music courses , she has reached thousands of people and her teaching material has been viewed online -- over 7 million times . schmidt-jones is just one of a growing number of professors and teachers who are using the web site connexions ( cnx.org ) to reach potential students . and what 's more , they 're doing it for free . connexions was set up by rice university professor richard baraniuk in 1999 . he wanted to produce learning materials for his electrical engineering students , but was frustrated by how expensive and slow it would be to produce a textbook . the access was going to be limited -- it would only be available to just a few students from the united states , ' he told cnn . in the developing world , it would basically not be available at all . and the production process is just incredibly slow . for example , to get pluto out of all of our nation 's textbooks will take a decade . by then , pluto will be reinstated as a planet , so we 'll have to put it back in . ' so baraniuk decided to do something different . at the time , he was learning about linux software . it dawned on him that its open source concepts could be adapted for education . i realized that there was a better way that was enabled by information technology , where we could author textbooks as a community and make them free and open for people to use and reuse , ' he explained . on the connexions web site , authors can upload bite-sized chunks of learning materials called modules . ' modules can be strung together to form whole courses , or collections . ' anyone can build a collection from any combination of modules -- so , for example , a module on shakespeare 's hamlet could appear in collections on literature , elizabethan history or dramatic arts . this building-block approach means that courses can be adapted both for personal use and by teachers who can tailor each collection for a particular curriculum , class or even an individual student . to ensure the quality of its content , the site supports peer-review and endorsement of modules by third parties and all material is attributed to the author . and once a collection is assembled , a textbook version can be printed on demand through third-party qoop for around $ 24 -- considerably less than the cost of most college textbooks , but still enough to pay the author a slice of the royalties . a lot of the back-end that 's been handled by traditional publishers can be handled very efficiently by this new breed of information technology , ' baraniuk explains . so we can lower the cost for everybody , sometimes to zero for materials that are online . ' the connexions formula is certainly working . today , the site has nearly 5,000 modules written by university professors , school teachers and other educators , and while most are in the sciences ( reflecting its roots ) the arts and humanities are growing . the content attracts 600,000 users a month , ranging from k-12 children to university-level engineering students . fifty percent of its traffic comes from outside the united states , with 30-40 percent coming from the developing world . and as the site grows , baraniuk is seeing a rise in the number of people using its modules , especially in the arts and humanities , for informal learning . even governments are starting to notice its potential . connexions recently obtained an official memo of understanding to supply vietnam with course materials , with more partner countries in the pipeline . and connexions is crossing language barriers , too . while most of the site 's modules are in english , the site 's volunteer translators help meet the demand for educational materials in other languages , where translation and production of traditional textbooks is often prohibitively expensive . my particular book in connexions is fairly popular , ' baraniuk explains , but i was translated by three volunteer engineering students in university of texas , el paso and my book is far more popular in spanish than it is in english . that really gives you a sense of the global reach . ' but perhaps its most striking benefit is the site 's ability to connect talented educators who would not have considered going the traditional publishing route , like catherine schmidt-jones , with people who want to learn but do n't have access to books . those authors are seizing the opportunity to pass on their knowledge . i do n't think any publisher of music textbooks would even have looked at my material , ' schmidt-jones told cnn . for me to go to a publisher and say ,'hey i 'm a really good writer , you should look at my textbooks !'-- i do n't think that ever would have happened . ' while she writes with her students in mind , schmidt-jones 's work has been used by people from north america to australia , argentina to uganda . she gets emails every week from teachers and students who 've found her material helpful : your explanation of minor keys and scales saved my theory life . thanks , ' reads one example . thank you for the great explanation of perfect intervals ! it was very helpful to our class , ' reads another . it 's this response that 's prompted her to write more for the site . doing something that 's so wildly popular , it makes me feel good about myself . it 's a pat on the back that i 'm doing the right thing and that people appreciate it , ' she told cnn . schmidt-jones currently has 167 modules available through connexions . some she can knock off in an afternoon . the more complex modules , with sound files , figures and diagrams , can take a couple of days to write . schmidt-jones fits this around her tutoring -- it 's what she does for fun . she 's also helped a friend of hers publish on the site . richard baraniuk praises her work highly . she is just the tip of the iceberg of a new community of authors who are going to be able to really enrich and enliven educational material for everyone , ' he told cnn . and through connexions , they can reach an eye-poppingly wide audience . they can really amplify their impact to a truly global level , ' he said . and for schmidt-jones , it 's an outlet for her passion for teaching . i 'm convinced that making a good education available to everyone is one of the answers to fixing all the things that are wrong with the world , ' she told cnn . it 's difficult to express how exciting it is to feel that i 'm actively contributing to an effort to do that . ' ........................ can open-source online learning replace the textbook ? should we give our knowledge away for free ? share your thoughts and read others'views in the just imagine forum . e-mail to a friend | site takes its inspiration from open-source linux software |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in the winter of 2011 , chris , a 23-year old professional poker player , was confident that his candidate , president barack obama , would keep control of the white house in november of 2012 . but instead of ordering a few lawn signs or volunteering to go door-to-door for the campaign , he put his money where his mouth was . chris , who asked that his last name not be used out of legal concerns , bet a maryland bookie $ 50,000 that obama would beat the field , at that time the entire cohort of republicans slugging it out in the primary . i was very confident , ' said chris , a recent graduate of george washington university . no outcome is certain , but this guy was offering me 50-50 and i did n't understand how i can turn this down . the president , at the very least , was a favorite . ' it is illegal to vote on the election in the united states -- the maryland attorney general 's office told cnn that instances of betting on an election are rare -- but that does n't mean betting on an election elsewhere is rare . just look across the atlantic , where most betting institutions in the united kingdom and ireland have odds on all things presidential . by the numbers : presidential predictions international odds makers are giving the upper hand to obama . most uk bookmakers this week , aside from a few outliers , give obama 1 to 4 odds ( if you bet $ 1 and win , you get $ 1.25 back ) , while romney is getting 11 to 4 odds ( for every $ 4 you bet , you get $ 11 back ) . paddy power , a popular irish bookmaker , is one such company . they not only offer head-to-head betting opportunities , but they also allow bettors to wager on state-by-state winners , electoral college numbers and even the odds that romney and obama will tie in the electoral college ( only 25/1 at time of publishing ) . by the way , there are also odds on who would win the 2016 presidential election . mitt romney is the favorite , paul ryan , romney 's running mate , is a close second and secretary of state hillary clinton is just behind ryan . donald trump , the republican business magnate , is getting 100 to 1 odds . obama getting better odds paddy power , like most international bookmakers , has obama as the favorite and romney as the underdog in tuesday 's election . in the last few days , possibly looking to take advantage of the odds , a sizable amount of money has been coming in for romney , according to fã©ilim mac an iomaire , a spokesperson for paddy power . it is over a million pounds sterling ( about $ 1.6 million ) at this stage , ' iomaire says of the amount of money that has been bet so far . everyday , he says , bets of over 10,000 pounds -- or about $ 16,000 -- have become normal . in order to set the odds , iomarie says a group of bookies in ireland comb through much of the same data that american political watchers read . all the latest polls will be looked at . we also do a line in all the states -- so we watch the regional polls very closely , ' iomarie said . ninety percent of it going in is what the polls are saying . ' my take : i 've got my money on the church of nate silver intrade is another popular irish site that allows members to bet on the outcomes of non-sports-related events . members buy contracts ' that stipulate what they are worth if whatever outcomes happens . for example , at time of publishing , buying one share of barack obama to be re-elected president in 2012 ' would cost $ 6.65 . by contrast , the same bets for romney cost $ 3.38 . according to intrade , obama has a 66.3 % chance of winning the election . romney has a 33.9 % chance . intrade has become a website the political reporters and pundits follow regularly . when obama 's chance of winning on intrade began to slip , many republicans took to twitter to tout the downslide . like most betting sites , intrade does not allow u.s. credit or debit cards to be used on the site -- a way to basically prohibit americans from betting on the election . brit : americans are too'emotional' back at paddy power , iomaire jokes that americans may not be the best people to bet on their own election . i know from speaking to american friends , they tend to have a bit more of an emotional opinion about it , ' iomaire said with a laugh . when we are looking at it on our end , we are setting it very much based on polls and the money that is coming in . ' the people betting , like chris , see it differently , though . given how little is known by non-political scientists about how elections are determined , almost no one has a good idea about the likelihood about one person winning or not , ' chris said . when you look at election forecasting models that rely on more economic data and less on polls , the percentage likelihood exceeds the odds that any sports book is giving . ' biden does letterman 's top 10 one blog the avid bettor reads , he says , is the monkey cage , a blog about political science and politics . john sides , a contributor to the blog and a professor at george washington university , says he never saw himself as a prognosticator . i never thought of myself as giving a lot of sage advice that then you could make wagers on , ' sides says . but in saying that , he acknowledges that understanding the data and the historical trend of economic data can lead to educated guessing . ' to the large extent , the inclination of academics is to look at systematic patterns in the past and derive what is going to happen in the future , ' sides said . maybe the information is useful , but then again , that perspective opens up the risk that this time is different . it would be easy money if the election were n't close . but it is a very close election , ' he said . bettors like chris remain strident , though . it is a market that is malformed , ' chris said . whenever there is a malformed market and you know what you are doing , it is a reasonably good place to put your money . | obama is getting better odds than romney right now |
asia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- global unemployment is rising , with youth feeling the brunt , and companies need to find solutions to set jobseekers on a clearer path to success , ' according to coca-cola ceo muhtar kent . it 's a matter for government , it 's a matter for business , it 's a matter for civil society , ' kent told cnn 's richard quest recently at the world economic forum in davos , switzerland . it 's a matter for all of us . you can not have a major part of society unhappy because they do n't have anywhere to go to work . that can not continue . ' the international labor organization , a united nations agency which oversees global labor standards , reported in january that 5.1 million people will be unable to find a job in 2013 . the ilo forecasts a total of 202 million people around the world will be unemployed this year -- a number equal to nearly two thirds of the entire population of the united states . we have to not go into a corner and wait for the storm to pass , ' said kent , who stressed that companies must continue to invest in their businesses . without investment there will not be growth , and without growth there will not be employment . ' despite the 2008 global financial crisis , the eurozone 's sovereign debt challenges and china 's slower-growing economy , kent says investment can still be justified and points to coca-cola 's own recent practices . in june 2012 , coke announced plans to return to myanmar after a six decade absence . we certainly in the last four , five years have continued to invest in our business ... have seen opportunities for growth all around the world despite all the difficulties in 2008 and 2009 , ' he said . and i think we look at the future in the next two , three years and we still see opportunities and we still will invest and create more jobs . ' in 2012 , developing economies in east asia , south asia and sub-saharan africa contributed the bulk of the year 's 4 million newly unemployed , according to the global employment trends 2013 report . | in 2012 , developing economies in asia , africa contributed most to global jobless numbers |
air force <tsp> ( cnn ) -- women were dismissed from the military for being gay at a greater rate than men last year , according to new statistics obtained by a california research group . women were dismissed from the military for being gay at a greater rate than men last year . all the services kicked out a disproportionate number of women under the do n't ask , do n't tell ' policy , according to department of defense data obtained by the palm center at the university of california , santa barbara . the center studies gender and sexuality in the military . the do n't ask , do n't tell ' policy , implemented in 1994 , bans troops who are openly gay from serving in the military . in the air force , a majority of those removed were women , the first time a service has had such a record since the implementation of the controversial law in 1994 , according to palm center senior research fellow nathaniel frank . watch cnn 's randi kaye report on obama 's promises » in fiscal year 2008 , the air force dismissed 56 women and 34 men . in addition , the army removed more women under the do n't ask , do n't tell ' policy at a greater rate than men when compared with the ratio of women to men in each service . of those discharged under the policy , 36 percent were women , although women make up only 14 percent of troops in the army , the data showed . | in the air force , a majority of those removed for being gay were women |
thomas <tsp> ( cnn ) -- those who were diagnosed with cancer after working at the world trade center site following the september 11 , 2001 , terror attacks were relieved earlier this week to find out that the federal government would compensate them for their illnesses . but the news came too late for jevon thomas , a worker who died of a rare cancer in april , penniless and distraught . he was 45 . thomas spent more than a year working on the pile , ' breathing in fumes from burning jet fuel and asbestos . for 10 years , federal authorities said it was impossible to make a link between his work and his illness . he was so depressed . he did n't want to talk to anybody , ' says his daughter , monet thomas . if he could have heard this news , it would have made him so happy . ' it 's not known how many of those who worked at ground zero have died of cancer , according to dr. michael crane , director of the world trade center health program clinical center at new york 's mount sinai school of medicine . while relatives of deceased workers may file claims , the federal program provides no financial or emotional solace for the workers who have died . i 'm so grateful cancers were included , but when i 'm reminded of the people who 've died , i get a pain in my heart , ' crane says . it 's a real tragedy . ' former worker'100 percent'sure cancer is linked to ground zero did n't hesitate to say'yes' thomas was working for a company that installs portable toilets when the planes hit the world trade center . he did n't hesitate to say yes when his boss asked him to set up toilets at ground zero for the emergency workers . he told cnn in an interview two years ago that he worked there without a mask for 10 hours a day , seven days a week , for about 14 months . around the time he stopped working at ground zero , he noticed a lump on his hand . it turned out to be a rare cancer called epithelioid sarcoma . thomas had several surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy and had to quit his $ 65,000-a-year job . his physician , dr. iris udasin at rutgers university , found him as much charity care as possible , but his family suffered financially as thomas'wife is disabled and could n't work to support their two young children . at the time , workers could apply for money from the federal september 11th victim compensation fund if they suffered respiratory problems -- but not cancer , because a scientific link had not been found between the disease and breathing in the fumes at ground zero . instead of everyone uniting , coming together , and figuring out a way to help you , they 're figuring out a way of not helping you to save a dollar , ' thomas said in 2010 . and that 's what it all boils down to . a dollar . ' what hurt thomas the most , his daughter says , is that after graduating high school with honors , she got accepted to a community college , attended orientation and then had to leave because her family could n't pay the tuition . more than anything , her father had wanted her to be the first in their family to attend college . he did n't care about himself . all he cared about was me and my brother , ' monet thomas says through tears . he knew we needed help . ' her brother has n't been able to find work , her mother is too sick to work and monet , 21 , supports the family by working as a hotel clerk in secaucus , new jersey . i feel like i 'm going nowhere , ' she says . 58 cancers receive 9/11 coverage'tension between two poles' when cnn interviewed thomas two years ago , he said he was 100 % sure ' his cancer came from his work at ground zero . you ca n't work in an environment with so many different chemicals and carcinogens ... for a year straight , day in and day out , and not come down with something , ' he said . but scientists were n't so sure . while someone 's cancer might be because of his or her work at ground zero , it might also have been a coincidence -- thomas might have gotten cancer anyway . the long lag time makes it particularly difficult to study the link between ground zero and cancer . cancer does n't develop quickly after breathing in something toxic , the way asthma might . instead , leukemia can take five to six years to develop , and solid tumors can take 10 to 20 years . people were very concerned that they were going to pull the trigger on the ( federal ) coverage too soon and they would end up covering people who did n't have a world trade center cancer , ' crane says . they were trying to do this in an absolutely scientific way , according to rigorous principles of epidemiology , which is important to do , ' crane adds . but on the other hand , you have to balance that against the needs of needy and really sick people . there 's a tension between those two poles . ' in the end , a study of firefighters helped persuade the government to include cancers . in the study , firefighters who worked at ground zero were 19 % more likely to develop cancer than firefighters who did not . firefighters responding to 9/11 at increased cancer risk'he would never take it back' monet thomas says her father would be grateful ' for the decision to compensate cancer victims who worked at ground zero , even though it took more than a decade . he would be crying right now , ' she said when she heard about the decision . even though her father was depressed , destitute and felt alone at the end of his life , she says he never regretted his work on the pile . he was proud of what he did , ' she says . he was a hero , and he would never take it back . ' cnn 's stephanie smith , william hudson and georgiann caruso contributed to this report . | he was proud of what he did , ' thomas'daughter says |
thomas <tsp> ( cnn ) -- those who were diagnosed with cancer after working at the world trade center site following the september 11 , 2001 , terror attacks were relieved earlier this week to find out that the federal government would compensate them for their illnesses . but the news came too late for jevon thomas , a worker who died of a rare cancer in april , penniless and distraught . he was 45 . thomas spent more than a year working on the pile , ' breathing in fumes from burning jet fuel and asbestos . for 10 years , federal authorities said it was impossible to make a link between his work and his illness . he was so depressed . he did n't want to talk to anybody , ' says his daughter , monet thomas . if he could have heard this news , it would have made him so happy . ' it 's not known how many of those who worked at ground zero have died of cancer , according to dr. michael crane , director of the world trade center health program clinical center at new york 's mount sinai school of medicine . while relatives of deceased workers may file claims , the federal program provides no financial or emotional solace for the workers who have died . i 'm so grateful cancers were included , but when i 'm reminded of the people who 've died , i get a pain in my heart , ' crane says . it 's a real tragedy . ' former worker'100 percent'sure cancer is linked to ground zero did n't hesitate to say'yes' thomas was working for a company that installs portable toilets when the planes hit the world trade center . he did n't hesitate to say yes when his boss asked him to set up toilets at ground zero for the emergency workers . he told cnn in an interview two years ago that he worked there without a mask for 10 hours a day , seven days a week , for about 14 months . around the time he stopped working at ground zero , he noticed a lump on his hand . it turned out to be a rare cancer called epithelioid sarcoma . thomas had several surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy and had to quit his $ 65,000-a-year job . his physician , dr. iris udasin at rutgers university , found him as much charity care as possible , but his family suffered financially as thomas'wife is disabled and could n't work to support their two young children . at the time , workers could apply for money from the federal september 11th victim compensation fund if they suffered respiratory problems -- but not cancer , because a scientific link had not been found between the disease and breathing in the fumes at ground zero . instead of everyone uniting , coming together , and figuring out a way to help you , they 're figuring out a way of not helping you to save a dollar , ' thomas said in 2010 . and that 's what it all boils down to . a dollar . ' what hurt thomas the most , his daughter says , is that after graduating high school with honors , she got accepted to a community college , attended orientation and then had to leave because her family could n't pay the tuition . more than anything , her father had wanted her to be the first in their family to attend college . he did n't care about himself . all he cared about was me and my brother , ' monet thomas says through tears . he knew we needed help . ' her brother has n't been able to find work , her mother is too sick to work and monet , 21 , supports the family by working as a hotel clerk in secaucus , new jersey . i feel like i 'm going nowhere , ' she says . 58 cancers receive 9/11 coverage'tension between two poles' when cnn interviewed thomas two years ago , he said he was 100 % sure ' his cancer came from his work at ground zero . you ca n't work in an environment with so many different chemicals and carcinogens ... for a year straight , day in and day out , and not come down with something , ' he said . but scientists were n't so sure . while someone 's cancer might be because of his or her work at ground zero , it might also have been a coincidence -- thomas might have gotten cancer anyway . the long lag time makes it particularly difficult to study the link between ground zero and cancer . cancer does n't develop quickly after breathing in something toxic , the way asthma might . instead , leukemia can take five to six years to develop , and solid tumors can take 10 to 20 years . people were very concerned that they were going to pull the trigger on the ( federal ) coverage too soon and they would end up covering people who did n't have a world trade center cancer , ' crane says . they were trying to do this in an absolutely scientific way , according to rigorous principles of epidemiology , which is important to do , ' crane adds . but on the other hand , you have to balance that against the needs of needy and really sick people . there 's a tension between those two poles . ' in the end , a study of firefighters helped persuade the government to include cancers . in the study , firefighters who worked at ground zero were 19 % more likely to develop cancer than firefighters who did not . firefighters responding to 9/11 at increased cancer risk'he would never take it back' monet thomas says her father would be grateful ' for the decision to compensate cancer victims who worked at ground zero , even though it took more than a decade . he would be crying right now , ' she said when she heard about the decision . even though her father was depressed , destitute and felt alone at the end of his life , she says he never regretted his work on the pile . he was proud of what he did , ' she says . he was a hero , and he would never take it back . ' cnn 's stephanie smith , william hudson and georgiann caruso contributed to this report . | jevon thomas , 45 , died of a rare cancer in april |
