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newport <tsp> ensenada , mexico ( cnn ) -- it 's what every sailor remembers : the fear of the first overnight race . the moment takes on bigger meaning when the seaman is a mere 9 years old . it 's really cool having a shift overnight , ' said jake mayol , a third-grader from aliso viejo , california . frightening too . it was pretty scary because when the adults went up on the bow , you were worried that they were going to fall in , ' said jake , whose long blonde hair casts him as a year-round boy of summer . he and three other youngsters -- including two girls , both 13 -- joined their fathers on a 46-ft bluewater cruiser in a 125-mile sailrace along the pacific coast that describes itself as the world 's largest international yacht race . ' the newport to ensenada international yacht race makes that claim because it begins in california and ends in mexico . the regatta offers vistas of mountains meeting the sea and ends in mexico 's wine country , where ensenada produces 90 % of the nation 's wine . the race fielded 204 boats this april -- an increase over recent years but still well below the almost 700 boats that competed in the 1980s . past participants included celebrities and great sailors alike , such as actors humphrey bogart and buddy ebsen , the late steve fossett , america 's cup winner dennis conner , and walt disney co. scion roy disney . nautical memories for 9-year-old jake , his achievement marked the third generation of mayols completing the race , said his father , erik , 48 , a tile and stone contractor . jake 's grandfather completed the race 20 times , said erik mayol . it was really special for me to be able to share it with him , ' recalls father erik mayol , who added he 's raced the event 35 times . there were a few moment when they were not completely comfortable , which is completely normal , and it 's our job to make them feel safe . ' those moments arose when overnight winds hit 17 knots , and the boat turns knocked the sleeping youths to the cabin sole . it 's really hard to go down and sleep for a couple of hours and then get back up for your next shift , ' said cole pomeroy , 12 , a 6th grader from newport beach . his father , karl , 48 , an executive with an air conditioning manufacturer , described the experience as a lifetime memory -- a great thing to share with your son . ' or daughter . one girl , lolo foster , 13 , a 7th grader from corona del mar , california , said the parents entertained the youngsters with ghost stories , creating a playful banter on the stella maris . i saw this boat at night in silhouette , and it looked like a pirate ship , ' lolo recalled . another girl , sammy pickell , 13 , also a 7th grader from corona del mar , marveled at the marine life . we saw a lot of dolphins and they were doing tricks for us close to the boat , ' sammy said . they were jumping up and going in front of us and crossing in front of the bow . ' safety at sea the fathers of the four children said their parental anxieties were allayed by how skipper tom madden outfitted his sailboat with redundancies for safety . those concerns are understandable as of late . the perils of sail racing have been on the mind of many pacific sailors as the past year has been particularly tragic on the california coast . in last year 's newport-to-ensenada regatta , four sailors were killed when their 37-foot boat , named aegean , struck the north end of the unlighted north coronado island off the mexican coast at night , according to authorities and race organizers . and just last month british sailracer andrew bart ' simpson , 36 , was killed training for the america 's cup aboard the 72-foot artemis racing , which capsized in san francisco bay . the risks of coastal sailing carry the reward of thrills , adventure , and a coastal horizon that can mesmerize the sailor for the entire journey . this is one of the more prominent races in the world , ' said chuck iverson , commodore of the newport ocean sailing association , which has hosted the sailrace since its inception in 1947 . we have had world-class sailors in this race . ' race organizers work with the governor and tourism official in baja california , mexico , to make sure everybody has a good time , ' said vice commodore dave shockley . the post-race party recently went upscale , moving to the elegant hotel coral and marina from a downtown ensenada motel in need of a coat of paint . the old motel was a longtime sentimental favorite , where race organizers maintained a tradition of using a bucket to pass results and notes up and down the outdoor floors . economics of sailing in the 1980s , the competition lured about 680 boats , its peak . the more than 200 boats in this year 's race marked an increase from recent years , especially since the recession hit in 2008 . in 2011 , the race experienced its lowest turnover ever , 175 sailboats , iverson said . when the downturn came in 2008 , it really affected us , and the number of boats declined , ' iverson said . some sailors and their families had also dropped from participation because of the intense u.s.-mexico security and lengthy border checks , prompted by cartel violence and smuggling . no one wants to drive down here anymore , ' said sailracer peter bretschger , past commodore of the balboa yacht club , a regatta co-sponsor . however , he and several hundred partiers were n't daunted , evidenced in the after race celebration in the hotel courtyard . this year 's contest , with its finish line now located off the hotel marina , enjoyed extraordinary winds : a 60-ft trimaran , the loe real from san diego , did n't even have to sail overnight and finished just before sunset , setting a race record for second fastest time ever for a multi-hull , at 7:03:51 . the multi-hull record still belong to adventurer fossett , whose 60-ft stars and stripes catamaran completed the course in 6:46:40 in 1998 . it was n't just children showing a trailblazing spirit in the race . rhonda toller was among the small but growing number of women racers . i grew up power boating my entire life and i always dreamed of sailing , ' she said . she 's now been sailing for six years and owns a 57-ft sailboat . it 's just really fun to come to mexico , ' she added . under a full moon , cnn newsdesk editor michael martinez cruised the newport-to-ensenada course in the 50-ft bluewater sailboat permanent waves , courtesy of skipper j. scott huston and his crew . | children as young as age 9 sale overnight from newport to ensenada |
muslims <tsp> i 'm an american-muslim and i despise islamic terrorists . in fact , despise is not even a strong enough word to convey my true feelings about those who kill innocent people in the name of islam . i hate them with every fiber of my being . i 'm not going to tell you , islam is a religion of peace . ' nor will i tell you that islam is a religion of violence . what i will say is that islam is a religion that , like christianity and judaism , is intended to bring you closer to god . and sadly we have seen people use the name of each of these abrahamic faiths to wage and justify violence . the unique problem for muslims is that our faith is being increasingly defined by the actions of a tiny group of morally bankrupt terrorists . just to be clear : the people who commit violence in the name of islam are not muslims , they are murderers . their true religion is hatred and inhumanity . the only people terrorists speak for are themselves and the others involved in their despicable plot . they do not represent me , my family or any other muslim i know . and believe me , i know a lot of muslims . we hate these terrorists more than non-muslims do . how can i say that ? because they harm innocent people in the name of our religion and consequently we suffer a backlash because of their acts . it can be anything from a spike in hate crimes to people viewing muslims as less than fully american because of our faith . we are the ones called to answer for the sins of people we detest . since the boston bombing has renewed for some concerns about muslims , i wanted to candidly answer three questions i have been asked repeatedly over the years : 1 . why do some muslims commit terrorism ? i 'm not a terrorism expert but i will share the view of those i have spoken to in the muslim community . there can be no doubt that some muslims wrongly believe that their terrorist act is sanctioned by islam . but to us their true motivation is not religious , but rather political . islam is simply used by terrorists as a way to recruit support.they then engage in terrorism to bring attention to their grievances or to achieve their political agenda , just as other terror groups have done in the past . the recent statement of the islamic militant group in the caucasus region denying involvement in the boston bombing makes this very point . they expressly tell us that they have a specific political agenda : the caucasian mujahideen are not fighting against the united states of america . we are at war with russia , which is not only responsible for the occupation of the caucasus , but also for heinous crimes against muslims . ' 2 . why do n't muslims denounce terrorism ? just to be clear : american muslims and u.s. muslim organizations have unequivocally denounced terror attacks . not just once , but over and over . but that does n't matter if you have n't heard it . and despite our best efforts to get this message out there , what attracts more media attention : a muslim denouncing terrorism or footage of an explosion ? does that mean that we will stop denouncing terrorism ? of course not . but we will have to be more creative in our efforts to attract media coverage to make this point to our fellow americans . 3 . why do n't muslims stop blowing stuff up ? i have never blown up anything , except maybe a model toy tank when i was a kid . nor has any other muslims i 've met in person or even on facebook . but still we are charged by many with the task of policing a religion of more than a billion people . although this may not change some people 's perception , statistically muslims have not been the ones involved in most terror plots in the united states . in fact , since 1995 , 88 % of the domestic terrorist plots have been by right-wing groups , ecoterrorists and anarchists , according to an analysis by the center for american progress . but still , 12 % were muslims . believe me , we wish that number were zero . but here 's the brutal truth : neither law enforcement nor the american muslim community can stop every radical or criminal who happens to be muslim . a lone wolf ' can devise his or her evil plan in secret , making detection almost impossible . but we are trying . as l.a. county sheriff lee baca testified before congress in 2011 , seven of the past 10 al qaeda plots in the united states were foiled by tips from the american muslim community . and just this past sunday , nypd commissioner ray kelly told cnn 's fareed zakaria that his department has a strong working relationship with the new york city muslim community . and it 's not only american-muslims working with law enforcement to stop radicals , but canadians as well . just this week we saw an islamic terror plot prevented because of tips from the canadian-muslim community to law enforcement it is my hope that in time , muslims will not be defined to my fellow americans by the handful of terrorists , but by the millions of others who are involved in all aspects of american life . well-known american muslims range from former nba star shaquille o'neal , tv personality dr. oz , u.s. rep. keith ellison to police officers , teachers , judges , deli workers , cab drivers and the millions of american muslims in between . these people , not the terrorists , are the true muslims . | american muslims have denounced terror over and over , he says , but public has n't heard |
katrina <tsp> ( cnn ) -- new orleans architect mark ripple only plays the occasional game of poker , but he 's willing to put all his chips on the table and risk at least $ 150,000 on somebody else 's dream . that 's the estimated value of in kind contributions that ripple , his partners and consultants are donating to build what 's been dubbed the 9th ward field of dreams -- a community track and athletic field in part of the city hit hardest by hurricane katrina more than four years ago . when it 's all said and done next summer , his firm eskew+dumez+ripple will have given an estimated 500 man-hours toward a $ 2-million project that 's become a symbol of community recovery . the hurricane was such a transformational experience , ' said ripple , an architect for 30 years and a lifelong new orleans resident . when katrina flooded ripple 's family home under 8 feet of water , it changed him . when he found himself accepting help from friends who ripped out useless drywall , swept out mud and tossed ruined beds through the windows , it changed him . i went through this with my wife and kids in a house that i built and renovated with my own two hands , ' he said . storm damage forced his firm to take up temporary offices in another city an hour away . when that routine is ripped away from you , you get a different appreciation for what it means in your life . you get a better understanding of how important that is to who you are and what you do . you ca n't really appreciate that until it 's been taken from you . ' like many other residents , the pain gave way to a mission . brian bordainick , a 24-year-old athletic director at carver high school in the 9th ward , made his pitch to ripple and his partners : help build a new stadium for the neighborhood , and make a powerful statement about new orleans'ability to overcome katrina by working together as a community . the rebuilding of this broken city is a very emotional thing for me and i 'm very passionate about it , ' said ripple . so it was another way to recover our life and regain what we had prior to the storm . ' the sports facilities at carver -- once a perennial football powerhouse -- were devastated by katrina . like many of the city 's schools , enrollment plummeted after the storm as residents fled and never returned . students now attend classes in eight portable trailers . the football team practices in an abandoned lot . in late 2008 , bordainick went to work -- online and in new orleans executive offices -- rallying support for a new neighborhood track and field facility paid for with thousands of individual and corporate donations of time , services , materials and cash . those of us over 50 often become jaded , ' said ripple . people say you ca n't do this and you ca n't do that -- it 's just so refreshing to have somebody brian 's age step up and ask the basic question ,'why the hell not ?'' it 's really interesting to see why certain people come to the table , ' said bordainick . mark was one of those guys from the get-go who wanted to help out , and he just happened to be an architect . he was a guy first and foremost who believed what this could do for the city and he was like ,'oh yeah , and i happen to have an architectural company that we can use to help further this goal .'' by the time ripple -- a former wrestler at jesuit high school -- heard bordainick 's pitch , he was committed . both of ripple 's older brothers were multisport athletes who played football in high school and college . athletics can teach kids discipline , commitment , perseverance , goal-setting , and give kids a social outlet , a sense of belonging and improved self- esteem , ' ripple said . a neighborhood sports facility would only do more to foster these values among 9th ward kids , he said . according to bordainick , ripple 's community status brought credibility to the project early on . at the same time , bordainick said , ripple has completely given himself over to the cause . if you talk to him about the project for 20 or 30 minutes , he 's going to start to cry , ' said bordainick , who came to new orleans after katrina as part of the nonprofit teach for america program . he 's that type of guy . ' big gamble but as the clock ticks toward the disaster 's fifth anniversary , it 's apparent ripple and his partners have invested in a big gamble . although the school expects to kick off its opening football game at the new field on katrina 's august anniversary , the project remains about $ 700,000 short of its goal . and bordainick insists construction will not begin as planned in march until 100 percent of the funds are raised . we do n't want the project to stall after we break ground , ' said bordainick . if we stall , we may lose momentum and the project never finishes . ' under a worst-case scenario , the hundreds of work hours , countless resources and materials donated by ripple 's firm could yield zero results unless all $ 2 million of the project 's estimated price tag is raised by valentine 's day . as far as i 'm concerned , to use a poker analogy , we 're all in , ' laughs ripple . sometimes what it takes is just perseverance and pushing and pushing , even when it gets fatiguing . it 's worth the risk . we 're gon na make it happen . ' long before the storm , ripple and his partners had established their firm as a highly respected regional player in architecture and design -- jointly renovating and expanding the new orleans museum of art , the fair grounds race course and the aquarium of the americas . four years after katrina , the business of architecture in new orleans has taken on a different tone , said ripple . architects can be a catalyst for change in the community and they can make a difference . and i had never thought of architecture in those terms until after the storm . ' in addition to the field of dreams , other eskew+dumez+ripple projects are directly connected to erasing the results of katrina 's wrath . the firm is part of a joint venture to build a new federal veterans affairs hospital to replace one severely damaged in the storm . in another high-profile project , partner allen eskew plays a key role in the city 's post-katrina reconstruction planning . the storm has been a boon to the local construction and renovation industry , a sharp contrast to the national construction business as a whole , which has been slowed by economic recession . ripple 's grateful for the boom -- in part because it helps the firm offset pro-bono work . in that regard , the field of dreams project has n't hurt us tremendously financially because we do have enough work volume to absorb that cost , ' ripple said . green designs over the summer , plans for the field have solidified , including design components that are environmentally friendly . if completed , the field of dreams would be among the greenest facilities of its kind in the nation , said bordainick . special drainage will help protect the area around the stadium from storm water runoff , said ripple . katrina illustrated all too well that new orleans is susceptible to flooding . actor brad pitt 's new orleans recovery group , make it right , has some experience with drainage issues , ripple said , and pitt 's organization is consulting on the project with partner steve dumez . stadium plans call for field lights which will be carbon-neutral and operate at half the cost of traditional lights . outbuildings on the property will have vegetation on the roofs , helping keep the buildings cooler and reducing energy consumption . one especially innovative feature under consideration is a running track surface made from recycled athletic shoes . nike , which has donated $ 100,000 toward construction of the field , has developed a synthetic material called nike grind consisting of ground-up rubber and polyurethane from discarded shoes . it 's a very scary time for our project right now , ' said bordainick . we have a lot of money left to raise and our timelines are real . ' describing the emotional pull that drew ripple to make such a total commitment to bordainick 's dream , the architect said , there 's a deeper meaning that projects take on when you feel like you 're serving a larger purpose . ' | architect whose home was flooded by katrina works pro-bono to build $ 2-million high school stadium |
syria <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the united nations suspended all activities in syria on saturday due to the escalating levels of violence , the head of the global body 's mission said . there has been an intensification of armed violence across syria over the past 10 days , ' said gen. robert mood , head of the u.n . supervision mission in syria . this escalation is limiting our ability to observe , verify , report as well as assist in local dialogue and stability projects -- basically impeding our ability to carry out our mandate , ' mood said . the situation , mood said , was too high risk .'choking siege'leaves syrian town in crisis the u.n. monitors , whose number gradually rose to about 300 , were sent in to ensure that both president bashar al-assad and opposition fighters were abiding by a six-point peace plan brokered by special envoy kofi annan . a ceasefire took hold april 12 but only nominally , it turned out . violence has soared in recent days with reports of heavy government bombardment of town and chilling massacres of civilians . on some occasions , the monitors themselves have come under fire . the lack of willingness by the parties to seek a peaceful transition , and the push towards advancing military positions is increasing the losses on both sides : innocent civilians , men women and children are being killed every day , ' mood said . he said u.n. observers will no longer be conducting patrols and will stay in their locations until further notice . this suspension will be reviewed on a daily basis , mood said . operations will resume when we see the situation fit for us to carry out our mandated activities . syrian opposition groups estimate that between 12,000 and 14,000 people have died in the months of uprising against al-assad 's rule . | the united nations says syria poses too much of a risk for observers |
kofi annan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the united nations suspended all activities in syria on saturday due to the escalating levels of violence , the head of the global body 's mission said . there has been an intensification of armed violence across syria over the past 10 days , ' said gen. robert mood , head of the u.n . supervision mission in syria . this escalation is limiting our ability to observe , verify , report as well as assist in local dialogue and stability projects -- basically impeding our ability to carry out our mandate , ' mood said . the situation , mood said , was too high risk .'choking siege'leaves syrian town in crisis the u.n. monitors , whose number gradually rose to about 300 , were sent in to ensure that both president bashar al-assad and opposition fighters were abiding by a six-point peace plan brokered by special envoy kofi annan . a ceasefire took hold april 12 but only nominally , it turned out . violence has soared in recent days with reports of heavy government bombardment of town and chilling massacres of civilians . on some occasions , the monitors themselves have come under fire . the lack of willingness by the parties to seek a peaceful transition , and the push towards advancing military positions is increasing the losses on both sides : innocent civilians , men women and children are being killed every day , ' mood said . he said u.n. observers will no longer be conducting patrols and will stay in their locations until further notice . this suspension will be reviewed on a daily basis , mood said . operations will resume when we see the situation fit for us to carry out our mandated activities . syrian opposition groups estimate that between 12,000 and 14,000 people have died in the months of uprising against al-assad 's rule . | the monitors went in to ensure compliance to kofi annan 's peace plan |
americans <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- one morning a couple of months ago at westchester medical center , dawn verdick gave daniel flood one of her kidneys . daniel flood received a kidney from dawn verdick . they were brought together through craigslist . verdick and flood were not friends or family . in fact , they were total strangers from the east and west coasts . but that 's not the most unusual aspect of this case . the patient and donor were brought together after flood 's three daughters placed an ad on craigslist , the online classifieds site that offers everything from autos to real estate and guitar lessons to massage . please help us , my dad needs a kidney ! ' began their posting in the site 's volunteer section . watch more on the craigslist-kidney connection » ' it was a shot in the dark , but it had worked for everything else , ' jennifer flood said . after years of untreated high blood pressure , flood 's levels of creatinine had risen , indicating damage to the kidney . the bean-shaped , fist-sized organs process blood to sift out waste products and extra water . more than 15 million americans have some degree of kidney disease , according to estimates . flood 's doctor told him he needed a transplant or dialysis . both options have pros and cons . dialysis can be hard on the heart and takes up time several days a week . making flood 's situation more difficult was the fact that the retired 68-year-old life insurance salesman was born with only one kidney . in addition , flood 's rare o-negative blood type made the odds even tougher . none of flood 's daughters , or his immediate family , was a match . jennifer and sisters cynthia and heather , all in their early 30s , vowed to find their father a living donor . we knew that the waiting list was two to six years . and we knew how dialysis takes a toll on your body , and we knew we had to save dad . ' about three-quarters of kidney transplants are between family members , and the rest are among friends and acquaintances , according to the united network for organ sharing , a not-for-profit organization that manages the nation 's transplant system . nearly 75,000 americans were waiting for a kidney by the end of 2007 , according to the organization . just over 16,000 on the wait list received one , about 6,000 of them from living donors . although the number of kidney donors has grown since 1998 , the wait list has doubled as the incidence of diabetes , a leading cause of kidney disease , rises to crisis levels . a kidney from a deceased donor is far more likely to be rejected than one from a living donor and may not hold up for the recipient 's lifetime . kidneys from living donors last , on average , 25 years while kidneys from cadavers last an average of 10 years , because kidneys from living donors are usually in better shape , ' said dr. jonathan lazare , a urologist with the mount sinai medical center in new york . visit cnnhealth.com , your connection for better living the floods received more than 100 responses to the craigslist ad . many sounded genuinely interested in helping , but others sought to sell a kidney , which is illegal in the united states . one encounter with a young man from the washington area was especially disheartening . the man traveled to the floods'home in pleasantville , new york , just outside new york city , and even stayed with them a few days . soon after , he e-mailed jennifer flood to say he had only wanted to see the city . internet appeals for organ donations raise a number of questions of fairness , one medical ethicist said . ideally , organs should be fairly allocated on basis of medical need and time on the waiting list , ' said dr. kenneth prager , director of clinical ethics and chairman of the medical ethics committee at new york presbyterian hospital . solicitations undermine the concept of a level playing field . ' but , he added , we are a country with free speech . there is nothing illegal in advertising or in using the web for personal or health reasons . altruistic organ donors have the legal right to designate recipients . ' and he sees a potential benefit from the internet . an important argument supporting the solicitation of donors through advertising is that many such altruistic unrelated donors would never have given their organs without being moved by the personal stories of the patients on the web , ' prager said . as such , patients who solicit such donors do not do so at the expense of others on the list . by expanding the population of organ donors , web sites such as matchingdonors.com or craigslist can benefit the population of those in need of organs as a whole . ' for the flood family , the breakthrough came when verdick , who lives in monterey , california , went on craigslist for the first time to look for a volunteer project when a close friend died . i did n't set out to donate a kidney , ' said verdick , 48 , the founder of a not-for-profit educational organization . the ad initially caught her attention because it mentioned her blood type . i turned it over to the universe early on . and i just said ,'if it 's meant to be , then i will qualify , and if it 's not , i wo n't .'' verdick was such a strong match that doctors said it was as if she and flood were close relatives . as part of the screening process , verdick underwent two psychological evaluations . one question asked how she would react if she were to donate and later have kidney failure .'' what if i 'm hit by a bus tomorrow ? ' she responded . there 's a lot of'what ifs .'i do n't live in'what if .'i live in the'what is .' the experience has brought profound renewal to daniel flood . after feeling tired and having a symptomatic gray skin tone for so many years , he says , his complexion has turned ruddy again , and he feels more energetic . he takes 14 medications every day , including three anti-rejection drugs . for a while he wo n't be allowed to shake hands or hug anyone because of the risk of infection , or to lift more than 10 pounds . but for now , the numbers are on his side . the five-year survival rate for kidney recipients from a living donor is about 90 percent , versus an 80 percent chance for people who receive from a cadaver , according to the organ-sharing organization . every day is a fresh start for me . it 's a whole new awakening , a whole new beginning , ' said flood , who looks forward to playing golf again and spending more time with his wife , children and 3-year-old granddaughter . flood 's daughters are now making it their mission to give back . they launched the flood sisters kidney foundation of america at www.floodsisters.org , which has about 20 members , to bring potential living kidney donors together with people who need them . and come december , verdick and the flood family are marking their calendars for dinner , to celebrate their special anniversary . ' | more than 15 million americans have some degree of kidney disease |
