text
stringlengths 254
12.1k
| summary
stringlengths 13
238
|
|---|---|
jones <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the actor who gave voice to pinocchio in walt disney 's 1940 animation movie , died at his home monday night , the los angeles county coroner 's office said tuesday . richard percy jones , known in film and television as dick jones , was 87 . the cause of death has not yet been determined , according to fred corral of the coroner 's office . a daughter found jones on a bathroom floor of his northridge , california , home , corral said . disney studios named jones a disney legend ' in 2000 in recognition of his work on the iconic film . at the time ,'pinocchio'was just a job , ' jones said at the time of induction . who knew it would turn out to be the classic that it is today ? i count my lucky stars that i had a part in it . ' in addition to voicing the script , jones also wore a puppet costume and acted out scenes to help disney animators draw the cartoon . born in mckinney , texas , on february 25 , 1927 , his acting career started when he was just 3 years old . cowboy film legend hoot gibson discovered the child while appearing in a rodeo in jones'hometown , according to his disney biography . hoot told my mother i ought to be in pictures and sponsored our trip to hollywood , ' jones said . jones acted in jimmy stewart 's mr. smith goes to washington ' and destry rides again ' during the same 19 months he was working on pinocchio , according to his bio . he was drafted into the u.s. army in 1944 , but returned to hollywood after the second world war . jones acted in errol flynn 's rocky mountain ' and several other movies before the start of his television acting career in 1949 . he used his skills as a horseman to work as a stuntman for gene autry 's flying a productions . jones played the sidekick in the range rider ' television series before getting his own western series , buffalo bill , jr. ' in the 1950s . his 200 tv appearances include guest star roles in gunsmoke , ' annie oakley ' and the lone ranger . ' when he left acting to start a career in real estate in 1959 , he had appeared in nearly 100 movies , according to disney . people we 've lost in 2014 | at the time , pinocchio was just a job , ' jones said |
jones <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the actor who gave voice to pinocchio in walt disney 's 1940 animation movie , died at his home monday night , the los angeles county coroner 's office said tuesday . richard percy jones , known in film and television as dick jones , was 87 . the cause of death has not yet been determined , according to fred corral of the coroner 's office . a daughter found jones on a bathroom floor of his northridge , california , home , corral said . disney studios named jones a disney legend ' in 2000 in recognition of his work on the iconic film . at the time ,'pinocchio'was just a job , ' jones said at the time of induction . who knew it would turn out to be the classic that it is today ? i count my lucky stars that i had a part in it . ' in addition to voicing the script , jones also wore a puppet costume and acted out scenes to help disney animators draw the cartoon . born in mckinney , texas , on february 25 , 1927 , his acting career started when he was just 3 years old . cowboy film legend hoot gibson discovered the child while appearing in a rodeo in jones'hometown , according to his disney biography . hoot told my mother i ought to be in pictures and sponsored our trip to hollywood , ' jones said . jones acted in jimmy stewart 's mr. smith goes to washington ' and destry rides again ' during the same 19 months he was working on pinocchio , according to his bio . he was drafted into the u.s. army in 1944 , but returned to hollywood after the second world war . jones acted in errol flynn 's rocky mountain ' and several other movies before the start of his television acting career in 1949 . he used his skills as a horseman to work as a stuntman for gene autry 's flying a productions . jones played the sidekick in the range rider ' television series before getting his own western series , buffalo bill , jr. ' in the 1950s . his 200 tv appearances include guest star roles in gunsmoke , ' annie oakley ' and the lone ranger . ' when he left acting to start a career in real estate in 1959 , he had appeared in nearly 100 movies , according to disney . people we 've lost in 2014 | jones appeared in nearly 100 films and 200 tv shows |
jones <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the actor who gave voice to pinocchio in walt disney 's 1940 animation movie , died at his home monday night , the los angeles county coroner 's office said tuesday . richard percy jones , known in film and television as dick jones , was 87 . the cause of death has not yet been determined , according to fred corral of the coroner 's office . a daughter found jones on a bathroom floor of his northridge , california , home , corral said . disney studios named jones a disney legend ' in 2000 in recognition of his work on the iconic film . at the time ,'pinocchio'was just a job , ' jones said at the time of induction . who knew it would turn out to be the classic that it is today ? i count my lucky stars that i had a part in it . ' in addition to voicing the script , jones also wore a puppet costume and acted out scenes to help disney animators draw the cartoon . born in mckinney , texas , on february 25 , 1927 , his acting career started when he was just 3 years old . cowboy film legend hoot gibson discovered the child while appearing in a rodeo in jones'hometown , according to his disney biography . hoot told my mother i ought to be in pictures and sponsored our trip to hollywood , ' jones said . jones acted in jimmy stewart 's mr. smith goes to washington ' and destry rides again ' during the same 19 months he was working on pinocchio , according to his bio . he was drafted into the u.s. army in 1944 , but returned to hollywood after the second world war . jones acted in errol flynn 's rocky mountain ' and several other movies before the start of his television acting career in 1949 . he used his skills as a horseman to work as a stuntman for gene autry 's flying a productions . jones played the sidekick in the range rider ' television series before getting his own western series , buffalo bill , jr. ' in the 1950s . his 200 tv appearances include guest star roles in gunsmoke , ' annie oakley ' and the lone ranger . ' when he left acting to start a career in real estate in 1959 , he had appeared in nearly 100 movies , according to disney . people we 've lost in 2014 | disney studios named jones a disney legend ' |
pacquiao <tsp> ( cnn ) -- he is the philippines'most famous sportsman who was moved to tears by the devastation wreaked on his homeland by super typhoon haiyan . the typhoon hit the country earlier this month and has so far claimed over 5,000 lives , with boxing star manny pacquiao ensconced in his philippines training camp for this weekend 's fight with brandon rios . i was crying , ' the 35-year-old told cnn when asked about his first reaction to the typhoon . i feel so bad ... what happened . i want to visit them personally but i ca n't because i 'm in training . i sent my people there to help them , what i did is focus on my training and pray to god . ' boxing 's first and only eight division world champion left his training camp in genereal santos city earlier this week to head to macau , china , where his wbo international welterweight title bout with rios will take place . pacquiao is attempting to help his compatriots by sending aid to those affected by the typhoon . right now we 've sent them food , food is the most important thing , ' said pacquiao , who is an elected official in the philippine house of representatives , serving sarangani 's lone district . after that i have to help give them a fresh start in their lives . ' saturday 's fight with rios is pacquiao 's first since he was knocked out for just the third time in his career by juan manuel marquez in december 2012 , only his fifth loss in 61 professional fights . pacquiao dismissed suggestions that defeat to rios , the american who has lost just one of his 33 professional bouts , could see him call time on his 18-year career . i learned a lot , ' pacquiao said of his loss to marquez . it 's part of boxing , sometimes you lose sometimes you win . sometimes you lose and you have to accept it . i decided to continue my boxing career because i think i can still fight ... i 'm not thinking negative , i 'm always thinking positive . ' | pacquiao to face american brandon rios in macau , china on saturday |
pacquiao <tsp> ( cnn ) -- he is the philippines'most famous sportsman who was moved to tears by the devastation wreaked on his homeland by super typhoon haiyan . the typhoon hit the country earlier this month and has so far claimed over 5,000 lives , with boxing star manny pacquiao ensconced in his philippines training camp for this weekend 's fight with brandon rios . i was crying , ' the 35-year-old told cnn when asked about his first reaction to the typhoon . i feel so bad ... what happened . i want to visit them personally but i ca n't because i 'm in training . i sent my people there to help them , what i did is focus on my training and pray to god . ' boxing 's first and only eight division world champion left his training camp in genereal santos city earlier this week to head to macau , china , where his wbo international welterweight title bout with rios will take place . pacquiao is attempting to help his compatriots by sending aid to those affected by the typhoon . right now we 've sent them food , food is the most important thing , ' said pacquiao , who is an elected official in the philippine house of representatives , serving sarangani 's lone district . after that i have to help give them a fresh start in their lives . ' saturday 's fight with rios is pacquiao 's first since he was knocked out for just the third time in his career by juan manuel marquez in december 2012 , only his fifth loss in 61 professional fights . pacquiao dismissed suggestions that defeat to rios , the american who has lost just one of his 33 professional bouts , could see him call time on his 18-year career . i learned a lot , ' pacquiao said of his loss to marquez . it 's part of boxing , sometimes you lose sometimes you win . sometimes you lose and you have to accept it . i decided to continue my boxing career because i think i can still fight ... i 'm not thinking negative , i 'm always thinking positive . ' | pacquiao has lost just five of his 61 professional fights |
pacquiao <tsp> ( cnn ) -- he is the philippines'most famous sportsman who was moved to tears by the devastation wreaked on his homeland by super typhoon haiyan . the typhoon hit the country earlier this month and has so far claimed over 5,000 lives , with boxing star manny pacquiao ensconced in his philippines training camp for this weekend 's fight with brandon rios . i was crying , ' the 35-year-old told cnn when asked about his first reaction to the typhoon . i feel so bad ... what happened . i want to visit them personally but i ca n't because i 'm in training . i sent my people there to help them , what i did is focus on my training and pray to god . ' boxing 's first and only eight division world champion left his training camp in genereal santos city earlier this week to head to macau , china , where his wbo international welterweight title bout with rios will take place . pacquiao is attempting to help his compatriots by sending aid to those affected by the typhoon . right now we 've sent them food , food is the most important thing , ' said pacquiao , who is an elected official in the philippine house of representatives , serving sarangani 's lone district . after that i have to help give them a fresh start in their lives . ' saturday 's fight with rios is pacquiao 's first since he was knocked out for just the third time in his career by juan manuel marquez in december 2012 , only his fifth loss in 61 professional fights . pacquiao dismissed suggestions that defeat to rios , the american who has lost just one of his 33 professional bouts , could see him call time on his 18-year career . i learned a lot , ' pacquiao said of his loss to marquez . it 's part of boxing , sometimes you lose sometimes you win . sometimes you lose and you have to accept it . i decided to continue my boxing career because i think i can still fight ... i 'm not thinking negative , i 'm always thinking positive . ' | manny pacquiao says he was moved to tears by footage of typhoon haiyan |
american <tsp> ( cnn ) -- he is the philippines'most famous sportsman who was moved to tears by the devastation wreaked on his homeland by super typhoon haiyan . the typhoon hit the country earlier this month and has so far claimed over 5,000 lives , with boxing star manny pacquiao ensconced in his philippines training camp for this weekend 's fight with brandon rios . i was crying , ' the 35-year-old told cnn when asked about his first reaction to the typhoon . i feel so bad ... what happened . i want to visit them personally but i ca n't because i 'm in training . i sent my people there to help them , what i did is focus on my training and pray to god . ' boxing 's first and only eight division world champion left his training camp in genereal santos city earlier this week to head to macau , china , where his wbo international welterweight title bout with rios will take place . pacquiao is attempting to help his compatriots by sending aid to those affected by the typhoon . right now we 've sent them food , food is the most important thing , ' said pacquiao , who is an elected official in the philippine house of representatives , serving sarangani 's lone district . after that i have to help give them a fresh start in their lives . ' saturday 's fight with rios is pacquiao 's first since he was knocked out for just the third time in his career by juan manuel marquez in december 2012 , only his fifth loss in 61 professional fights . pacquiao dismissed suggestions that defeat to rios , the american who has lost just one of his 33 professional bouts , could see him call time on his 18-year career . i learned a lot , ' pacquiao said of his loss to marquez . it 's part of boxing , sometimes you lose sometimes you win . sometimes you lose and you have to accept it . i decided to continue my boxing career because i think i can still fight ... i 'm not thinking negative , i 'm always thinking positive . ' | pacquiao to face american brandon rios in macau , china on saturday |
bush <tsp> colorado springs , colorado ( cnn ) -- president bush told the 2008 graduating class at the u.s. air force academy on wednesday that the only way america could lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves . ' president bush and air force academy graduate michael riddick of aiken , south carolina , celebrate graduation . speaking on a cloudy day at falcon stadium , the president compared the wars in iraq and afghanistan to america 's earlier conflicts , particularly world war ii . our nation is once again contending with an ideology that seeks to sow anger , hatred and despair : the ideology of islamic extremism , ' he said . in today 's struggle , we are once again facing evil men who despise freedom and despise america and aim to subject millions to their violent rule . we assumed this obligation before , ' he said , referring to the rebuilding of germany and japan after world war ii , a conflict that saw the loss of more than 400,000 american lives . watch more of bush 's speech » ' germany and japan , once mortal enemies , are now allies of the united states . and people across the world have reaped the benefits from that alliance , ' he said . today , we must do the same in afghanistan and iraq . ... we 'll lay the foundation of peace for generations to come . ' but today 's wars differ from those of the past , bush acknowledged , and not only because of modern technology that allows greater precision ' in warfare . one challenge is that in the past , in germany and japan , the work of rebuilding took place in relative quiet , ' he said . today , we 're helping emerging democracies rebuild under fire from terrorist networks and state sponsors of terror . this is a difficult and unprecedented task -- and we 're learning as we go . ' the measure of success in war has changed , he said . in the past ... there were public surrenders , a signing ceremony on the deck of a battleship , victory parades in american cities . today , when the war continues after the regime has fallen , the definition of success is more complicated . ' nonetheless , he said , in iraq and afghanistan , there is a clear definition of success : when those countries are rid of al qaeda , when they are economically viable , when they are democracies that can govern effectively and when they are strong allies on the war on terror . these successes will come , ' he told the class . and when they do , our nation will have achieved victory , and the american people will be more secure. | president bush speaks at u.s. air force academy graduation wednesday |
bush <tsp> colorado springs , colorado ( cnn ) -- president bush told the 2008 graduating class at the u.s. air force academy on wednesday that the only way america could lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves . ' president bush and air force academy graduate michael riddick of aiken , south carolina , celebrate graduation . speaking on a cloudy day at falcon stadium , the president compared the wars in iraq and afghanistan to america 's earlier conflicts , particularly world war ii . our nation is once again contending with an ideology that seeks to sow anger , hatred and despair : the ideology of islamic extremism , ' he said . in today 's struggle , we are once again facing evil men who despise freedom and despise america and aim to subject millions to their violent rule . we assumed this obligation before , ' he said , referring to the rebuilding of germany and japan after world war ii , a conflict that saw the loss of more than 400,000 american lives . watch more of bush 's speech » ' germany and japan , once mortal enemies , are now allies of the united states . and people across the world have reaped the benefits from that alliance , ' he said . today , we must do the same in afghanistan and iraq . ... we 'll lay the foundation of peace for generations to come . ' but today 's wars differ from those of the past , bush acknowledged , and not only because of modern technology that allows greater precision ' in warfare . one challenge is that in the past , in germany and japan , the work of rebuilding took place in relative quiet , ' he said . today , we 're helping emerging democracies rebuild under fire from terrorist networks and state sponsors of terror . this is a difficult and unprecedented task -- and we 're learning as we go . ' the measure of success in war has changed , he said . in the past ... there were public surrenders , a signing ceremony on the deck of a battleship , victory parades in american cities . today , when the war continues after the regime has fallen , the definition of success is more complicated . ' nonetheless , he said , in iraq and afghanistan , there is a clear definition of success : when those countries are rid of al qaeda , when they are economically viable , when they are democracies that can govern effectively and when they are strong allies on the war on terror . these successes will come , ' he told the class . and when they do , our nation will have achieved victory , and the american people will be more secure. | bush : only way america could lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves ' |
jamam <tsp> jamam refugee camp , south sudan ( cnn ) -- the dried up cattle pond is only a few meters off the red road that runs through jamam refugee camp . it 's a huge hole in the ground , long emptied by the blazing sun . at the bottom of this pit women and children dig with cups and bowls in the smelly , spongy mud for the little dirty water that seeps into their shallow wells . jamam refugee camp is in a desperate situation . all day oxfam trucks water from the very few working boreholes in or near the camp to tanks close to the road . women wait in the heat for up to four hours twice a day , next to their long queues of buckets and jerry cans . men with sticks and whips police the lines . fights break out all the time . no one has to ask why . there is simply not enough water and we are running out of options and we are running out of time . this is the daily struggle that is the human face of peace failing in the sudans . the conflict in blue nile has been going on for months , and now in the past few weeks fighting between sudan and south sudan threatens to further destabilize the wider border region these refugees still live in . like a cruel reminder of the conflict that the refugees fled , unidentified antonovs -- the kind of planes that bombed their villages in blue nile -- flew over jamam camp three times in the past few weeks . in a panic , refugees ran and sought safety in holes in the ground . to truly understand why peace is so important , the world needs to remember it 's not just the fighting that matters but also the enormous suffering it causes those who have already been forced to flee it . the interrupted lives , deadened by displacement in the hot , unblinking heat . in barely established camps like jamam there 's nothing to do but wait . in jamam -- where water is rationed well below people 's needs , enough only for cooking and bathing - that struggle has become a crisis that is about to deepen as the rainy season approaches . how to get enough water ? that is the burning question , but the ground here has few answers . there is just not enough water to cope with so many new people -- and now there are fears that more may arrive as conflict spreads . we 've done a hydro-geological survey and we 've drilled for new boreholes . we have even resorted to water divining -- a traditional method using metal rods in the hope of detecting ground water . only one drill has produced any water , but very little . we were completely reliant on four overworked boreholes pumping 22 hours a day . one of these collapsed last week , and now there are just three . rationing has been tightened again . it was a grim evening in our base in the camp that night . we ate our meal to the loud hum of the generator with our hearts in our stomachs . the refugees were settled here partly because the host community was welcoming . but as water sources run out or dry up and more and more refugees arrive , competition for water is beginning to cause conflict here too . fights break out at water points . the pressure is intense and i fear it will get worse . the heavy rains are coming , bringing fresh problems . it rained last week for three hours , long enough to destroy many of the flimsy shelters of plastic sheeting , sheets , or straw the refugees have constructed under trees . whole families were left exposed . the rains will flood large parts of the camp , bringing the threat of disease and making trucking water in very difficult -- perhaps impossible as the roads deteriorate into impassable mud slicks . drilling in the rains is also near impossible . it is hard to express how miserable the mud of upper nile is . it 's a kind of black clay that sticks to everything , the stuff of quagmires . largely impermeable , water sits on top of it , a massive health risk not just encouraging malaria but also water-borne diseases including cholera . humanitarian agencies working in the camp are looking into options including relocating a large number of the refugees to a new site , and putting in a pipeline that will hopefully mean the water can reach the camp more reliably when the roads fall apart . but there 's only one real solution . people need peace and people need to be able to go home . unless all parties involved in the fighting stop and focus on long-term peace then i fear that the situation in sudan and south sudan will reverse to how it was during wartime , africa 's longest civil war , the most recent phase of which lasted 22 years and left around 2 million people dead . all that progress made in the years following the 2005 peace agreement risks being lost . the international community played a major role in brokering that peace -- now is the time to make sure it lasts . the people in jamam , and across the two countries , deserve to be free from the constant threat of crisis . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of pauline ballaman . | many have taken shelter in jamam camp , but water supplies are running low |
cdc <tsp> a 10-day royal caribbean cruise ship will return two days early after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness , the cruise line said sunday . according to bernadette burden , a spokeswoman with the centers for disease control and prevention , more than 600 people on the ship have become ill . passengers and crew members reported vomiting and diarrhea . new reports of illness have decreased day-over-day , and many guests are again up and about . nevertheless , the disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting , ' the cruise line said in a statement . after consultation between our medical team and representatives of the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention , we think the right thing to do is to bring our guests home early , and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly , ' the company said . explorer of the seas left january 21 from cape liberty , new jersey , and it has been in the caribbean . after returning to its home port on wednesday , the cruise line said it would perform a thorough'barrier'sanitization program on the entire ship to make certain that any remaining traces of the illness are eliminated . ' the cause of the illness was not immediately clear , though symptoms are consistent with norovirus , the cruise line said . noroviruses spread easily and are a common cause of gastroenteritis , which produces vomiting and diarrhea . according to burden , the cdc spokeswoman , 577 of the 3,050 passengers and 49 of 1,165 crew members reported being ill. joseph angelillo was one such person . he said he thought , at first , he just had food poisoning . i started with upset stomach and vomiting , and that lasted all night and into the morning , ' he told cnn by phone sunday . he said some entertainers were sick and shows had to be canceled . if i can get off ( the ship ) , i will , ' angelillo said . what you need to know about kids and norovirus five things we 've learned about cruising after a bad cruise , can you cruise into court ? | 577 passengers and 49 crew members report being ill , cdc spokeswoman says |
ireland <tsp> ( cnn ) -- ireland opened the defense of their six nations rugby title with a 29-11 victory at home to italy , while england repelled the challenge of wales to win 30-17 in saturday 's other match . ireland , who won all five matches last year to complete a grand slam , led 23-8 at halftime in dublin but could not run away with victory against a determined visiting team . recalled flyhalf ronan o'gara became the first player to score 500 points in the tournament as he was successful with all six kicks at goal , while jamie heaslip and tomas o'leary crossed for first-half tries . italy 's only try came just before halftime , despite the sin-binning of center gonzalo garcia meaning coach nick mallett 's team were reduced to 14 men , after a charge-down of rob kearney 's kick by kaine robertson . it 's not easy to click immediately having only been together for two weeks and not having played together since november , ' ireland captain brian o'driscoll told reporters . there is plenty to improve on . it 's the first one and job done . we 'll take the positives out of it and move on . we showed an ability in the first half to turn defense into attack and the amount of lineout ball we won was a big plus . we made some good line breaks but did n't finish them off . maybe we need to improve our support play . ' england flanker james haskell scored two tries to lift the pressure on head coach martin johnson , as wales paid the price for alun-wyn jones'sin-binning with 17 points conceded while the lock was off the field at twickenham . the match was level at 3-3 when jones was yellow-carded for leg-tripping england hooker dylan hartley , and the hosts subsequently scored a penalty and two converted tries , haskell 's first in tests and another five minutes after halftime by scrumhalf danny care . wales battled back to 20-17 down with eight minutes left as jones made some amends by setting up prop adam jones for a try and then james hook crossed for another . but four minutes later haskell went over again thanks to delon armitage 's interception , and then jonny wilkinson kicked his third penalty , this one from the halfway line to give the flyhalf 15 points for the match . wales coach warren gatland was furious after jones'indiscipline cost his side dear . we are frustrated and disappointed . we felt that was a game that has slipped from our grasp , ' the new zealander told reporters . the yellow card has cost us 17 points -- it was one of those things , stupid . it was massive . sometimes those things are very , very costly , and it was for us today . we had stressed discipline over the past two weeks and talked about giving nothing soft away , and it is frustrating we have done that . he has made an impulsive decision , and hopefully it is a learning experience for him and he does n't do it again . ' france travel to scotland for the opening round 's other match on sunday . | ireland open defense of six nations rugby title with 29-11 victory at home to italy |
japanese <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the japanese motogp will go ahead as planned after a report found that radiation risks from the nearby fukushima plant damaged in march 's earthquake and tsunami were negligible . the october 2 race is to be staged at the motegi twin ring circuit which is 110 miles from the nuclear plant that was badly damaged by the devastating natural disasters that hit the asian country . several riders have previously said they would not race at the track but a report published on tuesday by the international motorcycling federation ( fim ) found the likely radiation risk was similar to that of rome or madrid . it read : based on this report the fim and dorna sports ( race organizers ) confirm today that , subject to there being no further serious incidents , the grand prix of japan will take place on 2 october as planned . as already indicated , arpa ( the agency commissioned to do the report by fim ) has measured levels of radiation from all sources including the air , environment and food . the final conclusion is that'based on the estimate dose it can be said with no doubt that the radiation risk during the race event is negligible .'' reigning world champion and current championship leader jorge lorenzo said in july that he would not take part in the race and claimed many of his fellow riders felt the same way . | the japanese motogp will go ahead as planned say the sport 's governing body |
japan <tsp> beijing , china ( cnn ) -- china has become the world 's third-largest economy , surpassing germany and closing rapidly on japan , according to government and world bank figures . commuters drive along a road in downtown beijing , china , on thursday . the chinese government revised its growth figures for 2007 from 11.9 percent to 13 percent this week , bringing its estimated gross domestic product to $ 3.4 trillion -- about 3 percent larger than germany 's $ 3.3 trillion for the same year , based on world bank estimates . beijing is expected to release its 2008 gdp figures next week . although the world 's top economies , the united states and japan , are in recession , the most pessimistic estimates for china 's growth in upcoming years runs about 5 percent . that could allow china 's gdp to overtake japan 's , currently $ 4.3 trillion , within a few years . the u.s. economy , the world 's largest , was about $ 13.8 trillion in 2007 . the world bank 's estimate of china 's economic growth is about 7.5 percent . but china has seen a sharp decline in exports in november and december as other major economies struggle , and the bank 's analysts say rates below 6 percent could worsen the rest of the world 's slump . watch how china was able to overtake germany » and michael santoro , author of the 2008 book china 2020 , ' said china will have other problems to overcome if it is to maintain its rapid expansion . it 's no longer sufficient for china to become a manufacturer of sneakers or toys and the like , ' santoro said . now they 're looking to become players in the area of pharmaceuticals and foods and other high value-added products , where safety and quality are important characteristics for improving in the global economy . ' china recently announced a $ 600 billion economic stimulus package , and its state council on wednesday laid out a new plan to boost its steel and auto industries -- including about $ 1.5 billion to develop alternative-fuel vehicles . cnn 's john vause and judy kwon contributed to this report . | china 's gdp could overtake japan 's within a few years |
pott <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in the cases that make the news , the stories are often murky and much debated . the hazy memories usually involve underage drinking , bad decisions , sexual acts , photos snapped and shared . what 's becoming clear in some recent high-profile sexual assault cases are the grave and lasting consequences for people on both sides of the camera . it 's a double-edged sword , experts said . sharing images of rape or assault through text messages or social media re-traumatizes the victim . but it also provides evidence that could be crucial to building a criminal prosecution . depending on the state , sexually explicit images of minors might be considered child pornography . one of the issues that 's always part of a criminal case is the defendant 's state of mind , ' cnn legal expert jeffrey toobin said . social media gives you an unusually direct picture of what 's inside a defendant 's head . ' related : when bullying goes high-tech as evidence , however , it 's often too little , too late . two teens recently committed suicide after their alleged assaults were photographed and shared with others . even if the photos and tweets lead to convictions , their existence does more harm than good for survivors . one of the reasons rape is so damaging is because it leaves you feeling a complete lack of control over your body , ' said jaclyn friedman , a rape survivor and author of what you really really want : the smart girl 's shame-free guide to sex & safety . ' shared images of assault can reinforce feelings of helplessness and vulnerability , she said ; the victim has no control over who sees them or how far they go . backlash toward the victim can deter others from reporting sexual assault . nothing ever goes away on the internet , so the knowledge -- that one way or another , the attack will be with you forever -- can be a constant source of trauma , ' she said . related : the healing process never ends after rape or worse.the family of 15-year-old audrie pott says she committed suicide in september after learning that someone shared a photo of her being sexually assaulted at a house party . three teen boys were arrested last week in connection with the case , santa clara sheriff 's office spokesman jose cardoza said . formal charges have not been filed but they face two felony and one misdemeanor charge , he said . one of the felonies has to do with distribution of harmful matter of a victim , ' he said . the other charges are related to sexual battery . after learning that photos of the alleged rape had been shared with others , pott wrote in an online post that her life was ruined . in a press conference monday , pott 's mother read aloud posts from her daughter 's facebook page : ' i have a reputation for a night i do n't even remember . ' i ca n't do anything to fix it . ' i just want this to go away . ' the whole school knows . ' i have a reputation i can never get rid of . ' the potts family intends to file a lawsuit against the parents who own the home where the alcohol was allegedly consumed , attorney robert allard said monday . the case has drawn comparisons to one that played out in court this year in steubenville , ohio , where two star football players were convicted of rape for assaulting a girl who had too much to drink . images in that case were posted on social media sites . in that case , the survivor benefited from a strong support group , including parents who believed her and stood up for her , despite allegations from the boys'lawyers that the she was a willing participant , said jennifer long , director of aequitas , which collaborates with national , state and local advocates to help prosecutions of violence against women . related : beyond vomiting , how to prevent rape images of the attack overcame the defense 's arguments , said long , a former sex crimes prosecutor in philadelphia . a picture can mean a lot in cases where an accuser 's credibility is called into question , when everyone was too intoxicated to recall details or when there 's no physical evidence of an assault . an image can show the victim 's condition , who was there and what took place . and yet , the existence of images does n't immediately lead to a criminal prosecution . in another tragedy that made headlines this week , the family of canadian teen rehtaeh parsons took her off life support sunday . she had been hospitalized after she tried to kill herself . her family said she became suicidal after being gang-raped in 2011 , and was bullied for more than a year after the alleged assault . authorities confirmed that a photograph allegedly showing rehtaeh having sex with one of the boys was circulated to friends'mobile phones and computers . as a result , her family said , she developed suicidal thoughts . law enforcement in the eastern canadian city of halifax , nova scotia , announced they were reopening the investigation friday night after initially claiming that a joint investigation with the royal canadian mounted police found insufficient evidence to proceed with charges . ' canadian justice officials told her family on wednesday they would take a fresh look , the family told cnn . if charges arise , long , the aequitas director , said she hopes courts will consider that the photos exist and were shared . for the victim , it never ends , ' she said . that 's definitely something the courts should keep in mind when determining a sentence . ' follow emanuella grinberg on twitter | pott 's suicide and others highlight consequences of sharing sex assault photos |
pott <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in the cases that make the news , the stories are often murky and much debated . the hazy memories usually involve underage drinking , bad decisions , sexual acts , photos snapped and shared . what 's becoming clear in some recent high-profile sexual assault cases are the grave and lasting consequences for people on both sides of the camera . it 's a double-edged sword , experts said . sharing images of rape or assault through text messages or social media re-traumatizes the victim . but it also provides evidence that could be crucial to building a criminal prosecution . depending on the state , sexually explicit images of minors might be considered child pornography . one of the issues that 's always part of a criminal case is the defendant 's state of mind , ' cnn legal expert jeffrey toobin said . social media gives you an unusually direct picture of what 's inside a defendant 's head . ' related : when bullying goes high-tech as evidence , however , it 's often too little , too late . two teens recently committed suicide after their alleged assaults were photographed and shared with others . even if the photos and tweets lead to convictions , their existence does more harm than good for survivors . one of the reasons rape is so damaging is because it leaves you feeling a complete lack of control over your body , ' said jaclyn friedman , a rape survivor and author of what you really really want : the smart girl 's shame-free guide to sex & safety . ' shared images of assault can reinforce feelings of helplessness and vulnerability , she said ; the victim has no control over who sees them or how far they go . backlash toward the victim can deter others from reporting sexual assault . nothing ever goes away on the internet , so the knowledge -- that one way or another , the attack will be with you forever -- can be a constant source of trauma , ' she said . related : the healing process never ends after rape or worse.the family of 15-year-old audrie pott says she committed suicide in september after learning that someone shared a photo of her being sexually assaulted at a house party . three teen boys were arrested last week in connection with the case , santa clara sheriff 's office spokesman jose cardoza said . formal charges have not been filed but they face two felony and one misdemeanor charge , he said . one of the felonies has to do with distribution of harmful matter of a victim , ' he said . the other charges are related to sexual battery . after learning that photos of the alleged rape had been shared with others , pott wrote in an online post that her life was ruined . in a press conference monday , pott 's mother read aloud posts from her daughter 's facebook page : ' i have a reputation for a night i do n't even remember . ' i ca n't do anything to fix it . ' i just want this to go away . ' the whole school knows . ' i have a reputation i can never get rid of . ' the potts family intends to file a lawsuit against the parents who own the home where the alcohol was allegedly consumed , attorney robert allard said monday . the case has drawn comparisons to one that played out in court this year in steubenville , ohio , where two star football players were convicted of rape for assaulting a girl who had too much to drink . images in that case were posted on social media sites . in that case , the survivor benefited from a strong support group , including parents who believed her and stood up for her , despite allegations from the boys'lawyers that the she was a willing participant , said jennifer long , director of aequitas , which collaborates with national , state and local advocates to help prosecutions of violence against women . related : beyond vomiting , how to prevent rape images of the attack overcame the defense 's arguments , said long , a former sex crimes prosecutor in philadelphia . a picture can mean a lot in cases where an accuser 's credibility is called into question , when everyone was too intoxicated to recall details or when there 's no physical evidence of an assault . an image can show the victim 's condition , who was there and what took place . and yet , the existence of images does n't immediately lead to a criminal prosecution . in another tragedy that made headlines this week , the family of canadian teen rehtaeh parsons took her off life support sunday . she had been hospitalized after she tried to kill herself . her family said she became suicidal after being gang-raped in 2011 , and was bullied for more than a year after the alleged assault . authorities confirmed that a photograph allegedly showing rehtaeh having sex with one of the boys was circulated to friends'mobile phones and computers . as a result , her family said , she developed suicidal thoughts . law enforcement in the eastern canadian city of halifax , nova scotia , announced they were reopening the investigation friday night after initially claiming that a joint investigation with the royal canadian mounted police found insufficient evidence to proceed with charges . ' canadian justice officials told her family on wednesday they would take a fresh look , the family told cnn . if charges arise , long , the aequitas director , said she hopes courts will consider that the photos exist and were shared . for the victim , it never ends , ' she said . that 's definitely something the courts should keep in mind when determining a sentence . ' follow emanuella grinberg on twitter | new : i have a reputation i can never get rid of , ' audrie pott wrote online after alleged rape |
japanese <tsp> tokyo ( cnn ) -- the search for bodies from an erupting volcano in central japan was suspended thursday as weather conditions deteriorated . officials are concerned that heavy rainfall could increase the threat of an avalanche of accumulated ash on mount ontake . as of thursday morning , 47 bodies had been recovered from the mountain , with 42 people identified so far , according to nagano prefectural police . ontake unleashed a huge cloud of ash late saturday morning that billowed down the mountainside and engulfed hikers in its path . witnesses described hearing a sound like thunder when the eruption began . authorities estimated there were 200 to 250 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption . most of them were reported to have managed to make the long trek down the mountain . but some people remained trapped in several lodges on ontake , and others were missing altogether , local authorities said . hundreds join search soldiers from japan 's self defense force ( sdf ) have joined hundreds of police and firefighters in the search this week , with 11 helicopters deployed to carry bodies from the mountain 's slopes . though some of the victims were still being examined by the local coroner , the cause of death for those officially pronounced dead was recorded as injury from direct hits by volcanic cinders , police said . the japan meteorological agency -- which has raised the volcanic alert level for ontake from 1 to 3 , meaning the public is advised to not approach the volcano -- has warned that another large eruption could take place in the next few days . mount ontake , at 10,060 feet ( 3,067 meters ) , is the second tallest volcano in japan after mount fuji , and a popular destination for hikers , especially in the fall when richly-colored autumn foliage is on display . the last major eruption of ontake , which is about 125 miles ( 200 kilometers ) west of tokyo , took place in 1979 , according to the global volcanism program at the smithsonian institute . that eruption lasted months , spewing out more than 200,000 tons of ash , japanese news agency kyodo reported . | of the 47 known victims , 42 bodies have now been identified , japanese police said |
mount ontake <tsp> tokyo ( cnn ) -- the search for bodies from an erupting volcano in central japan was suspended thursday as weather conditions deteriorated . officials are concerned that heavy rainfall could increase the threat of an avalanche of accumulated ash on mount ontake . as of thursday morning , 47 bodies had been recovered from the mountain , with 42 people identified so far , according to nagano prefectural police . ontake unleashed a huge cloud of ash late saturday morning that billowed down the mountainside and engulfed hikers in its path . witnesses described hearing a sound like thunder when the eruption began . authorities estimated there were 200 to 250 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption . most of them were reported to have managed to make the long trek down the mountain . but some people remained trapped in several lodges on ontake , and others were missing altogether , local authorities said . hundreds join search soldiers from japan 's self defense force ( sdf ) have joined hundreds of police and firefighters in the search this week , with 11 helicopters deployed to carry bodies from the mountain 's slopes . though some of the victims were still being examined by the local coroner , the cause of death for those officially pronounced dead was recorded as injury from direct hits by volcanic cinders , police said . the japan meteorological agency -- which has raised the volcanic alert level for ontake from 1 to 3 , meaning the public is advised to not approach the volcano -- has warned that another large eruption could take place in the next few days . mount ontake , at 10,060 feet ( 3,067 meters ) , is the second tallest volcano in japan after mount fuji , and a popular destination for hikers , especially in the fall when richly-colored autumn foliage is on display . the last major eruption of ontake , which is about 125 miles ( 200 kilometers ) west of tokyo , took place in 1979 , according to the global volcanism program at the smithsonian institute . that eruption lasted months , spewing out more than 200,000 tons of ash , japanese news agency kyodo reported . | new : bad weather halts search for more bodies on mount ontake |
mount ontake <tsp> tokyo ( cnn ) -- the search for bodies from an erupting volcano in central japan was suspended thursday as weather conditions deteriorated . officials are concerned that heavy rainfall could increase the threat of an avalanche of accumulated ash on mount ontake . as of thursday morning , 47 bodies had been recovered from the mountain , with 42 people identified so far , according to nagano prefectural police . ontake unleashed a huge cloud of ash late saturday morning that billowed down the mountainside and engulfed hikers in its path . witnesses described hearing a sound like thunder when the eruption began . authorities estimated there were 200 to 250 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption . most of them were reported to have managed to make the long trek down the mountain . but some people remained trapped in several lodges on ontake , and others were missing altogether , local authorities said . hundreds join search soldiers from japan 's self defense force ( sdf ) have joined hundreds of police and firefighters in the search this week , with 11 helicopters deployed to carry bodies from the mountain 's slopes . though some of the victims were still being examined by the local coroner , the cause of death for those officially pronounced dead was recorded as injury from direct hits by volcanic cinders , police said . the japan meteorological agency -- which has raised the volcanic alert level for ontake from 1 to 3 , meaning the public is advised to not approach the volcano -- has warned that another large eruption could take place in the next few days . mount ontake , at 10,060 feet ( 3,067 meters ) , is the second tallest volcano in japan after mount fuji , and a popular destination for hikers , especially in the fall when richly-colored autumn foliage is on display . the last major eruption of ontake , which is about 125 miles ( 200 kilometers ) west of tokyo , took place in 1979 , according to the global volcanism program at the smithsonian institute . that eruption lasted months , spewing out more than 200,000 tons of ash , japanese news agency kyodo reported . | mount ontake began erupting saturday , unleashing a cloud of ash that engulfed hikers |
uniformed division <tsp> washington ( cnn ) an off-duty member of the uniformed division of secret service was arrested friday in washington and charged with first-degree attempted burglary , a felony , and one misdemeanor count for destruction of property , the d.c. metropolitan police department reported . arthur baldwin , 29 , was arrested at a woman 's residence in southeast washington , according to documents provided by the police department . he has been placed on administrative leave and his security clearance has been suspended , the secret service said . baldwin is assigned to the foreign missions branch , according to u.s. secret service spokesman brian leary . that branch is responsible for working with the diplomatic community in washington . a police officer went to a residence about 12:24 a.m. after receiving a call about a burglary in progress , police documents said . the officer found the front door with broken hinges , boot prints and two broken windows , the documents say . the woman who lives there told the officer , my ex-boyfriend wo n't leave me alone . ' while the d.c. metropolitan police officer was at the scene , baldwin drove up , said he was a police officer and asked to speak with the woman , the police document said . when asked if he kicked in the door , baldwin said , i kicked the door but did not ... break the windows , ' the document said . when a cnn reporter asked for a comment friday during an arraignment , baldwin said , no , you 'll get me in trouble . ' his next court date is april 23 . the u.s. attorney 's office said the charge of attempted first-degree burglary carries a sentence of up to five years in prison . the charge of destruction of property carries a sentence of up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $ 1,000 . related : secret service supervisor accused of making unwanted sexual advances the incident comes as the secret service is trying to mend its reputation after numerous issues concerning the discipline and professionalism of its officers have come to light recently . more specifics on this incident were not yet available . leary also said the secret service 's office of professional responsibility will investigate this matter . ' | off-duty member of the uniformed division of secret service arrested friday |
secret service <tsp> washington ( cnn ) an off-duty member of the uniformed division of secret service was arrested friday in washington and charged with first-degree attempted burglary , a felony , and one misdemeanor count for destruction of property , the d.c. metropolitan police department reported . arthur baldwin , 29 , was arrested at a woman 's residence in southeast washington , according to documents provided by the police department . he has been placed on administrative leave and his security clearance has been suspended , the secret service said . baldwin is assigned to the foreign missions branch , according to u.s. secret service spokesman brian leary . that branch is responsible for working with the diplomatic community in washington . a police officer went to a residence about 12:24 a.m. after receiving a call about a burglary in progress , police documents said . the officer found the front door with broken hinges , boot prints and two broken windows , the documents say . the woman who lives there told the officer , my ex-boyfriend wo n't leave me alone . ' while the d.c. metropolitan police officer was at the scene , baldwin drove up , said he was a police officer and asked to speak with the woman , the police document said . when asked if he kicked in the door , baldwin said , i kicked the door but did not ... break the windows , ' the document said . when a cnn reporter asked for a comment friday during an arraignment , baldwin said , no , you 'll get me in trouble . ' his next court date is april 23 . the u.s. attorney 's office said the charge of attempted first-degree burglary carries a sentence of up to five years in prison . the charge of destruction of property carries a sentence of up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $ 1,000 . related : secret service supervisor accused of making unwanted sexual advances the incident comes as the secret service is trying to mend its reputation after numerous issues concerning the discipline and professionalism of its officers have come to light recently . more specifics on this incident were not yet available . leary also said the secret service 's office of professional responsibility will investigate this matter . ' | off-duty member of the uniformed division of secret service arrested friday |
silver spirit <tsp> ( cnn ) -- recent tragedies and negative publicity be damned , millions of vacationers still love cruise ships . in north america alone , the cruise industry projection for 2013 is 17.6 million passengers , up from 17.2 million last year , according to cruise lines international association . globally , the number is more than 20 million . for would-be cruisers who just ca n't deal with choice overload , u.s. news and world report has ranked the best cruise lines and ships according to traveler type . more : 7 super extravagant u.s. cruises the magazine calls celebrity cruises' reflection ' the world 's best affordable cruise , ' and says the recent publicity hits across the industry have translated into bargain prices for passengers . crystal cruises' symphony ' is the top pick for best luxury cruise . ' the crystal symphony 's calling card is n't only its delectable cuisine or its stylish staterooms , ' says the report . seafarers opt for this vessel year after year for its superior service and stimulating onboard entertainment . ' the magazine based its rankings on traveler ratings from data collected in collaboration with cruiseline.com , opinions from travel experts and official safety evaluations . the top cruises by category are summarized below . see the comprehensive rankings here . best cruise lines best cruise line for the money : royal caribbean international best cruise line for families : disney cruise line best cruise line for romance : crystal cruises best cruise line in the caribbean : disney cruise line best luxury cruise line : crystal cruises best cruise ships best affordable cruise : celebrity reflection best luxury cruise : celebrity symphony ' best cruise for couples : crystal symphony ' best cruise for families : disney dream ' best cruise for groups : silversea silver shadow ' best cruise for singles : silversea silver spirit ' best cruises by region alaska : silversea silver shadow ' caribbean : crystal symphony ' europe : crystal symphony ' mediterranean : silversea silver spirit ' mexico : holland america ms statendam ' pacific : crystal symphony ' more : 74 days on a felucca : new adventure on the nile 5 reasons to go barge cruising in france | singles should book silversea 's silver spirit ' |