thomas <tsp> ( cnn ) -- those who were diagnosed with cancer after working at the world trade center site following the september 11 , 2001 , terror attacks were relieved earlier this week to find out that the federal government would compensate them for their illnesses . but the news came too late for jevon thomas , a worker who died of a rare cancer in april , penniless and distraught . he was 45 . thomas spent more than a year working on the pile , ' breathing in fumes from burning jet fuel and asbestos . for 10 years , federal authorities said it was impossible to make a link between his work and his illness . he was so depressed . he did n't want to talk to anybody , ' says his daughter , monet thomas . if he could have heard this news , it would have made him so happy . ' it 's not known how many of those who worked at ground zero have died of cancer , according to dr. michael crane , director of the world trade center health program clinical center at new york 's mount sinai school of medicine . while relatives of deceased workers may file claims , the federal program provides no financial or emotional solace for the workers who have died . i 'm so grateful cancers were included , but when i 'm reminded of the people who 've died , i get a pain in my heart , ' crane says . it 's a real tragedy . ' former worker'100 percent'sure cancer is linked to ground zero did n't hesitate to say'yes' thomas was working for a company that installs portable toilets when the planes hit the world trade center . he did n't hesitate to say yes when his boss asked him to set up toilets at ground zero for the emergency workers . he told cnn in an interview two years ago that he worked there without a mask for 10 hours a day , seven days a week , for about 14 months . around the time he stopped working at ground zero , he noticed a lump on his hand . it turned out to be a rare cancer called epithelioid sarcoma . thomas had several surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy and had to quit his $ 65,000-a-year job . his physician , dr. iris udasin at rutgers university , found him as much charity care as possible , but his family suffered financially as thomas'wife is disabled and could n't work to support their two young children . at the time , workers could apply for money from the federal september 11th victim compensation fund if they suffered respiratory problems -- but not cancer , because a scientific link had not been found between the disease and breathing in the fumes at ground zero . instead of everyone uniting , coming together , and figuring out a way to help you , they 're figuring out a way of not helping you to save a dollar , ' thomas said in 2010 . and that 's what it all boils down to . a dollar . ' what hurt thomas the most , his daughter says , is that after graduating high school with honors , she got accepted to a community college , attended orientation and then had to leave because her family could n't pay the tuition . more than anything , her father had wanted her to be the first in their family to attend college . he did n't care about himself . all he cared about was me and my brother , ' monet thomas says through tears . he knew we needed help . ' her brother has n't been able to find work , her mother is too sick to work and monet , 21 , supports the family by working as a hotel clerk in secaucus , new jersey . i feel like i 'm going nowhere , ' she says . 58 cancers receive 9/11 coverage'tension between two poles' when cnn interviewed thomas two years ago , he said he was 100 % sure ' his cancer came from his work at ground zero . you ca n't work in an environment with so many different chemicals and carcinogens ... for a year straight , day in and day out , and not come down with something , ' he said . but scientists were n't so sure . while someone 's cancer might be because of his or her work at ground zero , it might also have been a coincidence -- thomas might have gotten cancer anyway . the long lag time makes it particularly difficult to study the link between ground zero and cancer . cancer does n't develop quickly after breathing in something toxic , the way asthma might . instead , leukemia can take five to six years to develop , and solid tumors can take 10 to 20 years . people were very concerned that they were going to pull the trigger on the ( federal ) coverage too soon and they would end up covering people who did n't have a world trade center cancer , ' crane says . they were trying to do this in an absolutely scientific way , according to rigorous principles of epidemiology , which is important to do , ' crane adds . but on the other hand , you have to balance that against the needs of needy and really sick people . there 's a tension between those two poles . ' in the end , a study of firefighters helped persuade the government to include cancers . in the study , firefighters who worked at ground zero were 19 % more likely to develop cancer than firefighters who did not . firefighters responding to 9/11 at increased cancer risk'he would never take it back' monet thomas says her father would be grateful ' for the decision to compensate cancer victims who worked at ground zero , even though it took more than a decade . he would be crying right now , ' she said when she heard about the decision . even though her father was depressed , destitute and felt alone at the end of his life , she says he never regretted his work on the pile . he was proud of what he did , ' she says . he was a hero , and he would never take it back . ' cnn 's stephanie smith , william hudson and georgiann caruso contributed to this report . | thomas worked setting up toilets at ground zero for emergency workers |
gorontalo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a lion air boeing 737-900 collided with a cow when landing on the island of sulawesi in indonesia . the plane , on a domestic route that started in jakarta , landed at jalaluddin airport in gorontalo on tuesday evening and hit one of three cows wandering on the runway . the aircraft skidded off the runway and the cow was killed , though none of the 110 passengers on board were injured . several flights were canceled and the airport was temporarily closed on tuesday due to the accident . operations were resumed on wednesday . gorontalo governor rusli habibie told the jakarta post the airport suffered from inadequate fencing . lion air management has just told me that animals , particularly dogs , are often seen on the runway , ' said habibie . this problem should be immediately resolved . ' government administrators are due to meet with the national transportation safety committee and jalaluddin airport officials to discuss ways to prevent similar events in future . in april this year another lion air flight carrying 108 people to bali crashed into the sea after missing the runway . all 101 passengers and seven crew were evacuated with only a few injuries reported . | lion air jet collided with a cow when landing in gorontalo , indonesia |
bali <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a lion air boeing 737-900 collided with a cow when landing on the island of sulawesi in indonesia . the plane , on a domestic route that started in jakarta , landed at jalaluddin airport in gorontalo on tuesday evening and hit one of three cows wandering on the runway . the aircraft skidded off the runway and the cow was killed , though none of the 110 passengers on board were injured . several flights were canceled and the airport was temporarily closed on tuesday due to the accident . operations were resumed on wednesday . gorontalo governor rusli habibie told the jakarta post the airport suffered from inadequate fencing . lion air management has just told me that animals , particularly dogs , are often seen on the runway , ' said habibie . this problem should be immediately resolved . ' government administrators are due to meet with the national transportation safety committee and jalaluddin airport officials to discuss ways to prevent similar events in future . in april this year another lion air flight carrying 108 people to bali crashed into the sea after missing the runway . all 101 passengers and seven crew were evacuated with only a few injuries reported . | lion air had another landing accident earlier this year in bali |
trisha yearwood <tsp> ( cnn ) -- add reo speedwagon to the list of musical acts canceling seaworld shows because of the documentary blackfish . ' due to concerns regarding our february 16 appearance at seaworld , we have chosen to cancel the performance , ' the rock band said on its facebook page on friday . a promoter could put together a great concert series with the acts who have canceled seaworld shows in the past several weeks , including trisha yearwood , willie nelson , cheap trick , heart and barenaked ladies . the acts bailed on the orlando theme park 's bands , bbq and brew ' concert series amid pressure from fans who started online petitions , tweeted and posted on facebook pages demanding they not play seaworld . the fans became upset after watching the cnn documentary blackfish , ' which first aired on cnn in october . the film tells the story of the killing in 2010 of a seaworld trainer by an orca . it raises questions about the safety and humaneness of keeping killer whales in captivity . in light of recent concerns , trisha has decided to remove the february 22 date from her upcoming tour plans , ' yearwood 's representative told cnn on thursday . seaworld confirmed the reo speedwagon withdrawal on friday and referred cnn to its previous statements about the cancellations . we expect that other artists will be targeted in this campaign , ' seaworld spokesman nick gollattscheck told cnn in consecutive statements wednesday and thursday , starting with cheap trick 's cancellation . joan jett to seaworld : stop rockin'the whales the park 's six-week concert schedule -- which also previously listed martina mcbride , 38 special , justin moore and scotty mccreery -- has disappeared from seaworld 's website . it now simply promises incredible concerts with top artists in classic rock and country music . ' seaworld is working to book replacement acts , gollattscheck said . we 'll announce the full lineup of bands when all artists have been confirmed . we 'll repost the schedule on our site then . ''blackfish'sparks debate over taking kids to animal parks the canadian rock band barenaked ladies was the first to cancel , reacting to a petition posted on change.org . this is a complicated issue , and we do n't claim to understand all of it , but we do n't feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time , ' the band said on its facebook page . i do n't agree with the way they treat their animals , ' willie nelson said on december 6 when he canceled . it was n't that hard a deal for me . ' sisters nancy and ann wilson of heart did not elaborate last week when they announced their decision to cancel at seaworld , although they acknowledged it was due to the controversial documentary film . ' we 're disappointed a small group of misinformed individuals was able to deny fans what would have been great concerts at seaworld , ' gollattscheck said . seaworld said it would like the musical artists to learn for themselves about seaworld . the bands and artists have a standing invitation to visit any of our parks to see firsthand or to speak to any of our animal experts to learn for themselves how we care for animals and how little truth there is to the allegations made by animal extremist groups opposed to the zoological display of marine mammals , ' gollattscheck said . seaworld says the documentary ignores the park 's conservation efforts and research . fimmaker : why i made'blackfish ' | trisha yearwood , willie nelson , cheap trick , others already canceled |
fleming <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a man who spent nearly 25 years behind bars for a 1989 brooklyn murder he did n't commit has filed a notice of claim to sue new york city for $ 162 million , according to his lawyer wednesday . jonathan fleming , 52 , who was released from prison in april after spending 24 years and 8 months in prison for the slaying of darryl rush in the williamsburg neighborhood of brooklyn , filed the notice signaling his intent to sue the city , the police department and the king county district attorney 's office on tuesday . it signifies the beginning of the process that will hopefully make him whole , ' said his lawyer , taylor koss . he will never be the same . it 's impossible to give him the time back . ' fleming had always maintained that he was on a family trip to disney world in florida when rush was shot to death early on the morning of august 15 , 1989 , in a dispute over stolen money . after years of reviewing documents and re-interviewing witnesses as part of a joint investigation between his attorneys and the brooklyn district attorney 's conviction review unit , it was determined that the only evidence tying him to the crime was an alleged witness who later recanted her statement . when he was released , fleming had no place to live and less than $ 100 to his name , according to koss . he still has no permanent home and no job . it has been a struggle since he got out , ' koss said , adding that the damages fleming is seeking include the loss of wages , companionship and emotional anguish . it 's tough to put a value on those things , ' koss added . i 'm not sure how you value one year in prison for a crime you did n't commit , let alone 25 . ' a new york city law department spokesman said the claim will be reviewed . at fleming 's initial trial , defense lawyers provided family photos and home videos of fleming in florida around the time of rush 's killing . but , according to koss , they did not have evidence he was in florida on the day of the slaying . the prosecution persuaded jurors to ignore the alibi . fleming told his attorneys he had paid a bill for phone calls made from his florida hotel room the night before rush was killed , and he believed the receipt was in his pocket when police arrested him . but authorities told the defense he had no such receipt , according to koss . in the course of the investigation , the conviction review unit found the receipt in police records , time stamped and dated -- solidifying fleming 's claim that he was in florida at the time of the crime , according to the district attorney 's office . this is proof of alibi that was basically purposely withheld , ' koss said . the review unit also interviewed fleming 's former girlfriend , who said she called fleming the night of the killing while he was still at his hotel in florida . the investigation found her story to be credible , with phone records to support it . the prosecution also produced a witness who said she saw fleming commit the crime . according to koss , the woman recanted her testimony weeks after fleming 's conviction . she later testified in front of a judge that she was on parole and had been arrested with another woman for being in a stolen van the night of the killing . she said police persuaded her to give a statement against fleming to avoid going back to jail . koss said the judge threw out her later testimony because she could not provide enough facts to back up her story . koss said defense investigators even found a witness in south carolina who claims to have been the getaway driver during rush 's killing and who identified someone they say is the real killer . new york city to pay man who served 22 years in prison $ 6.4 million for wrongful conviction new york man settles wrongful-imprisonment lawsuit for $ 3.4 million cnn 's chris boyette contributed to this report . | review of fleming 's case supports his alibi that he was in florida when slaying occurred |
fleming <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a man who spent nearly 25 years behind bars for a 1989 brooklyn murder he did n't commit has filed a notice of claim to sue new york city for $ 162 million , according to his lawyer wednesday . jonathan fleming , 52 , who was released from prison in april after spending 24 years and 8 months in prison for the slaying of darryl rush in the williamsburg neighborhood of brooklyn , filed the notice signaling his intent to sue the city , the police department and the king county district attorney 's office on tuesday . it signifies the beginning of the process that will hopefully make him whole , ' said his lawyer , taylor koss . he will never be the same . it 's impossible to give him the time back . ' fleming had always maintained that he was on a family trip to disney world in florida when rush was shot to death early on the morning of august 15 , 1989 , in a dispute over stolen money . after years of reviewing documents and re-interviewing witnesses as part of a joint investigation between his attorneys and the brooklyn district attorney 's conviction review unit , it was determined that the only evidence tying him to the crime was an alleged witness who later recanted her statement . when he was released , fleming had no place to live and less than $ 100 to his name , according to koss . he still has no permanent home and no job . it has been a struggle since he got out , ' koss said , adding that the damages fleming is seeking include the loss of wages , companionship and emotional anguish . it 's tough to put a value on those things , ' koss added . i 'm not sure how you value one year in prison for a crime you did n't commit , let alone 25 . ' a new york city law department spokesman said the claim will be reviewed . at fleming 's initial trial , defense lawyers provided family photos and home videos of fleming in florida around the time of rush 's killing . but , according to koss , they did not have evidence he was in florida on the day of the slaying . the prosecution persuaded jurors to ignore the alibi . fleming told his attorneys he had paid a bill for phone calls made from his florida hotel room the night before rush was killed , and he believed the receipt was in his pocket when police arrested him . but authorities told the defense he had no such receipt , according to koss . in the course of the investigation , the conviction review unit found the receipt in police records , time stamped and dated -- solidifying fleming 's claim that he was in florida at the time of the crime , according to the district attorney 's office . this is proof of alibi that was basically purposely withheld , ' koss said . the review unit also interviewed fleming 's former girlfriend , who said she called fleming the night of the killing while he was still at his hotel in florida . the investigation found her story to be credible , with phone records to support it . the prosecution also produced a witness who said she saw fleming commit the crime . according to koss , the woman recanted her testimony weeks after fleming 's conviction . she later testified in front of a judge that she was on parole and had been arrested with another woman for being in a stolen van the night of the killing . she said police persuaded her to give a statement against fleming to avoid going back to jail . koss said the judge threw out her later testimony because she could not provide enough facts to back up her story . koss said defense investigators even found a witness in south carolina who claims to have been the getaway driver during rush 's killing and who identified someone they say is the real killer . new york city to pay man who served 22 years in prison $ 6.4 million for wrongful conviction new york man settles wrongful-imprisonment lawsuit for $ 3.4 million cnn 's chris boyette contributed to this report . | jonathan fleming , 52 , files notice of claim for $ 162 million lawsuit against city , police , prosecutors |
fleming <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a man who spent nearly 25 years behind bars for a 1989 brooklyn murder he did n't commit has filed a notice of claim to sue new york city for $ 162 million , according to his lawyer wednesday . jonathan fleming , 52 , who was released from prison in april after spending 24 years and 8 months in prison for the slaying of darryl rush in the williamsburg neighborhood of brooklyn , filed the notice signaling his intent to sue the city , the police department and the king county district attorney 's office on tuesday . it signifies the beginning of the process that will hopefully make him whole , ' said his lawyer , taylor koss . he will never be the same . it 's impossible to give him the time back . ' fleming had always maintained that he was on a family trip to disney world in florida when rush was shot to death early on the morning of august 15 , 1989 , in a dispute over stolen money . after years of reviewing documents and re-interviewing witnesses as part of a joint investigation between his attorneys and the brooklyn district attorney 's conviction review unit , it was determined that the only evidence tying him to the crime was an alleged witness who later recanted her statement . when he was released , fleming had no place to live and less than $ 100 to his name , according to koss . he still has no permanent home and no job . it has been a struggle since he got out , ' koss said , adding that the damages fleming is seeking include the loss of wages , companionship and emotional anguish . it 's tough to put a value on those things , ' koss added . i 'm not sure how you value one year in prison for a crime you did n't commit , let alone 25 . ' a new york city law department spokesman said the claim will be reviewed . at fleming 's initial trial , defense lawyers provided family photos and home videos of fleming in florida around the time of rush 's killing . but , according to koss , they did not have evidence he was in florida on the day of the slaying . the prosecution persuaded jurors to ignore the alibi . fleming told his attorneys he had paid a bill for phone calls made from his florida hotel room the night before rush was killed , and he believed the receipt was in his pocket when police arrested him . but authorities told the defense he had no such receipt , according to koss . in the course of the investigation , the conviction review unit found the receipt in police records , time stamped and dated -- solidifying fleming 's claim that he was in florida at the time of the crime , according to the district attorney 's office . this is proof of alibi that was basically purposely withheld , ' koss said . the review unit also interviewed fleming 's former girlfriend , who said she called fleming the night of the killing while he was still at his hotel in florida . the investigation found her story to be credible , with phone records to support it . the prosecution also produced a witness who said she saw fleming commit the crime . according to koss , the woman recanted her testimony weeks after fleming 's conviction . she later testified in front of a judge that she was on parole and had been arrested with another woman for being in a stolen van the night of the killing . she said police persuaded her to give a statement against fleming to avoid going back to jail . koss said the judge threw out her later testimony because she could not provide enough facts to back up her story . koss said defense investigators even found a witness in south carolina who claims to have been the getaway driver during rush 's killing and who identified someone they say is the real killer . new york city to pay man who served 22 years in prison $ 6.4 million for wrongful conviction new york man settles wrongful-imprisonment lawsuit for $ 3.4 million cnn 's chris boyette contributed to this report . | fleming was wrongfully convicted in 1989 killing and spent nearly 25 years in prison |
fleming <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a man who spent nearly 25 years behind bars for a 1989 brooklyn murder he did n't commit has filed a notice of claim to sue new york city for $ 162 million , according to his lawyer wednesday . jonathan fleming , 52 , who was released from prison in april after spending 24 years and 8 months in prison for the slaying of darryl rush in the williamsburg neighborhood of brooklyn , filed the notice signaling his intent to sue the city , the police department and the king county district attorney 's office on tuesday . it signifies the beginning of the process that will hopefully make him whole , ' said his lawyer , taylor koss . he will never be the same . it 's impossible to give him the time back . ' fleming had always maintained that he was on a family trip to disney world in florida when rush was shot to death early on the morning of august 15 , 1989 , in a dispute over stolen money . after years of reviewing documents and re-interviewing witnesses as part of a joint investigation between his attorneys and the brooklyn district attorney 's conviction review unit , it was determined that the only evidence tying him to the crime was an alleged witness who later recanted her statement . when he was released , fleming had no place to live and less than $ 100 to his name , according to koss . he still has no permanent home and no job . it has been a struggle since he got out , ' koss said , adding that the damages fleming is seeking include the loss of wages , companionship and emotional anguish . it 's tough to put a value on those things , ' koss added . i 'm not sure how you value one year in prison for a crime you did n't commit , let alone 25 . ' a new york city law department spokesman said the claim will be reviewed . at fleming 's initial trial , defense lawyers provided family photos and home videos of fleming in florida around the time of rush 's killing . but , according to koss , they did not have evidence he was in florida on the day of the slaying . the prosecution persuaded jurors to ignore the alibi . fleming told his attorneys he had paid a bill for phone calls made from his florida hotel room the night before rush was killed , and he believed the receipt was in his pocket when police arrested him . but authorities told the defense he had no such receipt , according to koss . in the course of the investigation , the conviction review unit found the receipt in police records , time stamped and dated -- solidifying fleming 's claim that he was in florida at the time of the crime , according to the district attorney 's office . this is proof of alibi that was basically purposely withheld , ' koss said . the review unit also interviewed fleming 's former girlfriend , who said she called fleming the night of the killing while he was still at his hotel in florida . the investigation found her story to be credible , with phone records to support it . the prosecution also produced a witness who said she saw fleming commit the crime . according to koss , the woman recanted her testimony weeks after fleming 's conviction . she later testified in front of a judge that she was on parole and had been arrested with another woman for being in a stolen van the night of the killing . she said police persuaded her to give a statement against fleming to avoid going back to jail . koss said the judge threw out her later testimony because she could not provide enough facts to back up her story . koss said defense investigators even found a witness in south carolina who claims to have been the getaway driver during rush 's killing and who identified someone they say is the real killer . new york city to pay man who served 22 years in prison $ 6.4 million for wrongful conviction new york man settles wrongful-imprisonment lawsuit for $ 3.4 million cnn 's chris boyette contributed to this report . | fleming , released in april , currently has no permanent home or job , lawyer says |