la familia <tsp> mexico city , mexico ( cnn ) -- coordinated attacks in at least eight mexican cities killed three federal police officers and two soldiers saturday in what officials are calling an unprecedented onslaught by drug gangs . attacks occurred after arrest of arnoldo rueda medina , a high-ranking member of la familia michoacana . another 18 federal officers were wounded , the state-run notimex news agency reported , citing federal police official rodolfo cruz lopez . the attacks were in retribution for the capture early saturday of arnoldo rueda medina , a high-ranking member of the drug cartel known as la familia michoacana ( the michoacan family ) , notimex reported . rueda is considered second in command to the group 's two top leaders , nazario el chayo ' moreno gonzález and josé el chango ' de jesús méndez vargas , acting as a right arm ' to moreno , the secretary of public security said saturday in a statement . among other allegations , he was arrested for his role in designing the hierarchy of the organization , the production of synthetic drugs and movement of marijuana and cocaine to the united states , said mexico 's secretary of public security . rueda was arrested along with a 17-year-old male who worked for him . following his arrest saturday morning in morelia , michoacan , men armed with high-powered rifles and grenades attacked the police station where he was being held , the secretary of public security said . after failing to win his freedom , members of the group launched attacks in the cities of morelia , zitacuaro , zamora , lazaro cardenas , apatzingan , la piedad and huetamo in michoacan state , notimex news said , citing federal police . the three officers were killed in zitacuaro , police official eduardo moran told cnn en español , while six police officers were reported wounded in morelia . two soldiers were killed in zamora , shot by men in a passing car as they walked to their headquarters . the secretary of public security told the newspaper cambio de michoacan that 25 spent shells from an r-15 rifle and 17 from an ak-47 were found at the scene . michoacan is in west-central mexico , on the pacific coast . another rifle and grenade attack took place near acapulco in guerrero state , which borders michoacan , but no one was injured . saturday 's attacks came just days after a drug gang in tijuana declared they were at war with police , threatening to kill five officers every week until police chief julian leyzaola resigns . the threat was made in a note found on the windshield of a slain officer 's car , news reports said . at least three tijuana officers have been killed since monday , reports said . leyzaola , a former army colonel , replaced a police chief removed from office in december after receiving numerous threats . leyzaola has become the poster boy for honest police work , which has put the drug gangs on notice , ' vicente calderon , a reporter for the tijuana press news agency , told cnn affiliate kusi . they believe he is serious , that he means business and is trying to re-establish the rule of law that has been affecting the city and whole state for many years since organized crime established themselves in baja [ california ] . ' tijuana , the westernmost city in mexico , is across the border from san diego , california . sixteen police officers have died there in 2009 , and officers are now patrolling the city in groups of six , kusi reported . cnn 's emanuella grinberg and monica trevino contributed to this report . | attacks were reprisals for capture of member of la familia gang |
obama <tsp> atlanta , georgia ( cnn ) -- former president jimmy carter reiterated wednesday that he believes racism is an issue for president obama in trying to lead the country . in atlanta , georgia , on wednesday , jimmy carter again linked harsh obama criticism to racism . when a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the president of the united states as an animal or as a reincarnation of adolf hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried obama with kennedy , those kinds of things are beyond the bounds , ' the democrat who served from 1977-1981 told students at emory university . i think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be african american . it 's a racist attitude , and my hope is and my expectation is that in the future both democratic leaders and republican leaders will take the initiative in condemning that kind of unprecedented attack on the president of the united states , ' carter said . watch carter speak at emory » carter 's comments came a day after he said racial politics played a role in south carolina rep. joe wilson 's outburst during obama 's speech to congress last week and in some of the opposition the president has faced since taking office . i think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man , that he 's african-american , ' carter told nbc nightly news . ' i live in the south , and i 've seen the south come a long way , and i 've seen the rest of the country that shares the south 's attitude toward minority groups at that time , particularly african-americans . ' michael steele , the first african-american to chair the republican national committee , denied wednesday that race is fueling protests . watch lou dobbs'guests debate the issue » ' president carter is flat-out wrong , ' steele said in a statement . this is n't about race . it is about policy . ' the house voted tuesday to formally disapprove of wilson 's behavior during the joint session of congress . the resolution was approved largely along party lines , with republicans calling the measure unnecessary partisan politics . wilson apologized to the white house last week , but congressional democrats said he owed the chamber a similar statement of regret . steele said democrats are just trying to divert attention from what he called the president 's wildly unpopular government-run health care plan . ' actor and comedian bill cosby , who is black , said wednesday in a written statement that he agrees with carter . during president obama 's speech on the status of health care reform , some members of congress engaged in a public display of disrespect , ' he said . watch carter link animosity toward obama to racism » ' while one representative hurled the now infamous'you lie'insult at the president , others made their lack of interest known by exhibiting rude behavior such as deliberately yawning and sending text messages . ' carter 's comments on racism came during his 28th annual town hall meeting at emory , where he has been a professor since 1982 . he spoke an a variety of issues . carter criticized former president george w. bush for his handling of north korea , whose then-leader kim il sung had persuaded by carter to abandon his nuclear ambitions and allow international inspectors into the country . unfortunately , when president george w. bush came into office , he threw away all of those agreements ... and declared that north korea was one of the'axis-of-evil' nations , carter said . that led the current north korean president , kim jong il , to order the reprocessing of the nation 's spent nuclear fuel rods , to expel the inspectors and to explode two nuclear devices , destabilizing the region , carter said . the former president said top u.s. officials should consider acceding to north korea 's requests by negotiating directly with its leaders , guaranteeing not to launch an attack against the country and , over a period of time , establishing full diplomatic relations . i do n't see why we should n't , ' he said . that 's the only thing that can keep north korea from continuing with their reprocessing of fuel . ' but carter predicted bush would do well as a former president . i suspect he is going to fulfill his destiny in a very admirable way , ' the sunday school teacher from plains , georgia , said . asked what he would do if he were allowed to return to office for a single day , the 2002 nobel peace prize winner said : bring peace to israel and its neighbors . ' he predicted that global warming will occupy much of obama 's time once a health plan is passed and said the united states needs to wean itself from its dependence on imported oil . carter noted that when he became president in 1977 , the nation was importing 8.6 million barrels of oil per day . by 1982 , that number had been halved to 4.3 million . now , it 's 13 million barrels per day , and we 're heavily dependent , as you know , on imported oil from some countries that do n't really care about our own well-being . ' carter cited egyptian president anwar sadat as the most interesting person he met during his presidency . he praised sadat for allying with him in 1979 to forge a peace treaty with israel . carter blamed political problems ' for his inability to overhaul the nation 's health care system in 1979 so that all 15 million americans then without health insurance would have gotten coverage . that number has tripled in the intervening years . he also said he opposes sex-ed programs in the nation 's public schools that teach abstinence only , saying such programs only increase the number of abortions and unwanted children . the 84-year-old former politician said the best moment of his life -- so far -- was when rosalynn smith told him 63 years ago that she would marry him . the former president also took a swipe at rapper kanye west 's behavior on sunday , when he jumped onstage during the mtv video music awards and took the microphone from country singer taylor swift during her would-be acceptance speech for the best female video . west declared that beyonce knowles should have won . i thought it was completely uncalled for and his punishment was to appear on the new jay leno show , ' carter said . his reference to west 's television appearance as punishment was tongue-in-cheek , since the musician had been booked on the show long before the incident took place . on monday , west appeared on the debut of leno 's 10 p.m. show and said he knew his actions were wrong . swift said on tuesday that west had called her directly and apologized . | carter follows up tuesday comments , again linking obama criticism , race |
obama <tsp> atlanta , georgia ( cnn ) -- former president jimmy carter reiterated wednesday that he believes racism is an issue for president obama in trying to lead the country . in atlanta , georgia , on wednesday , jimmy carter again linked harsh obama criticism to racism . when a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the president of the united states as an animal or as a reincarnation of adolf hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried obama with kennedy , those kinds of things are beyond the bounds , ' the democrat who served from 1977-1981 told students at emory university . i think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be african american . it 's a racist attitude , and my hope is and my expectation is that in the future both democratic leaders and republican leaders will take the initiative in condemning that kind of unprecedented attack on the president of the united states , ' carter said . watch carter speak at emory » carter 's comments came a day after he said racial politics played a role in south carolina rep. joe wilson 's outburst during obama 's speech to congress last week and in some of the opposition the president has faced since taking office . i think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man , that he 's african-american , ' carter told nbc nightly news . ' i live in the south , and i 've seen the south come a long way , and i 've seen the rest of the country that shares the south 's attitude toward minority groups at that time , particularly african-americans . ' michael steele , the first african-american to chair the republican national committee , denied wednesday that race is fueling protests . watch lou dobbs'guests debate the issue » ' president carter is flat-out wrong , ' steele said in a statement . this is n't about race . it is about policy . ' the house voted tuesday to formally disapprove of wilson 's behavior during the joint session of congress . the resolution was approved largely along party lines , with republicans calling the measure unnecessary partisan politics . wilson apologized to the white house last week , but congressional democrats said he owed the chamber a similar statement of regret . steele said democrats are just trying to divert attention from what he called the president 's wildly unpopular government-run health care plan . ' actor and comedian bill cosby , who is black , said wednesday in a written statement that he agrees with carter . during president obama 's speech on the status of health care reform , some members of congress engaged in a public display of disrespect , ' he said . watch carter link animosity toward obama to racism » ' while one representative hurled the now infamous'you lie'insult at the president , others made their lack of interest known by exhibiting rude behavior such as deliberately yawning and sending text messages . ' carter 's comments on racism came during his 28th annual town hall meeting at emory , where he has been a professor since 1982 . he spoke an a variety of issues . carter criticized former president george w. bush for his handling of north korea , whose then-leader kim il sung had persuaded by carter to abandon his nuclear ambitions and allow international inspectors into the country . unfortunately , when president george w. bush came into office , he threw away all of those agreements ... and declared that north korea was one of the'axis-of-evil' nations , carter said . that led the current north korean president , kim jong il , to order the reprocessing of the nation 's spent nuclear fuel rods , to expel the inspectors and to explode two nuclear devices , destabilizing the region , carter said . the former president said top u.s. officials should consider acceding to north korea 's requests by negotiating directly with its leaders , guaranteeing not to launch an attack against the country and , over a period of time , establishing full diplomatic relations . i do n't see why we should n't , ' he said . that 's the only thing that can keep north korea from continuing with their reprocessing of fuel . ' but carter predicted bush would do well as a former president . i suspect he is going to fulfill his destiny in a very admirable way , ' the sunday school teacher from plains , georgia , said . asked what he would do if he were allowed to return to office for a single day , the 2002 nobel peace prize winner said : bring peace to israel and its neighbors . ' he predicted that global warming will occupy much of obama 's time once a health plan is passed and said the united states needs to wean itself from its dependence on imported oil . carter noted that when he became president in 1977 , the nation was importing 8.6 million barrels of oil per day . by 1982 , that number had been halved to 4.3 million . now , it 's 13 million barrels per day , and we 're heavily dependent , as you know , on imported oil from some countries that do n't really care about our own well-being . ' carter cited egyptian president anwar sadat as the most interesting person he met during his presidency . he praised sadat for allying with him in 1979 to forge a peace treaty with israel . carter blamed political problems ' for his inability to overhaul the nation 's health care system in 1979 so that all 15 million americans then without health insurance would have gotten coverage . that number has tripled in the intervening years . he also said he opposes sex-ed programs in the nation 's public schools that teach abstinence only , saying such programs only increase the number of abortions and unwanted children . the 84-year-old former politician said the best moment of his life -- so far -- was when rosalynn smith told him 63 years ago that she would marry him . the former president also took a swipe at rapper kanye west 's behavior on sunday , when he jumped onstage during the mtv video music awards and took the microphone from country singer taylor swift during her would-be acceptance speech for the best female video . west declared that beyonce knowles should have won . i thought it was completely uncalled for and his punishment was to appear on the new jay leno show , ' carter said . his reference to west 's television appearance as punishment was tongue-in-cheek , since the musician had been booked on the show long before the incident took place . on monday , west appeared on the debut of leno 's 10 p.m. show and said he knew his actions were wrong . swift said on tuesday that west had called her directly and apologized . | carter cites protesters calling obama a nazi as example of racial politics |
campbell <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a man accused of serial sex attacks in tulsa was identified thursday , fours days after crashing his car into a light pole while fleeing the scene of one of his alleged assaults , authorities said . the suspect , demond campbell , 30 , was presented with charges related to seven sexual assaults even though he was in critical condition and unresponsive in a hospital since his car wreck sunday , tulsa police chief chuck jordan said thursday . campbell was identified as a suspect in the sex attacks after an analysis of a tremendous amount of absolutely miraculous evidence collection and crime scene investigation , ' jordan said . though the suspect had no criminal record in tulsa , jordan said , he turned up in a google search of his name by police . it was a report of his car crash . the speeding car he was traveling in struck a light pole on an interstate early sunday morning about 10 minutes after one of his alleged sexual assaults , jordan said . campbell , who was not wearing a seat belt , suffered severe head injuries . he has not been responsive at all , ' jordan said . campbell was released from prison in late april after convictions in oklahoma city for attempted robbery , attempted kidnapping and robbery , and robbery with a dangerous weapon , jordan said . he was imprisoned in 2007 . the spate of sexual assaults and lack of clues had left residents on edge and looking out for anything unusual . i hope this gives them some peace , ' jordan said of the victims and community at large . authorities said the suspect typically broke into homes from the back , either through a window or door . he tended to be covered , and attacked when it was dark . victims provided diverse descriptions of the suspect , ranging from a light-skinned black or hispanic man to a tan white man . there were eight cases of sexual assault in tulsa in the last month and authorities linked them because of specific actions and statements the suspect made in the attacks . but police now say one of the eight assaults is still under investigation and may not be connected , cnn affiliate koki reported . the victims were between 56 and 78 years old , except for one , who was 29 . campbell 's record includes arrests in 2002 for armed robbery , in 2005 for attempted assault on a woman , and in 2006 on a warrant for assault and battery , koki reported . in 2006 , he was convicted for attempted battery . jordan said investigators were checking with police in oklahoma city to see whether campbell was involved in additional crimes . no other arrests were expected in connection with the seven attacks , he said . jordan said prosecutors were preparing formal charges in the cases -- some of which involved alleged sexual battery , others alleged rapes . alabama catches suspect in serial sex crime cold case cnn 's dana ford and tina burnside contributed to this report . | campbell was released from prison in late april after convictions in oklahoma city |
campbell <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a man accused of serial sex attacks in tulsa was identified thursday , fours days after crashing his car into a light pole while fleeing the scene of one of his alleged assaults , authorities said . the suspect , demond campbell , 30 , was presented with charges related to seven sexual assaults even though he was in critical condition and unresponsive in a hospital since his car wreck sunday , tulsa police chief chuck jordan said thursday . campbell was identified as a suspect in the sex attacks after an analysis of a tremendous amount of absolutely miraculous evidence collection and crime scene investigation , ' jordan said . though the suspect had no criminal record in tulsa , jordan said , he turned up in a google search of his name by police . it was a report of his car crash . the speeding car he was traveling in struck a light pole on an interstate early sunday morning about 10 minutes after one of his alleged sexual assaults , jordan said . campbell , who was not wearing a seat belt , suffered severe head injuries . he has not been responsive at all , ' jordan said . campbell was released from prison in late april after convictions in oklahoma city for attempted robbery , attempted kidnapping and robbery , and robbery with a dangerous weapon , jordan said . he was imprisoned in 2007 . the spate of sexual assaults and lack of clues had left residents on edge and looking out for anything unusual . i hope this gives them some peace , ' jordan said of the victims and community at large . authorities said the suspect typically broke into homes from the back , either through a window or door . he tended to be covered , and attacked when it was dark . victims provided diverse descriptions of the suspect , ranging from a light-skinned black or hispanic man to a tan white man . there were eight cases of sexual assault in tulsa in the last month and authorities linked them because of specific actions and statements the suspect made in the attacks . but police now say one of the eight assaults is still under investigation and may not be connected , cnn affiliate koki reported . the victims were between 56 and 78 years old , except for one , who was 29 . campbell 's record includes arrests in 2002 for armed robbery , in 2005 for attempted assault on a woman , and in 2006 on a warrant for assault and battery , koki reported . in 2006 , he was convicted for attempted battery . jordan said investigators were checking with police in oklahoma city to see whether campbell was involved in additional crimes . no other arrests were expected in connection with the seven attacks , he said . jordan said prosecutors were preparing formal charges in the cases -- some of which involved alleged sexual battery , others alleged rapes . alabama catches suspect in serial sex crime cold case cnn 's dana ford and tina burnside contributed to this report . | demond campbell , 30 , is presented with charges related to 7 sexual assaults in tulsa |
campbell <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a man accused of serial sex attacks in tulsa was identified thursday , fours days after crashing his car into a light pole while fleeing the scene of one of his alleged assaults , authorities said . the suspect , demond campbell , 30 , was presented with charges related to seven sexual assaults even though he was in critical condition and unresponsive in a hospital since his car wreck sunday , tulsa police chief chuck jordan said thursday . campbell was identified as a suspect in the sex attacks after an analysis of a tremendous amount of absolutely miraculous evidence collection and crime scene investigation , ' jordan said . though the suspect had no criminal record in tulsa , jordan said , he turned up in a google search of his name by police . it was a report of his car crash . the speeding car he was traveling in struck a light pole on an interstate early sunday morning about 10 minutes after one of his alleged sexual assaults , jordan said . campbell , who was not wearing a seat belt , suffered severe head injuries . he has not been responsive at all , ' jordan said . campbell was released from prison in late april after convictions in oklahoma city for attempted robbery , attempted kidnapping and robbery , and robbery with a dangerous weapon , jordan said . he was imprisoned in 2007 . the spate of sexual assaults and lack of clues had left residents on edge and looking out for anything unusual . i hope this gives them some peace , ' jordan said of the victims and community at large . authorities said the suspect typically broke into homes from the back , either through a window or door . he tended to be covered , and attacked when it was dark . victims provided diverse descriptions of the suspect , ranging from a light-skinned black or hispanic man to a tan white man . there were eight cases of sexual assault in tulsa in the last month and authorities linked them because of specific actions and statements the suspect made in the attacks . but police now say one of the eight assaults is still under investigation and may not be connected , cnn affiliate koki reported . the victims were between 56 and 78 years old , except for one , who was 29 . campbell 's record includes arrests in 2002 for armed robbery , in 2005 for attempted assault on a woman , and in 2006 on a warrant for assault and battery , koki reported . in 2006 , he was convicted for attempted battery . jordan said investigators were checking with police in oklahoma city to see whether campbell was involved in additional crimes . no other arrests were expected in connection with the seven attacks , he said . jordan said prosecutors were preparing formal charges in the cases -- some of which involved alleged sexual battery , others alleged rapes . alabama catches suspect in serial sex crime cold case cnn 's dana ford and tina burnside contributed to this report . | campbell is in critical condition and unresponsive in a hospital after a car wreck sunday |
nra <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- when democratic sen. frank lautenberg of new jersey and rep. carolyn mccarthy of new york unveiled their bill monday to regulate the online and mail-order sale of ammunition , they did so in a state most friendly to democrats -- new york . but across the country , voters might not be as receptive . gun control can be seen as political quicksand for democratic lawmakers . lautenberg and mccarthy , whose husband was killed and son was injured in a 1993 mass shooting on the long island rail road , said their bill will help crack down on people anonymously stockpiling ammunition bought through the internet . colorado police said the alleged shooter in aurora this month purchased thousands of rounds of ammunition online . still , when it comes to gun policy , many congressional democrats have decided to keep quiet and not go there , ' said alan lizotte , dean and professor at the state university of new york at albany 's school of criminal justice . they remember the 1990s , when president bill clinton was able to push through congress an assault weapons ban and a required waiting period before purchasing handguns . but that move led to a fractious debate over gun policy that , following the columbine shootings in 1999 , ultimately helped sink vice president al gore 's chances of winning the 2000 election , in part because of problems persuading white , rural and blue collar voters to pick him , lizotte said . you can push ( gun control ) through , then bam , gore loses , ' lizotte said . politically , i think that was a big mistake for ( clinton ) . he got it through , and his constituency was happy with him . but it had consequences ... it kills you down the line . ' chastened congressional democrats , especially those in competitive districts and their leaders , have since given the issue of gun policy wide berth . even president barack obama steered clear of gun rights in his speech in the aftermath of the 2009 fort hood shooting and last year after six people were killed during an assassination attempt on rep. gabrielle giffords , d-arizona , in tucson . obama mentioned gun safety only in passing after the tucson shootings to describe the polarizing nature of the issue . top house and senate leaders are judiciously sidestepping the issue , even after obama brought it up during his recent remarks on the movie theater shootings . with the schedule we have , we 're not going to get into the debate on gun control , ' senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , told cnn . but i 'm very happy , i 'm glad the president made the statement because it 's something that needs to be done . but we 're not going to address gun control . ' it would be politically unwise to do so , political experts say , especially during a fierce battle for control of the senate . with 51 seats , senate democrats hold a narrow majority . senate republicans have 47 seats and independents -- bernie sanders and joe lieberman -- tend to vote with democrats . party leaders on both sides are watching close senate races in virginia and massachusetts . democrats are facing tough re-election contests in missouri and montana , and there are two open senate races nebraska and north dakota . three of those states -- missouri , montana and north dakota -- also rank among the highest for the number of background checks for guns , according to a 2010 analysis by the daily beast . the report compared 18 months worth of data from the fbi 's national instant criminal background check system and compared that with state 's population data from the u.s. census bureau 's 2009 estimates to gain a glimpse at the states that are the most armed . ' according to the analysis , the 10 states with the highest number of background checks for guns voted for republican arizona sen. john mccain in the 2008 presidential election . the 10 states with the least number of checks voted for barack obama . you can have a guy who plays well in north dakota , but if the republicans paint him as somebody that ... allows liberals on east coast to take away your gun rights ... ( he could run into problems ) , ' lizotte said . so the leadership has to say'we 're not playing that kind of game'. ' talking about gun policy in those states could alienate the types of voters who are motivated to cast ballots based on a single issue . those who fight hardest for gun ownership tend to be very vocal , single-issue voters , said jon vernick , an associate professor and co-director at johns hopkins'center for gun policy and research , while those who favor stricter control tend to have a range of issues they 're pushing . the questions for democrats is whether support for gun violence prevention would truly harm their support among people who might not have voted for them anyway , ' vernick said . there 's also little political incentive for those in tough congressional races to talk about gun policy since several national polls suggest voters are against stricter gun laws , and there 's actually been a downturn both in the number of people owning guns overall and gun violence , said kristin a. goss , an associate professor of public policy and political science at duke university and author of disarmed : the missing movement for gun control in america . ' for example , a pew research center poll conducted in april , found that 55 % of independent voters feel it is more important to protect gun ownership than to control guns , ' with 40 % saying controlling gun ownership is more important . the poll also found that 72 % of republicans feel protecting gun ownership is important , while 27 % of democrats feel that way . those who advocate stricter gun control lost the messaging battle long ago , goss said . historically the pro-control side has struggled to come up with a compelling narrative that will help people come over to the case of stricter gun control laws , ' goss said . for a long time , these gun violence rates and massacres spoke for themselves . they relied on that to make the case but were up against a very powerful and very well-disciplined and skillful army that was good at taking those arguments apart . ' they are also skilled at how they target their campaign contributions . for example , during the 2010 midterm elections , fiscally moderate blue dog democrats in tough re-election fights represented roughly half of the top 20 recipients of contributions from the national rifle association , according to data collected by the campaign-finance website opensecrets.org . the candidates -- many of whom hail from rural regions in southern and western states where gun ownership is deeply cherished -- each received nearly $ 10,000 from the nra that year . in 2008 , only one democrat made the top 20 list , florida democrat tim mahoney , who netted an nra endorsement and contested the constitutionality of the district of columbia 's gun ban in a supreme court brief . he received $ 12,400 . this year so far , only three democrats made the top 20 list and received donations of roughly $ 5,000 . all three either lost primaries or retired , out of the running for the fall election . still , in new york , lautenberg and mccarthy know the political reality , but they see their fight as bigger than politics . it 's one thing to buy a pair of shoes online , ' lautenberg told reporters monday . but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition . ' cnn 's dana bash contributed to this report | the nra tends to support democrats who vocally fight for gun rights |