san augustine <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a texas woman has been arrested as a suspect in an alleged kidnapping of a boy eight years ago , the san augustine county sheriff 's office said wednesday . the woman , krystle tanner of san augustine , was the godmother of miguel antonio morin , who was 8 months old when he and tanner went missing , the boy 's mother , auboni champion-morin , told cnn wednesday . tanner , also a neighbor , had been babysitting the boy in her houston home , she said . san augustine is about 165 miles northeast of houston . the boy , now 8 , was in good physical condition monday and was in the custody of texas child protective services , said sheriff 's chief deputy gary cunningham . the mother filed a police report in 2004 , but houston police closed the case two years later after prosecutors asked for clarification of the date the boy disappeared and houston police were unable to clarify that information , ' cunningham said . tanner was arrested monday in connection with the boy 's kidnapping after child protective services began investigating her in august on allegations of negligently supervising her children and an unknown 8-year-old child who had been physically abused , cunningham said . in an interview wednesday , champion-morin expressed joy and disbelief that miguel , the youngest of her five children at the time of his disappearance , had been finally found . authorities did not give details about who was taking care of the boy when he was found . when champion-morin received a phone call monday from the child welfare agency , i kind of had to look at the phone -- was this real ? ' said the mother , who had a sixth child after her son 's disappearance . she wondered if authorities'call was a cruel joke , she said . she was asked about the disappearance of her son and his connection to tanner , she said . at first , it kind of scared me , ' she said . she was thinking about her son in recent days because his birthday was march 1 . the child protection agency told champion-morin that tanner had been arrested in east texas , but that her son was not with tanner at the time , the mother said . champion-morin will undergo a blood test possibly this week to prove she is the biological mother , she said . on the night that her son and tanner disappeared , champion-morin said she had asked tanner to watch her son overnight . at the time , the mother had five children , all under age 4 , and miguel was the youngest . i was having hardship at the time , ' the mother said . i asked her to watch him overnight , and when i came back ... they were gone . ' tanner and the mother lived in the same apartment building , and tanner wanted the boy to stay in her apartment and the other kids to stay at another friend 's apartment , the mother said . tanner was a high school student at the time and had to attend classes the next morning , but when champion-morin went to pick up her son that morning , he and tanner were gone , champion-morin said . tanner 's mother said the two had left the state , champion-morin said . she called police , she said . the mother knew tanner and her family well , and they spent a lot of time together , she said . at that time , i trusted her , i knew her , ' champion-morin said . police asked her to take a polygraph and she agreed , but because she was pregnant at the time police told her she could not take it then , champion-morin said . she never knew police had closed the case back in 2006 , and she assumed all along they were still working on it , she said . she called houston police several times to check on the case over the years and was always told she had a new police contact and the case had been assigned to someone else , the mother said . she found the experience frustrating and had not called back in a while , she said . still , she thought often of her son , she said . i always wondered every night . i dreamed and prayed on it , ' she said . she explained miguel 's disappearance to his siblings the best i could , ' she said . they still somewhat do n't understand the situation , why ( someone ) would do that , ' champion-morin said . her children now are trying to make sure i stay calm ' and are praying with me , ' the mom said . miguel could be returned to her by the end of the week , ' she said . i 'm going to let him know i love him with all my heart ... and any questions he has , i will answer them , ' champion-morin said . it will be hard . ' we will probably have to go to a psychiatrist together , ' she said , adding it will also be opportunity to work out their relationship and get to know one another . when asked how she felt about how houston police handled the case , she said , it took years to get some sort of progress . this took years ... a lot of running around and nobody helping me . ' the boy was reported missing in november 2004 , and after an investigation , houston police presented the case to the harris county district attorney 's office for review in february 2005 , cunningham said . the prosecutor accepted the case , but a warrant was never issued because the prosecutor 's office apparently asked for clarification of the precise date when the boy was taken , cunningham said . houston police was unable to clarify that information , and the case was closed in 2006 , cunningham said . an amber alert was never issued for the boy because the houston regional amber alert plan was never notified , said coordinator beth alberts . houston police department investigators are now looking into the case , including why an amber alert was never requested , spokesman kese smith said wednesday . in august 2011 , the state child welfare agency received a report against tanner about alleged negligence of her children , cunningham said . an 8-year-old boy was reportedly hit on , ' cunningham said . the report did n't suggest the alleged negligence was egregious , but the child welfare authority initiated an investigation and attempted to identify the 8-year-old child in the report , cunningham said . tanner allegedly gave the child welfare agency 's investigators contradictory information about the 8-year-old boy , saying the child was hers and then was n't hers , that the child belonged to her brother or someone else , cunningham said . the state agency then called the sheriff 's office , which eventually opened a criminal investigation in january after authorities could n't find the child , cunningham said . tanner again allegedly provided misleading information to the sheriff 's investigators , cunningham said . the child welfare agency then provided sheriff 's investigators with a possible identity of the missing child , and san augustine county prosecutors secured a warrant for tanner , cunningham said . we interviewed her again ( wednesday ) and she provided additional information , ' cunningham said . she admitted that she provided misleading information , which certainly supports our belief that she kidnapped the child . ' | krystle tanner of san augustine , texas , is in custody in the alleged kidnapping |
kansas <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the latest trend at teen parties is n't warm beer or prescription medicines pilfered from parents'medicine cabinets . instead , increasing numbers of youths are turning to an herb-based product to get high , and unlike marijuana , it 's perfectly legal . it 's known as k2 or spice , a synthetic substance that , when smoked , gives users a marijuana-like high , according to drug authorities . its growing popularity is causing increasing alarm among health care professionals , law enforcement authorities and lawmakers , with one drug enforcement agency official calling its use the equivalent of playing russian roulette . ' should some illegal drugs be legalized ? manufactured in asia and sold online or in local stores , k2 and similar substances are marketed as herbal incense . a disclaimer on a k2-selling web site reads : k2herbal products are novelty incenses and are not for consumption . ' sold in various flavors in 3-gram bags , the product consists of herbs that are sprayed with synthetic substances that mimic thc , the high-causing natural chemical found in marijuana . a call to regulate k2 health and drug officials say the danger in using such products is the unregulated nature of their production and makeup . our biggest concern is that this particular chemical is likely manufactured in a dorm-room setting . and these dorm-room scientists are not going to be exhibiting a lot of quality assurance techniques , ' says dr. gaylord lopez , a toxicologist and head of the georgia poison center . as a result , there 's a potential for users to inhale contaminants along with the substance they think they 're smoking , lopez said , which may be a contributing factor in the adverse symptoms some of its users have been experiencing . political activist wants k2 banned ' synthetic drugs and herbal drug products like spice and k2 are not made in a controlled environment and thus you are playing russian roulette when it comes to these types of products , ' said dawn dearden , a spokeswoman for the dea , which first began receiving reports about abuse of the substance last year . there is no way , outside of a controlled laboratory environment , to determine the chemical makeup , synthetic ingredients or amounts , and therefore there is no way to determine with any accuracy what the potentially harmful effects may be . ' lopez says his center first heard of the substance in december when georgia hospitals began reporting patients who had used k2 or spice . since then , the center has seen a spike in cases , with 20 people -- mostly teenagers -- visiting emergency rooms with such symptoms as heart palpitations and respiratory issues . in the most serious case , an otherwise healthy teenage boy , who has since recovered , lapsed into a coma , lopez said . according to dearden , additional side effects can include panic attacks , hallucinations , delusions , vomiting , increased agitation and dilated pupils . around the center , lopez said his employees have begun referring to the substance as scary spice . ' earlier this month , kansas became the first state to ban synthetic marijuana . kansas state sen. jim barnett , a supporter of the effort , said the ban was prompted by reports of abuse of k2 and similar products in cities across the state among high school students and prison parolees who were using it as an alternative to pot to avoid a positive drug test . lawmakers in several other states are considering similar legislation , including georgia , utah , missouri , tennessee , kentucky , north dakota and illinois . although it is a synthetic drug , it is still a drug with a high potential for abuse , ' says barnett , who is a physician . it was our desire in kansas to be ahead of the problem . ' k2 has already been banned in some european countries , including britain , germany , poland and france , and the dea lists it as a drug of concern in the united states . we are seeing several indications that these thc-like substances could become a significant problem both domestically and internationally , ' dearden says . she says the agency is in the preliminary stages of determining whether or not some or all of ( synthetic substances ) need to be controlled . ' | kansas has banned k2 ; many other states are considering similar laws |
japanese <tsp> april 23 is , according to some reports , william shakespeare 's birthday . in a nod to the bard 's enduring legacy 450 years on from his birth , as well as the uk 's theatrical history , here are a few stages worth seeing , whether a play 's being performed or not . shakespeare 's globe theater ( london ) the original globe theater was built by shakespeare 's company , the lord chamberlain 's men , in 1599 , but was destroyed by fire in 1613 . a replica was built in 1997 just meters from the original site , with historical records used for guidance . though almost identical in appearance to the original , the new 857-seat structure has several modern features , including roof-based sprinklers and a concrete theater pit , as opposed to the straw-strewn one that would have existed in 1599 . one feature faithfully recreated is the roof -- shakespeare 's globe has the first and only thatched roof permitted in london since the great fire of 1666 . shakespeare 's globe , 21 new globe walk , bankside , london ; +44 20 7902 1400 the düsseldorfer schauspielhaus ( düsseldorf , germany ) the history of this german theater dates to 1818 , when king friedrich wilhelm ii of prussia presented it to the residents of düsseldorf as a gift . the modern theater that now stands on the original site was built in the late 1960s . its curved , undulating lines are designed to resemble a theater curtain . architect bernhard pfau 's design was chosen in a competition . the düsseldorfer schauspielhaus , gustaf-gründgens-platz 1 , düsseldorf , germany ; +49 211 85230 balboa theatre ( san diego ) the balboa theatre was built in 1924 and named after spanish explorer vasco nuñez de balboa -- the first european to discover the pacific ocean . the property fell into disrepair , but in 2002 a major restoration began . a replica of the theater 's sign , depicting vasco 's ship , was created using original colors identified from photographs , and stencils were used to painstakingly recreate the tapestry design that once adorned the walls . after a $ 26 million renovation , this elegant vaudeville theater has been fully restored , complete with its one-of-a-kind , fully operational interior waterfalls , ' says ken stein at the league of historic american theaters . if you could sum up the beauty of the city of san diego in a single design , this would be it . ' balboa theatre , 868 4th ave. , san diego ; +1 619 570 110 bam harvey theater ( new york ) the bam harvey opened in 1904 as a venue for shakespearean plays , vaudeville revues and musicals . it was converted into a cinema in 1942 , before dancer harvey lichtenstein commissioned architect hugh hardy to refurbish the interior so it could operate as a theater again . today 's structure incorporates the original columns and water-stained ceilings , giving the venue a greco-roman feel . the 1987 restoration preserved the ornate detail and retained its historical associations , while rebuilding the stage and stripping it out to the bare brick back wall , ' says professor arnold aronson at columbia university 's theater arts program . it was one of the most exciting theater renovations of the past three decades . ' bam harvey theater , 651 fulton st. , brooklyn , new york ; +1 718 636 4100 national noh theatre ( tokyo ) forget cement and plasterboard -- japan 's noh theater was constructed in 1983 from 400-year-old bishu-hinoki cypress trees . it 's open on three sides and the seating spreads out from the stage in a fan shape . despite the traditional elements there 's plenty of tech -- each seat has a personal subtitling system that can be changed from japanese to english at the touch of a button . noh ( meaning skill ' or talent ' ) is a form of traditional japanese musical drama , and plays often last all day . national noh theatre , 4-18-1 , sendagaya , shibuya-ku , tokyo ; +81 3 3423 1331 salle richelieu ( paris ) the salle richelieu , also known as the comédie française , was built in the late 1600s . the grand staircase is lined with busts of important figures from the theater 's past -- the bust of french playwright corneille is rather worn , due to the belief that touching it will bring good luck . it 's the archetypal theater -- a womb-like curve of red plush and gold , ' says professor jan clarke at the international federation for theater research . it 's also a living museum , containing objects , artifacts , paintings and sculptures of huge interest for the history of french theater , including the armchair actor jean-baptiste poquelin used in'le malade imaginaire'just hours before his death . ' the salle richelieu , 8 rue de montpensier , paris ; +33 1 44 58 15 15 minack theatre ( cornwall , uk ) the setting is so stunning at this cliff-edge theater that you might find yourself getting distracted . on the plus side , the roaring waves could be a blessing for those who 've forgotten to turn their phones off . the theater was the brainchild of the late rowena cade , who decided to allow her garden to be used by a local theatrical group . in 1932 , cade , with the help of her gardener , hauled several tons of rock from the beach below and created a more permanent venue , which she opened to the public . today , there are performances between june and september , though the theater remains open all year round . minack theatre , porthcurno , penzance , cornwall , uk ; +44 1736 810694 state theatre ( sydney ) sydney 's state theatre opened in 1928 . it was designed by aussie architect eli white , but his decision to base his masterpiece on the work of american john eberson resulted in a mishmash of gothic , italian and art deco styles . the theater contains the second largest chandelier in the world and a priceless wurlitzer organ , and is recognized by the national trust of australia , which has classified it as a building of great historical significance and high architectural quality , the preservation of which is regarded as essential to our heritage . ' state theatre , 49 market st. , sydney , australia ; +61 2 9373 6655 margravial opera house ( bayreuth , germany ) built in 1745 , the unesco-listed margravial opera house is regarded as the finest baroque theater in europe . the stage has a depth of 27 meters and was the largest in europe until 1871 . much of the original materials remain ( including vast expanses of painted canvas and wood ) , along with original structures , such as the twin staircases that led up to the private box belonging to margrave of brandenburg-bayreut and his wife , who commissioned the theater . these staircases were designed so the audience below could observe the couple 's ascension to their seats . margravial opera house , opernstrasse 14 , bayreuth , germany ; +49 9 21 7 59 69 22 teatro amazonas ( manaus , brazil ) there ca n't be many theaters located in the middle of the amazon rainforest , and the teatro amazonas is certainly the most spectacular . the theater was built in the late 19th century during a rubber boom and was designed by italian architect celestial sacardim . work took 15 years , largely thanks to the decision to source supplies from all over the world : the roof tiles came from alsace in france , stairs and columns were made of italian marble and the steel walls came from glasgow . beautiful features include 198 chandeliers , which also came from italy , and the central dome , covered in 36,000 ceramic tiles painted in the colors of brazil 's national flag . amazon theater , centro , manaus , brazil ; +55 92 3622 1880 palais garnier ( paris ) the palais garnier was the most expensive building built in paris during the second french empire ( 1852-1870 ) and was the setting for gaston leroux 's novel the phantom of the opera . ' the interior is filled with marble friezes , bronze busts and ornate light fittings -- the most famous of which is a six-ton chandelier . in 1896 , one of the chandelier 's counterweights crashed through the ceiling , killing an audience member -- an incident that inspired a scene in leroux 's famous play . the palais garnier , paris , france , 8 rue scribe , paris ; +33 1 71 25 24 23 tampa theatre ( florida ) tampa theatre is the work of architect john eberson , who also designed the paramount theatre in austin , texas . highlights include a 900-pipe wurlitzer organ and 99 bulbs embedded in the ceiling to resemble twinkling stars . it was regarded as one of the world 's most elaborate theaters when it was built in 1926 and the interior -- a somewhat garish explosion of flowers and angry gargoyles -- resembles a mediterranean courtyard . the simplistic beauty of the paramount theatre confirms that eberson was a genius at designing vaudeville houses , ' remarks ken stein at the league of historic american theaters . but when you see the tampa with its complexity and elaborate atmospheric design , you realize eberson was also a mad genius . ' tampa theatre , 711 n franklin st. , tampa , florida ; +1 813 274 8981 teatru manoel ( valetta , malta ) teatru manoel is one of europe 's oldest working theaters -- it was built in 1731 with funds from the knights of malta , a western christian military order . it remained unscathed during both world wars , despite serving as a bomb shelter during the second , and many original features remain , including beautiful painted wooden panels and the silver leaf-adorned ceiling . teatru manoel , valletta , malta ; +356 2124 6389 mabel tainter center for the arts ( wisconsin ) if this tiny theater is anything to go by , bigger certainly does n't mean better . within this building visitors find stained glass windows , fireplaces , lots of brass , walnut and oak and a water-powered pipe organ . it was built in 1889 by harvey ellis as a memorial to the daughter of captain and mrs. andrew tainter , ' says ken stein at the league of historic american theaters . this jewel box-like theater feels like it could have been inspired by a child 's doll house . ' mabel tainter center for the arts , 205 main st. e. , menomonie , wisconsin ; +1 715 235 9726 the elgin and winter garden theater center ( toronto ) this is actually two theaters , stacked on top of each other , to create the world 's only operating double-decker theater . the winter gardens theater is seven stories above the elgin theater in downtown toronto . the elgin has dancing cherubs , elaborately decorated boxes , vast expanses of gold leaf and plaster sculpting covered in wafer-thin sheets of aluminum , while the winter gardens has hand-painted walls and a ceiling decorated with dried beech leaves . elgin and winter garden theater center , 189 yonge st. , toronto ; +1 416 314 2901 | tokyo 's national noh theatre has a subtitling system for each seat that can be changed from japanese to english |
germany <tsp> april 23 is , according to some reports , william shakespeare 's birthday . in a nod to the bard 's enduring legacy 450 years on from his birth , as well as the uk 's theatrical history , here are a few stages worth seeing , whether a play 's being performed or not . shakespeare 's globe theater ( london ) the original globe theater was built by shakespeare 's company , the lord chamberlain 's men , in 1599 , but was destroyed by fire in 1613 . a replica was built in 1997 just meters from the original site , with historical records used for guidance . though almost identical in appearance to the original , the new 857-seat structure has several modern features , including roof-based sprinklers and a concrete theater pit , as opposed to the straw-strewn one that would have existed in 1599 . one feature faithfully recreated is the roof -- shakespeare 's globe has the first and only thatched roof permitted in london since the great fire of 1666 . shakespeare 's globe , 21 new globe walk , bankside , london ; +44 20 7902 1400 the düsseldorfer schauspielhaus ( düsseldorf , germany ) the history of this german theater dates to 1818 , when king friedrich wilhelm ii of prussia presented it to the residents of düsseldorf as a gift . the modern theater that now stands on the original site was built in the late 1960s . its curved , undulating lines are designed to resemble a theater curtain . architect bernhard pfau 's design was chosen in a competition . the düsseldorfer schauspielhaus , gustaf-gründgens-platz 1 , düsseldorf , germany ; +49 211 85230 balboa theatre ( san diego ) the balboa theatre was built in 1924 and named after spanish explorer vasco nuñez de balboa -- the first european to discover the pacific ocean . the property fell into disrepair , but in 2002 a major restoration began . a replica of the theater 's sign , depicting vasco 's ship , was created using original colors identified from photographs , and stencils were used to painstakingly recreate the tapestry design that once adorned the walls . after a $ 26 million renovation , this elegant vaudeville theater has been fully restored , complete with its one-of-a-kind , fully operational interior waterfalls , ' says ken stein at the league of historic american theaters . if you could sum up the beauty of the city of san diego in a single design , this would be it . ' balboa theatre , 868 4th ave. , san diego ; +1 619 570 110 bam harvey theater ( new york ) the bam harvey opened in 1904 as a venue for shakespearean plays , vaudeville revues and musicals . it was converted into a cinema in 1942 , before dancer harvey lichtenstein commissioned architect hugh hardy to refurbish the interior so it could operate as a theater again . today 's structure incorporates the original columns and water-stained ceilings , giving the venue a greco-roman feel . the 1987 restoration preserved the ornate detail and retained its historical associations , while rebuilding the stage and stripping it out to the bare brick back wall , ' says professor arnold aronson at columbia university 's theater arts program . it was one of the most exciting theater renovations of the past three decades . ' bam harvey theater , 651 fulton st. , brooklyn , new york ; +1 718 636 4100 national noh theatre ( tokyo ) forget cement and plasterboard -- japan 's noh theater was constructed in 1983 from 400-year-old bishu-hinoki cypress trees . it 's open on three sides and the seating spreads out from the stage in a fan shape . despite the traditional elements there 's plenty of tech -- each seat has a personal subtitling system that can be changed from japanese to english at the touch of a button . noh ( meaning skill ' or talent ' ) is a form of traditional japanese musical drama , and plays often last all day . national noh theatre , 4-18-1 , sendagaya , shibuya-ku , tokyo ; +81 3 3423 1331 salle richelieu ( paris ) the salle richelieu , also known as the comédie française , was built in the late 1600s . the grand staircase is lined with busts of important figures from the theater 's past -- the bust of french playwright corneille is rather worn , due to the belief that touching it will bring good luck . it 's the archetypal theater -- a womb-like curve of red plush and gold , ' says professor jan clarke at the international federation for theater research . it 's also a living museum , containing objects , artifacts , paintings and sculptures of huge interest for the history of french theater , including the armchair actor jean-baptiste poquelin used in'le malade imaginaire'just hours before his death . ' the salle richelieu , 8 rue de montpensier , paris ; +33 1 44 58 15 15 minack theatre ( cornwall , uk ) the setting is so stunning at this cliff-edge theater that you might find yourself getting distracted . on the plus side , the roaring waves could be a blessing for those who 've forgotten to turn their phones off . the theater was the brainchild of the late rowena cade , who decided to allow her garden to be used by a local theatrical group . in 1932 , cade , with the help of her gardener , hauled several tons of rock from the beach below and created a more permanent venue , which she opened to the public . today , there are performances between june and september , though the theater remains open all year round . minack theatre , porthcurno , penzance , cornwall , uk ; +44 1736 810694 state theatre ( sydney ) sydney 's state theatre opened in 1928 . it was designed by aussie architect eli white , but his decision to base his masterpiece on the work of american john eberson resulted in a mishmash of gothic , italian and art deco styles . the theater contains the second largest chandelier in the world and a priceless wurlitzer organ , and is recognized by the national trust of australia , which has classified it as a building of great historical significance and high architectural quality , the preservation of which is regarded as essential to our heritage . ' state theatre , 49 market st. , sydney , australia ; +61 2 9373 6655 margravial opera house ( bayreuth , germany ) built in 1745 , the unesco-listed margravial opera house is regarded as the finest baroque theater in europe . the stage has a depth of 27 meters and was the largest in europe until 1871 . much of the original materials remain ( including vast expanses of painted canvas and wood ) , along with original structures , such as the twin staircases that led up to the private box belonging to margrave of brandenburg-bayreut and his wife , who commissioned the theater . these staircases were designed so the audience below could observe the couple 's ascension to their seats . margravial opera house , opernstrasse 14 , bayreuth , germany ; +49 9 21 7 59 69 22 teatro amazonas ( manaus , brazil ) there ca n't be many theaters located in the middle of the amazon rainforest , and the teatro amazonas is certainly the most spectacular . the theater was built in the late 19th century during a rubber boom and was designed by italian architect celestial sacardim . work took 15 years , largely thanks to the decision to source supplies from all over the world : the roof tiles came from alsace in france , stairs and columns were made of italian marble and the steel walls came from glasgow . beautiful features include 198 chandeliers , which also came from italy , and the central dome , covered in 36,000 ceramic tiles painted in the colors of brazil 's national flag . amazon theater , centro , manaus , brazil ; +55 92 3622 1880 palais garnier ( paris ) the palais garnier was the most expensive building built in paris during the second french empire ( 1852-1870 ) and was the setting for gaston leroux 's novel the phantom of the opera . ' the interior is filled with marble friezes , bronze busts and ornate light fittings -- the most famous of which is a six-ton chandelier . in 1896 , one of the chandelier 's counterweights crashed through the ceiling , killing an audience member -- an incident that inspired a scene in leroux 's famous play . the palais garnier , paris , france , 8 rue scribe , paris ; +33 1 71 25 24 23 tampa theatre ( florida ) tampa theatre is the work of architect john eberson , who also designed the paramount theatre in austin , texas . highlights include a 900-pipe wurlitzer organ and 99 bulbs embedded in the ceiling to resemble twinkling stars . it was regarded as one of the world 's most elaborate theaters when it was built in 1926 and the interior -- a somewhat garish explosion of flowers and angry gargoyles -- resembles a mediterranean courtyard . the simplistic beauty of the paramount theatre confirms that eberson was a genius at designing vaudeville houses , ' remarks ken stein at the league of historic american theaters . but when you see the tampa with its complexity and elaborate atmospheric design , you realize eberson was also a mad genius . ' tampa theatre , 711 n franklin st. , tampa , florida ; +1 813 274 8981 teatru manoel ( valetta , malta ) teatru manoel is one of europe 's oldest working theaters -- it was built in 1731 with funds from the knights of malta , a western christian military order . it remained unscathed during both world wars , despite serving as a bomb shelter during the second , and many original features remain , including beautiful painted wooden panels and the silver leaf-adorned ceiling . teatru manoel , valletta , malta ; +356 2124 6389 mabel tainter center for the arts ( wisconsin ) if this tiny theater is anything to go by , bigger certainly does n't mean better . within this building visitors find stained glass windows , fireplaces , lots of brass , walnut and oak and a water-powered pipe organ . it was built in 1889 by harvey ellis as a memorial to the daughter of captain and mrs. andrew tainter , ' says ken stein at the league of historic american theaters . this jewel box-like theater feels like it could have been inspired by a child 's doll house . ' mabel tainter center for the arts , 205 main st. e. , menomonie , wisconsin ; +1 715 235 9726 the elgin and winter garden theater center ( toronto ) this is actually two theaters , stacked on top of each other , to create the world 's only operating double-decker theater . the winter gardens theater is seven stories above the elgin theater in downtown toronto . the elgin has dancing cherubs , elaborately decorated boxes , vast expanses of gold leaf and plaster sculpting covered in wafer-thin sheets of aluminum , while the winter gardens has hand-painted walls and a ceiling decorated with dried beech leaves . elgin and winter garden theater center , 189 yonge st. , toronto ; +1 416 314 2901 | germany 's largest theater , tonhalle düsseldorf , was the world 's biggest planetarium when it opened in 1926 |
ncaa <tsp> another proposal for change is surfacing at the ncaa . the body that regulates athletics at the vast majority of u.s. colleges and universities is thinking about redefining academic fraud . there has been some confusion in the last few years about exactly what the ncaa 's responsibility is when it came to academic fraud on campus . so the organization 's academic cabinet ordered a review , deciding that for an academic scandal to lead to violations there needs to be both a nexus to a school 's athletics department , and it needs to affect the eligibility of athletes . now that it 's clarified , do we like it ? ' said carolyn callahan , who chairs the 23-member academic cabinet . how much institutional autonomy do we want ? how much oversight do we want ? ' callahan said those questions were brought to the committee long before a firestorm of public pressure on the ncaa to revisit its decision not to sanction the university of north carolina over its paper class ' scandal , saying it involved more students than just athletes . as cnn first reported , congressional hearings could be the upshot of inaction by the ncaa on the unc scandal ; u.s. rep. tony cardenas , d-california , is sending a letter to ncaa president mark emmert demanding answers about the ncaa 's handling of it . two years ago , unc 's internal investigation uncovered that several athletes were enrolled in classes where little or no work was required . a grand jury in orange county , north carolina , recently indicted a former professor who allegedly accepted money for teaching those no-show ' classes . cardenas , a member of the house oversight committee , told cnn he is prepared to issue subpoenas and call for a hearing if emmert does n't provide substantive answers to his letter . callahan said there have been some passionate discussions among the academic cabinet members the last few meetings . the next meeting is in june , and she said there is a possibility that during that meeting they will make recommendations to the ncaa leadership council , which meets again later in the summer . everyone assumes because of the timing this is a unc issue , ' callahan said . this came up first on our agenda way before the unc case . everything the ncaa does takes a long time . the cabinet only meets three times a year for a day and half , and that 's not the only thing on the agenda . certainly , all of us are aware of it , but that 's not the impetus for the discussion , and it 's not the only case we 're talking about , ' she said . the ncaa legislative council recently said a discussion of academic misconduct will occur in the new governance structure ' that would include new members to the board of directors and giving five major division i conferences more power in making decisions affecting student-athletes . juggling too much ? but gerald gurney , a former compliance director who worked in collegiate athletics for 30 years , is skeptical there will be academic fraud changes . they are trying to divert attention from what i consider to be a most obvious case of outrageous academic fraud , to needing a redefinition of academic fraud , ' gurney said . gurney and another professor , david ridpath at ohio university , just started research that will compare what is known about unc 's academic scandal to other institution 's academic scandals and how they were handled by the ncaa . gurney said he suspects this may be the ncaa 's way of getting around taking a second look at what happened at unc . from what i see at the moment , i feel strongly it is the worst academic fraud violation in the history of the ncaa , ' gurney said . ... they choose to ignore it . they are juggling so many balls right now , with respect to lawsuits , unionization issues , they really ca n't afford right at this moment to open up a major investigation on north carolina . it would further jeopardize public confidence in the ncaa 's ability to control athletics . ' he frames it with from what i see at the moment , ' because the full breadth of what happened at unc is still trickling out , two years after it was first reported by the news & observer of raleigh . unc has long insisted that the paper classes were solely the idea of one man -- now-indicted professor julius nyang'oro , who was head of the african-american studies department . the school says it has instituted reforms to ensure such academic problems do n't recur . a third look at unc scandal this year , shortly after cnn reported the findings of whistleblower mary willingham that showed a shocking number of functionally illiterate and ill-prepared student athletes at the prestigious public school , unc announced it commissioned its third review of the scandal . whistleblower leaves :'it 's been a hostile work environment' this time , former u.s. justice department attorney ken wainstein is taking a look . among his questions : did members of the athletic department know and talk about the paper classes ? previous reports commissioned by unc said no . another question : how long was this happening ? there is still no clear answer on that , either . meanwhile , willingham says she expects to play a role in the upcoming civil case of former ucla basketball star ed o'bannon vs. the ncaa . o'bannon is suing to allow student-athletes to be compensated the use of their name and likeness . several ncaa critics have told cnn they believe the ncaa refuses to look at the fraud at unc because it might mean conceding their biggest argument against paying players -- that they athletes are paid in the form of an education . the umbilical cord between the student and the athlete is being slowly cut and if it 's cut i think that has very serious consequences for the ncaa , ' said tom mcmillen , former basketball star-turned-congressman and a member of the university of maryland 's board of regents . athletes are not given an education . they step out of the university and they may have a degree , but they do n't have an education and that 's the sad thing about it . ' mcmillen has advised those pushing for reform -- most recently those behind the attempt by northwestern university football players to unionize -- to go after the ncaa over the way they handle academic fraud . he said during a forum at the aspen institute that academic fraud is the chink in the armor ' of the ncaa . power conferences may get more autonomy whether that pressure is working remains to be seen , but never before have there been so many consecutive pushes for reform . as o'bannon 's case goes to court this summer , the northwestern union case will be moving through appeal , and an antitrust lawsuit filed by four current athletes to eliminate the compensation cap will be making its way through the first stages of the civil court process . emmert , the ncaa president , has spent the last few weeks making waves with polarizing media interviews . it all led to an ncaa board of directors meeting on thursday and a proposal to give more power to five so-called power conferences and their 65 universities . in turn the schools would be able to give more benefits like having the option of increasing stipends for athletes to keep up with the cost of attending college and other small pleasures , like paying for airline flights to championship games for their families . a final vote will be taken in august . the changes are in line with what reformists want . but ramogi huma , president of the national college players association and the main force behind the northwestern union attempt , cautions on the ncaa 's motives . for 13 years ( the ncaa ) has fought all of these changes and now that their backs are against the ropes , ' huma said , referencing the legal actions . they had no choice but to gravitate towards the goals that we 've set to pursue . it 's definitely a step in the right direction , but it 's not quite voluntary . it 's not that schools and conferences are coming to their senses , it 's that players are mobilizing and forcing change . ' | ncaa looking at two elements of definition of academic fraud |
ncaa <tsp> another proposal for change is surfacing at the ncaa . the body that regulates athletics at the vast majority of u.s. colleges and universities is thinking about redefining academic fraud . there has been some confusion in the last few years about exactly what the ncaa 's responsibility is when it came to academic fraud on campus . so the organization 's academic cabinet ordered a review , deciding that for an academic scandal to lead to violations there needs to be both a nexus to a school 's athletics department , and it needs to affect the eligibility of athletes . now that it 's clarified , do we like it ? ' said carolyn callahan , who chairs the 23-member academic cabinet . how much institutional autonomy do we want ? how much oversight do we want ? ' callahan said those questions were brought to the committee long before a firestorm of public pressure on the ncaa to revisit its decision not to sanction the university of north carolina over its paper class ' scandal , saying it involved more students than just athletes . as cnn first reported , congressional hearings could be the upshot of inaction by the ncaa on the unc scandal ; u.s. rep. tony cardenas , d-california , is sending a letter to ncaa president mark emmert demanding answers about the ncaa 's handling of it . two years ago , unc 's internal investigation uncovered that several athletes were enrolled in classes where little or no work was required . a grand jury in orange county , north carolina , recently indicted a former professor who allegedly accepted money for teaching those no-show ' classes . cardenas , a member of the house oversight committee , told cnn he is prepared to issue subpoenas and call for a hearing if emmert does n't provide substantive answers to his letter . callahan said there have been some passionate discussions among the academic cabinet members the last few meetings . the next meeting is in june , and she said there is a possibility that during that meeting they will make recommendations to the ncaa leadership council , which meets again later in the summer . everyone assumes because of the timing this is a unc issue , ' callahan said . this came up first on our agenda way before the unc case . everything the ncaa does takes a long time . the cabinet only meets three times a year for a day and half , and that 's not the only thing on the agenda . certainly , all of us are aware of it , but that 's not the impetus for the discussion , and it 's not the only case we 're talking about , ' she said . the ncaa legislative council recently said a discussion of academic misconduct will occur in the new governance structure ' that would include new members to the board of directors and giving five major division i conferences more power in making decisions affecting student-athletes . juggling too much ? but gerald gurney , a former compliance director who worked in collegiate athletics for 30 years , is skeptical there will be academic fraud changes . they are trying to divert attention from what i consider to be a most obvious case of outrageous academic fraud , to needing a redefinition of academic fraud , ' gurney said . gurney and another professor , david ridpath at ohio university , just started research that will compare what is known about unc 's academic scandal to other institution 's academic scandals and how they were handled by the ncaa . gurney said he suspects this may be the ncaa 's way of getting around taking a second look at what happened at unc . from what i see at the moment , i feel strongly it is the worst academic fraud violation in the history of the ncaa , ' gurney said . ... they choose to ignore it . they are juggling so many balls right now , with respect to lawsuits , unionization issues , they really ca n't afford right at this moment to open up a major investigation on north carolina . it would further jeopardize public confidence in the ncaa 's ability to control athletics . ' he frames it with from what i see at the moment , ' because the full breadth of what happened at unc is still trickling out , two years after it was first reported by the news & observer of raleigh . unc has long insisted that the paper classes were solely the idea of one man -- now-indicted professor julius nyang'oro , who was head of the african-american studies department . the school says it has instituted reforms to ensure such academic problems do n't recur . a third look at unc scandal this year , shortly after cnn reported the findings of whistleblower mary willingham that showed a shocking number of functionally illiterate and ill-prepared student athletes at the prestigious public school , unc announced it commissioned its third review of the scandal . whistleblower leaves :'it 's been a hostile work environment' this time , former u.s. justice department attorney ken wainstein is taking a look . among his questions : did members of the athletic department know and talk about the paper classes ? previous reports commissioned by unc said no . another question : how long was this happening ? there is still no clear answer on that , either . meanwhile , willingham says she expects to play a role in the upcoming civil case of former ucla basketball star ed o'bannon vs. the ncaa . o'bannon is suing to allow student-athletes to be compensated the use of their name and likeness . several ncaa critics have told cnn they believe the ncaa refuses to look at the fraud at unc because it might mean conceding their biggest argument against paying players -- that they athletes are paid in the form of an education . the umbilical cord between the student and the athlete is being slowly cut and if it 's cut i think that has very serious consequences for the ncaa , ' said tom mcmillen , former basketball star-turned-congressman and a member of the university of maryland 's board of regents . athletes are not given an education . they step out of the university and they may have a degree , but they do n't have an education and that 's the sad thing about it . ' mcmillen has advised those pushing for reform -- most recently those behind the attempt by northwestern university football players to unionize -- to go after the ncaa over the way they handle academic fraud . he said during a forum at the aspen institute that academic fraud is the chink in the armor ' of the ncaa . power conferences may get more autonomy whether that pressure is working remains to be seen , but never before have there been so many consecutive pushes for reform . as o'bannon 's case goes to court this summer , the northwestern union case will be moving through appeal , and an antitrust lawsuit filed by four current athletes to eliminate the compensation cap will be making its way through the first stages of the civil court process . emmert , the ncaa president , has spent the last few weeks making waves with polarizing media interviews . it all led to an ncaa board of directors meeting on thursday and a proposal to give more power to five so-called power conferences and their 65 universities . in turn the schools would be able to give more benefits like having the option of increasing stipends for athletes to keep up with the cost of attending college and other small pleasures , like paying for airline flights to championship games for their families . a final vote will be taken in august . the changes are in line with what reformists want . but ramogi huma , president of the national college players association and the main force behind the northwestern union attempt , cautions on the ncaa 's motives . for 13 years ( the ncaa ) has fought all of these changes and now that their backs are against the ropes , ' huma said , referencing the legal actions . they had no choice but to gravitate towards the goals that we 've set to pursue . it 's definitely a step in the right direction , but it 's not quite voluntary . it 's not that schools and conferences are coming to their senses , it 's that players are mobilizing and forcing change . ' | critics are concerned ncaa did n't see a scandal at north carolina as a case of athletics violations |
ncaa <tsp> another proposal for change is surfacing at the ncaa . the body that regulates athletics at the vast majority of u.s. colleges and universities is thinking about redefining academic fraud . there has been some confusion in the last few years about exactly what the ncaa 's responsibility is when it came to academic fraud on campus . so the organization 's academic cabinet ordered a review , deciding that for an academic scandal to lead to violations there needs to be both a nexus to a school 's athletics department , and it needs to affect the eligibility of athletes . now that it 's clarified , do we like it ? ' said carolyn callahan , who chairs the 23-member academic cabinet . how much institutional autonomy do we want ? how much oversight do we want ? ' callahan said those questions were brought to the committee long before a firestorm of public pressure on the ncaa to revisit its decision not to sanction the university of north carolina over its paper class ' scandal , saying it involved more students than just athletes . as cnn first reported , congressional hearings could be the upshot of inaction by the ncaa on the unc scandal ; u.s. rep. tony cardenas , d-california , is sending a letter to ncaa president mark emmert demanding answers about the ncaa 's handling of it . two years ago , unc 's internal investigation uncovered that several athletes were enrolled in classes where little or no work was required . a grand jury in orange county , north carolina , recently indicted a former professor who allegedly accepted money for teaching those no-show ' classes . cardenas , a member of the house oversight committee , told cnn he is prepared to issue subpoenas and call for a hearing if emmert does n't provide substantive answers to his letter . callahan said there have been some passionate discussions among the academic cabinet members the last few meetings . the next meeting is in june , and she said there is a possibility that during that meeting they will make recommendations to the ncaa leadership council , which meets again later in the summer . everyone assumes because of the timing this is a unc issue , ' callahan said . this came up first on our agenda way before the unc case . everything the ncaa does takes a long time . the cabinet only meets three times a year for a day and half , and that 's not the only thing on the agenda . certainly , all of us are aware of it , but that 's not the impetus for the discussion , and it 's not the only case we 're talking about , ' she said . the ncaa legislative council recently said a discussion of academic misconduct will occur in the new governance structure ' that would include new members to the board of directors and giving five major division i conferences more power in making decisions affecting student-athletes . juggling too much ? but gerald gurney , a former compliance director who worked in collegiate athletics for 30 years , is skeptical there will be academic fraud changes . they are trying to divert attention from what i consider to be a most obvious case of outrageous academic fraud , to needing a redefinition of academic fraud , ' gurney said . gurney and another professor , david ridpath at ohio university , just started research that will compare what is known about unc 's academic scandal to other institution 's academic scandals and how they were handled by the ncaa . gurney said he suspects this may be the ncaa 's way of getting around taking a second look at what happened at unc . from what i see at the moment , i feel strongly it is the worst academic fraud violation in the history of the ncaa , ' gurney said . ... they choose to ignore it . they are juggling so many balls right now , with respect to lawsuits , unionization issues , they really ca n't afford right at this moment to open up a major investigation on north carolina . it would further jeopardize public confidence in the ncaa 's ability to control athletics . ' he frames it with from what i see at the moment , ' because the full breadth of what happened at unc is still trickling out , two years after it was first reported by the news & observer of raleigh . unc has long insisted that the paper classes were solely the idea of one man -- now-indicted professor julius nyang'oro , who was head of the african-american studies department . the school says it has instituted reforms to ensure such academic problems do n't recur . a third look at unc scandal this year , shortly after cnn reported the findings of whistleblower mary willingham that showed a shocking number of functionally illiterate and ill-prepared student athletes at the prestigious public school , unc announced it commissioned its third review of the scandal . whistleblower leaves :'it 's been a hostile work environment' this time , former u.s. justice department attorney ken wainstein is taking a look . among his questions : did members of the athletic department know and talk about the paper classes ? previous reports commissioned by unc said no . another question : how long was this happening ? there is still no clear answer on that , either . meanwhile , willingham says she expects to play a role in the upcoming civil case of former ucla basketball star ed o'bannon vs. the ncaa . o'bannon is suing to allow student-athletes to be compensated the use of their name and likeness . several ncaa critics have told cnn they believe the ncaa refuses to look at the fraud at unc because it might mean conceding their biggest argument against paying players -- that they athletes are paid in the form of an education . the umbilical cord between the student and the athlete is being slowly cut and if it 's cut i think that has very serious consequences for the ncaa , ' said tom mcmillen , former basketball star-turned-congressman and a member of the university of maryland 's board of regents . athletes are not given an education . they step out of the university and they may have a degree , but they do n't have an education and that 's the sad thing about it . ' mcmillen has advised those pushing for reform -- most recently those behind the attempt by northwestern university football players to unionize -- to go after the ncaa over the way they handle academic fraud . he said during a forum at the aspen institute that academic fraud is the chink in the armor ' of the ncaa . power conferences may get more autonomy whether that pressure is working remains to be seen , but never before have there been so many consecutive pushes for reform . as o'bannon 's case goes to court this summer , the northwestern union case will be moving through appeal , and an antitrust lawsuit filed by four current athletes to eliminate the compensation cap will be making its way through the first stages of the civil court process . emmert , the ncaa president , has spent the last few weeks making waves with polarizing media interviews . it all led to an ncaa board of directors meeting on thursday and a proposal to give more power to five so-called power conferences and their 65 universities . in turn the schools would be able to give more benefits like having the option of increasing stipends for athletes to keep up with the cost of attending college and other small pleasures , like paying for airline flights to championship games for their families . a final vote will be taken in august . the changes are in line with what reformists want . but ramogi huma , president of the national college players association and the main force behind the northwestern union attempt , cautions on the ncaa 's motives . for 13 years ( the ncaa ) has fought all of these changes and now that their backs are against the ropes , ' huma said , referencing the legal actions . they had no choice but to gravitate towards the goals that we 've set to pursue . it 's definitely a step in the right direction , but it 's not quite voluntary . it 's not that schools and conferences are coming to their senses , it 's that players are mobilizing and forcing change . ' | ncaa also looking at giving five big conferences more decision-making ability on benefits |