enzi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the u.s. senate race in wyoming has it all : a popular incumbent republican facing a primary challenge , a gop feud , a generational divide , and dick cheney , one of the most polarizing figures in politics . liz cheney met with reporters in casper on wednesday , one day after announcing her bid for the seat . it came on the same day that three-term republican sen. mike enzi said he would run for re-election . i 'm focused on earning every vote i can , the way it ought to be done in wyoming , which is one person at a time , ' cheney said . enzi says wyoming voters will stick with him cheney , a former state department official and fox news contributor , is the eldest daughter of the former vice president , who served for a decade as the congressman from wyoming . like her father , cheney is a very vocal critic of president barack obama . president obama has launched a war on our second amendment rights . he has launched a war on our religious freedom . he has used the irs to launch a war on our freedom of speech . he has used the epa to launch a war on wyoming 's ranchers , farmers and energy industry , ' said cheney in a statement announcing her bid . cnn chief national correspondent john king , who covered the cheneys over the years , says liz cheney has been a very loyal aide to her father . liz cheney announces senate run ' clearly she has his blessing or she would n't do it , ' king said . if her dad had turned to her and said'do n't do this ,'she would n't have done this . in her putting her neck out , in her offending mike enzi and everyone else in the wyoming republican party , so has her dad . ' enzi is a proven conservative but has been willing to try to accomplish bipartisan solutions in the senate . while not directly criticizing him in her announcement , cheney said , i am running because i know as a mother and as a patriot , we can no longer afford simply to go along to get along . ' and the 46-year-old cheney appears to be making enzi 's age an issue , saying , i believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate . ' enzi is 69 . one veteran analyst of senate races is n't sure the age argument will be effective . she is running against an incumbent from her own party who has a solidly conservative voting record and is well-liked by voters . her theme seems to be enzi 's age , but i do n't know that it will play that well , ' said jennifer duffy , senior editor for the non-partisan cook political report . but the primary will highlight the ongoing struggle for the future of the gop . this race now will be the highest-profile test of what 's happening in the republican party , the struggle over whether you fight and compromise or do you fight and keep fighting . this race will capture huge national attention , ' king added . enzi says he 's not surprised he 's being challenged . she 's been traveling around wyoming for a long time , so i 'm not surprised . i 'm only surprised in that she said if i ran she would n't . she announced 30 minutes after i more specifically stated my intention , ' enzi told cnn chief congressional correspondent dana bash on wednesday . and he pushed back on his age , telling bash , i 'm absolutely not too old to be a senator . i 'm about the median age for this body . i 'm in really good health , i 'm on the committees that i want to be on . i have seniority . ' and enzi does n't think his ability to work with democrats is a liability , saying i 've developed trust on both sides of the aisle , people trust me that what i say i 'm going to do , i do . ' on tuesday enzi told reporters that he would n't change his plans to run for a fourth term , but admitted to reporters that fundraising has always been a problem for me . ' but he told bash that people in wyoming complain about long campaigns . it does n't take them long to make up their mind . and it does n't cost a lot of money to have them make up their mind . ' enzi appears to have the backing of the two other members of wyoming 's congressional delegation . i think that mike has done an excellent job representing the people of wyoming and i 'm going to continue to work to support mike enzi , sen. john barrasso told cnn on wednesday . i have a great deal of respect for the entire cheney family , for the vice president , for liz and for lynn , but i think it 's the wrong race at the wrong time , ' he said . republican rep. cynthia lummis of wyoming ripped cheney 's decision as bad form ' and predicted she would lose in the gop primary next year . i do n't know that anybody can out-conservative mike enzi , ' lummis told cnn senior congressional producer deirdre walsh and other reporters outside the house chamber on tuesday . the congresswoman , wyoming 's at-large representative , admitted cheney had the upper hand in raising money , but said that would n't matter . she will outraise him by factors of 10 or more , and he will still win because wyoming is grassroots , retail campaigning , ' she said . the national republican senatorial committee was quick to say it stands firmly behind enzi , the gop incumbent . our mission is to re-elect our incumbents and build a republican majority , ' nrsc communications director brad dayspring told cnn . cheney , who chairs a nonprofit on national security and education called keep america safe , had been rumored this year to be considering a senate run . early last week , former sen. alan simpson of wyoming told the new york times that a potential cheney primary challenge would bring about the destruction of the republican party of wyoming , ' adding that , it 's a disaster -- a divisive , ugly situation -- and all it does is open the door for the democrats for 20 years . ' simpson had a different message after cheney 's announcement on tuesday . i deeply care about them both , ' he said , according to the casper star tribune . cheney will come under attack for being a carpetbagger . she was born in wisconsin and grew up in virginia 's d.c. suburbs before attending college in colorado and law school in illinois . she spent most of her career working in the nation 's capital before moving to wyoming last year . cheney touted her family 's longtime wyoming roots in a speech in may and in her announcement tuesday . he highlighted that her family first came here in 1852 , in search of religious freedom , ' adding that her grandmother was raised in the salt creek oil field and grew up to become natrona county 's first female deputy sheriff . ' will the carpetbagger tag stick ? there have already been comparisons to hillary clinton . in 2000 the first lady , who grew up in illinois and lived for many years in arkansas , successfully ran for the u.s. senate in new york , but faced the carpetbagger attacks . what did hillary clinton have ? she had national name identification . she had a giant fundraising network , she had a bunch of people willing to work for her and willing to fight and she ran a very effective campaign and she won , ' king recalled . as for cheney , he said , she will have money . she has the name identification . now the test is , since she 's new to politics , can she run a campaign . can she convince the people of wyoming that she 's right . ' cnn 's kevin liptak , ashley killough and bryan koenig contributed to this story | cheney is challenging incumbent republican sen. mike enzi , a popular conservative |
enzi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the u.s. senate race in wyoming has it all : a popular incumbent republican facing a primary challenge , a gop feud , a generational divide , and dick cheney , one of the most polarizing figures in politics . liz cheney met with reporters in casper on wednesday , one day after announcing her bid for the seat . it came on the same day that three-term republican sen. mike enzi said he would run for re-election . i 'm focused on earning every vote i can , the way it ought to be done in wyoming , which is one person at a time , ' cheney said . enzi says wyoming voters will stick with him cheney , a former state department official and fox news contributor , is the eldest daughter of the former vice president , who served for a decade as the congressman from wyoming . like her father , cheney is a very vocal critic of president barack obama . president obama has launched a war on our second amendment rights . he has launched a war on our religious freedom . he has used the irs to launch a war on our freedom of speech . he has used the epa to launch a war on wyoming 's ranchers , farmers and energy industry , ' said cheney in a statement announcing her bid . cnn chief national correspondent john king , who covered the cheneys over the years , says liz cheney has been a very loyal aide to her father . liz cheney announces senate run ' clearly she has his blessing or she would n't do it , ' king said . if her dad had turned to her and said'do n't do this ,'she would n't have done this . in her putting her neck out , in her offending mike enzi and everyone else in the wyoming republican party , so has her dad . ' enzi is a proven conservative but has been willing to try to accomplish bipartisan solutions in the senate . while not directly criticizing him in her announcement , cheney said , i am running because i know as a mother and as a patriot , we can no longer afford simply to go along to get along . ' and the 46-year-old cheney appears to be making enzi 's age an issue , saying , i believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate . ' enzi is 69 . one veteran analyst of senate races is n't sure the age argument will be effective . she is running against an incumbent from her own party who has a solidly conservative voting record and is well-liked by voters . her theme seems to be enzi 's age , but i do n't know that it will play that well , ' said jennifer duffy , senior editor for the non-partisan cook political report . but the primary will highlight the ongoing struggle for the future of the gop . this race now will be the highest-profile test of what 's happening in the republican party , the struggle over whether you fight and compromise or do you fight and keep fighting . this race will capture huge national attention , ' king added . enzi says he 's not surprised he 's being challenged . she 's been traveling around wyoming for a long time , so i 'm not surprised . i 'm only surprised in that she said if i ran she would n't . she announced 30 minutes after i more specifically stated my intention , ' enzi told cnn chief congressional correspondent dana bash on wednesday . and he pushed back on his age , telling bash , i 'm absolutely not too old to be a senator . i 'm about the median age for this body . i 'm in really good health , i 'm on the committees that i want to be on . i have seniority . ' and enzi does n't think his ability to work with democrats is a liability , saying i 've developed trust on both sides of the aisle , people trust me that what i say i 'm going to do , i do . ' on tuesday enzi told reporters that he would n't change his plans to run for a fourth term , but admitted to reporters that fundraising has always been a problem for me . ' but he told bash that people in wyoming complain about long campaigns . it does n't take them long to make up their mind . and it does n't cost a lot of money to have them make up their mind . ' enzi appears to have the backing of the two other members of wyoming 's congressional delegation . i think that mike has done an excellent job representing the people of wyoming and i 'm going to continue to work to support mike enzi , sen. john barrasso told cnn on wednesday . i have a great deal of respect for the entire cheney family , for the vice president , for liz and for lynn , but i think it 's the wrong race at the wrong time , ' he said . republican rep. cynthia lummis of wyoming ripped cheney 's decision as bad form ' and predicted she would lose in the gop primary next year . i do n't know that anybody can out-conservative mike enzi , ' lummis told cnn senior congressional producer deirdre walsh and other reporters outside the house chamber on tuesday . the congresswoman , wyoming 's at-large representative , admitted cheney had the upper hand in raising money , but said that would n't matter . she will outraise him by factors of 10 or more , and he will still win because wyoming is grassroots , retail campaigning , ' she said . the national republican senatorial committee was quick to say it stands firmly behind enzi , the gop incumbent . our mission is to re-elect our incumbents and build a republican majority , ' nrsc communications director brad dayspring told cnn . cheney , who chairs a nonprofit on national security and education called keep america safe , had been rumored this year to be considering a senate run . early last week , former sen. alan simpson of wyoming told the new york times that a potential cheney primary challenge would bring about the destruction of the republican party of wyoming , ' adding that , it 's a disaster -- a divisive , ugly situation -- and all it does is open the door for the democrats for 20 years . ' simpson had a different message after cheney 's announcement on tuesday . i deeply care about them both , ' he said , according to the casper star tribune . cheney will come under attack for being a carpetbagger . she was born in wisconsin and grew up in virginia 's d.c. suburbs before attending college in colorado and law school in illinois . she spent most of her career working in the nation 's capital before moving to wyoming last year . cheney touted her family 's longtime wyoming roots in a speech in may and in her announcement tuesday . he highlighted that her family first came here in 1852 , in search of religious freedom , ' adding that her grandmother was raised in the salt creek oil field and grew up to become natrona county 's first female deputy sheriff . ' will the carpetbagger tag stick ? there have already been comparisons to hillary clinton . in 2000 the first lady , who grew up in illinois and lived for many years in arkansas , successfully ran for the u.s. senate in new york , but faced the carpetbagger attacks . what did hillary clinton have ? she had national name identification . she had a giant fundraising network , she had a bunch of people willing to work for her and willing to fight and she ran a very effective campaign and she won , ' king recalled . as for cheney , he said , she will have money . she has the name identification . now the test is , since she 's new to politics , can she run a campaign . can she convince the people of wyoming that she 's right . ' cnn 's kevin liptak , ashley killough and bryan koenig contributed to this story | enzi said that cheney told him she would not run if he ran for re-election |
dakar rally <tsp> ( cnn ) -- american driver robby gordon won the fourth stage of the dakar rally by just one second from stephane peterhansel , who extended his overall lead to more than seven minutes in south america on tuesday . nascar star gordon claimed his first victory of this year 's race , and his third overall , as he snatched the quickest time on the shortened 163 kilometer stage from fiambala in argentina to copiapo in chile . it was cut by 40km as some competitors arrived late following monday 's leg . he clocked one hour , 40 minutes and 21 seconds in his hummer to head off bmw 's peterhansel , who has won three car titles and six on bikes . the frenchman now leads carlos sainz by seven minutes and 36 seconds , with the former world rally champion finishing fourth behind qatar 's nasser al-attiyah . defending champion giniel de villiers gave volkswagen with three drivers in the top five , but is still way back in 20th due to his problems on monday . gordon was left eight overall , more than an hour off the pace , while his compatriot mark miller is fourth in another volkswagen after placing sixth on tuesday . today 's special stage was perfect for us with a lot of camel grass . it 's on this type of terrain that the hummer is doing great , ' gordon told the race 's official web site . i am glad we managed to recover from yesterday . i got stuck twice yesterday and the engine overheated . we lost one hour . it 's sad but the race is still long . we 've only had four days of raid so far . a stage victory means nothing to us . it 's the final victory we are in for . ' in the bikes , defending champion marc coma bounced back from losing moer than 40 minutes over the last two days to win the stage . the spaniard was left in sixth overall , 38 minutes and 50 seconds behind frenchman cyril depres , who was third on the stage also riding a 690cc ktm machine . his compatriot david casteu , riding a smaller 450cc sherco machine , was runner-up to retain second overall -- almost nine minutes behind with 10 stages left . | stephane peterhansel extends lead in dakar rally cars section in his bmw |
bmw <tsp> ( cnn ) -- american driver robby gordon won the fourth stage of the dakar rally by just one second from stephane peterhansel , who extended his overall lead to more than seven minutes in south america on tuesday . nascar star gordon claimed his first victory of this year 's race , and his third overall , as he snatched the quickest time on the shortened 163 kilometer stage from fiambala in argentina to copiapo in chile . it was cut by 40km as some competitors arrived late following monday 's leg . he clocked one hour , 40 minutes and 21 seconds in his hummer to head off bmw 's peterhansel , who has won three car titles and six on bikes . the frenchman now leads carlos sainz by seven minutes and 36 seconds , with the former world rally champion finishing fourth behind qatar 's nasser al-attiyah . defending champion giniel de villiers gave volkswagen with three drivers in the top five , but is still way back in 20th due to his problems on monday . gordon was left eight overall , more than an hour off the pace , while his compatriot mark miller is fourth in another volkswagen after placing sixth on tuesday . today 's special stage was perfect for us with a lot of camel grass . it 's on this type of terrain that the hummer is doing great , ' gordon told the race 's official web site . i am glad we managed to recover from yesterday . i got stuck twice yesterday and the engine overheated . we lost one hour . it 's sad but the race is still long . we 've only had four days of raid so far . a stage victory means nothing to us . it 's the final victory we are in for . ' in the bikes , defending champion marc coma bounced back from losing moer than 40 minutes over the last two days to win the stage . the spaniard was left in sixth overall , 38 minutes and 50 seconds behind frenchman cyril depres , who was third on the stage also riding a 690cc ktm machine . his compatriot david casteu , riding a smaller 450cc sherco machine , was runner-up to retain second overall -- almost nine minutes behind with 10 stages left . | stephane peterhansel extends lead in dakar rally cars section in his bmw |
american <tsp> ( cnn ) -- american driver robby gordon won the fourth stage of the dakar rally by just one second from stephane peterhansel , who extended his overall lead to more than seven minutes in south america on tuesday . nascar star gordon claimed his first victory of this year 's race , and his third overall , as he snatched the quickest time on the shortened 163 kilometer stage from fiambala in argentina to copiapo in chile . it was cut by 40km as some competitors arrived late following monday 's leg . he clocked one hour , 40 minutes and 21 seconds in his hummer to head off bmw 's peterhansel , who has won three car titles and six on bikes . the frenchman now leads carlos sainz by seven minutes and 36 seconds , with the former world rally champion finishing fourth behind qatar 's nasser al-attiyah . defending champion giniel de villiers gave volkswagen with three drivers in the top five , but is still way back in 20th due to his problems on monday . gordon was left eight overall , more than an hour off the pace , while his compatriot mark miller is fourth in another volkswagen after placing sixth on tuesday . today 's special stage was perfect for us with a lot of camel grass . it 's on this type of terrain that the hummer is doing great , ' gordon told the race 's official web site . i am glad we managed to recover from yesterday . i got stuck twice yesterday and the engine overheated . we lost one hour . it 's sad but the race is still long . we 've only had four days of raid so far . a stage victory means nothing to us . it 's the final victory we are in for . ' in the bikes , defending champion marc coma bounced back from losing moer than 40 minutes over the last two days to win the stage . the spaniard was left in sixth overall , 38 minutes and 50 seconds behind frenchman cyril depres , who was third on the stage also riding a 690cc ktm machine . his compatriot david casteu , riding a smaller 450cc sherco machine , was runner-up to retain second overall -- almost nine minutes behind with 10 stages left . | american driver robby gordon wins the fourth stage to be eighth overall |
russian <tsp> fourth seed elena dementieva avoided an embarrassing early exit when comeback queen jelena dokic 's french open hopes were ended by a back injury on thursday . jelena dokic was left in tears after being forced to retire hurt against elena dementieva at the french open . dokic , taking part in her first french open since 2004 following well-documented family problems , won the first set 6-2 and -- after her first break for treatment -- broke the 2004 finalist to lead 3-2 in their second round clash . but the russian won the next two games as the tearful former world no.4 was reduced to walking pace before calling it quits . i went for a return and i just went down and could n't get back up , ' she said . it 's very painful and very disappointing because i felt as if i had the match in my hands . ' dokic , now ranked 80th after reviving her career with a run to the quarter-finals of the australian open in january , had won her opening match on tuesday when she came back from a set down to beat slovenia 's karolina sprem 3-6 6-1 6-2 . the 26-year-old 's career had nosedived following her highly-publicized split from controversial mentor and father damir . dementieva will next play australian 30th seed samantha stosur , who won her second-round match in straight sets against belgium 's yanina wickmayer . earlier on thursday , the williams sisters also progressed through to the third round with contrasting victories . second seed serena crushed virginia ruano pascual 6-2 6-0 to set up a clash with another unseeded spaniard , maria jose martinez sanchez . third seed venus survived a scare against unseeded czech lucie safarova before completing a match that was halted on wednesday night due to bad light . the american saved a match point at 5-4 down in the third set before managing to hold , break her opponent and then serve out to love for a 6-7 ( 5-7 ) 6-2 7-5 success . venus , who lost the 2002 final to serena , will next play hungarian 29th seed agnes szavay . fifth seed jelena jankovic had no such troubles in beating magdalena rybarikova of slovakia 6-1 6-2 , setting up a third-round clash with unseeded austrian jarmila groth . seventh-seeded russian svetlana kuznetsova also advanced along with danish 10th seed caroline wozniacki , but 13th seed marion bartoli of france made a surprise exit . the 2007 wimbledon finalist lost 6-3 7-5 to tathiana garbin of italy , who will next take on unseeded virginie razzano of france . | but she called it quits after russian fourth seed won the next two games |
cnn <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- lionel messi 's form with barcelona has been sensational again this season , scoring 34 league goals to help the club retain the spanish title , but the burning question is whether he can reproduce that on the biggest stage . messi , the 2009 fifa world player of the year , has been hailed as the natural successor to argentina legend diego maradona , who is now his national coach . he played in all 18 of argentina 's world cup qualifiers but netted just four times as la albiceleste struggled to reach south africa by snatching south america 's fourth and final automatic place in the last round . some critics have questioned whether maradona is capable of getting the best out of messi , but the 23-year-old told cnn 's pedro pinto that the two have a close relationship . the truth is that maradona has always been very nice to me , even before he was our coach and i took my first steps as a professional , ' messi said . now that i have him as a coach , he 's even more close and he gives me a lot more of his confidence than he did before . ' is messi better than maradona ? the comparisons with maradona have been inevitable , especially after messi 's stunning goal against getafe that evoked memories of his sometime mentor 's solo effort against england 24 years ago . he 's a legend in argentina , everyone from a young age knows who diego armando maradona is . at first , it was strange to have him as our coach . the truth is he was a little imposing . but afterwards , we started getting used to him and he 's been our coach for a while , so now it 's normal . also , he 's really close to the players , he 's one of the guys , so there 's no problem . ' he wears the no . 10 shirt made famous by maradona , who won the world cup for argentina as captain in 1986 with a series of dazzling displays in mexico . it 's very special for me to wear the shirt of the national team . i think it 's a beautiful responsibility to be playing with this shirt , especially with such a football-crazy country watching everything we do . it 's something very beautiful , ' he said . maradona has had well-documented troubles with drugs and his party lifestyle , even being kicked out of the 1994 world cup , but messi maintains a much lower profile off the pitch . i 've always had my family really close by , and my friends , ' he said . the truth is that i 've never been one to go out much , to go out partying . i 've never had those problems because , yeah , my family has always helped me out with that . ' the rosario-born forward said that he is hoping to make the world cup mine ' despite the weight of expectations on his shoulders . i pray . hopefully , it will be my world cup , argentina 's world cup and that we hit the ground running and play up to peoples'expectations and win the world cup , ' messi said . who will be the world cup 's best player ? messi acknowledges that barcelona 's free-flowing style under coach pep guardiola gives him more chance to shine than with argentina , where he has a different role . they are different systems and different styles and everything , no ? at barcelona , guardiola decided to use me more in midfield and that 's when i had more touches on the ball and played more around the front of the area . and well , i 've had the luck to be able to score more goals , ' he said . people have an opinion and i respect it . i 'm the first person who wants to do well with my national team and perform like i do with barcelona . i know that this is a really good opportunity for me and i 'm going to try to do it . ' messi insists he feels no extra pressure going into the world cup , with argentina 's first group b match against nigeria on june 12 , as the intense media cauldron in spain has prepared him well . i already live with constant pressure to play well , to win titles and , as a result , i do n't worry about pressure , ' he said . i do believe that argentina is n't messi alone . it 's a group where everyone is going to keep moving forward . once i step onto the pitch , i try to concentrate and get myself into the game . sometimes , it 's hard , but i try to stay focused when i step onto the pitch . ' who will win the world cup ? argentina are not among the favorites after struggling to impress under maradona , and messi admits that european champions spain , five-time world cup winners brazil and 1966 titleholders england are the teams to beat . i think that right now , the strongest sides going into the world cup are spain , england and brazil . they had a strong , easy qualifying and are very tough , ' he said . but you have to show up in the world cup , and in the world cup anything can happen . ' | lionel messi tells cnn he is determined to live up to high expectations in south africa |