democrats <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- when democratic sen. frank lautenberg of new jersey and rep. carolyn mccarthy of new york unveiled their bill monday to regulate the online and mail-order sale of ammunition , they did so in a state most friendly to democrats -- new york . but across the country , voters might not be as receptive . gun control can be seen as political quicksand for democratic lawmakers . lautenberg and mccarthy , whose husband was killed and son was injured in a 1993 mass shooting on the long island rail road , said their bill will help crack down on people anonymously stockpiling ammunition bought through the internet . colorado police said the alleged shooter in aurora this month purchased thousands of rounds of ammunition online . still , when it comes to gun policy , many congressional democrats have decided to keep quiet and not go there , ' said alan lizotte , dean and professor at the state university of new york at albany 's school of criminal justice . they remember the 1990s , when president bill clinton was able to push through congress an assault weapons ban and a required waiting period before purchasing handguns . but that move led to a fractious debate over gun policy that , following the columbine shootings in 1999 , ultimately helped sink vice president al gore 's chances of winning the 2000 election , in part because of problems persuading white , rural and blue collar voters to pick him , lizotte said . you can push ( gun control ) through , then bam , gore loses , ' lizotte said . politically , i think that was a big mistake for ( clinton ) . he got it through , and his constituency was happy with him . but it had consequences ... it kills you down the line . ' chastened congressional democrats , especially those in competitive districts and their leaders , have since given the issue of gun policy wide berth . even president barack obama steered clear of gun rights in his speech in the aftermath of the 2009 fort hood shooting and last year after six people were killed during an assassination attempt on rep. gabrielle giffords , d-arizona , in tucson . obama mentioned gun safety only in passing after the tucson shootings to describe the polarizing nature of the issue . top house and senate leaders are judiciously sidestepping the issue , even after obama brought it up during his recent remarks on the movie theater shootings . with the schedule we have , we 're not going to get into the debate on gun control , ' senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , told cnn . but i 'm very happy , i 'm glad the president made the statement because it 's something that needs to be done . but we 're not going to address gun control . ' it would be politically unwise to do so , political experts say , especially during a fierce battle for control of the senate . with 51 seats , senate democrats hold a narrow majority . senate republicans have 47 seats and independents -- bernie sanders and joe lieberman -- tend to vote with democrats . party leaders on both sides are watching close senate races in virginia and massachusetts . democrats are facing tough re-election contests in missouri and montana , and there are two open senate races nebraska and north dakota . three of those states -- missouri , montana and north dakota -- also rank among the highest for the number of background checks for guns , according to a 2010 analysis by the daily beast . the report compared 18 months worth of data from the fbi 's national instant criminal background check system and compared that with state 's population data from the u.s. census bureau 's 2009 estimates to gain a glimpse at the states that are the most armed . ' according to the analysis , the 10 states with the highest number of background checks for guns voted for republican arizona sen. john mccain in the 2008 presidential election . the 10 states with the least number of checks voted for barack obama . you can have a guy who plays well in north dakota , but if the republicans paint him as somebody that ... allows liberals on east coast to take away your gun rights ... ( he could run into problems ) , ' lizotte said . so the leadership has to say'we 're not playing that kind of game'. ' talking about gun policy in those states could alienate the types of voters who are motivated to cast ballots based on a single issue . those who fight hardest for gun ownership tend to be very vocal , single-issue voters , said jon vernick , an associate professor and co-director at johns hopkins'center for gun policy and research , while those who favor stricter control tend to have a range of issues they 're pushing . the questions for democrats is whether support for gun violence prevention would truly harm their support among people who might not have voted for them anyway , ' vernick said . there 's also little political incentive for those in tough congressional races to talk about gun policy since several national polls suggest voters are against stricter gun laws , and there 's actually been a downturn both in the number of people owning guns overall and gun violence , said kristin a. goss , an associate professor of public policy and political science at duke university and author of disarmed : the missing movement for gun control in america . ' for example , a pew research center poll conducted in april , found that 55 % of independent voters feel it is more important to protect gun ownership than to control guns , ' with 40 % saying controlling gun ownership is more important . the poll also found that 72 % of republicans feel protecting gun ownership is important , while 27 % of democrats feel that way . those who advocate stricter gun control lost the messaging battle long ago , goss said . historically the pro-control side has struggled to come up with a compelling narrative that will help people come over to the case of stricter gun control laws , ' goss said . for a long time , these gun violence rates and massacres spoke for themselves . they relied on that to make the case but were up against a very powerful and very well-disciplined and skillful army that was good at taking those arguments apart . ' they are also skilled at how they target their campaign contributions . for example , during the 2010 midterm elections , fiscally moderate blue dog democrats in tough re-election fights represented roughly half of the top 20 recipients of contributions from the national rifle association , according to data collected by the campaign-finance website opensecrets.org . the candidates -- many of whom hail from rural regions in southern and western states where gun ownership is deeply cherished -- each received nearly $ 10,000 from the nra that year . in 2008 , only one democrat made the top 20 list , florida democrat tim mahoney , who netted an nra endorsement and contested the constitutionality of the district of columbia 's gun ban in a supreme court brief . he received $ 12,400 . this year so far , only three democrats made the top 20 list and received donations of roughly $ 5,000 . all three either lost primaries or retired , out of the running for the fall election . still , in new york , lautenberg and mccarthy know the political reality , but they see their fight as bigger than politics . it 's one thing to buy a pair of shoes online , ' lautenberg told reporters monday . but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition . ' cnn 's dana bash contributed to this report | the nra tends to support democrats who vocally fight for gun rights |
democrats <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- when democratic sen. frank lautenberg of new jersey and rep. carolyn mccarthy of new york unveiled their bill monday to regulate the online and mail-order sale of ammunition , they did so in a state most friendly to democrats -- new york . but across the country , voters might not be as receptive . gun control can be seen as political quicksand for democratic lawmakers . lautenberg and mccarthy , whose husband was killed and son was injured in a 1993 mass shooting on the long island rail road , said their bill will help crack down on people anonymously stockpiling ammunition bought through the internet . colorado police said the alleged shooter in aurora this month purchased thousands of rounds of ammunition online . still , when it comes to gun policy , many congressional democrats have decided to keep quiet and not go there , ' said alan lizotte , dean and professor at the state university of new york at albany 's school of criminal justice . they remember the 1990s , when president bill clinton was able to push through congress an assault weapons ban and a required waiting period before purchasing handguns . but that move led to a fractious debate over gun policy that , following the columbine shootings in 1999 , ultimately helped sink vice president al gore 's chances of winning the 2000 election , in part because of problems persuading white , rural and blue collar voters to pick him , lizotte said . you can push ( gun control ) through , then bam , gore loses , ' lizotte said . politically , i think that was a big mistake for ( clinton ) . he got it through , and his constituency was happy with him . but it had consequences ... it kills you down the line . ' chastened congressional democrats , especially those in competitive districts and their leaders , have since given the issue of gun policy wide berth . even president barack obama steered clear of gun rights in his speech in the aftermath of the 2009 fort hood shooting and last year after six people were killed during an assassination attempt on rep. gabrielle giffords , d-arizona , in tucson . obama mentioned gun safety only in passing after the tucson shootings to describe the polarizing nature of the issue . top house and senate leaders are judiciously sidestepping the issue , even after obama brought it up during his recent remarks on the movie theater shootings . with the schedule we have , we 're not going to get into the debate on gun control , ' senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , told cnn . but i 'm very happy , i 'm glad the president made the statement because it 's something that needs to be done . but we 're not going to address gun control . ' it would be politically unwise to do so , political experts say , especially during a fierce battle for control of the senate . with 51 seats , senate democrats hold a narrow majority . senate republicans have 47 seats and independents -- bernie sanders and joe lieberman -- tend to vote with democrats . party leaders on both sides are watching close senate races in virginia and massachusetts . democrats are facing tough re-election contests in missouri and montana , and there are two open senate races nebraska and north dakota . three of those states -- missouri , montana and north dakota -- also rank among the highest for the number of background checks for guns , according to a 2010 analysis by the daily beast . the report compared 18 months worth of data from the fbi 's national instant criminal background check system and compared that with state 's population data from the u.s. census bureau 's 2009 estimates to gain a glimpse at the states that are the most armed . ' according to the analysis , the 10 states with the highest number of background checks for guns voted for republican arizona sen. john mccain in the 2008 presidential election . the 10 states with the least number of checks voted for barack obama . you can have a guy who plays well in north dakota , but if the republicans paint him as somebody that ... allows liberals on east coast to take away your gun rights ... ( he could run into problems ) , ' lizotte said . so the leadership has to say'we 're not playing that kind of game'. ' talking about gun policy in those states could alienate the types of voters who are motivated to cast ballots based on a single issue . those who fight hardest for gun ownership tend to be very vocal , single-issue voters , said jon vernick , an associate professor and co-director at johns hopkins'center for gun policy and research , while those who favor stricter control tend to have a range of issues they 're pushing . the questions for democrats is whether support for gun violence prevention would truly harm their support among people who might not have voted for them anyway , ' vernick said . there 's also little political incentive for those in tough congressional races to talk about gun policy since several national polls suggest voters are against stricter gun laws , and there 's actually been a downturn both in the number of people owning guns overall and gun violence , said kristin a. goss , an associate professor of public policy and political science at duke university and author of disarmed : the missing movement for gun control in america . ' for example , a pew research center poll conducted in april , found that 55 % of independent voters feel it is more important to protect gun ownership than to control guns , ' with 40 % saying controlling gun ownership is more important . the poll also found that 72 % of republicans feel protecting gun ownership is important , while 27 % of democrats feel that way . those who advocate stricter gun control lost the messaging battle long ago , goss said . historically the pro-control side has struggled to come up with a compelling narrative that will help people come over to the case of stricter gun control laws , ' goss said . for a long time , these gun violence rates and massacres spoke for themselves . they relied on that to make the case but were up against a very powerful and very well-disciplined and skillful army that was good at taking those arguments apart . ' they are also skilled at how they target their campaign contributions . for example , during the 2010 midterm elections , fiscally moderate blue dog democrats in tough re-election fights represented roughly half of the top 20 recipients of contributions from the national rifle association , according to data collected by the campaign-finance website opensecrets.org . the candidates -- many of whom hail from rural regions in southern and western states where gun ownership is deeply cherished -- each received nearly $ 10,000 from the nra that year . in 2008 , only one democrat made the top 20 list , florida democrat tim mahoney , who netted an nra endorsement and contested the constitutionality of the district of columbia 's gun ban in a supreme court brief . he received $ 12,400 . this year so far , only three democrats made the top 20 list and received donations of roughly $ 5,000 . all three either lost primaries or retired , out of the running for the fall election . still , in new york , lautenberg and mccarthy know the political reality , but they see their fight as bigger than politics . it 's one thing to buy a pair of shoes online , ' lautenberg told reporters monday . but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition . ' cnn 's dana bash contributed to this report | high stakes races make it unlikely for democrats to wade into gun policy debate |
democrats <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- when democratic sen. frank lautenberg of new jersey and rep. carolyn mccarthy of new york unveiled their bill monday to regulate the online and mail-order sale of ammunition , they did so in a state most friendly to democrats -- new york . but across the country , voters might not be as receptive . gun control can be seen as political quicksand for democratic lawmakers . lautenberg and mccarthy , whose husband was killed and son was injured in a 1993 mass shooting on the long island rail road , said their bill will help crack down on people anonymously stockpiling ammunition bought through the internet . colorado police said the alleged shooter in aurora this month purchased thousands of rounds of ammunition online . still , when it comes to gun policy , many congressional democrats have decided to keep quiet and not go there , ' said alan lizotte , dean and professor at the state university of new york at albany 's school of criminal justice . they remember the 1990s , when president bill clinton was able to push through congress an assault weapons ban and a required waiting period before purchasing handguns . but that move led to a fractious debate over gun policy that , following the columbine shootings in 1999 , ultimately helped sink vice president al gore 's chances of winning the 2000 election , in part because of problems persuading white , rural and blue collar voters to pick him , lizotte said . you can push ( gun control ) through , then bam , gore loses , ' lizotte said . politically , i think that was a big mistake for ( clinton ) . he got it through , and his constituency was happy with him . but it had consequences ... it kills you down the line . ' chastened congressional democrats , especially those in competitive districts and their leaders , have since given the issue of gun policy wide berth . even president barack obama steered clear of gun rights in his speech in the aftermath of the 2009 fort hood shooting and last year after six people were killed during an assassination attempt on rep. gabrielle giffords , d-arizona , in tucson . obama mentioned gun safety only in passing after the tucson shootings to describe the polarizing nature of the issue . top house and senate leaders are judiciously sidestepping the issue , even after obama brought it up during his recent remarks on the movie theater shootings . with the schedule we have , we 're not going to get into the debate on gun control , ' senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , told cnn . but i 'm very happy , i 'm glad the president made the statement because it 's something that needs to be done . but we 're not going to address gun control . ' it would be politically unwise to do so , political experts say , especially during a fierce battle for control of the senate . with 51 seats , senate democrats hold a narrow majority . senate republicans have 47 seats and independents -- bernie sanders and joe lieberman -- tend to vote with democrats . party leaders on both sides are watching close senate races in virginia and massachusetts . democrats are facing tough re-election contests in missouri and montana , and there are two open senate races nebraska and north dakota . three of those states -- missouri , montana and north dakota -- also rank among the highest for the number of background checks for guns , according to a 2010 analysis by the daily beast . the report compared 18 months worth of data from the fbi 's national instant criminal background check system and compared that with state 's population data from the u.s. census bureau 's 2009 estimates to gain a glimpse at the states that are the most armed . ' according to the analysis , the 10 states with the highest number of background checks for guns voted for republican arizona sen. john mccain in the 2008 presidential election . the 10 states with the least number of checks voted for barack obama . you can have a guy who plays well in north dakota , but if the republicans paint him as somebody that ... allows liberals on east coast to take away your gun rights ... ( he could run into problems ) , ' lizotte said . so the leadership has to say'we 're not playing that kind of game'. ' talking about gun policy in those states could alienate the types of voters who are motivated to cast ballots based on a single issue . those who fight hardest for gun ownership tend to be very vocal , single-issue voters , said jon vernick , an associate professor and co-director at johns hopkins'center for gun policy and research , while those who favor stricter control tend to have a range of issues they 're pushing . the questions for democrats is whether support for gun violence prevention would truly harm their support among people who might not have voted for them anyway , ' vernick said . there 's also little political incentive for those in tough congressional races to talk about gun policy since several national polls suggest voters are against stricter gun laws , and there 's actually been a downturn both in the number of people owning guns overall and gun violence , said kristin a. goss , an associate professor of public policy and political science at duke university and author of disarmed : the missing movement for gun control in america . ' for example , a pew research center poll conducted in april , found that 55 % of independent voters feel it is more important to protect gun ownership than to control guns , ' with 40 % saying controlling gun ownership is more important . the poll also found that 72 % of republicans feel protecting gun ownership is important , while 27 % of democrats feel that way . those who advocate stricter gun control lost the messaging battle long ago , goss said . historically the pro-control side has struggled to come up with a compelling narrative that will help people come over to the case of stricter gun control laws , ' goss said . for a long time , these gun violence rates and massacres spoke for themselves . they relied on that to make the case but were up against a very powerful and very well-disciplined and skillful army that was good at taking those arguments apart . ' they are also skilled at how they target their campaign contributions . for example , during the 2010 midterm elections , fiscally moderate blue dog democrats in tough re-election fights represented roughly half of the top 20 recipients of contributions from the national rifle association , according to data collected by the campaign-finance website opensecrets.org . the candidates -- many of whom hail from rural regions in southern and western states where gun ownership is deeply cherished -- each received nearly $ 10,000 from the nra that year . in 2008 , only one democrat made the top 20 list , florida democrat tim mahoney , who netted an nra endorsement and contested the constitutionality of the district of columbia 's gun ban in a supreme court brief . he received $ 12,400 . this year so far , only three democrats made the top 20 list and received donations of roughly $ 5,000 . all three either lost primaries or retired , out of the running for the fall election . still , in new york , lautenberg and mccarthy know the political reality , but they see their fight as bigger than politics . it 's one thing to buy a pair of shoes online , ' lautenberg told reporters monday . but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition . ' cnn 's dana bash contributed to this report | bill aims to curb online ammo sales , though election losses make democrats hesitant |
bolivian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- bolivian president evo morales plans to sign legislation friday scheduling a may 4 referendum on a new constitution , the bolivian information agency reported . bolivians celebrate thursday in la paz after congress decides to call for a referendum on a new constitution . the move comes after the bolivian congress decided thursday in a raucous session to let people nationwide vote on the controversial plans . the proposed constitution would strengthen the country 's indigenous majority but has faced fierce opposition from nonindigenous bolivians , including those in four provinces whose governors have declared autonomy . hundreds jammed streets thursday outside the congressional building in la paz to prevent opposition legislators from entering . video footage broadcast on cnn en español showed people pushing , shoving and hitting others . watch as the crowds block the opposition » congress made its decision to hold a referendum with a reduced presence of opposition lawmakers , ' the bolivian news agency said . opposition legislators decried the move as illegal , ' the agency said , but supporters of morales welcomed it . now it is the bolivian people who will decide with their vote whether to approve or reject the new constitution , ' said vice president alvaro garcia linera , according to the bolivian information agency . e-mail to a friend | bolivian congress decides to let people vote on new constitution on may 4 |
bolivian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- bolivian president evo morales plans to sign legislation friday scheduling a may 4 referendum on a new constitution , the bolivian information agency reported . bolivians celebrate thursday in la paz after congress decides to call for a referendum on a new constitution . the move comes after the bolivian congress decided thursday in a raucous session to let people nationwide vote on the controversial plans . the proposed constitution would strengthen the country 's indigenous majority but has faced fierce opposition from nonindigenous bolivians , including those in four provinces whose governors have declared autonomy . hundreds jammed streets thursday outside the congressional building in la paz to prevent opposition legislators from entering . video footage broadcast on cnn en español showed people pushing , shoving and hitting others . watch as the crowds block the opposition » congress made its decision to hold a referendum with a reduced presence of opposition lawmakers , ' the bolivian news agency said . opposition legislators decried the move as illegal , ' the agency said , but supporters of morales welcomed it . now it is the bolivian people who will decide with their vote whether to approve or reject the new constitution , ' said vice president alvaro garcia linera , according to the bolivian information agency . e-mail to a friend | bolivian president evo morales is set to sign the legislation |
mackoff <tsp> ( cnn ) -- carol mackoff and her family were rescued friday morning after being trapped in their rooms in the taj mahal hotel in mumbai for more than 48 hours . a text message from cnn correspondent sara sidner to mackoff , who was in contact with cnn during the attack . they informed us the final assault was beginning and we got a call from the colonel of the [ indian ] army , and he said we will give you a password and if we come to the door and give it to you , come quietly with us , ' mackoff said . that 's exactly what happened . ' upon arrival , the indian army rescued six people at a time , mackoff said . it was only what we could carry , ' she said . they took us down a back service stairway that was very quiet . we were tiptoeing through glass and blood and discarded shoes from people who it appeared had recently died . ' mackoff , her husband , sister and friend were on a three-week trip to india . in the beginning , we heard shots and we did n't know what was happening , ' she told cnn by phone . we saw men running down our hallway and we could see through the peephole in the door -- we could see guns in their hands . ' mackoff said they received a call from hotel staffers telling them to stay away from the door and lock it . for 20 hours they sat in the dark . at one point they taped the peephole so nobody could see in . the chicago , illinois , resident said the attackers rang their doorbell twice , but she and her family did n't answer . listen to mackoff describe what it was like inside the hotel » ' we locked every possible lock on the door and put heavy suitcases against it , ' she said . when the explosions started and smoke filled the hallways we put towels at the bottom of the door . ' she said she was told that attackers opened doors across the hallway and had thrown grenades inside . all we were thinking was'please do n't try and blow this door open ,'' mackoff said . mackoff said because of the hotel wing 's large atrium , which reaches from the bottom floor to the top floor , the sounds of gunshots and explosions echoed and reverberated throughout the two days . she said looking through the peephole she could see that most of the attackers were carrying backpacks . they were young and they all seemed to have the same kind of jackets and red and blue backpacks , that we were told officials believed were stuffed with grenades or some sort of explosives , ' she told cnn . we were able to see the barrel of their gun and at one point one of them had a cell phone and was conversing or coordinating with someone . ' while she was trapped , mackoff exchanged text messages with the u.s. consulate , which coordinated the rescue with the indian army . the four were told the exact time they would be rescued . mackoff also kept in contact with cnn , including correspondent sara sidner , who was reporting from outside the taj mahal hotel . watch sara sidner report on the rescue , talk about being mackoff 's lifeline » a cnn staff member kept me filled in on what was going on and i kept her filled in on what was going on -- on what i could hear , ' mackoff said . those contacts were mackoff 's only lifeline to the outside . she said the satellite connection had been cut , so they could n't watch tv to see what was going on . throughout the 48 hours they were trapped , mackoff and her companions ate chocolate chip cookies from the minibar , health bars they had brought from home and cashew nuts . finally , when mackoff and her family and friend were rescued , she sent a message to cnn to say she was safe . it does n't seem real . you ca n't take it in , ' mackoff said as she sat on a plane waiting to go home . it 's a surreal experience , you do n't believe it really happened to you . ' | new : carol mackoff said they went down back stairs over glass , blood to escape |