fbi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the fbi is warning law agencies that the new barbie video girl ' doll could be used as a tool by pedophiles to make child pornography . in an alert entitled barbie'video girl'a possible child pornography production method , ' the fbi said the doll has a built-in hidden camera in the chest and a small lcd screen for video display in her back . the fbi cyber crime alert ' does n't cite any misuse of the doll , which has been on the market since july , but talks about the possibility . fbi investigation has revealed instances where an individual convicted of distributing child pornography had given a barbie doll to a 6 year old girl , ' the alert said . the document went on to cite the findings of another investigation that found examples where a concealed video camera had recorded child pornography . ' that camera did n't involve a doll , fbi special agent frederick gutt in seattle , washington , said friday . the possibility of the combination of these two in a single device presents a concern for investigators , ' said the alert , dated november 30 . law enforcement is encouraged to be aware of unconventional avenues for possible production and possession of child pornography , such as the barbie video girl , ' the document said . the fbi regularly distributes such alerts to help investigators improve policing . no incidents involving the new doll have been reported , according to gutt and another fbi special agent , steve dupre . the doll 's camera can capture 30 minutes of footage , and the video can be downloaded and streamed live to a computer , but there is no indication it can be streamed directly to the internet , the fbi alert said . the notice is written for law agencies only , but someone at the fbi mistakenly sent it to media outlets in seattle , said dupre of the fbi 's sacramento , california , office , which distributed the notice . it was an inadvertent dissemination of the document , ' dupre said . there have been no reported incidents of this doll being used as anything other than as intended . ' seattle media accounts of the fbi alert prompted some parents to express concerns about the doll . that plays into these people who prey upon our children 's ideals . it frightens me , ' william porres , a tacoma , washington , grandfather , told cnn affiliate king . he said he will not buy the doll for his 6-year-old granddaughter . oh , she would love it , but she 's more important to me than a giggle on christmas morning , ' porres said . a mattel inc. spokesman could not be reached for comment , but the toymaker issued a statement to king : ' the fbi is not reporting that anything has happened . steve dupre from the fbi sacramento field office has confirmed there have been no incidents of this doll being used as anything other than its intent . mattel products are designed with children and their best interests in mind . many of mattel 's employees are parents themselves and we understand the importance of child safety -- it is our number one priority , ' the statement said . fbi special agent gutt said the alert apprised other agencies about how the new doll 's videotaping capabilities could contain evidence . the cyber alert was meant for law enforcement only and was taken out of context , ' gutt said . the intent was to aid law enforcement in evidence gathering . ' the mattel website says the $ 49.99 doll , for kids ages 6 and up , has been nominated for the 2011 toy of the year award . budding filmmakers , take note : barbie doll now doubles as a video camera ! ' the website says . girls can record and play back clips with this multi-tasking doll , which has a video camera built right in . capture everything from a doll's-eye-view , then watch it instantly or upload to your computer . there 's an lcd screen on barbie doll 's back , and a camera lens hidden discreetly in her necklace . talk about making movies in style ! ' | pedophiles could use the doll 's videotaping feature to make child porn , fbi says |
fbi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the fbi is warning law agencies that the new barbie video girl ' doll could be used as a tool by pedophiles to make child pornography . in an alert entitled barbie'video girl'a possible child pornography production method , ' the fbi said the doll has a built-in hidden camera in the chest and a small lcd screen for video display in her back . the fbi cyber crime alert ' does n't cite any misuse of the doll , which has been on the market since july , but talks about the possibility . fbi investigation has revealed instances where an individual convicted of distributing child pornography had given a barbie doll to a 6 year old girl , ' the alert said . the document went on to cite the findings of another investigation that found examples where a concealed video camera had recorded child pornography . ' that camera did n't involve a doll , fbi special agent frederick gutt in seattle , washington , said friday . the possibility of the combination of these two in a single device presents a concern for investigators , ' said the alert , dated november 30 . law enforcement is encouraged to be aware of unconventional avenues for possible production and possession of child pornography , such as the barbie video girl , ' the document said . the fbi regularly distributes such alerts to help investigators improve policing . no incidents involving the new doll have been reported , according to gutt and another fbi special agent , steve dupre . the doll 's camera can capture 30 minutes of footage , and the video can be downloaded and streamed live to a computer , but there is no indication it can be streamed directly to the internet , the fbi alert said . the notice is written for law agencies only , but someone at the fbi mistakenly sent it to media outlets in seattle , said dupre of the fbi 's sacramento , california , office , which distributed the notice . it was an inadvertent dissemination of the document , ' dupre said . there have been no reported incidents of this doll being used as anything other than as intended . ' seattle media accounts of the fbi alert prompted some parents to express concerns about the doll . that plays into these people who prey upon our children 's ideals . it frightens me , ' william porres , a tacoma , washington , grandfather , told cnn affiliate king . he said he will not buy the doll for his 6-year-old granddaughter . oh , she would love it , but she 's more important to me than a giggle on christmas morning , ' porres said . a mattel inc. spokesman could not be reached for comment , but the toymaker issued a statement to king : ' the fbi is not reporting that anything has happened . steve dupre from the fbi sacramento field office has confirmed there have been no incidents of this doll being used as anything other than its intent . mattel products are designed with children and their best interests in mind . many of mattel 's employees are parents themselves and we understand the importance of child safety -- it is our number one priority , ' the statement said . fbi special agent gutt said the alert apprised other agencies about how the new doll 's videotaping capabilities could contain evidence . the cyber alert was meant for law enforcement only and was taken out of context , ' gutt said . the intent was to aid law enforcement in evidence gathering . ' the mattel website says the $ 49.99 doll , for kids ages 6 and up , has been nominated for the 2011 toy of the year award . budding filmmakers , take note : barbie doll now doubles as a video camera ! ' the website says . girls can record and play back clips with this multi-tasking doll , which has a video camera built right in . capture everything from a doll's-eye-view , then watch it instantly or upload to your computer . there 's an lcd screen on barbie doll 's back , and a camera lens hidden discreetly in her necklace . talk about making movies in style ! ' | fbi issues a cyber crime alert to law agencies about new barbie video girl ' |
fbi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the fbi is warning law agencies that the new barbie video girl ' doll could be used as a tool by pedophiles to make child pornography . in an alert entitled barbie'video girl'a possible child pornography production method , ' the fbi said the doll has a built-in hidden camera in the chest and a small lcd screen for video display in her back . the fbi cyber crime alert ' does n't cite any misuse of the doll , which has been on the market since july , but talks about the possibility . fbi investigation has revealed instances where an individual convicted of distributing child pornography had given a barbie doll to a 6 year old girl , ' the alert said . the document went on to cite the findings of another investigation that found examples where a concealed video camera had recorded child pornography . ' that camera did n't involve a doll , fbi special agent frederick gutt in seattle , washington , said friday . the possibility of the combination of these two in a single device presents a concern for investigators , ' said the alert , dated november 30 . law enforcement is encouraged to be aware of unconventional avenues for possible production and possession of child pornography , such as the barbie video girl , ' the document said . the fbi regularly distributes such alerts to help investigators improve policing . no incidents involving the new doll have been reported , according to gutt and another fbi special agent , steve dupre . the doll 's camera can capture 30 minutes of footage , and the video can be downloaded and streamed live to a computer , but there is no indication it can be streamed directly to the internet , the fbi alert said . the notice is written for law agencies only , but someone at the fbi mistakenly sent it to media outlets in seattle , said dupre of the fbi 's sacramento , california , office , which distributed the notice . it was an inadvertent dissemination of the document , ' dupre said . there have been no reported incidents of this doll being used as anything other than as intended . ' seattle media accounts of the fbi alert prompted some parents to express concerns about the doll . that plays into these people who prey upon our children 's ideals . it frightens me , ' william porres , a tacoma , washington , grandfather , told cnn affiliate king . he said he will not buy the doll for his 6-year-old granddaughter . oh , she would love it , but she 's more important to me than a giggle on christmas morning , ' porres said . a mattel inc. spokesman could not be reached for comment , but the toymaker issued a statement to king : ' the fbi is not reporting that anything has happened . steve dupre from the fbi sacramento field office has confirmed there have been no incidents of this doll being used as anything other than its intent . mattel products are designed with children and their best interests in mind . many of mattel 's employees are parents themselves and we understand the importance of child safety -- it is our number one priority , ' the statement said . fbi special agent gutt said the alert apprised other agencies about how the new doll 's videotaping capabilities could contain evidence . the cyber alert was meant for law enforcement only and was taken out of context , ' gutt said . the intent was to aid law enforcement in evidence gathering . ' the mattel website says the $ 49.99 doll , for kids ages 6 and up , has been nominated for the 2011 toy of the year award . budding filmmakers , take note : barbie doll now doubles as a video camera ! ' the website says . girls can record and play back clips with this multi-tasking doll , which has a video camera built right in . capture everything from a doll's-eye-view , then watch it instantly or upload to your computer . there 's an lcd screen on barbie doll 's back , and a camera lens hidden discreetly in her necklace . talk about making movies in style ! ' | fbi , toymaker mattel inc. say no such incidents have occurred |
pittsburgh <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a dispatcher who took a 911 call regarding a domestic argument at a pittsburgh , pennsylvania-area home knew that there were weapons in the home but did not notify responding officers , three of whom were fatally shot , an official said tuesday . eric kelly , from left , paul sciullo iii and stephen mayhle were shot to death responding to a 911 call . the officers died saturday in a gunbattle as they were responding to the call , authorities have said . it was pure human error and a terrible thing that occurred , ' bob full , chief of emergency services for allegheny county , told cnn affiliate wtae . in this particular case , our call-taker did not follow through with the appropriate training that she had received and [ make ] the appropriate notation that there were weapons in the house . ' the bodies of the pittsburgh police officers -- stephen mayhle , paul sciullo iii and eric kelly -- are scheduled to lie in repose at pittsburgh 's city-county building wednesday before a public memorial is held thursday . richard poplawski , 22 , is in custody in connection with the shootings . he was hospitalized over the weekend after being shot in the leg during the gunbattle and standoff with police that lasted four hours . police have not disclosed where he is being held . they said he would be charged with three counts of homicide , aggravated assault and other charges . poplawski 's mother , margaret , called 911 about 7 a.m. saturday to report that her son was giving her a hard time , ' according to a criminal complaint filed in the case . she told police she awoke to discover that the dog had urinated on the floor ' and awakened her son to confront him about it , ' and the two argued . margaret poplawski told her son that she was calling police to remove him from the home , the complaint said . during that call , according to wtae , the dispatcher asked margaret poplawski , does he have any weapons or anything ? ' referring to her son . the woman replied , yes . ' she paused and then said , they 're all legal . ' ok , but he 's not threatening you with anything ? ' the dispatcher asked . wtae reported that margaret poplawski did not answer directly but said , look , i 'm just waking up from a sleep , and i want him gone . ' full pointed out that the call was a casual conversation ' and that although there 's no excuse for it whatsoever ... gathering from the casual nature of the call , the call-taker took an inference that [ the caller ] was not threatened and that guns or weapons were not involved . and it never was relayed to the police officers . ' authorities said the responding officers , mayhle and sciullo , were shot as they arrived at the home . kelly was shot later as he arrived to help them . police believe that poplawski , wearing a bulletproof vest , fired more than 100 rounds at officers with an ak-47 , another rifle and a pistol , authorities said saturday . the dispatcher has been placed on paid administrative leave , full said . you can only imagine how fragile this individual is . this young lady came to work that day ... she had no intentions on ever letting this go . ' the woman is being assisted through the county 's employee assistance program , he said . pittsburgh mayor luke ravenstahl said in a statement that , although he has commended the county 911 center many times , saturday 's events revealed a flaw in the 911 system . ' we now know that the 911 dispatcher was made aware that guns were present ... and that this information was not communicated to the officers , ' ravenstahl said , according to wtae . before responding to the call , the officers should have had the benefit of knowing that the actor owned firearms . we will never know if saturday 's events would have gone differently had the officers known . ' ravenstahl said he has asked the center 's management to develop a plan of action to address flaws in the system and to ensure that this type of incident never happens again , ' wtae reported . | 911 dispatcher failed to tell officers about guns in pittsburgh home |
secret service <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the fbi and the secret service are investigating another incident involving a website that has divulged purported personal information about senior u.s. government officials and celebrities . this time it is the new secret service director . a website posted information allegedly about julia pierson , who was named in march to head the agency charged with protecting the president and other top-level government officials . the secret service would not comment beyond acknowledging it is looking into the matter . the fbi would not say whether the information on the internet , including social security and financial data , was accurate nor would they say whether investigators believe those materials were obtained by hacking . as with some past reports on other people , it appeared that some of the information for pierson is dated . for instance , it lists a florida address although she has lived and worked in the washington area for years . other information allegedly linked to the secret service director included a credit report , bank and mortgage information , and retail credit cards , including macy 's , sears and home depot . the website , which cnn is not naming , has posted materials in the past claiming to belong to an assortment of public figures . these include first lady michelle obama , vice president joe biden , former secretary of state hillary clinton , attorney general eric holder and fbi director robert mueller . the site also posted alleged personal information about a number of celebrities , including lady gaga , beyonce , george clooney , and tiger woods . earlier , the secret service confirmed it was investigating the incidents involving obama , clinton and biden . the fbi said it was investigating those cases as well as those involving celebrities . no arrests have been announced . | fbi and secret service are investigating |
secret service <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the fbi and the secret service are investigating another incident involving a website that has divulged purported personal information about senior u.s. government officials and celebrities . this time it is the new secret service director . a website posted information allegedly about julia pierson , who was named in march to head the agency charged with protecting the president and other top-level government officials . the secret service would not comment beyond acknowledging it is looking into the matter . the fbi would not say whether the information on the internet , including social security and financial data , was accurate nor would they say whether investigators believe those materials were obtained by hacking . as with some past reports on other people , it appeared that some of the information for pierson is dated . for instance , it lists a florida address although she has lived and worked in the washington area for years . other information allegedly linked to the secret service director included a credit report , bank and mortgage information , and retail credit cards , including macy 's , sears and home depot . the website , which cnn is not naming , has posted materials in the past claiming to belong to an assortment of public figures . these include first lady michelle obama , vice president joe biden , former secretary of state hillary clinton , attorney general eric holder and fbi director robert mueller . the site also posted alleged personal information about a number of celebrities , including lady gaga , beyonce , george clooney , and tiger woods . earlier , the secret service confirmed it was investigating the incidents involving obama , clinton and biden . the fbi said it was investigating those cases as well as those involving celebrities . no arrests have been announced . | latest name on site is new secret service director julia pierson |
cnn <tsp> ( cnet ) -- more than 2 million americans lost their jobs last year , the stock market fell by almost 45 percent from its peak , and comparisons with the great depression are becoming disturbingly commonplace . you 'll find lots of places online to watch president-elect barack obama 's inauguration on tuesday . but that is n't stopping washington from throwing a $ 160 million party , the most lavish ever , for barack obama 's presidential inauguration on tuesday . technology companies are joining the festivities by hosting a number of inaugural parties , and a collection of news and other web sites are aiming to let anyone who ca n't be in the nation 's capital -- or who does n't want to brave probably-freezing temperatures -- follow along online . here 's a partial list : • the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies , which is in charge of all the inaugural activities at the capitol , will stream the entire event at its web site , complete with closed captioning . the site has a wealth of information about what happens on inauguration day , including a handful of inaugural videos dating back to president dwight eisenhower 's 1957 swearing-in ceremony , as well as videos of presidential luncheons dating back to the inauguration of john kennedy . ( it also reveals , for those interested , the recipe for obama 's luncheon meal , which features a main course of pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney . ) • our sister site cbs news will have day-long live coverage january 20 on tv and the web , starting at 7 a.m. edt . katie couric will also host a special webcast that night with reporters and punditry , for which viewers can submit questions . • cbs streaming coverage will also be webcast on joost 's everything obama page , which also features interviews , campaign highlights , and satire clips . • msnbc will be live streaming the event on its home page and politics section , and visitors can embed the video into their own sites . its inauguration page also features videos of inaugurations from decades past . • fox news will provide live streaming coverage via hulu beginning at noon for about two hours . after the live stream , hulu will provide on-demand access to the ceremony . the live stream is embeddable , as is an inauguration countdown from hulu . the video site 's obama presidency page also features related content like speeches , commentary , satire , and past inaugural speeches . • c-span will debut its inauguration hub on january 20 , featuring an online control room ' -- a multichannel grid designed by mogulus with webcasts of inauguration activities . visitors will be able to choose from one of four live feeds featuring events like the swearing in at the capitol , the parade , and a number of inaugural balls . • cnn is partnering with facebook to provide live streaming of the swearing in and obama 's speech . viewers can rsvp ' for the event on facebook , and as they watch , they will be able to provide status updates with their thoughts on the events . a facebook window on the cnn.com live channel will show viewers their friends'relevant status updates . • current tv and twitter are teaming up , as they did during the election , to add real-time tweets to current 's broadcast and webcast of the swearing in , which starts at 11:30 a.m. edt and will be replayed throughout the day . • the new york times , the ap 's online video network , and the online newshour will also live stream inauguration coverage . once obama is sworn in , he 'll be party hopping through washington that night . the presidential inauguration committee has promised to webcast some of the official inaugural balls -- though there are plenty of unofficial parties , including some hosted by tech companies . the recording industry association of america is hosting a charity ball featuring the recording artist rihanna and the actors david arquette and courteney cox . the ball benefits the nonprofit feeding america and is co-sponsored by yahoo , comcast , oracle , at & t , soundexchange , time warner , news corp. , and a number of other companies . google is partnering with the leadership conference on civil rights to host a break from traditional inaugural balls . ' guests are encouraged to make donations -- which google will match -- to organizations including the lccr education fund , one economy , the sunlight foundation , d.c. central kitchen , and green for all . the huffington post , the news aggregation and commentary site , is hosting a pre-inaugural ball monday night with the atlantic philanthropies and the musk foundation , which supports research on renewable energy , human space exploration , and pediatrics . the event is also receiving sponsorship from myspace , comcast , the wind power company vestas , and the nonprofit global green usa , among others . the party , they say , is to celebrate change in washington , the rise of new media , and a renewed commitment to service and the environment , ' and features a performance by will.i.am . plenty of other parties will be celebrating a renewed commitment to the environment , including the green inaugural ball , chaired by al gore and hosted by a number of organizations like the american council on renewable energy , the energy action coalition , and the vote solar initiative . © 2009 cbs interactive inc. all rights reserved . cnet , cnet.com and the cnet logo are registered trademarks of cbs interactive inc. used by permission . | cnn and facebook among others will be showing the ceremony live on-line |
bill belichick <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the pro football hall of fame is about to get a lot bigger . the hall 's selection committee on saturday -- meeting in new orleans , on the eve of super bowl xlvii -- selected six former players and one coach to join the ranks of the nfl 's best . they were all bigger than life , literally and figuratively , in their heydays -- from towering , 6-foot-9 inch baltimore ravens offensive tackle jonathan ogden to the big tuna , ' the moniker given to legendary and well-traveled coach bill parcells . surreal . speechless , ' ogden said , on his twitter page , moments after the announcement . still ca n't believe it . ' the original raven -- as the team 's first draft pick after it relocated from cleveland to baltimore -- literally stands above everyone else in the class of 2013 , by virtue of his height and 345-pound frame . on the field , the ucla grad stood out enough to be named all-pro six times and earn pro bowl honors in 11 of his 12 seasons . another big name , and big personality , who will be joining him is warren sapp . the university of miami product terrorized linemen and quarterbacks while racking up 96.5 sacks over his 13-year career with the oakland raiders and the tampa bay buccaneers , although some better know him for his brash trash-talking , wide smile and love for the camera , including on the 2008 season of dancing with the stars . ' warren played the game with incredible ability and passion , ' buccaneers co-chairman bryan glazer said of the 1999 defensive player of the year and super bowl xxxvii champ . he ... helped to redefine the tackle position . ' two other defensive stars will be joining sapp in the hall of fame in canton , ohio . one is another defensive tackle , curley culp , who made six pro bowls during his 14 seasons between 1968 and 1981 with the kansas city chiefs , houston oilers and detroit lions . going farther back in nfl history is linebacker dave robinson , who amassed 27 interceptions in his career , much of it with vince lombardi 's great green bay packer teams . after narrowly missing out in recent years , wide receiver cris carter finally will make the trip to canton -- just 120 miles from where he first emerged at ohio state university . in his 16 nfl campaigns , most of them with the minnesota vikings , he was consistently among the league 's top wideouts with eight straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and 130 total touchdowns . his selection stirred rejoicing among vikings'fans , with team owner zygi wilf calling the current espn analyst one of the most beloved players in franchise history . ' in terms of catching the football , i have n't seen anybody in my time better than cris carter , ' former vikings assistant and indianapolis colts head coach tony dungy said , according to the vikings'official website . just over five years ago , larry allen was a dominating presence with the san francisco 49ers , with whom he played after 12 seasons with the dallas cowboys . now the mammoth offensive lineman -- measuring in at 6 feet , 3 inches and 325 pounds -- has another honor to his name as a hall of famer , in addition to having been named to the nfl 's all-decade teams for the 1990s and 2000s . larry is one of the greatest players in cowboys history , and arguably the very best guard to ever play the game , ' said cowboys owner jerry jones , whom allen has tapped to give his induction speech . parcells is this year 's other honoree , a man who never played in the nfl though he nonetheless became one of the league 's most recognizable names in the 1980s , 1990s and 2000s . a graduate of wichita state university , he was drafted in the seventh round by the detroit lions but opted for a carer in coaching . he took stints at several universities before jumping to the nfl . parcells led the new york giants to two super bowl titles , then took the new england patriots to the title game in january 1997 ( where they lost ) , before finishing up his career with stops with the new york jets , cowboys and miami dolphins . bill parcells has been thought of as one of the all-time greats for a long time , so it is with great pride that we can officially refer to him as a hall of famer , ' said patriots head coach bill belichick , who coached under parcells with the giants and jets before succeeding him in new england . he deserves all the recognition he is getting . ' the seven inductees were chosen saturday by the pro football hall of fame 's selection committee from a list of 17 finalists -- with late longtime cleveland browns and ravens owner art modell , pittsburgh steelers running back jerome bettis and wide receiver tim brown among those narrowly missing the cut . the honorees will be enshrined on august 3 , in a ceremony expected to include 130 others who have been so honored over the past 50 years . already blown away by his name being called , ogden said he expects the feeling will only get better when he gets to ohio , according to a story on the ravens'official website . it will be one of the best moments of my life , ' he said . | new : bill belichick lauds his ex-boss and 2013 inductee bill parcells as an all-time great ' |
curley culp <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the pro football hall of fame is about to get a lot bigger . the hall 's selection committee on saturday -- meeting in new orleans , on the eve of super bowl xlvii -- selected six former players and one coach to join the ranks of the nfl 's best . they were all bigger than life , literally and figuratively , in their heydays -- from towering , 6-foot-9 inch baltimore ravens offensive tackle jonathan ogden to the big tuna , ' the moniker given to legendary and well-traveled coach bill parcells . surreal . speechless , ' ogden said , on his twitter page , moments after the announcement . still ca n't believe it . ' the original raven -- as the team 's first draft pick after it relocated from cleveland to baltimore -- literally stands above everyone else in the class of 2013 , by virtue of his height and 345-pound frame . on the field , the ucla grad stood out enough to be named all-pro six times and earn pro bowl honors in 11 of his 12 seasons . another big name , and big personality , who will be joining him is warren sapp . the university of miami product terrorized linemen and quarterbacks while racking up 96.5 sacks over his 13-year career with the oakland raiders and the tampa bay buccaneers , although some better know him for his brash trash-talking , wide smile and love for the camera , including on the 2008 season of dancing with the stars . ' warren played the game with incredible ability and passion , ' buccaneers co-chairman bryan glazer said of the 1999 defensive player of the year and super bowl xxxvii champ . he ... helped to redefine the tackle position . ' two other defensive stars will be joining sapp in the hall of fame in canton , ohio . one is another defensive tackle , curley culp , who made six pro bowls during his 14 seasons between 1968 and 1981 with the kansas city chiefs , houston oilers and detroit lions . going farther back in nfl history is linebacker dave robinson , who amassed 27 interceptions in his career , much of it with vince lombardi 's great green bay packer teams . after narrowly missing out in recent years , wide receiver cris carter finally will make the trip to canton -- just 120 miles from where he first emerged at ohio state university . in his 16 nfl campaigns , most of them with the minnesota vikings , he was consistently among the league 's top wideouts with eight straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and 130 total touchdowns . his selection stirred rejoicing among vikings'fans , with team owner zygi wilf calling the current espn analyst one of the most beloved players in franchise history . ' in terms of catching the football , i have n't seen anybody in my time better than cris carter , ' former vikings assistant and indianapolis colts head coach tony dungy said , according to the vikings'official website . just over five years ago , larry allen was a dominating presence with the san francisco 49ers , with whom he played after 12 seasons with the dallas cowboys . now the mammoth offensive lineman -- measuring in at 6 feet , 3 inches and 325 pounds -- has another honor to his name as a hall of famer , in addition to having been named to the nfl 's all-decade teams for the 1990s and 2000s . larry is one of the greatest players in cowboys history , and arguably the very best guard to ever play the game , ' said cowboys owner jerry jones , whom allen has tapped to give his induction speech . parcells is this year 's other honoree , a man who never played in the nfl though he nonetheless became one of the league 's most recognizable names in the 1980s , 1990s and 2000s . a graduate of wichita state university , he was drafted in the seventh round by the detroit lions but opted for a carer in coaching . he took stints at several universities before jumping to the nfl . parcells led the new york giants to two super bowl titles , then took the new england patriots to the title game in january 1997 ( where they lost ) , before finishing up his career with stops with the new york jets , cowboys and miami dolphins . bill parcells has been thought of as one of the all-time greats for a long time , so it is with great pride that we can officially refer to him as a hall of famer , ' said patriots head coach bill belichick , who coached under parcells with the giants and jets before succeeding him in new england . he deserves all the recognition he is getting . ' the seven inductees were chosen saturday by the pro football hall of fame 's selection committee from a list of 17 finalists -- with late longtime cleveland browns and ravens owner art modell , pittsburgh steelers running back jerome bettis and wide receiver tim brown among those narrowly missing the cut . the honorees will be enshrined on august 3 , in a ceremony expected to include 130 others who have been so honored over the past 50 years . already blown away by his name being called , ogden said he expects the feeling will only get better when he gets to ohio , according to a story on the ravens'official website . it will be one of the best moments of my life , ' he said . | this year 's other inductees are jonathan ogden , warren sapp , curley culp and dave robinson |
dave robinson <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the pro football hall of fame is about to get a lot bigger . the hall 's selection committee on saturday -- meeting in new orleans , on the eve of super bowl xlvii -- selected six former players and one coach to join the ranks of the nfl 's best . they were all bigger than life , literally and figuratively , in their heydays -- from towering , 6-foot-9 inch baltimore ravens offensive tackle jonathan ogden to the big tuna , ' the moniker given to legendary and well-traveled coach bill parcells . surreal . speechless , ' ogden said , on his twitter page , moments after the announcement . still ca n't believe it . ' the original raven -- as the team 's first draft pick after it relocated from cleveland to baltimore -- literally stands above everyone else in the class of 2013 , by virtue of his height and 345-pound frame . on the field , the ucla grad stood out enough to be named all-pro six times and earn pro bowl honors in 11 of his 12 seasons . another big name , and big personality , who will be joining him is warren sapp . the university of miami product terrorized linemen and quarterbacks while racking up 96.5 sacks over his 13-year career with the oakland raiders and the tampa bay buccaneers , although some better know him for his brash trash-talking , wide smile and love for the camera , including on the 2008 season of dancing with the stars . ' warren played the game with incredible ability and passion , ' buccaneers co-chairman bryan glazer said of the 1999 defensive player of the year and super bowl xxxvii champ . he ... helped to redefine the tackle position . ' two other defensive stars will be joining sapp in the hall of fame in canton , ohio . one is another defensive tackle , curley culp , who made six pro bowls during his 14 seasons between 1968 and 1981 with the kansas city chiefs , houston oilers and detroit lions . going farther back in nfl history is linebacker dave robinson , who amassed 27 interceptions in his career , much of it with vince lombardi 's great green bay packer teams . after narrowly missing out in recent years , wide receiver cris carter finally will make the trip to canton -- just 120 miles from where he first emerged at ohio state university . in his 16 nfl campaigns , most of them with the minnesota vikings , he was consistently among the league 's top wideouts with eight straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and 130 total touchdowns . his selection stirred rejoicing among vikings'fans , with team owner zygi wilf calling the current espn analyst one of the most beloved players in franchise history . ' in terms of catching the football , i have n't seen anybody in my time better than cris carter , ' former vikings assistant and indianapolis colts head coach tony dungy said , according to the vikings'official website . just over five years ago , larry allen was a dominating presence with the san francisco 49ers , with whom he played after 12 seasons with the dallas cowboys . now the mammoth offensive lineman -- measuring in at 6 feet , 3 inches and 325 pounds -- has another honor to his name as a hall of famer , in addition to having been named to the nfl 's all-decade teams for the 1990s and 2000s . larry is one of the greatest players in cowboys history , and arguably the very best guard to ever play the game , ' said cowboys owner jerry jones , whom allen has tapped to give his induction speech . parcells is this year 's other honoree , a man who never played in the nfl though he nonetheless became one of the league 's most recognizable names in the 1980s , 1990s and 2000s . a graduate of wichita state university , he was drafted in the seventh round by the detroit lions but opted for a carer in coaching . he took stints at several universities before jumping to the nfl . parcells led the new york giants to two super bowl titles , then took the new england patriots to the title game in january 1997 ( where they lost ) , before finishing up his career with stops with the new york jets , cowboys and miami dolphins . bill parcells has been thought of as one of the all-time greats for a long time , so it is with great pride that we can officially refer to him as a hall of famer , ' said patriots head coach bill belichick , who coached under parcells with the giants and jets before succeeding him in new england . he deserves all the recognition he is getting . ' the seven inductees were chosen saturday by the pro football hall of fame 's selection committee from a list of 17 finalists -- with late longtime cleveland browns and ravens owner art modell , pittsburgh steelers running back jerome bettis and wide receiver tim brown among those narrowly missing the cut . the honorees will be enshrined on august 3 , in a ceremony expected to include 130 others who have been so honored over the past 50 years . already blown away by his name being called , ogden said he expects the feeling will only get better when he gets to ohio , according to a story on the ravens'official website . it will be one of the best moments of my life , ' he said . | this year 's other inductees are jonathan ogden , warren sapp , curley culp and dave robinson |
ukraine <tsp> nato will suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation ' with russia because of its annexation of crimea , saying it has seen no sign that moscow was withdrawing troops from the ukrainian border . foreign ministers from the 28 members of the western military alliance met in brussels on tuesday for the first time since russia grabbed the black sea peninsula from ukraine last month , triggering the worst east-west crisis since the cold war . they were discussing ways to boost nato 's military presence in formerly communist central and eastern europe to reassure allies worried by russia 's moves . after the session , u.s. secretary of state john kerry said russia has challenged truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident : that european borders in the 21st century would not be redrawn by force . it is important for everybody in the world to understand that the nato alliance takes seriously this attempt to change borders by use of force , ' he said . so that is the wake-up call . ' russia 's aggression is the gravest threat to european security in a generation and it challenges our vision of a europe whole , free and at peace , ' nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen told reporters . in a joint statement announcing the suspension of cooperation , the ministers said political dialogue in the nato-russia council could continue , as necessary , at the ambassadorial level and above , to allow us to exchange views , first and foremost on this crisis . ' they said they would review nato 's relations with russia at their next meeting in june . nato and russia have cooperated on an anti-narcotics operation in afghanistan , counterpiracy and various counterterrorism measures . rasmussen said cooperation on the anti-narcotics operations would continue . a nato official told cnn the ministers had decided the alliance would develop , as a matter of urgency , a series of additional measures to reinforce nato 's collective defenses . ' these would include possible deployments and reinforcements of alliance military assets in eastern european member states , a possible review of training and exercise plans in the near term , a possible increase of the readiness level of the nato response force , and a possible review and update of nato defense and military plans , the official said . russian troops on border earlier , rasmussen said he saw no sign that russia is pulling its forces back from the border with ukraine . unfortunately , i can not confirm that russia is withdrawing its troops , ' rasmussen said at the opening of the two-day meeting . this is not what we 're seeing . and this massive military buildup can in no way contribute to a de-escalation of the situation . ' concerns are high that russia , which u.s. officials last week said had about 40,000 troops near the frontier , might seek to enter eastern ukraine , after it annexed ukraine 's crimea region last month . russian president vladimir putin told german chancellor angela merkel on monday that he 'd ordered a withdrawal of some russian troops from his country 's border area with ukraine , merkel 's office said . the news prompted u.s. state department spokeswoman jen psaki to say monday that if the reports were accurate , it would be a welcome preliminary step . ' on tuesday , merkel told reporters : i can only take what the russian president has told me . i will , of course , try to find out whether this is perceptible or not perceptible . ' according to russian state media monday , one russian infantry battalion was being moved from the border area to its base deeper in russia . a battalion would typically number several hundred troops . but rasmussen appeared to quash hopes that the situation might be easing with his remarks tuesday . his assessment was echoed in brussels by uk foreign secretary william hague , who said : we have had some statements or rumors from russia about pulling back forces from the eastern border of ukraine . but we have n't seen the evidence of that yet . of course , we continue to call for that and continue to use every possible diplomatic lead to seek a de-escalation of this crisis . ' kerry , among those in brussels for the nato meeting , also called for a russian withdrawal in lengthy weekend talks in paris with his russian counterpart , sergey lavrov . what do we know about russia 's troop buildup on ukraine 's border ? also tuesday , the u.s. house gave final congressional approval to legislation that would impose sanctions on russia for its takeover of crimea and provide $ 1 billion in loan guarantees to ukraine . the bill now goes to president barack obama for his signature . in a statement , the white house said the president welcomed the move . this legislation will allow us to provide crucial support to ukraine through loan guarantees that will facilitate access to needed financing to ukraine as it takes essential steps to restore economic stability and return to growth and prosperity , ' it read . nato and ukraine cooperation the foreign ministers also met with ukrainian acting foreign minister andriy deshchytsia in the latest demonstration of western support . moscow does not recognize ukraine 's new government , saying president viktor yanukovych was removed in an unconstitutional coup . in a joint statement , they called on moscow to reverse the illegal and illegitimate'annexation'of crimea ; to refrain from any further interference and aggressive actions in ukraine ... and to abide by international law . ' at the same time , nato and ukraine announced they would intensify cooperation and promote defense reforms in ukraine through training and other programs . rasmussen told reporters the ministers agreed to help ukraine make its military more professional and more effective ' and provide advice on how it can defend its infrastructure . a possibility is also deployment of mobile training teams as and when appropriate , ' he said . pressed on how nato was prepared to help ukraine improve its military , rasmussen cited enhanced military exercises as an example . as the talks got under way , russia 's foreign ministry had warned ukraine against seeking integration into the defense alliance . discussion of the issue while yanukovych was in power led to freezing of russian-ukrainian political communications , to headaches in the relationship between nato and russia and , what is the most dangerous , to the deepening of the split of ukrainian society , the majority of which does n't support the idea of ukraine entering nato , ' a foreign ministry statement said . it added that kiev must understand that the prospects for future cooperation between ukraine and russia , including on economic matters , will largely depend on the actions ukraine takes in its foreign policy . ' russia annexed ukraine 's crimean peninsula last month amid the political upheaval that followed the ouster of the pro-moscow yanukovych . ukraine 's parliament on tuesday granted permission for foreign military units , including some from nato countries , to conduct military exercises in ukraine in 2014 . such military exercises by foreign troops , including naval drills in the black sea , are an annual event but take on additional significance this year in light of russia 's military takeover of crimea . gazprom hikes natural gas price in a move that will heighten pressure on the interim government in kiev , russian energy giant gazprom announced a sharp increase in the price it charges ukraine for natural gas . starting tuesday , ukraine will be charged $ 385.50 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas , up from the previous rate of $ 268.50 , russian state news agency ria novosti quoted gazprom chief executive alexei miller as saying . the move ends a discount that was agreed to before yanukovych was ousted in february after months of street protests . the gas price hike will only increase the pressure on ukraine 's interim government as it seeks to stave off economic collapse . ukraine , which is heavily reliant on russia for energy , is also $ 1.7 billion in arrears in its payments for gas already supplied , miller said , according to ria novosti . the international monetary fund last week agreed to lend ukraine up to $ 18 billion over the next two years in return for a package of reforms , including to its energy market . kiev has been running dangerously low on cash to pay for imports and service its debts since the ouster of yanukovych , which killed off a $ 15 billion financial lifeline from russia . is crimea gone ? annexation no longer the focus of ukraine crisis opinion : russia 's euphoria over crimea wo n't last cnn money : russia fallout pushes europe to develop shale gas | gazprom says the price ukraine pays for russian natural gas will increase , starting tuesday |
ukraine <tsp> nato will suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation ' with russia because of its annexation of crimea , saying it has seen no sign that moscow was withdrawing troops from the ukrainian border . foreign ministers from the 28 members of the western military alliance met in brussels on tuesday for the first time since russia grabbed the black sea peninsula from ukraine last month , triggering the worst east-west crisis since the cold war . they were discussing ways to boost nato 's military presence in formerly communist central and eastern europe to reassure allies worried by russia 's moves . after the session , u.s. secretary of state john kerry said russia has challenged truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident : that european borders in the 21st century would not be redrawn by force . it is important for everybody in the world to understand that the nato alliance takes seriously this attempt to change borders by use of force , ' he said . so that is the wake-up call . ' russia 's aggression is the gravest threat to european security in a generation and it challenges our vision of a europe whole , free and at peace , ' nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen told reporters . in a joint statement announcing the suspension of cooperation , the ministers said political dialogue in the nato-russia council could continue , as necessary , at the ambassadorial level and above , to allow us to exchange views , first and foremost on this crisis . ' they said they would review nato 's relations with russia at their next meeting in june . nato and russia have cooperated on an anti-narcotics operation in afghanistan , counterpiracy and various counterterrorism measures . rasmussen said cooperation on the anti-narcotics operations would continue . a nato official told cnn the ministers had decided the alliance would develop , as a matter of urgency , a series of additional measures to reinforce nato 's collective defenses . ' these would include possible deployments and reinforcements of alliance military assets in eastern european member states , a possible review of training and exercise plans in the near term , a possible increase of the readiness level of the nato response force , and a possible review and update of nato defense and military plans , the official said . russian troops on border earlier , rasmussen said he saw no sign that russia is pulling its forces back from the border with ukraine . unfortunately , i can not confirm that russia is withdrawing its troops , ' rasmussen said at the opening of the two-day meeting . this is not what we 're seeing . and this massive military buildup can in no way contribute to a de-escalation of the situation . ' concerns are high that russia , which u.s. officials last week said had about 40,000 troops near the frontier , might seek to enter eastern ukraine , after it annexed ukraine 's crimea region last month . russian president vladimir putin told german chancellor angela merkel on monday that he 'd ordered a withdrawal of some russian troops from his country 's border area with ukraine , merkel 's office said . the news prompted u.s. state department spokeswoman jen psaki to say monday that if the reports were accurate , it would be a welcome preliminary step . ' on tuesday , merkel told reporters : i can only take what the russian president has told me . i will , of course , try to find out whether this is perceptible or not perceptible . ' according to russian state media monday , one russian infantry battalion was being moved from the border area to its base deeper in russia . a battalion would typically number several hundred troops . but rasmussen appeared to quash hopes that the situation might be easing with his remarks tuesday . his assessment was echoed in brussels by uk foreign secretary william hague , who said : we have had some statements or rumors from russia about pulling back forces from the eastern border of ukraine . but we have n't seen the evidence of that yet . of course , we continue to call for that and continue to use every possible diplomatic lead to seek a de-escalation of this crisis . ' kerry , among those in brussels for the nato meeting , also called for a russian withdrawal in lengthy weekend talks in paris with his russian counterpart , sergey lavrov . what do we know about russia 's troop buildup on ukraine 's border ? also tuesday , the u.s. house gave final congressional approval to legislation that would impose sanctions on russia for its takeover of crimea and provide $ 1 billion in loan guarantees to ukraine . the bill now goes to president barack obama for his signature . in a statement , the white house said the president welcomed the move . this legislation will allow us to provide crucial support to ukraine through loan guarantees that will facilitate access to needed financing to ukraine as it takes essential steps to restore economic stability and return to growth and prosperity , ' it read . nato and ukraine cooperation the foreign ministers also met with ukrainian acting foreign minister andriy deshchytsia in the latest demonstration of western support . moscow does not recognize ukraine 's new government , saying president viktor yanukovych was removed in an unconstitutional coup . in a joint statement , they called on moscow to reverse the illegal and illegitimate'annexation'of crimea ; to refrain from any further interference and aggressive actions in ukraine ... and to abide by international law . ' at the same time , nato and ukraine announced they would intensify cooperation and promote defense reforms in ukraine through training and other programs . rasmussen told reporters the ministers agreed to help ukraine make its military more professional and more effective ' and provide advice on how it can defend its infrastructure . a possibility is also deployment of mobile training teams as and when appropriate , ' he said . pressed on how nato was prepared to help ukraine improve its military , rasmussen cited enhanced military exercises as an example . as the talks got under way , russia 's foreign ministry had warned ukraine against seeking integration into the defense alliance . discussion of the issue while yanukovych was in power led to freezing of russian-ukrainian political communications , to headaches in the relationship between nato and russia and , what is the most dangerous , to the deepening of the split of ukrainian society , the majority of which does n't support the idea of ukraine entering nato , ' a foreign ministry statement said . it added that kiev must understand that the prospects for future cooperation between ukraine and russia , including on economic matters , will largely depend on the actions ukraine takes in its foreign policy . ' russia annexed ukraine 's crimean peninsula last month amid the political upheaval that followed the ouster of the pro-moscow yanukovych . ukraine 's parliament on tuesday granted permission for foreign military units , including some from nato countries , to conduct military exercises in ukraine in 2014 . such military exercises by foreign troops , including naval drills in the black sea , are an annual event but take on additional significance this year in light of russia 's military takeover of crimea . gazprom hikes natural gas price in a move that will heighten pressure on the interim government in kiev , russian energy giant gazprom announced a sharp increase in the price it charges ukraine for natural gas . starting tuesday , ukraine will be charged $ 385.50 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas , up from the previous rate of $ 268.50 , russian state news agency ria novosti quoted gazprom chief executive alexei miller as saying . the move ends a discount that was agreed to before yanukovych was ousted in february after months of street protests . the gas price hike will only increase the pressure on ukraine 's interim government as it seeks to stave off economic collapse . ukraine , which is heavily reliant on russia for energy , is also $ 1.7 billion in arrears in its payments for gas already supplied , miller said , according to ria novosti . the international monetary fund last week agreed to lend ukraine up to $ 18 billion over the next two years in return for a package of reforms , including to its energy market . kiev has been running dangerously low on cash to pay for imports and service its debts since the ouster of yanukovych , which killed off a $ 15 billion financial lifeline from russia . is crimea gone ? annexation no longer the focus of ukraine crisis opinion : russia 's euphoria over crimea wo n't last cnn money : russia fallout pushes europe to develop shale gas | u.s. house gives final approval to bill to sanction russia , provide aid to ukraine |