mcconnell <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- attorney general eric holder made clear thursday that the obama administration recognizes the authority of federal courts , including the supreme court , to rule on whether the 2010 health care reform law or any other laws passed by congress are constitutional . the declaration by holder came in a letter to a federal appeal 's court that had ordered the government to respond by thursday in a legal and political spat over the health care law championed by president barack obama . the attorney general personally met the deadline with a three-page , single-spaced letter -- following the specific instructions of the 5th u.s . circuit court of appeals , which is hearing a challenge to the health care law . holder 's letter affirmed the government 's stance that federal judges indeed have the authority to decide the fate of the 2010 affordable care act -- and any other law congress passes . the power of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation is beyond dispute , ' holder said . read the letter ( pdf ) his personal involvement in crafting the response signaled the issue 's hot-button importance within the administration four days after obama made controversial remarks that advised the supreme court not to take an unprecedented ' step by overturning the health care reform law . obama and the white house have since attempted to clarify the president 's initial comments , which were in response to a reporter 's question about the supreme court 's three days of hearings on the health care law last week . however , holder 's letter made clear that the substance of obama 's remarks were in line with the administration 's recognition that the high court has the power of judicial review . the president 's remarks were fully consistent with the principles described herein , ' concluded holder 's letter . the dispute involving the court and the executive branch has highlighted the political dispute over whether the health care law will survive various legal challenges , including the pending supreme court decision on the constitutionality of a key provision . the high court 's ruling , expected in june , would take precedence over any other courts hearing similar appeals . the outcome of the health care cases in an election year could have a lasting impact on obama 's re-election chances as well as the credibility of the federal courts , which are supposed to be beyond politics . on monday , obama said he was confident that the supreme court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically-elected congress , and i just remind conservative commentators that for years , what we 've heard is , the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint , that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a dually constituted and passed law . ' some conservative critics interpreted those remarks as a challenge to judicial authority , suggesting obama was putting political pressure on the high court . a day after the president 's initial remarks , the three republican-appointed appellate judges held a hearing on a challenge to the health care law from physician-owned hospitals . judge jerry smith , a reagan appointee , was especially tough on a justice department lawyer defending the law and specifically mentioned the obama remarks from the day before . i 'm referring to statements by the president in the past few days to the effect , and i 'm sure you 've heard about them , that it is somehow inappropriate for what he termed'unelected'judges to strike acts of congress that have enjoyed -- he was referring to , of course , obamacare -- to what he termed broad consensus in majorities in both houses of congress , ' smith said . that has troubled a number of people who have read it as somehow a challenge to the federal courts or to their authority or to the appropriateness of the concept of judicial review , ' smith continued . and that 's not a small matter . so i want to be sure that you 're telling us that the attorney general and the department of justice do recognize the authority of the federal courts through unelected judges to strike acts of congress or portions thereof in appropriate cases . ' government lawyer dana lydia kaersvang appeared initially taken aback , but replied such authority has existed for centuries . nevertheless , smith and judges emilio garza and leslie southwick then ordered the justice department to submit by noon thursday texas time a three-page , single-spaced letter addressing whether the obama administration believes courts do indeed enjoy that power . in a sign of the political nature of the imbroglio , smith 's phrasing in open court of the law as obamacare ' used a term coined by opponents of the law . holder 's letter thursday offered repeated deference to the power of the federal courts . he said the justice department has not in this litigation , nor in any other litigation of which i am aware , ever asked this or any other court to reconsider or limit long-established precedent concerning judicial review of the constitutionality of federal legislation . ' legal analysts say the administration is walking a fine line in trying to tamp down criticism from legal and political circles . there are two things going on , of course , ' said thomas goldstein , a prominent washington attorney , law professor , and publisher of scotusblog.com . first , holder ( in the letter ) says that we have an argument courts ca n't hear this case . second , if you can hear the case , you certainly have the power to invalidate part of the statute as constitutional . but ( he says ) you should n't do that lightly . ' the last part of holder 's letter is how they are framing the president 's point -- that the courts need to give the elected branches deference , ' goldstein added . it 's a respectful letter , but it has an element of ,'what are you talking about , the president never said that .' the specific issue before the appeals court was a provision in the health care law restricting doctor-owned hospitals from expanding their facilities . the challenge was brought by an east texas spine-and-joint hospital , and the case is separate from the cases being considered by the supreme court . after his initial remarks monday proved controversial , obama sought to clarify them tuesday . the point i was making is that the supreme court is the final say on our constitution and our laws , and all of us have to respect it , but it 's precisely because of that extraordinary power that the court has traditionally exercised significant restraint and deference to our duly elected legislature , our congress , ' obama said . and so the burden is on those who would overturn a law like this . ' the imbroglio continued thursday , with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell , r-kentucky , using a rotary club speech in lexington to tell obama to back off ' and let the courts do their work without political interference . the president crossed a dangerous line this week . and anyone who cares about liberty needs to call him out on it , ' mcconnell said . the independence of the court must be defended . regardless of how the justices decide this case , they 're answerable , above all , to the constitution they swore to uphold . the fact that this president does not appear to feel similarly constrained to respect their independence does n't change that one bit . so respectfully , i would suggest the president back off . ' even obama 's former harvard law school professor and mentor , laurence tribe , said the president obviously misspoke , ' telling the wall street journal that i do n't think anything was gained by his making these comments and i do n't think any harm was done , except by public confusion . ' meanwhile , white house press secretary jay carney faced skeptical reporters thursday just before holder 's letter arrived at the appeals court . carney said it was preposterous ' to suggest obama does not respect the power of courts to rule on the constitutionality of legislation . it is kind of ridiculous to believe that the president was n't talking about the context of the ( health care ) case , but i completely concede that he did not describe the context when he took the question and answered it on monday , ' carney said . two years ago , obama attracted similar outcry when he criticized the high court 's conservative majority for striking down a campaign finance reform law , giving corporations greater power to spend in federal elections . some conservative legal sources privately expressed disappointment in the appeals court 's order this week , saying it appeared punitive and petty to demand the justice department defend a position it had never disputed in court . it was like he ( the judge ) was giving a homework assignment to an unprepared student , ' said one right-leaning lawyer , who opposes the health care law . it has the effect of putting the judiciary on the defensive , and could give rise to concerns the courts will look at the law from a political , not constitutional , perspective . ' the supreme court held three days of oral arguments on the health care last week . the justices have not , and by custom will not , comment on pending appeals . their written opinions , due in the next three months , will be the final word on the affordable care act 's constitutionality , particularly the individual mandate ' provision that requires most americans to have health insurance by 2014 or face a financial penalty . cnn 's brian todd , dugald mcconnell and tom cohen contributed to this report . | new : sen. mcconnell says president obama should back off ' on the issue |
globes <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the drama that is hollywood 's awards season reaches its midpoint sunday night with the 19th annual screen actors guild honors -- the only industry awards that solely recognize performers . will steven spielberg 's lincoln ' regain its best picture front-runner status lost when ben affleck 's argo ' won at the golden globes two weeks ago ? who will take the best actor sag trophy -- lincoln ' star daniel day-lewis or hugh jackman for les miserables ' ? both men won best-actor golden globes this month . the sag awards , which are decided exclusively by actors , are distinguished from the globes , which are chosen by a group of about 80 members of the hollywood foreign press association . the five film sag awards traditionally set the stage for the oscars , voted by about 8,000 members of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences , to be handed out four weeks later . the sag ceremony at the shrine exposition center in los angeles also includes eight primetime television categories , a followup to the globes and last fall 's emmys . the live telecast aired on tnt and tbs should offer emotional moments , especially when carl reiner and alec baldwin present television legend dick van dyke with the sag 49th life achievement award . the race for best picture a win by lincoln ' or les miserables ' in sag 's top category -- officially known as outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture ' -- would create important buzz for the film in the academy awards best-pic battle . les miserables , ' a big-screen adaptation of the smash broadway musical , was given the golden globe for best comedy or musical movie , although lincoln ' lost to argo ' in the globe 's best drama film competition . if argo ' upsets again this weekend , it could influence oscar voters when they cast ballots next month . best lead film actor ' lincoln ' and les miserables ' also hold center stage in the race for best lead actor after the globes . daniel day-lewis , who portrayed abraham lincoln , and hugh jackman , who acted and sang as jean valjean , claimed the best-actor globes for drama and musical films , respectively . their sag competitors are denzel washington for flight , ' bradley cooper for silver linings playbook ' and john hawkes for the sessions . ' best lead film actress this category pits jessica chastain , who played the cia analyst who helped track down osama bin laden in kathryn bigelow 's zero dark thirty , ' against jennifer lawrence , nominated for the romantic comedy silver linings playbook . ' chastain and lawrence won the best drama and comedy actress globes , respectively . naomi watts , who played a mother who survived the 2004 indian ocean tsunami in the impossible , ' is also in the running for the sag and oscar best actress honors . marion cotillard -- rust and bone ' -- and helen mirren -- hitchcock ' -- round out the sag competition but were not nominated for an oscar . best supporting actor in a film all five supporting-actor nominees already own acting oscars , including tommy lee jones , who is nominated for his portrayal of congressman thaddeus stevens in lincoln . ' the others in this well-stocked sag category include philip seymour hoffman , who plays a spiritual leader in the master , ' alan arkin , for his role as a hollywood film producer in argo , ' robert de niro for silver linings playbook , ' and javier bardem for his role in skyfall , ' the latest james bond movie . bardem is the only one in this category not also competing for an oscar this year . best supporting actress in a film anne hathaway , honored with the globe for best supporting actress for her performance in les miserables , ' faces tough competition for the sag and oscar awards from sally field , who portrayed first lady mary todd lincoln in lincoln . ' the other nominees are helen hunt for the sessions , ' nicole kidman for the paperboy ' and maggie smith for the best exotic marigold hotel . ' primetime television outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries kevin costner , hatfields & mccoys ' woody harrelson , game change ' ed harris , game change ' clive owen , hemingway & gellhorn ' bill paxton , hatfields & mccoys ' outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries nicole kidman , hemingway & gellhorn ' julianne moore , game change ' charlotte rampling , restless ' sigourney weaver , political animals ' alfre woodard , steel magnolias ' outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series alec baldwin , 30 rock ' ty burrell , modern family ' louis c.k. , louie ' jim parsons , the big bang theory ' eric stonestreet , modern family ' outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series edie falco , nurse jackie ' tina fey , 30 rock ' amy poehler parks and recreation ' sofia vergara , modern family ' betty white , hot in cleveland ' outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series ' 30 rock ' ' the big bang theory ' ' glee ' ' modern family ' ' nurse jackie ' ' the office ' outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series claire danes , homeland ' michelle dockery , downton abbey ' jessica lange , american horror story : asylum ' julianna margulies , the good wife ' maggie smith , downton abbey ' outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series steve buscemi , boardwalk empire ' bryan cranston , breaking bad ' jeff daniels , the newsroom ' jon hamm , mad men ' damian lewis , homeland ' outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series ' boardwalk empire ' ' breaking bad ' ' downton abbey ' ' homeland ' ' mad men ' | daniel day-lewis , hugh jackman emerged from globes as best-actor favorites |
british <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- a british surgeon amputated the arm of a wounded teenager in congo , africa , with help from instructions sent to him by text message . british surgeon david nott , center , with two colleagues in a congo field hospital where he carried out the operation . david nott texted his surgical colleague meirion thomas , who is one of only a handful of uk surgeons familiar with the difficult procedure of removing the collar bone and shoulder blade . david nott realized that teenager j , whose arms had been ripped off and who was now gangrenous , had only a few days to live . i knew that the only way to save this boy 's life was to do a forequarter amputation , and i knew that professor meirion thomas was really the expert , ' nott said . nott , a vascular surgeon at the royal marsden hospital in london , who volunteers one month a year with humanitarian organization doctors without borders , had never performed such an operation . watch an interview with nott » thomas replied almost immediately with 10 steps nott should follow to carry out the procedure and then signed off with easy ! good luck . ' david nott followed his colleague 's instructions step by step : i felt i had like my guardian angel on my left shoulder showing me what to do . i just got on with it , and everything he told me , i just did ' . nott and his team embarked on the three-hour operation with just one pint of donated blood . teenager j is said to have made a full recovery while nott stayed to keep an eye on his wounds . thomas said , all i did was tell david the 10 steps , and i knew that he would follow them . ' | text message taught british surgeon how to amputate the arm of teenager in congo |
china <tsp> ( cnn ) -- here at an international gathering of japan specialists currently underway in ljubljana , slovenia , the actions of japanese prime minister shinzo abe in honoring his country 's war criminals have come in for sharp criticism . nobody attending the european association of japanese studies conference seems surprised , but i have yet to meet anyone who thinks abe has done japan any favors . one attendee suggests that , in sending a personal message to a ceremony commemorating japan 's war criminals , abe has yet again handed a strategic gift to china and south korea , while making japan look churlish about its war responsibility . another said that if chancellor angela merkel made a similar gesture repudiating the verdicts against nazi war criminals at nuremburg , her political career would end and germany would face strong condemnation and isolation in europe . so yet again prime minister shinzo abe has scored an own goal on history through sending a message to the ceremony , held at the sacred site of koya-san in the mountains of wakayama in april this year .'foundation of the fatherland' the site is the heartland of the shingon sect of buddhism and is designated as a unesco world heritage site . the ceremony is held annually at the okunoin cemetery , where there is a statue inscribed with the names of 1,180 war criminals , including the 14 class-a war criminals enshrined at yasukuni shrine in tokyo . the statue was erected 20 years ago with the explicit objective of restoring the honor of these war criminals and honoring their sacrifice for the foundation of the fatherland . ' an inscription on the statue decries the punishment of war criminals by the allied powers as a harsh and retaliatory trial never before seen in the world . ' abe 's message was read out at the ceremony on april 29 this year , but only came to light this week . chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga told a press conference that the message was not sent in abe 's capacity as prime minister , and as such the government would not comment on it . according to japanese newspaper the asahi shimbun , abe 's message stated : ' i would like to sincerely express my feelings of remembrance to the spirit of the showa era martyrs who staked their souls to become the foundation of their nation so that japan could achieve the peace and prosperity of today . ' defenders of japan 's wartime conduct commonly use the phrase showa era martyrs ' -- which refers to the period of japanese history corresponding to the 1926-89 reign of emperor hirohito -- to refer to the war criminals . this is how they are described at the yushukan museum on the grounds of yasukuni shrine , the talismanic site for those who seek to glorify japan 's devastating war of imperial aggression in asia from 1931 to 1945 . it is not the first time abe has sent a message for the koya-san ceremony . last year , he wrote : i want to establish the existence of a new japan that would not be an embarrassment to the spirit of the war dead . ' perhaps , but many living japanese are embarrassed by his efforts to burnish japan 's wartime record .'disingenuous'excuse abe 's spokesman said that his statement , and offerings at yasukuni shrine twice this year , were made in his private capacity . apparently abe is under the illusion that he can call a timeout as japan 's political leader whenever it suits him . this is disingenuous , but a dubious sleight of hand that japan 's leaders often invoke when trampling on the dignity of japan 's wartime victims . world leaders do n't get to declare timeouts . although most japanese do n't share abe 's enthusiasm for japan in jackboots , brand japan suffers from abe 's revisionist views because he is the nation 's leader 24/7 and the world scrutinizes all of his words and gestures . by showing a lack of contrition about the horrific suffering japan inflicted on much of the rest of asia , abe has inflamed tensions with china and south korea , and left japan even more isolated . tokyo 's friends in washington cringe every time abe lets loose one of his boomeranging salvos on history . like most japanese they wonder why abe ca n't just stick to abenomics and leave history to the historians . there are good reasons why japanese are proud of what japan has accomplished since 1945 in promoting peace and prosperity in the asia-pacific . but by trying to rehabilitate an era when japan ran amok in asia , abe keeps everyone 's focus on japan 's embarrassing 20th century misadventures . abe insists that his door is always open ' for dialogue with china and south korea , but his knack for slamming it in their faces by trying to airbrush the past keeps japan isolated in northeast asia . what is he thinking ? why would abe make such a gesture , given the predictable consequences for japan 's regional relations ? it is not just myopia that explains abe 's blunders . abe is waging a culture war to redefine japanese national identity , one that he thinks is way too masochistic . he wants to nurture pride and patriotism among japanese and , for him , that means revising history . abe is a true believer and his gestures are a message to his political base that he has not given up the fight to overturn the postwar order imposed by the us , including what he views as the unjust verdicts handed down by the international military tribunal for the far east , aka the tokyo trials . earlier this year he caved into us pressure to pledge he would not overturn the 1993 kono statement in which japan acknowledges its responsibility for the comfort women system , having earlier made noises that he might do so . washington is eager to get its two asian allies , japan and south korea , talking again , but this been difficult because abe 's revisionist views on history deeply offend koreans . abe 's reassurances about the kono statement was the minimum necessary to convince president park geun-hye to agree to meet with abe and president barack obama in the netherlands on the sidelines of a nuclear proliferation summit . chilly reception but abe 's minor concession got a chilly reception in seoul . he is known there for his apologist views about the comfort women system and quibbling about the level of coercion used in recruiting tens of thousands of young women to serve as wartime sex slaves for the japanese armed forces . moreover , a month after signaling he would not repudiate the kono statement , abe sent his message praising the war criminals . and his supporters in the diet proceeded with an investigation of the comfort women system aimed at discrediting the kono statement , a damaging hit-and-run attack aimed at sowing doubts among japanese who are showing signs of perpetrator 's fatigue and the burdens of war responsibility . the attack was also red meat for abe 's reactionary base . abe 's defiant and unrepentant attitudes towards history are unlikely to change enough to satisfy the neighbors . but will they continue to cold shoulder japan ? president park is under a lot of u.s. pressure to get over the past so that plans to jump-start a strategic dialogue next month might proceed . but a meeting with chinese president xi jinping on the sidelines of the november apec summit in beijing now looks more difficult due to abe 's actions , which ensure that japan 's wartime past continues to cast a long shadow into the 21st century . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of jeff kingston . | abe 's comments have handed a strategic gift to china and south korea , kingston writes |
tatum <tsp> ( cnn ) -- as paige emerges from her comatose state , she mistakes the man at her bedside , her husband leo , for a doctor . you realize paige has no memory of her life with leo -- not their marriage , their love , nor their vow . ' and that 's when it happens : tears ready behind your eyes . before you know it , they 've rolled down your cheeks and into your popcorn . from love story ' and the notebook ' to the vow , ' which opens in theaters today , hollywood has long sought to cash in at the box office by tugging at viewers'heartstrings . and while some moviegoers will buy tickets to a poignant love story looking for a sort of cathartic experience , mary beth oliver , a professor of media studies at penn state university , says it 's unclear if movies actually serve such a purpose . people certainly go to the movie theater with the intention of having a good cry and letting out certain emotions , oliver said . however , she added , there are many reasons why films make people feel better , and the movie itself might not even be one of them . a lot of it has to do with who you 're watching the movie with , ' oliver said . if i go to the movies with my best friend , and we cry all over each other and comfort one another , i end up feeling better . but really , it was ... the support my friend gave me that made me feel better . but i attribute it to the movie . ' while movies might not actually make viewers feel better , they do allow us to experience strong emotions in safe places , ' said john sherry , an associate professor specializing in mass media effects at michigan state university . good writers and producers know how to arrange the elements of the film to hold you in a non-critical experience state where you are engaged with the main character , and that character 's experience , ' sherry said . done well , you experience the main character 's emotions along with her . ' and there 's a reason why movies make for such great dates . the way that we react to the emotional experiences in movies gives insight to how we might handle those emotional moments in real life , ' he added . when two people are just getting to know one another , and impress one another , they might think twice before expressing such emotions , said richard j. harris , a professor of psychology at kansas state university . harris , who has studied couples'experiences with watching romantic movies , said more women than men give themselves permission to respond to sad or romantic movies . but holding back emotions can actually affect a viewers'overall experience , he said . the enjoyment of a movie is more based on the emotions you feel , rather than the emotions you express , ' harris noted . but expressing [ those emotions ] can actually help you enjoy [ the experience ] more . ' it 's like a fan allowing themselves to get caught up in the competitiveness of a sporting event . when people watch a sporting event , and they 're all rooting for the same team , they 'll yell , cheer , hug each other , ' harris said . that stuff enhances the enjoyment ( of the experience ) . ' even the vow 's ' stars , rachel mcadams and channing tatum , said they 've had movie-induced sob sessions in the past . tatum told the los angeles times that finding neverland ' and animal movies , like war horse , ' always seem to move him to tears while mcadams admitted to crying so loudly during the way we were , ' that she woke her sister up out of a sound sleep . | mcadams and tatum have admitted to having movie-induced sob sessions in the past |
scotland <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- britain 's prince william and his bride-to-be kate middleton , returned to the scene of their early romance friday , visiting st. andrews university in fife , scotland . as patron of the university 's 600th anniversary appeal , prince william officially launched the event , viewing the surviving papal bull -- a series of letters issued by the pope in 1413 -- and unveiling a plaque in front of students and staff . prince william , who is second line to the british throne , studied art history at st. andrews when he first met kate in 2001 . the pair grew closer after moving into a shared house with two other friends and were said to have started dating in late 2003 . they both graduated in 2005 . catherine might be a bit emotional today , ' said cnn royal contributor mark saunders . she came here ( st. andrews ) as just as a normal student and she comes back today as a woman who will one day sit on the throne of england . this university claims it has the most student marriages of any university in great britain . my theory is , this is such a small town that there really is n't anything else to do but fall in love . ' as a wedding present to the couple , the university has established a new scholarship in honor of its two graduates . we were very pleased to make the offer of this scholarship as a wedding gift ... and absolutely delighted that they have graciously accepted , ' university principal and vice-chancellor louise richardson said in a statement . it is the second official engagement for the couple , who launched a lifeboat in anglesey , north wales yesterday . the pair currently resides in anglesey while prince william serves as an raf search and rescue helicopter pilot . their first official engagement was said to be deliberately low-key , in order to ease middleton into royal life . | it 's their second official engagement together and their first in scotland |
st. andrews university <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- britain 's prince william and his bride-to-be kate middleton , returned to the scene of their early romance friday , visiting st. andrews university in fife , scotland . as patron of the university 's 600th anniversary appeal , prince william officially launched the event , viewing the surviving papal bull -- a series of letters issued by the pope in 1413 -- and unveiling a plaque in front of students and staff . prince william , who is second line to the british throne , studied art history at st. andrews when he first met kate in 2001 . the pair grew closer after moving into a shared house with two other friends and were said to have started dating in late 2003 . they both graduated in 2005 . catherine might be a bit emotional today , ' said cnn royal contributor mark saunders . she came here ( st. andrews ) as just as a normal student and she comes back today as a woman who will one day sit on the throne of england . this university claims it has the most student marriages of any university in great britain . my theory is , this is such a small town that there really is n't anything else to do but fall in love . ' as a wedding present to the couple , the university has established a new scholarship in honor of its two graduates . we were very pleased to make the offer of this scholarship as a wedding gift ... and absolutely delighted that they have graciously accepted , ' university principal and vice-chancellor louise richardson said in a statement . it is the second official engagement for the couple , who launched a lifeboat in anglesey , north wales yesterday . the pair currently resides in anglesey while prince william serves as an raf search and rescue helicopter pilot . their first official engagement was said to be deliberately low-key , in order to ease middleton into royal life . | prince william and kate have returned to st. andrews university |