mackoff <tsp> ( cnn ) -- carol mackoff and her family were rescued friday morning after being trapped in their rooms in the taj mahal hotel in mumbai for more than 48 hours . a text message from cnn correspondent sara sidner to mackoff , who was in contact with cnn during the attack . they informed us the final assault was beginning and we got a call from the colonel of the [ indian ] army , and he said we will give you a password and if we come to the door and give it to you , come quietly with us , ' mackoff said . that 's exactly what happened . ' upon arrival , the indian army rescued six people at a time , mackoff said . it was only what we could carry , ' she said . they took us down a back service stairway that was very quiet . we were tiptoeing through glass and blood and discarded shoes from people who it appeared had recently died . ' mackoff , her husband , sister and friend were on a three-week trip to india . in the beginning , we heard shots and we did n't know what was happening , ' she told cnn by phone . we saw men running down our hallway and we could see through the peephole in the door -- we could see guns in their hands . ' mackoff said they received a call from hotel staffers telling them to stay away from the door and lock it . for 20 hours they sat in the dark . at one point they taped the peephole so nobody could see in . the chicago , illinois , resident said the attackers rang their doorbell twice , but she and her family did n't answer . listen to mackoff describe what it was like inside the hotel » ' we locked every possible lock on the door and put heavy suitcases against it , ' she said . when the explosions started and smoke filled the hallways we put towels at the bottom of the door . ' she said she was told that attackers opened doors across the hallway and had thrown grenades inside . all we were thinking was'please do n't try and blow this door open ,'' mackoff said . mackoff said because of the hotel wing 's large atrium , which reaches from the bottom floor to the top floor , the sounds of gunshots and explosions echoed and reverberated throughout the two days . she said looking through the peephole she could see that most of the attackers were carrying backpacks . they were young and they all seemed to have the same kind of jackets and red and blue backpacks , that we were told officials believed were stuffed with grenades or some sort of explosives , ' she told cnn . we were able to see the barrel of their gun and at one point one of them had a cell phone and was conversing or coordinating with someone . ' while she was trapped , mackoff exchanged text messages with the u.s. consulate , which coordinated the rescue with the indian army . the four were told the exact time they would be rescued . mackoff also kept in contact with cnn , including correspondent sara sidner , who was reporting from outside the taj mahal hotel . watch sara sidner report on the rescue , talk about being mackoff 's lifeline » a cnn staff member kept me filled in on what was going on and i kept her filled in on what was going on -- on what i could hear , ' mackoff said . those contacts were mackoff 's only lifeline to the outside . she said the satellite connection had been cut , so they could n't watch tv to see what was going on . throughout the 48 hours they were trapped , mackoff and her companions ate chocolate chip cookies from the minibar , health bars they had brought from home and cashew nuts . finally , when mackoff and her family and friend were rescued , she sent a message to cnn to say she was safe . it does n't seem real . you ca n't take it in , ' mackoff said as she sat on a plane waiting to go home . it 's a surreal experience , you do n't believe it really happened to you . ' | mackoff : we saw men running down our hallway ... we could see guns ' |
smith <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the financial world is in an uproar about the new york times opinion piece by greg smith , a former vice president in goldman sachs'equity derivatives business . as a former vice president in goldman sachs'equity derivatives business who also made it into the times when i quit , i ca n't help but feel a bit upstaged . part of my resentment comes from the fact that smith is being touted as a high-level defector from the notoriously secretive ranks of goldman sachs . but calling smith a senior goldman executive , as many media outlets do , misunderstands the nature of titles at investment banks . smith was an executive director and head of the firm 's united states equity derivatives business in europe , the middle east and africa , ' which certainly sounds fancy . but , as the firm took pains to point out in response to the article , there are 12,000 employees with the title of vice president ' ( in the u.s. ) or its international equivalent , executive director . ' as for being head of that particular business , well , pretty much everyone at any investment bank is the head of some business or another . clients prefer to deal with the head of a business , so senior bankers are practiced in introducing even their most junior colleagues as the head of something or other . my own semi-official titles -- among others , vice president and head of the equity derivatives business for the north american energy industry ' -- were as impressive as smith 's , but what i rarely mentioned was that that business consisted of me and one junior analyst . smith 's business lacked even the analyst ! more important , though , it is a mistake to read smith 's piece as a scandalous revelation of the decline of wall street culture . goldman exec quits , calling firm'toxic' yes , there was once a time when big investment banks made most of their money by advising clients on mergers and capital raising , rather than by trading with clients . and yes , those times are long gone . but they were long gone when smith started . and he was in the derivatives sales business , which has always and necessarily been a business in which goldman is on one side of a trade and its clients -- or , in the more neutral term popular in such businesses , customers ' -- are on the other . each dollar that goldman makes comes directly out of its client 's pockets . of course , smith 's clients , who included some of the largest hedge funds and asset managers in the world , knew this . they did not come to smith for impartial advice about their personal and professional problems . rather they came to him to execute trades at attractive prices and for trade ideas , ideas that they hoped would make them money but that they certainly expected would make goldman money . thus , worries that clients will flee goldman are overblown . goldman 's clients know that the firm is trying to make money off of them -- and they know that every other bank is trying to do the exact same thing . they are not looking for charity . they are looking for good ideas and good execution , and the bank that provides those benefits will continue to get business . one question on everyone 's mind is : why now ? march is a customary time to quit , since smith 's 2011 bonus check will have cleared , but why did it take him 12 years to figure out that goldman 's culture was rotten ? after all , matt taibbi and the sec have been saying similar things for years . one possible answer is that smith is part of a broader exodus . the past year has seen many departures by goldman sachs partners , including smith 's boss'boss'boss'bosses , david heller and ed eisler . those career traders are unlikely to have left because they felt sad for clients . instead , the widespread speculation is that they left because the money is n't good enough . average pay at goldman was down 15 % in 2011 , albeit to a still-healthy $ 367,000 per employee . stricter regulations on proprietary trading and higher capital requirements will probably reduce profitability -- and pay -- for years to come . investment banking and trading are difficult businesses ; bankers work long hours , travel frequently and are under intense pressure . smith is hardly the first banker to worry about whether his work makes the world a better place . working at an investment bank involves trading off those negatives -- stress , hours and a nagging sense of unfulfilled purpose -- against the positive aspects of the job , which can be loosely summarized as huge paychecks . ' when that balance changes , a good trader re-evaluates his position . expect to see more departures from goldman and its peer firms in the coming months . but do n't take too seriously the idea that they 're leaving because they 're sick of making money off of clients . more likely , they 're leaving because they 're sick of not making as much money off of clients as they used to . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of matt levine . | he says it is a mistake to read smith 's piece as a revelation of the decline of wall street culture |
smith <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the financial world is in an uproar about the new york times opinion piece by greg smith , a former vice president in goldman sachs'equity derivatives business . as a former vice president in goldman sachs'equity derivatives business who also made it into the times when i quit , i ca n't help but feel a bit upstaged . part of my resentment comes from the fact that smith is being touted as a high-level defector from the notoriously secretive ranks of goldman sachs . but calling smith a senior goldman executive , as many media outlets do , misunderstands the nature of titles at investment banks . smith was an executive director and head of the firm 's united states equity derivatives business in europe , the middle east and africa , ' which certainly sounds fancy . but , as the firm took pains to point out in response to the article , there are 12,000 employees with the title of vice president ' ( in the u.s. ) or its international equivalent , executive director . ' as for being head of that particular business , well , pretty much everyone at any investment bank is the head of some business or another . clients prefer to deal with the head of a business , so senior bankers are practiced in introducing even their most junior colleagues as the head of something or other . my own semi-official titles -- among others , vice president and head of the equity derivatives business for the north american energy industry ' -- were as impressive as smith 's , but what i rarely mentioned was that that business consisted of me and one junior analyst . smith 's business lacked even the analyst ! more important , though , it is a mistake to read smith 's piece as a scandalous revelation of the decline of wall street culture . goldman exec quits , calling firm'toxic' yes , there was once a time when big investment banks made most of their money by advising clients on mergers and capital raising , rather than by trading with clients . and yes , those times are long gone . but they were long gone when smith started . and he was in the derivatives sales business , which has always and necessarily been a business in which goldman is on one side of a trade and its clients -- or , in the more neutral term popular in such businesses , customers ' -- are on the other . each dollar that goldman makes comes directly out of its client 's pockets . of course , smith 's clients , who included some of the largest hedge funds and asset managers in the world , knew this . they did not come to smith for impartial advice about their personal and professional problems . rather they came to him to execute trades at attractive prices and for trade ideas , ideas that they hoped would make them money but that they certainly expected would make goldman money . thus , worries that clients will flee goldman are overblown . goldman 's clients know that the firm is trying to make money off of them -- and they know that every other bank is trying to do the exact same thing . they are not looking for charity . they are looking for good ideas and good execution , and the bank that provides those benefits will continue to get business . one question on everyone 's mind is : why now ? march is a customary time to quit , since smith 's 2011 bonus check will have cleared , but why did it take him 12 years to figure out that goldman 's culture was rotten ? after all , matt taibbi and the sec have been saying similar things for years . one possible answer is that smith is part of a broader exodus . the past year has seen many departures by goldman sachs partners , including smith 's boss'boss'boss'bosses , david heller and ed eisler . those career traders are unlikely to have left because they felt sad for clients . instead , the widespread speculation is that they left because the money is n't good enough . average pay at goldman was down 15 % in 2011 , albeit to a still-healthy $ 367,000 per employee . stricter regulations on proprietary trading and higher capital requirements will probably reduce profitability -- and pay -- for years to come . investment banking and trading are difficult businesses ; bankers work long hours , travel frequently and are under intense pressure . smith is hardly the first banker to worry about whether his work makes the world a better place . working at an investment bank involves trading off those negatives -- stress , hours and a nagging sense of unfulfilled purpose -- against the positive aspects of the job , which can be loosely summarized as huge paychecks . ' when that balance changes , a good trader re-evaluates his position . expect to see more departures from goldman and its peer firms in the coming months . but do n't take too seriously the idea that they 're leaving because they 're sick of making money off of clients . more likely , they 're leaving because they 're sick of not making as much money off of clients as they used to . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of matt levine . | greg smith , former goldman sachs employee , writes in new york times that he quits |
russia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- former oil tycoon and kremlin critic mikhail khodorkovsky has applied for a swiss visa , less than a week after his pardon and release from a russian prison , authorities said wednesday . swiss foreign ministry spokesman stefan von below confirmed to cnn that khodorkovsky -- who had been jailed since 2003 and was convicted in 2005 of tax evasion and fraud -- submitted a request for a three-month schengen visa at the swiss embassy in berlin on christmas eve . von below said khodorkovsky 's application most likely would be processed in the next couple of days . schengen visas entitle citizens of the european union the right to travel , work and live in any eu country without special formalities and enable their holders to move through participating countries without being subjected to border checks . pavel khodorkovsky said his father applied for a regular visa and there was no discussion of asylum for now . a spokesman for khodorkovsky , christian hanne , told cnn the former oil tycoon 's application for a swiss visa did not mean he has made long-term plans to settle in switzerland . hanne said khodorkovsky 's twin sons attend school in switzerland and their father hoped to see where they go to school . russian courts will take a second look at cases against khodorkovsky , state-run news agency ria novosti reported . the supreme court ordered the review wednesday , citing the european court of human rights criticism of the tax evasion and fraud case in july . it was not immediately clear what this meant legally for khodorkovsky , once russia 's richest man . the latest developments in the khodorkovsky case , which observers said harmed foreign investment because it smacked of political repression , come less than two months before the world focuses on russia for the sochi olympics . at a time when russia 's international image has suffered from an anti-gay law that led to threats of protests and boycotts at the olympics , russian president vladimir putin has been dispensing get out of jail free ' cards . observers said the moves are part of a public relations offensive by putin , who has solidified his political dominance in russia and now seeks to improve the country 's image ahead of the olympic games , which begin february 7 in the black sea city of sochi . on monday , putin introduced a new amnesty law allowing two members of russian punk band pussy riot to leave prison , two months before the end of their two-year sentences for a performance critical of the president . in addition , 30 greenpeace demonstrators are to go free under the amnesty law passed by russian lawmakers last week that could affect 25,000 prisoners . greenpeace international reported on its website wednesday that the 30 activists known as the arctic 30 were scheduled to meet with the russian government body prosecuting them and that the case against them is being dropped en masse . ' they will then have one more hurdle -- securing exit visas in their passports -- before the non-russians are free to leave the country and be reunited with their families , ' greenpeace said on its website . a meeting with the federal migration service is scheduled for later today . the arctic 30 are expected to leave russia in the coming days . ' ria novosti reported wednesday that the government had begun dropping cases against the greenpeace activists who were arrested for a september protest at a russian arctic oil rig . in st. petersburg , officials had formally dismissed charges against at least 16 of the activists . all 30 were expected to be cleared by the end of the day . amnesty signed . moonwalked out of the office of the head of investigative committee , ' greenpeace activist and dutch citizen faiza oulahsen tweeted after receiving her pardon . had to show off the dance moves i practiced in prison . ' the so-called arctic 30 , charged initially with piracy but later with hooliganism , were released on bail in november after spending more than two months behind bars for protesting oil drilling in the environmentally sensitive arctic region , ria novosti reported . but russia 's treatment of khodorkovsky drew worldwide attention and criticism , with countries like the united states accusing it of selective prosecution ' and abuse of the legal system . he became both a political and economic threat to putin by wanting to create a commercial oil pipeline that would break the government monopoly on the industry and by funding opposition politicians , according to observers . khodorkovsky , who was due for release next year , wrote putin a letter from prison that asked for early release because his mother was ailing . he insisted the letter contained no admission of guilt , and putin said the pardon was on humanitarian grounds . upon his release , khodorkovsky left the country . he has said he wo n't continue his political activities against the russian government . | greenpeace international says 30 of its activists will leave russia soon |
temazcal <tsp> aarti aziz and her husband moosa are locked inside a pitch-black concrete dugout in mexico , sweating in unbearable heat . with them is a shaman who has been chanting ceaselessly for the past two hours as strange vapors swirl around them . it may sound like a harrowing ordeal , but it 's one the couple volunteered for . this is the world of temazcal , a practice dating back centuries to when mexico 's mayan riviera was wilderness and the mayan civilization was at the height of its power . temazcal entails entering a stone igloo with little or no clothing on and sweating it out to the sound of chanting and the fragrance of herbs . typically carried out for small groups by a shaman who 's usually a member of one of the mayan communities in the surrounding area , the process lasts two hours . it can be a tough experience . anyone with diabetes or heart disease should forget it , while those susceptible to claustrophobia or skepticism , might think twice . even skeptics , however , can rest assured that they 'll come out from their two-hour session feeling refreshed , invigorated and a probably a few pounds lighter . during the session , rosemary , basil and peppermint and other scents waft over a vapor created by the shaman as he or she gently throws water over a pile of hot rocks in a pit in the middle of the floor . visitors are kept hydrated with herbal tea and are permitted to lie down , walk around , or sit still -- whatever it takes to cleanse body and mind . but once they check in , they ca n't check out . i did freak out a bit when the shaman covered the dugout 's door with a thick blanket , ' says aziz , who experienced a temazcal in tulum , on southeastern mexico 's yucatan peninsular . inner child her eyes soon adjusted to the darkness and she enjoyed a comfortable two hours . the only light we ever saw were the brief sparks from the rocks when the water was poured on them , ' she adds . her husband says he found the shaman 's constant chanting -- urging him to direct his woes and pains toward the smoldering rocks to rid his body of hatred and lighten his mental load -- a tad hokey , but the ambiance eventually caught up with him . when the shaman told him to let his inner child out , ' he laughed loudly as directed , carried away by the mood . the couple emerged from their session feeling refreshed and lighter -- physically and mentally . my skin felt amazingly soft , ' adds aarti . the ancient maya respected the steam bath 's efficacy and power for treating both physical and spiritual diseases , ' says rosita arvigo , author of spiritual bathing : healing rituals and traditions from around the world . ' a doctor of naprapathy -- a science similar to chiropractic manipulation -- who 's trained in central american traditional medicine , arvigo says steam bath buildings made out of stone were a part of every major maya ceremonial center . some are still intact in various parts of mexico . hallucinogenic drugs while technically the word temazcal is not mayan , but aztec , ancient mayans -- athletes , priests , kings -- regularly engaged in these sweaty detox sessions and took hallucinogenic drugs such as peyote to further enhance the experience . visitors are unlikely to be offered any peyote today , but just about every hotel in the touristy cities of cancun , playa del carmen and tulum offers a version of a temazcal . many actually have a stone dugout , or sweat lodge , on their premises . they 're the main attraction for most travelers , says barbara varicchio , head of sales and promotion for dos palmas eco tours , an organization that arranges temazcals and works closely with mayan communities in the region around playa del carmen . varicchio attests that the physical benefits are many . she says the vapor created by the mix of essential herbs clears the digestive tract , improves blood circulation , energizes tired muscles and clears the skin . and finally , partaking in the experience helps develop tourism , in the best way . by keeping the ancient steam bath practice alive , we are encouraging sustainable tourism and enabling traditional communities to earn their livelihood by doing what their ancestors did , ' she says . where to go for a temazcal : cenote encantado , cenote encantado , 1320 tulum , quintana roo , mexico ; +52 55 1991 4266 ; 4,200 pesos ( $ 320 ) total , the company prefers a minimum of 10 persons per temazcal ( cost can be split ) dos palmas ecotours , playa del carmen , mexico ; +52 984 1116 3403 ; $ 65 per person , which includes the temazcal as well as a visit to and a meal with a mayan community temazcal cancun , carretera cancun-merida , km . 302 , calle flamboyan 8 , el ramonal , quintana roo , mexico , +52 998 168 8252 or +52 998 147 5723 ; call for pricing information | the two-hour ancient temazcal experience involves sweating it out in a stone igloo |
con edison <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- lower manhattan 's controversial park51 islamic center is now in a court battle with utility consolidated edison , which says the center owes it $ 1.7 million in a dispute over back rent . in court papers , park51 says it owes con edison only $ 881,000 and calls the utility 's demand grossly inflated . ' the center has filed suit against the company over a default notice it was issued in september , and a new york state judge has stayed any action until after a hearing in november . in a statement to cnn on sunday , con edison said it remains hopeful ' that it can work out an agreement with park51 , which leases part of its property from the utility . park51 's developers did not return a phone call seeking comment . the center , which includes a mosque , drew intense opposition in 2010 from politicians , conservative activists and some families of the victims of the al qaeda attack on the world trade center . the twin towers stood about two blocks from the site before they were destroyed by the suicide hijackings on september 11 , 2001 , leading critics to dub the project the ground zero mosque . ' the interfaith center 's leaders said the project will be a 16-story community center with recreational , educational and cultural programming rooted in a spirit of cooperation and coexistence . city officials refused to block its construction , and park51 held its grand opening in september . according to court documents , park51 has exercised an option to purchase the con edison portion of the site for $ 10.7 million . the center says it has been paying $ 2,750 a month -- minuscule by new york standards -- under its initial lease . the rent was to be recalculated based on the market value of the property after it renewed the lease in 2008 , but disputes over the appraisal lasted until this august . in september , con edison demanded the $ 1.7 million it said it was owed . the lease for the property calls for the tenant to pay this money now that an appraisal process has been completed , ' the utility told cnn . under the terms of the lease , con edison requested payment of outstanding rent , but to date , tenant has not yet made the required payment . ' but lawyers for park51 argue the demand is based on a fundamental misreading ' of its lease and have accused con edison of improperly trying to take back the property . whether it is bowing to political pressure or seeking to retain the valuable premises for itself , con ed appears intent upon proceeding with its wrongful termination ( and cancellation of plaintiff 's right to purchase the premises ) and it has expressly threatened to do so , ' they wrote . con edison said sunday it has defended park51 's right to buy the land . cnn 's chris boyette contributed to this report . | the park51 center is locked in a dispute with con edison |
london <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- hong kong 's billionaire properties are the most expensive in the world , according to global real estate firm , savills . ultra-prime ' properties in hong kong cost £7,200 per square foot ( $ 10,880 ) on average , savills said in its latest world cities review report , which compares property prices for top luxury homes . other asia pacific cities dominated the ranking , with tokyo , shanghai , singapore , mumbai and sydney all among the top 10 most expensive cities to buy luxury property in 2012 . real estate values worldwide doubled in the last seven years , with large increases seen in china and asia , thanks to the emergence of new wealthy classes and rising commodity prices , the report said . singapore and mumbai experienced the highest growth in property prices since 2005 , with a growth of 232 % and 176 % , respectively . tokyo had the slowest growth at 8 % . the activity of billionaires in international real estate markets reflects the creation of global wealth and the economic success of particular regions and cities , ' the report said . this means that the cities in newly emerged economies have significantly outperformed those in the'old world'economies of the u.s. , japan , australia and europe . ' read more : report : u.s. , china dominate global billionaires new york stands out among world cities as particularly good value ' for residential properties , especially from an income return point of view , ' according to the report . new york has dropped to seventh on the list of most expensive residential real estate cities -- down from fourth in 2005 . only london 's ultra-prime market stands out among the'old world'cities as having shown significant growth since 2005 , totaling 107 % , ' the report said . real estate costs for businesses are cheapest in mumbai , with sydney offering the best value for money . we may well see sydney becoming an increasingly global city as it proves attractive to new and expanding business on the pacific rim , ' the report said . but restrictions on foreign buyers to purchase homes remain an obstacle , according to savills . read more : report reveals where world 's richest live new tax measures to curb real estate spending have caused slowdowns in markets from asia to europe . in 2012 , singapore 's growth slowed to 5 % , hong kong 's growth stalled in the second half of the year , and london slowed noticeably in the second half , savills noted . paris saw a drop in billionaire property values , but remains the fourth most expensive city overall for top-end homes , at an average price of £2,900 per square foot ( $ 4,383 ) . read more : best place to buy property in asia the report also looked at leisure resort areas -- like cap ferrat in france , alibag in india and phuket , thailand -- which lag in values compared to urban properties but have the most potential for growth , according to savills . billionaire activity has been concentrated on high-end urban centers rather than leisure properties in the surrounding countryside or regional sunbelts , ' said yolande barnes , head of world research at savills . this reflects a global preference for urban locations as these billionaires need to be located in cities where they can do business . ' the highest price for an individual property in the last seven years was recorded in london 's kensington palace gardens , where a home sold for £8,500 ( $ 12,850 ) per square foot in 2008 . read more : what city has world 's best quality of life ? | london is one of the few'old world'real estate markets that is bucking this trend |