ethiopia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the steady hum of sewing machines fills the air inside a large glovemaking factory on the outskirts of addis ababa , the bustling ethiopian capital . patches of leather move through an array of working stations as busy laborers work feverishly to meet the company 's export quota : 5,000 gloves a day . the operation belongs to pittards , a uk-based company whose trading partnership with ethiopia dates back to the early 1900s . here , hardy , durable cow hide is made into work gloves . these are ideal for builders and gardeners , and are mainly exported to the u.s. and then there are the stylish designs -- created from a different type of animal skin , these are made to keep fingers warm in tokyo , paris and rome . the fashion glove is made of sheep skin which is unique to ethiopia , ' explains tsedenia mekbib , general manager at pittards products manufacturing . the durability , the stretch ability and the strength makes it popular for gloving leather specifically . that has been the one strength of ethiopia and the leather sector . ' sophisticated designs with decorative touches may be the hallmark of this type of glove , but they must also be practical . ethiopia 's climate makes this animal skin effective at withstanding the winter chill -- an essential selling point . and this effective material is in abundant supply . ethiopia 's 90-million cattle , sheep and goat population is one of the world 's largest , according to the united nations industrial development organization . creative process what slips onto the customer 's hand may be elegant , but the process to create the glove certainly is not . it all starts in the tannery where workers -- dressed in aprons and thick , elbow-high protective gloves -- convert the raw animal hides and skins into finished leather through a number of processes . some of the steps include soaking the skin and fleshing it to remove any unwanted parts . a retanning process where the leather is colored is followed by a stage under a special vacuum dryer where the skin is dried and then stretched to increase its surface area . once all this has happened , another machine softens the leather to make it flexible -- an important feature of gloves . the end product , ready for export , is pure sheep skin prepared to be turned into gloves -- labeled with the thickness and the area it covers . export ban in a move to encourage value addition and increase revenues generated by the leather sector , the ethiopian government banned all exports of raw hides and skins in 1989 . between 2006 and 2012 , the total value of ethiopia 's exports of leather and leather products grew from $ 66 million to $ 112 million . and it 's not just pittards that have realized the opportunity to make gloves in ethiopia . according to the leather industry development institute , two other factories in the country are focused on creating the hand garments . shoes is another major area which uses ethiopian leather . the country is home to dozens of shoemaking companies , including local names such as oliberte and international players like the huajian group , a chinese company that has been exporting some 20,000 pairs of shoes a month since it launched its manufacturing facility outside addis ababa in 2012. business conditions despite a major focus to rapidly build its energy and transport infrastructure , ethiopia is still struggling to provide the best conditions for businesses setting up shop in the country . the challenges that we encountered when we started business are from power cuts to logistics to foreign currency availability , to lead time in having available raw materials , ' explains mekbib . having the solutions to these challenges would allow us to be competitive as a country and as a company as a whole . ' beyond these issues , international manufactures also struggle to recruit workers . ethiopia 's population is growing at a rate of 2.89 % , placing it among the top 15 fastest growing populations in the world , according to the cia factbook . but a large workforce and a skilled work force is not the same thing . in fact , mekbib says bridging the gap between the rest of the world and the skills set in ethiopia on the ground has been the greatest challenge so far . ' another growth area , is the number of ethiopians entering the middle class and showing a desire to buy high quality clothes . in a report published this month , the imf said the country is on track to achieve its goal of reaching middle income status by 2025 . the trend is so clear to pittards that they are now targeting consumers inside the country . but for ethiopians , it 's not just the top quality of the leather products that makes them take out their wallets , it 's also access to a label they can call their own : made in ethiopia . read this : could africa be world 's next manufacturing hub ? read this : producing quality footwear in africa more from marketplace africa | ethiopia 's 90-million cattle , sheep and goat population is one of the world 's largest |
ethiopia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the steady hum of sewing machines fills the air inside a large glovemaking factory on the outskirts of addis ababa , the bustling ethiopian capital . patches of leather move through an array of working stations as busy laborers work feverishly to meet the company 's export quota : 5,000 gloves a day . the operation belongs to pittards , a uk-based company whose trading partnership with ethiopia dates back to the early 1900s . here , hardy , durable cow hide is made into work gloves . these are ideal for builders and gardeners , and are mainly exported to the u.s. and then there are the stylish designs -- created from a different type of animal skin , these are made to keep fingers warm in tokyo , paris and rome . the fashion glove is made of sheep skin which is unique to ethiopia , ' explains tsedenia mekbib , general manager at pittards products manufacturing . the durability , the stretch ability and the strength makes it popular for gloving leather specifically . that has been the one strength of ethiopia and the leather sector . ' sophisticated designs with decorative touches may be the hallmark of this type of glove , but they must also be practical . ethiopia 's climate makes this animal skin effective at withstanding the winter chill -- an essential selling point . and this effective material is in abundant supply . ethiopia 's 90-million cattle , sheep and goat population is one of the world 's largest , according to the united nations industrial development organization . creative process what slips onto the customer 's hand may be elegant , but the process to create the glove certainly is not . it all starts in the tannery where workers -- dressed in aprons and thick , elbow-high protective gloves -- convert the raw animal hides and skins into finished leather through a number of processes . some of the steps include soaking the skin and fleshing it to remove any unwanted parts . a retanning process where the leather is colored is followed by a stage under a special vacuum dryer where the skin is dried and then stretched to increase its surface area . once all this has happened , another machine softens the leather to make it flexible -- an important feature of gloves . the end product , ready for export , is pure sheep skin prepared to be turned into gloves -- labeled with the thickness and the area it covers . export ban in a move to encourage value addition and increase revenues generated by the leather sector , the ethiopian government banned all exports of raw hides and skins in 1989 . between 2006 and 2012 , the total value of ethiopia 's exports of leather and leather products grew from $ 66 million to $ 112 million . and it 's not just pittards that have realized the opportunity to make gloves in ethiopia . according to the leather industry development institute , two other factories in the country are focused on creating the hand garments . shoes is another major area which uses ethiopian leather . the country is home to dozens of shoemaking companies , including local names such as oliberte and international players like the huajian group , a chinese company that has been exporting some 20,000 pairs of shoes a month since it launched its manufacturing facility outside addis ababa in 2012. business conditions despite a major focus to rapidly build its energy and transport infrastructure , ethiopia is still struggling to provide the best conditions for businesses setting up shop in the country . the challenges that we encountered when we started business are from power cuts to logistics to foreign currency availability , to lead time in having available raw materials , ' explains mekbib . having the solutions to these challenges would allow us to be competitive as a country and as a company as a whole . ' beyond these issues , international manufactures also struggle to recruit workers . ethiopia 's population is growing at a rate of 2.89 % , placing it among the top 15 fastest growing populations in the world , according to the cia factbook . but a large workforce and a skilled work force is not the same thing . in fact , mekbib says bridging the gap between the rest of the world and the skills set in ethiopia on the ground has been the greatest challenge so far . ' another growth area , is the number of ethiopians entering the middle class and showing a desire to buy high quality clothes . in a report published this month , the imf said the country is on track to achieve its goal of reaching middle income status by 2025 . the trend is so clear to pittards that they are now targeting consumers inside the country . but for ethiopians , it 's not just the top quality of the leather products that makes them take out their wallets , it 's also access to a label they can call their own : made in ethiopia . read this : could africa be world 's next manufacturing hub ? read this : producing quality footwear in africa more from marketplace africa | sheep skin from ethiopia is particularly useful in making gloves |
ethiopia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the steady hum of sewing machines fills the air inside a large glovemaking factory on the outskirts of addis ababa , the bustling ethiopian capital . patches of leather move through an array of working stations as busy laborers work feverishly to meet the company 's export quota : 5,000 gloves a day . the operation belongs to pittards , a uk-based company whose trading partnership with ethiopia dates back to the early 1900s . here , hardy , durable cow hide is made into work gloves . these are ideal for builders and gardeners , and are mainly exported to the u.s. and then there are the stylish designs -- created from a different type of animal skin , these are made to keep fingers warm in tokyo , paris and rome . the fashion glove is made of sheep skin which is unique to ethiopia , ' explains tsedenia mekbib , general manager at pittards products manufacturing . the durability , the stretch ability and the strength makes it popular for gloving leather specifically . that has been the one strength of ethiopia and the leather sector . ' sophisticated designs with decorative touches may be the hallmark of this type of glove , but they must also be practical . ethiopia 's climate makes this animal skin effective at withstanding the winter chill -- an essential selling point . and this effective material is in abundant supply . ethiopia 's 90-million cattle , sheep and goat population is one of the world 's largest , according to the united nations industrial development organization . creative process what slips onto the customer 's hand may be elegant , but the process to create the glove certainly is not . it all starts in the tannery where workers -- dressed in aprons and thick , elbow-high protective gloves -- convert the raw animal hides and skins into finished leather through a number of processes . some of the steps include soaking the skin and fleshing it to remove any unwanted parts . a retanning process where the leather is colored is followed by a stage under a special vacuum dryer where the skin is dried and then stretched to increase its surface area . once all this has happened , another machine softens the leather to make it flexible -- an important feature of gloves . the end product , ready for export , is pure sheep skin prepared to be turned into gloves -- labeled with the thickness and the area it covers . export ban in a move to encourage value addition and increase revenues generated by the leather sector , the ethiopian government banned all exports of raw hides and skins in 1989 . between 2006 and 2012 , the total value of ethiopia 's exports of leather and leather products grew from $ 66 million to $ 112 million . and it 's not just pittards that have realized the opportunity to make gloves in ethiopia . according to the leather industry development institute , two other factories in the country are focused on creating the hand garments . shoes is another major area which uses ethiopian leather . the country is home to dozens of shoemaking companies , including local names such as oliberte and international players like the huajian group , a chinese company that has been exporting some 20,000 pairs of shoes a month since it launched its manufacturing facility outside addis ababa in 2012. business conditions despite a major focus to rapidly build its energy and transport infrastructure , ethiopia is still struggling to provide the best conditions for businesses setting up shop in the country . the challenges that we encountered when we started business are from power cuts to logistics to foreign currency availability , to lead time in having available raw materials , ' explains mekbib . having the solutions to these challenges would allow us to be competitive as a country and as a company as a whole . ' beyond these issues , international manufactures also struggle to recruit workers . ethiopia 's population is growing at a rate of 2.89 % , placing it among the top 15 fastest growing populations in the world , according to the cia factbook . but a large workforce and a skilled work force is not the same thing . in fact , mekbib says bridging the gap between the rest of the world and the skills set in ethiopia on the ground has been the greatest challenge so far . ' another growth area , is the number of ethiopians entering the middle class and showing a desire to buy high quality clothes . in a report published this month , the imf said the country is on track to achieve its goal of reaching middle income status by 2025 . the trend is so clear to pittards that they are now targeting consumers inside the country . but for ethiopians , it 's not just the top quality of the leather products that makes them take out their wallets , it 's also access to a label they can call their own : made in ethiopia . read this : could africa be world 's next manufacturing hub ? read this : producing quality footwear in africa more from marketplace africa | foreign firms are establishing factories in ethiopia to take advantage of the national resources |
bahrain grand prix <tsp> ( cnn ) -- formula one supremo bernie ecclestone confirmed on monday a decision on rearranging the postponed bahrain grand prix will be made prior to the start of the 2011 season . ecclestone , 80 , also ruled out a replacement venue being used after political unrest in the gulf kingdom led to the opening race of the new season being called off . although the elite motorsport 's season will now begin on march 27 in australia , instead of the scheduled march 13 kick-off in bahrain , ecclestone admitted it could be fitted in at a later date . the fia world council will meet at the beginning of march and could look into the situation , ' the briton told formula one 's official website . bahrain grand prix called off ' i have already spoken with fia president jean todt about the possibility of finding a new date and we both agreed that a decision has to be made before the season starts . ' the sport 's rights-holder also suggested the grand prix could be rescheduled for formula one 's mid-season break in july , during the oppressive heat of the bahraini summer . we do n't need an alternative race anywhere in europe or any other place . we need a race in bahrain . if the crown prince is of the opinion that his country is able to host a race we will return to bahrain . i think the teams are sensible enough even to race in bahrain in the summer break , and despite high temperatures , because this is the way we can support the country . ' ecclestone also said a decision on whether or not to hold the race at the country 's bahrain international circuit could not have been made any sooner . the grand prix was officially axed on february 21 . shortly before the crisis i had lunch with the crown prince ( hrh prince salman bin hamad al-khalifa ) and there was absolutely no indication of what would come just days after . he asked what i would do if i were him , and i answered ,'you are there . we in europe are hardly in the situation to make a serious judgment of the conditions . decide what is best for your country .' he then cancelled the race and i think it was the right decision . ' formula one had been set for it busiest-ever season , with 20 races planned for the 2011 campaign , including the inaugural grand prix of india in the country 's capital new delhi . | the postponed season-opening bahrain grand prix could take place at a later date |
isis <tsp> the quiet , sandy streets of the southern jordanian city of ma'an belie the pro-jihadi sentiments simmering just under the surface . black graffiti showing the isis flag defaces walls and shopfronts on the main road , the backstreets where children walk to school , and roundabouts where cars packed with families speed past . one hundred and fifty miles south of the capital , amman , ma'an has always been known as a rebellious city in jordan . for decades it has been at the center of repeated episodes of violent riots and confrontations with the security forces . but ma'an is also an important city , historically a key base of tribal support for jordan 's hashemite monarchy . in recent months , videos of small but vocal pro-isis demonstrations have circulated on social media , with some ma'an residents waving the black flag of the hardline extremist group which has taken massive swaths of land in syria and iraq . demonstrators brazenly called for an islamic state and chanted anti-government slogans . the government says it has the situation in ma'an under control , despite the apparent tensions . the very few jordanians who carried isis flag were arrested , ' government spokesman mohammad al-momani told cnn on tuesday of the demonstrations . according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity , the majority of people who showed sympathy with isis were arrested . ' the official said a total of 71 sympathizers had been arrested over the past couple of weeks across the country . key u.s. ally for years jordanians have joined the ranks of extremist groups like al-qaeda in the wars in afghanistan and iraq and more recently in syria . jordan , a key u.s. ally , has been on high alert along its borders with both iraq and syria , beefing up security and foiling a number of infiltration attempts , according to the government . but many in the kingdom fear the threat from within is now only going to rise after jordan joined the u.s.-led coalition in its fight against the terror group in iraq and syria . like many jordanians , the mayor of ma'an is concerned about the repercussions of the country going on the offensive against isis in neighboring countries . the salafi jihadi movement has been in jordan for years , not just in ma'an but also in other cities ... if this movement in iraq or syria declares a war on jordan , they will not hesitate to carry out operations in jordan , ' mayor majed al-sharari told cnn in his office on monday . the government downplays these concerns and insists it has the situation under control . all jordanian institutions and security agencies work continuously to stop and arrest any jordanian that carries an extremist ideology , and jordan has a good record of facing this phenomenon and dealing with it through its judicial system and security apparatus , ' al-momani told cnn . grievances fuel unrest the unnamed government official said at least 11 jordanians were detained over allegations of being in direct contact with isis in syria days before the start of the coalition 's airstrikes last week . in ma'an , the mayor insists pro-jihadist residents are not in the majority , but warns that unless the grievances of the people in his city are seriously addressed , there is potential for more unrest . the unrest over the years in ma'an is caused by political reasons , the economic situation and for years this city and ma'an governorate has been marginalized for a long time by consecutive governments , ' he said . he said the population of more than 60,000 suffers high unemployment and poverty , and very few opportunities . al-momani said the government was working to address such inequalities . he said ma'an and some other cities in jordan suffer from fair distribution of development , which the government continues to play close attention to . ' hardline islamists in ma'an 's main market area were not hard to find . one after the other , they came forward to voice support for isis , which calls itself the islamic state . one man said isis is the only solution to ma'an 's troubles . another declared : we hope the mujahideen come here and enforce islamic , sharia law -- we want sharia law . ' not surprisingly , most there were opposed to jordan joining the u.s.-led coalition against isis . for almost four years our brothers in syria have been bombed , civilians and children killed ... mosques destroyed and we have n't seen the united states , jordan 's apostate military and the infidel arab armies move to support our brothers in syria ... but when it came to the mujahideen , they mobilized all their armies and started striking , ' said another man .'the islamic state is here to stay' some residents told cnn that heavy-handed measures by the government were behind the anger in ma'an . but al-momani , the government spokesman , said , we are talking about a small number of residents which the security agencies are after . the majority of those were already arrested . ma'an is an important and dear city to all jordanians and the government needs to ensure security in order to introduce economic development . ' the spokesman disputed an assertion , raised by some ma'an residents , of a lack of police or security forces in the city . there is a security and police force in the city that is there to ensure the security and safety of the city and residents , and the work continues to support the security agencies with any of their needs , ' al-momani said . while ma'an has been described as restive , its streets do not appear dangerous . while there is no visible police presence to speak of , there is at least one checkpoint on the road between amman and ma'an . women , mostly covered , walk freely in the streets of ma'an . children run past in school clothes . dogs and cats play in the street . a few minutes into any conversation , residents will insist on buying juice or soda for visitors , even offer a lunch invitation . but their famous hospitality does not mask the dark message emanating from the graffiti on the city walls . the islamic state is here to stay , ' states one . another , referring to the leader of isis , reads , abu bakr al-baghdadi is our prince . ' | jordan 's government says it has arrested people who showed sympathy with isis |
isis <tsp> the quiet , sandy streets of the southern jordanian city of ma'an belie the pro-jihadi sentiments simmering just under the surface . black graffiti showing the isis flag defaces walls and shopfronts on the main road , the backstreets where children walk to school , and roundabouts where cars packed with families speed past . one hundred and fifty miles south of the capital , amman , ma'an has always been known as a rebellious city in jordan . for decades it has been at the center of repeated episodes of violent riots and confrontations with the security forces . but ma'an is also an important city , historically a key base of tribal support for jordan 's hashemite monarchy . in recent months , videos of small but vocal pro-isis demonstrations have circulated on social media , with some ma'an residents waving the black flag of the hardline extremist group which has taken massive swaths of land in syria and iraq . demonstrators brazenly called for an islamic state and chanted anti-government slogans . the government says it has the situation in ma'an under control , despite the apparent tensions . the very few jordanians who carried isis flag were arrested , ' government spokesman mohammad al-momani told cnn on tuesday of the demonstrations . according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity , the majority of people who showed sympathy with isis were arrested . ' the official said a total of 71 sympathizers had been arrested over the past couple of weeks across the country . key u.s. ally for years jordanians have joined the ranks of extremist groups like al-qaeda in the wars in afghanistan and iraq and more recently in syria . jordan , a key u.s. ally , has been on high alert along its borders with both iraq and syria , beefing up security and foiling a number of infiltration attempts , according to the government . but many in the kingdom fear the threat from within is now only going to rise after jordan joined the u.s.-led coalition in its fight against the terror group in iraq and syria . like many jordanians , the mayor of ma'an is concerned about the repercussions of the country going on the offensive against isis in neighboring countries . the salafi jihadi movement has been in jordan for years , not just in ma'an but also in other cities ... if this movement in iraq or syria declares a war on jordan , they will not hesitate to carry out operations in jordan , ' mayor majed al-sharari told cnn in his office on monday . the government downplays these concerns and insists it has the situation under control . all jordanian institutions and security agencies work continuously to stop and arrest any jordanian that carries an extremist ideology , and jordan has a good record of facing this phenomenon and dealing with it through its judicial system and security apparatus , ' al-momani told cnn . grievances fuel unrest the unnamed government official said at least 11 jordanians were detained over allegations of being in direct contact with isis in syria days before the start of the coalition 's airstrikes last week . in ma'an , the mayor insists pro-jihadist residents are not in the majority , but warns that unless the grievances of the people in his city are seriously addressed , there is potential for more unrest . the unrest over the years in ma'an is caused by political reasons , the economic situation and for years this city and ma'an governorate has been marginalized for a long time by consecutive governments , ' he said . he said the population of more than 60,000 suffers high unemployment and poverty , and very few opportunities . al-momani said the government was working to address such inequalities . he said ma'an and some other cities in jordan suffer from fair distribution of development , which the government continues to play close attention to . ' hardline islamists in ma'an 's main market area were not hard to find . one after the other , they came forward to voice support for isis , which calls itself the islamic state . one man said isis is the only solution to ma'an 's troubles . another declared : we hope the mujahideen come here and enforce islamic , sharia law -- we want sharia law . ' not surprisingly , most there were opposed to jordan joining the u.s.-led coalition against isis . for almost four years our brothers in syria have been bombed , civilians and children killed ... mosques destroyed and we have n't seen the united states , jordan 's apostate military and the infidel arab armies move to support our brothers in syria ... but when it came to the mujahideen , they mobilized all their armies and started striking , ' said another man .'the islamic state is here to stay' some residents told cnn that heavy-handed measures by the government were behind the anger in ma'an . but al-momani , the government spokesman , said , we are talking about a small number of residents which the security agencies are after . the majority of those were already arrested . ma'an is an important and dear city to all jordanians and the government needs to ensure security in order to introduce economic development . ' the spokesman disputed an assertion , raised by some ma'an residents , of a lack of police or security forces in the city . there is a security and police force in the city that is there to ensure the security and safety of the city and residents , and the work continues to support the security agencies with any of their needs , ' al-momani said . while ma'an has been described as restive , its streets do not appear dangerous . while there is no visible police presence to speak of , there is at least one checkpoint on the road between amman and ma'an . women , mostly covered , walk freely in the streets of ma'an . children run past in school clothes . dogs and cats play in the street . a few minutes into any conversation , residents will insist on buying juice or soda for visitors , even offer a lunch invitation . but their famous hospitality does not mask the dark message emanating from the graffiti on the city walls . the islamic state is here to stay , ' states one . another , referring to the leader of isis , reads , abu bakr al-baghdadi is our prince . ' | black graffiti showing the isis flag trumpets support for isis in the streets of ma'an |
ma'an <tsp> the quiet , sandy streets of the southern jordanian city of ma'an belie the pro-jihadi sentiments simmering just under the surface . black graffiti showing the isis flag defaces walls and shopfronts on the main road , the backstreets where children walk to school , and roundabouts where cars packed with families speed past . one hundred and fifty miles south of the capital , amman , ma'an has always been known as a rebellious city in jordan . for decades it has been at the center of repeated episodes of violent riots and confrontations with the security forces . but ma'an is also an important city , historically a key base of tribal support for jordan 's hashemite monarchy . in recent months , videos of small but vocal pro-isis demonstrations have circulated on social media , with some ma'an residents waving the black flag of the hardline extremist group which has taken massive swaths of land in syria and iraq . demonstrators brazenly called for an islamic state and chanted anti-government slogans . the government says it has the situation in ma'an under control , despite the apparent tensions . the very few jordanians who carried isis flag were arrested , ' government spokesman mohammad al-momani told cnn on tuesday of the demonstrations . according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity , the majority of people who showed sympathy with isis were arrested . ' the official said a total of 71 sympathizers had been arrested over the past couple of weeks across the country . key u.s. ally for years jordanians have joined the ranks of extremist groups like al-qaeda in the wars in afghanistan and iraq and more recently in syria . jordan , a key u.s. ally , has been on high alert along its borders with both iraq and syria , beefing up security and foiling a number of infiltration attempts , according to the government . but many in the kingdom fear the threat from within is now only going to rise after jordan joined the u.s.-led coalition in its fight against the terror group in iraq and syria . like many jordanians , the mayor of ma'an is concerned about the repercussions of the country going on the offensive against isis in neighboring countries . the salafi jihadi movement has been in jordan for years , not just in ma'an but also in other cities ... if this movement in iraq or syria declares a war on jordan , they will not hesitate to carry out operations in jordan , ' mayor majed al-sharari told cnn in his office on monday . the government downplays these concerns and insists it has the situation under control . all jordanian institutions and security agencies work continuously to stop and arrest any jordanian that carries an extremist ideology , and jordan has a good record of facing this phenomenon and dealing with it through its judicial system and security apparatus , ' al-momani told cnn . grievances fuel unrest the unnamed government official said at least 11 jordanians were detained over allegations of being in direct contact with isis in syria days before the start of the coalition 's airstrikes last week . in ma'an , the mayor insists pro-jihadist residents are not in the majority , but warns that unless the grievances of the people in his city are seriously addressed , there is potential for more unrest . the unrest over the years in ma'an is caused by political reasons , the economic situation and for years this city and ma'an governorate has been marginalized for a long time by consecutive governments , ' he said . he said the population of more than 60,000 suffers high unemployment and poverty , and very few opportunities . al-momani said the government was working to address such inequalities . he said ma'an and some other cities in jordan suffer from fair distribution of development , which the government continues to play close attention to . ' hardline islamists in ma'an 's main market area were not hard to find . one after the other , they came forward to voice support for isis , which calls itself the islamic state . one man said isis is the only solution to ma'an 's troubles . another declared : we hope the mujahideen come here and enforce islamic , sharia law -- we want sharia law . ' not surprisingly , most there were opposed to jordan joining the u.s.-led coalition against isis . for almost four years our brothers in syria have been bombed , civilians and children killed ... mosques destroyed and we have n't seen the united states , jordan 's apostate military and the infidel arab armies move to support our brothers in syria ... but when it came to the mujahideen , they mobilized all their armies and started striking , ' said another man .'the islamic state is here to stay' some residents told cnn that heavy-handed measures by the government were behind the anger in ma'an . but al-momani , the government spokesman , said , we are talking about a small number of residents which the security agencies are after . the majority of those were already arrested . ma'an is an important and dear city to all jordanians and the government needs to ensure security in order to introduce economic development . ' the spokesman disputed an assertion , raised by some ma'an residents , of a lack of police or security forces in the city . there is a security and police force in the city that is there to ensure the security and safety of the city and residents , and the work continues to support the security agencies with any of their needs , ' al-momani said . while ma'an has been described as restive , its streets do not appear dangerous . while there is no visible police presence to speak of , there is at least one checkpoint on the road between amman and ma'an . women , mostly covered , walk freely in the streets of ma'an . children run past in school clothes . dogs and cats play in the street . a few minutes into any conversation , residents will insist on buying juice or soda for visitors , even offer a lunch invitation . but their famous hospitality does not mask the dark message emanating from the graffiti on the city walls . the islamic state is here to stay , ' states one . another , referring to the leader of isis , reads , abu bakr al-baghdadi is our prince . ' | the mayor of ma'an says lack of opportunity and marginalization are fueling grievances |
ma'an <tsp> the quiet , sandy streets of the southern jordanian city of ma'an belie the pro-jihadi sentiments simmering just under the surface . black graffiti showing the isis flag defaces walls and shopfronts on the main road , the backstreets where children walk to school , and roundabouts where cars packed with families speed past . one hundred and fifty miles south of the capital , amman , ma'an has always been known as a rebellious city in jordan . for decades it has been at the center of repeated episodes of violent riots and confrontations with the security forces . but ma'an is also an important city , historically a key base of tribal support for jordan 's hashemite monarchy . in recent months , videos of small but vocal pro-isis demonstrations have circulated on social media , with some ma'an residents waving the black flag of the hardline extremist group which has taken massive swaths of land in syria and iraq . demonstrators brazenly called for an islamic state and chanted anti-government slogans . the government says it has the situation in ma'an under control , despite the apparent tensions . the very few jordanians who carried isis flag were arrested , ' government spokesman mohammad al-momani told cnn on tuesday of the demonstrations . according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity , the majority of people who showed sympathy with isis were arrested . ' the official said a total of 71 sympathizers had been arrested over the past couple of weeks across the country . key u.s. ally for years jordanians have joined the ranks of extremist groups like al-qaeda in the wars in afghanistan and iraq and more recently in syria . jordan , a key u.s. ally , has been on high alert along its borders with both iraq and syria , beefing up security and foiling a number of infiltration attempts , according to the government . but many in the kingdom fear the threat from within is now only going to rise after jordan joined the u.s.-led coalition in its fight against the terror group in iraq and syria . like many jordanians , the mayor of ma'an is concerned about the repercussions of the country going on the offensive against isis in neighboring countries . the salafi jihadi movement has been in jordan for years , not just in ma'an but also in other cities ... if this movement in iraq or syria declares a war on jordan , they will not hesitate to carry out operations in jordan , ' mayor majed al-sharari told cnn in his office on monday . the government downplays these concerns and insists it has the situation under control . all jordanian institutions and security agencies work continuously to stop and arrest any jordanian that carries an extremist ideology , and jordan has a good record of facing this phenomenon and dealing with it through its judicial system and security apparatus , ' al-momani told cnn . grievances fuel unrest the unnamed government official said at least 11 jordanians were detained over allegations of being in direct contact with isis in syria days before the start of the coalition 's airstrikes last week . in ma'an , the mayor insists pro-jihadist residents are not in the majority , but warns that unless the grievances of the people in his city are seriously addressed , there is potential for more unrest . the unrest over the years in ma'an is caused by political reasons , the economic situation and for years this city and ma'an governorate has been marginalized for a long time by consecutive governments , ' he said . he said the population of more than 60,000 suffers high unemployment and poverty , and very few opportunities . al-momani said the government was working to address such inequalities . he said ma'an and some other cities in jordan suffer from fair distribution of development , which the government continues to play close attention to . ' hardline islamists in ma'an 's main market area were not hard to find . one after the other , they came forward to voice support for isis , which calls itself the islamic state . one man said isis is the only solution to ma'an 's troubles . another declared : we hope the mujahideen come here and enforce islamic , sharia law -- we want sharia law . ' not surprisingly , most there were opposed to jordan joining the u.s.-led coalition against isis . for almost four years our brothers in syria have been bombed , civilians and children killed ... mosques destroyed and we have n't seen the united states , jordan 's apostate military and the infidel arab armies move to support our brothers in syria ... but when it came to the mujahideen , they mobilized all their armies and started striking , ' said another man .'the islamic state is here to stay' some residents told cnn that heavy-handed measures by the government were behind the anger in ma'an . but al-momani , the government spokesman , said , we are talking about a small number of residents which the security agencies are after . the majority of those were already arrested . ma'an is an important and dear city to all jordanians and the government needs to ensure security in order to introduce economic development . ' the spokesman disputed an assertion , raised by some ma'an residents , of a lack of police or security forces in the city . there is a security and police force in the city that is there to ensure the security and safety of the city and residents , and the work continues to support the security agencies with any of their needs , ' al-momani said . while ma'an has been described as restive , its streets do not appear dangerous . while there is no visible police presence to speak of , there is at least one checkpoint on the road between amman and ma'an . women , mostly covered , walk freely in the streets of ma'an . children run past in school clothes . dogs and cats play in the street . a few minutes into any conversation , residents will insist on buying juice or soda for visitors , even offer a lunch invitation . but their famous hospitality does not mask the dark message emanating from the graffiti on the city walls . the islamic state is here to stay , ' states one . another , referring to the leader of isis , reads , abu bakr al-baghdadi is our prince . ' | videos of small but vocal pro-isis demonstrations in ma'an have circulated on social media |
ma'an <tsp> the quiet , sandy streets of the southern jordanian city of ma'an belie the pro-jihadi sentiments simmering just under the surface . black graffiti showing the isis flag defaces walls and shopfronts on the main road , the backstreets where children walk to school , and roundabouts where cars packed with families speed past . one hundred and fifty miles south of the capital , amman , ma'an has always been known as a rebellious city in jordan . for decades it has been at the center of repeated episodes of violent riots and confrontations with the security forces . but ma'an is also an important city , historically a key base of tribal support for jordan 's hashemite monarchy . in recent months , videos of small but vocal pro-isis demonstrations have circulated on social media , with some ma'an residents waving the black flag of the hardline extremist group which has taken massive swaths of land in syria and iraq . demonstrators brazenly called for an islamic state and chanted anti-government slogans . the government says it has the situation in ma'an under control , despite the apparent tensions . the very few jordanians who carried isis flag were arrested , ' government spokesman mohammad al-momani told cnn on tuesday of the demonstrations . according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity , the majority of people who showed sympathy with isis were arrested . ' the official said a total of 71 sympathizers had been arrested over the past couple of weeks across the country . key u.s. ally for years jordanians have joined the ranks of extremist groups like al-qaeda in the wars in afghanistan and iraq and more recently in syria . jordan , a key u.s. ally , has been on high alert along its borders with both iraq and syria , beefing up security and foiling a number of infiltration attempts , according to the government . but many in the kingdom fear the threat from within is now only going to rise after jordan joined the u.s.-led coalition in its fight against the terror group in iraq and syria . like many jordanians , the mayor of ma'an is concerned about the repercussions of the country going on the offensive against isis in neighboring countries . the salafi jihadi movement has been in jordan for years , not just in ma'an but also in other cities ... if this movement in iraq or syria declares a war on jordan , they will not hesitate to carry out operations in jordan , ' mayor majed al-sharari told cnn in his office on monday . the government downplays these concerns and insists it has the situation under control . all jordanian institutions and security agencies work continuously to stop and arrest any jordanian that carries an extremist ideology , and jordan has a good record of facing this phenomenon and dealing with it through its judicial system and security apparatus , ' al-momani told cnn . grievances fuel unrest the unnamed government official said at least 11 jordanians were detained over allegations of being in direct contact with isis in syria days before the start of the coalition 's airstrikes last week . in ma'an , the mayor insists pro-jihadist residents are not in the majority , but warns that unless the grievances of the people in his city are seriously addressed , there is potential for more unrest . the unrest over the years in ma'an is caused by political reasons , the economic situation and for years this city and ma'an governorate has been marginalized for a long time by consecutive governments , ' he said . he said the population of more than 60,000 suffers high unemployment and poverty , and very few opportunities . al-momani said the government was working to address such inequalities . he said ma'an and some other cities in jordan suffer from fair distribution of development , which the government continues to play close attention to . ' hardline islamists in ma'an 's main market area were not hard to find . one after the other , they came forward to voice support for isis , which calls itself the islamic state . one man said isis is the only solution to ma'an 's troubles . another declared : we hope the mujahideen come here and enforce islamic , sharia law -- we want sharia law . ' not surprisingly , most there were opposed to jordan joining the u.s.-led coalition against isis . for almost four years our brothers in syria have been bombed , civilians and children killed ... mosques destroyed and we have n't seen the united states , jordan 's apostate military and the infidel arab armies move to support our brothers in syria ... but when it came to the mujahideen , they mobilized all their armies and started striking , ' said another man .'the islamic state is here to stay' some residents told cnn that heavy-handed measures by the government were behind the anger in ma'an . but al-momani , the government spokesman , said , we are talking about a small number of residents which the security agencies are after . the majority of those were already arrested . ma'an is an important and dear city to all jordanians and the government needs to ensure security in order to introduce economic development . ' the spokesman disputed an assertion , raised by some ma'an residents , of a lack of police or security forces in the city . there is a security and police force in the city that is there to ensure the security and safety of the city and residents , and the work continues to support the security agencies with any of their needs , ' al-momani said . while ma'an has been described as restive , its streets do not appear dangerous . while there is no visible police presence to speak of , there is at least one checkpoint on the road between amman and ma'an . women , mostly covered , walk freely in the streets of ma'an . children run past in school clothes . dogs and cats play in the street . a few minutes into any conversation , residents will insist on buying juice or soda for visitors , even offer a lunch invitation . but their famous hospitality does not mask the dark message emanating from the graffiti on the city walls . the islamic state is here to stay , ' states one . another , referring to the leader of isis , reads , abu bakr al-baghdadi is our prince . ' | black graffiti showing the isis flag trumpets support for isis in the streets of ma'an |
isaf <tsp> kabul , afghanistan ( cnn ) -- the head of u.s. forces in afghanistan , general stanley mcchrystal , expressed regret monday after more than two dozen civilians were killed in a nato airstrike . twenty-seven civilians died and 14 others were wounded in the incident sunday in the central daikondi province , according to the afghan interior ministry . ground forces at the scene found women and children among the casualties , the afghan government and nato 's international security assistance force ( isaf ) said in a joint statement . the u.s military told cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr they accept ' the afghan government 's death toll . isaf said it had ordered an immediate investigation into the incident , while the afghan cabinet called the attack unjustifiable . ' we are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives , ' said mcchrystal , who spoke to president hamid karzai sunday evening to express his sorrow and regret over the incident . i have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the afghan people , and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians undermines their trust and confidence in our mission . we will re-double our efforts to regain that trust . ' commanders ordered the daylight nato airstrike because they had specific intelligence that a group of taliban in vehicles was heading towards coalition forces on the ground , according to a senior u.s. military official . air assets picked up the movement of the vehicles and after an extensive overhead monitoring , the ground force commander ordered the strike , ' said the official , who declined to be identified because of ongoing investigations . the source would not discuss what activities the convoy took that led to suspicions it contained insurgents other than its location . the convoy of three vehicles was traveling to kandahar province when it was struck , said zemeri bashary , the spokesman for the interior ministry . nato confirmed its forces fired on the vehicles , believing that they were carrying insurgents . in a statement published in pashtun and dari , the afghan cabinet said it condemned the repeated killing of civilians by nato . ' an english version of the statement did not include that sentence . civilian casualties at the hands of u.s. and nato troops have strained relations between afghanistan and the united states . in the last two weeks alone , more than 50 afghan civilians are believed to have been killed in more than half a dozen u.s. and nato military operations . the coalition is also investigating reports that several afghan policemen were accidentally killed in an airstrike in eastern afghanistan on february 18 . mcchrystal has made avoiding civilian casualties a top priority , and he has apologized to the afghan government for recent incidents . the numbers have dropped in recent months since mcchrystal took over as u.s. commander . the u.s. military official said mcchrystal is updating a directive issued to troops last summer aimed at reducing civilian casualties . the official said the intent now is to make it more precise and understandable by the most junior member of the force . ' some forces have complained the directive has led to overly restrictive rules on conducting operations . meanwhile , an influential afghan tribal leader was among 14 people killed in a suicide attack on a meeting of tribal elders on monday in nangarhar province 's khogyani district , afghan police said according to agence france-presse . haji zaman ghamsharik was credited with bringing relative stability to nangarhar compared to other provinces in afghanistan 's volatile eastern border region . elsewhere , an insurgent rocket struck a car in kapisa province monday and killed one civilian , officials said . five others were wounded in the attack . earlier , afghan officials had blamed the attack on a nato ground-to-ground missile but later corrected the account . cnn 's ben wedeman contributed to this report | afghanistan calls attack unjustifiable ' ; isaf launches investigation |
silver linings playbook <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- jessica chastain is having a moment . not only did the red-headed oscar nominee win a golden globe last weekend for her work in zero dark thirty , ' which forced her to take a night off from her broadway run †” yes she 's starring in broadway 's the heiress ' during the thick of awards season †” but she 's now achieved something few actors have ever managed : she currently holds the number one and number two movies at the box office . chastain 's latest vehicle , mama , ' crushed the competition over the three-day weekend with a whopping $ 28.1 million . universal , who produced the pg-13 film for only $ 15 million , opened mama ' in 2,647 theaters , where it earned a terrific $ 10,624 average . the horror title played very well with young women †” 61 percent of viewers were female , and 63 percent were below the age of 25 . unfortunately , most of those audiences were n't overly enthusiastic about what they saw , issuing mama ' a lackluster b- ' cinemascore grade . chastain 's other entry , zero dark thirty , ' fell only 28 percent in its sophomore weekend of wide release to $ 17.6 million , which brought the osama bin laden huntdown 's total to $ 55.9 million . controversy continues to boost the kathryn bigelow-directed drama 's profile , but great word-of-mouth seems to be playing just as big of a role in zero dark thirty 's ' success .'norbit'effect : 9 oscar killers ? it 's fair to say that chastain 's presence in both mama ' and zero dark thirty ' had little to do with each film 's successful box office performance . neither was marketed on her appeal , and yet , that does n't take away from her achievement . silver linings playbook ' performed very nicely in its nationwide expansion . upon jumping from 810 to 2,523 theaters , playbook ' increased 126 percent to $ 11.4 million , which brings its total to $ 55.3 million so far . ( kudos to the weinstein co. for its deftly executed platform strategy . if they had opened silver linings playbook ' in wide release , as planned , we almost certainly would n't be talking about it 10 weeks later . ) in the month leading up to oscar season , good word-of-mouth may continue to carry silver linings playbook ' to a total as high as $ 100 million .'mythbusters'vs. zombies : can you help ? in fourth place , warner bros.'crime drama gangster squad ' fell 47 percent to $ 9.1 million , giving the $ 60 million sean penn/josh brolin action flick an unremarkable $ 32.2 million total after ten days . still , gangster squad 's ' second weekend was better than the debuts of new releases broken city ' and the last stand , ' which both flopped out of the gate . fox 's $ 35 million broken city , ' which stars the usually reliable mark wahlberg alongside russell crowe , drew only $ 9.0 million worth of tickets from 2,620 theaters , while lionsgate 's $ 45 million the last stand , ' an arnold schwarznegger film , fared even worse with a puny $ 6.3 million . both films played primarily to older male audiences ( who are also seeing zero dark thirty ' and gangster squad ' ) , and they may have cannibalized each other over their first three days . 1 . mama ' -- $ 28.1 million 2 . zero dark thirty ' -- $ 17.6 million 3 . silver linings playbook ' -- $ 11.4 million 4 . gangster squad ' -- $ 9.1 million 5 . broken city ' -- $ 9.0 million see the original article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | silver linings playbook ' performed very nicely in its nationwide expansion |