alien <tsp> ( cnn ) it 's hard to believe it 's been 36 years since the first alien ' extraterrestrial beastie burst out of john hurt 's chest and into moviegoers'nightmares . but fans of the sci-fi/horror franchise , which sputtered out with 1997 's alien : resurrection , ' are still eager to see what filmmaker neill blomkamp can do with the material . blomkamp , who made the respected sci-fi action thriller district 9 ' and has a new movie , chappie , ' coming out march 6 , posted an instagram message last week implying his next film will be a new alien ' project . according to the hollywood reporter , a cnn content partner , blomkamp will ignore the last two sequels in the series -- alien 3 ' and alien : resurrection ' -- and pick up the storyline after the events of the james cameron-directed aliens . ' beyond that , details about blomkamp 's alien ' are still scarce . there 's no word about when the film might hit theaters or whether it would bring back characters from the earlier movies -- although star sigourney weaver is likely to return . a blomkamp reboot of alien ' seems promising ( although we have n't seen chappie ' yet ) . then again , hollywood is more than capable of screwing it up . here are five ways they could blow it . do n't cast sigourney weaver sure , someone could make a great alien ' movie without her . but why would you ? she 's a fine actress , she wants to do it and she would lend instant credibility to the project . luckily , blomkamp appears to agree . chatter about a blomkamp alien ' movie began almost two months ago when the south african filmmaker started posting alien ' -themed concept art to instagram -- including images of weaver as her ripley character . weaver also has a role in chappie ' and has gushed about blomkamp 's talent , fueling speculation that the two will work together again . keep the aliens exactly the same with their skeletal bodies , armored heads , dual sets of jaws and fangs dripping with venom , the alien ' xenomorphs are among the most iconic -- and freaky -- creatures in science fiction . they 're also almost four decades old , originally created by h.r . giger . we 're not saying blomkamp should replace them with something totally different . but every species evolves . make them more cunning and even scarier looking . it 's time for a refresh . thankfully , blomkamp seems to have done just that with his early concept art . have them attack earth invading space aliens have been a science-fiction staple since at least 1951 's the day the earth stood still . ' but having a marauding alien terrorize times square or scamper down sunset boulevard would look pretty silly . the alien ' movies have generated suspense largely through the claustrophobic feel of humans trapped in enclosed spaces with deadly critters who might pop out at any moment . so instead of earth , what about this : what if an alien stowaway or two infiltrate an exclusive space colony -- like blomkamp 's own elysium ? it might be satisfying to see the toothy monsters wreak havoc on a bunch of pampered elitists . bow to'prometheus' ridley scott 's 2012 film prometheus ' was a prequel of sorts to the first alien . ' and a rumored prometheus ' sequel , if it ever happens , is expected to veer even further from the alien ' mythology . nothing against that film or against scott , the creative force behind the alien ' franchise . but blomkamp should feel free to pursue his own vision . alien : the musical ! ' haha ! just kidding . we hope . | district 9 ' director neill blomkamp will make a new movie in the alien ' series |
florida <tsp> orlando ( cnn ) -- oi -- sejam bem-vindos ! ' -- meaning hi , welcome ! ' -- is a portuguese phrase heard more and more these days at florida 's tourist spots . that 's because florida is the top u.s. vacation destination for brazilians , who are taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate and low prices . brazilians outnumbered all other international travelers to florida in 2011 , up 41 % from the previous year , according to state tourism officials . and there 's no sign of this brazilian invasion slowing down : the u.s. commerce department projects 1.5 million brazilians will visit the united states in 2012 -- and most of them will head to florida . floridians are used to seeing brazilian tour groups marching through outlet malls and theme parks , usually dressed in matching t-shirts in single-file lines behind their leader . these brazilian tourists are usually loaded with cash and ready to clear the shelves of the name-brand outlets . that 's because even at regular price , many goods and services in the united states are much cheaper than in brazil , where tariffs , taxes and transportation costs can mean higher prices . we [ took ] about 15,000 passengers on shopping tours , and they on average spend about $ 300 to $ 400 each person , ' said claudia menezes , vice president of pegasus transportation . and those were just the brazilian tour groups visiting outlet malls and theme parks in south florida and orlando . menezes says she expects her business to double in 2012 . that could be a conservative estimate as the united states plans to expand its global entry program , which aims to speed up the visa approval process for international visitors . president obama announced the expansion of the plan last week at a news conference at disney world in orlando , florida . he said he hopes to make it easier for visitors from countries with rapidly growing economies , huge populations and emerging middle classes ' like brazil and china to visit the united states . he said he wants the plan expanded this year . ' he said brazil was especially important for florida ' because it has a huge population that loves to come to florida ... but we make it too hard for them . ' we want them spending money here , in orlando , in florida in the united states of america , which will boost our businesses and our economy , ' he said . it 's a long process for many brazilians to get to the united states : on average , people have to wait 76 days just to get an interview at the largest u.s. consulate in brazil , in sao paulo . and with only four u.s. consular offices in a country that is bigger than the continental united states , a lot of brazilians trying to visit the u.s. must travel long distances for their interview . as a result , many are opting to travel to europe because the visa process is easier . menezes says her tour business depends on the united states improving its visa process : ' if they make it easier , it would be even more people coming here , ' she said . on a recent afternoon at the orlando premium outlets near disney world , one of the hottest-selling items among the brazilian tourists is luggage . they buy the suitcases , then stuff them with recently purchased shoes , clothing , bags and electronics until the luggage is almost bursting at the seams . that kind of spending has translated into billions of dollars in revenue for the united states . in 2010 , brazilian visitors spent nearly $ 6 billion on u.s. travel and tourism-related goods and services , nearly 30 % more than the prior year , according to a report from the u.s. commerce department . it 's a trend that has been going on since 2003 and has , according to the report , propelled brazil up the rankings to become the fifth largest international market for u.s. travel and tourism-related exports . ' florida 's retailers are n't the only ones getting an economic boost : many of central florida 's numerous theme parks have also seen a large increase in brazilian tourists . disney world says 2011 was a record-breaking year for brazilian guests at its parks . as a result , disney hired 54 portuguese-speaking super greeters , ' most of them from brazil , to assist brazilian tour groups throughout disney 's parks . seaworld orlando has seen a steady increase in guests from brazil over the past five years , says peter frey , senior marketing officer with seaworld parks . as a result , seaworld recently launched a website in portuguese , and frey says the company is looking to expand its portuguese-speaking employees . we are offering classes for employees to learn the basics of portuguese , ' he said . brazil 's economy is booming after a quick recovery from the global economic downturn , and a new class of brazilians is traveling and spending money , giving florida a much-needed economic shot in the arm , according to sean snaith , an economics expert at the university of central florida . there is an emerging middle class [ in brazil ] who has disposable income , ' he said . only a few years ago , brazilian tourists were not always welcomed by shop owners in central and south florida , a tour guide said . today , businesses are catering to these cash-laden brazilian tourists . brazilians are also investing in florida 's sagging real estate market , particularly in south florida , either for a vacation home or just as an investment . the prices in miami are a bargain , compared with the prices in brazil , according to miami realtor cristiano piquet . in brazil or rio , high-end real estate is around $ 1,000 per square foot , while in miami , you can find high-end oceanfront property , like the trump towers , for only $ 500 per square foot , ' said piquet , who gets 80 % of his business from brazilians . he has 75 agents . brazilians love miami , the weather is similar to brazil , [ it 's ] very safe ... [ and there are ] daily flights from brazil to miami , ' he said . diego gasques from rio de janeiro , who owns two condominiums in miami , agrees . it 's kind of a vacation place for us , ' he said . of course miami is a beautiful place , a lot of nice people around -- a lot of bodies ... it 's a nice place to hang out to have some fun . ' while spanish is still the most popular second language in most south florida businesses , these days it 's becoming more common to hear , obrigada e volte sempre ! ' -- portuguese for thank you , come again ! ' cnn 's shasta darlington and john zarrella contributed to this report . | brazilians outnumbered all other international travelers to florida last year |
florida <tsp> orlando ( cnn ) -- oi -- sejam bem-vindos ! ' -- meaning hi , welcome ! ' -- is a portuguese phrase heard more and more these days at florida 's tourist spots . that 's because florida is the top u.s. vacation destination for brazilians , who are taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate and low prices . brazilians outnumbered all other international travelers to florida in 2011 , up 41 % from the previous year , according to state tourism officials . and there 's no sign of this brazilian invasion slowing down : the u.s. commerce department projects 1.5 million brazilians will visit the united states in 2012 -- and most of them will head to florida . floridians are used to seeing brazilian tour groups marching through outlet malls and theme parks , usually dressed in matching t-shirts in single-file lines behind their leader . these brazilian tourists are usually loaded with cash and ready to clear the shelves of the name-brand outlets . that 's because even at regular price , many goods and services in the united states are much cheaper than in brazil , where tariffs , taxes and transportation costs can mean higher prices . we [ took ] about 15,000 passengers on shopping tours , and they on average spend about $ 300 to $ 400 each person , ' said claudia menezes , vice president of pegasus transportation . and those were just the brazilian tour groups visiting outlet malls and theme parks in south florida and orlando . menezes says she expects her business to double in 2012 . that could be a conservative estimate as the united states plans to expand its global entry program , which aims to speed up the visa approval process for international visitors . president obama announced the expansion of the plan last week at a news conference at disney world in orlando , florida . he said he hopes to make it easier for visitors from countries with rapidly growing economies , huge populations and emerging middle classes ' like brazil and china to visit the united states . he said he wants the plan expanded this year . ' he said brazil was especially important for florida ' because it has a huge population that loves to come to florida ... but we make it too hard for them . ' we want them spending money here , in orlando , in florida in the united states of america , which will boost our businesses and our economy , ' he said . it 's a long process for many brazilians to get to the united states : on average , people have to wait 76 days just to get an interview at the largest u.s. consulate in brazil , in sao paulo . and with only four u.s. consular offices in a country that is bigger than the continental united states , a lot of brazilians trying to visit the u.s. must travel long distances for their interview . as a result , many are opting to travel to europe because the visa process is easier . menezes says her tour business depends on the united states improving its visa process : ' if they make it easier , it would be even more people coming here , ' she said . on a recent afternoon at the orlando premium outlets near disney world , one of the hottest-selling items among the brazilian tourists is luggage . they buy the suitcases , then stuff them with recently purchased shoes , clothing , bags and electronics until the luggage is almost bursting at the seams . that kind of spending has translated into billions of dollars in revenue for the united states . in 2010 , brazilian visitors spent nearly $ 6 billion on u.s. travel and tourism-related goods and services , nearly 30 % more than the prior year , according to a report from the u.s. commerce department . it 's a trend that has been going on since 2003 and has , according to the report , propelled brazil up the rankings to become the fifth largest international market for u.s. travel and tourism-related exports . ' florida 's retailers are n't the only ones getting an economic boost : many of central florida 's numerous theme parks have also seen a large increase in brazilian tourists . disney world says 2011 was a record-breaking year for brazilian guests at its parks . as a result , disney hired 54 portuguese-speaking super greeters , ' most of them from brazil , to assist brazilian tour groups throughout disney 's parks . seaworld orlando has seen a steady increase in guests from brazil over the past five years , says peter frey , senior marketing officer with seaworld parks . as a result , seaworld recently launched a website in portuguese , and frey says the company is looking to expand its portuguese-speaking employees . we are offering classes for employees to learn the basics of portuguese , ' he said . brazil 's economy is booming after a quick recovery from the global economic downturn , and a new class of brazilians is traveling and spending money , giving florida a much-needed economic shot in the arm , according to sean snaith , an economics expert at the university of central florida . there is an emerging middle class [ in brazil ] who has disposable income , ' he said . only a few years ago , brazilian tourists were not always welcomed by shop owners in central and south florida , a tour guide said . today , businesses are catering to these cash-laden brazilian tourists . brazilians are also investing in florida 's sagging real estate market , particularly in south florida , either for a vacation home or just as an investment . the prices in miami are a bargain , compared with the prices in brazil , according to miami realtor cristiano piquet . in brazil or rio , high-end real estate is around $ 1,000 per square foot , while in miami , you can find high-end oceanfront property , like the trump towers , for only $ 500 per square foot , ' said piquet , who gets 80 % of his business from brazilians . he has 75 agents . brazilians love miami , the weather is similar to brazil , [ it 's ] very safe ... [ and there are ] daily flights from brazil to miami , ' he said . diego gasques from rio de janeiro , who owns two condominiums in miami , agrees . it 's kind of a vacation place for us , ' he said . of course miami is a beautiful place , a lot of nice people around -- a lot of bodies ... it 's a nice place to hang out to have some fun . ' while spanish is still the most popular second language in most south florida businesses , these days it 's becoming more common to hear , obrigada e volte sempre ! ' -- portuguese for thank you , come again ! ' cnn 's shasta darlington and john zarrella contributed to this report . | officials say 1.5 million brazilians will head to the u.s. in 2012 -- most of them to florida |
mit <tsp> ( cnn ) -- schools of robotic fish could one day map the ocean floor , detect pollution or inspect and survey submerged boats or oil and gas pipelines , researchers at the massachusetts institute of technology say . mit researcher pablo valdivia alvarado works in his lab on a robotic fish he co-created . mit engineers are showing off the latest generation of so-called robofish 15 years after they built the first one . the latest incarnation is sleeker , more streamlined and capable of mimicking the movements of a real fish . and it 's capable of exploring underwater terrain submersibles ca n't , said pablo valdivia alvarado , a mechanical engineer at the school . some of our sponsors were thinking of using them for inspection and surveillance , ' alvarado said . since these prototypes are very cheap , the idea was to build hundreds -- 200 , 500 -- and then just release them in a bay or at a port , and they would be roaming around taking measurements . ' mit researchers built their first robotic fish , robotuna , ' in 1994 . but robotuna has gone the way of the dinosaur . alvarado said the new generation -- modeled after bass and trout -- cost only a few hundred dollars and have only 10 parts instead of the thousands used in robotuna . at five to 18 inches , the new fish is much smaller than robotuna and built from a single , soft polymer . and unlike robotuna , the fish is able to be released in the oceans . most of the brains , the electronics , are embedded inside , ' said alvarado , who designed the robofish with fellow mit engineer kamal youcef-toumi . we have built prototypes with the battery inside , but for my experiments , for simplicity . we have a lot of prototypes that are simply tethered . we have a cable that runs out from the body and connects to a power supply . ' the new generation has withstood harsh conditions in the lab , including two years of testing inside tanks filled with tap water , which is corrosive to standard robots , according to alvarado , who says the robotuna inspired him to take the technology to the next level . the oil exploration company schlumberger helped fund the research , but alvarado says the u.s. navy has also expressed interest in the robofish . mit 's mechanical engineers are now turning their attention to new challenges : a robotic manta ray and a terrestrial robot in the form of a salamander . cnn 's ninette sosa contributed to this report . | engineers at mit have created a new generation of robotic fish |
mit <tsp> ( cnn ) -- schools of robotic fish could one day map the ocean floor , detect pollution or inspect and survey submerged boats or oil and gas pipelines , researchers at the massachusetts institute of technology say . mit researcher pablo valdivia alvarado works in his lab on a robotic fish he co-created . mit engineers are showing off the latest generation of so-called robofish 15 years after they built the first one . the latest incarnation is sleeker , more streamlined and capable of mimicking the movements of a real fish . and it 's capable of exploring underwater terrain submersibles ca n't , said pablo valdivia alvarado , a mechanical engineer at the school . some of our sponsors were thinking of using them for inspection and surveillance , ' alvarado said . since these prototypes are very cheap , the idea was to build hundreds -- 200 , 500 -- and then just release them in a bay or at a port , and they would be roaming around taking measurements . ' mit researchers built their first robotic fish , robotuna , ' in 1994 . but robotuna has gone the way of the dinosaur . alvarado said the new generation -- modeled after bass and trout -- cost only a few hundred dollars and have only 10 parts instead of the thousands used in robotuna . at five to 18 inches , the new fish is much smaller than robotuna and built from a single , soft polymer . and unlike robotuna , the fish is able to be released in the oceans . most of the brains , the electronics , are embedded inside , ' said alvarado , who designed the robofish with fellow mit engineer kamal youcef-toumi . we have built prototypes with the battery inside , but for my experiments , for simplicity . we have a lot of prototypes that are simply tethered . we have a cable that runs out from the body and connects to a power supply . ' the new generation has withstood harsh conditions in the lab , including two years of testing inside tanks filled with tap water , which is corrosive to standard robots , according to alvarado , who says the robotuna inspired him to take the technology to the next level . the oil exploration company schlumberger helped fund the research , but alvarado says the u.s. navy has also expressed interest in the robofish . mit 's mechanical engineers are now turning their attention to new challenges : a robotic manta ray and a terrestrial robot in the form of a salamander . cnn 's ninette sosa contributed to this report . | mit researchers built their first robotic fish , robotuna , ' in 1994 |
paris <tsp> ( cnn ) -- brand beckham is moving from the city of angels ' to the city of light . ' soccer star david will take former popstar wife victoria and their four children back to europe , with big-spending french club paris saint-germain confirming that the former england captain has passed a medical and signed a short-term deal ahead of thursday 's transfer deadline . the 37-year-old was later unveiled at a press conference , ending speculation about his next destination following the end of his six-year spell with u.s. mls team los angeles galaxy in early december . beckham said he will donate the wages earned during his five-month contract to a children 's charity in paris . it 's something exciting and something i 'm not sure has been done before , ' he told reporters , and revealed that his family will be based in his hometown london . he had been linked with a host of clubs around the world but , in the twilight of his career , has decided to join a team on the rise thanks to the injection of hundreds of millions of dollars by its qatari owners . it 's simply a very nice piece of short-term brand alignment that will be mutually beneficial to both parties , ' sports business expert simon chadwick told cnn . beckham is one of the world 's most recognisable names , both for his sporting prowess and numerous off-pitch endorsement deals , and his pulling power could provide a valuable income stream for psg -- which must conform to european football 's financial fair play rules that restrict over-spending by club owners . i think it 's very difficult to quantify , ' chadwick said . he 's been away from europe for too long -- he 's now really in his twilight years , we do n't know what part he 'll play in the team , we do n't know how he 'll be used for commercial purposes , we do n't know how the french public will respond . and we do n't know how international fans will engage with and consume the psg/beckham brand . we may see a spike in activity such as increases in ticket sales , but i am not entirely convinced that there 'll be a significant sustainable stream of revenues . ' however , one leading football executive who had unsuccessfully tried to persuade beckham to join his team said that the midfielder still had a strong role to play on and off the pitch . not only were we looking for a playmaker in midfield but also a leader in the dressing room and someone to set the standards on and off the pitch . beckham would have brought all that , ' the executive told cnn on condition of anonymity . sure beckham would have ensured exposure and possibly commercial opportunities , but without the quality as a player it would n't have been at all interesting . ' beckham had the chance to join psg in january 2012 , but opted to stay in the u.s. , ending his american mission with his second mls cup title before announcing that he would not fulfill the second year of his contract extension . i chose paris because i can see what the club are trying to do . i can see who the club are trying to bring in , ' he said thursday . it 's an exciting city and now there 's a club that 's going to have a lot of success over the next 10 , 20 , 30 years . i 'm very honored i 've been picked to be part of the future of psg . ' one man who saw him up close in the u.s. believes the former manchester united and real madrid star still has what it takes to perform on the big stage . at first it is like the marketing -- you bring in him more for the brand than the player , ' said former psg defender didier domi , who played in the mls for new england revolution in 2011 . but when i watched him in the mls he still has the physical condition to play at the highest level . he likes to compete . on the pitch he can add a lot . they are not signing him for his ability to sprint -- it 's his technique and vision . he has that ability to elevate his game depending on the opposition . he can play a part for psg in both ligue 1 and champions league . ' les parisiens ' are seeking to win the french title for the first time since 1994 , having been runner-up last season . the club 's owners , the qatar investment authority , have splashed out on top players such as zlatan ibrahimovic , thiago silva , javier pastore and lucas moura since taking over in 2011 . carlo ancelotti 's team tops the ligue 1 table on goal difference after 22 of 38 rounds in the 2012-13 campaign , and will play in the knockout phase of europe 's top club competition in a two-legged tie against spanish club valencia on february 12 and march 6 . former ac milan coach ancelotti managed beckham during the former england captain 's first loan spell with the serie a club in 2009 . however , beckham might be struggling to be fit for those matches , according to the manager of english club arsenal -- who allowed the veteran to train with his squad this month . he told me that he does n't look at all to be in shape . beckham is super-ambitious , ' arsene wenger told reporters this week . if , in his mind , he wanted to play in the premier league he would not have gone on holiday . he would have prepared and come in and tried to impress me . he told me he has done nothing at all . ' beckham admitted it might take a few weeks ' to get fully fit . it wo n't take long , ' he said . he explained that he could not play for another club in england except manchester united , where he won six premier league titles and the champions league before moving to spain in 2003 . it 's the team i support and the team i dreamed of playing for , ' said beckham , who to manchester as a teenager and progressed through the club 's academy . i 'm very honored by the offers i had from other premier league clubs but i did n't want to play there unless it was for manchester united . ' | soccer icon says he will donate his wages to a paris children 's charity |