brazile <tsp> ( cnn ) -- satire and mockery are part of politics . sometimes they attack not the policy but the person , going from nuanced to nasty . but surely not everything goes . ' promoting violence and applauding abuse -- there 's just no excuse for it . the latest uproar occurred at the missouri state fair , when a rodeo clown wearing an obama mask invited the crowd to cheer if they wanted to see obama run down by a bull . ' as they were bringing the bulls into the chute and prepping them , ' perry beam told usa today , ... they bring out what looks like a dummy . the announcer says'here 's our obama dummy , or our dummy of obama . they mentioned the president 's name , i do n't know , 100 times ... ' beam was there with his wife and a foreign exchange student who got a lesson in american political civility . ' the reaction was bipartisan . missouri gov . jay nixon , a and sen. claire mccaskill , both democrats , weighed in with disapproval . and lt. gov . peter kinder , a republican , said on twitter he found the performance disrespectful . ' that 's an understatement . we are better than this . ' one hopes so . what are we to make , though , of a slap hillary website , suspiciously resurrected by an anti-hillary pac ? the pac sent out tweets to reporters in hopes , i suspect , of stirring up the red meat base , get publicity , and solicit money . it provocatively asked journalists , have you slapped hillary today ? ' first posted 13 years ago , the site shows a cartoon of hillary 's face . when a button is pressed , a hand slaps her so hard she reacts like a bobble doll , her head bouncing from side to side as her eyes cross . the slaphillary team , ' which hosts the game , ' says they are a grass roots , nonprofit organization . ' buzzfeed 's andrew kaczynski did some research and found its treasurer , christopher m. marston , is a republican campaign finance consultant and former member of the bush administration . the super pac defended itself and posted a link to a slap palin ' website . the pac is n't contrite , saying on its website , we did n't see the liberal media bemoaning this slap palin ' game when it came out ! they only care when it 's the candidate they support for president . ' there 's something suspicious about the slap palin ' site -- a paucity of comments , just 19 in 2008 and only two last year , indicates a set-up . a little more research revealed that the slap palin ' is hosted on a computer at the same address in downtown washington that hosts a slap clinton ' and slap obama ' site . we can perhaps relegate the slap palin-clinton-obama ' anonymous owner to the fringe . but what are we to say when a former administration official and current campaign consultant to one of the major parties promotes violence against public figures ? it does n't matter if the website -- or rodeo clown -- encourages violence against a democrat or a republican , a male or female . it 's wrong . it 's vile . it 's one of the few true evils in politics . those who promote or approve slapping ' or shooting ' or running over by a bull ' any public official should be shamed and shunned . virtual violence needs to be denounced and never justified because it 's political . still , given the extent of domestic violence -- 25 % of american women will experience domestic violence in their lives -- encouraging people to slap or abuse female elected officials is particularly pernicious . slapping women so hard their heads bobble is not a game , not even virtually . we need to go further , and condemn activities that show no respect for elected officials . republican u.s. rep. steve stockman of texas'36th district issued an invitation to the rodeo clown to appear at a rodeo in his district . liberals want to bronco bust dissent , ' stockman said . but texans value speech , even if its speech they do n't agree with . ' this is n't about liberals or conservatives , congressman ; it 's about respect for elected officials , and coupling violence with ridicule . it 's one thing to use free speech to parody or satirize a politician , and another to couple violence with a deliberate showing of disrespect . when harry truman was campaigning in his home state of missouri ( where the rodeo clown performed ) , he took questions from a high school audience . a teenage boy asked him a question about their town councilman , called him , our local yokel . ' truman lit into the boy . politics is a noble art , truman said . it 's difficult to forge consensus and lead fighting factions for the common good . but this is what politicians do . they deserve respect . the boy was chastened , and apologized . knowing , however , that a public scolding by a man of his stature could affect the boy 's self-esteem for a long time , truman talked with him after the assembly , and invited him to write and tell him about his grades . they corresponded until the boy graduated college . we have to make our civic discourse civil again . we have to recognize that virtual violence masquerading as ridicule is vicious ; it 's a toxic atmosphere we allow by our silence . we hear a lot about what 's wrong with washington . what 's wrong is n't washington . it 's us . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | brazile : we have to make our civic discourse civil again ; virtual violence is toxic for all of us |
brazile <tsp> ( cnn ) -- satire and mockery are part of politics . sometimes they attack not the policy but the person , going from nuanced to nasty . but surely not everything goes . ' promoting violence and applauding abuse -- there 's just no excuse for it . the latest uproar occurred at the missouri state fair , when a rodeo clown wearing an obama mask invited the crowd to cheer if they wanted to see obama run down by a bull . ' as they were bringing the bulls into the chute and prepping them , ' perry beam told usa today , ... they bring out what looks like a dummy . the announcer says'here 's our obama dummy , or our dummy of obama . they mentioned the president 's name , i do n't know , 100 times ... ' beam was there with his wife and a foreign exchange student who got a lesson in american political civility . ' the reaction was bipartisan . missouri gov . jay nixon , a and sen. claire mccaskill , both democrats , weighed in with disapproval . and lt. gov . peter kinder , a republican , said on twitter he found the performance disrespectful . ' that 's an understatement . we are better than this . ' one hopes so . what are we to make , though , of a slap hillary website , suspiciously resurrected by an anti-hillary pac ? the pac sent out tweets to reporters in hopes , i suspect , of stirring up the red meat base , get publicity , and solicit money . it provocatively asked journalists , have you slapped hillary today ? ' first posted 13 years ago , the site shows a cartoon of hillary 's face . when a button is pressed , a hand slaps her so hard she reacts like a bobble doll , her head bouncing from side to side as her eyes cross . the slaphillary team , ' which hosts the game , ' says they are a grass roots , nonprofit organization . ' buzzfeed 's andrew kaczynski did some research and found its treasurer , christopher m. marston , is a republican campaign finance consultant and former member of the bush administration . the super pac defended itself and posted a link to a slap palin ' website . the pac is n't contrite , saying on its website , we did n't see the liberal media bemoaning this slap palin ' game when it came out ! they only care when it 's the candidate they support for president . ' there 's something suspicious about the slap palin ' site -- a paucity of comments , just 19 in 2008 and only two last year , indicates a set-up . a little more research revealed that the slap palin ' is hosted on a computer at the same address in downtown washington that hosts a slap clinton ' and slap obama ' site . we can perhaps relegate the slap palin-clinton-obama ' anonymous owner to the fringe . but what are we to say when a former administration official and current campaign consultant to one of the major parties promotes violence against public figures ? it does n't matter if the website -- or rodeo clown -- encourages violence against a democrat or a republican , a male or female . it 's wrong . it 's vile . it 's one of the few true evils in politics . those who promote or approve slapping ' or shooting ' or running over by a bull ' any public official should be shamed and shunned . virtual violence needs to be denounced and never justified because it 's political . still , given the extent of domestic violence -- 25 % of american women will experience domestic violence in their lives -- encouraging people to slap or abuse female elected officials is particularly pernicious . slapping women so hard their heads bobble is not a game , not even virtually . we need to go further , and condemn activities that show no respect for elected officials . republican u.s. rep. steve stockman of texas'36th district issued an invitation to the rodeo clown to appear at a rodeo in his district . liberals want to bronco bust dissent , ' stockman said . but texans value speech , even if its speech they do n't agree with . ' this is n't about liberals or conservatives , congressman ; it 's about respect for elected officials , and coupling violence with ridicule . it 's one thing to use free speech to parody or satirize a politician , and another to couple violence with a deliberate showing of disrespect . when harry truman was campaigning in his home state of missouri ( where the rodeo clown performed ) , he took questions from a high school audience . a teenage boy asked him a question about their town councilman , called him , our local yokel . ' truman lit into the boy . politics is a noble art , truman said . it 's difficult to forge consensus and lead fighting factions for the common good . but this is what politicians do . they deserve respect . the boy was chastened , and apologized . knowing , however , that a public scolding by a man of his stature could affect the boy 's self-esteem for a long time , truman talked with him after the assembly , and invited him to write and tell him about his grades . they corresponded until the boy graduated college . we have to make our civic discourse civil again . we have to recognize that virtual violence masquerading as ridicule is vicious ; it 's a toxic atmosphere we allow by our silence . we hear a lot about what 's wrong with washington . what 's wrong is n't washington . it 's us . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | donna brazile : promoting violence and applauding abuse is going too far , even in politics |
cecil hotel <tsp> tourists staying at a los angeles hotel bathed , brushed teeth and drank water from a tank in which a young woman 's body was likely decomposing for more than two weeks , police said . elisa lam 's corpse was found in the cecil hotel 's rooftop water tank by a maintenance worker who was trying to figure out why the water pressure was low tuesday . lam 's parents reported her missing in early february . the last sighting of her was in the hotel on january 31 , los angeles police said . detectives are now investigating the 21-year-old canadian 's suspicious death , police sgt . rudy lopez said . it was not clear whether the water presented any health risks to those who consumed it . results on tests on the water done wednesday by the los angeles public health department were expected later in the day . the hotel management has not responded to cnn requests for comment . video appears to show four cisterns on the hotel roof . people who stayed at the cecil since lam 's disappearance expressed shock about developments . the water did have a funny taste , ' sabrina baugh told cnn on wednesday . she and her husband used the water for eight days . we never thought anything of it , ' the british woman said . we thought it was just the way it was here . ' what she described was not normal . the shower was awful , ' she said . when you turned the tap on , the water was coming black first for two seconds and then it was going back to normal . ' the hotel remained open after the discovery , but guests checking in tuesday were told not to drink it , according to qui nguyen , who decided to find a new hotel wednesday . nguyen said he learned about the body from a cnn reporter , not the hotel staff . authorities search for missing police chief fishing vessel , crew missing off nova scotia how women can travel safely | the canadian 's body was found in a cecil hotel water tank tuesday |
northeast <tsp> ( cnn ) -- while the bible belt is known for its devotion to traditional values , southerners do n't do so well on one key family value : they are more likely to get divorced than people living in the northeast . southern men and women had higher rates of divorce in 2009 than their counterparts in other parts of the country : 10.2 per 1,000 for men and 11.1 per 1,000 for women , according to a new report from the u.s. census bureau released thursday . by comparison , men and women in the northeast had the lowest rates of divorce , 7.2 and 7.5 per 1,000 , which is also lower than the national divorce rate of 9.2 for men and 9.7 for women . in the south , there are higher rates of marriage and higher rates of divorce for men and women , ' said diana elliott , a family demographer with the u.s. census bureau and co-author of the new report . in the northeast , you have people who are delaying first marriages , and consequently there are lower rates of marriage and lower rates of divorce . ' of the 14 states reporting divorce rates for men that were much higher than the u.s. average -- ranging from 10.0 to 13.5 per 1,000 -- most were in the south . they included alabama , arkansas , georgia , kentucky , louisiana , mississippi , oklahoma , tennessee and texas . in contrast , men in the northeast divorced less than the national average . five of the nine states that had divorce rates for men significantly below the u.s. average -- ranging from 6.1 to 8.5 -- were the northeastern states of connecticut , massachusetts , new jersey , new york and pennsylvania . the same was true for southern women . nine of the 14 states with divorce rates for women above the u.s. average , ranging from 10.7 to 16.2 , were in the south . they included alabama , arkansas , georgia , kentucky , mississippi , oklahoma , tennessee , texas and west virginia . by comparison , four of the 10 states with below-average divorce rates for women , ranging from 6.0 to 8.9 , were in the northeast : massachusetts , new jersey , new york and pennsylvania . a divorced mother of two who grew up in virginia and is now living in the atlanta area , lynn ( not her real name ) said she knows why her eight-year marriage failed . she and her ex-husband got married after a whirlwind three-month courtship , and she now knows , you really do n't know somebody after three months . ' she did n't have a college degree when she got married , although she did eventually graduate from college and is now a teacher . lynn said she can see some reasons that southerners divorce at higher rates than the nation as a whole . where i grew up in virginia , i saw some of my peers not finishing high school , some not going to college and some not finishing college , ' she said . i saw a lot of people just staying in my hometown , staying in dead-end jobs , just settling , taking very little risk-taking for their careers . ' youth and lack of education can lead to higher divorce rates , said d'vera cohn , a senior writer with the pew research center , who wrote a report on the states of marriage and divorce . ' there 's also an interactive map on the website . there tend to be higher divorce rates in states where women marry young , ' cohn said . education also may play a role . in general , less educated women marry at younger ages than college-educated women , and less educated couples have higher divorce rates . ' values about premarital sex associated with the bible belt and rural america may be encouraging people to marry early , at ages when they are likely to have less education and less income to support a long-lasting marriage , according to naomi cahn , law professor at the george washington university law school and co-author of red families v. blue families : legal polarization and the creation of culture . ' there 's a moral crisis in red states that 's produced by higher divorce rates and the disparity between parental values and behavior of young adults , ' said cahn . there is enormous tension between moral values and actual practices . ' lawrenceville , new jersey , resident jennifer debord , a married mother of two girls , made many decisions that could keep her 13-year marriage strong . she finished college , explored different careers , dated a few different men and lived with one boyfriend before figuring out what she wanted in a mate . debord and her husband , jason , who works as a broadway conductor and musician , both moved to new york city to pursue their careers in the arts . waiting allowed me to find the person who was right for me , not the person who was available , ' said debord , 42 . in my mother 's time , you married the first person you spent time with . i would have divorced that guy . i had a much better idea of who i was ( when i married ) at 29 versus who i was at 19 . ' it 's ironic that pressure on people to get married early also puts them at higher risk of divorce , said stephanie coontz , history and family studies professor at the evergreen state college in olympia , washington , director of research and public education for the council on contemporary families , and author of marriage , a history : how love conquered marriage ' and other books . the very fact that people feel less pressure to get married ( in the northeast ) means they can be more selective about who they marry and take their time , coontz said . they do n't have to rush into it to please parents or avoid stigma of premarital sex . ' whatever the reasons for the south 's higher divorce rate , christian author jonathan merritt said that church leaders are focusing more on divorce recovery when they should be focusing on preventing divorce . the faith community has a twofold responsibility regarding divorce : we need to respond to the divorce epidemic among our own ranks and we need to address the trend among the broader culture , ' said merritt , author of green like god : unlocking the divine plan for our planet , ' who also ministers at cross pointe church in duluth , georgia . marriages and families within faith communities are no healthier than in the rest of society . faith communities must provide support systems to salvage damaged marriages and resurrect dead marriages . ' meanwhile , divorce still pushes more women into poverty than men and affects their children , since children are still more likely to live with their mothers ( 75 % ) than their fathers ( 25 % ) , according to the same u.s. census report . some other findings : • women divorcing in the past year were more likely than men to be in poverty ( 22 % versus 11 % ) . • women divorcing in the past year had less household income than their male counterparts . of those women , 27 % had annual household incomes below $ 25,000 , compared with 17 % of divorced men . • women who divorced in the past year were more likely to receive public assistance than men ( 23 % versus 15 % ) . • children living with a parent divorcing in 2009 were more likely to live in poverty ( 28 % ) compared with other children ( 19 % ) and more likely to live in a rented home ( 53 % ) than other children ( 36 % ) . | new census bureau report finds divorce higher in south than northeast |
south <tsp> ( cnn ) -- while the bible belt is known for its devotion to traditional values , southerners do n't do so well on one key family value : they are more likely to get divorced than people living in the northeast . southern men and women had higher rates of divorce in 2009 than their counterparts in other parts of the country : 10.2 per 1,000 for men and 11.1 per 1,000 for women , according to a new report from the u.s. census bureau released thursday . by comparison , men and women in the northeast had the lowest rates of divorce , 7.2 and 7.5 per 1,000 , which is also lower than the national divorce rate of 9.2 for men and 9.7 for women . in the south , there are higher rates of marriage and higher rates of divorce for men and women , ' said diana elliott , a family demographer with the u.s. census bureau and co-author of the new report . in the northeast , you have people who are delaying first marriages , and consequently there are lower rates of marriage and lower rates of divorce . ' of the 14 states reporting divorce rates for men that were much higher than the u.s. average -- ranging from 10.0 to 13.5 per 1,000 -- most were in the south . they included alabama , arkansas , georgia , kentucky , louisiana , mississippi , oklahoma , tennessee and texas . in contrast , men in the northeast divorced less than the national average . five of the nine states that had divorce rates for men significantly below the u.s. average -- ranging from 6.1 to 8.5 -- were the northeastern states of connecticut , massachusetts , new jersey , new york and pennsylvania . the same was true for southern women . nine of the 14 states with divorce rates for women above the u.s. average , ranging from 10.7 to 16.2 , were in the south . they included alabama , arkansas , georgia , kentucky , mississippi , oklahoma , tennessee , texas and west virginia . by comparison , four of the 10 states with below-average divorce rates for women , ranging from 6.0 to 8.9 , were in the northeast : massachusetts , new jersey , new york and pennsylvania . a divorced mother of two who grew up in virginia and is now living in the atlanta area , lynn ( not her real name ) said she knows why her eight-year marriage failed . she and her ex-husband got married after a whirlwind three-month courtship , and she now knows , you really do n't know somebody after three months . ' she did n't have a college degree when she got married , although she did eventually graduate from college and is now a teacher . lynn said she can see some reasons that southerners divorce at higher rates than the nation as a whole . where i grew up in virginia , i saw some of my peers not finishing high school , some not going to college and some not finishing college , ' she said . i saw a lot of people just staying in my hometown , staying in dead-end jobs , just settling , taking very little risk-taking for their careers . ' youth and lack of education can lead to higher divorce rates , said d'vera cohn , a senior writer with the pew research center , who wrote a report on the states of marriage and divorce . ' there 's also an interactive map on the website . there tend to be higher divorce rates in states where women marry young , ' cohn said . education also may play a role . in general , less educated women marry at younger ages than college-educated women , and less educated couples have higher divorce rates . ' values about premarital sex associated with the bible belt and rural america may be encouraging people to marry early , at ages when they are likely to have less education and less income to support a long-lasting marriage , according to naomi cahn , law professor at the george washington university law school and co-author of red families v. blue families : legal polarization and the creation of culture . ' there 's a moral crisis in red states that 's produced by higher divorce rates and the disparity between parental values and behavior of young adults , ' said cahn . there is enormous tension between moral values and actual practices . ' lawrenceville , new jersey , resident jennifer debord , a married mother of two girls , made many decisions that could keep her 13-year marriage strong . she finished college , explored different careers , dated a few different men and lived with one boyfriend before figuring out what she wanted in a mate . debord and her husband , jason , who works as a broadway conductor and musician , both moved to new york city to pursue their careers in the arts . waiting allowed me to find the person who was right for me , not the person who was available , ' said debord , 42 . in my mother 's time , you married the first person you spent time with . i would have divorced that guy . i had a much better idea of who i was ( when i married ) at 29 versus who i was at 19 . ' it 's ironic that pressure on people to get married early also puts them at higher risk of divorce , said stephanie coontz , history and family studies professor at the evergreen state college in olympia , washington , director of research and public education for the council on contemporary families , and author of marriage , a history : how love conquered marriage ' and other books . the very fact that people feel less pressure to get married ( in the northeast ) means they can be more selective about who they marry and take their time , coontz said . they do n't have to rush into it to please parents or avoid stigma of premarital sex . ' whatever the reasons for the south 's higher divorce rate , christian author jonathan merritt said that church leaders are focusing more on divorce recovery when they should be focusing on preventing divorce . the faith community has a twofold responsibility regarding divorce : we need to respond to the divorce epidemic among our own ranks and we need to address the trend among the broader culture , ' said merritt , author of green like god : unlocking the divine plan for our planet , ' who also ministers at cross pointe church in duluth , georgia . marriages and families within faith communities are no healthier than in the rest of society . faith communities must provide support systems to salvage damaged marriages and resurrect dead marriages . ' meanwhile , divorce still pushes more women into poverty than men and affects their children , since children are still more likely to live with their mothers ( 75 % ) than their fathers ( 25 % ) , according to the same u.s. census report . some other findings : • women divorcing in the past year were more likely than men to be in poverty ( 22 % versus 11 % ) . • women divorcing in the past year had less household income than their male counterparts . of those women , 27 % had annual household incomes below $ 25,000 , compared with 17 % of divorced men . • women who divorced in the past year were more likely to receive public assistance than men ( 23 % versus 15 % ) . • children living with a parent divorcing in 2009 were more likely to live in poverty ( 28 % ) compared with other children ( 19 % ) and more likely to live in a rented home ( 53 % ) than other children ( 36 % ) . | new census bureau report finds divorce higher in south than northeast |
ramadan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- those lights you put up for the holidays do n't just brighten your neighborhood -- they are providing nasa with new data about how cities illuminate the night . just how much brightness do the traditional christmas lights add across the united states ? between the day after thanksgiving and new year 's day , nighttime lights in many major u.s. cities shine 20 % to 50 % brighter than average , according to nasa . the data comes from satellite imagery -- from the noaa/nasa suomi national polar-orbiting partnership satellite -- and the use of an algorithm to account for other sources of light . the nasa team examined light output in 2012 and 2013 in 70 cities during a study of urban energy use . the increased brightness is more pronounced in suburban areas , according to nasa . in most suburbs and outskirts of major cities , light intensity increased by 30 ( percent ) to 50 percent , ' nasa said in a statement . lights in the central urban areas did not increase as much as in the suburbs , but still brightened by 20 ( percent ) to 30 percent . ' the changes in brightness during the holidays is not unique to the united states . the researchers also found that cities in the middle east are brightened during the holy month of ramadan . light use in saudi arabian cities increased by 60 % to 100 % during ramadan , nasa reported . cairo also shone brighter . best places to see christmas lights in the u.s . | the same effect can be seen in the middle east during ramadan |
mission viejo <tsp> after a lifelong battle with mental illness , the youngest son of pastor rick warren has committed suicide , his family said . matthew warren , 27 , died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on friday , said deputy daniel aikin , with the orange county coroner 's office . the family shared news of his death in an e-mail to church staff . rick warren and his wife founded saddleback valley community church , a megachurch in southern california . no words can express the anguished grief we feel right now , ' the pastor wrote in the note , a copy of which was sent to cnn . you who watched matthew grow up knew he was an incredibly kind , gentle , and compassionate man . he had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room . he 'd then make a bee-line to that person to engage and encourage them . but only those closest knew that he struggled from birth with mental illness , dark holes of depression , and even suicidal thoughts . in spite of america 's best doctors , meds , counselors , and prayers for healing , the torture of mental illness never subsided . ' according to aikin , matthew warren 's body was found at his home in mission viejo , california , late friday afternoon . he put the estimated time of death at around 10 a.m. that day . the coroner 's office is investigating the death . an autopsy will be conducted early next week , aikin told cnn on saturday . according to a spokesman for rick warren , matthew warren worked in the saddleback resources warehouse , which distributes books and dvds . matthew warren 's uncle , tom holladay , preached at the church saturday night . he thanked members for coming and said that we 're facing it as a family . ' we 're going to be real together about our hurts , and we 're going to be real together about the thing that only he can give us : hope in the face of anything and everything , ' holladay said . as a pioneer of the megachurch movement , rick warren looked to translate traditional evangelical messages to a wider audience . the pastor gave the invocation at president barack obama 's 2009 inauguration and penned the purpose-driven life , ' a christian self-help guide that became a mainstream best-seller . i 'll never forget how , many years ago , after another approach had failed to give relief , matthew said'dad , i know i 'm going to heaven . why ca n't i just die and end this pain ?'but he kept going for another decade , ' rick warren wrote in the e-mail . in a separate statement , his church asked for prayers and that god 's comfort and peace ' be with the warren family . | his body was found at his home in mission viejo , california , on friday |