king abdullah ii <tsp> ( cnn ) -- demonstrators in amman , jordan , battled riot police wednesday in a fury over gas prices . and those who stayed after the tear gas and water cannons were fired did something rare in that nation : they chanted slogans against king abdullah . the fighting was in the jabal al hussein area , along soukaina -- one of the main roads running through the capital . hundreds of demonstrators called on the government to reverse its decision to raise fuel and gas prices . riot police worked to break up the crowd , and most people fled . but a handful stayed and engaged in a standoff with the police , who fired tear gas canisters to try to force the demonstrators back . cnn saw police beat one man and take him away , and also saw plainclothes intelligence officials takk away two young men as demonstrators threw rocks at the police . the protesters who remained chanted for the downfall of the monarchy . previous protests have left 14 people injured -- 10 of them by police gunfire , jordan 's public security department said . there was also property damage . jordanians have told cnn that while they are incensed about rising prices and government corruption , they 're just as worried about the current situation . many say they 've never been so fearful about the future of their country . many believe that if the government does not reverse its decision , the kingdom will plunge into chaos . a wave of protests that began in jordan in december 2010 has recurred sporadically since . previously on cnn.com : thousands rally for political change in jordan while the demonstrators have often lambasted members of parliament , cursed the prime minister and called for the government to go , they 've rarely spoken out against king abdullah ii . while those voices remain a minority , their call is growing as jordanians throng to public squares to lash out against the government for cutting fuel subsidies , which resulted in higher gas prices . hey abdullah , do n't be fooled , look around and see what happened to your peers , ' one crowd chanted with reference to toppled arab autocrats . the government , which the king reshuffled under public pressure in early october , announced the price boost for gasoline , diesel fuel , kerosene and cooking gas tuesday . unleaded gas jumped from about $ 3.80 to just over $ 4.25 per gallon . diesel fuel spiked from about $ 2.80 to around $ 3.70 a gallon . cooking gas prices spiked from just over $ 9 per canister to more than $ 14 . the government announced a payout to families of just under $ 600 to soften the blow of the higher prices for the nation 's poorest . pain at the pump is a drag on government approval ratings anywhere . but in jordan , where the arab spring has kept up the pressure on a monarch who is friendly to the west and a stabilizer in the middle east , a protest could have explosive potential with effects beyond jordan 's borders . the hashemite kingdom , which has good relations with israel , is wedged among the jewish state , syria , iraq and saudi arabia , and serves as a buffer in the region . as in egypt , islamists hold powerful political influence in jordan . but the protesters are people of all backgrounds , including women without veils and men without beards . state news agency petra reported that there were protests in at least seven municipalities . oh , abdullah ibn hussein , where is the people 's money ? where ? ' people roared at one demonstration . raising the prices will set the country on fire ! ' the higher gas prices come on top of high unemployment and inflation . jordan 's teacher 's union announced an open-ended strike wednesday , saying it would last until the government reverses the price hikes . jordanian demonstrators commonly voice anger about corruption and poverty , accusing those in power of misappropriating government money for personal gain . but as the streets filled , the rhetoric took a caustic turn , dropping the monarch 's title and referring to him crudely by first name only , a rare indiscretion in jordan . hey abdullah , listen , listen very well , we will kneel to no one but god ! ' was one chant , along with , god is mightier than all tyrants . ' insulting the king is illegal in jordan and can result in a prison sentence . king abdullah does not have a reputation for bloody oppression like syria 's bashar al-assad or former libyan dictator moammar gadhafi , and is viewed by many as a benevolent king . he had 20 opposition activists arrested in early october but quickly released them after an international human rights group criticized the move . his recent announcements of concessions to protesters'demands to democratize have not quelled discontent . prime minister abdullah ensour , in office for just over a month , took to the airwaves tuesday night to address the protests . he accused islamists of lying in wait for any opportunity to incite the collapse of a stable government . speaking of the islamic action front , he said : they have been trying to mobilize their people in the streets and prepare themselves for such an eventful day . ' he reminded them that they had shown no opposition when egypt 's islamist president , mohamed morsy of the muslim brotherhood , had to raise gas prices there . he then appealed to jordanians not to be influenced by these petty attempts . ' ensour has blamed the gas subsidy cuts on budget slashing made necessary by the uprisings in neighboring countries , which have reduced the gasoline supply to jordan . in the past 18 months of the arab spring , jordan has lost between $ 4 and $ 5 billion at least as a result of oil stoppage , especially the egyptian gas supplies , ' petra quoted ensour as saying . it has put the country 's budget deficit through the roof , he said . in the past two years , king abdullah has fired four prime ministers . in february 2011 , shortly before egyptian president hosni mubarak was forced out of office following weeks of intense protest , the king dismissed his government and ordered genuine political reform , ' the country 's royal court reported . political reforms would mean taking power away from his base -- the bedouin tribes , a group known as the east bankers . on top of that concern , the king is also dealing with more than 200,000 syrian refugees who have entered jordan recently , fleeing despotism in the neighboring country . cnn 's josh levs , ahmed al-assad , raja razek and hamdi alkhshali and jomana karadsheh contributed to this report . | king abdullah ii is friendly with israel and the west and brings stability to the region |
john murtha <tsp> johnstown , pennsylvania ( cnn ) -- located outside a small pennsylvania city , john murtha airport may not see many passengers . but it 's seen plenty of arrivals of tax dollars from washington , most recently economic stimulus funds . democratic rep. john murtha says it 's his job to direct federal funds to his district in pennsylvania . the airport offers three commercial flights . in between the arrivals and departures , airport officials admit there are few faces around the facility . when the flights are coming in , there are people . other than that , it 's empty , ' said scott voelker , manager of the john murtha johnstown-cambria county airport . but one face is everywhere . rep. john murtha , the airport 's namesake , is hard to miss . considered one of the kings of pork ' on capitol hill by taxpayer watchdog groups , the 19th-term pennsylvania democrat has piloted almost $ 200 million from washington to murtha airport . much of the funding has come in the form of legislative earmarks that are attached to bills before congress . taxpayer watchdogs have said earmarks -- often derided as pork-barrel ' spending -- are designed to fund congressional pet projects . [ murtha 's ] dumped in nearly $ 200 million into this project that has virtually no passengers . it 's practically a museum piece , ' said steve ellis with the taxpayers for common sense . watch why critics say the airport is wasteful » murtha declined cnn 's request for an interview . his staff issued a statement saying murtha airport is vital infrastructure designed to attract additional business ' to the johnstown area . on his house web site , murtha strongly defends earmarks , saying it 's his job ' to direct federal funds to his district . amfix : your thoughts on how congress spends your money earlier this year , the airport found a new revenue stream , receiving $ 800,000 from the stimulus to repave a crosswind runway that 's used as a backup to the facility 's main landing runway . even though voelker said the runway is perfectly safe , he said he believes the stimulus project makes a lot of sense . ' he noted the runway has n't been repaved since the 1980s . asphalt and concrete need to be replaced , ' voelker added . in december , murtha made a direct appeal to the federal aviation administration to fund the runway project . the request was rejected . at the time , the airport did not meet faa criteria for funding because the facility had fewer than 10,000 passengers . but earlier this year , the faa notified murtha airport officials the facility had been approved for stimulus funding . the faa said murtha did not request the stimulus money . faa spokeswoman laura brown said murtha airport received stimulus money because it was shovel-ready . ' it met all of the requirements for the use of the stimulus money , ' brown said . murtha airport is not the only remote airport landing stimulus funds . according to the faa 's web site , hundreds of big and small airports across the country are slated to receive $ 1 billion in stimulus upgrades . many of the airports are in such far-flung places as u.s. territories guam and american samoa . even king salmon , alaska , ( population 447 ) is expecting $ 9.7 million , according to faa records . see the records taxpayer watchdogs said they wonder if some of that 's pork . the problem is you 're not getting the multiple bang for your stimulus buck that you 're looking for , ' ellis said . he added , when you see deadbeat airports getting cash so they can do their second runway , it really feeds cynicism around the country about the stimulus and about the projects . ' brown defends the use of stimulus money for other remote airports such as guam . guam is a u.s. territory and is part of the u.s. economy as far as i know , ' she said . murtha airport 's manager said taxpayer money is going to waste at his facility , but not on the runway project . he points to an unstaffed $ 8 million air traffic radar system installed in 2004 . it 's been sitting over there , and that radar has been spinning for all those years with no purpose . just sitting there , ' voelker said . voelker said he has brought the matter up with both the faa and pennsylvania air national guard , which uses the air traffic control facility . but he said nobody can explain why the radar system has n't been staffed . | pennsylvania 's john murtha airport offers three commercial flights |
john murtha <tsp> johnstown , pennsylvania ( cnn ) -- located outside a small pennsylvania city , john murtha airport may not see many passengers . but it 's seen plenty of arrivals of tax dollars from washington , most recently economic stimulus funds . democratic rep. john murtha says it 's his job to direct federal funds to his district in pennsylvania . the airport offers three commercial flights . in between the arrivals and departures , airport officials admit there are few faces around the facility . when the flights are coming in , there are people . other than that , it 's empty , ' said scott voelker , manager of the john murtha johnstown-cambria county airport . but one face is everywhere . rep. john murtha , the airport 's namesake , is hard to miss . considered one of the kings of pork ' on capitol hill by taxpayer watchdog groups , the 19th-term pennsylvania democrat has piloted almost $ 200 million from washington to murtha airport . much of the funding has come in the form of legislative earmarks that are attached to bills before congress . taxpayer watchdogs have said earmarks -- often derided as pork-barrel ' spending -- are designed to fund congressional pet projects . [ murtha 's ] dumped in nearly $ 200 million into this project that has virtually no passengers . it 's practically a museum piece , ' said steve ellis with the taxpayers for common sense . watch why critics say the airport is wasteful » murtha declined cnn 's request for an interview . his staff issued a statement saying murtha airport is vital infrastructure designed to attract additional business ' to the johnstown area . on his house web site , murtha strongly defends earmarks , saying it 's his job ' to direct federal funds to his district . amfix : your thoughts on how congress spends your money earlier this year , the airport found a new revenue stream , receiving $ 800,000 from the stimulus to repave a crosswind runway that 's used as a backup to the facility 's main landing runway . even though voelker said the runway is perfectly safe , he said he believes the stimulus project makes a lot of sense . ' he noted the runway has n't been repaved since the 1980s . asphalt and concrete need to be replaced , ' voelker added . in december , murtha made a direct appeal to the federal aviation administration to fund the runway project . the request was rejected . at the time , the airport did not meet faa criteria for funding because the facility had fewer than 10,000 passengers . but earlier this year , the faa notified murtha airport officials the facility had been approved for stimulus funding . the faa said murtha did not request the stimulus money . faa spokeswoman laura brown said murtha airport received stimulus money because it was shovel-ready . ' it met all of the requirements for the use of the stimulus money , ' brown said . murtha airport is not the only remote airport landing stimulus funds . according to the faa 's web site , hundreds of big and small airports across the country are slated to receive $ 1 billion in stimulus upgrades . many of the airports are in such far-flung places as u.s. territories guam and american samoa . even king salmon , alaska , ( population 447 ) is expecting $ 9.7 million , according to faa records . see the records taxpayer watchdogs said they wonder if some of that 's pork . the problem is you 're not getting the multiple bang for your stimulus buck that you 're looking for , ' ellis said . he added , when you see deadbeat airports getting cash so they can do their second runway , it really feeds cynicism around the country about the stimulus and about the projects . ' brown defends the use of stimulus money for other remote airports such as guam . guam is a u.s. territory and is part of the u.s. economy as far as i know , ' she said . murtha airport 's manager said taxpayer money is going to waste at his facility , but not on the runway project . he points to an unstaffed $ 8 million air traffic radar system installed in 2004 . it 's been sitting over there , and that radar has been spinning for all those years with no purpose . just sitting there , ' voelker said . voelker said he has brought the matter up with both the faa and pennsylvania air national guard , which uses the air traffic control facility . but he said nobody can explain why the radar system has n't been staffed . | rep. john murtha has piloted almost $ 200 million from washington to the airport |
stacy dean <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in their attacks on the food stamp program , some republican presidential candidates are leaving a deeply misleading impression of the nation 's leading anti-hunger program . no one aspires to enroll , but for those who must , it is an essential lifeline that addresses one of the harshest impacts of poverty and unemployment -- hunger . the food stamp program , now officially known as the supplemental nutrition assistance program ( snap ) , provides about 46 million americans in about 22 million low-income households with debit cards to buy food each month . participants include families with adults who work in low-wage jobs , unemployed workers and people on fixed incomes , such as social security . about three-fourths of snap recipients live in households with children ; more than one-quarter live in households with seniors or people with disabilities . snap reduces poverty while providing people with much-needed help to buy food . the program kept more than 5 million people out of poverty in 2010 and lessened the severity of poverty for millions of others , under a measure of poverty that counts snap benefits as income . snap is also highly efficient , with one of the most rigorous quality control systems of any public benefit program . in 2010 , only 3 percent of payments went to ineligible households or to eligible households in excessive amounts . payment accuracy has been improving in the past few years , despite a large increase in snap enrollment . while some have attributed that enrollment increase to obama administration policies -- newt gingrich has termed president barack obama the food stamp president ' -- in reality it has two main causes that have little to do with this administration . millions of people hit by the recession a few years ago became eligible for snap . today 's large snap caseloads mostly reflect the extraordinarily deep and prolonged recession and the weak recovery that has followed . long-term unemployment hit record levels in 2010 and has remained extremely high . today , 43 % of all unemployed workers have been out of work for more than half a year ; the previous post-world war ii high was 26 % in 1983 . workers who are unemployed for a long time are more likely to deplete their assets , exhaust unemployment insurance and turn to snap for help . it is one of the few safety net programs available to them . in most states , other programs -- such as cash assistance under the temporary assistance for needy families and state general assistance programs -- have not responded effectively to the rising need brought on by the economy . more than one in five workers who had been unemployed for over six months received snap in 2010 , according to congress 's joint economic committee . the increase in enrollment is also because it 's easier for eligible families to participate . federal and state officials as well as congress , with leadership from both parties , have worked throughout the last decade to simplify snap procedures so that the program can reach more eligible households , particularly working families and senior citizens . these efforts are paying off : the share of eligible individuals who participated in snap rose from 65 % in 2007 to 72 % in 2009 , the most recent year for which we have the data . the recent growth in snap enrollment and spending because of the sluggish economy is temporary . one of snap 's great strengths is its ability to respond , quickly and automatically , to changes in the economy : enrollment grows during downturns but contracts during periods of economic growth . the congressional budget office predicts that snap spending will fall in the coming years as the economy recovers more robustly and the temporary benefit increases of the 2009 recovery act expire . by 2021 , snap is expected to return nearly to pre-recession levels as a share of the economy . over the long term , snap is not growing faster than the economy . so it is not contributing to the nation 's long-term fiscal problems . a weak economy has swelled the numbers of unemployed workers and poor families . that 's a serious problem that our policymakers need to address . in the meantime , snap helps protect the most vulnerable from very difficult circumstances . join cnn opinion on facebook and follow updates on twitter . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of stacy dean . | stacy dean : criticism aside , food stamp program is a lifeline for 46 million people |
sinai <tsp> ( cnn ) -- two years after the end of the iraq war , the u.s. state department confirmed this week that it is providing the fragile country with sophisticated weapons and drones . iraq needs help fighting against a growing and serious threat -- al qaeda . for those who do n't avidly follow the complicated machinations of the globe 's top terror group , this could be confusing . has n't the line for years from the u.s. government and its allies been that al qaeda is on the run , that its fiercest fighting ability has been weakened by u.s. strikes ? that truth is far more complex , of course . the terror group 's manpower has increased in recent years , it has gained control of more territory in north africa and the middle east and is taking a different approach to death , according to top lawmakers privy to high-level intelligence and experts who have observed al qaeda 's activities since september 11 . a stake in yemen while al qaeda suffered significant setbacks after navy seals shot and killed osama bin laden in pakistan in 2011 , and drone strikes have taken out top terrorists along the pakistan-afghanistan border , the terror group and its close allies have rebounded in yemen , the sinai region of egypt , libya , iraq , and parts of east and west africa , among other places . al qaeda in the arabian peninsula , or aqap , headquartered in yemen , is particularly concerning . cnn has learned of recent intercepts of messages among senior al qaeda operatives in yemen , but the messages do n't name specific targets . one source told cnn that the chatter suggested active plotting . ' there are multiple indications that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is plotting attacks both within yemen , against u.s. and western structures and overseas , ' said seth jones , an analyst at rand corp . the yemeni group is already notorious for sending an operative on board a flight into the united states on christmas day in 2009 with explosives in his underwear . al qaeda in yemen are still capable of conducting attacks ' and particularly adept at taking down aircraft , ' jones said . al qaeda : we 're sorry about yemen hospital attack the u.s. has been fighting back , but not every strike has been successful . this month a drone failed to kill an al qaeda planner believed to be behind a plot to attack the u.s. embassy in sanaa . instead , the drone hit a wedding party , yemeni officials said . a powder keg in syria al qaeda-linked militants have established a formidable foothold in the complicated civil war in syria . there are up to 11,000 foreign fighters from 74 nations in the conflict that has raged since april 2011 , according to the december report from the international centre for the study of radicalism ( icsr ) . the majority have traveled from other arab countries , creating a significant risk of blowback when these fighters return home . the concern is that the al qaeda networks of the future are being created in this jihadist melting pot , ' said paul cruickshank , a cnn terrorism analyst who has specialized for years in studying al qaeda . read more : cruickshank : concerns over al qaeda 's resurgence an increasing number of them are from europe -- approaching two thousand , according to the icsr , an unprecedented number , according to experts . the united states and its allies fear that those fighters will be able to more easily launch attacks in their homelands or against western targets , said cruickshank . syria is now the fuel for the jihadist movement and some of the most experienced operatives from pakistan and iraq have relocated there , ' he said . syria has helped al qaeda rebuild its operations in the arab world , which has always been its intention anyway . ' read more : al qaeda-linked group strengthens hold in northern syria cruickshank saiid it 's especially scary to consider that al qaeda members in syria could receive training in the terror group 's traditionally sophisticated bomb-making and detonating courses . consider that the boston marathon bombing utilized what are considered low-grade explosives , he said . al qaeda generally sets the bar higher for destruction on par with the london attacks in the summer of 2005 . it 's possible that new recruits could get training like what we saw al qaeda in pakistan giving -- showing people how to make high-explosive bombs made of chemicals bought at beauty or home goods stores and detonate them . ' cruickshank said . all they would need to do is return to europe , buy what they need to and carry out an attack . ' flashpoint partners , a u.s outfit that tracks jihadist websites , provided the terror analyst with an al qaeda video that emerged on christmas day . it features the boston bombing and also the slaying of a london soldier in may of this year . the christmas day-published video is an updated english language version of al qaeda 's central video you are only responsible for yourself ' which was first issued in june 2011 . that video featured senior al qaeda leaders including ayman al zawahiri and american-born al qaeda spokesman adam gadahn . it calls for al qaeda sympathizers to take things into their own hands and launch attacks in the west . both attacks are called models for the future . an elusive peace in iraq syria borders iraq . though the causes of violence in iraq are many-fold , al qaeda 's presence there , aided by syria 's weakened state , is being felt among the fragile nation 's law enforcement and civilian population . between january and november 2013 , more than 7,000 iraqi civilians were killed , including 952 iraqi security forces , according to the united nations . april 2013 was iraq 's deadliest month in five years . since the overthrow of saddam hussein , sunni arabs have been politically marginalized and shiites , who represent a majority of iraqis , have emerged with more power . that has led to sectarian violence -- constant bombings and various smaller attacks . al qaeda is targeting shiites in an attempt to plunge the country into another civil war and hopes to carve out a larger zone of territory under their control on either side of the syria-iraq border , cruickshank says . smaller bursts of violence are the hallmark of al qaeda 's new approach to terrorism , according to the chairs of the senate and house intelligence committees who appeared on cnn 's state of the union ' in early december . cnn 's candy crowley asked house intelligence committee chair mike rogers if he thought americans were safer in 2013 than they were a few years ago . he insisted they 're not , and that u.s. intelligence and security officials are having a tougher time than ever before trying to stop so many smaller-scale plots . but does that translate into a threat specifically in the u.s. ? to rogers , it does . all of them have at least some aspiration to commit an act of violence in the united states or against western targets all around the world , ' he said . however , cnn national security analyst peter bergen said earlier this month that the data on al qaeda-linked or influenced militants indicted in the united states suggests that the threat of terrorism has actually markedly declined over the past couple of years . at least for the moment , these al qaeda groups in syria and iraq are completely focused on overthrowing the assad regime ( in syria ) or attacking what they regard as the shia-dominated government of iraq . and , at least so far , these groups have shown no ability to attack in europe , let alone in the united states , ' he said in a column published on cnn.com . bergen : are we hyping the terror risk ? the new al qaeda what motivates al qaeda 's newest members ? sen. dianne feinstein told crowley she thought there is still a pervasive belief among extremists that a caliphate -- an islamic state governed strictly by sharia , or islamic , law -- is possible and should be fought for . i think there is a real displaced aggression in this very fundamentalist , jihadist , islamic community , ' she said . and that is that the west is responsible for everything that goes wrong ... i see more groups , more fundamentalists , more jihadists more determined to kill to get to where they want to get . ' cruickshank points to the disappointment many young men felt over what they perceive as a failed arab spring revolution . ( al qaeda is still mostly comprised of younger men , though women are taking backseat support roles , he added . ) in 2011 , tens of thousands of protesters staged a revolution in egypt that unseated longtime dictator hosni mubarak . mohamed morsy , then a muslim brotherhood leader , was elected president in the country 's first democratic election in 2012 . he was deposed by the military last summer . this week egypt 's military-backed government declared the muslim brotherhood a terrorist group . on thursday , dozens of members of the islamist party were arrested and their property seized , authorities said . the great hope of the arab spring was that it would liberate the political system . but instead it resulted in increased repression against islamists , ' cruickshank said . for a lot of young men going into syria , in some respect , it 's a reaction to that feeling . ' they see the egyptian and syrian government as tarred with the same brush . they see those governments as blocking the true flourishing of islam . ' cnn 's barbara starr contributed to this report . | al qaeda rebounds in yemen , egypt 's sinai region , libya , iraq , east and west africa |
india <tsp> new delhi ( cnn ) -- let 's hear it for the man of the moment , the man of the millennium . ' that man is narendra modi , and those are the words with which an australian public servant introduced india 's prime minister in brisbane on sunday . modi , modi , modi , ' chanted the crowd . the adulation did n't end there . the next day , modi was in sydney , delivering a speech to an audience of 16,000 at the allphones arena . you 're a rock star ! ' shrieked an excited fan as the event beamed across millions of television screens in india and around the world . and so it was that # rockstar and # modiinaustralia began trending on twitter . tuesday : new city , new audience . modi pitched up at the australian parliament in canberra . he spoke in english this time , highlighting the linguistic and cultural commonalities between india and australia -- almost as if to suggest india was a better trading partner than china . australia has immense opportunities to participate in india 's progress . ... india will be the answer to your search for new economic opportunities , ' modi declared . is india really the one-stop answer ? and is modi really the man of the millennium ? the hype seems to be reaching dangerous levels . there 's no denying that modi has generated immense excitement in india and abroad . rightfully so . here , finally , is an indian leader who says the things indians have been yearning to hear . he talks about faster growth , creating jobs , about a smartphone in every hand , a toilet in every home , clean streets , leaner and more transparent government . and boy , can he talk . in hindi , in gujarati , in english , modi seems to know exactly what his audience wants to hear . in that sense he is indeed a rock star , riffing on his key anthems at every big speech . but can he deliver the runaway platinum sales indians now seem to expect ? we 're beginning to see the first signs of questions being asked . earlier this month , at the sidelines of the world economic forum in new delhi , top industrialist anand mahindra told cnn that modi 's honeymoon period is over . ' when cnn spoke with indian finance minister arun jaitley , he seemed to dial back on expectations of big reforms , saying people with their sense of wisdom will be able to appreciate ' the cumulative effect of the government 's smaller steps . and then there are the questions of modi himself . at the inauguration of a hospital in mumbai last month , modi made a speech , played out live on many indian tv channels . curiously , one bit was ignored by the indian press . speaking of the hindu god ganesha -- who is depicted as having an elephant 's head -- modi claimed that ganesha 's half-man , half-elephant body was evidence that ancient indian doctors were experts at the art of plastic surgery . seriously ? the indian tv anchor and journalist karan thapar was one of the few to raise an eyebrow . he believes in digital india , wants to import bullet trains and'make in india'state-of-the-art ( defense ) weaponry , ' thapar wrote . these are 21st-century ambitions . how does all of that sit alongside this belief in unverified mythology ? ' he added , the silence of the media is deeply disturbing . it feels as though it 's been deliberately blanked out by everyone . ' i doubt there 's a larger media conspiracy only to portray modi positively . but the media do need to take a step back and question the rock-star levels of adulation . modi has gotten india dreaming . who knows , those dreams may even be realized one day . but in modi 's seven months as prime minister so far , rhetoric and big plans aside , nothing has really changed . for hundreds of millions of poor indians , it is still the same india . basic infrastructure is still subpar ; there are no social safety nets on health care or pensions ; india is still an immensely frustrating place to live and work . and that 's the tip of an enormous iceberg . india could take decades to change . we all need to remember that . so do modi 's fans . | agrawal : people should have realistic expectations ; it may take decades to change india |
india <tsp> new delhi ( cnn ) -- let 's hear it for the man of the moment , the man of the millennium . ' that man is narendra modi , and those are the words with which an australian public servant introduced india 's prime minister in brisbane on sunday . modi , modi , modi , ' chanted the crowd . the adulation did n't end there . the next day , modi was in sydney , delivering a speech to an audience of 16,000 at the allphones arena . you 're a rock star ! ' shrieked an excited fan as the event beamed across millions of television screens in india and around the world . and so it was that # rockstar and # modiinaustralia began trending on twitter . tuesday : new city , new audience . modi pitched up at the australian parliament in canberra . he spoke in english this time , highlighting the linguistic and cultural commonalities between india and australia -- almost as if to suggest india was a better trading partner than china . australia has immense opportunities to participate in india 's progress . ... india will be the answer to your search for new economic opportunities , ' modi declared . is india really the one-stop answer ? and is modi really the man of the millennium ? the hype seems to be reaching dangerous levels . there 's no denying that modi has generated immense excitement in india and abroad . rightfully so . here , finally , is an indian leader who says the things indians have been yearning to hear . he talks about faster growth , creating jobs , about a smartphone in every hand , a toilet in every home , clean streets , leaner and more transparent government . and boy , can he talk . in hindi , in gujarati , in english , modi seems to know exactly what his audience wants to hear . in that sense he is indeed a rock star , riffing on his key anthems at every big speech . but can he deliver the runaway platinum sales indians now seem to expect ? we 're beginning to see the first signs of questions being asked . earlier this month , at the sidelines of the world economic forum in new delhi , top industrialist anand mahindra told cnn that modi 's honeymoon period is over . ' when cnn spoke with indian finance minister arun jaitley , he seemed to dial back on expectations of big reforms , saying people with their sense of wisdom will be able to appreciate ' the cumulative effect of the government 's smaller steps . and then there are the questions of modi himself . at the inauguration of a hospital in mumbai last month , modi made a speech , played out live on many indian tv channels . curiously , one bit was ignored by the indian press . speaking of the hindu god ganesha -- who is depicted as having an elephant 's head -- modi claimed that ganesha 's half-man , half-elephant body was evidence that ancient indian doctors were experts at the art of plastic surgery . seriously ? the indian tv anchor and journalist karan thapar was one of the few to raise an eyebrow . he believes in digital india , wants to import bullet trains and'make in india'state-of-the-art ( defense ) weaponry , ' thapar wrote . these are 21st-century ambitions . how does all of that sit alongside this belief in unverified mythology ? ' he added , the silence of the media is deeply disturbing . it feels as though it 's been deliberately blanked out by everyone . ' i doubt there 's a larger media conspiracy only to portray modi positively . but the media do need to take a step back and question the rock-star levels of adulation . modi has gotten india dreaming . who knows , those dreams may even be realized one day . but in modi 's seven months as prime minister so far , rhetoric and big plans aside , nothing has really changed . for hundreds of millions of poor indians , it is still the same india . basic infrastructure is still subpar ; there are no social safety nets on health care or pensions ; india is still an immensely frustrating place to live and work . and that 's the tip of an enormous iceberg . india could take decades to change . we all need to remember that . so do modi 's fans . | narendra modi , india 's prime minister , continues to draw praise for his speeches |
soviet <tsp> ( cnn ) -- nobody looks to olympic opening ceremonies for historical exactitude . yet the brutal denialism of the opening spectacle at the 2014 sochi games should anger and sadden every viewer -- and russian viewers most of all . the struggle of freedom against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting . ' so wrote the great czech novelist milan kundera . in russia , forgetting has won . these olympics opened with a pageant of russian history that excised the crimes of soviet communism . no red terror . no gulag . no ukrainian famine . no katyn . the russian state refuses to reckon with the past . after a brief and partial opening in the early 1990s , it has closed its archives to historians . the few memorials erected in the yeltsin years are already crumbling , untended and disregarded . surviving victims have received no compensation or recognition . the sorry story of this failure of conscience is well told by david satter in his aptly titled study , it was a long time ago and it never happened anyway . ' nor does russian society press its leadership to emulate the example of modern germany , where nazi crimes are acknowledged , memorialized and repented . the victims of soviet communist crimes numbered in the millions , but so too did the perpetrators and accomplices . they and their children do not wish to be confronted with the truth -- and they certainly do not wish to be held to account for it . an apologist for the russian state might reply : what about slavery ? ' ok , fair question . american presidents from abraham lincoln through george w. bush to barack obama have eloquently denounced and apologized for the crime of slavery . americans fought a horrific war to arrest and overthrow slavery , and it was the foes of slavery -- including 180,000 former slaves and free black men -- who won the war , and whose institutions continue to this day . the sochi opening ceremony did not have to address russian history . the opening ceremonies at salt lake city in 2002 and atlanta in 1996 did not offer an equivalent pageant . but had they done so and omitted slavery , yes , that would have been a scandal . sochi did worse than omit . it actively glorified the era of stalinism . what was presented at sochi was the equivalent of a german historical pageant that suggested the major events of the 1930s and 1940s were the building of the autobahn and the invention of the jet engine . it 's shocking , and we should not lose our ability to be shocked by the shocking . oblivion of the past betrays the future . because russia failed to do justice to the old communist apparatus in the 1990s , it opened itself to the recapture of the state by that same apparatus in the 2000s . gulag officials and secret policemen were not brought to book , and today , former gulag officials and former secret policemen again control the russian government -- and now also own much of russia 's wealth . vladimir putin has held continuous power since 2000 , without ever once facing a fair and open election . the russian media are less free today than they were 20 years ago . more than 300 journalists have been murdered since 1991 , including an american , paul klebnikov , the former editor of the russian edition of forbes . regional governments are controlled from the center by presidential appointment . citizens have little voice in their own affairs . prosecutions and imprisonment for political dissent have resumed and are accelerating . those who gained wealth in the yeltsin years either come to terms with the putin circle or are expropriated or imprisoned . standards of living for ordinary russians remain miserably low . no beginning has been made on cleaning the environmental disasters bequeathed by communism . old-age pensions are scanty , and health care provision miserable outside the capital . yet even as the state fails to meet these basic domestic responsibilities , it has resumed the old practice of bullying its smaller neighbors and subverting its bigger ones . the violence in ukraine divides a public that wants to align with europe from an authoritarian leadership backed by moscow . wherever you find an international bad actor , from venezuela to iran , there you find a russian ally . as authoritarian regimes so often do , russia has even taken to stigmatizing and persecuting a scapegoat minority : gays and lesbians , whose basic free speech rights have now been defined as a crime against the state . truth-telling about russia 's history wo n't suffice to redress these wrongs . but so long as the truth is denied and suppressed , the work of correction can not begin -- and russia 's future will be polluted , as russia 's present is , by the corpses of russia 's unenumerated , unmourned and unatoned past . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of david frum . | frum : ignoring soviet crimes enables putin regime to cut gains russians made in 1990s |
soviet <tsp> ( cnn ) -- nobody looks to olympic opening ceremonies for historical exactitude . yet the brutal denialism of the opening spectacle at the 2014 sochi games should anger and sadden every viewer -- and russian viewers most of all . the struggle of freedom against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting . ' so wrote the great czech novelist milan kundera . in russia , forgetting has won . these olympics opened with a pageant of russian history that excised the crimes of soviet communism . no red terror . no gulag . no ukrainian famine . no katyn . the russian state refuses to reckon with the past . after a brief and partial opening in the early 1990s , it has closed its archives to historians . the few memorials erected in the yeltsin years are already crumbling , untended and disregarded . surviving victims have received no compensation or recognition . the sorry story of this failure of conscience is well told by david satter in his aptly titled study , it was a long time ago and it never happened anyway . ' nor does russian society press its leadership to emulate the example of modern germany , where nazi crimes are acknowledged , memorialized and repented . the victims of soviet communist crimes numbered in the millions , but so too did the perpetrators and accomplices . they and their children do not wish to be confronted with the truth -- and they certainly do not wish to be held to account for it . an apologist for the russian state might reply : what about slavery ? ' ok , fair question . american presidents from abraham lincoln through george w. bush to barack obama have eloquently denounced and apologized for the crime of slavery . americans fought a horrific war to arrest and overthrow slavery , and it was the foes of slavery -- including 180,000 former slaves and free black men -- who won the war , and whose institutions continue to this day . the sochi opening ceremony did not have to address russian history . the opening ceremonies at salt lake city in 2002 and atlanta in 1996 did not offer an equivalent pageant . but had they done so and omitted slavery , yes , that would have been a scandal . sochi did worse than omit . it actively glorified the era of stalinism . what was presented at sochi was the equivalent of a german historical pageant that suggested the major events of the 1930s and 1940s were the building of the autobahn and the invention of the jet engine . it 's shocking , and we should not lose our ability to be shocked by the shocking . oblivion of the past betrays the future . because russia failed to do justice to the old communist apparatus in the 1990s , it opened itself to the recapture of the state by that same apparatus in the 2000s . gulag officials and secret policemen were not brought to book , and today , former gulag officials and former secret policemen again control the russian government -- and now also own much of russia 's wealth . vladimir putin has held continuous power since 2000 , without ever once facing a fair and open election . the russian media are less free today than they were 20 years ago . more than 300 journalists have been murdered since 1991 , including an american , paul klebnikov , the former editor of the russian edition of forbes . regional governments are controlled from the center by presidential appointment . citizens have little voice in their own affairs . prosecutions and imprisonment for political dissent have resumed and are accelerating . those who gained wealth in the yeltsin years either come to terms with the putin circle or are expropriated or imprisoned . standards of living for ordinary russians remain miserably low . no beginning has been made on cleaning the environmental disasters bequeathed by communism . old-age pensions are scanty , and health care provision miserable outside the capital . yet even as the state fails to meet these basic domestic responsibilities , it has resumed the old practice of bullying its smaller neighbors and subverting its bigger ones . the violence in ukraine divides a public that wants to align with europe from an authoritarian leadership backed by moscow . wherever you find an international bad actor , from venezuela to iran , there you find a russian ally . as authoritarian regimes so often do , russia has even taken to stigmatizing and persecuting a scapegoat minority : gays and lesbians , whose basic free speech rights have now been defined as a crime against the state . truth-telling about russia 's history wo n't suffice to redress these wrongs . but so long as the truth is denied and suppressed , the work of correction can not begin -- and russia 's future will be polluted , as russia 's present is , by the corpses of russia 's unenumerated , unmourned and unatoned past . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of david frum . | he says by leaving out soviet era brutality , russia glided over a central part of its story |
anderson cooper <tsp> ( cnn ) korea 's buddae-jjigae -- or army stew ' as it 's often called -- dates back to the scarce years of the korean war when local cooks had to get inventive with u.s. army rations . while jiigae can refer to any variety of stews , this particular version just happens to feature a variety of canned , precooked meat , most notably spam in all its glazed and gelatinous glory . it 's , in fact , a classic example of necessity being the mother of deliciousness , ' anthony bourdain says of the dish during the premiere episode of parts unknown ' on sunday , april 26 , at 9 p.m. et/pt . the host of cnn 's parts unknown ' recently stopped by anderson cooper 's kitchen to cook up the spicy and funky stew , and talk about his 24 intoxicating hours in the country 's capital of seoul . so , it 's probably a good thing budda-jiigae is also a storied hangover cure . budae-jjigae ( serves 2-4 ) courtesy of choi ji-hwang ingredients : 1 12-oz can of spam , cut into ½-inch slices 1½ cups tong baechu kimchi , or traditional fermented cabbage ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 8 oz . sliced korean rice cakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 1 white onion , thinly sliced 2 spring onions , thinly sliced 5 garlic cloves , crushed 3 hot dogs , thinly sliced 8 oz . ground pork 3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons gochujang , or hot pepper paste ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons gochukaru , or hot pepper flakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons cheongju , or a clear rice wine similar to sake 3 cups anchovy kelp broth ( recipe below ) 3 tablespoons baked beans 1½ cups water 1 package ramen noodles ( just the noodles ) for the anchovy kelp broth : 1 dried shiitake mushroom 4 large dried anchovies , heads and guts removed , wrapped in cheesecloth 1 5x3 ' sheet of dried , edible kelp or kombu ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 4 cups water ½ teaspoon salt cooking instructions : 1 . place the ingredients for the anchovy broth in a pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the flavors are fully infused . strain and set aside . 2 . place the spam , kimchi , rice cakes , onions , garlic , hot dogs and ground pork in small separate piles in the bottom of a shallow pot . 3 . add the soy , gochujang , gochukaru and cheongju to the pot and slowly pour the anchovy kelp broth in . put the baked beans on top and add the water . place pot over high heat and bring contents to a steady simmer . 4 . cook for 5-10 minutes , then add the ramen noodles . ladle broth over the noodles to help them break apart . continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles are just about cooked through , but definitely still chewy . serve with steamed rice or enjoy on its own . | anthony bourdain teaches anderson cooper a korean recipe |
korean <tsp> ( cnn ) korea 's buddae-jjigae -- or army stew ' as it 's often called -- dates back to the scarce years of the korean war when local cooks had to get inventive with u.s. army rations . while jiigae can refer to any variety of stews , this particular version just happens to feature a variety of canned , precooked meat , most notably spam in all its glazed and gelatinous glory . it 's , in fact , a classic example of necessity being the mother of deliciousness , ' anthony bourdain says of the dish during the premiere episode of parts unknown ' on sunday , april 26 , at 9 p.m. et/pt . the host of cnn 's parts unknown ' recently stopped by anderson cooper 's kitchen to cook up the spicy and funky stew , and talk about his 24 intoxicating hours in the country 's capital of seoul . so , it 's probably a good thing budda-jiigae is also a storied hangover cure . budae-jjigae ( serves 2-4 ) courtesy of choi ji-hwang ingredients : 1 12-oz can of spam , cut into ½-inch slices 1½ cups tong baechu kimchi , or traditional fermented cabbage ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 8 oz . sliced korean rice cakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 1 white onion , thinly sliced 2 spring onions , thinly sliced 5 garlic cloves , crushed 3 hot dogs , thinly sliced 8 oz . ground pork 3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons gochujang , or hot pepper paste ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons gochukaru , or hot pepper flakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons cheongju , or a clear rice wine similar to sake 3 cups anchovy kelp broth ( recipe below ) 3 tablespoons baked beans 1½ cups water 1 package ramen noodles ( just the noodles ) for the anchovy kelp broth : 1 dried shiitake mushroom 4 large dried anchovies , heads and guts removed , wrapped in cheesecloth 1 5x3 ' sheet of dried , edible kelp or kombu ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 4 cups water ½ teaspoon salt cooking instructions : 1 . place the ingredients for the anchovy broth in a pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the flavors are fully infused . strain and set aside . 2 . place the spam , kimchi , rice cakes , onions , garlic , hot dogs and ground pork in small separate piles in the bottom of a shallow pot . 3 . add the soy , gochujang , gochukaru and cheongju to the pot and slowly pour the anchovy kelp broth in . put the baked beans on top and add the water . place pot over high heat and bring contents to a steady simmer . 4 . cook for 5-10 minutes , then add the ramen noodles . ladle broth over the noodles to help them break apart . continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles are just about cooked through , but definitely still chewy . serve with steamed rice or enjoy on its own . | anthony bourdain teaches anderson cooper a korean recipe |
anthony bourdain <tsp> ( cnn ) korea 's buddae-jjigae -- or army stew ' as it 's often called -- dates back to the scarce years of the korean war when local cooks had to get inventive with u.s. army rations . while jiigae can refer to any variety of stews , this particular version just happens to feature a variety of canned , precooked meat , most notably spam in all its glazed and gelatinous glory . it 's , in fact , a classic example of necessity being the mother of deliciousness , ' anthony bourdain says of the dish during the premiere episode of parts unknown ' on sunday , april 26 , at 9 p.m. et/pt . the host of cnn 's parts unknown ' recently stopped by anderson cooper 's kitchen to cook up the spicy and funky stew , and talk about his 24 intoxicating hours in the country 's capital of seoul . so , it 's probably a good thing budda-jiigae is also a storied hangover cure . budae-jjigae ( serves 2-4 ) courtesy of choi ji-hwang ingredients : 1 12-oz can of spam , cut into ½-inch slices 1½ cups tong baechu kimchi , or traditional fermented cabbage ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 8 oz . sliced korean rice cakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 1 white onion , thinly sliced 2 spring onions , thinly sliced 5 garlic cloves , crushed 3 hot dogs , thinly sliced 8 oz . ground pork 3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons gochujang , or hot pepper paste ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons gochukaru , or hot pepper flakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons cheongju , or a clear rice wine similar to sake 3 cups anchovy kelp broth ( recipe below ) 3 tablespoons baked beans 1½ cups water 1 package ramen noodles ( just the noodles ) for the anchovy kelp broth : 1 dried shiitake mushroom 4 large dried anchovies , heads and guts removed , wrapped in cheesecloth 1 5x3 ' sheet of dried , edible kelp or kombu ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 4 cups water ½ teaspoon salt cooking instructions : 1 . place the ingredients for the anchovy broth in a pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the flavors are fully infused . strain and set aside . 2 . place the spam , kimchi , rice cakes , onions , garlic , hot dogs and ground pork in small separate piles in the bottom of a shallow pot . 3 . add the soy , gochujang , gochukaru and cheongju to the pot and slowly pour the anchovy kelp broth in . put the baked beans on top and add the water . place pot over high heat and bring contents to a steady simmer . 4 . cook for 5-10 minutes , then add the ramen noodles . ladle broth over the noodles to help them break apart . continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles are just about cooked through , but definitely still chewy . serve with steamed rice or enjoy on its own . | anthony bourdain teaches anderson cooper a korean recipe |
spam <tsp> ( cnn ) korea 's buddae-jjigae -- or army stew ' as it 's often called -- dates back to the scarce years of the korean war when local cooks had to get inventive with u.s. army rations . while jiigae can refer to any variety of stews , this particular version just happens to feature a variety of canned , precooked meat , most notably spam in all its glazed and gelatinous glory . it 's , in fact , a classic example of necessity being the mother of deliciousness , ' anthony bourdain says of the dish during the premiere episode of parts unknown ' on sunday , april 26 , at 9 p.m. et/pt . the host of cnn 's parts unknown ' recently stopped by anderson cooper 's kitchen to cook up the spicy and funky stew , and talk about his 24 intoxicating hours in the country 's capital of seoul . so , it 's probably a good thing budda-jiigae is also a storied hangover cure . budae-jjigae ( serves 2-4 ) courtesy of choi ji-hwang ingredients : 1 12-oz can of spam , cut into ½-inch slices 1½ cups tong baechu kimchi , or traditional fermented cabbage ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 8 oz . sliced korean rice cakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 1 white onion , thinly sliced 2 spring onions , thinly sliced 5 garlic cloves , crushed 3 hot dogs , thinly sliced 8 oz . ground pork 3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons gochujang , or hot pepper paste ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons gochukaru , or hot pepper flakes ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 3 tablespoons cheongju , or a clear rice wine similar to sake 3 cups anchovy kelp broth ( recipe below ) 3 tablespoons baked beans 1½ cups water 1 package ramen noodles ( just the noodles ) for the anchovy kelp broth : 1 dried shiitake mushroom 4 large dried anchovies , heads and guts removed , wrapped in cheesecloth 1 5x3 ' sheet of dried , edible kelp or kombu ( can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or korean specialty store ) 4 cups water ½ teaspoon salt cooking instructions : 1 . place the ingredients for the anchovy broth in a pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the flavors are fully infused . strain and set aside . 2 . place the spam , kimchi , rice cakes , onions , garlic , hot dogs and ground pork in small separate piles in the bottom of a shallow pot . 3 . add the soy , gochujang , gochukaru and cheongju to the pot and slowly pour the anchovy kelp broth in . put the baked beans on top and add the water . place pot over high heat and bring contents to a steady simmer . 4 . cook for 5-10 minutes , then add the ramen noodles . ladle broth over the noodles to help them break apart . continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles are just about cooked through , but definitely still chewy . serve with steamed rice or enjoy on its own . | budae-jiigae is a stew made with all sorts of canned meat , including spam |