paris <tsp> ( cnn ) -- brand beckham is moving from the city of angels ' to the city of light . ' soccer star david will take former popstar wife victoria and their four children back to europe , with big-spending french club paris saint-germain confirming that the former england captain has passed a medical and signed a short-term deal ahead of thursday 's transfer deadline . the 37-year-old was later unveiled at a press conference , ending speculation about his next destination following the end of his six-year spell with u.s. mls team los angeles galaxy in early december . beckham said he will donate the wages earned during his five-month contract to a children 's charity in paris . it 's something exciting and something i 'm not sure has been done before , ' he told reporters , and revealed that his family will be based in his hometown london . he had been linked with a host of clubs around the world but , in the twilight of his career , has decided to join a team on the rise thanks to the injection of hundreds of millions of dollars by its qatari owners . it 's simply a very nice piece of short-term brand alignment that will be mutually beneficial to both parties , ' sports business expert simon chadwick told cnn . beckham is one of the world 's most recognisable names , both for his sporting prowess and numerous off-pitch endorsement deals , and his pulling power could provide a valuable income stream for psg -- which must conform to european football 's financial fair play rules that restrict over-spending by club owners . i think it 's very difficult to quantify , ' chadwick said . he 's been away from europe for too long -- he 's now really in his twilight years , we do n't know what part he 'll play in the team , we do n't know how he 'll be used for commercial purposes , we do n't know how the french public will respond . and we do n't know how international fans will engage with and consume the psg/beckham brand . we may see a spike in activity such as increases in ticket sales , but i am not entirely convinced that there 'll be a significant sustainable stream of revenues . ' however , one leading football executive who had unsuccessfully tried to persuade beckham to join his team said that the midfielder still had a strong role to play on and off the pitch . not only were we looking for a playmaker in midfield but also a leader in the dressing room and someone to set the standards on and off the pitch . beckham would have brought all that , ' the executive told cnn on condition of anonymity . sure beckham would have ensured exposure and possibly commercial opportunities , but without the quality as a player it would n't have been at all interesting . ' beckham had the chance to join psg in january 2012 , but opted to stay in the u.s. , ending his american mission with his second mls cup title before announcing that he would not fulfill the second year of his contract extension . i chose paris because i can see what the club are trying to do . i can see who the club are trying to bring in , ' he said thursday . it 's an exciting city and now there 's a club that 's going to have a lot of success over the next 10 , 20 , 30 years . i 'm very honored i 've been picked to be part of the future of psg . ' one man who saw him up close in the u.s. believes the former manchester united and real madrid star still has what it takes to perform on the big stage . at first it is like the marketing -- you bring in him more for the brand than the player , ' said former psg defender didier domi , who played in the mls for new england revolution in 2011 . but when i watched him in the mls he still has the physical condition to play at the highest level . he likes to compete . on the pitch he can add a lot . they are not signing him for his ability to sprint -- it 's his technique and vision . he has that ability to elevate his game depending on the opposition . he can play a part for psg in both ligue 1 and champions league . ' les parisiens ' are seeking to win the french title for the first time since 1994 , having been runner-up last season . the club 's owners , the qatar investment authority , have splashed out on top players such as zlatan ibrahimovic , thiago silva , javier pastore and lucas moura since taking over in 2011 . carlo ancelotti 's team tops the ligue 1 table on goal difference after 22 of 38 rounds in the 2012-13 campaign , and will play in the knockout phase of europe 's top club competition in a two-legged tie against spanish club valencia on february 12 and march 6 . former ac milan coach ancelotti managed beckham during the former england captain 's first loan spell with the serie a club in 2009 . however , beckham might be struggling to be fit for those matches , according to the manager of english club arsenal -- who allowed the veteran to train with his squad this month . he told me that he does n't look at all to be in shape . beckham is super-ambitious , ' arsene wenger told reporters this week . if , in his mind , he wanted to play in the premier league he would not have gone on holiday . he would have prepared and come in and tried to impress me . he told me he has done nothing at all . ' beckham admitted it might take a few weeks ' to get fully fit . it wo n't take long , ' he said . he explained that he could not play for another club in england except manchester united , where he won six premier league titles and the champions league before moving to spain in 2003 . it 's the team i support and the team i dreamed of playing for , ' said beckham , who to manchester as a teenager and progressed through the club 's academy . i 'm very honored by the offers i had from other premier league clubs but i did n't want to play there unless it was for manchester united . ' | david beckham signs short-term contract at paris saint-germain |
somalia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the number of uprooted people across the world dropped slightly last year , but new displacement this year in conflict zones like pakistan , somalia and sri lanka so far has already more than offset the decline , ' the u.n. refugee agency said tuesday . pakistani displaced battle severe winds and dust at jalozai refugee camp near peshawar . today , we are seeing a relentless series of internal conflicts that are generating millions of uprooted people , ' u.n. high commissioner for refugees antonio guterres said in a news release . this is one of the main points in global trends , an annual report by the u.n. agency on developments regarding refugees , internally displaced people , asylum seekers and stateless people . the number of uprooted people worldwide ' in 2008 was 42 million , a drop of about 700,000 from 2007 , according to the report . in 2009 , we have already seen substantial new displacements , namely in pakistan , sri lanka and somalia , ' guterres said . while some displacements may be short-lived , others can take years and even decades to resolve . we continue to face several longer-term internal displacement situations in places like colombia , iraq , the democratic republic of the congo and somalia . each of these conflicts has also generated refugees who flee beyond their borders . ' the number of refugees and internally displaced people who returned home in 2008 was around 2 million , a decline from 2007 , the report said . refugee repatriation , which was 604,000 , was down 17 percent . displaced people 's returns were down by 34 percent at 1.4 million people . traditionally the largest durable solution for refugees , it was the second-lowest repatriation total in 15 years , ' the report said . the decline in part reflects deteriorating security conditions , namely in afghanistan and sudan . ' the report listed other statistics and trends in 2008 : | but numbers set to rise in 2009 because of pakistan , sri lanka , somalia conflicts |
recep tayyip erdogan <tsp> ( cnn ) five militants from the kurdistan workers'party were killed and another was wounded in clashes with turkish armed forces in eastern turkey , the country 's military said saturday . four turkish soldiers also were wounded in the fighting that took place in the eastern city of agri , the armed forces said in a written statement . the kurdish separatists opened fire from a long distance , targeting turkish soldiers who were securing an area in agri ahead of a spring festival , cnn turk reported . turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu condemned the violence and said via twitter that the appropriate answer to the heinous attack in agri is being given by the turkish armed forces . ' turkish president recep tayyip erdogan also harshly condemned the attack , describing it as the kurdish separatists'attempt to intervene in the resolution process ( with the kurds ) in our country . ' last month , abdullah ocalan , longtime leader of the kurdistan workers'party ( pkk ) , called from his jail cell for the violence to end . in a historic letter , he urged fighters under his command to lay down their arms , stop their war against the turkish state and join a congress ' to focus on the future . since the first incidents more than three decades ago , an estimated 40,000 lives have been lost . the conflict has been , some say , a battle by activists among turkey 's kurdish minority for independence . it has been , others say , a guerrilla war by rebels who have punctuated their campaign with terrorist acts . about a fifth of turkey 's population is kurdish -- a minority long living under cultural oppression , most of them in the underdeveloped southeastern part of turkey . from turkish prison , kurdish leader tells followers to lay down their arms | turkey president recep tayyip erdogan says clashes are attempt to halt a resolution process with kurds |
kurds <tsp> ( cnn ) five militants from the kurdistan workers'party were killed and another was wounded in clashes with turkish armed forces in eastern turkey , the country 's military said saturday . four turkish soldiers also were wounded in the fighting that took place in the eastern city of agri , the armed forces said in a written statement . the kurdish separatists opened fire from a long distance , targeting turkish soldiers who were securing an area in agri ahead of a spring festival , cnn turk reported . turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu condemned the violence and said via twitter that the appropriate answer to the heinous attack in agri is being given by the turkish armed forces . ' turkish president recep tayyip erdogan also harshly condemned the attack , describing it as the kurdish separatists'attempt to intervene in the resolution process ( with the kurds ) in our country . ' last month , abdullah ocalan , longtime leader of the kurdistan workers'party ( pkk ) , called from his jail cell for the violence to end . in a historic letter , he urged fighters under his command to lay down their arms , stop their war against the turkish state and join a congress ' to focus on the future . since the first incidents more than three decades ago , an estimated 40,000 lives have been lost . the conflict has been , some say , a battle by activists among turkey 's kurdish minority for independence . it has been , others say , a guerrilla war by rebels who have punctuated their campaign with terrorist acts . about a fifth of turkey 's population is kurdish -- a minority long living under cultural oppression , most of them in the underdeveloped southeastern part of turkey . from turkish prison , kurdish leader tells followers to lay down their arms | violence between kurds and the turkish military has been ongoing for more than three decades |
kurds <tsp> ( cnn ) five militants from the kurdistan workers'party were killed and another was wounded in clashes with turkish armed forces in eastern turkey , the country 's military said saturday . four turkish soldiers also were wounded in the fighting that took place in the eastern city of agri , the armed forces said in a written statement . the kurdish separatists opened fire from a long distance , targeting turkish soldiers who were securing an area in agri ahead of a spring festival , cnn turk reported . turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu condemned the violence and said via twitter that the appropriate answer to the heinous attack in agri is being given by the turkish armed forces . ' turkish president recep tayyip erdogan also harshly condemned the attack , describing it as the kurdish separatists'attempt to intervene in the resolution process ( with the kurds ) in our country . ' last month , abdullah ocalan , longtime leader of the kurdistan workers'party ( pkk ) , called from his jail cell for the violence to end . in a historic letter , he urged fighters under his command to lay down their arms , stop their war against the turkish state and join a congress ' to focus on the future . since the first incidents more than three decades ago , an estimated 40,000 lives have been lost . the conflict has been , some say , a battle by activists among turkey 's kurdish minority for independence . it has been , others say , a guerrilla war by rebels who have punctuated their campaign with terrorist acts . about a fifth of turkey 's population is kurdish -- a minority long living under cultural oppression , most of them in the underdeveloped southeastern part of turkey . from turkish prison , kurdish leader tells followers to lay down their arms | turkey president recep tayyip erdogan says clashes are attempt to halt a resolution process with kurds |
turkish <tsp> ( cnn ) five militants from the kurdistan workers'party were killed and another was wounded in clashes with turkish armed forces in eastern turkey , the country 's military said saturday . four turkish soldiers also were wounded in the fighting that took place in the eastern city of agri , the armed forces said in a written statement . the kurdish separatists opened fire from a long distance , targeting turkish soldiers who were securing an area in agri ahead of a spring festival , cnn turk reported . turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu condemned the violence and said via twitter that the appropriate answer to the heinous attack in agri is being given by the turkish armed forces . ' turkish president recep tayyip erdogan also harshly condemned the attack , describing it as the kurdish separatists'attempt to intervene in the resolution process ( with the kurds ) in our country . ' last month , abdullah ocalan , longtime leader of the kurdistan workers'party ( pkk ) , called from his jail cell for the violence to end . in a historic letter , he urged fighters under his command to lay down their arms , stop their war against the turkish state and join a congress ' to focus on the future . since the first incidents more than three decades ago , an estimated 40,000 lives have been lost . the conflict has been , some say , a battle by activists among turkey 's kurdish minority for independence . it has been , others say , a guerrilla war by rebels who have punctuated their campaign with terrorist acts . about a fifth of turkey 's population is kurdish -- a minority long living under cultural oppression , most of them in the underdeveloped southeastern part of turkey . from turkish prison , kurdish leader tells followers to lay down their arms | violence between kurds and the turkish military has been ongoing for more than three decades |
turkish <tsp> ( cnn ) five militants from the kurdistan workers'party were killed and another was wounded in clashes with turkish armed forces in eastern turkey , the country 's military said saturday . four turkish soldiers also were wounded in the fighting that took place in the eastern city of agri , the armed forces said in a written statement . the kurdish separatists opened fire from a long distance , targeting turkish soldiers who were securing an area in agri ahead of a spring festival , cnn turk reported . turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu condemned the violence and said via twitter that the appropriate answer to the heinous attack in agri is being given by the turkish armed forces . ' turkish president recep tayyip erdogan also harshly condemned the attack , describing it as the kurdish separatists'attempt to intervene in the resolution process ( with the kurds ) in our country . ' last month , abdullah ocalan , longtime leader of the kurdistan workers'party ( pkk ) , called from his jail cell for the violence to end . in a historic letter , he urged fighters under his command to lay down their arms , stop their war against the turkish state and join a congress ' to focus on the future . since the first incidents more than three decades ago , an estimated 40,000 lives have been lost . the conflict has been , some say , a battle by activists among turkey 's kurdish minority for independence . it has been , others say , a guerrilla war by rebels who have punctuated their campaign with terrorist acts . about a fifth of turkey 's population is kurdish -- a minority long living under cultural oppression , most of them in the underdeveloped southeastern part of turkey . from turkish prison , kurdish leader tells followers to lay down their arms | four turkish troops were wounded in the flight , according to the country 's military |
brouillette <tsp> ( cnn ) -- as another labor day comes to pass , it 's worth reflecting on the legacy of detroit and its workers . detroit 's bankruptcy is a warning to other cities -- and even states -- that public pension systems are a ticking time bomb with potentially catastrophic consequences . unfunded pension debt , which in detroit stands at $ 3.5 billion and is roughly one-sixth of the city 's total debt , is a national problem that has already put other city and state governments on the same road to insolvency . the problem is being ignored amid a rash of finger-pointing and blame-shifting . few are calling for the kind of pension reforms that could prevent other places from encountering the motor city 's crisis . quite simply , cities and states need to consider switching from the prevailing defined benefit ' pension plans to the defined contribution ' plans common in the private sector . this single fix could drastically change the course of a government 's financial health by making retirement plan for public-sector workers affordable for taxpayers and predictable for actuaries . first , consider the illness . detroit 's pension debt pales in comparison to the hundreds of billions of dollars that other cities and municipalities owe their pensioners . opinion : detroit , the'used to be'city new york city , for instance , is much worse off than detroit , with some $ 69.9 billion in pension debts . the only difference between the big apple and the motor city is that it the former has a burgeoning economy that masks the looming crisis , keeping the tax bill at bay even as the pension debt grows larger . worse yet , city pension debt is dwarfed by that of state pension debt . in pennsylvania , the unfunded total in the state 's two pension funds is $ 47 billion . next door , new york faces pension debts of $ 133 billion , while illinois'clocks in at $ 167 billion . california is the worst , with $ 370 billion in unfunded pension liabilities . combined , city and state unfunded pension debts amount to $ 4.6 trillion , according to an analysis published by state budget solutions , a conservative-leaning group . the crisis is recognized by many , but unfortunately , most of the proposed solutions are either shortsighted or just plain silly . in illinois , for instance , gov . pat quinn at one point suggested a federal bailout of the state 's pension debt , a call that has been echoed by many for detroit . given the federal government 's own fiscal problems , this proposal has been dismissed as irresponsible . tax increases are another option . one analysis estimated that an average tax hike of $ 1,385 per household would be required to fix the debt . in my home state of pennsylvania , we estimate that working families will soon need to contribute an additional $ 878 per year to pay rising pension costs -- a devastating blow to those still recovering from the recession . while the problem is already enormous , it will only get worse in the coming years unless governments transition to defined contribution systems , like the 401 ( k ) . robocop creator : detroit shows the film 's fictional future is upon us both defined benefit plans -- which purport to guarantee a set income for life -- and 401 ( k ) -type plans carry with them some risk for public employees . in the case of defined benefit plans , detroit shows that taxpayers may not always be able to pay what the government promises . as for the 401 ( k ) , individual retirement investments are subject to the ups and downs of the market , requiring more attention , planning and personal responsibility on the part of the employee . the private sector , being more responsive to market pressures , realized the dangers posed by defined benefit plans and the benefits of 401 ( k ) s long ago and acted accordingly . from 1979 to 2011 , the percentage of businesses offering defined benefit plans plummeted from 62 % to a mere 7 % . over the same period , defined contribution plans more than quadrupled from 16 % to 69 % . businesses made these changes because defined benefit plans are unpredictable , inefficient and too costly in the long run . but cities and states are n't so different : they can pass costs on to taxpayers and their children only for so long , until eventually -- as in detroit -- the bill comes due . unfortunately , detroit 's public pensioners will likely pay this bill themselves when their pensions are cut in bankruptcy proceedings . they need only look to san bernardino , california , which received court approval to do just that on august 28 . opinion : how detroit can rise again but other cities and states can still prevent the crisis from boxing their own public workers into a similar financial bind . if governments across the nation seize the moment and make the change to a defined contribution system -- as pennsylvania is poised to do this fall -- they 'll save their citizens from a fate like detroit 's , where opportunity and prosperity have been replaced by bankruptcy and hoped-for bailouts . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of matthew brouillette . | matthew brouillette : detroit 's pension mess is a warning to other cities and states |
brouillette <tsp> ( cnn ) -- as another labor day comes to pass , it 's worth reflecting on the legacy of detroit and its workers . detroit 's bankruptcy is a warning to other cities -- and even states -- that public pension systems are a ticking time bomb with potentially catastrophic consequences . unfunded pension debt , which in detroit stands at $ 3.5 billion and is roughly one-sixth of the city 's total debt , is a national problem that has already put other city and state governments on the same road to insolvency . the problem is being ignored amid a rash of finger-pointing and blame-shifting . few are calling for the kind of pension reforms that could prevent other places from encountering the motor city 's crisis . quite simply , cities and states need to consider switching from the prevailing defined benefit ' pension plans to the defined contribution ' plans common in the private sector . this single fix could drastically change the course of a government 's financial health by making retirement plan for public-sector workers affordable for taxpayers and predictable for actuaries . first , consider the illness . detroit 's pension debt pales in comparison to the hundreds of billions of dollars that other cities and municipalities owe their pensioners . opinion : detroit , the'used to be'city new york city , for instance , is much worse off than detroit , with some $ 69.9 billion in pension debts . the only difference between the big apple and the motor city is that it the former has a burgeoning economy that masks the looming crisis , keeping the tax bill at bay even as the pension debt grows larger . worse yet , city pension debt is dwarfed by that of state pension debt . in pennsylvania , the unfunded total in the state 's two pension funds is $ 47 billion . next door , new york faces pension debts of $ 133 billion , while illinois'clocks in at $ 167 billion . california is the worst , with $ 370 billion in unfunded pension liabilities . combined , city and state unfunded pension debts amount to $ 4.6 trillion , according to an analysis published by state budget solutions , a conservative-leaning group . the crisis is recognized by many , but unfortunately , most of the proposed solutions are either shortsighted or just plain silly . in illinois , for instance , gov . pat quinn at one point suggested a federal bailout of the state 's pension debt , a call that has been echoed by many for detroit . given the federal government 's own fiscal problems , this proposal has been dismissed as irresponsible . tax increases are another option . one analysis estimated that an average tax hike of $ 1,385 per household would be required to fix the debt . in my home state of pennsylvania , we estimate that working families will soon need to contribute an additional $ 878 per year to pay rising pension costs -- a devastating blow to those still recovering from the recession . while the problem is already enormous , it will only get worse in the coming years unless governments transition to defined contribution systems , like the 401 ( k ) . robocop creator : detroit shows the film 's fictional future is upon us both defined benefit plans -- which purport to guarantee a set income for life -- and 401 ( k ) -type plans carry with them some risk for public employees . in the case of defined benefit plans , detroit shows that taxpayers may not always be able to pay what the government promises . as for the 401 ( k ) , individual retirement investments are subject to the ups and downs of the market , requiring more attention , planning and personal responsibility on the part of the employee . the private sector , being more responsive to market pressures , realized the dangers posed by defined benefit plans and the benefits of 401 ( k ) s long ago and acted accordingly . from 1979 to 2011 , the percentage of businesses offering defined benefit plans plummeted from 62 % to a mere 7 % . over the same period , defined contribution plans more than quadrupled from 16 % to 69 % . businesses made these changes because defined benefit plans are unpredictable , inefficient and too costly in the long run . but cities and states are n't so different : they can pass costs on to taxpayers and their children only for so long , until eventually -- as in detroit -- the bill comes due . unfortunately , detroit 's public pensioners will likely pay this bill themselves when their pensions are cut in bankruptcy proceedings . they need only look to san bernardino , california , which received court approval to do just that on august 28 . opinion : how detroit can rise again but other cities and states can still prevent the crisis from boxing their own public workers into a similar financial bind . if governments across the nation seize the moment and make the change to a defined contribution system -- as pennsylvania is poised to do this fall -- they 'll save their citizens from a fate like detroit 's , where opportunity and prosperity have been replaced by bankruptcy and hoped-for bailouts . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of matthew brouillette . | brouillette : solution is to switch to 401 ( k ) plans which is common in the private sector |
brouillette <tsp> ( cnn ) -- as another labor day comes to pass , it 's worth reflecting on the legacy of detroit and its workers . detroit 's bankruptcy is a warning to other cities -- and even states -- that public pension systems are a ticking time bomb with potentially catastrophic consequences . unfunded pension debt , which in detroit stands at $ 3.5 billion and is roughly one-sixth of the city 's total debt , is a national problem that has already put other city and state governments on the same road to insolvency . the problem is being ignored amid a rash of finger-pointing and blame-shifting . few are calling for the kind of pension reforms that could prevent other places from encountering the motor city 's crisis . quite simply , cities and states need to consider switching from the prevailing defined benefit ' pension plans to the defined contribution ' plans common in the private sector . this single fix could drastically change the course of a government 's financial health by making retirement plan for public-sector workers affordable for taxpayers and predictable for actuaries . first , consider the illness . detroit 's pension debt pales in comparison to the hundreds of billions of dollars that other cities and municipalities owe their pensioners . opinion : detroit , the'used to be'city new york city , for instance , is much worse off than detroit , with some $ 69.9 billion in pension debts . the only difference between the big apple and the motor city is that it the former has a burgeoning economy that masks the looming crisis , keeping the tax bill at bay even as the pension debt grows larger . worse yet , city pension debt is dwarfed by that of state pension debt . in pennsylvania , the unfunded total in the state 's two pension funds is $ 47 billion . next door , new york faces pension debts of $ 133 billion , while illinois'clocks in at $ 167 billion . california is the worst , with $ 370 billion in unfunded pension liabilities . combined , city and state unfunded pension debts amount to $ 4.6 trillion , according to an analysis published by state budget solutions , a conservative-leaning group . the crisis is recognized by many , but unfortunately , most of the proposed solutions are either shortsighted or just plain silly . in illinois , for instance , gov . pat quinn at one point suggested a federal bailout of the state 's pension debt , a call that has been echoed by many for detroit . given the federal government 's own fiscal problems , this proposal has been dismissed as irresponsible . tax increases are another option . one analysis estimated that an average tax hike of $ 1,385 per household would be required to fix the debt . in my home state of pennsylvania , we estimate that working families will soon need to contribute an additional $ 878 per year to pay rising pension costs -- a devastating blow to those still recovering from the recession . while the problem is already enormous , it will only get worse in the coming years unless governments transition to defined contribution systems , like the 401 ( k ) . robocop creator : detroit shows the film 's fictional future is upon us both defined benefit plans -- which purport to guarantee a set income for life -- and 401 ( k ) -type plans carry with them some risk for public employees . in the case of defined benefit plans , detroit shows that taxpayers may not always be able to pay what the government promises . as for the 401 ( k ) , individual retirement investments are subject to the ups and downs of the market , requiring more attention , planning and personal responsibility on the part of the employee . the private sector , being more responsive to market pressures , realized the dangers posed by defined benefit plans and the benefits of 401 ( k ) s long ago and acted accordingly . from 1979 to 2011 , the percentage of businesses offering defined benefit plans plummeted from 62 % to a mere 7 % . over the same period , defined contribution plans more than quadrupled from 16 % to 69 % . businesses made these changes because defined benefit plans are unpredictable , inefficient and too costly in the long run . but cities and states are n't so different : they can pass costs on to taxpayers and their children only for so long , until eventually -- as in detroit -- the bill comes due . unfortunately , detroit 's public pensioners will likely pay this bill themselves when their pensions are cut in bankruptcy proceedings . they need only look to san bernardino , california , which received court approval to do just that on august 28 . opinion : how detroit can rise again but other cities and states can still prevent the crisis from boxing their own public workers into a similar financial bind . if governments across the nation seize the moment and make the change to a defined contribution system -- as pennsylvania is poised to do this fall -- they 'll save their citizens from a fate like detroit 's , where opportunity and prosperity have been replaced by bankruptcy and hoped-for bailouts . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of matthew brouillette . | brouillette : if cities and states keep the pension system , it will be too costly in the long run |