formula one <tsp> i 'd never been near a race track in my life , ' explains divina galica , a former olympic skier who belongs to an exclusive band of formula one drivers . there are only five members -- and they are all female . for many years i lived near thruxton ( a race track in southern england ) and could hear the cars going round , but i never had any interest in going over there . ' galica was captain of the british women 's ski team and competed at three winter olympics from 1964 to 1972 , but it was not until she hung up her poles that her story took a remarkable twist . just under a month shy of her 32nd birthday , she became only the third woman to enter an f1 race at the 1976 british grand prix , completing an incredible career change . when i stopped ski racing i started a shop in london selling ski wear , ' galica told cnn . it was a complete change of pace to me and i got a little restless . one day the telephone rang and a gentleman asked me if i 'd like to go in for a celebrity race for sports people . i came second in the race and a lot of people were surprised that in my first race i had come second . john webb ( formerly in charge of the uk 's brands hatch circuit ) invited me to race against the women drivers who were racing and again i came second . that sort of started my career . ' it was a career which propelled galica into the male-dominated world of f1 , where only five women have entered a grand prix in its 61-year history and only two have successfully qualified for a race . i think i was quite well known because a lot of publicity followed me around and most people seemed to think i was qualified to race at that level , ' said galica , who entered two further grands prix with the hesketh team at the start of the 1978 season . the downside was the car i was driving , not the team because they were top notch -- they had run ( 1976 world champion ) james hunt . but the car was old and not particularly competitive . ' the first woman to test herself against the men was italy 's maria teresa de filippis , who made history at the 1958 monaco grand prix -- a race which also saw the sport 's future supremo bernie ecclestone make his bow . de filippis failed to qualify in monte carlo , but a month later in belgium , in a race with no cut-off time for qualification , she started in last position on the grid . in a contest which saw nine of the 19-strong field retire , de filippis guided her maserati around the spa track but finished right at the back . her compatriot lella lombardi is the most successful female driver so far . in a three-year spell , lombardi entered 17 grands prix for march , ram and williams , competing in 12 races . she became the first and only woman to score in the elite division of motorsport , when a fifth-place finish at the 1975 spanish grand prix while racing for march earned her half a point instead of the usual one because the race distance was shortened . hot on the heels of lombardi was galica , who , inspired by her italian forerunners , entered the sport in 1976 . like everything , motorsport was male-dominated for many years but there were many , many women who raced ... lella lombardi was extremely good , ' the 67-year-old said . she was extremely strong as well , she had a good car and she did very well in it . so there have been good women drivers in formula one . ' galica believes strength is essential if women are to deal with the physical rigors of a grand prix and the media attention which comes with their unique status . to drive in my day you had to be fit , ' she said . luckily i came off a skiing career and i was massively fit , i was built like a tank . nowadays , i 've seen a lot of women drivers who are extremely good , but as they move up the formula , they 're not quite strong enough . often they make some mistakes because they get fatigued . of course , men get tired in those cars too , it 's not just women . especially the modern f1 car , it creates enormous g-force , and the tracks nowadays do n't have many straights so you 're always turning and there is a lot of work to do . ' constantly dealing with the world 's media is also difficult , according to galica . it 's tiring enough to drive an f1 car , but when you get out and are pounced on by thousands of journalists from all over the world you really get pretty exhausted . i think that 's something that women do n't understand , ' she said . you 're not just driving the car and getting out of it and disappearing into your motor home , you actually are then at the mercy of the world 's press . ' south africa 's desire wilson was the next woman to enter a race in 1980 , and it has been almost 20 years since giovanna amati drove for brabham in 1992 , but recently there have been reports claiming that renault will sign maria de villota as the team 's third driver . the spaniard has previously raced in the world touring car championship and tested for renault earlier this year . galica said the 31-year-old must ready for the physical challenge if she is to drive in f1 . my concern for her is not that she would be an ambassador , which she would be , and i 'm sure she would do a wonderful job , ' galica said of de villota . but when she actually gets in the car i 'm wondering if she 'll be fit enough . i would be in the gym most of this winter trying to lift heavy weights and get my neck muscles going and just make sure i 'm strong enough . i do n't know her , but i think that would be my advice . ' | italy 's lella lombardi is the only one woman to have scored a formula one point |
winter olympic <tsp> i 'd never been near a race track in my life , ' explains divina galica , a former olympic skier who belongs to an exclusive band of formula one drivers . there are only five members -- and they are all female . for many years i lived near thruxton ( a race track in southern england ) and could hear the cars going round , but i never had any interest in going over there . ' galica was captain of the british women 's ski team and competed at three winter olympics from 1964 to 1972 , but it was not until she hung up her poles that her story took a remarkable twist . just under a month shy of her 32nd birthday , she became only the third woman to enter an f1 race at the 1976 british grand prix , completing an incredible career change . when i stopped ski racing i started a shop in london selling ski wear , ' galica told cnn . it was a complete change of pace to me and i got a little restless . one day the telephone rang and a gentleman asked me if i 'd like to go in for a celebrity race for sports people . i came second in the race and a lot of people were surprised that in my first race i had come second . john webb ( formerly in charge of the uk 's brands hatch circuit ) invited me to race against the women drivers who were racing and again i came second . that sort of started my career . ' it was a career which propelled galica into the male-dominated world of f1 , where only five women have entered a grand prix in its 61-year history and only two have successfully qualified for a race . i think i was quite well known because a lot of publicity followed me around and most people seemed to think i was qualified to race at that level , ' said galica , who entered two further grands prix with the hesketh team at the start of the 1978 season . the downside was the car i was driving , not the team because they were top notch -- they had run ( 1976 world champion ) james hunt . but the car was old and not particularly competitive . ' the first woman to test herself against the men was italy 's maria teresa de filippis , who made history at the 1958 monaco grand prix -- a race which also saw the sport 's future supremo bernie ecclestone make his bow . de filippis failed to qualify in monte carlo , but a month later in belgium , in a race with no cut-off time for qualification , she started in last position on the grid . in a contest which saw nine of the 19-strong field retire , de filippis guided her maserati around the spa track but finished right at the back . her compatriot lella lombardi is the most successful female driver so far . in a three-year spell , lombardi entered 17 grands prix for march , ram and williams , competing in 12 races . she became the first and only woman to score in the elite division of motorsport , when a fifth-place finish at the 1975 spanish grand prix while racing for march earned her half a point instead of the usual one because the race distance was shortened . hot on the heels of lombardi was galica , who , inspired by her italian forerunners , entered the sport in 1976 . like everything , motorsport was male-dominated for many years but there were many , many women who raced ... lella lombardi was extremely good , ' the 67-year-old said . she was extremely strong as well , she had a good car and she did very well in it . so there have been good women drivers in formula one . ' galica believes strength is essential if women are to deal with the physical rigors of a grand prix and the media attention which comes with their unique status . to drive in my day you had to be fit , ' she said . luckily i came off a skiing career and i was massively fit , i was built like a tank . nowadays , i 've seen a lot of women drivers who are extremely good , but as they move up the formula , they 're not quite strong enough . often they make some mistakes because they get fatigued . of course , men get tired in those cars too , it 's not just women . especially the modern f1 car , it creates enormous g-force , and the tracks nowadays do n't have many straights so you 're always turning and there is a lot of work to do . ' constantly dealing with the world 's media is also difficult , according to galica . it 's tiring enough to drive an f1 car , but when you get out and are pounced on by thousands of journalists from all over the world you really get pretty exhausted . i think that 's something that women do n't understand , ' she said . you 're not just driving the car and getting out of it and disappearing into your motor home , you actually are then at the mercy of the world 's press . ' south africa 's desire wilson was the next woman to enter a race in 1980 , and it has been almost 20 years since giovanna amati drove for brabham in 1992 , but recently there have been reports claiming that renault will sign maria de villota as the team 's third driver . the spaniard has previously raced in the world touring car championship and tested for renault earlier this year . galica said the 31-year-old must ready for the physical challenge if she is to drive in f1 . my concern for her is not that she would be an ambassador , which she would be , and i 'm sure she would do a wonderful job , ' galica said of de villota . but when she actually gets in the car i 'm wondering if she 'll be fit enough . i would be in the gym most of this winter trying to lift heavy weights and get my neck muscles going and just make sure i 'm strong enough . i do n't know her , but i think that would be my advice . ' | prior to moving into motorsport , galica was a winter olympic skier |
british <tsp> i 'd never been near a race track in my life , ' explains divina galica , a former olympic skier who belongs to an exclusive band of formula one drivers . there are only five members -- and they are all female . for many years i lived near thruxton ( a race track in southern england ) and could hear the cars going round , but i never had any interest in going over there . ' galica was captain of the british women 's ski team and competed at three winter olympics from 1964 to 1972 , but it was not until she hung up her poles that her story took a remarkable twist . just under a month shy of her 32nd birthday , she became only the third woman to enter an f1 race at the 1976 british grand prix , completing an incredible career change . when i stopped ski racing i started a shop in london selling ski wear , ' galica told cnn . it was a complete change of pace to me and i got a little restless . one day the telephone rang and a gentleman asked me if i 'd like to go in for a celebrity race for sports people . i came second in the race and a lot of people were surprised that in my first race i had come second . john webb ( formerly in charge of the uk 's brands hatch circuit ) invited me to race against the women drivers who were racing and again i came second . that sort of started my career . ' it was a career which propelled galica into the male-dominated world of f1 , where only five women have entered a grand prix in its 61-year history and only two have successfully qualified for a race . i think i was quite well known because a lot of publicity followed me around and most people seemed to think i was qualified to race at that level , ' said galica , who entered two further grands prix with the hesketh team at the start of the 1978 season . the downside was the car i was driving , not the team because they were top notch -- they had run ( 1976 world champion ) james hunt . but the car was old and not particularly competitive . ' the first woman to test herself against the men was italy 's maria teresa de filippis , who made history at the 1958 monaco grand prix -- a race which also saw the sport 's future supremo bernie ecclestone make his bow . de filippis failed to qualify in monte carlo , but a month later in belgium , in a race with no cut-off time for qualification , she started in last position on the grid . in a contest which saw nine of the 19-strong field retire , de filippis guided her maserati around the spa track but finished right at the back . her compatriot lella lombardi is the most successful female driver so far . in a three-year spell , lombardi entered 17 grands prix for march , ram and williams , competing in 12 races . she became the first and only woman to score in the elite division of motorsport , when a fifth-place finish at the 1975 spanish grand prix while racing for march earned her half a point instead of the usual one because the race distance was shortened . hot on the heels of lombardi was galica , who , inspired by her italian forerunners , entered the sport in 1976 . like everything , motorsport was male-dominated for many years but there were many , many women who raced ... lella lombardi was extremely good , ' the 67-year-old said . she was extremely strong as well , she had a good car and she did very well in it . so there have been good women drivers in formula one . ' galica believes strength is essential if women are to deal with the physical rigors of a grand prix and the media attention which comes with their unique status . to drive in my day you had to be fit , ' she said . luckily i came off a skiing career and i was massively fit , i was built like a tank . nowadays , i 've seen a lot of women drivers who are extremely good , but as they move up the formula , they 're not quite strong enough . often they make some mistakes because they get fatigued . of course , men get tired in those cars too , it 's not just women . especially the modern f1 car , it creates enormous g-force , and the tracks nowadays do n't have many straights so you 're always turning and there is a lot of work to do . ' constantly dealing with the world 's media is also difficult , according to galica . it 's tiring enough to drive an f1 car , but when you get out and are pounced on by thousands of journalists from all over the world you really get pretty exhausted . i think that 's something that women do n't understand , ' she said . you 're not just driving the car and getting out of it and disappearing into your motor home , you actually are then at the mercy of the world 's press . ' south africa 's desire wilson was the next woman to enter a race in 1980 , and it has been almost 20 years since giovanna amati drove for brabham in 1992 , but recently there have been reports claiming that renault will sign maria de villota as the team 's third driver . the spaniard has previously raced in the world touring car championship and tested for renault earlier this year . galica said the 31-year-old must ready for the physical challenge if she is to drive in f1 . my concern for her is not that she would be an ambassador , which she would be , and i 'm sure she would do a wonderful job , ' galica said of de villota . but when she actually gets in the car i 'm wondering if she 'll be fit enough . i would be in the gym most of this winter trying to lift heavy weights and get my neck muscles going and just make sure i 'm strong enough . i do n't know her , but i think that would be my advice . ' | galica made her f1 bow at the 1976 british gp , but never qualified for a race |
stoughton <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- thousands of photos taken during john f. kennedy 's 1,036 days as president remain unseen since white house photographer cecil stoughton printed and logged them in his darkroom five decades ago . when stoughton 's family auctioned them last month , collector and filmmaker keya morgan purchased about 15,000 of the images , including many showing private kennedy family moments . he was there all the time , and he trusted him with his life , ' morgan said of stoughton . most captured public events , but usually just a few shots from an event would have been released , morgan said . the boxes likely hold surprises , but it could take years for him to examine each image , he said . i would say 95 % of these photos have never been published or seen by anyone , and that is because there are just way too many , ' morgan said . morgan gave cnn the first peek inside the boxes after the photographs were delivered to him in los angeles this week . reaching into a box and pulling out a stack of photos is like traveling through time , he said . he pulled out a stack of 5-by-5 black-and-white photos , some stuck together by the years . they appeared to be in the same sequence in which stoughton developed them in his white house darkroom . this first stack showed caroline kennedy 's fifth birthday party , her last with her father . president kennedy was assassinated five days before her sixth . another batch revealed a 2-year-old john kennedy jr. -- known then as john-john -- reaching into his parakeet 's cage while his mother held him . it was the younger john kennedy who first stirred morgan 's interest in stoughton 's photo archives in 1997 . kennedy was his friend and a client of his new york gallery , he said . he called me one night and said'i need this photo , you know , the photo of me under the desk , but not the famous one ,'' morgan said . the famous one ' of a young kennedy under the oval office desk while his father worked above him was taken by photographer stanley tretick for look magazine in october 1963 . but kennedy wanted a photo taken a year earlier by stoughton , he said . morgan found a surprise this weekend preparing for an interview with cnn 's don lemon . it was an unknown photo of caroline playing with another girl in the same spot under her father 's desk . morgan did not immediately know if the other girl was a kennedy cousin or a friend . kennedy cousins may recognize themselves in photos they had long forgotten or have never seen . it 's impossible for anyone to have seen these because cecil was so secretive , ' morgan said . he was so protective and he had all these items locked up . ' morgan bought several hundred photos from stoughton in the last years of his life , including the one that is apparently the only existing photo of kennedy with marilyn monroe . cecil was with president kennedy basically all the time and even in some fairly intimate moments , ' morgan said . it is shocking at the incredible volume of photos that he took , including some that are highly sensitive and private . ' since morgan is busy writing a book and producing a documentary about monroe 's mysterious death , combing through his newly-acquired kennedy collection will be slow , he said . he will start posting the first of the kennedy images on his website lincolnimages.com for licensing , he said . morgan also claims the largest collection of lincoln photos , but the numbers are minuscule compared to kennedy 's . only 129 unique images of lincoln are known to exist , he said . | stoughton 's family sold the massive collection to keya morgan in a december auction |
stoughton <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- thousands of photos taken during john f. kennedy 's 1,036 days as president remain unseen since white house photographer cecil stoughton printed and logged them in his darkroom five decades ago . when stoughton 's family auctioned them last month , collector and filmmaker keya morgan purchased about 15,000 of the images , including many showing private kennedy family moments . he was there all the time , and he trusted him with his life , ' morgan said of stoughton . most captured public events , but usually just a few shots from an event would have been released , morgan said . the boxes likely hold surprises , but it could take years for him to examine each image , he said . i would say 95 % of these photos have never been published or seen by anyone , and that is because there are just way too many , ' morgan said . morgan gave cnn the first peek inside the boxes after the photographs were delivered to him in los angeles this week . reaching into a box and pulling out a stack of photos is like traveling through time , he said . he pulled out a stack of 5-by-5 black-and-white photos , some stuck together by the years . they appeared to be in the same sequence in which stoughton developed them in his white house darkroom . this first stack showed caroline kennedy 's fifth birthday party , her last with her father . president kennedy was assassinated five days before her sixth . another batch revealed a 2-year-old john kennedy jr. -- known then as john-john -- reaching into his parakeet 's cage while his mother held him . it was the younger john kennedy who first stirred morgan 's interest in stoughton 's photo archives in 1997 . kennedy was his friend and a client of his new york gallery , he said . he called me one night and said'i need this photo , you know , the photo of me under the desk , but not the famous one ,'' morgan said . the famous one ' of a young kennedy under the oval office desk while his father worked above him was taken by photographer stanley tretick for look magazine in october 1963 . but kennedy wanted a photo taken a year earlier by stoughton , he said . morgan found a surprise this weekend preparing for an interview with cnn 's don lemon . it was an unknown photo of caroline playing with another girl in the same spot under her father 's desk . morgan did not immediately know if the other girl was a kennedy cousin or a friend . kennedy cousins may recognize themselves in photos they had long forgotten or have never seen . it 's impossible for anyone to have seen these because cecil was so secretive , ' morgan said . he was so protective and he had all these items locked up . ' morgan bought several hundred photos from stoughton in the last years of his life , including the one that is apparently the only existing photo of kennedy with marilyn monroe . cecil was with president kennedy basically all the time and even in some fairly intimate moments , ' morgan said . it is shocking at the incredible volume of photos that he took , including some that are highly sensitive and private . ' since morgan is busy writing a book and producing a documentary about monroe 's mysterious death , combing through his newly-acquired kennedy collection will be slow , he said . he will start posting the first of the kennedy images on his website lincolnimages.com for licensing , he said . morgan also claims the largest collection of lincoln photos , but the numbers are minuscule compared to kennedy 's . only 129 unique images of lincoln are known to exist , he said . | white house photographer cecil stoughton kept most of his prints private |
white house <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- thousands of photos taken during john f. kennedy 's 1,036 days as president remain unseen since white house photographer cecil stoughton printed and logged them in his darkroom five decades ago . when stoughton 's family auctioned them last month , collector and filmmaker keya morgan purchased about 15,000 of the images , including many showing private kennedy family moments . he was there all the time , and he trusted him with his life , ' morgan said of stoughton . most captured public events , but usually just a few shots from an event would have been released , morgan said . the boxes likely hold surprises , but it could take years for him to examine each image , he said . i would say 95 % of these photos have never been published or seen by anyone , and that is because there are just way too many , ' morgan said . morgan gave cnn the first peek inside the boxes after the photographs were delivered to him in los angeles this week . reaching into a box and pulling out a stack of photos is like traveling through time , he said . he pulled out a stack of 5-by-5 black-and-white photos , some stuck together by the years . they appeared to be in the same sequence in which stoughton developed them in his white house darkroom . this first stack showed caroline kennedy 's fifth birthday party , her last with her father . president kennedy was assassinated five days before her sixth . another batch revealed a 2-year-old john kennedy jr. -- known then as john-john -- reaching into his parakeet 's cage while his mother held him . it was the younger john kennedy who first stirred morgan 's interest in stoughton 's photo archives in 1997 . kennedy was his friend and a client of his new york gallery , he said . he called me one night and said'i need this photo , you know , the photo of me under the desk , but not the famous one ,'' morgan said . the famous one ' of a young kennedy under the oval office desk while his father worked above him was taken by photographer stanley tretick for look magazine in october 1963 . but kennedy wanted a photo taken a year earlier by stoughton , he said . morgan found a surprise this weekend preparing for an interview with cnn 's don lemon . it was an unknown photo of caroline playing with another girl in the same spot under her father 's desk . morgan did not immediately know if the other girl was a kennedy cousin or a friend . kennedy cousins may recognize themselves in photos they had long forgotten or have never seen . it 's impossible for anyone to have seen these because cecil was so secretive , ' morgan said . he was so protective and he had all these items locked up . ' morgan bought several hundred photos from stoughton in the last years of his life , including the one that is apparently the only existing photo of kennedy with marilyn monroe . cecil was with president kennedy basically all the time and even in some fairly intimate moments , ' morgan said . it is shocking at the incredible volume of photos that he took , including some that are highly sensitive and private . ' since morgan is busy writing a book and producing a documentary about monroe 's mysterious death , combing through his newly-acquired kennedy collection will be slow , he said . he will start posting the first of the kennedy images on his website lincolnimages.com for licensing , he said . morgan also claims the largest collection of lincoln photos , but the numbers are minuscule compared to kennedy 's . only 129 unique images of lincoln are known to exist , he said . | white house photographer cecil stoughton kept most of his prints private |
kendrick johnson <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the family of kendrick johnson -- the south georgia teen found dead in his high school gym a year ago -- has filed a lawsuit against the funeral home that handled his remains , alleging negligence and fraud . the lawsuit revolves around what the owner and employees of harrington funeral home in valdosta , georgia , knew about the state of the young man 's body . johnson 's parents were shocked to learn in june , when they ordered a second autopsy , that the young man 's organs were missing and had been replaced with newspaper . an investigation by a state board found that the handling of the body by the funeral home did not violate the law . roy copeland , a lawyer for harrington funeral home and its owner , antonio harrington , said his client had not been served as of wednesday and could not comment on something he has not seen . in the lawsuit , filed january 31 and amended wednesday , the family alleges that not only did the funeral home mishandle the organs , it disposed of them to thwart an investigation into johnson 's cause of death . this lawsuit challenges the morally despicable , fraudulent , unlawful and unfair business practices ' of harrington funeral home , the court document states . antonio harrington intentionally , willfully and secretly ' desecrated johnson 's remains , the lawsuit claims . it was a fraud intended to mislead and make it difficult to establish the manner and cause of death , the lawsuit alleges . the lowndes county sheriff 's office has repeatedly stood by its original determination that johnson died by accident after getting caught up reaching for his shoe that fell inside a rolled-up gym mat . cnn examined the 522-page police file and found that investigators spoke to 111 people , including 18 on the day johnson 's body was found . but the disbelieving johnson family pushed in court , leading to a judge 's decision may 1 to grant their request to exhume their son 's body for an independent autopsy at their expense . it was during that second autopsy that the missing organs were noticed . the doctor who carried out that autopsy determined that johnson suffered blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues , consistent with inflicted injury , ' challenging the authorities'ruling that the death was accidental . the lawsuit alleges that harrington not only was aware that organs were missing , but actively undertook measures to dispose of said organs in an effort to interfere ' with the investigation . kendrick johnson footage released ; expert finds it'highly suspicious ' | kendrick johnson was found dead in his school gym a year ago |