sanderson <tsp> ( cnn ) -- juice -- a basic staple of any hotel stay , right ? out on the breakfast buffet , with oj leading the way and perhaps a choice of grapefruit , apple or tomato for the daring few who may feel like deviating from the mainstream . well , think again . juice -- freshly-squeezed from an arcane assortment of veggies as well as fruit , and in more combinations than you can imagine , has become a unique selling point at several hotels this year . these are places that believe juice is not just for breakfast , but at the center of wellness or detox programs they say jaded travelers are crying out for . business as well as leisure guests are buying big into our juice offerings , ' says mina gough , spa director of the standard , miami , which has done so well with a new juice and wellness program , other hotels in the group are preparing to follow suit . there 's been a real buzz in the group about how so many different categories of guests have embraced the chance to detox with fresh juice , ' she says . business travelers may not be able to devote themselves to the full wellness program , with scrubs and massages , but they 'll still do juice for breakfast and lunch , then go out for a regular business dinner . they like the way it makes them feel so much , many finish their stay with a full-day juice detox . ' these are not any old juices -- for morning , the standard is currently blending cantaloupe and ginger into its freshly-squeezed oj -- the ginger works as an anti-inflammatory -- and proposing a pint of tomato-carrot-red pepper-cucumber-fennel and lime juice midmorning to improve digestive health . it gets a little out there by evening , when a pint of green juice pressed from kale , collard greens , romaine , cucumber and green apple is proposed as a meal replacement designed to detox the blood . working in the hotel ? room service is ready to deliver coconut water to sip throughout the day . a less likely venue than a miami beach spa for a detox program is a big city hotel . but the intercontinental on london 's park lane is introducing just that , under the direction of thandie newton 's naturopath , elizabeth peyton-jones . it will give all the tools and support needed to begin a new lifestyle , including a pre-stay fridge analysis , a two-week detox and a follow-up motivation call , ' says hotel spokesperson patty kahn . we know many guests are looking for ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle while traveling , ' she adds , noting that the hotel will also create juices to guests'own specifications , even if they 're not registered for the detox experience , which must be booked ahead . no advance warning , however , is needed for delivery of an antioxidant revival drink ( apple , raspberry and blackberry juice ) , a vitamin c blast ( orange , mango and pineapple ) , an apple-ginger-cucumber booster and similar health drinks . all are available at every bar and restaurant in the hotel or 24/7 via room service . another london hotel embracing juice in a big way is the uber-cool sanderson , whose long bar has a sin-free ' section where mixologists create health drinks . choices include the cellulite reduction cocktail ( pink grapefruit , orange , dandelion , burdock , lemon and pineapple juice ) and the jetlag rescue smoothie in which scary-sounding stabilized oxygen ' is added to orange juice with hemp seeds and vitamin c powder . in the agua spa , guests can find more exotic drinks like goji berries from the high tibetan plateau , blended with seaberry , pomegranate or lychee juice . guests can also create their own smoothies at the sanderson , indicating that juicing may become an activity in its own right rather than merely a means to an end . at the four seasons biltmore in santa barbara , california , guests can create their own combinations from an assortment of fruit and veg including kale , beets , parsley , ginger and celery at the fins organic juice bar . and the travaasa experiential ' resort is offering an actual class in pressing fresh juice at both its austin , texas and maui properties -- yes , it 's called juicing 2.0 . and it 's also not just for breakfast -- guests learn to convert what they 've pressed into soups , dips , spreads , desserts and salsas as well as mere healthy juices . other places to get stuck seriously into the fresh stuff include : lasource , grenada this luxury , all-inclusive spa resort puts fresh juice at the center of its holistic offerings , allowing lots of experimentation at no extra cost . the cafe-deli features such unusual combinations as the high c ( celery stalks , carrot , parsley and asparagus ) to prevent arthritis and lower blood pressure , the anti-oxidant abc trio ( apple , beet and carrot ) and the power ball high-protein drink involving fresh papaya juice and - er - peanut butter . it contains soy isoflavones which some say help reduce bad cholesterol , regulate glucose levels and improve kidney filtration . missoni , kuwait creative director rosita missoni has created juice pairings for food in the restaurants and bars of the fashion brand 's first resort , as well as a range of stylish mocktails . ' guests can opt for a heavenly orchard , ' featuring , apple , pear , quince and citrus juices blended with locally-grown cinnamon . they can get a blackberry julep in which the berries are pressed with plenty of fresh mint , then hit with fresh lime juice and a shot of sparkling water . destinations where you do n't need a fancy hotel to get superb freshly-squeezed juice include : bali -- juice stands abound , pressing everything from bananas ( much juicier than starchy western varieties ) to avocados , with all the other usual fruit and veggie suspects . your hotel will offer them too . israel -- residents love fresh carrot juice even more than their freshly squeezed oj , and often combine them half and half . look for juice stands everywhere in tel aviv and jerusalem , and expect to find fresh carrot juice on the breakfast buffet alongside a wide variety of other juices . morocco -- freshly squeezed oj is a birthright in this country , and in marrakech you 'll find at least 20 stands competing for your business on the main square , the dja el fnaa . since it costs less than 35 cents a glass , you can try all the vendors to find your favorite before your stay is out , but you may want to bring your own glass for hygiene reasons . on a scale of 1 to 10 , how do you feel about healthy options at hotels ? what are your favorite offerings ? | try a cellulite reduction drink or a jetlag rescue smoothie at london 's sanderson |
boston <tsp> ( cnn ) -- an american airlines plane made an emergency landing tuesday night in orlando after the crew noticed a crack in the cockpit windshield . american airlines flight 160 , with 150 passengers and six crew members , took off from miami and was headed to boston , said airline spokeswoman andrea huguely . the boeing 757 had reached cruising altitude when the crew noticed a crack on the exterior window of the double-paned cockpit windshield , huguely said . the size of the crack , or the cause , was not immediately known . the pilot declared an emergency , and the plane landed in orlando . emergency landing after part of plane flies off southwest plane returns to nashville after striking birds plane blows engine , loses power cnn 's chuck johnston contributed to this report . | the flight was headed to boston |
quetta <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- pakistani police have revised the cause of a blast that killed 83 people on saturday , saying a suicide bomber was behind the attack that pulverized a busy marketplace . the explosion targeted shiite muslims in hazara , on the outskirts of the southwestern city of quetta , authorities said . police now say a suicide bomber , driving an explosive-laden water tanker , rammed the vehicle into buildings at the crowded marketplace . the water tanker carried between 800 and 1,000 kilograms ( 1,760 to 2,200 pounds ) of explosive material , quetta police official wazir khan nasir said . previously , police said explosives were packed in a parked water tanker and were remotely detonated . the blast demolished four buildings of the marketplace , leaving dozens dead and 180 injured . the banned sunni militant group lashkar-e-jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack , spokesman abu bakar sadeeq told cnn sunday . the assault left some wondering what could stop the bloodshed in quetta . zulfiqar ali magsi , the governor and chief executive of balochistan province , told reporters saturday that law enforcement agencies were incapable of stopping such attacks and had failed to maintain law and order in quetta . pakistan , which is overwhelmingly sunni , has been plagued by sectarian strife and attacks for years . last month , two deadly suicide bombings in a predominantly shiite neighborhood of quetta known as alamdar road killed 85 shiite muslims . police described that double bombing as one of the worst attacks on the shiite minority . lashkar-e-jhangvi also claimed responsibility for that dual attack . according to its interpretation of islam , lashkar-e-jhangvi believes that shiites are not muslims . the group believes shiites insult close companions of muslim 's prophet muhammad . therefore , the militant group believes killing shiites is a justified in islam . families of victims from alamdar road protested for several days by laying their relatives'bodies on a road in quetta until the federal government dissolved the provincial government and imposed governor rule . although balochistan is the largest pakistani province in pakistan , analysts and some locals have criticized the federal government for neglecting it , leading to instability . the shiite community has repeatedly asked for more protection but to no avail . during the alamdar road protest , pakistani prime minister raja pervez ashraf met with shiites in quetta , pakistani media reported . he agreed to toss out the provincial government and putting a governor in charge . all administrative powers of the provincial government were given to the governor , who deployed paramilitary forces to maintain law and order in quetta . nasir habib reported from islamabad , and holly yan reported from atlanta . cnn 's shaan khan in islamabad also contributed to this report . | at least 83 people are killed and 180 wounded near quetta , police say |
lashkar-e-jhangvi <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- pakistani police have revised the cause of a blast that killed 83 people on saturday , saying a suicide bomber was behind the attack that pulverized a busy marketplace . the explosion targeted shiite muslims in hazara , on the outskirts of the southwestern city of quetta , authorities said . police now say a suicide bomber , driving an explosive-laden water tanker , rammed the vehicle into buildings at the crowded marketplace . the water tanker carried between 800 and 1,000 kilograms ( 1,760 to 2,200 pounds ) of explosive material , quetta police official wazir khan nasir said . previously , police said explosives were packed in a parked water tanker and were remotely detonated . the blast demolished four buildings of the marketplace , leaving dozens dead and 180 injured . the banned sunni militant group lashkar-e-jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack , spokesman abu bakar sadeeq told cnn sunday . the assault left some wondering what could stop the bloodshed in quetta . zulfiqar ali magsi , the governor and chief executive of balochistan province , told reporters saturday that law enforcement agencies were incapable of stopping such attacks and had failed to maintain law and order in quetta . pakistan , which is overwhelmingly sunni , has been plagued by sectarian strife and attacks for years . last month , two deadly suicide bombings in a predominantly shiite neighborhood of quetta known as alamdar road killed 85 shiite muslims . police described that double bombing as one of the worst attacks on the shiite minority . lashkar-e-jhangvi also claimed responsibility for that dual attack . according to its interpretation of islam , lashkar-e-jhangvi believes that shiites are not muslims . the group believes shiites insult close companions of muslim 's prophet muhammad . therefore , the militant group believes killing shiites is a justified in islam . families of victims from alamdar road protested for several days by laying their relatives'bodies on a road in quetta until the federal government dissolved the provincial government and imposed governor rule . although balochistan is the largest pakistani province in pakistan , analysts and some locals have criticized the federal government for neglecting it , leading to instability . the shiite community has repeatedly asked for more protection but to no avail . during the alamdar road protest , pakistani prime minister raja pervez ashraf met with shiites in quetta , pakistani media reported . he agreed to toss out the provincial government and putting a governor in charge . all administrative powers of the provincial government were given to the governor , who deployed paramilitary forces to maintain law and order in quetta . nasir habib reported from islamabad , and holly yan reported from atlanta . cnn 's shaan khan in islamabad also contributed to this report . | new : the banned sunni militant group lashkar-e-jhangvi claims responsibility |
dunwoody <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- america 's first female four-star general has been nominated , the pentagon announced monday . lt. gen. ann e. dunwoody was nominated to be america 's first four-star female general . president bush nominated lt. gen. ann e. dunwoody to serve as head of the army 's supply arm . by law women are excluded from combat jobs , the typical path to four-star rank in the military . this is an historic occasion for the department of defense and i am proud to nominate lt. gen. ann dunwoody for a fourth star , ' said defense secretary robert gates . her 33 years of service , highlighted by extraordinary leadership and devotion to duty , make her exceptionally qualified for this senior position . ' the senate must approve the nomination . dunwoody , a native of new york , was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1975 after her graduation from the state university of new york in cortland . she also holds graduate degrees in national resource strategy and logistics management . she became the army 's top-ranking woman in 2005 when she received her third star and became deputy chief of staff for army logistics . i am very honored but also very humbled today with this announcement , ' said dunwoody . i grew up in a family that did n't know what glass ceilings were . this nomination only reaffirms what i have known to be true about the military throughout my career ... that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform . ' the army materiel command handles all material readiness for the army . during her career , dunwoody has been assigned to the 82nd airborne division , 10th mountain division and the defense logistics agency . she served with the 82nd airborne in saudi arabia during the 1991 persian gulf war . she has been awarded the distinguished service medal , defense superior service medal , the legion of merit , the meritorious service medal , the army commendation medal , the army achievement medal , master parachutist badge and the army staff identification badge . the first woman to become a general officer in the u.s. armed services was brig . gen. anna mae hays , chief of the army nurse corps , who achieved the rank in 1970 and retired the following year . elizabeth hoisington , the director of the women 's army corps , was promoted to brigadier general immediately after hays . she also retired the following year . maj. gen. jeanne m. holm , the first director of women in the air force , was the first woman to wear two stars , attaining the rank in 1973 and retiring two years later . in 1996 , marine lt. gen. carol a . mutter became the first woman to wear three stars . mutter retired in 1999 . currently , there are 57 active-duty women serving as generals or admirals , five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals , the navy 's three-star rank , according to the pentagon . | dunwoody has served 33 years , and became army 's top-ranking woman in 2005 |
dunwoody <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- america 's first female four-star general has been nominated , the pentagon announced monday . lt. gen. ann e. dunwoody was nominated to be america 's first four-star female general . president bush nominated lt. gen. ann e. dunwoody to serve as head of the army 's supply arm . by law women are excluded from combat jobs , the typical path to four-star rank in the military . this is an historic occasion for the department of defense and i am proud to nominate lt. gen. ann dunwoody for a fourth star , ' said defense secretary robert gates . her 33 years of service , highlighted by extraordinary leadership and devotion to duty , make her exceptionally qualified for this senior position . ' the senate must approve the nomination . dunwoody , a native of new york , was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1975 after her graduation from the state university of new york in cortland . she also holds graduate degrees in national resource strategy and logistics management . she became the army 's top-ranking woman in 2005 when she received her third star and became deputy chief of staff for army logistics . i am very honored but also very humbled today with this announcement , ' said dunwoody . i grew up in a family that did n't know what glass ceilings were . this nomination only reaffirms what i have known to be true about the military throughout my career ... that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform . ' the army materiel command handles all material readiness for the army . during her career , dunwoody has been assigned to the 82nd airborne division , 10th mountain division and the defense logistics agency . she served with the 82nd airborne in saudi arabia during the 1991 persian gulf war . she has been awarded the distinguished service medal , defense superior service medal , the legion of merit , the meritorious service medal , the army commendation medal , the army achievement medal , master parachutist badge and the army staff identification badge . the first woman to become a general officer in the u.s. armed services was brig . gen. anna mae hays , chief of the army nurse corps , who achieved the rank in 1970 and retired the following year . elizabeth hoisington , the director of the women 's army corps , was promoted to brigadier general immediately after hays . she also retired the following year . maj. gen. jeanne m. holm , the first director of women in the air force , was the first woman to wear two stars , attaining the rank in 1973 and retiring two years later . in 1996 , marine lt. gen. carol a . mutter became the first woman to wear three stars . mutter retired in 1999 . currently , there are 57 active-duty women serving as generals or admirals , five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals , the navy 's three-star rank , according to the pentagon . | bush nominated lt. gen. ann e. dunwoody to be head of army 's supply arm |
daraya <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a day after more than 440 bodies were recovered -- the highest single-day death toll to date in the nation 's civil war -- at least 160 more people were found dead in syria on sunday . here are some of the latest key developments in the country 's 17-month crisis . on the ground : daraya becomes a horror story on sunday , 62 people were killed in damascus and its suburbs , the opposition local coordination committees of syria said . the lcc said 21 people , including an entire family , were found dead in the damascus suburb of daraya . it said 48 people were killed sunday in daraa , the town south of damascus near the jordanian border where syria 's uprising began . cnn spoke by skype to an activist named osama , who said the army was executing families in their homes in daraya and stealing some possessions . he said shelling began last monday and the military closed all the ways in and out , but he kept in contact with people inside daraya through the internet . he was told the army moved into the neighborhood on friday and began sweeping through buildings where families were taking cover . at least 50 bodies were found in one apartment basement , he reported . saturday 's death toll included more than 200 bodies found in daraya , but it was unclear when those victims were killed . one death consumes syrian family 's life cnn can not independently verify reports of death tolls , as the syrian regime has severely limited access by international journalists . it 's not surprising that daraya came under attack , opposition activist rafif jouejati said . daraya is being targeted because it is the closest to the capital , and it is one of the first cities that revolted against the assad regime and was the spearhead of the peaceful demonstrations in the beginning of the revolution , ' said jouejati , a spokeswoman for the lcc . i believe the regime thinks that the only way to end the revolution is ( to ) kill , kill , kill . deep down , they know they are failing , but they want to destroy as much as possible before it is over . ' but the syrian government had a different take on the situation in daraya : ' the armed forces cleared the town of daraya in damascus countryside from terrorists ... eliminating a large number of them , ' the state-run syrian arab news agency reported . inside damascus : vp surfaces new video shows syrian vice president farouq al-sharaa in damascus holding an official meeting in the capital , despite reports this month that he had defected . the video , distributed by reuters , showed al-sharaa meeting with a top iranian official , alaeddin boroujerdi , who according to syrian state media arrived in damascus on saturday . iran 's state-run press tv also reported that al-sharaa had met with an iranian official amid anti-assad tv 's defection rumors . ' more than a week ago , a spokesman for the rebel free syrian army said al-sharaa had fled the regime . syrian state-run tv , at the time , did not explicitly say whether al-sharaa had defected , but reported that the vice president 's office issued a statement saying al-sharaa has never at any moment thought of leaving the homeland to whatever direction . ' had al-sharaa defected , it would have marked the highest-level departure from president bashar al-assad 's regime yet . a stream of syrian officials resigned from the regime in recent weeks , including republican guard brig . gen. manaf tlas and prime minister riyad hijab . like al-sharaa , the men are sunnis who held top posts in a government dominated by the country 's alawite minority . will syria 's first lady take a stand or stand by her man ? observers view al-sharaa 's power and influence as more significant than the prime minister , who only served in the post for weeks . al-sharaa has more clout as a long-time prominent , loyal member of the regime 's old guard . he served as foreign minister under al-assad and his late father , hafez , for more than 20 years and has been vice president since 2006 . the region : turkey denies sending aid to rebels , slams the syrian government turkish foreign minister ahmet davutoglu rejected claims that his country was shipping weapons to syrian rebels in their quest to oust al-assad , the anadolu news agency reported saturday . these are the arguments which authoritarian regimes had always used to conceal their internal problems , ' davutoglu told the ntv news channel , according to anadolu . davutoglu added , no regime fighting its own people can survive long . ( the al-assad regime ) has months , and maybe even weeks -- not years . ' syria 's neighbors : what 's at stake ? syria explained : what you need to know cnn 's yousif basil and saad abedine contributed to this report . | 440 people were reported dead saturday , including more than 200 bodies found in daraya |
daraya <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a day after more than 440 bodies were recovered -- the highest single-day death toll to date in the nation 's civil war -- at least 160 more people were found dead in syria on sunday . here are some of the latest key developments in the country 's 17-month crisis . on the ground : daraya becomes a horror story on sunday , 62 people were killed in damascus and its suburbs , the opposition local coordination committees of syria said . the lcc said 21 people , including an entire family , were found dead in the damascus suburb of daraya . it said 48 people were killed sunday in daraa , the town south of damascus near the jordanian border where syria 's uprising began . cnn spoke by skype to an activist named osama , who said the army was executing families in their homes in daraya and stealing some possessions . he said shelling began last monday and the military closed all the ways in and out , but he kept in contact with people inside daraya through the internet . he was told the army moved into the neighborhood on friday and began sweeping through buildings where families were taking cover . at least 50 bodies were found in one apartment basement , he reported . saturday 's death toll included more than 200 bodies found in daraya , but it was unclear when those victims were killed . one death consumes syrian family 's life cnn can not independently verify reports of death tolls , as the syrian regime has severely limited access by international journalists . it 's not surprising that daraya came under attack , opposition activist rafif jouejati said . daraya is being targeted because it is the closest to the capital , and it is one of the first cities that revolted against the assad regime and was the spearhead of the peaceful demonstrations in the beginning of the revolution , ' said jouejati , a spokeswoman for the lcc . i believe the regime thinks that the only way to end the revolution is ( to ) kill , kill , kill . deep down , they know they are failing , but they want to destroy as much as possible before it is over . ' but the syrian government had a different take on the situation in daraya : ' the armed forces cleared the town of daraya in damascus countryside from terrorists ... eliminating a large number of them , ' the state-run syrian arab news agency reported . inside damascus : vp surfaces new video shows syrian vice president farouq al-sharaa in damascus holding an official meeting in the capital , despite reports this month that he had defected . the video , distributed by reuters , showed al-sharaa meeting with a top iranian official , alaeddin boroujerdi , who according to syrian state media arrived in damascus on saturday . iran 's state-run press tv also reported that al-sharaa had met with an iranian official amid anti-assad tv 's defection rumors . ' more than a week ago , a spokesman for the rebel free syrian army said al-sharaa had fled the regime . syrian state-run tv , at the time , did not explicitly say whether al-sharaa had defected , but reported that the vice president 's office issued a statement saying al-sharaa has never at any moment thought of leaving the homeland to whatever direction . ' had al-sharaa defected , it would have marked the highest-level departure from president bashar al-assad 's regime yet . a stream of syrian officials resigned from the regime in recent weeks , including republican guard brig . gen. manaf tlas and prime minister riyad hijab . like al-sharaa , the men are sunnis who held top posts in a government dominated by the country 's alawite minority . will syria 's first lady take a stand or stand by her man ? observers view al-sharaa 's power and influence as more significant than the prime minister , who only served in the post for weeks . al-sharaa has more clout as a long-time prominent , loyal member of the regime 's old guard . he served as foreign minister under al-assad and his late father , hafez , for more than 20 years and has been vice president since 2006 . the region : turkey denies sending aid to rebels , slams the syrian government turkish foreign minister ahmet davutoglu rejected claims that his country was shipping weapons to syrian rebels in their quest to oust al-assad , the anadolu news agency reported saturday . these are the arguments which authoritarian regimes had always used to conceal their internal problems , ' davutoglu told the ntv news channel , according to anadolu . davutoglu added , no regime fighting its own people can survive long . ( the al-assad regime ) has months , and maybe even weeks -- not years . ' syria 's neighbors : what 's at stake ? syria explained : what you need to know cnn 's yousif basil and saad abedine contributed to this report . | an opposition activist says daraya is under fire because it revolted against the regime |
damascus <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a day after more than 440 bodies were recovered -- the highest single-day death toll to date in the nation 's civil war -- at least 160 more people were found dead in syria on sunday . here are some of the latest key developments in the country 's 17-month crisis . on the ground : daraya becomes a horror story on sunday , 62 people were killed in damascus and its suburbs , the opposition local coordination committees of syria said . the lcc said 21 people , including an entire family , were found dead in the damascus suburb of daraya . it said 48 people were killed sunday in daraa , the town south of damascus near the jordanian border where syria 's uprising began . cnn spoke by skype to an activist named osama , who said the army was executing families in their homes in daraya and stealing some possessions . he said shelling began last monday and the military closed all the ways in and out , but he kept in contact with people inside daraya through the internet . he was told the army moved into the neighborhood on friday and began sweeping through buildings where families were taking cover . at least 50 bodies were found in one apartment basement , he reported . saturday 's death toll included more than 200 bodies found in daraya , but it was unclear when those victims were killed . one death consumes syrian family 's life cnn can not independently verify reports of death tolls , as the syrian regime has severely limited access by international journalists . it 's not surprising that daraya came under attack , opposition activist rafif jouejati said . daraya is being targeted because it is the closest to the capital , and it is one of the first cities that revolted against the assad regime and was the spearhead of the peaceful demonstrations in the beginning of the revolution , ' said jouejati , a spokeswoman for the lcc . i believe the regime thinks that the only way to end the revolution is ( to ) kill , kill , kill . deep down , they know they are failing , but they want to destroy as much as possible before it is over . ' but the syrian government had a different take on the situation in daraya : ' the armed forces cleared the town of daraya in damascus countryside from terrorists ... eliminating a large number of them , ' the state-run syrian arab news agency reported . inside damascus : vp surfaces new video shows syrian vice president farouq al-sharaa in damascus holding an official meeting in the capital , despite reports this month that he had defected . the video , distributed by reuters , showed al-sharaa meeting with a top iranian official , alaeddin boroujerdi , who according to syrian state media arrived in damascus on saturday . iran 's state-run press tv also reported that al-sharaa had met with an iranian official amid anti-assad tv 's defection rumors . ' more than a week ago , a spokesman for the rebel free syrian army said al-sharaa had fled the regime . syrian state-run tv , at the time , did not explicitly say whether al-sharaa had defected , but reported that the vice president 's office issued a statement saying al-sharaa has never at any moment thought of leaving the homeland to whatever direction . ' had al-sharaa defected , it would have marked the highest-level departure from president bashar al-assad 's regime yet . a stream of syrian officials resigned from the regime in recent weeks , including republican guard brig . gen. manaf tlas and prime minister riyad hijab . like al-sharaa , the men are sunnis who held top posts in a government dominated by the country 's alawite minority . will syria 's first lady take a stand or stand by her man ? observers view al-sharaa 's power and influence as more significant than the prime minister , who only served in the post for weeks . al-sharaa has more clout as a long-time prominent , loyal member of the regime 's old guard . he served as foreign minister under al-assad and his late father , hafez , for more than 20 years and has been vice president since 2006 . the region : turkey denies sending aid to rebels , slams the syrian government turkish foreign minister ahmet davutoglu rejected claims that his country was shipping weapons to syrian rebels in their quest to oust al-assad , the anadolu news agency reported saturday . these are the arguments which authoritarian regimes had always used to conceal their internal problems , ' davutoglu told the ntv news channel , according to anadolu . davutoglu added , no regime fighting its own people can survive long . ( the al-assad regime ) has months , and maybe even weeks -- not years . ' syria 's neighbors : what 's at stake ? syria explained : what you need to know cnn 's yousif basil and saad abedine contributed to this report . | new : activists report 62 killed in damascus and its suburbs , including an entire family |
damascus <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a day after more than 440 bodies were recovered -- the highest single-day death toll to date in the nation 's civil war -- at least 160 more people were found dead in syria on sunday . here are some of the latest key developments in the country 's 17-month crisis . on the ground : daraya becomes a horror story on sunday , 62 people were killed in damascus and its suburbs , the opposition local coordination committees of syria said . the lcc said 21 people , including an entire family , were found dead in the damascus suburb of daraya . it said 48 people were killed sunday in daraa , the town south of damascus near the jordanian border where syria 's uprising began . cnn spoke by skype to an activist named osama , who said the army was executing families in their homes in daraya and stealing some possessions . he said shelling began last monday and the military closed all the ways in and out , but he kept in contact with people inside daraya through the internet . he was told the army moved into the neighborhood on friday and began sweeping through buildings where families were taking cover . at least 50 bodies were found in one apartment basement , he reported . saturday 's death toll included more than 200 bodies found in daraya , but it was unclear when those victims were killed . one death consumes syrian family 's life cnn can not independently verify reports of death tolls , as the syrian regime has severely limited access by international journalists . it 's not surprising that daraya came under attack , opposition activist rafif jouejati said . daraya is being targeted because it is the closest to the capital , and it is one of the first cities that revolted against the assad regime and was the spearhead of the peaceful demonstrations in the beginning of the revolution , ' said jouejati , a spokeswoman for the lcc . i believe the regime thinks that the only way to end the revolution is ( to ) kill , kill , kill . deep down , they know they are failing , but they want to destroy as much as possible before it is over . ' but the syrian government had a different take on the situation in daraya : ' the armed forces cleared the town of daraya in damascus countryside from terrorists ... eliminating a large number of them , ' the state-run syrian arab news agency reported . inside damascus : vp surfaces new video shows syrian vice president farouq al-sharaa in damascus holding an official meeting in the capital , despite reports this month that he had defected . the video , distributed by reuters , showed al-sharaa meeting with a top iranian official , alaeddin boroujerdi , who according to syrian state media arrived in damascus on saturday . iran 's state-run press tv also reported that al-sharaa had met with an iranian official amid anti-assad tv 's defection rumors . ' more than a week ago , a spokesman for the rebel free syrian army said al-sharaa had fled the regime . syrian state-run tv , at the time , did not explicitly say whether al-sharaa had defected , but reported that the vice president 's office issued a statement saying al-sharaa has never at any moment thought of leaving the homeland to whatever direction . ' had al-sharaa defected , it would have marked the highest-level departure from president bashar al-assad 's regime yet . a stream of syrian officials resigned from the regime in recent weeks , including republican guard brig . gen. manaf tlas and prime minister riyad hijab . like al-sharaa , the men are sunnis who held top posts in a government dominated by the country 's alawite minority . will syria 's first lady take a stand or stand by her man ? observers view al-sharaa 's power and influence as more significant than the prime minister , who only served in the post for weeks . al-sharaa has more clout as a long-time prominent , loyal member of the regime 's old guard . he served as foreign minister under al-assad and his late father , hafez , for more than 20 years and has been vice president since 2006 . the region : turkey denies sending aid to rebels , slams the syrian government turkish foreign minister ahmet davutoglu rejected claims that his country was shipping weapons to syrian rebels in their quest to oust al-assad , the anadolu news agency reported saturday . these are the arguments which authoritarian regimes had always used to conceal their internal problems , ' davutoglu told the ntv news channel , according to anadolu . davutoglu added , no regime fighting its own people can survive long . ( the al-assad regime ) has months , and maybe even weeks -- not years . ' syria 's neighbors : what 's at stake ? syria explained : what you need to know cnn 's yousif basil and saad abedine contributed to this report . | video shows syrian vp in damascus after defection claims |
gates <tsp> ( cnn ) -- if you pressed control-alt-delete to log on before reading this , bill gates says he 's sorry . the microsoft founder says the triple-key login should have been made easier , ã la apple 's macs , but that a designer insisted on the more complicated step . we could have had a single button . but the guy who did the ibm keyboard design did n't want to give us our single button , ' gates said saturday during a question-and-answer session to launch a harvard university fund-raising campaign . his comments have gained attention since a video of his harvard q & a was posted on youtube on tuesday . smiling , gates tried to follow through on the thought , noting it was a basic security feature . but he eventually surrendered to common sense . and so we had ... we programmed at a low level that you had to ... it was a mistake , ' he said , throwing up his hands to laughter and applause from the crowd . gates defended innovation on the earliest microsoft software though . we did some clever stuff , ' he said . we were able to experiment with a lot of stuff , but more on the software side than the hardware . ' long the first interface step for pc users , control-alt-delete still exists in windows 8 as a way of either locking the computer or accessing the control panel . while the system defaults to a log-in screen , users may tweak their settings to return to the old way of logging on to windows . sometimes informally called the three-fingered salute , ' the login required users to use both hands and was intended to avoid accidental keystrokes from rebooting a computer . engineer david bradley , a designer on early ibm computers , said he invented the combination as a shortcut during development . i originally intended for it to be what we would now call an easter egg -- just something we were using in development and it would n't be available elsewhere , ' bradley said while appearing on a 2011 panel that included gates . but then ( software publishers ) found out about it . they were trying to figure out how to tell somebody to start up one of their programs , and they had the answer . just put the diskette in , hit control-alt-delete , and by magic your program starts . ' he then tried to deflect what he perhaps wryly called credit ' for its continued use . it was like a five-minute job in doing it . i did n't realize that i was going to create a cultural icon when i did it , ' he said ... i may have invented it , but i think bill made it famous . ' a tight-lipped gates appears to force a smile in a video of the panel but does not respond . gates attended harvard until he left during his junior year to start microsoft with paul allen in 1975 . while at harvard , he lived down the hall from current microsoft ceo steve ballmer . gates received an honorary degree in 2007 . gates remains microsoft 's chairman although he stopped full-time work at the company in 2008 . during saturday 's session , gates reflected on a variety of topics , from the philanthropy he 's made his life 's work since stepping back from an active role at microsoft to his company 's relationship with apple in the early days . that included helping keep what would become microsoft 's fiercest rival afloat in the 1990s when it was foundering . in the apple ii era , we were kind of friendly competitors , ' he said . we actually put more people on the mac than apple had . ' when co-founder steve jobs returned to apple in 1996 , he sort of says ,'i want this , this and this and i 'll give you this , this and this .'... we did the deal in three days , ' gates said . that included buying a 6 % share of apple , which lawyers convinced gates that microsoft should n't keep for antitrust reasons . it would have been nice if we had , ' he said . | but gates says control-alt-delete was a mistake ' |
gates <tsp> ( cnn ) -- if you pressed control-alt-delete to log on before reading this , bill gates says he 's sorry . the microsoft founder says the triple-key login should have been made easier , ã la apple 's macs , but that a designer insisted on the more complicated step . we could have had a single button . but the guy who did the ibm keyboard design did n't want to give us our single button , ' gates said saturday during a question-and-answer session to launch a harvard university fund-raising campaign . his comments have gained attention since a video of his harvard q & a was posted on youtube on tuesday . smiling , gates tried to follow through on the thought , noting it was a basic security feature . but he eventually surrendered to common sense . and so we had ... we programmed at a low level that you had to ... it was a mistake , ' he said , throwing up his hands to laughter and applause from the crowd . gates defended innovation on the earliest microsoft software though . we did some clever stuff , ' he said . we were able to experiment with a lot of stuff , but more on the software side than the hardware . ' long the first interface step for pc users , control-alt-delete still exists in windows 8 as a way of either locking the computer or accessing the control panel . while the system defaults to a log-in screen , users may tweak their settings to return to the old way of logging on to windows . sometimes informally called the three-fingered salute , ' the login required users to use both hands and was intended to avoid accidental keystrokes from rebooting a computer . engineer david bradley , a designer on early ibm computers , said he invented the combination as a shortcut during development . i originally intended for it to be what we would now call an easter egg -- just something we were using in development and it would n't be available elsewhere , ' bradley said while appearing on a 2011 panel that included gates . but then ( software publishers ) found out about it . they were trying to figure out how to tell somebody to start up one of their programs , and they had the answer . just put the diskette in , hit control-alt-delete , and by magic your program starts . ' he then tried to deflect what he perhaps wryly called credit ' for its continued use . it was like a five-minute job in doing it . i did n't realize that i was going to create a cultural icon when i did it , ' he said ... i may have invented it , but i think bill made it famous . ' a tight-lipped gates appears to force a smile in a video of the panel but does not respond . gates attended harvard until he left during his junior year to start microsoft with paul allen in 1975 . while at harvard , he lived down the hall from current microsoft ceo steve ballmer . gates received an honorary degree in 2007 . gates remains microsoft 's chairman although he stopped full-time work at the company in 2008 . during saturday 's session , gates reflected on a variety of topics , from the philanthropy he 's made his life 's work since stepping back from an active role at microsoft to his company 's relationship with apple in the early days . that included helping keep what would become microsoft 's fiercest rival afloat in the 1990s when it was foundering . in the apple ii era , we were kind of friendly competitors , ' he said . we actually put more people on the mac than apple had . ' when co-founder steve jobs returned to apple in 1996 , he sort of says ,'i want this , this and this and i 'll give you this , this and this .'... we did the deal in three days , ' gates said . that included buying a 6 % share of apple , which lawyers convinced gates that microsoft should n't keep for antitrust reasons . it would have been nice if we had , ' he said . | gates made comments at a recent harvard university event |
gates <tsp> ( cnn ) -- if you pressed control-alt-delete to log on before reading this , bill gates says he 's sorry . the microsoft founder says the triple-key login should have been made easier , ã la apple 's macs , but that a designer insisted on the more complicated step . we could have had a single button . but the guy who did the ibm keyboard design did n't want to give us our single button , ' gates said saturday during a question-and-answer session to launch a harvard university fund-raising campaign . his comments have gained attention since a video of his harvard q & a was posted on youtube on tuesday . smiling , gates tried to follow through on the thought , noting it was a basic security feature . but he eventually surrendered to common sense . and so we had ... we programmed at a low level that you had to ... it was a mistake , ' he said , throwing up his hands to laughter and applause from the crowd . gates defended innovation on the earliest microsoft software though . we did some clever stuff , ' he said . we were able to experiment with a lot of stuff , but more on the software side than the hardware . ' long the first interface step for pc users , control-alt-delete still exists in windows 8 as a way of either locking the computer or accessing the control panel . while the system defaults to a log-in screen , users may tweak their settings to return to the old way of logging on to windows . sometimes informally called the three-fingered salute , ' the login required users to use both hands and was intended to avoid accidental keystrokes from rebooting a computer . engineer david bradley , a designer on early ibm computers , said he invented the combination as a shortcut during development . i originally intended for it to be what we would now call an easter egg -- just something we were using in development and it would n't be available elsewhere , ' bradley said while appearing on a 2011 panel that included gates . but then ( software publishers ) found out about it . they were trying to figure out how to tell somebody to start up one of their programs , and they had the answer . just put the diskette in , hit control-alt-delete , and by magic your program starts . ' he then tried to deflect what he perhaps wryly called credit ' for its continued use . it was like a five-minute job in doing it . i did n't realize that i was going to create a cultural icon when i did it , ' he said ... i may have invented it , but i think bill made it famous . ' a tight-lipped gates appears to force a smile in a video of the panel but does not respond . gates attended harvard until he left during his junior year to start microsoft with paul allen in 1975 . while at harvard , he lived down the hall from current microsoft ceo steve ballmer . gates received an honorary degree in 2007 . gates remains microsoft 's chairman although he stopped full-time work at the company in 2008 . during saturday 's session , gates reflected on a variety of topics , from the philanthropy he 's made his life 's work since stepping back from an active role at microsoft to his company 's relationship with apple in the early days . that included helping keep what would become microsoft 's fiercest rival afloat in the 1990s when it was foundering . in the apple ii era , we were kind of friendly competitors , ' he said . we actually put more people on the mac than apple had . ' when co-founder steve jobs returned to apple in 1996 , he sort of says ,'i want this , this and this and i 'll give you this , this and this .'... we did the deal in three days , ' gates said . that included buying a 6 % share of apple , which lawyers convinced gates that microsoft should n't keep for antitrust reasons . it would have been nice if we had , ' he said . | bill gates : ibm designer insisted on triple-key login on pcs for security reasons |
golden slam <tsp> ( cnn ) -- serena williams gave an awesome demonstration of power tennis to demolish maria sharapova 6-0 6-1 in the olympic women 's singles final at wimbledon saturday . the 30-year-old american was backing up her wimbledon triumph last month on the same grass courts and never allowed her russian opponent the chance to settle . victory came after just 63 minutes and fittingly with yet another thunderous ace to complete a one-sided match . williams has joined steffi graf as the only players in tennis history to win all four grand slam titles and the olympic singles title , the so-called golden slam . having won the olympic doubles twice with sister venus , she is also the first woman to achieve that triple feat . williams believes it ranks among her greatest achievements . this one is so high up there , being olympic gold champion , being golden slam champion singles and doubles , that 's pretty awesome , ' she told gathered reporters . three aces in her opening service game set the course of the match and she immediately broke french open champion sharapova in the next game . almost total domination followed and it was not until the ninth game of the match that sharapova got on the scoreboard . she threatened on williams'next service game , but the 14-time grand slam champion won it to lead 4-1 before breaking sharapova yet again . world number four williams has beaten sharapova , current world number one victoria azarenka and two other former world number ones in caroline wozniacki and jelena jankovic on her way to the title , dropping only 17 games in six matches . after losing to virginie razzano in the first round of the french open , doubters were writing off williams , but she has responded in emphatic style with her fifth wimbledon crown and now more olympic glory . azarenka beat maria kirilenko of russia 6-3 6-4 in the battle for bronze . the american gold rush at sw19 continued saturday as brothers bob and mike bryan won their first olympic title with a 6-4 7-6 victory over french second seeds jo-wilfried tsonga and michael llodra in the men 's doubles final . the bryan brothers had taken the bronze medal in the men 's doubles in beijing four years ago , but made no mistake this time . | williams completes golden slam of foru grand slams and olympic singles gold |
giuliani <tsp> washington ( cnn ) rudy would n't be rudy if he backed down . but by amplifying his charge that president barack obama does n't love america , former new york mayor rudy giuliani appears ready to risk sullying the powerful mythology that grew around his leadership when he steadied and steeled the nation in the terrible , confusing time after 9/11 . since those fleeting days when he was a unifying figure , giuliani has more often dealt in waspish rhetoric and savage mockery -- especially of a president he says has failed . ' america 's mayor ' has gone rogue , lashing out at democrats and liberal orthodoxy on the war on terror and saying , for example , during the ferguson controversy last year that the biggest danger to a black child was not from a white police officer but from another african american . the latest firestorm over obama 's patriotism may complete giuliani 's political journey from the center left of the republican party to the conservative jungles where sarah palin and donald trump roam . rudy has devolved into this red meat republican base ideologue who periodically seems to need self identification , ' said douglas muzzio , a political scientist at baruch college and a new york city media commentator . maybe it is rudy in his dotage , where he has lost whatever boundaries he once had . he sounds like a bitter old man . ' giuliani seems to be relishing his moment back in the spotlight . but he 's also causing awkward moments for republican candidates limbering up for a crack at the presidency in 2016 -- a fact the white house was quick to exploit on friday . it 's sad to see when somebody who has attained a certain level of public stature , and even admiration , tarnishes that legacy so thoroughly , ' said obama 's spokesman , josh earnest . and the truth is , i do n't take any joy , or vindication , or satisfaction from that . i think , really , the only thing that i feel is i feel sorry for rudy giuliani today . ' democratic national committee chairman debbie wasserman schultz also joined in , seeking to use giuliani to frustrate the gop 's effort to short circuit controversies which could tarnish the party 's image . now is the time for its leaders to stop this kind of nonsense . enough , ' she said . giuliani 's blast , delivered in a closed door republican dinner , and repeated in a media tour , centers on a claim that obama was not brought up to love ' his country like most americans . it 's a familiar charge from the conservative fringe , that obama is somehow different and does n't view america as an exceptional paragon but is obsessed with apologizing for its failings . i do not believe , and i know this is a horrible thing to say , but i do not believe the president loves america , ' giuliani was quoted as saying by politico . asked by fox news host megyn kelly thursday whether he wanted to apologize , giuliani replied : not at all . i want to repeat it . ' i do n't feel this love of america , ' giuliani said . i believe his initial approach is to criticize the united states . ' giuliani dug in further in an interview with the new york times , rejecting the idea that his remarks were born of racism . i thought that was a joke , since ( obama ) was brought up by a white mother , a white grandfather , went to white schools , said giuliani . this is n't racism . this is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism , ' said giuliani . far from being chastened , giuliani , who wore a conspiratorial grin on fox news , seems gleeful in the firestorm . his behavior might be explained by a boxing maxim he was taught as a boy , which may also shed light on his calmness on 9/11 . my father taught me ... when you get hit in the face for the first time , you 're going to panic , ' giuliani said in an interview with forbes magazine in 2011 . instead of panicking , just accept it . stay calm . and any time anybody hits you , they always leave themselves open to be hit . ' giuliani 's actions may be both a glimpse at his political philosophy and reflect a decision to wade into the political echo chamber to solidify his standing among a certain group of conservatives . he understands political posturing , he understands the effectiveness of rhetoric , ' said errol louis , a cnn political commentator from new york . he clearly wants to play a role on the national stage . i guess he has chosen the role of bulldog -- go after the president , attack him , make wild accusations . ' with a failed presidential campaign behind him , and having been out of office for a decade-and-a-half , it may be that giuliani sees his future on the conservative talk circuit . to the extent that giuliani will be involved in the game moving forward , it will be as a commentator or an analyst , ' said costas panagopoulos , a campaigns expert at fordham university , new york . in order to do that successfully these days , it helps to be controversial , sometimes inflammatory . i am not surprised that he has become increasingly forceful in his comments in the media . he is convinced that will help him . ' giuliani has rarely been known to back down . he was a yankee fan growing up in brooklyn , a ruthless prosecutor who took on unions and the mob and a hard driving republican who ran a liberal city . when he awoke on september 11 , 2001 , giuliani was a polarizing figure with a large ego and a sharp tongue . he might have purged new york street crime but was starting to grate on the city 's nerves at the end of his second term . within hours , with a staggering display of calm , purpose and leadership , he had recast himself as a modern-era winston churchill , steadying and inspiring his people in their darkest hour . his heroics were such that he became one of those politicians who become known by a single name . marching up broadway , he grabbed a mike and told people to evacuate southern manhattan . he conjured up national resolve and resistance , as a country waited hours to see its president , out of sight on air force one . people tonight should say a prayer , for the people that we have lost , and be grateful that we are all here , ' he said in a late night press conference 12 hours after the twin towers came crashing down in a toxic cloud of fire and ash . tomorrow new york is going to be here and we are going to rebuild and we are going to be stronger from before . ' making giuliani its man of the year , time magazine said : when the day of infamy came , giuliani seized it as if he had been waiting for it all his life . ' but he struggled to meet huge expectations . his 2008 presidential campaign was a bust , plagued by poor organization and his liberal views on social issues that conflicted with the conservative base . but there was also a sense that he was playing the september 11 card too much : joe biden 's crack that there were only three things he mentions in a sentence , a noun a verb and 9/11 ' was funny because it bore more than a ring of truth . that was years ago now . but while his years of elective office are behind him , giuliani still seems to pine for the political spotlight . so he has every incentive to keep this row going as long as he can . | giuliani defiant about obama comments |