u.s . <tsp> ( cnn ) -- up and down the east coast , residents and naturalists alike have been scratching their heads this autumn over a simple question : where are all the acorns ? some scientists fear a mysterious shortage of acorns this fall in the eastern u.s. will affect squirrels . oak trees have shed their leaves , but the usual carpet of acorns is not crunching underfoot . in far-flung pockets of northern virginia , maryland , pennsylvania , west virginia and other states , scientists have found no acorns whatsoever . i ca n't think of any other year like this , ' said alonso abugattas , director of the long branch nature center in arlington , virginia . louise garris , who lives in the oakcrest neighborhood of arlington , virginia , first noticed the mysterious phenomenon early this fall when doing yardwork beneath a canopy of large oak trees . i have lived in the area my entire life and have never not seen any acorns ! ' she said . garris checked with some local plant nurseries and they confirmed her observation . the mystery has found its way to the internet , where a no acorns this year ' discussion on topix.com yielded more than 180 comments from people reporting acorn disappearances as far away as connecticut and north carolina . what is going on ? ' posted a resident of maplewood , new jersey . now we are finding dead squirrels ! should we all be concerned ? ' not necessarily , naturalists say . last year garris reported a bumper crop of acorns , which scientists say may be one clue to this year 's scarcity . virginia extension agent adam downing said acorn production runs in cycles , so a lean year is normal after a year with a big crop . it fits with the physiology of seed reproduction . the trees are exhausted , energy wise , from last year , ' downing said . but even he is surprised at the complete absence of nuts in parts of virginia . there are plenty of acorns in most of the state , but zero acorns in some pockets , ' he said . downing said recovery from last year 's big crop , combined with a much wetter-than-usual spring , probably accounts for the acorn absence . meteorologists say the washington-baltimore area saw about twice as much precipitation last may as normal . kate mcnamee , who runs a washington-area , volunteer tree-planting project called growing native , ' lends specific numbers to the acorn shortage . her group collects hardwood seeds and plants trees to protect rivers and streams in the potomac river watershed . last year we collected 25,000 pounds of seeds , most from a bumper crop of acorns , ' said mcnamee . this year we only collected 10,000 pounds , and 90 percent of that was walnuts . ' even though this acorn shortage has not risen to the level of a crisis , scientists say it is important to watch closely . if the shortage continues for several years , other forces might be at work . ireport.com : skillful squirrel raids bird feeder garris said her observations got her thinking about other recent environmental issues . i had read about the collapse of the bee colonies , and it made me wonder , is something else going on here ? could this be affecting other systems ? ' at the long branch nature center , calls and e-mails have been pouring in from people who want to donate acorns they 've gathered in areas where they are plentiful . it 's also hard to think of acorns without thinking about squirrels . what happens to them when their favorite food disappears ? some eastern seaboard residents have reported seeing skinny , aggressive squirrels devouring bird feed . especially in the depths of winter , there 's not much else for the squirrels to eat . some may switch their diet , many others probably wo n't make it , ' said abugattas . squirrel and deer numbers will almost certainly go down . ' but doug inkley , senior scientist at the national wildlife federation , said that wild animals can be resilient when their usual food sources go away . inkley cited a blight that destroyed 3.5 billion american chestnuts from 1900-1940 , wiping out a common food source for squirrels , deer , mice and wild turkeys . but those animals adapted and survived , he said . barbara prescott , a wildlife rehabilitation expert , agreed that squirrels are not fussy about their diet . she suggested that residents leave whole ( not crushed ) corn , peanuts and sunflowers in the seed as backyard treats . john rohm , wildlife biologist for prince william , loudoun , fairfax , and arlington counties in northern virginia , has faith in the furry population . animals are resourceful , ' he said . if they 're hungry , they 're gon na find something to eat . ' cnn.com 's brandon griggs contributed to this story . | naturalists are baffled this fall by a shortage of acorns in the eastern u.s . |
henry <tsp> ( cnn ) -- thierry henry has assured new york red bulls fans that his return to english soccer club arsenal will not interfere with his american commitments . the former france international signed his long-awaited two-month loan deal with the london side on friday , but plans to be back for the start of the major league soccer season in march . i always said i would not play in europe again , but it is hard for me when it comes to arsenal , ' the 34-year-old the gunners'website . i am not coming here for the whole season , i will be back and i want to win the mls cup with the red bulls . i hope it is win-win situation where i can help arsenal and come back fit for the mls season . ' who are january 's top transfer targets ? henry returns to a club where he scored a record 226 goals before joining spain 's barcelona in mid-2007 , then moving to the big apple in 2010 . a statue of the player has been erected at the emirates stadium to mark arsenal 's 125th anniversary . it is unreal , to be honest . but when it comes to arsenal my heart will always do the talking . once i knew the plan behind it i was ok with it , ' he said . henry was brought in by manager arsene wenger with strikers gervinho and marouane chamakh going to the african cup of nations this month , but recognizes that he will be providing backup for a player who has this season taken his mantle as the team 's most influential player and captain -- top scorer robin van persie . i am not coming here to be a hero or prove anything . i am just coming here to help . people have to understand that , ' said henry , who has been training with the arsenal squad since november and could make his first appearance in monday 's fa cup tie against leeds . it is a loan deal and i 'll be on the bench most of the time . if i can make the bench that is ! the boss has a team here already who are doing something good . i am just going to be part of the squad . ' henry joined arsenal from italy 's juventus in 1999 as an unproven raw talent , despite having already made his international debut and being part of france 's world cup-winning squad . wenger transformed him from a wide player into one of the most effective forwards of his generation . i am very happy . it was my desire and thierry 's desire , ' wenger said of his former monaco protege . i am sure during these two months he will be a massive asset to the team in the dressing room and on the pitch . he can be relaxed , not under too much pressure and be a tremendous help to the team . ' | henry says he does not expect to be given a regular starting role by arsene wenger |
henry <tsp> ( cnn ) -- thierry henry has assured new york red bulls fans that his return to english soccer club arsenal will not interfere with his american commitments . the former france international signed his long-awaited two-month loan deal with the london side on friday , but plans to be back for the start of the major league soccer season in march . i always said i would not play in europe again , but it is hard for me when it comes to arsenal , ' the 34-year-old the gunners'website . i am not coming here for the whole season , i will be back and i want to win the mls cup with the red bulls . i hope it is win-win situation where i can help arsenal and come back fit for the mls season . ' who are january 's top transfer targets ? henry returns to a club where he scored a record 226 goals before joining spain 's barcelona in mid-2007 , then moving to the big apple in 2010 . a statue of the player has been erected at the emirates stadium to mark arsenal 's 125th anniversary . it is unreal , to be honest . but when it comes to arsenal my heart will always do the talking . once i knew the plan behind it i was ok with it , ' he said . henry was brought in by manager arsene wenger with strikers gervinho and marouane chamakh going to the african cup of nations this month , but recognizes that he will be providing backup for a player who has this season taken his mantle as the team 's most influential player and captain -- top scorer robin van persie . i am not coming here to be a hero or prove anything . i am just coming here to help . people have to understand that , ' said henry , who has been training with the arsenal squad since november and could make his first appearance in monday 's fa cup tie against leeds . it is a loan deal and i 'll be on the bench most of the time . if i can make the bench that is ! the boss has a team here already who are doing something good . i am just going to be part of the squad . ' henry joined arsenal from italy 's juventus in 1999 as an unproven raw talent , despite having already made his international debut and being part of france 's world cup-winning squad . wenger transformed him from a wide player into one of the most effective forwards of his generation . i am very happy . it was my desire and thierry 's desire , ' wenger said of his former monaco protege . i am sure during these two months he will be a massive asset to the team in the dressing room and on the pitch . he can be relaxed , not under too much pressure and be a tremendous help to the team . ' | veteran striker thierry henry signs two-month loan deal with his former club arsenal |
henry <tsp> ( cnn ) -- thierry henry has assured new york red bulls fans that his return to english soccer club arsenal will not interfere with his american commitments . the former france international signed his long-awaited two-month loan deal with the london side on friday , but plans to be back for the start of the major league soccer season in march . i always said i would not play in europe again , but it is hard for me when it comes to arsenal , ' the 34-year-old the gunners'website . i am not coming here for the whole season , i will be back and i want to win the mls cup with the red bulls . i hope it is win-win situation where i can help arsenal and come back fit for the mls season . ' who are january 's top transfer targets ? henry returns to a club where he scored a record 226 goals before joining spain 's barcelona in mid-2007 , then moving to the big apple in 2010 . a statue of the player has been erected at the emirates stadium to mark arsenal 's 125th anniversary . it is unreal , to be honest . but when it comes to arsenal my heart will always do the talking . once i knew the plan behind it i was ok with it , ' he said . henry was brought in by manager arsene wenger with strikers gervinho and marouane chamakh going to the african cup of nations this month , but recognizes that he will be providing backup for a player who has this season taken his mantle as the team 's most influential player and captain -- top scorer robin van persie . i am not coming here to be a hero or prove anything . i am just coming here to help . people have to understand that , ' said henry , who has been training with the arsenal squad since november and could make his first appearance in monday 's fa cup tie against leeds . it is a loan deal and i 'll be on the bench most of the time . if i can make the bench that is ! the boss has a team here already who are doing something good . i am just going to be part of the squad . ' henry joined arsenal from italy 's juventus in 1999 as an unproven raw talent , despite having already made his international debut and being part of france 's world cup-winning squad . wenger transformed him from a wide player into one of the most effective forwards of his generation . i am very happy . it was my desire and thierry 's desire , ' wenger said of his former monaco protege . i am sure during these two months he will be a massive asset to the team in the dressing room and on the pitch . he can be relaxed , not under too much pressure and be a tremendous help to the team . ' | henry aims to return to new york red bulls for start of mls season in march |
cosby <tsp> ( cnn ) phylicia rashad says she was misquoted . she says she was n't being dismissive of the women who 've accused bill cosby of sexual assault when she came to the comedian 's defense in an online interview . i am a woman . i would never do that , ' she said on abc 's world news tonight with david muir ' on wednesday .'forget these women' rashad played clair huxtable , bill cosby 's tv wife , on the groundbreaking nbc sitcom the cosby show . ' cosby 's now been accused of harassing , drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women . and in an interview with showbiz 411 , rashad said she never saw any indication of the behavior that the women have attributed to cosby . forget these women , ' rashad is quoted as telling the outlet . what you 're seeing is the destruction of a legacy . and i think it 's orchestrated . i do n't know why or who 's doing it , but it 's the legacy . and it 's a legacy that is so important to the culture . ' fast forward to wednesday night . rashad says the showbiz 411 piece did n't accurately reflect what she said -- especially the forget these women ' part . that was a misquote . that is not what i said , ' rashad said . what i said is ,'this is not about the women . this is about something else . this is about the obliteration of legacy .' in a wednesday post , roger friedman , the columnist who wrote the showbiz 411 article , denied that he misquoted rashad , but wrote that he understands how her words were taken out of context . she did n't mean for it to be taken the way it was , and i should have punctuated . there was never the meaning in'forget those women'that she was saying to actually forget or dismiss then . ' he continued , she meant ,'those women aside'-- as in , she 's not talking about that , she 's talking about cosby 's legacy being destroyed . it was conversational . somehow this got twisted . i am really sorry if the way i presented it made it seem like either one of us was forgetting anyone . ' allred calls rashad out in coming to the defense of her tv husband , rashad has now waded into a controversy that continues to dog cosby . more than 20 women have come forward with claims , and a defamation lawsuit has been filed against cosby . on wednesday , attorney gloria allred brought out three more women -- linda kirkpatrick , lynn neal and a woman who chose to be identified only as kacey -- who say they were sexually assaulted by the comedian after being drugged by him . while introducing the women , allred addressed rashad 's statements to showbiz 411 . phylicia , you should be supporting these women rather than joining cosby 's paid'attack dogs'who are trying to undermine them in any way that they can , ' allred said . cosby stays mum and cosby ? he 's maintaining his silence -- as he 's done while his reputation suffers . he was in kitchener , ontario , on wednesday night for a standup appearance . a few dozen protestors rallied outside , but the show went on without a hitch . larger protests are planned for thursday night 's shows . after his set , cosby released a statement thanking attendees . i would like to personally thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring laughter back into your lives tonight , ' he said . also , i would like to applaud all of you and give you a standing ovation for respecting yourselves , the theatre ( centre in the square ) and the event organizers that produced a spectacular show for the kitchener community . ' cnn 's eliott c. mclaughlin , lisa respers france and todd leopold contributed to this report from atlanta , and paula newton from ontario . | she says she was n't being dismissive of the women who 've accused bill cosby of sexual assault |
cosby <tsp> ( cnn ) phylicia rashad says she was misquoted . she says she was n't being dismissive of the women who 've accused bill cosby of sexual assault when she came to the comedian 's defense in an online interview . i am a woman . i would never do that , ' she said on abc 's world news tonight with david muir ' on wednesday .'forget these women' rashad played clair huxtable , bill cosby 's tv wife , on the groundbreaking nbc sitcom the cosby show . ' cosby 's now been accused of harassing , drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women . and in an interview with showbiz 411 , rashad said she never saw any indication of the behavior that the women have attributed to cosby . forget these women , ' rashad is quoted as telling the outlet . what you 're seeing is the destruction of a legacy . and i think it 's orchestrated . i do n't know why or who 's doing it , but it 's the legacy . and it 's a legacy that is so important to the culture . ' fast forward to wednesday night . rashad says the showbiz 411 piece did n't accurately reflect what she said -- especially the forget these women ' part . that was a misquote . that is not what i said , ' rashad said . what i said is ,'this is not about the women . this is about something else . this is about the obliteration of legacy .' in a wednesday post , roger friedman , the columnist who wrote the showbiz 411 article , denied that he misquoted rashad , but wrote that he understands how her words were taken out of context . she did n't mean for it to be taken the way it was , and i should have punctuated . there was never the meaning in'forget those women'that she was saying to actually forget or dismiss then . ' he continued , she meant ,'those women aside'-- as in , she 's not talking about that , she 's talking about cosby 's legacy being destroyed . it was conversational . somehow this got twisted . i am really sorry if the way i presented it made it seem like either one of us was forgetting anyone . ' allred calls rashad out in coming to the defense of her tv husband , rashad has now waded into a controversy that continues to dog cosby . more than 20 women have come forward with claims , and a defamation lawsuit has been filed against cosby . on wednesday , attorney gloria allred brought out three more women -- linda kirkpatrick , lynn neal and a woman who chose to be identified only as kacey -- who say they were sexually assaulted by the comedian after being drugged by him . while introducing the women , allred addressed rashad 's statements to showbiz 411 . phylicia , you should be supporting these women rather than joining cosby 's paid'attack dogs'who are trying to undermine them in any way that they can , ' allred said . cosby stays mum and cosby ? he 's maintaining his silence -- as he 's done while his reputation suffers . he was in kitchener , ontario , on wednesday night for a standup appearance . a few dozen protestors rallied outside , but the show went on without a hitch . larger protests are planned for thursday night 's shows . after his set , cosby released a statement thanking attendees . i would like to personally thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring laughter back into your lives tonight , ' he said . also , i would like to applaud all of you and give you a standing ovation for respecting yourselves , the theatre ( centre in the square ) and the event organizers that produced a spectacular show for the kitchener community . ' cnn 's eliott c. mclaughlin , lisa respers france and todd leopold contributed to this report from atlanta , and paula newton from ontario . | cosby does n't address the allegations during standup act |
phylicia rashad <tsp> ( cnn ) phylicia rashad says she was misquoted . she says she was n't being dismissive of the women who 've accused bill cosby of sexual assault when she came to the comedian 's defense in an online interview . i am a woman . i would never do that , ' she said on abc 's world news tonight with david muir ' on wednesday .'forget these women' rashad played clair huxtable , bill cosby 's tv wife , on the groundbreaking nbc sitcom the cosby show . ' cosby 's now been accused of harassing , drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women . and in an interview with showbiz 411 , rashad said she never saw any indication of the behavior that the women have attributed to cosby . forget these women , ' rashad is quoted as telling the outlet . what you 're seeing is the destruction of a legacy . and i think it 's orchestrated . i do n't know why or who 's doing it , but it 's the legacy . and it 's a legacy that is so important to the culture . ' fast forward to wednesday night . rashad says the showbiz 411 piece did n't accurately reflect what she said -- especially the forget these women ' part . that was a misquote . that is not what i said , ' rashad said . what i said is ,'this is not about the women . this is about something else . this is about the obliteration of legacy .' in a wednesday post , roger friedman , the columnist who wrote the showbiz 411 article , denied that he misquoted rashad , but wrote that he understands how her words were taken out of context . she did n't mean for it to be taken the way it was , and i should have punctuated . there was never the meaning in'forget those women'that she was saying to actually forget or dismiss then . ' he continued , she meant ,'those women aside'-- as in , she 's not talking about that , she 's talking about cosby 's legacy being destroyed . it was conversational . somehow this got twisted . i am really sorry if the way i presented it made it seem like either one of us was forgetting anyone . ' allred calls rashad out in coming to the defense of her tv husband , rashad has now waded into a controversy that continues to dog cosby . more than 20 women have come forward with claims , and a defamation lawsuit has been filed against cosby . on wednesday , attorney gloria allred brought out three more women -- linda kirkpatrick , lynn neal and a woman who chose to be identified only as kacey -- who say they were sexually assaulted by the comedian after being drugged by him . while introducing the women , allred addressed rashad 's statements to showbiz 411 . phylicia , you should be supporting these women rather than joining cosby 's paid'attack dogs'who are trying to undermine them in any way that they can , ' allred said . cosby stays mum and cosby ? he 's maintaining his silence -- as he 's done while his reputation suffers . he was in kitchener , ontario , on wednesday night for a standup appearance . a few dozen protestors rallied outside , but the show went on without a hitch . larger protests are planned for thursday night 's shows . after his set , cosby released a statement thanking attendees . i would like to personally thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring laughter back into your lives tonight , ' he said . also , i would like to applaud all of you and give you a standing ovation for respecting yourselves , the theatre ( centre in the square ) and the event organizers that produced a spectacular show for the kitchener community . ' cnn 's eliott c. mclaughlin , lisa respers france and todd leopold contributed to this report from atlanta , and paula newton from ontario . | writer says he did not misquote phylicia rashad but that her comment is misunderstood |
australian open <tsp> ( cnn ) -- american teenager sloane stephens stunned her compatriot serena williams on wednesday , beating the 15-time grand slam winner 3-6 7-5 6-4 to reach the australian open semifinals . the 29th seed , playing in her first grand slam quarterfinal , came from once set down to overcome third seed williams who suffered a back injury having already rolled an ankle earlier in the tournament . despite williams'fitness problems , few had given stephens a chance of beating the five-time melbourne champion . someone asked me ,'do you think you can win ?'i was like ,'yeah , i think so , but i was n't like too clear about it , ' ' the 19-year-old told reporters after advancing to a tie with world no . 1 victoria azarenka on thursday . then this morning when i got up , i was like ,'look , dude , like , you can do this , go out and play and do your best .'' stephens did not make the best possible start as williams went one set and a break of serve ahead , before the 19-year-old american dug deep to pull out an unlikely triumph . you just fight and just get every ball back , run every ball down , and just get a lot of balls in play , ' said stephens , explaining her strategy after the loss of that first set . from then on i got aggressive , started coming to the net more , and just got a lot more comfortable . ' stephens becomes the first u.s. teenager to reach a grand slam semfinal since serena at the 2001 u.s. open , and the first to achieve the feat outside of the williams sisters since alexandra stevenson at wimbledon in 1999 . for williams , it marked the end of a campaign which had pushed her body to the limit . i 'm almost relieved that it 's over because there 's only so much i felt i could do , ' said the 31-year-old . it 's been a little difficult . i 've been thrown a lot of balls these two weeks . ' when one journalist asked williams if she had considered retiring hurt during the match , it caused some confusion in the press room . are you kidding me ? i 'm not retiring , ' responded williams , believing the reporter was asking if she was considering ending her career . oh , you mean , retiring in the match ! oh , i 'm sorry . i thought you meant my career . you 're crazy . i thought about it like for a nanosecond . it 's a quarterfinal of a grand slam . even if i have to take off in a wheeler before i retire . ' defending champion azarenka had to battle through a tough 77-minute first set against russian svetlana kuznetsova , before winning 7-5 6-1 . when asked about stephens prior to her victory against williams , belarus'azarenka said : i think sloane is a very , very talented girl . i think over the last couple years you see her development , you know , as a tennis player . her game has come together . she 's an all round player , very competitive . i think she has a good potential . it 's just a matter of her getting all those details in place and really wanting to achieve great things . ' the second semifinal , also due to take place on thursday , sees sixth seed li na take on no . 2 seed maria sharapova -- who is yet to drop at set at the tournament . | sloane stephens beats compatriot serena williams to reach australian open semis |