west palm beach <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a police motorcyclist in president barack obama 's motorcade died sunday in florida following a serious highway accident , police and the top white house spokesman said . the officer from the jupiter , florida , police department was transported around 4:40 p.m. to st. mary 's medical center in nearby west palm beach after being critically injured in a crash . the man -- identified as officer bruce st. laurent -- later died at the hospital , jupiter police chief frank kitzerow told reporters late sunday . obama was notified of the death , white house spokesman jay carney told reporters after air force one landed in washington . the president 's thoughts and prayers are with the officer 's family , according to the spokesman . the jupiter officer was traveling along i-95 through west palm beach when a ford 150 pickup hit his motorcycle , west palm beach sheriff 's office spokeswoman therese barbera told cnn . the crash happened near the front of the president 's motorcade , and obama himself did not see it unfold , according to carney . the white house spokesman said no other vehicles from the motorcade were involved . the palm beach county sheriff 's office is investigating the accident , with assistance from the florida highway patrol , said kitzerow from the jupiter police . these authorities were investigating the crash as a vehicular homicide , said barbera , who stressed it still very early in the probe . the palm beach gardens and west palm beach police departments were also assisting on the case , including helping deal with arrangements for the officer and supporting the police force in jupiter , according to kitzerow . st. laurent was a 20-year veteran of jupiter 's police department , including 18 years as a motor officer , his chief said . the late officer 's family has been told about his death , kitzerow added . cnn 's stephanie gallman contributed to this report . | the officer , from jupiter , florida , later died at a west palm beach hospital , she adds |
andrews <tsp> new orleans , louisiana ( cnn ) -- of all the amazing new orleans , louisiana , musicians , my favorite could be troy trombone shorty ' andrews . troy trombone shorty ' andrews performs on the gentilly stage at the new orleans jazz festival . he cut his teeth at age 4 playing with legends like bo diddley . at 19 , he toured with lenny kravitz . and now , at age 23 , trombone shorty is getting ready to play with aerosmith and release his latest cd . he 's played every venue in new orleans you can think of . i had the chance to catch up with him at the 40th annual new orleans jazz festival this week . the following is an edited version of that interview . cnn : you ca n't ask for better weather , better crowd , and to be the face of congo square . how does it feel ? trombone shorty : well , it feels great . i 'm happy to be in my city and get a warm reception like that from the audience . and i 'm honored to be on the poster this year , because when they first called me , i thought it was a joke . i thought i had to put in at least 20 more years of work . so for me to be one of the youngest on there ever , i 'm happy . i 'm like a kid in a candy store . i just want to find ways to help the city , and one of the ways to do it is right here at the jazz festival . cnn : what does it mean to be here , especially this kind of crowd , on the 40th anniversary [ of the festival ] ? the economy has been bad , but can you put a price tag on what it does to the spirit ? ts : everywhere i go around the world , we have fans of new orleans . sometimes we go places , and people do n't really know who we are , but they know new orleans , and once we say we are from new orleans , we have a lot of supporters . to be here on a wonderful day and to have a big crowd of people coming out to help new orleans is a wonderful thing . cnn : tell me about your band , the education you got and these young guys playing with you . what you are going to mean to the city as you age and get the recognition that you deserve ? ts : i just want to spearhead and lead a new style of new orleans music . a lot of people have been doing the same thing for years , and i just want to be one of the people who create the next 50 years of new orleans . and my band , most of them i got from noca ( new orleans creative arts ) , where wynton marsalis , harry connick and most of those guys graduated . some of them i met from loyola , and we all got together . i was a natural musician first , then i went to school , and i got the best young musicians i saw around town , and we have been playing in this band for nine or 10 years now . cnn : i 've seen you the last several years , and you seem much more comfortable as a front man . not just playing the horn great but leading the crowd , singing . am i right reading into that ? ts : i wanted to become a better entertainer , and i learned from my brother james andrews . and i 've been studying some tape of james brown and different people . i 've just wanted to see what i could do . i just wanted to make people comfortable with seeing a horn . because if you see a horn on a poster with some guy , you automatically think it 's a sit-down jazz thing . and coming from treme [ new orleans ] , everything has been about dancing and second-lining and partying and everything . that 's where i am from , so i just wanted to take that and put it with this style of playing . cnn : tell me what your favorite food is . do you get to sample a lot of it ? ts : i got ta say the crawfish monica and the crawfish bread . i like that . i eat it every day . last year i got sick from eating like 10 of them ! | troy trombone shorty ' andrews performs at the new orleans jazz festival |
andrews <tsp> new orleans , louisiana ( cnn ) -- of all the amazing new orleans , louisiana , musicians , my favorite could be troy trombone shorty ' andrews . troy trombone shorty ' andrews performs on the gentilly stage at the new orleans jazz festival . he cut his teeth at age 4 playing with legends like bo diddley . at 19 , he toured with lenny kravitz . and now , at age 23 , trombone shorty is getting ready to play with aerosmith and release his latest cd . he 's played every venue in new orleans you can think of . i had the chance to catch up with him at the 40th annual new orleans jazz festival this week . the following is an edited version of that interview . cnn : you ca n't ask for better weather , better crowd , and to be the face of congo square . how does it feel ? trombone shorty : well , it feels great . i 'm happy to be in my city and get a warm reception like that from the audience . and i 'm honored to be on the poster this year , because when they first called me , i thought it was a joke . i thought i had to put in at least 20 more years of work . so for me to be one of the youngest on there ever , i 'm happy . i 'm like a kid in a candy store . i just want to find ways to help the city , and one of the ways to do it is right here at the jazz festival . cnn : what does it mean to be here , especially this kind of crowd , on the 40th anniversary [ of the festival ] ? the economy has been bad , but can you put a price tag on what it does to the spirit ? ts : everywhere i go around the world , we have fans of new orleans . sometimes we go places , and people do n't really know who we are , but they know new orleans , and once we say we are from new orleans , we have a lot of supporters . to be here on a wonderful day and to have a big crowd of people coming out to help new orleans is a wonderful thing . cnn : tell me about your band , the education you got and these young guys playing with you . what you are going to mean to the city as you age and get the recognition that you deserve ? ts : i just want to spearhead and lead a new style of new orleans music . a lot of people have been doing the same thing for years , and i just want to be one of the people who create the next 50 years of new orleans . and my band , most of them i got from noca ( new orleans creative arts ) , where wynton marsalis , harry connick and most of those guys graduated . some of them i met from loyola , and we all got together . i was a natural musician first , then i went to school , and i got the best young musicians i saw around town , and we have been playing in this band for nine or 10 years now . cnn : i 've seen you the last several years , and you seem much more comfortable as a front man . not just playing the horn great but leading the crowd , singing . am i right reading into that ? ts : i wanted to become a better entertainer , and i learned from my brother james andrews . and i 've been studying some tape of james brown and different people . i 've just wanted to see what i could do . i just wanted to make people comfortable with seeing a horn . because if you see a horn on a poster with some guy , you automatically think it 's a sit-down jazz thing . and coming from treme [ new orleans ] , everything has been about dancing and second-lining and partying and everything . that 's where i am from , so i just wanted to take that and put it with this style of playing . cnn : tell me what your favorite food is . do you get to sample a lot of it ? ts : i got ta say the crawfish monica and the crawfish bread . i like that . i eat it every day . last year i got sick from eating like 10 of them ! | andrews'band , orleans avenue , is preparing to release new cd |
andrews <tsp> new orleans , louisiana ( cnn ) -- of all the amazing new orleans , louisiana , musicians , my favorite could be troy trombone shorty ' andrews . troy trombone shorty ' andrews performs on the gentilly stage at the new orleans jazz festival . he cut his teeth at age 4 playing with legends like bo diddley . at 19 , he toured with lenny kravitz . and now , at age 23 , trombone shorty is getting ready to play with aerosmith and release his latest cd . he 's played every venue in new orleans you can think of . i had the chance to catch up with him at the 40th annual new orleans jazz festival this week . the following is an edited version of that interview . cnn : you ca n't ask for better weather , better crowd , and to be the face of congo square . how does it feel ? trombone shorty : well , it feels great . i 'm happy to be in my city and get a warm reception like that from the audience . and i 'm honored to be on the poster this year , because when they first called me , i thought it was a joke . i thought i had to put in at least 20 more years of work . so for me to be one of the youngest on there ever , i 'm happy . i 'm like a kid in a candy store . i just want to find ways to help the city , and one of the ways to do it is right here at the jazz festival . cnn : what does it mean to be here , especially this kind of crowd , on the 40th anniversary [ of the festival ] ? the economy has been bad , but can you put a price tag on what it does to the spirit ? ts : everywhere i go around the world , we have fans of new orleans . sometimes we go places , and people do n't really know who we are , but they know new orleans , and once we say we are from new orleans , we have a lot of supporters . to be here on a wonderful day and to have a big crowd of people coming out to help new orleans is a wonderful thing . cnn : tell me about your band , the education you got and these young guys playing with you . what you are going to mean to the city as you age and get the recognition that you deserve ? ts : i just want to spearhead and lead a new style of new orleans music . a lot of people have been doing the same thing for years , and i just want to be one of the people who create the next 50 years of new orleans . and my band , most of them i got from noca ( new orleans creative arts ) , where wynton marsalis , harry connick and most of those guys graduated . some of them i met from loyola , and we all got together . i was a natural musician first , then i went to school , and i got the best young musicians i saw around town , and we have been playing in this band for nine or 10 years now . cnn : i 've seen you the last several years , and you seem much more comfortable as a front man . not just playing the horn great but leading the crowd , singing . am i right reading into that ? ts : i wanted to become a better entertainer , and i learned from my brother james andrews . and i 've been studying some tape of james brown and different people . i 've just wanted to see what i could do . i just wanted to make people comfortable with seeing a horn . because if you see a horn on a poster with some guy , you automatically think it 's a sit-down jazz thing . and coming from treme [ new orleans ] , everything has been about dancing and second-lining and partying and everything . that 's where i am from , so i just wanted to take that and put it with this style of playing . cnn : tell me what your favorite food is . do you get to sample a lot of it ? ts : i got ta say the crawfish monica and the crawfish bread . i like that . i eat it every day . last year i got sick from eating like 10 of them ! | everywhere i go around the world , we have fans of new orleans , ' andrews says |
jazz fest <tsp> new orleans , louisiana ( cnn ) -- of all the amazing new orleans , louisiana , musicians , my favorite could be troy trombone shorty ' andrews . troy trombone shorty ' andrews performs on the gentilly stage at the new orleans jazz festival . he cut his teeth at age 4 playing with legends like bo diddley . at 19 , he toured with lenny kravitz . and now , at age 23 , trombone shorty is getting ready to play with aerosmith and release his latest cd . he 's played every venue in new orleans you can think of . i had the chance to catch up with him at the 40th annual new orleans jazz festival this week . the following is an edited version of that interview . cnn : you ca n't ask for better weather , better crowd , and to be the face of congo square . how does it feel ? trombone shorty : well , it feels great . i 'm happy to be in my city and get a warm reception like that from the audience . and i 'm honored to be on the poster this year , because when they first called me , i thought it was a joke . i thought i had to put in at least 20 more years of work . so for me to be one of the youngest on there ever , i 'm happy . i 'm like a kid in a candy store . i just want to find ways to help the city , and one of the ways to do it is right here at the jazz festival . cnn : what does it mean to be here , especially this kind of crowd , on the 40th anniversary [ of the festival ] ? the economy has been bad , but can you put a price tag on what it does to the spirit ? ts : everywhere i go around the world , we have fans of new orleans . sometimes we go places , and people do n't really know who we are , but they know new orleans , and once we say we are from new orleans , we have a lot of supporters . to be here on a wonderful day and to have a big crowd of people coming out to help new orleans is a wonderful thing . cnn : tell me about your band , the education you got and these young guys playing with you . what you are going to mean to the city as you age and get the recognition that you deserve ? ts : i just want to spearhead and lead a new style of new orleans music . a lot of people have been doing the same thing for years , and i just want to be one of the people who create the next 50 years of new orleans . and my band , most of them i got from noca ( new orleans creative arts ) , where wynton marsalis , harry connick and most of those guys graduated . some of them i met from loyola , and we all got together . i was a natural musician first , then i went to school , and i got the best young musicians i saw around town , and we have been playing in this band for nine or 10 years now . cnn : i 've seen you the last several years , and you seem much more comfortable as a front man . not just playing the horn great but leading the crowd , singing . am i right reading into that ? ts : i wanted to become a better entertainer , and i learned from my brother james andrews . and i 've been studying some tape of james brown and different people . i 've just wanted to see what i could do . i just wanted to make people comfortable with seeing a horn . because if you see a horn on a poster with some guy , you automatically think it 's a sit-down jazz thing . and coming from treme [ new orleans ] , everything has been about dancing and second-lining and partying and everything . that 's where i am from , so i just wanted to take that and put it with this style of playing . cnn : tell me what your favorite food is . do you get to sample a lot of it ? ts : i got ta say the crawfish monica and the crawfish bread . i like that . i eat it every day . last year i got sick from eating like 10 of them ! | trombone shorty is featured on the congo square poster for jazz fest |
rwanda <tsp> ( cnn ) -- to look at , lake kivu seems , well , innocent . situated on rwanda 's western border , it is both a prominent food source in the country , and -- increasingly -- a tourist hotspot . hotels have rushed to set up along the coast to cater to the influx of visitors , no doubt lured in by the lake 's idyllic beach setting . the lake is very important to tourism , ' says innocent twagirumukiza , founder of green hills ecotours . when people finish visiting mountain gorillas , or other national parks around rwanda , this is a good place to come and relax , ' he adds . what these tourists may not know , however , is that because of the area 's volcanoes and anaerobic bacteria in the water , lake kivu is a storehouse for 60 billion cubic meters of methane gas , and susceptible to underwater eruptions . it is one of three exploding lakes ' in the world . though these types of eruptions , known as overturns , can potentially pose a risk to the local community ( in 1986 , a similar lake in cameroon released a bubble of co2 that killed 1,746 people ) , lake kivu is safe , thanks in part to the efforts of the rwandan government . i do n't use [ the term exploding lake ' ] . it 's just a lake that has methane gas and needs degassing , ' says olivier ntirushwa , the manager at kibuye power plant in northwest rwanda . not only does the degassing ' keep the lake safe , it provides electricity for the region . in 2008 , rwanda launched a pilot project to extract methane gas from the lake and use it as a power source . this is a source of power , a source of energy that 's free . it 's our lake , so why not use it like that ? ' says ntirushwa . currently , only 20 % of rwandan homes have power , and ntirushwa estimates it will take at least 1,000 megawatts to power the country by 2020 . while the project is still in the early stages ( the plant currently extracts a mere 2.4 megawatts of power ) , ntirushwa sees an enormous amount of potential . this lake has the power to produce up to 800 megawatts . we only do 2.4 , so imagine how much is left , ' he says . the methane resides 250 meters underneath the lake , and to extract it , engineers lower a pipe to just about the layer of dissolved gas . once captured , the gas is purified and dried . overall , it 's a cheap method for creating electricity . it 's a very rewarding job , because it 's the first time [ it 's been done ] . it 's a new technology , and the people of rwanda are very excited about it . being a pioneer , being the first doing this , it gives some us respect . ' | rwanda has defused the lake by using the methane for power |
rwanda <tsp> ( cnn ) -- to look at , lake kivu seems , well , innocent . situated on rwanda 's western border , it is both a prominent food source in the country , and -- increasingly -- a tourist hotspot . hotels have rushed to set up along the coast to cater to the influx of visitors , no doubt lured in by the lake 's idyllic beach setting . the lake is very important to tourism , ' says innocent twagirumukiza , founder of green hills ecotours . when people finish visiting mountain gorillas , or other national parks around rwanda , this is a good place to come and relax , ' he adds . what these tourists may not know , however , is that because of the area 's volcanoes and anaerobic bacteria in the water , lake kivu is a storehouse for 60 billion cubic meters of methane gas , and susceptible to underwater eruptions . it is one of three exploding lakes ' in the world . though these types of eruptions , known as overturns , can potentially pose a risk to the local community ( in 1986 , a similar lake in cameroon released a bubble of co2 that killed 1,746 people ) , lake kivu is safe , thanks in part to the efforts of the rwandan government . i do n't use [ the term exploding lake ' ] . it 's just a lake that has methane gas and needs degassing , ' says olivier ntirushwa , the manager at kibuye power plant in northwest rwanda . not only does the degassing ' keep the lake safe , it provides electricity for the region . in 2008 , rwanda launched a pilot project to extract methane gas from the lake and use it as a power source . this is a source of power , a source of energy that 's free . it 's our lake , so why not use it like that ? ' says ntirushwa . currently , only 20 % of rwandan homes have power , and ntirushwa estimates it will take at least 1,000 megawatts to power the country by 2020 . while the project is still in the early stages ( the plant currently extracts a mere 2.4 megawatts of power ) , ntirushwa sees an enormous amount of potential . this lake has the power to produce up to 800 megawatts . we only do 2.4 , so imagine how much is left , ' he says . the methane resides 250 meters underneath the lake , and to extract it , engineers lower a pipe to just about the layer of dissolved gas . once captured , the gas is purified and dried . overall , it 's a cheap method for creating electricity . it 's a very rewarding job , because it 's the first time [ it 's been done ] . it 's a new technology , and the people of rwanda are very excited about it . being a pioneer , being the first doing this , it gives some us respect . ' | rwanda 's lake kivu is becoming a tourism hotspot |
republican <tsp> ( cnn ) -- after months of not-so-coy will-he-or-won't-he political flirtation , fred thompson has finally and officially announced that he is a candidate for the 2008 republican presidential nomination . fred thompson joins the race for the gop nomination only four months before the first voting . i am running for president of the united states , ' he said during a taping of nbc 's the tonight show with jay leno ' wednesday evening , drawing applause and cheers from the audience . it 's the same venue that helped launch the electoral career of another celebrity-turned-politician , california gov . arnold schwarzenegger . thompson also talked about his decision to join the race in a webcast that went online early thursday . i 'm going to give this campaign all that i have to give , and i hope that you 'll join me , ' thompson said in the video announcement posted on his campaign web site . our country needs us to win next year , and i 'm ready to lead that effort . ' thompson , 65 , who has had a multifaceted career as a prosecutor , lobbyist , actor and u.s. senator from tennessee , is angling for a conservative base that has yet to coalesce around a favorite . his decision to run was widely expected , after he formed an exploratory committee in june to begin raising money . but political observers say thompson may be late by entering the race months after his gop rivals . the first voting is only four months away and the other candidates have been in iowa , new hampshire , south carolina and beyond for months . but thompson dismissed suggestions that he took too long to make the decision . i do n't think people are going to say ,'you know , that guy would make a very good president , but he just did n't get in soon enough , ''thompson told leno . if you ca n't get your message out in a few months , you 're probably not ever going to get it out . ' in his video announcement , thompson touted his support for what he termed common-sense conservative principles , including low taxes , free markets , balanced budgets and the sanctity of life . ' these principles made our country great , and we should re-dedicate ourselves to them , not abandon them , ' he said . on the iraq war , thompson also challenged democrats pushing for a withdrawal of u.s. forces , embracing president bush 's view that the u.s. effort in iraq is a central front in the war on terror . our courage as a people must match that of the brave men and women in uniform fighting for us , ' he said . they know if we abandon our efforts , or appear weak and divided , we 'll pay a heavy price for it in the future . ' even before he became a candidate , thompson showed well in recent national poll averages , trailing only the front-runner , former new york mayor rudy giuliani . his acting role on nbc 's popular law and order ' tv shows has buoyed his name recognition and prompted comparisons to another actor-turned-president beloved by conservatives , ronald reagan . thursday morning , thompson will begin a two-day tour across iowa , whose precinct caucuses traditionally kick off the nominating season in january . see thompson 's new presidential campaign buses » he will travel from des moines to council bluffs , sioux city , mason city , cedar rapids and davenport on a brown , yellow and red bus festooned with the slogan united by our core beliefs . ' after his iowa tour , thompson will take his campaign to three other states with early primary contests -- new hampshire , florida and south carolina . expectations are sky high , which means he 'd better perform flawlessly out of the box or a lot of people are going to start grumbling that he 's not the great savior we thought he was , ' said republican pollster whit ayres . thompson 's virtual campaign kickoff came just hours after his gop rivals held their latest campaign debate wednesday night in new hampshire -- an event he skipped to unveil his political plans on the set of the tonight show . ' thompson joked that while he meant no disrespect to the organizers of wednesday 's granite state event , it 's a lot more difficult to get on'the tonight show'than it is to get into a presidential debate . ' over the summer , thompson 's nascent non-campaign campaign ran into turbulence with the departure of several staffers , including veteran republican campaign adviser tom collamore , who left after disagreements with the candidate 's wife , jeri , over organization and staffing decisions , according to republican sources familiar with collamore 's decision . jeri thompson , 40 , was a gop media consultant before marrying thompson in 2002 . the political world was also roundly unimpressed with the $ 3.4 million thompson 's exploratory committee raised during its first month of operation in june -- a fundraising pace far weaker than his gop competitors . despite those bumps and his late start , thompson has said he believes his campaign is still well-positioned to win the nomination . thompson 's government service goes back to 1969 , when he became a federal prosecutor in nashville . his profile went national in 1973 , when he was appointed as the republican counsel to the senate watergate committee investigating misdeeds by president richard nixon and members of his staff . during televised hearings that riveted the nation , it was thompson who famously and dramatically asked white house aide alexander butterfield about the existence of tapes made of oval office conversations , which would eventually turn out to be nixon 's undoing . after watergate , thompson returned to tennessee to practice law . he fell into a career as an actor when he was asked to play himself in the 1985 movie marie , ' which was based on a real-life case in which he represented a whistleblower who exposed corruption . his performance in the film led to other film and tv roles . in 1994 , thompson sought political office for the first time , running for the remaining two years of the senate term that democrat al gore gave up when he was elected vice president in 1992 . after barnstorming the volunteer state in a red pickup truck while wearing cowboy boots , thompson won in a landslide , and , in 1996 , easily won re-election to a full six-year term . in 2002 , however , thompson decided not to seek re-election and left the senate . he worked as a lawyer-lobbyist in washington and also took on the role of the gruff , conservative new york district attorney arthur branch on law and order . ' thompson left the show earlier this year when he began considering a presidential bid . in april , thompson disclosed that in 2004 , he had been diagnosed with non-hodgkin lymphoma , a cancer of the immune system . however , he said the cancer was in remission and he was suffering no symptoms . e-mail to a friend cnn 's john king , bethany swain and doug schantz contributed to this report . | republican candidate dismisses suggestions he may be late entering the race |