fawcett <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- for an issue such as health care reform -- and the potential to affect nearly american in a fundamental way -- no one provision , no one medical crisis , no one family can fully represent the complexity and sweep of the affordable care act . but the polar views of small-business owners john nicholson and miles fawcett provide a glimpse of the personal stakes and deep divide that will be felt across the social , political and legal tapestry . that signature law promoted by president barack obama is now being challenged at the supreme court . preview :'the implications ... are impossible to overstate' ' government is n't the answer , government can point to directions . government can help solidify public involvement in what objectives should we pursue , but the advantage to the private system is you can have changes and modifications , ' said nicholson , co-owner with his wife of company flowers , a washington-area florist and gift shop . over a period of time it works better than the government saying : this is it . ' he slaps his hand to illustrate what he sees as burdensome , bureaucratic mandates . but fawcett sees things another way . he founded a home security firm , urban alarm , nine years ago and uses the medical crisis of his youngest daughter to support the idea of universal health care . this law or protections for children getting insurance is critical and potentially a life or death decision , ' he said about ensuring that even those with pre-existing medical conditions be assured coverage . so having access to that health insurance is a life or death issue . it 's critical for her now , it 's critical to her and kids like her for the rest of their lives . ' for fawcett , a newborn in the throes of crisis at nine weeks , miles fawcett 's newborn daughter was diagnosed with biliary atresia , a rare birth defect targeting the bile ducts . the only solution was a liver transplant , and the search was on for a suitable donor . doctors at georgetown university hospital in washington found a match in fawcett himself . they planned the transplant date . the preparation for the transplant was to make sure that she was as healthy as possible so that the outcome was going to be as successful as possible , ' he told cnn . they removed 13 % of my liver and replaced her entire liver with that graft of my liver . the medication that she requires is a lifelong requirement . and so she 'll be on life-sustaining medicines presumably for the rest of her life . ' now 5 , the rambunctious kindergartner plays happily in her yard on a recent warm late winter day . she has little outward sign of her medical condition , but her parents say the girl does like to show off her belly scar to classmates . so she 's really lucky , we 're lucky that the underlying issue is gone , ' said the 42-year-old fawcett , talking in the kitchen with his wife . it 's fantastic , and it 's magical , and every day we feel how lucky we are to have been in a time and a place when this was even an option . ' for nicholson , a dreaded deluge of paperwork john nicholson is justifiably proud of the flower shop he and his wife started two decades ago , after an earlier career as head of a trade association . he now mostly handles the paperwork , while marnie mans the counter , the creative force behind the company 's unusual floral arrangements . you buy our artistic creativity . it 's a very major difference , ' he told cnn . they employ about 15 people , many part-time , and nicholson says the economic downturn has been tough on their bottom line . we used some of our retirement money to keep the doors open , keep our employees . we cut back a little bit , but not a lot , ' he explained . and we 're very glad that we did because now we 're slowly but surely getting back to where we might actually make some money this year . ' reform opponent :'congress made a bad situation worse' reform supporter :'this really is going to help the public' the nicholsons -- both are older than 65 -- have always offered health care to their staff . they participate in a private pool with other small businesses that offers reduced costs and more portability . he worries the new health law will not provide better quality of care or better choices , just more bureaucracy . obamacare really affects only the method by which you obtain health care . that 's the sadness of that bill , it does nothing to reduce costs . what it does do is change the procedures , ' he said . and i 'm the only one in the shop that knows about all the procedures and it means basically that all of a sudden , i 'm going to have to answer to government , filling out forms . and my experience is when i do that it 's a lot longer , it covers a lot of stuff that is extraneous , and thank you just the same -- i 'm more than happy to stay with the private side and let the government forms go somewhere else . ' the law , known as the affordable care act , does have several provisions to help make health care affordable for small businesses . nicholson and many independent business owners like some aspects , but think there will be devastating tradeoffs . they also worry the law , if upheld , will only be the start of more government intervention in their free enterprise commerce .'a simple question ... a very complicated answer' miles fawcett 's family crisis four years ago came when he was leaving his employer to start urban alarm with his wife , mira saxena . they , too , employ about about 15 people . as a small-business owner , i 'm always concerned about controlling costs but that has to come second to just what fundamentally is right for kids and for people , ' he said . i 'm concerned about it being more expensive , but that 's always a concern . i 'm worried about gas prices going up , i 'm concerned about how my premiums are going to be affected , but that 's a secondary consideration . and the primary concern has to be how do we provide the resources that our employees need and that our families need . ' frequently asked questions about the high court and this case the couple believes the law 's wide scope and its particular emphasis on helping small businesses like theirs will ensure they can continue to thrive economically . they especially like the provision guaranteeing anyone with a pre-existing condition like their daughter 's will not be denied health care coverage as she grows into an adult , something they equate as a basic human right . are we going to deny children , much less anybody , but are we going to deny children a right to health services that are life-sustaining ? ' said miles . i think that 's the question and it 's a simple question , and i know it 's a very complicated answer . ' will flower shop fade under government 's shadow ? like fawcett , nicholson supports the idea of universal health care to make sure every american can get access to needed medical care at any point in their lives . the question that has divided the country for decades is how to achieve it and how to pay for it . for the local florist , flexibility is the key . i do n't have much strength to be able to make changes , if the changes come down the pipe , that are contrary to what really makes sense for us , ' he explained . and that 's the real problem : how do i get enough clout from a common sense standpoint , so that we can really say :'ok , good idea , but not this way , let 's do it that way .'and the government does n't work that way . ' the grandfather with grown children worries how health care costs -- with or without the affordable care act -- will affect future generations . but he says the immediate focus is on his financial future and that of his beloved flower shop . the law is making it hard to be a small business , ' he said . basically we 're jogging along , and it 's particularly difficult when we have more and more government layered on top of us . ' cnn correspondent kate bolduan contributed to this report | fawcett likes the plan -- he says it puts children like his ill daughter first |
fawcett <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- for an issue such as health care reform -- and the potential to affect nearly american in a fundamental way -- no one provision , no one medical crisis , no one family can fully represent the complexity and sweep of the affordable care act . but the polar views of small-business owners john nicholson and miles fawcett provide a glimpse of the personal stakes and deep divide that will be felt across the social , political and legal tapestry . that signature law promoted by president barack obama is now being challenged at the supreme court . preview :'the implications ... are impossible to overstate' ' government is n't the answer , government can point to directions . government can help solidify public involvement in what objectives should we pursue , but the advantage to the private system is you can have changes and modifications , ' said nicholson , co-owner with his wife of company flowers , a washington-area florist and gift shop . over a period of time it works better than the government saying : this is it . ' he slaps his hand to illustrate what he sees as burdensome , bureaucratic mandates . but fawcett sees things another way . he founded a home security firm , urban alarm , nine years ago and uses the medical crisis of his youngest daughter to support the idea of universal health care . this law or protections for children getting insurance is critical and potentially a life or death decision , ' he said about ensuring that even those with pre-existing medical conditions be assured coverage . so having access to that health insurance is a life or death issue . it 's critical for her now , it 's critical to her and kids like her for the rest of their lives . ' for fawcett , a newborn in the throes of crisis at nine weeks , miles fawcett 's newborn daughter was diagnosed with biliary atresia , a rare birth defect targeting the bile ducts . the only solution was a liver transplant , and the search was on for a suitable donor . doctors at georgetown university hospital in washington found a match in fawcett himself . they planned the transplant date . the preparation for the transplant was to make sure that she was as healthy as possible so that the outcome was going to be as successful as possible , ' he told cnn . they removed 13 % of my liver and replaced her entire liver with that graft of my liver . the medication that she requires is a lifelong requirement . and so she 'll be on life-sustaining medicines presumably for the rest of her life . ' now 5 , the rambunctious kindergartner plays happily in her yard on a recent warm late winter day . she has little outward sign of her medical condition , but her parents say the girl does like to show off her belly scar to classmates . so she 's really lucky , we 're lucky that the underlying issue is gone , ' said the 42-year-old fawcett , talking in the kitchen with his wife . it 's fantastic , and it 's magical , and every day we feel how lucky we are to have been in a time and a place when this was even an option . ' for nicholson , a dreaded deluge of paperwork john nicholson is justifiably proud of the flower shop he and his wife started two decades ago , after an earlier career as head of a trade association . he now mostly handles the paperwork , while marnie mans the counter , the creative force behind the company 's unusual floral arrangements . you buy our artistic creativity . it 's a very major difference , ' he told cnn . they employ about 15 people , many part-time , and nicholson says the economic downturn has been tough on their bottom line . we used some of our retirement money to keep the doors open , keep our employees . we cut back a little bit , but not a lot , ' he explained . and we 're very glad that we did because now we 're slowly but surely getting back to where we might actually make some money this year . ' reform opponent :'congress made a bad situation worse' reform supporter :'this really is going to help the public' the nicholsons -- both are older than 65 -- have always offered health care to their staff . they participate in a private pool with other small businesses that offers reduced costs and more portability . he worries the new health law will not provide better quality of care or better choices , just more bureaucracy . obamacare really affects only the method by which you obtain health care . that 's the sadness of that bill , it does nothing to reduce costs . what it does do is change the procedures , ' he said . and i 'm the only one in the shop that knows about all the procedures and it means basically that all of a sudden , i 'm going to have to answer to government , filling out forms . and my experience is when i do that it 's a lot longer , it covers a lot of stuff that is extraneous , and thank you just the same -- i 'm more than happy to stay with the private side and let the government forms go somewhere else . ' the law , known as the affordable care act , does have several provisions to help make health care affordable for small businesses . nicholson and many independent business owners like some aspects , but think there will be devastating tradeoffs . they also worry the law , if upheld , will only be the start of more government intervention in their free enterprise commerce .'a simple question ... a very complicated answer' miles fawcett 's family crisis four years ago came when he was leaving his employer to start urban alarm with his wife , mira saxena . they , too , employ about about 15 people . as a small-business owner , i 'm always concerned about controlling costs but that has to come second to just what fundamentally is right for kids and for people , ' he said . i 'm concerned about it being more expensive , but that 's always a concern . i 'm worried about gas prices going up , i 'm concerned about how my premiums are going to be affected , but that 's a secondary consideration . and the primary concern has to be how do we provide the resources that our employees need and that our families need . ' frequently asked questions about the high court and this case the couple believes the law 's wide scope and its particular emphasis on helping small businesses like theirs will ensure they can continue to thrive economically . they especially like the provision guaranteeing anyone with a pre-existing condition like their daughter 's will not be denied health care coverage as she grows into an adult , something they equate as a basic human right . are we going to deny children , much less anybody , but are we going to deny children a right to health services that are life-sustaining ? ' said miles . i think that 's the question and it 's a simple question , and i know it 's a very complicated answer . ' will flower shop fade under government 's shadow ? like fawcett , nicholson supports the idea of universal health care to make sure every american can get access to needed medical care at any point in their lives . the question that has divided the country for decades is how to achieve it and how to pay for it . for the local florist , flexibility is the key . i do n't have much strength to be able to make changes , if the changes come down the pipe , that are contrary to what really makes sense for us , ' he explained . and that 's the real problem : how do i get enough clout from a common sense standpoint , so that we can really say :'ok , good idea , but not this way , let 's do it that way .'and the government does n't work that way . ' the grandfather with grown children worries how health care costs -- with or without the affordable care act -- will affect future generations . but he says the immediate focus is on his financial future and that of his beloved flower shop . the law is making it hard to be a small business , ' he said . basically we 're jogging along , and it 's particularly difficult when we have more and more government layered on top of us . ' cnn correspondent kate bolduan contributed to this report | small-business owners john nicholson and miles fawcett do not see eye-to-eye |
siga <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- a series of e-mail exchanges between officials at the department of health and human services shows growing alarm at the amount of projected profit from a government contract for a drug company whose controlling shareholder is a longtime democratic party activist . ronald perelman is controlling shareholder of siga technologies and a longtime democratic party activist and fundraiser . he 's also a large contributor to republicans , but has been a particular friend of the obama white house . also on siga 's board of directors is andy stern , former president of the service employees international union , who has had close relations with the obama administration and who has supported president barack obama 's health care initiatives . in may 2011 , health and human services awarded siga a no-bid contract worth nearly $ 433 million to develop and produce 1.7 million doses of an anti-viral smallpox drug called sts-246 . the drug would augment the existing supply of smallpox vaccine now in u.s. control . according to hhs officials , the government has already spent close to $ 1 billion to acquire smallpox vaccine since the september 11 , 2001 , attacks on new york and washington . a government spokesman told cnn that sts-246 is designed to be given over a 14-day course of treatment , with two pills a day suggested in the event of a smallpox outbreak triggered by a bio-terror attack . but internal e-mails obtained exclusively by cnn show a contracting officer assigned to manage price negotiations between hhs and siga was alarmed at the cost . siga 's return on investment , one e-mail said , was an overwhelming 180 per cent . ' the e-mail went on to say that margin must be cut in half at a minimum ' and later added : i know you wo n't find a co ( contracting officer ) in government who would sign a 3-digit profit percentage . ' in reply , another hhs official , a doctor , agreed . fully concur that 180 per cent is outrageous , ' the doctor said in an answer . moreover , because taxpayer dollars had been used to fund research and development of the drug , we should get a major discount given our support of front-end development , ' the e-mail states . a few weeks later , the ceo of siga , dr. eric a . rose , wrote to hhs , saying it was clear that we were at an impasse in negotiations ' and urging government officials to remove the existing contracting officer and replace him with a more senior official . ' the assistant secretary for preparedness and response , nicole lurie , agreed . in a letter to rose , she told him she had instructed her officials to appoint our most senior procurement official as the final authority for this procurement . ' shortly thereafter , the contract was signed . the contract award immediately raised concerns in some sections of the scientific community . one smallpox expert , dr. d.a . henderson of the university of pittsburgh 's bio security center , said sts-246 has not been proven to work . the question is , what will it do in the way of treating a patient who 's had a fever and now has a funny rash that could be smallpox ? ' henderson told cnn . will it treat the disease ? i 've seen no data to suggest that it will . ' the republican chairmen of two house committees , oversight and investigations and small business , both wrote to hhs demanding all correspondence associated with the contract award and have begun an investigation . you certainly ca n't ignore the political connections between the company and the administration , ' missouri rep. sam graves , the chairman of the small business committee , told cnn . for its part , siga told cnn in an e-mail that : never at any time was any elected official or political official asked to intervene in the procurement process by siga or anyone affiliated with the company . ' read siga 's statement but a key democratic senator wants an investigation of the contract . sen. claire mccaskill , also of missouri , says the no-bid award raises serious questions . was it justified as a no-bid contract ? ' mccaskill asked in a press conference last week . overall , i think we need to begin asking policy questions about the kind of money we 're spending developing drugs where the united states is the only customer . ' a white house spokesman declined to comment to cnn and instead referred all questions to health and human services . in a written statement , an hhs spokesman said the contract was awarded after a rigorous market analysis determined that siga was the only known company in the world with the capability to produce the required antiviral drug within the required time period . ' a smaller drug firm based in durham , north carolina -- chimerix -- had earlier told government auditors that it could develop a similar drug . chimerix was then given the opportunity to bid for any additional funds beyond the original contract . hhs also told cnn that the price of the drug was of no concern . we ca n't get into the details , but the final rates ended up well within industry standards , ' the spokesman said . as for replacing the contract officer , the spokesman said : this change actually resulted in substantial savings for the u.s . government . ' that 's something mccaskill questions . if the united states government is going to be the only customer , why is it that the stockholders get all the profit if we 're the ones putting up a significant portion of the development money when , in fact , the united states becomes the only customer ? ' she asked . as for the replacement of the hhs official , siga said in its e-mail to cnn : ' the findings , the negotiations and the decision to award were handled solely by career procurement officials at hhs who negotiated a fair and reasonable price . ' siga board member fran townsend , appearing on cnn 's anderson cooper 360 ' thursday night , defended the contract process and insisted it followed standard operating procedures . i can tell you not ronald perelman , not andy stern , no member of the ( siga ) board was involved in these contract negotiations and never contacted anybody in the government about this contract , ' said townsend , who works full time for mcandrews and forbes , a company owned by perelman , and who also is cnn national security contributor . townsend contended that the contract was put out in a competitive process but chimerix ultimately was not competitive in this process . ' it ultimately was ... a sole-source contract ... because there was nobody to compete , ' townsend said . there was nobody ( aside from siga ) with an anti-viral that could meet the government 's standards . ' she added that the government has given a research-and-development grant to chimerix to encourage competition . the government has bent over backwards to try and balance the need for an anti-viral against competition , ' townsend said . townsend also said the claim that siga 's return on investment was 180 % was inaccurate . ' however , she said the actual rate was confidential . she pointed out that an fda advisory committee will be holding a public hearing on the drug on december 14 . internal hhs documents obtained by cnn also show that as part of the early negotiation process , two key siga executives granted themselves salary increases of $ 200,000 in the case of ceo eric a . rose and $ 225,000 for siga chief financial officer daniel luckshire . according to the internal memo , dated january 14 , 2011 , siga now believes a pending government award merits bonuses for the most highly paid executives . ' | hhs says after a rigorous market analysis ' the contract was based on siga 's ability to produce |
siga <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- a series of e-mail exchanges between officials at the department of health and human services shows growing alarm at the amount of projected profit from a government contract for a drug company whose controlling shareholder is a longtime democratic party activist . ronald perelman is controlling shareholder of siga technologies and a longtime democratic party activist and fundraiser . he 's also a large contributor to republicans , but has been a particular friend of the obama white house . also on siga 's board of directors is andy stern , former president of the service employees international union , who has had close relations with the obama administration and who has supported president barack obama 's health care initiatives . in may 2011 , health and human services awarded siga a no-bid contract worth nearly $ 433 million to develop and produce 1.7 million doses of an anti-viral smallpox drug called sts-246 . the drug would augment the existing supply of smallpox vaccine now in u.s. control . according to hhs officials , the government has already spent close to $ 1 billion to acquire smallpox vaccine since the september 11 , 2001 , attacks on new york and washington . a government spokesman told cnn that sts-246 is designed to be given over a 14-day course of treatment , with two pills a day suggested in the event of a smallpox outbreak triggered by a bio-terror attack . but internal e-mails obtained exclusively by cnn show a contracting officer assigned to manage price negotiations between hhs and siga was alarmed at the cost . siga 's return on investment , one e-mail said , was an overwhelming 180 per cent . ' the e-mail went on to say that margin must be cut in half at a minimum ' and later added : i know you wo n't find a co ( contracting officer ) in government who would sign a 3-digit profit percentage . ' in reply , another hhs official , a doctor , agreed . fully concur that 180 per cent is outrageous , ' the doctor said in an answer . moreover , because taxpayer dollars had been used to fund research and development of the drug , we should get a major discount given our support of front-end development , ' the e-mail states . a few weeks later , the ceo of siga , dr. eric a . rose , wrote to hhs , saying it was clear that we were at an impasse in negotiations ' and urging government officials to remove the existing contracting officer and replace him with a more senior official . ' the assistant secretary for preparedness and response , nicole lurie , agreed . in a letter to rose , she told him she had instructed her officials to appoint our most senior procurement official as the final authority for this procurement . ' shortly thereafter , the contract was signed . the contract award immediately raised concerns in some sections of the scientific community . one smallpox expert , dr. d.a . henderson of the university of pittsburgh 's bio security center , said sts-246 has not been proven to work . the question is , what will it do in the way of treating a patient who 's had a fever and now has a funny rash that could be smallpox ? ' henderson told cnn . will it treat the disease ? i 've seen no data to suggest that it will . ' the republican chairmen of two house committees , oversight and investigations and small business , both wrote to hhs demanding all correspondence associated with the contract award and have begun an investigation . you certainly ca n't ignore the political connections between the company and the administration , ' missouri rep. sam graves , the chairman of the small business committee , told cnn . for its part , siga told cnn in an e-mail that : never at any time was any elected official or political official asked to intervene in the procurement process by siga or anyone affiliated with the company . ' read siga 's statement but a key democratic senator wants an investigation of the contract . sen. claire mccaskill , also of missouri , says the no-bid award raises serious questions . was it justified as a no-bid contract ? ' mccaskill asked in a press conference last week . overall , i think we need to begin asking policy questions about the kind of money we 're spending developing drugs where the united states is the only customer . ' a white house spokesman declined to comment to cnn and instead referred all questions to health and human services . in a written statement , an hhs spokesman said the contract was awarded after a rigorous market analysis determined that siga was the only known company in the world with the capability to produce the required antiviral drug within the required time period . ' a smaller drug firm based in durham , north carolina -- chimerix -- had earlier told government auditors that it could develop a similar drug . chimerix was then given the opportunity to bid for any additional funds beyond the original contract . hhs also told cnn that the price of the drug was of no concern . we ca n't get into the details , but the final rates ended up well within industry standards , ' the spokesman said . as for replacing the contract officer , the spokesman said : this change actually resulted in substantial savings for the u.s . government . ' that 's something mccaskill questions . if the united states government is going to be the only customer , why is it that the stockholders get all the profit if we 're the ones putting up a significant portion of the development money when , in fact , the united states becomes the only customer ? ' she asked . as for the replacement of the hhs official , siga said in its e-mail to cnn : ' the findings , the negotiations and the decision to award were handled solely by career procurement officials at hhs who negotiated a fair and reasonable price . ' siga board member fran townsend , appearing on cnn 's anderson cooper 360 ' thursday night , defended the contract process and insisted it followed standard operating procedures . i can tell you not ronald perelman , not andy stern , no member of the ( siga ) board was involved in these contract negotiations and never contacted anybody in the government about this contract , ' said townsend , who works full time for mcandrews and forbes , a company owned by perelman , and who also is cnn national security contributor . townsend contended that the contract was put out in a competitive process but chimerix ultimately was not competitive in this process . ' it ultimately was ... a sole-source contract ... because there was nobody to compete , ' townsend said . there was nobody ( aside from siga ) with an anti-viral that could meet the government 's standards . ' she added that the government has given a research-and-development grant to chimerix to encourage competition . the government has bent over backwards to try and balance the need for an anti-viral against competition , ' townsend said . townsend also said the claim that siga 's return on investment was 180 % was inaccurate . ' however , she said the actual rate was confidential . she pointed out that an fda advisory committee will be holding a public hearing on the drug on december 14 . internal hhs documents obtained by cnn also show that as part of the early negotiation process , two key siga executives granted themselves salary increases of $ 200,000 in the case of ceo eric a . rose and $ 225,000 for siga chief financial officer daniel luckshire . according to the internal memo , dated january 14 , 2011 , siga now believes a pending government award merits bonuses for the most highly paid executives . ' | in may 2011 , siga technologies won a no-bid , nearly $ 433 million hhs contract |
siga <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- a series of e-mail exchanges between officials at the department of health and human services shows growing alarm at the amount of projected profit from a government contract for a drug company whose controlling shareholder is a longtime democratic party activist . ronald perelman is controlling shareholder of siga technologies and a longtime democratic party activist and fundraiser . he 's also a large contributor to republicans , but has been a particular friend of the obama white house . also on siga 's board of directors is andy stern , former president of the service employees international union , who has had close relations with the obama administration and who has supported president barack obama 's health care initiatives . in may 2011 , health and human services awarded siga a no-bid contract worth nearly $ 433 million to develop and produce 1.7 million doses of an anti-viral smallpox drug called sts-246 . the drug would augment the existing supply of smallpox vaccine now in u.s. control . according to hhs officials , the government has already spent close to $ 1 billion to acquire smallpox vaccine since the september 11 , 2001 , attacks on new york and washington . a government spokesman told cnn that sts-246 is designed to be given over a 14-day course of treatment , with two pills a day suggested in the event of a smallpox outbreak triggered by a bio-terror attack . but internal e-mails obtained exclusively by cnn show a contracting officer assigned to manage price negotiations between hhs and siga was alarmed at the cost . siga 's return on investment , one e-mail said , was an overwhelming 180 per cent . ' the e-mail went on to say that margin must be cut in half at a minimum ' and later added : i know you wo n't find a co ( contracting officer ) in government who would sign a 3-digit profit percentage . ' in reply , another hhs official , a doctor , agreed . fully concur that 180 per cent is outrageous , ' the doctor said in an answer . moreover , because taxpayer dollars had been used to fund research and development of the drug , we should get a major discount given our support of front-end development , ' the e-mail states . a few weeks later , the ceo of siga , dr. eric a . rose , wrote to hhs , saying it was clear that we were at an impasse in negotiations ' and urging government officials to remove the existing contracting officer and replace him with a more senior official . ' the assistant secretary for preparedness and response , nicole lurie , agreed . in a letter to rose , she told him she had instructed her officials to appoint our most senior procurement official as the final authority for this procurement . ' shortly thereafter , the contract was signed . the contract award immediately raised concerns in some sections of the scientific community . one smallpox expert , dr. d.a . henderson of the university of pittsburgh 's bio security center , said sts-246 has not been proven to work . the question is , what will it do in the way of treating a patient who 's had a fever and now has a funny rash that could be smallpox ? ' henderson told cnn . will it treat the disease ? i 've seen no data to suggest that it will . ' the republican chairmen of two house committees , oversight and investigations and small business , both wrote to hhs demanding all correspondence associated with the contract award and have begun an investigation . you certainly ca n't ignore the political connections between the company and the administration , ' missouri rep. sam graves , the chairman of the small business committee , told cnn . for its part , siga told cnn in an e-mail that : never at any time was any elected official or political official asked to intervene in the procurement process by siga or anyone affiliated with the company . ' read siga 's statement but a key democratic senator wants an investigation of the contract . sen. claire mccaskill , also of missouri , says the no-bid award raises serious questions . was it justified as a no-bid contract ? ' mccaskill asked in a press conference last week . overall , i think we need to begin asking policy questions about the kind of money we 're spending developing drugs where the united states is the only customer . ' a white house spokesman declined to comment to cnn and instead referred all questions to health and human services . in a written statement , an hhs spokesman said the contract was awarded after a rigorous market analysis determined that siga was the only known company in the world with the capability to produce the required antiviral drug within the required time period . ' a smaller drug firm based in durham , north carolina -- chimerix -- had earlier told government auditors that it could develop a similar drug . chimerix was then given the opportunity to bid for any additional funds beyond the original contract . hhs also told cnn that the price of the drug was of no concern . we ca n't get into the details , but the final rates ended up well within industry standards , ' the spokesman said . as for replacing the contract officer , the spokesman said : this change actually resulted in substantial savings for the u.s . government . ' that 's something mccaskill questions . if the united states government is going to be the only customer , why is it that the stockholders get all the profit if we 're the ones putting up a significant portion of the development money when , in fact , the united states becomes the only customer ? ' she asked . as for the replacement of the hhs official , siga said in its e-mail to cnn : ' the findings , the negotiations and the decision to award were handled solely by career procurement officials at hhs who negotiated a fair and reasonable price . ' siga board member fran townsend , appearing on cnn 's anderson cooper 360 ' thursday night , defended the contract process and insisted it followed standard operating procedures . i can tell you not ronald perelman , not andy stern , no member of the ( siga ) board was involved in these contract negotiations and never contacted anybody in the government about this contract , ' said townsend , who works full time for mcandrews and forbes , a company owned by perelman , and who also is cnn national security contributor . townsend contended that the contract was put out in a competitive process but chimerix ultimately was not competitive in this process . ' it ultimately was ... a sole-source contract ... because there was nobody to compete , ' townsend said . there was nobody ( aside from siga ) with an anti-viral that could meet the government 's standards . ' she added that the government has given a research-and-development grant to chimerix to encourage competition . the government has bent over backwards to try and balance the need for an anti-viral against competition , ' townsend said . townsend also said the claim that siga 's return on investment was 180 % was inaccurate . ' however , she said the actual rate was confidential . she pointed out that an fda advisory committee will be holding a public hearing on the drug on december 14 . internal hhs documents obtained by cnn also show that as part of the early negotiation process , two key siga executives granted themselves salary increases of $ 200,000 in the case of ceo eric a . rose and $ 225,000 for siga chief financial officer daniel luckshire . according to the internal memo , dated january 14 , 2011 , siga now believes a pending government award merits bonuses for the most highly paid executives . ' | siga 's controlling shareholder is a longtime democratic party activist |
democratic party <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- a series of e-mail exchanges between officials at the department of health and human services shows growing alarm at the amount of projected profit from a government contract for a drug company whose controlling shareholder is a longtime democratic party activist . ronald perelman is controlling shareholder of siga technologies and a longtime democratic party activist and fundraiser . he 's also a large contributor to republicans , but has been a particular friend of the obama white house . also on siga 's board of directors is andy stern , former president of the service employees international union , who has had close relations with the obama administration and who has supported president barack obama 's health care initiatives . in may 2011 , health and human services awarded siga a no-bid contract worth nearly $ 433 million to develop and produce 1.7 million doses of an anti-viral smallpox drug called sts-246 . the drug would augment the existing supply of smallpox vaccine now in u.s. control . according to hhs officials , the government has already spent close to $ 1 billion to acquire smallpox vaccine since the september 11 , 2001 , attacks on new york and washington . a government spokesman told cnn that sts-246 is designed to be given over a 14-day course of treatment , with two pills a day suggested in the event of a smallpox outbreak triggered by a bio-terror attack . but internal e-mails obtained exclusively by cnn show a contracting officer assigned to manage price negotiations between hhs and siga was alarmed at the cost . siga 's return on investment , one e-mail said , was an overwhelming 180 per cent . ' the e-mail went on to say that margin must be cut in half at a minimum ' and later added : i know you wo n't find a co ( contracting officer ) in government who would sign a 3-digit profit percentage . ' in reply , another hhs official , a doctor , agreed . fully concur that 180 per cent is outrageous , ' the doctor said in an answer . moreover , because taxpayer dollars had been used to fund research and development of the drug , we should get a major discount given our support of front-end development , ' the e-mail states . a few weeks later , the ceo of siga , dr. eric a . rose , wrote to hhs , saying it was clear that we were at an impasse in negotiations ' and urging government officials to remove the existing contracting officer and replace him with a more senior official . ' the assistant secretary for preparedness and response , nicole lurie , agreed . in a letter to rose , she told him she had instructed her officials to appoint our most senior procurement official as the final authority for this procurement . ' shortly thereafter , the contract was signed . the contract award immediately raised concerns in some sections of the scientific community . one smallpox expert , dr. d.a . henderson of the university of pittsburgh 's bio security center , said sts-246 has not been proven to work . the question is , what will it do in the way of treating a patient who 's had a fever and now has a funny rash that could be smallpox ? ' henderson told cnn . will it treat the disease ? i 've seen no data to suggest that it will . ' the republican chairmen of two house committees , oversight and investigations and small business , both wrote to hhs demanding all correspondence associated with the contract award and have begun an investigation . you certainly ca n't ignore the political connections between the company and the administration , ' missouri rep. sam graves , the chairman of the small business committee , told cnn . for its part , siga told cnn in an e-mail that : never at any time was any elected official or political official asked to intervene in the procurement process by siga or anyone affiliated with the company . ' read siga 's statement but a key democratic senator wants an investigation of the contract . sen. claire mccaskill , also of missouri , says the no-bid award raises serious questions . was it justified as a no-bid contract ? ' mccaskill asked in a press conference last week . overall , i think we need to begin asking policy questions about the kind of money we 're spending developing drugs where the united states is the only customer . ' a white house spokesman declined to comment to cnn and instead referred all questions to health and human services . in a written statement , an hhs spokesman said the contract was awarded after a rigorous market analysis determined that siga was the only known company in the world with the capability to produce the required antiviral drug within the required time period . ' a smaller drug firm based in durham , north carolina -- chimerix -- had earlier told government auditors that it could develop a similar drug . chimerix was then given the opportunity to bid for any additional funds beyond the original contract . hhs also told cnn that the price of the drug was of no concern . we ca n't get into the details , but the final rates ended up well within industry standards , ' the spokesman said . as for replacing the contract officer , the spokesman said : this change actually resulted in substantial savings for the u.s . government . ' that 's something mccaskill questions . if the united states government is going to be the only customer , why is it that the stockholders get all the profit if we 're the ones putting up a significant portion of the development money when , in fact , the united states becomes the only customer ? ' she asked . as for the replacement of the hhs official , siga said in its e-mail to cnn : ' the findings , the negotiations and the decision to award were handled solely by career procurement officials at hhs who negotiated a fair and reasonable price . ' siga board member fran townsend , appearing on cnn 's anderson cooper 360 ' thursday night , defended the contract process and insisted it followed standard operating procedures . i can tell you not ronald perelman , not andy stern , no member of the ( siga ) board was involved in these contract negotiations and never contacted anybody in the government about this contract , ' said townsend , who works full time for mcandrews and forbes , a company owned by perelman , and who also is cnn national security contributor . townsend contended that the contract was put out in a competitive process but chimerix ultimately was not competitive in this process . ' it ultimately was ... a sole-source contract ... because there was nobody to compete , ' townsend said . there was nobody ( aside from siga ) with an anti-viral that could meet the government 's standards . ' she added that the government has given a research-and-development grant to chimerix to encourage competition . the government has bent over backwards to try and balance the need for an anti-viral against competition , ' townsend said . townsend also said the claim that siga 's return on investment was 180 % was inaccurate . ' however , she said the actual rate was confidential . she pointed out that an fda advisory committee will be holding a public hearing on the drug on december 14 . internal hhs documents obtained by cnn also show that as part of the early negotiation process , two key siga executives granted themselves salary increases of $ 200,000 in the case of ceo eric a . rose and $ 225,000 for siga chief financial officer daniel luckshire . according to the internal memo , dated january 14 , 2011 , siga now believes a pending government award merits bonuses for the most highly paid executives . ' | siga 's controlling shareholder is a longtime democratic party activist |
honduras <tsp> flanked by police officers with assault rifles , and riding down a highway in the back of a police pickup , police commissioner julian hernandez explains the difficult task of fighting crime . the united nations recommends that a city of this size have 4,000 officers , ' he says . but i only have 1,000 . ' overrun by drug violence , san pedro sula is the second-largest and most violent city in honduras -- a country that 's the current murder capital of the world . at the end of the first day of shooting for cnn 's narco wars ' report , we had arranged to meet the commissioner , expecting a quick interview . instead , hernandez jumped into the back of the police truck , taking correspondent kaj larsen and the rest of the cnn team onto the streets of san pedro sula , a manufacturing city with relatively good infrastructure . a convoy of other police vehicles joined us as we set off into the city . but instead of a tour , we began following a beat-up maroon truck . a chase ensued . finally , on the outskirts of the city , we surrounded the vehicle . its three occupants were pulled out at gunpoint and forced to lie on the highway . we were amazed to capture this all on camera , given how most serious crimes here go unsolved . in the next moment , the three were standing up , smiling . it turned out the police had staged the takedown to show us their tactics . a minute later , a call came in , and we were back in a police pickup , heading to the scene of a real crime : another body dumped , another group of neighbors who had n't seen anything or heard anything , another killing where there was n't going to be a dramatic chase ending with arrests . welcome to the most violent region on earth . getting away with murder americans are well aware of mexico 's drug war and the horrific violence that takes place a stone 's throw away from the united states . but narco-trafficking and violence are n't just confined to mexico . in fact , honduras , el salvador , belize , guatemala and panama all had higher per-capita murder rates than mexico in 2010 . cnn 's narco wars ' focuses on honduras and guatemala because these two countries have become the key corridor for cocaine coming to the united states from south america . this has coincided with a dramatic spike in homicide rates , according to the united nations . in honduras , homicides have more than doubled between 2005 and 2010 , the united nations reports . as a result , the u.s. peace corps last weekend pulled more than 150 of its volunteers out of honduras while it reviews the security situation there . almost every murder in these central american countries goes unsolved . the impunity rate -- the rate of serious crimes that go unsolved -- is extremely high , estimated by the united nations to be 98 % in guatemala . here , the odds are overwhelming that someone can literally get away with murder . true , there are other places where the impunity rate is high , such as parts of mexico where its drug war rages . but in mexico , the casualties are the result of a drug war that began with known , organized cartels fighting each other . in central america , officials estimate that drug dealing is a factor in 60 % of the killings , but it 's not always clear who 's killing whom and why . perhaps a murder is related to a big shipment of cocaine . or maybe it 's over a $ 50 drug sale on the sidewalk . origins of a drug war it started 30 years ago when hundreds of thousands of central americans began immigrating to the united states , many of them illegally . some ended up in los angeles , then the street gang capital of the united states , if not the world . some of the immigrants'children grew up and became gang members . they formed two large gangs , mara salvatrucha , also known as ms-13 , and 18th street . the neighborhoods where these gangs were based became active areas for the los angeles police department 's homicide division in the 1990s . it was as if central america 's civil wars in the 1980s had moved north . so the united states deported many of these gang members back to central america . as a result , mara salvatrucha and 18th street , originally from los angeles , became central american gangs . the region began to suffer an explosion of robberies , extortion cases and murders perpetrated by gang members . the threat was so serious that in 2004 , the fbi set up a task force to fight these transnational street gangs across the united states , mexico and central america . by 2005 , homicides in honduras had risen to nearly 2,500 a year . with the united states working hard to stop trafficking in the caribbean and south america , central america -- with its disruptive violence and high rate of impunity -- became an attractive alternative route . how colombia is busting its cartels former cali drug cartel member speaks out by 2011 , the dea estimated that 25 tons of cocaine a month were moving through honduras . and there were close to 7,000 homicides there , a 250 % increase in half a dozen years . homicides in neighboring el salvador reportedly rose to the highest level since that country 's civil war of the 1980s . of course , those are just numbers . on the ground , the increasing level of violence has created a kind of prison . when the sun goes down in san pedro sula and tegucigalpa , the capital of honduras , people retreat to their homes as if it were 4 a.m. large sections of city become deserted , and armed guards are everywhere . forget ideology : it 's all about dollars it 's easy to say the increase in drug trafficking in central america caused the spike in violence . but it 's not entirely clear . some analysts say they believe the instability and violence created by the deported gang members paved the way for drug traffickers . what is clear is that in the 1980s , the region suffered from civil wars that were ideological in nature . in guatemala and el salvador , marxist guerrillas were fighting governments that were allies of the united states . honduras was relatively more peaceful -- but not entirely as government forces battled marxist insurgents to a smaller extent . these were classic cold war conflicts as the west and the soviet bloc squared off . after the soviet union 's collapse in 1991 and the acceleration of globalization , a new symmetry has seemed to shape the violence in honduras and guatemala . now combatants are fighting over dollars from the lucrative drug trade , which could make it more difficult to establish a long-lasting peace . if we look at mexico 's more clear-cut narco war , consider the situation in tijuana . in the fall of 2008 , tijuana was a city under siege , a ghostly place . its public areas were largely deserted after dark . two years later , the city was bustling again , with new restaurants open , people out and about , and civic life restored . while there are still travel advisories -- including from the united states -- warning visitors to exercise caution in tijuana , there is a relative peace that authorities publicly credit to their efforts to defeat the cartels . the authorities publicly credited the relative peace in tijuana to their efforts to defeat the cartels . people whispered that either the warring cartels had made a truce , or that one entity has prevailed , ' the sinaloa cartel , mexico 's largest and most dominant , reclaiming its hegemony . the violence in guatemala and honduras seems less organized , so the path to peace appears less clear . guatemala has seen some success with pilot programs designed to fight official corruption and to convince citizens to cooperate with authorities . honduras , with a relatively weak government , so far seems to have little in the way of effective programs to end the violence . back in san pedro sula , on our first morning there , we visited a violence reduction center supported by the u.s. agency for international development . half a dozen or so police officers carrying assault rifles trailed behind for security as the people at the center walked us a quarter mile down a dusty road to a soccer field that represented their greatest triumph . the field used to be deserted because of gang violence in the neighborhood . after negotiating with the gangs , they reached an agreement allowing youth soccer leagues to use the field during the day . this fragile coexistence -- sharing a soccer field with drug gangs -- could be a small step toward what honduras and its neighbors must do to create peace in central america . | in honduras , homicides have more than doubled in five years , making it world 's murder capital |