twitter <tsp> ( cnn ) -- tens of millions of online note-takers found themselves worrying about their security monday , as questions remained about a weekend hack of evernote . the online note-taking and archiving service began requiring its 50 million users to reset their passwords saturday after announcing it was the victim of a security breach , making it the latest tech company in recent weeks to fall victim to hackers . in a blog post , the california-based company said its security team has discovered and blocked suspicious activity on the evernote network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access secure areas of the evernote service . ' the company said no user content or financial information was accessed . but the hackers were able to access user information , including user names , e-mail addresses and encrypted passwords . evernote said the encryption coding they use to protect passwords is robust , ' but still sent the password warning to users of the service , which is popular among college students and others who rely on taking notes for later use . sophos security analyst graham cluley said in a blog post that it remains unclear how long the hackers had access to evernote and how they managed to get in . what 's not good news , ' he wrote , is that the hackers now have access to the usernames and email addresses of evernote customers . it is easy to imagine how this information could be abused -- for instance , the hackers could send out spam emails to those users claiming to come from evernote , and trick them into visiting a malicious website . and , of course , it 's another cautionary tale about the risks which can exist with trusting the cloud to look after your personal information . ' like many services , evernote stores data on remote servers instead of the user 's computer . this allows them to be accessed from multiple computers and other devices . evernote warned users of the possibilities cluley noted . he argued that their message -- warning users not to click phony security e-mails while sending out a security e-mail of their own -- could confuse users . complicating matters is that the legitimate evernote e-mail pushes users first to a website with the domain name mkt5371 ' before taking them to evernote itself . cluley wrote that this is a service evernote is likely using to track how many of its users changed their passwords and says not to worry . that 's a technique commonly used in a normal marketing email communications , but looks very out of place in an email about a security breach which tries to hammer home the point to'never click on reset-password requests in emails , ' he said . last week , customer support tool zendesk announced it was hacked , with the breach exposing the e-mail addresses of users of three other websites -- tumblr , pinterest , and twitter , all of which use zendesk . microsoft , apple , and facebook last month said they were the victim of hackers , and twitter said in january that it , too , was hacked . reports that surfaced last week suggested that a gang of hackers based in eastern europe was behind at least some of the attacks , using a website frequented by developers who use apple 's mobile operating system to worm their way into companies where they hoped to steal valuable information . evernote launched in 2008 as a way to archive images , documents , notes and other data online . a version for businesses is available in more than 30 countries . cnn 's melissa gray contributed to this report . | evernote joins apple , microsoft , twitter , facebook and others in recent hacks |
new girl <tsp> ( ew ) -- jess may be in a new relationship with nick , but an eligible bachelor is about to catch her eye . his name ? taye diggs . well , actually , his name is artie , but that does n't sound quite as dangerous .'new girl'season 3 preview : 8 scoops from zooey deschanel and liz meriwether ew has learned that the private practice ' veteran will guest-star in an episode of fox 's new girl ' as artie , a self-assured ladies'man who meets jess ( zoey deschanel ) and cece ( hannah simone ) at the bar while nick ( jake johnson ) is out on a guys'night . diggs †” who hits the big screen next week in the romantic comedy baggage claim ' -- will shoot his scenes next week .'new girl'season 3 premiere : paradise by the dashboard light the episode , which is slated to air later this fall , also marks the return of coach ( damon wayans , jr. ) , who was last seen in the show 's pilot . the happy endings ' alum has signed on for a multiple-episode arc . see the original story at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | taye diggs is set to play an eligible bachelor on new girl ' |
france <tsp> ( cnn ) -- child beauty pageants are a lot like crime coverage on local news . stick with me . this will make sense . i promise . viewers complain there 's too much crime in local television news reports , and yet , the stations covering crime enjoy high ratings . people complain that child beauty pageants exploit young girls -- some as young as 3 or 4 who are donning makeup , high heels and fake tans -- and yet , the ratings for reality television shows such as tlc 's toddlers & tiaras ' are sky high . we do n't like the idea of these beauty contests for kids , but it seems we ca n't pull ourselves away . but what if there were no pageants for kids to begin with ? if french lawmakers get their way , there would be no french version of toddlers & tiaras ' and no french honey boo boo , ' referring to another child pageant reality star . the senate in france voted to ban child beauty pageants for kids under the age of 16 and now the measure goes to the country 's lower house for debate and a vote . where did this anti-pageant momentum come from on the part of the french ? some lawmakers point to a controversial photo spread in vogue back in 2010 , featuring a girl as young as 10 in high heels and sexy makeup . toddler does dolly : where 's the line between dress-up , hyper-sexualization ? the pageants are sexualizing our young girls , said lawmakers in france , and judging by the response to our request for comment on cnn 's facebook page , many people in the united states agree . how pleased i am that , finally , some are fully awakened and realizing that child beauty pageants should be banned , ' said darlene eckerman of amarillo , texas , in an e-mail message . the mothers are the culprits here : teaching your child to be sexy and alluring at such a young , tender age when they are not ready for such exploitation . ' samantha biswas , also via e-mail , said , it is not about living vicariously through your child . it 's about letting your child 's childhood and youth get stolen by makeup , fashion shows , heels and dresses . ' to paint makeup on their faces and do up their hair , etc. , omg , wake up people , ' said charlie caissie . these are children for heaven 's sake , not adults . let them decide for themselves at an appropriate age if they want to pursue this when they are adults . ' psychologist wendy walsh said the danger here is normalizing behavior that once would have been considered extreme and weird . and now it seems perfectly ok for a little 6-year-old to be walking around in thigh-high boots and short booty shorts and smacking her butt when she dances down a runway ? come on ! that 's what a stripper does . ' others expressed fears about who may be watching these pageants . every time i think about child beauty pageants , my heart sinks at the thought of all the pedophiles watching them . why in the world do children need to be so sexualized ? ' asked a cnn reader . opinion :'toddlers and tiaras'and sexualizing 3-year-olds on the other side are moms like anna berry of littleton , colorado , who said her 13-year-old daughter ashley was so shy she could n't even order for herself at a restaurant . after she started appearing in natural ' pageants ( no makeup allowed ) , she blossomed . and now , as miss heartland junior teen , ' she speaks to young girls across the country about her experiences with bullying , something she encountered when girls were jealous of her success on the pageant circuit . she 's a role model to many and her confidence to stand up and speak out came from her improved self-esteem through pageantry , ' said berry , who says ashley can out interview and speak more confidently than most adults . these are skills that will benefit her for a lifetime ... just as they did for me growing up in pageantry . ' valerie best , director of the best shining stars pageant located in southern indiana , is also strongly against banning pageants for young girls and boys . she said just because some pageant systems push it too far ' ( hers , she said , does not allow fake hair , fake tans , fake teeth or a lot of makeup ' ) , they most definitely should not be outlawed . society is too quick to judge something they are not familiar with , ' said best. a pageant ( run ) properly is no different than a young girl competing in gymnastics , a school function or anything else that has a score kept or judged upon . teach these girls to be strong , confident individuals and see how far they go in life . ''six-year-old american beauty queen draws protests and $ 77,000 payday wynn westmoreland of atlanta appeared in school pageants beginning in the sixth grade and competed in the university of georgia pageant , which is part of the miss america program . she does not believe in a legal ban . it 's not a government issue , ' said westmoreland . it 's a social issue and it 's a family issue . ' she believes the pageant bodies should get together and create a new rule only allowing girls to enter when they are at an age when they can choose what they want to do for themselves , around 9 , 10 or 11 . countdown for kendall jenner turning 18 : gross or fair game ? i do not like it when children who are not able to make choices on their own are forced to be in pageants and that is when i see the over-glamourization of young girls , ' said westmoreland , who is a media coordinator and writer for cnn 's food blog , eatocracy . they do n't even look like children anymore . they look like objects . ' tish howard , a former school principal , is no fan of child pageants , but like westmoreland , thinks government should not be deciding what programs are acceptable for children . i think outlawing them is a slippery slope where the government starts dictating what activities parents can or can not make available to children , ' said howard . i do believe we could set guidelines on what does and does not constitute promoting sexual exploitation of children as far as routines and dress . ' i always try to approach these stories , as a mom of two young girls , with the question of what would i do ? in this case , how would i feel if my girls wanted to enter a pageant ? adult-inspired lingerie marketed for young girls full disclosure here : i did compete in the new york miss t.e.e.n . pageant in high school , but let me stress it was not a beauty pageant but a pageant based on talent , interviewing skills and community service . it was a terrific experience for me , and as many other women said earlier , it only added to my self-esteem , confidence and fire to achieve my dreams . so back to the question , what if my girls , ages 5 and 7 , wanted to be in a pageant ? i think i agree with the sentiment that they can do what they want when they are old enough to make that decision for themselves , which means i do n't have to worry about this one . at least not yet . follow kelly wallace on twitter and like cnn living on facebook do you think child beauty pageants should be banned in the u.s. ? let us know what you think in the comments below . | lawmakers in france argue the pageants sexualize girls at a young age |
americans <tsp> ( cnn ) -- child beauty pageants are a lot like crime coverage on local news . stick with me . this will make sense . i promise . viewers complain there 's too much crime in local television news reports , and yet , the stations covering crime enjoy high ratings . people complain that child beauty pageants exploit young girls -- some as young as 3 or 4 who are donning makeup , high heels and fake tans -- and yet , the ratings for reality television shows such as tlc 's toddlers & tiaras ' are sky high . we do n't like the idea of these beauty contests for kids , but it seems we ca n't pull ourselves away . but what if there were no pageants for kids to begin with ? if french lawmakers get their way , there would be no french version of toddlers & tiaras ' and no french honey boo boo , ' referring to another child pageant reality star . the senate in france voted to ban child beauty pageants for kids under the age of 16 and now the measure goes to the country 's lower house for debate and a vote . where did this anti-pageant momentum come from on the part of the french ? some lawmakers point to a controversial photo spread in vogue back in 2010 , featuring a girl as young as 10 in high heels and sexy makeup . toddler does dolly : where 's the line between dress-up , hyper-sexualization ? the pageants are sexualizing our young girls , said lawmakers in france , and judging by the response to our request for comment on cnn 's facebook page , many people in the united states agree . how pleased i am that , finally , some are fully awakened and realizing that child beauty pageants should be banned , ' said darlene eckerman of amarillo , texas , in an e-mail message . the mothers are the culprits here : teaching your child to be sexy and alluring at such a young , tender age when they are not ready for such exploitation . ' samantha biswas , also via e-mail , said , it is not about living vicariously through your child . it 's about letting your child 's childhood and youth get stolen by makeup , fashion shows , heels and dresses . ' to paint makeup on their faces and do up their hair , etc. , omg , wake up people , ' said charlie caissie . these are children for heaven 's sake , not adults . let them decide for themselves at an appropriate age if they want to pursue this when they are adults . ' psychologist wendy walsh said the danger here is normalizing behavior that once would have been considered extreme and weird . and now it seems perfectly ok for a little 6-year-old to be walking around in thigh-high boots and short booty shorts and smacking her butt when she dances down a runway ? come on ! that 's what a stripper does . ' others expressed fears about who may be watching these pageants . every time i think about child beauty pageants , my heart sinks at the thought of all the pedophiles watching them . why in the world do children need to be so sexualized ? ' asked a cnn reader . opinion :'toddlers and tiaras'and sexualizing 3-year-olds on the other side are moms like anna berry of littleton , colorado , who said her 13-year-old daughter ashley was so shy she could n't even order for herself at a restaurant . after she started appearing in natural ' pageants ( no makeup allowed ) , she blossomed . and now , as miss heartland junior teen , ' she speaks to young girls across the country about her experiences with bullying , something she encountered when girls were jealous of her success on the pageant circuit . she 's a role model to many and her confidence to stand up and speak out came from her improved self-esteem through pageantry , ' said berry , who says ashley can out interview and speak more confidently than most adults . these are skills that will benefit her for a lifetime ... just as they did for me growing up in pageantry . ' valerie best , director of the best shining stars pageant located in southern indiana , is also strongly against banning pageants for young girls and boys . she said just because some pageant systems push it too far ' ( hers , she said , does not allow fake hair , fake tans , fake teeth or a lot of makeup ' ) , they most definitely should not be outlawed . society is too quick to judge something they are not familiar with , ' said best. a pageant ( run ) properly is no different than a young girl competing in gymnastics , a school function or anything else that has a score kept or judged upon . teach these girls to be strong , confident individuals and see how far they go in life . ''six-year-old american beauty queen draws protests and $ 77,000 payday wynn westmoreland of atlanta appeared in school pageants beginning in the sixth grade and competed in the university of georgia pageant , which is part of the miss america program . she does not believe in a legal ban . it 's not a government issue , ' said westmoreland . it 's a social issue and it 's a family issue . ' she believes the pageant bodies should get together and create a new rule only allowing girls to enter when they are at an age when they can choose what they want to do for themselves , around 9 , 10 or 11 . countdown for kendall jenner turning 18 : gross or fair game ? i do not like it when children who are not able to make choices on their own are forced to be in pageants and that is when i see the over-glamourization of young girls , ' said westmoreland , who is a media coordinator and writer for cnn 's food blog , eatocracy . they do n't even look like children anymore . they look like objects . ' tish howard , a former school principal , is no fan of child pageants , but like westmoreland , thinks government should not be deciding what programs are acceptable for children . i think outlawing them is a slippery slope where the government starts dictating what activities parents can or can not make available to children , ' said howard . i do believe we could set guidelines on what does and does not constitute promoting sexual exploitation of children as far as routines and dress . ' i always try to approach these stories , as a mom of two young girls , with the question of what would i do ? in this case , how would i feel if my girls wanted to enter a pageant ? adult-inspired lingerie marketed for young girls full disclosure here : i did compete in the new york miss t.e.e.n . pageant in high school , but let me stress it was not a beauty pageant but a pageant based on talent , interviewing skills and community service . it was a terrific experience for me , and as many other women said earlier , it only added to my self-esteem , confidence and fire to achieve my dreams . so back to the question , what if my girls , ages 5 and 7 , wanted to be in a pageant ? i think i agree with the sentiment that they can do what they want when they are old enough to make that decision for themselves , which means i do n't have to worry about this one . at least not yet . follow kelly wallace on twitter and like cnn living on facebook do you think child beauty pageants should be banned in the u.s. ? let us know what you think in the comments below . | many americans think pageants for very young girls should be outlawed |
american hustle <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it 's that time again , time to pull out the ballots and read the tea leaves and see who 's going to take home the trophies at sunday 's 86th academy awards . will it be 12 years a slave ' ? leonardo dicaprio ? let it go ' from frozen ' ? oscar forecasting is a lighthearted parlor game for many and a who cares ' shrug for others . ( go ahead , commenters , let us know how you really feel ! ) but to studios , agents , managers and many of the nominees , winning the oscar is not only first-line-of-the-obituary recognition , but it also means cold , hard cash , ' as oscar winner wendy hiller once bluntly put it , in box-office receipts and future contracts . with that in mind -- and with the possibility of some of this article 's readers taking home cold , hard cash for winning their oscar pools -- here are a few key indicators to follow at the 2014 oscars sunday night . of course , the oscars being the oscars , nothing is guaranteed . what are the best picture front-runners ? there may be nine nominees for best picture , but only three have a good chance of winning , says tom o'neil of the awards handicapping site goldderby.com : 12 years a slave , ' gravity ' and american hustle . ' 12 years ' is the favorite among his 30 experts , with gravity ' second at 10-3 odds and hustle ' at 50-1 . everything else is 100-1 . the site thecredits.org agrees . its social awards season app , dataviz , crunched the numbers based on mentions on facebook , twitter , pinterest and film-related sites . it determined that 12 years ' has 42 % of the online mentions ( as of february 24 ) and gravity ' is second with 33 % . but , points out clayton davis of awardscircuit.com , in a year with divisive choices -- and 12 years , ' though widely hailed , is not necessarily widely loved -- the preferential voting system for best picture can favor everybody 's second choice . that 's gravity , ' which also has the benefit of being the people 's choice as the highest-grossing film among the nominees . film editing is your friend of course , best picture is the last category of the night . what are some of the early signs that one of these films has an edge ? the film editing category may seem minor to oscar viewers , but it often has an outsized role in showcasing best picture winners . o'neil observes that the best picture has won the editing oscar more than half the time -- and if you rule out action-oriented flicks such as bullitt , ' star wars ' and the bourne ultimatum , ' it 's even more predictive . this year 's editing nominees include all three best picture front-runners along with captain phillips , ' directed by the handheld-camera-favoring , quick-cutting paul greengrass , and dallas buyers club . ' gravity ' is the favorite , says o'neil , and that could foretell a spacey night . but even more notable will be if 12 years ' or hustle ' grabs the trophy , since a win would be so unexpected . as for phillips , ' that would simply acknowledge the expertise of greengrass and editor christopher rouse -- who won for ultimatum ' six years ago . pressing the flesh though overt oscar campaigning is frowned upon , there 's nothing wrong with showing up at industry functions , saying the right things , posing for pictures and shaking a few hands . that could make a difference in the best actor category , whose favorites are matthew mcconaughey ( dallas buyers club ' ) and leonardo dicaprio ( the wolf of wall street ' ) . though both have some high-profile wins , they have yet to face off in the same category . ( both won golden globes , but mcconaughey 's was for a drama and dicaprio 's was for comedy . ) and when it comes to politicking , dicaprio has played the game well , says o'neil , who points out that the wolf ' star has been making the rounds with humor and class . when i look at the list of past winners of best actor , i see movie stars , ' he says . there 's kind of a veteran glow to it . with leo being overdue , it 's to his advantage -- and he 's given the biggest performance of his career in the most talked-about movie of the year . ' but mcconaughey may have a secret weapon . no , not his extreme weight loss . try true detective ' on hbo , which has become an addictive hit . ( one academy member ) told me he 's voting for mcconaughey because he 's addicted to'true detective ,' says o'neil . technically speaking ' gravity ' is up for several technical awards , including production design , sound editing , sound mixing and visual effects . it 's considered the front-runner for most of them . if it falters , it could be a long night for director alfonso cuaron and his film . if you see'gravity'lose some techs , it 's indicative that it 's not going all the way , ' says davis . a'slave'surprise ' 12 years a slave ' has fewer technical nominations but has a number of acting nods : best actor chiwetel ejiofor , best supporting actor michael fassbender and best supporting actress lupita nyong'o . only nyong'o is given a strong shot to win -- she 's the top pick of goldderby 's experts -- but if fassbender and ejiofor triumph , expect slave ' to take it all . fassbender has the toughest road , says o'neil . the academy has softened up about giving oscars for villainous roles , but there 's usually a wink involved -- think christoph waltz in inglourious basterds ' or even anthony hopkins in the silence of the lambs . ' not so for fassbender 's character , a vicious slave owner . he 's pure satan , ' says o'neil . do the hustle ' ' american hustle ' did even better among the major categories -- it 's the only film nominated in the big six of picture , director , actor , actress , supporting actor and supporting actress . but of all the film 's nominees , only jennifer lawrence -- who 's won a globe and a sag award , and who 's the most popular actress in the world right now -- is considered a threat in her category , best supporting actress . the key is probably amy adams , up for best actress . that category is considered a runaway for cate blanchett of blue jasmine , ' but if the woody allen controversy has rubbed off on her , five-time nominee adams could take the oscar and indicate bigger things for the film about the '70s abscam scandal . davis is doubtful , though . even the seahawks gave up a touchdown during the super bowl , he says . i 'm sure she 'll lose a couple votes , but not enough to matter , ' he says . watch weinstein producer harvey weinstein is the master of awards gamesmanship . he makes high-quality , often audience-friendly films with good casts -- shakespeare in love , ' the artist , ' quentin tarantino 's films -- and he knows how to promote them . this year he 's putting his chips on his best picture nominee , philomena . ' the film has earned good reviews , done respectable box office and features the ageless judi dench . it has a good shot at adapted screenplay , which was co-written by star steve coogan , and dench is a seven-time nominee who 's won once before . along with martin scorsese 's the wolf of wall street , ' it 's probably the leading dark horse -- but whereas wolf ' is divisive , philomena ' is liked . o'neil thinks screenplay is possible -- sometimes the most emotional movie wins ' -- but thinks that might be it . still , at least philomena ' picked up a best picture nomination . weinstein 's other major film , august : osage county , ' did n't even get that . splitting tickets finally , this is an odd handicapping year . usually the best director has directed the best picture , but this year the handicappers are picking gravity 's ' cuaron for best director and 12 years a slave ' for best picture . when the two categories differ , it 's a surprise , not an expectation . davis ca n't shake the feeling that voters wo n't split their votes -- and that will make gravity ' the big winner . ( sorry , 12 years ' director steve mcqueen . ) cuaron not only won the top award from the directors guild , but gravity ' also tied 12 years ' as the best film picked by the producers guild -- which , given the pga 's use of the preferential ballot , was an incredible shocker . and o'neil suggests another indicator : gravity ' star sandra bullock , who 's up for best actress . if'gravity'wins best picture , sandra might go along for the rocket ride , ' he says . she is'gravity'-- she 's the whole movie . ' one sure thing ? this wo n't predict the best picture winner , but if you 're looking to check off a category on your oscar ballot , look no further than the lady in number 6 :'music saved my life', ' a documentary short subject about a holocaust survivor who lived to be 110 . as mark harris noted in grantland , she died sunday -- two days before oscar voting ended . harris sums it up : we 're done here . ' dominoes and randomness a lot of the foregoing , of course , assumes the oscars are logical . let us emphasize : the oscars are not logical . they are a popularity contest , a business proposition , a plea for attention , a throw of a dart . sometimes films gather momentum like so many falling dominoes , as argo ' did last year . other times big favorites fall short at the end : 1976 's network ' won three of four acting categories but lost best picture to rocky ' ; 1972 's cabaret ' took home eight oscars -- including best director -- but lost best picture to the godfather . ' and if you need any more proof that the oscar universe can be as random as a roll of the dice , consider two words : roberto benigni . good luck in your pool . | 12 years a slave , ' gravity , ' american hustle ' are oscar front-runners |
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