honduras <tsp> flanked by police officers with assault rifles , and riding down a highway in the back of a police pickup , police commissioner julian hernandez explains the difficult task of fighting crime . the united nations recommends that a city of this size have 4,000 officers , ' he says . but i only have 1,000 . ' overrun by drug violence , san pedro sula is the second-largest and most violent city in honduras -- a country that 's the current murder capital of the world . at the end of the first day of shooting for cnn 's narco wars ' report , we had arranged to meet the commissioner , expecting a quick interview . instead , hernandez jumped into the back of the police truck , taking correspondent kaj larsen and the rest of the cnn team onto the streets of san pedro sula , a manufacturing city with relatively good infrastructure . a convoy of other police vehicles joined us as we set off into the city . but instead of a tour , we began following a beat-up maroon truck . a chase ensued . finally , on the outskirts of the city , we surrounded the vehicle . its three occupants were pulled out at gunpoint and forced to lie on the highway . we were amazed to capture this all on camera , given how most serious crimes here go unsolved . in the next moment , the three were standing up , smiling . it turned out the police had staged the takedown to show us their tactics . a minute later , a call came in , and we were back in a police pickup , heading to the scene of a real crime : another body dumped , another group of neighbors who had n't seen anything or heard anything , another killing where there was n't going to be a dramatic chase ending with arrests . welcome to the most violent region on earth . getting away with murder americans are well aware of mexico 's drug war and the horrific violence that takes place a stone 's throw away from the united states . but narco-trafficking and violence are n't just confined to mexico . in fact , honduras , el salvador , belize , guatemala and panama all had higher per-capita murder rates than mexico in 2010 . cnn 's narco wars ' focuses on honduras and guatemala because these two countries have become the key corridor for cocaine coming to the united states from south america . this has coincided with a dramatic spike in homicide rates , according to the united nations . in honduras , homicides have more than doubled between 2005 and 2010 , the united nations reports . as a result , the u.s. peace corps last weekend pulled more than 150 of its volunteers out of honduras while it reviews the security situation there . almost every murder in these central american countries goes unsolved . the impunity rate -- the rate of serious crimes that go unsolved -- is extremely high , estimated by the united nations to be 98 % in guatemala . here , the odds are overwhelming that someone can literally get away with murder . true , there are other places where the impunity rate is high , such as parts of mexico where its drug war rages . but in mexico , the casualties are the result of a drug war that began with known , organized cartels fighting each other . in central america , officials estimate that drug dealing is a factor in 60 % of the killings , but it 's not always clear who 's killing whom and why . perhaps a murder is related to a big shipment of cocaine . or maybe it 's over a $ 50 drug sale on the sidewalk . origins of a drug war it started 30 years ago when hundreds of thousands of central americans began immigrating to the united states , many of them illegally . some ended up in los angeles , then the street gang capital of the united states , if not the world . some of the immigrants'children grew up and became gang members . they formed two large gangs , mara salvatrucha , also known as ms-13 , and 18th street . the neighborhoods where these gangs were based became active areas for the los angeles police department 's homicide division in the 1990s . it was as if central america 's civil wars in the 1980s had moved north . so the united states deported many of these gang members back to central america . as a result , mara salvatrucha and 18th street , originally from los angeles , became central american gangs . the region began to suffer an explosion of robberies , extortion cases and murders perpetrated by gang members . the threat was so serious that in 2004 , the fbi set up a task force to fight these transnational street gangs across the united states , mexico and central america . by 2005 , homicides in honduras had risen to nearly 2,500 a year . with the united states working hard to stop trafficking in the caribbean and south america , central america -- with its disruptive violence and high rate of impunity -- became an attractive alternative route . how colombia is busting its cartels former cali drug cartel member speaks out by 2011 , the dea estimated that 25 tons of cocaine a month were moving through honduras . and there were close to 7,000 homicides there , a 250 % increase in half a dozen years . homicides in neighboring el salvador reportedly rose to the highest level since that country 's civil war of the 1980s . of course , those are just numbers . on the ground , the increasing level of violence has created a kind of prison . when the sun goes down in san pedro sula and tegucigalpa , the capital of honduras , people retreat to their homes as if it were 4 a.m. large sections of city become deserted , and armed guards are everywhere . forget ideology : it 's all about dollars it 's easy to say the increase in drug trafficking in central america caused the spike in violence . but it 's not entirely clear . some analysts say they believe the instability and violence created by the deported gang members paved the way for drug traffickers . what is clear is that in the 1980s , the region suffered from civil wars that were ideological in nature . in guatemala and el salvador , marxist guerrillas were fighting governments that were allies of the united states . honduras was relatively more peaceful -- but not entirely as government forces battled marxist insurgents to a smaller extent . these were classic cold war conflicts as the west and the soviet bloc squared off . after the soviet union 's collapse in 1991 and the acceleration of globalization , a new symmetry has seemed to shape the violence in honduras and guatemala . now combatants are fighting over dollars from the lucrative drug trade , which could make it more difficult to establish a long-lasting peace . if we look at mexico 's more clear-cut narco war , consider the situation in tijuana . in the fall of 2008 , tijuana was a city under siege , a ghostly place . its public areas were largely deserted after dark . two years later , the city was bustling again , with new restaurants open , people out and about , and civic life restored . while there are still travel advisories -- including from the united states -- warning visitors to exercise caution in tijuana , there is a relative peace that authorities publicly credit to their efforts to defeat the cartels . the authorities publicly credited the relative peace in tijuana to their efforts to defeat the cartels . people whispered that either the warring cartels had made a truce , or that one entity has prevailed , ' the sinaloa cartel , mexico 's largest and most dominant , reclaiming its hegemony . the violence in guatemala and honduras seems less organized , so the path to peace appears less clear . guatemala has seen some success with pilot programs designed to fight official corruption and to convince citizens to cooperate with authorities . honduras , with a relatively weak government , so far seems to have little in the way of effective programs to end the violence . back in san pedro sula , on our first morning there , we visited a violence reduction center supported by the u.s. agency for international development . half a dozen or so police officers carrying assault rifles trailed behind for security as the people at the center walked us a quarter mile down a dusty road to a soccer field that represented their greatest triumph . the field used to be deserted because of gang violence in the neighborhood . after negotiating with the gangs , they reached an agreement allowing youth soccer leagues to use the field during the day . this fragile coexistence -- sharing a soccer field with drug gangs -- could be a small step toward what honduras and its neighbors must do to create peace in central america . | honduras and guatemala are key corridors for drugs coming to the u.s. from south america |
blatter <tsp> ( cnn ) -- mohammed bin hammam has promised to reform fifa 's corruption-tainted top echelons if he is successful in ending the 13-year reign of its president sepp blatter in the june 1 elections . the head of the asian football confederation threw his name into the hat on friday to end the prospect of the 75-year-old blatter being re-elected unopposed . i will always put in mind and consider among other things ... the demands from the public to keep fifa and football organizations above accusations and suspicion of negative practice , ' bin hammam told reporters on friday . i will always put into consideration the need of economically-underprivileged member associations to have more technical and financial support to enable them to close the gap between their nations and those of the advanced football nations . ' vote for blatter -- or'none of the above'? the last time blatter faced a battle was in 2002 , when he defeated africa 's issa hayatou by 139 votes to 56 despite his campaign being run amid claims of corruption and financial mismanagement . fifa 's 24-man executive committee has again been mired in controversy , with two of its members suspended last november ahead of the decision on which countries would host the 2018 and 2022 world cups , following an investigation into alleged bribery for votes . bin hammam , in his third term as afc president , said he will replace that committee with an expanded 41-member fifa board if he is elected , giving more representation to the world 's regional confederations . i propose uefa gets four more seats , caf four more seats , asia four more seats , concacaf three more seats , conmebol one more seat and ofc one more seat , ' the 61-year-old qatari said , adding that he had the support of the afc executive committee . a new executive committee will be coming , 40 members plus the president is 41 , and it will avoid as much as possible for the privilege of the casting vote going to the president . ' bin hammam said he would also create a new executive office ' headed by the fifa president and the six confederation leaders to implement the board 's decisions . i will decentralize the activities of the fifa administration . the legal matters , like the statutes and international transfers , and statutory issues can be handled directly by the confederations under the supervision of their executive bodies , ' he said . he also vowed to make football 's governing body more transparent , with a new proactive body to replace the existing ethical committee , which presently rules only after acts have happened . bin hammam will face a difficult task to convince fifa 's 208 member nations that he should replace blatter , who has presided over a $ 1.28 billion profit following the success of the 2010 world cup in south africa . blatter 's committee awarded qatar the 2022 tournament despite serious concerns over the emirate 's infrastructure and intensely-hot weather , while russia was a surprise winner of the right to host in 2018 . | mohammed bin hammam hopes to end blatter 's 13-year reign as president |
blatter <tsp> ( cnn ) -- mohammed bin hammam has promised to reform fifa 's corruption-tainted top echelons if he is successful in ending the 13-year reign of its president sepp blatter in the june 1 elections . the head of the asian football confederation threw his name into the hat on friday to end the prospect of the 75-year-old blatter being re-elected unopposed . i will always put in mind and consider among other things ... the demands from the public to keep fifa and football organizations above accusations and suspicion of negative practice , ' bin hammam told reporters on friday . i will always put into consideration the need of economically-underprivileged member associations to have more technical and financial support to enable them to close the gap between their nations and those of the advanced football nations . ' vote for blatter -- or'none of the above'? the last time blatter faced a battle was in 2002 , when he defeated africa 's issa hayatou by 139 votes to 56 despite his campaign being run amid claims of corruption and financial mismanagement . fifa 's 24-man executive committee has again been mired in controversy , with two of its members suspended last november ahead of the decision on which countries would host the 2018 and 2022 world cups , following an investigation into alleged bribery for votes . bin hammam , in his third term as afc president , said he will replace that committee with an expanded 41-member fifa board if he is elected , giving more representation to the world 's regional confederations . i propose uefa gets four more seats , caf four more seats , asia four more seats , concacaf three more seats , conmebol one more seat and ofc one more seat , ' the 61-year-old qatari said , adding that he had the support of the afc executive committee . a new executive committee will be coming , 40 members plus the president is 41 , and it will avoid as much as possible for the privilege of the casting vote going to the president . ' bin hammam said he would also create a new executive office ' headed by the fifa president and the six confederation leaders to implement the board 's decisions . i will decentralize the activities of the fifa administration . the legal matters , like the statutes and international transfers , and statutory issues can be handled directly by the confederations under the supervision of their executive bodies , ' he said . he also vowed to make football 's governing body more transparent , with a new proactive body to replace the existing ethical committee , which presently rules only after acts have happened . bin hammam will face a difficult task to convince fifa 's 208 member nations that he should replace blatter , who has presided over a $ 1.28 billion profit following the success of the 2010 world cup in south africa . blatter 's committee awarded qatar the 2022 tournament despite serious concerns over the emirate 's infrastructure and intensely-hot weather , while russia was a surprise winner of the right to host in 2018 . | asian football confederation president decides to stand against sepp blatter |
blatter <tsp> ( cnn ) -- mohammed bin hammam has promised to reform fifa 's corruption-tainted top echelons if he is successful in ending the 13-year reign of its president sepp blatter in the june 1 elections . the head of the asian football confederation threw his name into the hat on friday to end the prospect of the 75-year-old blatter being re-elected unopposed . i will always put in mind and consider among other things ... the demands from the public to keep fifa and football organizations above accusations and suspicion of negative practice , ' bin hammam told reporters on friday . i will always put into consideration the need of economically-underprivileged member associations to have more technical and financial support to enable them to close the gap between their nations and those of the advanced football nations . ' vote for blatter -- or'none of the above'? the last time blatter faced a battle was in 2002 , when he defeated africa 's issa hayatou by 139 votes to 56 despite his campaign being run amid claims of corruption and financial mismanagement . fifa 's 24-man executive committee has again been mired in controversy , with two of its members suspended last november ahead of the decision on which countries would host the 2018 and 2022 world cups , following an investigation into alleged bribery for votes . bin hammam , in his third term as afc president , said he will replace that committee with an expanded 41-member fifa board if he is elected , giving more representation to the world 's regional confederations . i propose uefa gets four more seats , caf four more seats , asia four more seats , concacaf three more seats , conmebol one more seat and ofc one more seat , ' the 61-year-old qatari said , adding that he had the support of the afc executive committee . a new executive committee will be coming , 40 members plus the president is 41 , and it will avoid as much as possible for the privilege of the casting vote going to the president . ' bin hammam said he would also create a new executive office ' headed by the fifa president and the six confederation leaders to implement the board 's decisions . i will decentralize the activities of the fifa administration . the legal matters , like the statutes and international transfers , and statutory issues can be handled directly by the confederations under the supervision of their executive bodies , ' he said . he also vowed to make football 's governing body more transparent , with a new proactive body to replace the existing ethical committee , which presently rules only after acts have happened . bin hammam will face a difficult task to convince fifa 's 208 member nations that he should replace blatter , who has presided over a $ 1.28 billion profit following the success of the 2010 world cup in south africa . blatter 's committee awarded qatar the 2022 tournament despite serious concerns over the emirate 's infrastructure and intensely-hot weather , while russia was a surprise winner of the right to host in 2018 . | the june 1 election sees blatter face an opponent for the first time since 2002 |
asian football confederation <tsp> ( cnn ) -- mohammed bin hammam has promised to reform fifa 's corruption-tainted top echelons if he is successful in ending the 13-year reign of its president sepp blatter in the june 1 elections . the head of the asian football confederation threw his name into the hat on friday to end the prospect of the 75-year-old blatter being re-elected unopposed . i will always put in mind and consider among other things ... the demands from the public to keep fifa and football organizations above accusations and suspicion of negative practice , ' bin hammam told reporters on friday . i will always put into consideration the need of economically-underprivileged member associations to have more technical and financial support to enable them to close the gap between their nations and those of the advanced football nations . ' vote for blatter -- or'none of the above'? the last time blatter faced a battle was in 2002 , when he defeated africa 's issa hayatou by 139 votes to 56 despite his campaign being run amid claims of corruption and financial mismanagement . fifa 's 24-man executive committee has again been mired in controversy , with two of its members suspended last november ahead of the decision on which countries would host the 2018 and 2022 world cups , following an investigation into alleged bribery for votes . bin hammam , in his third term as afc president , said he will replace that committee with an expanded 41-member fifa board if he is elected , giving more representation to the world 's regional confederations . i propose uefa gets four more seats , caf four more seats , asia four more seats , concacaf three more seats , conmebol one more seat and ofc one more seat , ' the 61-year-old qatari said , adding that he had the support of the afc executive committee . a new executive committee will be coming , 40 members plus the president is 41 , and it will avoid as much as possible for the privilege of the casting vote going to the president . ' bin hammam said he would also create a new executive office ' headed by the fifa president and the six confederation leaders to implement the board 's decisions . i will decentralize the activities of the fifa administration . the legal matters , like the statutes and international transfers , and statutory issues can be handled directly by the confederations under the supervision of their executive bodies , ' he said . he also vowed to make football 's governing body more transparent , with a new proactive body to replace the existing ethical committee , which presently rules only after acts have happened . bin hammam will face a difficult task to convince fifa 's 208 member nations that he should replace blatter , who has presided over a $ 1.28 billion profit following the success of the 2010 world cup in south africa . blatter 's committee awarded qatar the 2022 tournament despite serious concerns over the emirate 's infrastructure and intensely-hot weather , while russia was a surprise winner of the right to host in 2018 . | asian football confederation president decides to stand against sepp blatter |
hussein <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- in 2004 , even after being captured by u.s. forces , saddam hussein told an fbi interrogator he believed iran was a greater threat to iraq than the united states , according to newly released fbi documents . baghdad 's al mutamar newspaper shows saddam hussein , right , with ahmed chalabi of iraq 's governing council in 2003 . the fbi interviews took place while hussein , then identified by the fbi as high value detainee 1 ' was held captive by u.s. military forces at baghdad international airport between february and june of 2004 . hussein regarded the iranian threat as so serious that it was the major factor in his decision not to allow united nations weapons inspectors to return , he said . citing their shared border and his belief iran would intend to annex southern iraq , hussein said he was more concerned about iran discovering iraq 's weaknesses than repercussions from the united states and the international community . he believed that the inspectors would have directly identified to the iranians where to inflict maximum damage to iraq . approximately 100 pages of declassified interview summaries , previously classified as secret , were obtained by the national security archive at the george washington university through a freedom of information act request . the fbi declined cnn 's request to interview special agent george l. piro , the agent who interviewed hussein . fbi spokesman paul bresson declined to comment on the declassified documents . as a general rule , the fbi does not discuss foia 'd documents . we let the information stand on its own , ' bresson told cnn . piro , an fbi agent fluent in arabic , conducted the interviews along with another agent whose name has been redacted from the documents . although hussein had been a prisoner for months , at one point during an interview he said , i am not the ex-president of iraq . i am still the president of iraq . ' hussein also described al qaeda leader osama bin laden as a zealot ' and said he had never met or seen him . he also said the united states used the september 11 attacks as justification to attack iraq , and that the united states had lost sight of the cause . ' despite piro citing evidence of iraq 's contacts with al qaeda , hussein said , the iraqi government did not cooperate with bin laden ' and that the two did not have the same belief or vision . ' the former regime 's alleged weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to al qaeda were the bush administration 's primary justifications for invading iraq in march of 2003 . piro and hussein spoke extensively about iraq 's chemical weapons during the iran war , the 1990 invasion of kuwait and in the years before the second u.s. invasion . hussein refused to answer a question about whether iraq would have lost the war it fought with iran from 1980 to 1988 if it had not used chemical weapons . he also said neither he nor any other iraqi officials discussed using chemical weapons during the first gulf war . hussein admitted that iraq made a mistake by destroying some weapons without u.n. supervision . in his view , the inspectors wanted all of their expenses paid for by iraq . instead of waiting for the inspectors and paying the expenses , iraq began destroying the weapons . we destroyed them . we told you , with documents . that 's it , ' hussein said . when asked about restrictions he placed on weapons inspectors regarding which locations they could visit , hussein responded , by god , if i had such weapons , i would have used them in the fight against the united states . ' hussein commented about the mental state of u.s. soldiers occupying iraq . if you asked the american soldier -- who came to iraq to find weapons of mass destruction , but none could be found , and who came to remove the leaders of the hussein dictatorship , who are all in jail now , but are replaced with other dictators -- whether he wanted to stay or go , he would say go . ' hussein said he alone gave the orders to fire scud missiles at israel during the first gulf war , adding , everything that happened to us was because of israel . ' he said he figured that the united states would stop the war if israel was hurt , ' and he wanted to punish the country he viewed as the source of all his problems . hussein recalled a meeting in switzerland between his foreign minister tariq aziz and then-u.s. secretary of state james baker in january of 1991 shortly before operation desert storm . according to hussein , baker offered no solutions to resolve the kuwait situation and gave specific steps to aziz that the united states wanted iraq to do first , and baker added otherwise , we 'll take you back to the pre-industrial age . ' he also told piro he wanted to have a relationship with the united states but was not given the opportunity because in his view the united states was not listening to anything iraq had to say . hussein also revealed details about his security measures and movements before and after the second u.s. invasion of iraq in march of 2003 . he says he had only used a telephone on two occasions since march of 1990 . he denied ever using body doubles , claiming , this is movie magic , not reality . ' he also said he never saw his sons use body doubles . do not think i am getting upset when you mention my sons . i still think about them and the fact that they were martyred . they will be examples to everyone throughout the world , ' he said . hussein also states he was not in the dora neighborhood of baghdad on march 19 , 2003 , when it was bombed by coalition forces in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him . he says he remained in baghdad until april 10 or 11 of 2003 , when it appeared the city was about to fall to coalition forces . before leaving the city , he said he held one final meeting with the senior iraqi leadership and told them , we will struggle in secret . ' shortly after his departure from the capital , hussein began to gradually disperse his bodyguards , telling them they had completed their duty , so as not to draw attention . hussein also admitted that after participating in the failed assassination attempt against then-iraqi president gen. abdul karim qasim in 1959 , he had stayed at the same farm where he was captured by u.s. forces in december of 2003 . cnn 's carol cratty contributed to this report . | hussein described osama bin laden as a zealot , ' said he never met him |
hussein <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- in 2004 , even after being captured by u.s. forces , saddam hussein told an fbi interrogator he believed iran was a greater threat to iraq than the united states , according to newly released fbi documents . baghdad 's al mutamar newspaper shows saddam hussein , right , with ahmed chalabi of iraq 's governing council in 2003 . the fbi interviews took place while hussein , then identified by the fbi as high value detainee 1 ' was held captive by u.s. military forces at baghdad international airport between february and june of 2004 . hussein regarded the iranian threat as so serious that it was the major factor in his decision not to allow united nations weapons inspectors to return , he said . citing their shared border and his belief iran would intend to annex southern iraq , hussein said he was more concerned about iran discovering iraq 's weaknesses than repercussions from the united states and the international community . he believed that the inspectors would have directly identified to the iranians where to inflict maximum damage to iraq . approximately 100 pages of declassified interview summaries , previously classified as secret , were obtained by the national security archive at the george washington university through a freedom of information act request . the fbi declined cnn 's request to interview special agent george l. piro , the agent who interviewed hussein . fbi spokesman paul bresson declined to comment on the declassified documents . as a general rule , the fbi does not discuss foia 'd documents . we let the information stand on its own , ' bresson told cnn . piro , an fbi agent fluent in arabic , conducted the interviews along with another agent whose name has been redacted from the documents . although hussein had been a prisoner for months , at one point during an interview he said , i am not the ex-president of iraq . i am still the president of iraq . ' hussein also described al qaeda leader osama bin laden as a zealot ' and said he had never met or seen him . he also said the united states used the september 11 attacks as justification to attack iraq , and that the united states had lost sight of the cause . ' despite piro citing evidence of iraq 's contacts with al qaeda , hussein said , the iraqi government did not cooperate with bin laden ' and that the two did not have the same belief or vision . ' the former regime 's alleged weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to al qaeda were the bush administration 's primary justifications for invading iraq in march of 2003 . piro and hussein spoke extensively about iraq 's chemical weapons during the iran war , the 1990 invasion of kuwait and in the years before the second u.s. invasion . hussein refused to answer a question about whether iraq would have lost the war it fought with iran from 1980 to 1988 if it had not used chemical weapons . he also said neither he nor any other iraqi officials discussed using chemical weapons during the first gulf war . hussein admitted that iraq made a mistake by destroying some weapons without u.n. supervision . in his view , the inspectors wanted all of their expenses paid for by iraq . instead of waiting for the inspectors and paying the expenses , iraq began destroying the weapons . we destroyed them . we told you , with documents . that 's it , ' hussein said . when asked about restrictions he placed on weapons inspectors regarding which locations they could visit , hussein responded , by god , if i had such weapons , i would have used them in the fight against the united states . ' hussein commented about the mental state of u.s. soldiers occupying iraq . if you asked the american soldier -- who came to iraq to find weapons of mass destruction , but none could be found , and who came to remove the leaders of the hussein dictatorship , who are all in jail now , but are replaced with other dictators -- whether he wanted to stay or go , he would say go . ' hussein said he alone gave the orders to fire scud missiles at israel during the first gulf war , adding , everything that happened to us was because of israel . ' he said he figured that the united states would stop the war if israel was hurt , ' and he wanted to punish the country he viewed as the source of all his problems . hussein recalled a meeting in switzerland between his foreign minister tariq aziz and then-u.s. secretary of state james baker in january of 1991 shortly before operation desert storm . according to hussein , baker offered no solutions to resolve the kuwait situation and gave specific steps to aziz that the united states wanted iraq to do first , and baker added otherwise , we 'll take you back to the pre-industrial age . ' he also told piro he wanted to have a relationship with the united states but was not given the opportunity because in his view the united states was not listening to anything iraq had to say . hussein also revealed details about his security measures and movements before and after the second u.s. invasion of iraq in march of 2003 . he says he had only used a telephone on two occasions since march of 1990 . he denied ever using body doubles , claiming , this is movie magic , not reality . ' he also said he never saw his sons use body doubles . do not think i am getting upset when you mention my sons . i still think about them and the fact that they were martyred . they will be examples to everyone throughout the world , ' he said . hussein also states he was not in the dora neighborhood of baghdad on march 19 , 2003 , when it was bombed by coalition forces in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him . he says he remained in baghdad until april 10 or 11 of 2003 , when it appeared the city was about to fall to coalition forces . before leaving the city , he said he held one final meeting with the senior iraqi leadership and told them , we will struggle in secret . ' shortly after his departure from the capital , hussein began to gradually disperse his bodyguards , telling them they had completed their duty , so as not to draw attention . hussein also admitted that after participating in the failed assassination attempt against then-iraqi president gen. abdul karim qasim in 1959 , he had stayed at the same farm where he was captured by u.s. forces in december of 2003 . cnn 's carol cratty contributed to this report . | saddam hussein calls iran a factor in keeping u.n. inspectors out of iraq |
marcia cross <tsp> opening statements in the trial of actress nicollette sheridan 's claim that her desperate housewives ' character was killed off because she complained about mistreatment by the tv show 's creator were delayed wednesday morning as the judge considered an evidence dispute . los angeles county superior court judge elizabeth allen white tossed reporters from the courtroom while she heard arguments over whether the jury should hear conversations that may have been protected by attorney-client privilege . once lawyers deliver their openings to the jury , sheridan is expected to testify in her wrongful termination lawsuit against series creator-producer-writer marc cherry and abc . several of sheridan 's former cast mates -- including eva longoria , marcia cross , james denton , felicity huffman and neal mcdonough -- are on the list of witnesses expected to defend cherry . the suit contends that cherry created a hostile work environment ' from the show 's beginning in 2004 . cherry has a reputation for behaving in an extremely abusive and aggressive manner toward the individuals who work on the show , and is known for regularly demeaning the writers and staff in front of others on the show , including sheridan , ' the suit says . cherry focused his hostility on sheridan in the fifth season when cherry consistently behaved in a dismissive , demeaning and unprofessional manner toward sheridan , not only in front of the other cast and crew on the show , but before the public at large , ' it says . this hostility and aggression toward sheridan culminated ' on the set of the show on september 24 , 2008 , the suit says . the suit alleges that during a rehearsal for the show , when sheridan questioned cherry about something that was in the script , cherry took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head . ' sheridan complained to abc executives about the september 2008 incident , but nevertheless , cherry 's abusive and aggressive behavior towards sheridan not only persisted , it worsened , ' the suit contends . he continued to behave in a derisive and condescending manner toward sheridan . ' eleven episodes later , in march 2009 , her character , edie britt , was electrocuted after a car crash , ending sheridan 's employment on the series . defense lawyers argue that cherry lightly tapped her head in giving her direction for a scene , ' and the decision that the character of edie would die was made before the incident and was primarily a creative decision . ' sheridan 's lawyers contend it is exceptionally unusual for a popular character to be killed off or written out of a television series unless the actor has requested to be released from his or her contract . ' sheridan lost at least $ 20 million by missing out on the last three seasons , the suit says . her pay was to be $ 250,000 for each episode in the eighth year , which is the final season for the series , it said . lawyers estimated in court filings that testimony in the trial could last more than two weeks . | eva longoria , marcia cross , james denton and felicity huffman are on witness list |
russian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- serena williams refused to get drawn into a pre-wimbledon war of words with maria sharapova sunday -- claiming she had apologized to her russian rival for comments made about her personal life . sharapova used her press conference saturday to lambast williams over an article which appeared in rolling stone magazine . it included a veiled reference to sharapova 's relationship with bulgarian player grigor dimitrov and also contained a controversial passage about the rape of a 16-year-old girl by two high school american football players in ohio . if she wants to talk about something personal , maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids , ' sharapova told reporters . the 31-year-old american is romantically linked with her french coach patrick mouratoglou . sharapova also questioned the wisdom of the world no.1 's comments on the rape , for which williams was later forced to apologize , saying she found them sad. ' . but williams , who opens her wimbledon title defense against luxembourg 's mandy minella tuesday , said she had reached out an olive branch to sharapova at the wta players'party in london last week . i feel like maria , unfortunately , was inadvertently brought into a situation she should have never been brought into , ' serena said . i personally talked to maria at the player party . i said ;'look , i want to personally apologize to you if you are offended by being brought into my situation . i want to take this moment to just pour myself , be open , say i 'm very sorry for this whole situation'. ' despite a grilling from the media , williams refused to get drawn into a row over sharapova 's stinging attack , while repeatedly apologizing for the rolling stone article . it definitely has n't been easy . and i feel like i really wanted to say , i apologize for everything that was said in that article , ' she said . she also conceded the controversy may be a distraction as she bids for a sixth wimbledon title and 17th grand slam crown . her 16th came when she beat sharapova for the 13th straight time in beating the defending champion at the french open . | world no.1 says she apologized to the russian earlier this week |
alaska <tsp> ( cnn ) -- sherry johnston , whose son is having a baby with the daughter of alaska gov . sarah palin , was arrested thursday on drug charges , alaska state police said . bristol palin , the eldest daughter of alaska gov . sarah palin , and her boyfriend , levi johnston , in september . johnston 's teenage son , levi , is the boyfriend of bristol palin , eldest daughter of the former gop vice-presidential nominee . johnston was arrested in her home in wasilla , alaska , on six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance , police said . the warrant resulted from an undercover investigation that had been going on for a while , ' alaska state trooper spokeswoman megan peters said . peters would not describe the type or amount of drugs allegedly involved in the arrest , saying such disclosures could hamper the investigation . ' deborah miller , supervisor of the criminal department in the clerk 's office in palmer , alaska , told cnn that sherry johnston was released on bail and is scheduled to be arraigned january 6 . palin spokesman bill mcallister would not comment on the arrest . this is not a state government matter , ' he said . | johnston arrested in her home in wasilla , alaska , on 6 felony counts |
ferguson <tsp> the chants of protest heard across america in recent weeks echoed wednesday in the small city where the civil rights movement reached a crescendo five decades ago . about 20 protesters walked up selma 's famed edmund pettus bridge and yelled : hands up ! do n't shoot ! ' and i ca n't breathe , ' in reference to the deaths of michael brown in ferguson , missouri , and eric garner in new york . but here in selma , there was an added chant : show the tape . ' protesters want police chief william riley to make public a videotape of a police shooting that took place more than a year ago . ananias shaw , 74 , was killed last december after he rushed an officer while wielding a hatchet , police said . shaw was black . so was the police officer . riley said the tape clearly shows the killing was justified . a grand jury heard the case and decided not to issue an indictment , as was the case in ferguson and new york . it was the ferguson protests that inspired longtime activist faya rose toure to lead the charge for the shaw family in selma , though the circumstances are vastly different here . selma , which is more than 80 % african-american , has a black mayor , a black police chief , a black district attorney and a majority black city council . but for toure , the problem in selma goes far beyond this one case . selma once shocked the national consciousness when police beat and tear gassed 600 civil rights marchers as they crossed the edmund pettus bridge on their way to montgomery . the day became known as bloody sunday and led the way to the voting rights act of 1965 . a movie depiction of the selma story will release nationwide on january 9 . selma , said toure , has come a long way since then , but black people are not yet free of injustices . even to this day , we are suffering from the inferiority complex stemming from days of slavery , ' she said . it 's not just about color . it 's about a mindset . ' toure demanded riley release the tape . it 's a matter of transparency , ' she said . shaw 's brother , edward shaw , said his brother 's death was unnecessary . show the tape to the whole town , ' shaw said . but the police chief said he would not release the tape until the family has had a chance to view it . it wo n't be easy to watch and they deserve space to process what they 'll see on their own , he said . i do n't care who 's jumping up and down , ' riley said . i do what 's right and that 's what i 'm going to do . we want the family to see it first . it 's only fair . ' riley said he has made arrangements for ananias shaw 's children , who live in the chicago area , to view the tape there . a copy is sitting in a chicago-area law enforcement agency , ready to be seen by shaw 's son and daughter whenever they come in . and on friday morning , local relatives including edward shaw will gather to see it , too . the day before the protest , edward shaw pointed to the spot near a church 's chicken restaurant where his brother fell to the ground . he said he had rushed to the scene about 15 minutes after his brother was shot to find an entire block cordoned off with tape . shaw said he saw his brother 's body lie on the ground for hours , uncovered . everyone around here knew him , ' shaw said . he walked the streets for many years . ' ananias shaw once worked as a mechanic but lost himself ' after his wife left him decades ago and his house burned in a fire . even so , he earned the nickname ambulance , because he came to the aid of people , said his brother . edward shaw said selma police knew his brother acted crazy ' but that he never harmed anyone . but to hear it from the chief , the officer who shot shaw had no choice . when officers responded to a call about a disturbance at church 's chicken , shaw had ducked into a vacant building , riley said . shaw then came out with a hatchet , cussing like a dog . ' riley said officers told shaw they did n't want to hurt him and repeatedly asked him to drop the weapon . but then shaw turned on an officer , the hatchet raised , and that 's when the single shot was fired . truth is , riley said , the officer let him get too close . ' added lt. johnny king : we could have had an officer 's funeral . ' king has been with the department for nearly 28 years . he said he knew of only two police shooting fatalities in all that time . but edward shaw said his brother left the restaurant on his own accord and there was no reason for the police to give him chase . why would you follow him ? ' shaw asked . that 's what gets me . ' that shaw had problems was no secret , the chief said . but he ca n't help but wonder why shaw 's family , in all the decades he was troubled , did n't get him the help he needed . why did n't they have him committed ? they knew his propensity to act crazy . evidently he was deteriorating , and they saw it happening , ' riley said . the videotape of the shooting was taken by the officer 's lapel camera . toure , the activist , said it was her husband , alabama state sen. hank sanders , who was responsible for $ 30,000 in funding for the city of selma to buy lapel cameras for the police force . ferguson , ' she said , is advocating for something we already have . but why ca n't we see the tape ? ' the chief takes no issue with protests tied to the tensions roiling through the country . what happened to michael brown in ferguson , eric garner in new york and tamir rice in cleveland bothers him , too . we have things going on in policing that are n't right , ' he said . if people want to scream outside his department , i ca n't breathe , ' he 's all for it . but what he ca n't get behind is how what happened in selma is being lumped with these cases . it 's wrong and disingenuous , ' he said . we 're no ferguson , ' and pretending selma is , he said , hurts the message . ' | protest links selma police killing of man a year ago to ferguson , new york cases |
gulf <tsp> ( cnn ) -- when it comes to airline alliances , there is safety and profitability in numbers -- even more so as the industry tries to stave off the worst effects of the great recession and sluggish recovery , where we have seen mergers and code share agreements . all the major european airlines are part of one of the three big alliances . there is star ( the biggest ) based around lufthansa and united airlines ; skyteam based around air france/klm and delta ; and oneworld based around ba and american airlines . alliances are a key part of the aviation industry . according to oneworld ceo bruce ashby , 86 % of the revenue from travel between the world 's top 100 cities business is booked with alliances . passengers who travel for business are heavily invested in alliances carriers , ' he says . oneworld has marked a milestone in airline alliance history with its newest member qatar airways being the first gulf carrier to join an alliance . competition between the big three ' ( emirates , etihad and qatar airways ) is rife and now that qatar has made this bold step to join oneworld , the impact of gulf carriers on the industry and the relationships they choose to forge are being followed more closely than ever before , to see how airlines and alliances will respond . see also : gulf hubs become travel hotspots ' as more airlines are aligned and more consolidation occurs , alliances actually end up competing for members in some ways , ' said bruce ashby , ceo of the oneworld alliance . now that more and more airlines belong , the tension between them has grown . ' for other gulf carriers , a cosy codeshare with different alliances is as far as they 'll go . emirates has codeshare agreements with oneworld carrier qantas and , most recently , with star alliance member tap portugal . skyteam welcomes air france 's partnership with etihad and air berlin , where etihad owns 29 % of the german airline . gulf carriers and their hubs are well-positioned geographically for a number of major traffic flows , both within the gulf region itself and between other continents ' said michael wisburn , ceo of skyteam . these gulf carriers have developed substantial capacity with high transfer capabilities , making these airlines and their hubs relevant players in aviation today , both in terms of industry developments and possible further consolidation , ' he added . although etihad has not joined an alliance , skyteam member air france says it 's a case of if you ca n't beat'em , join'em . ' when you see geographically the way the world is built , gulf carriers bring significant improvement to the alliances , ' said alexandre de juniac , president and ceo of air france in an exclusive interview with cnn -- his first international television appearance since being appointed . watch video : etihad rejects airline alliances when asked about doing business with air berlin -- which is a member of a rival alliance oneworld -- juniac candidly said : in the future if our ties with etihad and air berlin become closer , air berlin will have to make a decision about which alliance they want to belong to . the decision is in their hands . ' air berlin , germany 's second largest carrier after lufthansa , has only been a member of oneworld since march last year and if it were ever to leave , the alliance would n't let it go quietly . we would regret it very deeply if air berlin left oneworld , ' says ashby . we like air berlin and they add a lot of value to us and we think we add a lot of value to them , by the way . it would be easier if we had exclusive clubs and we said'if you join my club you ca n't use any other club ,'but this is the airline business and it 's completely impractical . we would be sad to see them leave . i would definitely put up a fight if i thought it were necessary . ' watch video :'gulf three'shake up global aviation star alliance is monitoring this relationship closely , especially because its chief member , lufthansa , is the only major european airline that has n't teamed up with a gulf carrier . even so , star alliance says it does n't feel left out or threatened . we 're the only global alliance that flies to all of the countries in the middle east and we really have no aspirations to have one of the carriers in the gulf join our alliance , ' says mark schwab , ceo for star alliance , which has 27 members . he adds : fifteen years of star alliance , 21,900 flights a day , 192 countries , 1,330 cities we fly to -- we have turkish airlines in the vicinity , also egyptair , so we 're not feeling any kind of commercial pressure . ' and for airlines like south-east asia 's royal brunei , which are too small for it to be worth their while joining an alliance , the best way to compete is not to compete . i think you have to cut your cloth in this industry , ' says royal brunei deputy chairman dermot mannion . the gulf carriers have put a lot of capacity into the region over the last five-six years and that 's had an impact on all the airlines , especially the kangaroo traffic between the uk , australia and new zealand . we 've cut capacity , we closed routes to brisbane , perth and auckland . we are backing off competing against the gulf carriers and focusing on what we do best -- asean . that way we can happily co-exist with the gulf carriers . ' according to the international air transport association , airlines were expected to return a profit of $ 6.7 billion at the end of 2012 , only slightly improving to $ 8.4 billion in 2013 . adding capacity and connecting continents , gulf carriers will continue to play a crucial role in helping airlines and alliances expand their networks , filling their geographical gaps . ayesha durgahee is the resident reporter on cnn 's business traveller . follow ayesha on twitter at @ ayeshacnn . | gulf carriers'location and capacity make them important players in aviation |
gulf <tsp> ( cnn ) -- when it comes to airline alliances , there is safety and profitability in numbers -- even more so as the industry tries to stave off the worst effects of the great recession and sluggish recovery , where we have seen mergers and code share agreements . all the major european airlines are part of one of the three big alliances . there is star ( the biggest ) based around lufthansa and united airlines ; skyteam based around air france/klm and delta ; and oneworld based around ba and american airlines . alliances are a key part of the aviation industry . according to oneworld ceo bruce ashby , 86 % of the revenue from travel between the world 's top 100 cities business is booked with alliances . passengers who travel for business are heavily invested in alliances carriers , ' he says . oneworld has marked a milestone in airline alliance history with its newest member qatar airways being the first gulf carrier to join an alliance . competition between the big three ' ( emirates , etihad and qatar airways ) is rife and now that qatar has made this bold step to join oneworld , the impact of gulf carriers on the industry and the relationships they choose to forge are being followed more closely than ever before , to see how airlines and alliances will respond . see also : gulf hubs become travel hotspots ' as more airlines are aligned and more consolidation occurs , alliances actually end up competing for members in some ways , ' said bruce ashby , ceo of the oneworld alliance . now that more and more airlines belong , the tension between them has grown . ' for other gulf carriers , a cosy codeshare with different alliances is as far as they 'll go . emirates has codeshare agreements with oneworld carrier qantas and , most recently , with star alliance member tap portugal . skyteam welcomes air france 's partnership with etihad and air berlin , where etihad owns 29 % of the german airline . gulf carriers and their hubs are well-positioned geographically for a number of major traffic flows , both within the gulf region itself and between other continents ' said michael wisburn , ceo of skyteam . these gulf carriers have developed substantial capacity with high transfer capabilities , making these airlines and their hubs relevant players in aviation today , both in terms of industry developments and possible further consolidation , ' he added . although etihad has not joined an alliance , skyteam member air france says it 's a case of if you ca n't beat'em , join'em . ' when you see geographically the way the world is built , gulf carriers bring significant improvement to the alliances , ' said alexandre de juniac , president and ceo of air france in an exclusive interview with cnn -- his first international television appearance since being appointed . watch video : etihad rejects airline alliances when asked about doing business with air berlin -- which is a member of a rival alliance oneworld -- juniac candidly said : in the future if our ties with etihad and air berlin become closer , air berlin will have to make a decision about which alliance they want to belong to . the decision is in their hands . ' air berlin , germany 's second largest carrier after lufthansa , has only been a member of oneworld since march last year and if it were ever to leave , the alliance would n't let it go quietly . we would regret it very deeply if air berlin left oneworld , ' says ashby . we like air berlin and they add a lot of value to us and we think we add a lot of value to them , by the way . it would be easier if we had exclusive clubs and we said'if you join my club you ca n't use any other club ,'but this is the airline business and it 's completely impractical . we would be sad to see them leave . i would definitely put up a fight if i thought it were necessary . ' watch video :'gulf three'shake up global aviation star alliance is monitoring this relationship closely , especially because its chief member , lufthansa , is the only major european airline that has n't teamed up with a gulf carrier . even so , star alliance says it does n't feel left out or threatened . we 're the only global alliance that flies to all of the countries in the middle east and we really have no aspirations to have one of the carriers in the gulf join our alliance , ' says mark schwab , ceo for star alliance , which has 27 members . he adds : fifteen years of star alliance , 21,900 flights a day , 192 countries , 1,330 cities we fly to -- we have turkish airlines in the vicinity , also egyptair , so we 're not feeling any kind of commercial pressure . ' and for airlines like south-east asia 's royal brunei , which are too small for it to be worth their while joining an alliance , the best way to compete is not to compete . i think you have to cut your cloth in this industry , ' says royal brunei deputy chairman dermot mannion . the gulf carriers have put a lot of capacity into the region over the last five-six years and that 's had an impact on all the airlines , especially the kangaroo traffic between the uk , australia and new zealand . we 've cut capacity , we closed routes to brisbane , perth and auckland . we are backing off competing against the gulf carriers and focusing on what we do best -- asean . that way we can happily co-exist with the gulf carriers . ' according to the international air transport association , airlines were expected to return a profit of $ 6.7 billion at the end of 2012 , only slightly improving to $ 8.4 billion in 2013 . adding capacity and connecting continents , gulf carriers will continue to play a crucial role in helping airlines and alliances expand their networks , filling their geographical gaps . ayesha durgahee is the resident reporter on cnn 's business traveller . follow ayesha on twitter at @ ayeshacnn . | qatar airways was the first gulf carrier to join one of the three big alliances |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.