philadelphia <tsp> sherman hemsley 's body lies in an el paso , texas , funeral home refrigerator more than a month after his death while a court decides who gets the actor 's remains . a philadelphia man claiming to be the jeffersons ' actor 's brother is challenging a will hemsley signed a month before his death , according to the funeral home handling his arrangements . it is disgraceful , ' hemsley 's longtime partner flora enchinton told cnn affiliate kvia-tv . it is sad . this was a man with dignity . ' the will signed by hemsley on june 13 , 2012 , a month after he was diagnosed with cancer , named enchinton as executor and left his entire estate to her , according to court papers . hemsley 's embalmed remains are kept in a refrigerator at san jose funeral home in el paso awaiting a court order allowing burial or with instructions on who should be given the body , funeral home employee renny dosier said thursday . a spokeswoman for the el paso county probate judge eduardo gamboa declined to comment about the case . enchinton , who said she lived with hemsley at his el paso home for the past decade , told kvia-tv that the dispute gives her a very ugly feeling , very desperate feeling that i feel inside . ' sherman hemsley : a tribute to the great george jefferson and more ' the emotional thing is you wake up thinking he 's still frozen out there , ' she said . contrary to what enchinton said , hemsley 's body is embalmed under refrigeration , ' not frozen , dosier said . the man who claims to be hemsley brother is asking for custody of his remains and possessions . i have never heard of a so-called brother named of richard thornton in the 20 years i have known sherman , ' enchinton said . this is not what sherman would have wanted . ' sherman left very worried about me , about me staying alone , what was going to happen to me , being alone if he was gone . that 's what worried him the most . i guess maybe he sensed what was going to happen . it just gives me these emotions and feelings ( that ) all of a sudden there 's these people that have never known anything about our life , about who we are , about what we 're all about , about what we endured , ' enchinton said about the validity of her role in hemsley 's life being questioned . hemsley played george jefferson , a wisecracking owner of a dry cleaning business , on all in the family ' from 1973 until 1975 , when the spinoff the jeffersons ' began an 11-season run on cbs . hemsley also played deacon ernest frye in the sitcom amen . ' comments : so long , sherman ; thanks for the laughs | a philadelphia man claiming to be the jeffersons ' actor 's brother is challenging his will |
kvia-tv <tsp> sherman hemsley 's body lies in an el paso , texas , funeral home refrigerator more than a month after his death while a court decides who gets the actor 's remains . a philadelphia man claiming to be the jeffersons ' actor 's brother is challenging a will hemsley signed a month before his death , according to the funeral home handling his arrangements . it is disgraceful , ' hemsley 's longtime partner flora enchinton told cnn affiliate kvia-tv . it is sad . this was a man with dignity . ' the will signed by hemsley on june 13 , 2012 , a month after he was diagnosed with cancer , named enchinton as executor and left his entire estate to her , according to court papers . hemsley 's embalmed remains are kept in a refrigerator at san jose funeral home in el paso awaiting a court order allowing burial or with instructions on who should be given the body , funeral home employee renny dosier said thursday . a spokeswoman for the el paso county probate judge eduardo gamboa declined to comment about the case . enchinton , who said she lived with hemsley at his el paso home for the past decade , told kvia-tv that the dispute gives her a very ugly feeling , very desperate feeling that i feel inside . ' sherman hemsley : a tribute to the great george jefferson and more ' the emotional thing is you wake up thinking he 's still frozen out there , ' she said . contrary to what enchinton said , hemsley 's body is embalmed under refrigeration , ' not frozen , dosier said . the man who claims to be hemsley brother is asking for custody of his remains and possessions . i have never heard of a so-called brother named of richard thornton in the 20 years i have known sherman , ' enchinton said . this is not what sherman would have wanted . ' sherman left very worried about me , about me staying alone , what was going to happen to me , being alone if he was gone . that 's what worried him the most . i guess maybe he sensed what was going to happen . it just gives me these emotions and feelings ( that ) all of a sudden there 's these people that have never known anything about our life , about who we are , about what we 're all about , about what we endured , ' enchinton said about the validity of her role in hemsley 's life being questioned . hemsley played george jefferson , a wisecracking owner of a dry cleaning business , on all in the family ' from 1973 until 1975 , when the spinoff the jeffersons ' began an 11-season run on cbs . hemsley also played deacon ernest frye in the sitcom amen . ' comments : so long , sherman ; thanks for the laughs | it is disgraceful , ' hemsley 's longtime partner flora enchinton tells cnn affiliate kvia-tv . |
france <tsp> paris , france ( cnn ) -- france will soon rejoin nato 's military command more than 40 years after it left , french president nicolas sarkozy said tuesday . french president nicolas sarkozy has aligned france more closely with the u.s. france was a founding member of the alliance in 1949 but it left the military structure in 1966 amid frictions with the united states . france has continued , however , to contribute troops to nato missions and to participate in nato 's political bodies . analysts expect that when france takes over the rotating six-month presidency of the european union next month , sarkozy will try to boost the eu defense dimension . some nations , particularly the united states , have been suspicious of a greater eu defense initiative , seeing it as an attempt to undermine nato . sarkozy 's move , which he has signaled for months , could be seen as an attempt to reconcile the two sides and help the united states warm to the idea of the european union having its own security organization . basically , the tradeoff is that they no longer suspect french motives in pushing for a greater eu defense dimension because of sarkozy 's willingness to make france a fully participating member of nato , ' said robin oakley , cnn 's european political editor . from its earliest years , nato 's transatlantic ties were strained because u.s. analysts warned that if the european allies failed to increase their contributions to the alliance , they risked losing the support of the united states , according to nato . the european allies felt the united states was trying to dominate nato , and the resulting frictions led french president charles de gaulle to withdraw from nato 's military structure in 1966 , according to nato . that decision meant no french forces could be under permanent allied command and that france would have no participation in defense planning . in 1995 , france rejoined nato 's military committee , which advises nato 's political authorities on military policy and strategy and provides guidance on military matters to nato 's strategic commanders . while france was still not a part of the military command , it contributed troops and funding to nato activities , including kfor in kosovo and isaf in afghanistan . some 5,000 french troops are currently committed to nato operations and france contributes 13.8 percent of its military budget to the alliance , according to the french foreign ministry . the center for european reform , an eu think tank , said sarkozy 's move will end a ruinous quarrel ' between europe 's two main security organizations -- nato and the eu defense initiative . sarkozy has broken a long-standing taboo in french foreign policy and opened the possibility of a dramatic improvement in eu-nato cooperation , ' the cer said in december , after the president hinted at the move he made tuesday . the european security and defense policy , or esdp , has its origins in the 1990s , when eu leaders decided europe needed its own military and civilian capabilities for security . so far , the esdp is still just a framing of common defense policy which might one day lead to a common defense , according to the european union . the esdp does not involve the creation of a european army , the eu says . | france to rejoin nato 's military command , french president sarkozy announces |
france <tsp> paris , france ( cnn ) -- france will soon rejoin nato 's military command more than 40 years after it left , french president nicolas sarkozy said tuesday . french president nicolas sarkozy has aligned france more closely with the u.s. france was a founding member of the alliance in 1949 but it left the military structure in 1966 amid frictions with the united states . france has continued , however , to contribute troops to nato missions and to participate in nato 's political bodies . analysts expect that when france takes over the rotating six-month presidency of the european union next month , sarkozy will try to boost the eu defense dimension . some nations , particularly the united states , have been suspicious of a greater eu defense initiative , seeing it as an attempt to undermine nato . sarkozy 's move , which he has signaled for months , could be seen as an attempt to reconcile the two sides and help the united states warm to the idea of the european union having its own security organization . basically , the tradeoff is that they no longer suspect french motives in pushing for a greater eu defense dimension because of sarkozy 's willingness to make france a fully participating member of nato , ' said robin oakley , cnn 's european political editor . from its earliest years , nato 's transatlantic ties were strained because u.s. analysts warned that if the european allies failed to increase their contributions to the alliance , they risked losing the support of the united states , according to nato . the european allies felt the united states was trying to dominate nato , and the resulting frictions led french president charles de gaulle to withdraw from nato 's military structure in 1966 , according to nato . that decision meant no french forces could be under permanent allied command and that france would have no participation in defense planning . in 1995 , france rejoined nato 's military committee , which advises nato 's political authorities on military policy and strategy and provides guidance on military matters to nato 's strategic commanders . while france was still not a part of the military command , it contributed troops and funding to nato activities , including kfor in kosovo and isaf in afghanistan . some 5,000 french troops are currently committed to nato operations and france contributes 13.8 percent of its military budget to the alliance , according to the french foreign ministry . the center for european reform , an eu think tank , said sarkozy 's move will end a ruinous quarrel ' between europe 's two main security organizations -- nato and the eu defense initiative . sarkozy has broken a long-standing taboo in french foreign policy and opened the possibility of a dramatic improvement in eu-nato cooperation , ' the cer said in december , after the president hinted at the move he made tuesday . the european security and defense policy , or esdp , has its origins in the 1990s , when eu leaders decided europe needed its own military and civilian capabilities for security . so far , the esdp is still just a framing of common defense policy which might one day lead to a common defense , according to the european union . the esdp does not involve the creation of a european army , the eu says . | france set to push closer eu military cooperation when it assumes eu presidency |
france <tsp> paris , france ( cnn ) -- france will soon rejoin nato 's military command more than 40 years after it left , french president nicolas sarkozy said tuesday . french president nicolas sarkozy has aligned france more closely with the u.s. france was a founding member of the alliance in 1949 but it left the military structure in 1966 amid frictions with the united states . france has continued , however , to contribute troops to nato missions and to participate in nato 's political bodies . analysts expect that when france takes over the rotating six-month presidency of the european union next month , sarkozy will try to boost the eu defense dimension . some nations , particularly the united states , have been suspicious of a greater eu defense initiative , seeing it as an attempt to undermine nato . sarkozy 's move , which he has signaled for months , could be seen as an attempt to reconcile the two sides and help the united states warm to the idea of the european union having its own security organization . basically , the tradeoff is that they no longer suspect french motives in pushing for a greater eu defense dimension because of sarkozy 's willingness to make france a fully participating member of nato , ' said robin oakley , cnn 's european political editor . from its earliest years , nato 's transatlantic ties were strained because u.s. analysts warned that if the european allies failed to increase their contributions to the alliance , they risked losing the support of the united states , according to nato . the european allies felt the united states was trying to dominate nato , and the resulting frictions led french president charles de gaulle to withdraw from nato 's military structure in 1966 , according to nato . that decision meant no french forces could be under permanent allied command and that france would have no participation in defense planning . in 1995 , france rejoined nato 's military committee , which advises nato 's political authorities on military policy and strategy and provides guidance on military matters to nato 's strategic commanders . while france was still not a part of the military command , it contributed troops and funding to nato activities , including kfor in kosovo and isaf in afghanistan . some 5,000 french troops are currently committed to nato operations and france contributes 13.8 percent of its military budget to the alliance , according to the french foreign ministry . the center for european reform , an eu think tank , said sarkozy 's move will end a ruinous quarrel ' between europe 's two main security organizations -- nato and the eu defense initiative . sarkozy has broken a long-standing taboo in french foreign policy and opened the possibility of a dramatic improvement in eu-nato cooperation , ' the cer said in december , after the president hinted at the move he made tuesday . the european security and defense policy , or esdp , has its origins in the 1990s , when eu leaders decided europe needed its own military and civilian capabilities for security . so far , the esdp is still just a framing of common defense policy which might one day lead to a common defense , according to the european union . the esdp does not involve the creation of a european army , the eu says . | france has continued to contribute troops , funds to nato missions |
year one <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- in the midst of the ongoing culture wars , can it be a good idea to put out a comedy about two stone age men who wander into the bible ? in year one , ' jack black stars as an inquisitive stone age man , with michael cera as his sidekick . harold ramis thinks so . year one , ' which he directed , concerns two men -- played by jack black and michael cera -- who leave their home and , in their travels , meet biblical characters such as cain , abel , abraham and isaac . among the locales : ancient sodom , which did n't seem worse than las vegas to me , ' ramis told cnn . year one ' comes out friday . ramis , whose writing and directing credits include groundhog day ' and analyze this , ' said it was time for a new biblical epic -- of sorts . no one had done this film for our generation , ' he told cnn . it 's like , you know , when'animal house'[ which ramis co-wrote ] came out , there were college films . every generation had college films , but our generation did n't have one yet , and i do n't know that our generation - this young , new generation of kids has a , you know , a sandal epic yet , and this is the one . this is for them . ' ramis rounded up a cast of comedians familiar to any watcher of judd apatow-produced movies -- no surprise , since apatow is a producer of year one . ' christopher mintz-plasse ( superbad ' ) , horatio sanz ( saturday night live , ' step brothers ' ) and bill hader ( tropic thunder ' ) all have parts . a lot of them were new to me , ' said ramis . [ but ] jack knew them , michael knew them , they were connected -- all connected through judd apatow , through'saturday night live'... the comedy world is a club . ' black joked that everyone 's a member of a secret society , requiring retinal scans , that meets inside the o of the hollywood sign -- the first o , ' he noted .. ' all the projects are laid out on a table , ' he said . and we talk generally about how we 're gon na take over the planet , take over the comedy and keep a vise grip on it . ' black said he revels in the chance to find the humor in the bible . that was the fun of this thing , ' he said . it 's like , we are going to have some fun with the bible ; you do n't see it very often . it has n't really been done since monty python days .'life of brian .' however , the film could get more than it asked for . films poking fun at the bible -- or , indeed , treating the bible with anything less than reverence -- have been the subject of protests and criticism . life of brian , ' the python troupe 's 1979 comedy about an assumed messiah that parodied the story of jesus , was protested by clergy in the u.s. and banned outright in ireland . french protesters threw molotov cocktails into a paris theater showing the last temptation of christ , ' martin scorsese 's 1988 film version of nikos kazantzakis'novel . more recently , mel gibson 's the passion of the christ , ' though a huge financial success , was criticized by some observers for alleged anti-semitism , as well as its violence . ramis , who observed that a number of biblical films focus on the new testament , said he deliberately chose to make the old testament his subject . i told people that i wanted to do for the old testament what monty python did for the gospels , ' he said . which is just to kind of take a funny look and project a contemporary sensibility back to these treasured myths of western civilization . it was n't so much to attack any particular religion , ' he added . i figure all religions are good . they all make sense on paper ; it 's just the exploitation of religion that 's been a problem , by ... people using religion to justify war , or to justify government or , you know ,'god made me do it .' ramis said one of his intentions with year one , ' which he co-wrote with office ' writers gene stupnitsky and lee eisenberg , was to focus on people , not god . paraphrasing the liberal clergyman and activist william sloane coffin , he said , god 's not the event itself , but god 's in our reaction to the event . ' i wanted to do a film that kind of addressed these fundamental beliefs and urged people to take personal responsibility , no matter what they believe god is or is n't , ' ramis said . it 's still up to us in the final analysis . ' which is not to say that the film skimps on its comedy -- and with ramis , black , cera , hank azaria , david cross and producer judd apatow ( the 40-year-old virgin , ' superbad ' ) around , there 's no shortage of jokes . it 's really just a good , dumb , broad comedy , ' ramis told entertainment weekly . improvisation often played a role , said cera and black . we were n't locked to anything , ' cera said . it was a very honest set . if something was n't working then we would address it . ' we got a lot of different options [ from observers ] , and they were able to play with different options in the editing room . i thought it was a cool way to do it , ' said black . i 've never done a movie like that -- and now i wan na do that on all my movies . ' ireport.com : seen year one ' ? share your review the handful of early reviews have been positive , and ramis is pleased with the result . he 's particularly happy the film was received warmly in the sodom shooting location -- sibley , located in northwest louisiana , in the heart of the bible belt . it 's funny , because southern people living in the heart of the bible belt , there 's a baptist church every 150 feet in that area , and here we are in sodom , in the city of sodom , ' he said . and they just got into it , they enjoyed it so much . ' | biblical films are sometimes met with protest ; will year one ' qualify ? |
year one <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- in the midst of the ongoing culture wars , can it be a good idea to put out a comedy about two stone age men who wander into the bible ? in year one , ' jack black stars as an inquisitive stone age man , with michael cera as his sidekick . harold ramis thinks so . year one , ' which he directed , concerns two men -- played by jack black and michael cera -- who leave their home and , in their travels , meet biblical characters such as cain , abel , abraham and isaac . among the locales : ancient sodom , which did n't seem worse than las vegas to me , ' ramis told cnn . year one ' comes out friday . ramis , whose writing and directing credits include groundhog day ' and analyze this , ' said it was time for a new biblical epic -- of sorts . no one had done this film for our generation , ' he told cnn . it 's like , you know , when'animal house'[ which ramis co-wrote ] came out , there were college films . every generation had college films , but our generation did n't have one yet , and i do n't know that our generation - this young , new generation of kids has a , you know , a sandal epic yet , and this is the one . this is for them . ' ramis rounded up a cast of comedians familiar to any watcher of judd apatow-produced movies -- no surprise , since apatow is a producer of year one . ' christopher mintz-plasse ( superbad ' ) , horatio sanz ( saturday night live , ' step brothers ' ) and bill hader ( tropic thunder ' ) all have parts . a lot of them were new to me , ' said ramis . [ but ] jack knew them , michael knew them , they were connected -- all connected through judd apatow , through'saturday night live'... the comedy world is a club . ' black joked that everyone 's a member of a secret society , requiring retinal scans , that meets inside the o of the hollywood sign -- the first o , ' he noted .. ' all the projects are laid out on a table , ' he said . and we talk generally about how we 're gon na take over the planet , take over the comedy and keep a vise grip on it . ' black said he revels in the chance to find the humor in the bible . that was the fun of this thing , ' he said . it 's like , we are going to have some fun with the bible ; you do n't see it very often . it has n't really been done since monty python days .'life of brian .' however , the film could get more than it asked for . films poking fun at the bible -- or , indeed , treating the bible with anything less than reverence -- have been the subject of protests and criticism . life of brian , ' the python troupe 's 1979 comedy about an assumed messiah that parodied the story of jesus , was protested by clergy in the u.s. and banned outright in ireland . french protesters threw molotov cocktails into a paris theater showing the last temptation of christ , ' martin scorsese 's 1988 film version of nikos kazantzakis'novel . more recently , mel gibson 's the passion of the christ , ' though a huge financial success , was criticized by some observers for alleged anti-semitism , as well as its violence . ramis , who observed that a number of biblical films focus on the new testament , said he deliberately chose to make the old testament his subject . i told people that i wanted to do for the old testament what monty python did for the gospels , ' he said . which is just to kind of take a funny look and project a contemporary sensibility back to these treasured myths of western civilization . it was n't so much to attack any particular religion , ' he added . i figure all religions are good . they all make sense on paper ; it 's just the exploitation of religion that 's been a problem , by ... people using religion to justify war , or to justify government or , you know ,'god made me do it .' ramis said one of his intentions with year one , ' which he co-wrote with office ' writers gene stupnitsky and lee eisenberg , was to focus on people , not god . paraphrasing the liberal clergyman and activist william sloane coffin , he said , god 's not the event itself , but god 's in our reaction to the event . ' i wanted to do a film that kind of addressed these fundamental beliefs and urged people to take personal responsibility , no matter what they believe god is or is n't , ' ramis said . it 's still up to us in the final analysis . ' which is not to say that the film skimps on its comedy -- and with ramis , black , cera , hank azaria , david cross and producer judd apatow ( the 40-year-old virgin , ' superbad ' ) around , there 's no shortage of jokes . it 's really just a good , dumb , broad comedy , ' ramis told entertainment weekly . improvisation often played a role , said cera and black . we were n't locked to anything , ' cera said . it was a very honest set . if something was n't working then we would address it . ' we got a lot of different options [ from observers ] , and they were able to play with different options in the editing room . i thought it was a cool way to do it , ' said black . i 've never done a movie like that -- and now i wan na do that on all my movies . ' ireport.com : seen year one ' ? share your review the handful of early reviews have been positive , and ramis is pleased with the result . he 's particularly happy the film was received warmly in the sodom shooting location -- sibley , located in northwest louisiana , in the heart of the bible belt . it 's funny , because southern people living in the heart of the bible belt , there 's a baptist church every 150 feet in that area , and here we are in sodom , in the city of sodom , ' he said . and they just got into it , they enjoyed it so much . ' | year one ' stars jack black and michael cera as stone age men in bible |
bible <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- in the midst of the ongoing culture wars , can it be a good idea to put out a comedy about two stone age men who wander into the bible ? in year one , ' jack black stars as an inquisitive stone age man , with michael cera as his sidekick . harold ramis thinks so . year one , ' which he directed , concerns two men -- played by jack black and michael cera -- who leave their home and , in their travels , meet biblical characters such as cain , abel , abraham and isaac . among the locales : ancient sodom , which did n't seem worse than las vegas to me , ' ramis told cnn . year one ' comes out friday . ramis , whose writing and directing credits include groundhog day ' and analyze this , ' said it was time for a new biblical epic -- of sorts . no one had done this film for our generation , ' he told cnn . it 's like , you know , when'animal house'[ which ramis co-wrote ] came out , there were college films . every generation had college films , but our generation did n't have one yet , and i do n't know that our generation - this young , new generation of kids has a , you know , a sandal epic yet , and this is the one . this is for them . ' ramis rounded up a cast of comedians familiar to any watcher of judd apatow-produced movies -- no surprise , since apatow is a producer of year one . ' christopher mintz-plasse ( superbad ' ) , horatio sanz ( saturday night live , ' step brothers ' ) and bill hader ( tropic thunder ' ) all have parts . a lot of them were new to me , ' said ramis . [ but ] jack knew them , michael knew them , they were connected -- all connected through judd apatow , through'saturday night live'... the comedy world is a club . ' black joked that everyone 's a member of a secret society , requiring retinal scans , that meets inside the o of the hollywood sign -- the first o , ' he noted .. ' all the projects are laid out on a table , ' he said . and we talk generally about how we 're gon na take over the planet , take over the comedy and keep a vise grip on it . ' black said he revels in the chance to find the humor in the bible . that was the fun of this thing , ' he said . it 's like , we are going to have some fun with the bible ; you do n't see it very often . it has n't really been done since monty python days .'life of brian .' however , the film could get more than it asked for . films poking fun at the bible -- or , indeed , treating the bible with anything less than reverence -- have been the subject of protests and criticism . life of brian , ' the python troupe 's 1979 comedy about an assumed messiah that parodied the story of jesus , was protested by clergy in the u.s. and banned outright in ireland . french protesters threw molotov cocktails into a paris theater showing the last temptation of christ , ' martin scorsese 's 1988 film version of nikos kazantzakis'novel . more recently , mel gibson 's the passion of the christ , ' though a huge financial success , was criticized by some observers for alleged anti-semitism , as well as its violence . ramis , who observed that a number of biblical films focus on the new testament , said he deliberately chose to make the old testament his subject . i told people that i wanted to do for the old testament what monty python did for the gospels , ' he said . which is just to kind of take a funny look and project a contemporary sensibility back to these treasured myths of western civilization . it was n't so much to attack any particular religion , ' he added . i figure all religions are good . they all make sense on paper ; it 's just the exploitation of religion that 's been a problem , by ... people using religion to justify war , or to justify government or , you know ,'god made me do it .' ramis said one of his intentions with year one , ' which he co-wrote with office ' writers gene stupnitsky and lee eisenberg , was to focus on people , not god . paraphrasing the liberal clergyman and activist william sloane coffin , he said , god 's not the event itself , but god 's in our reaction to the event . ' i wanted to do a film that kind of addressed these fundamental beliefs and urged people to take personal responsibility , no matter what they believe god is or is n't , ' ramis said . it 's still up to us in the final analysis . ' which is not to say that the film skimps on its comedy -- and with ramis , black , cera , hank azaria , david cross and producer judd apatow ( the 40-year-old virgin , ' superbad ' ) around , there 's no shortage of jokes . it 's really just a good , dumb , broad comedy , ' ramis told entertainment weekly . improvisation often played a role , said cera and black . we were n't locked to anything , ' cera said . it was a very honest set . if something was n't working then we would address it . ' we got a lot of different options [ from observers ] , and they were able to play with different options in the editing room . i thought it was a cool way to do it , ' said black . i 've never done a movie like that -- and now i wan na do that on all my movies . ' ireport.com : seen year one ' ? share your review the handful of early reviews have been positive , and ramis is pleased with the result . he 's particularly happy the film was received warmly in the sodom shooting location -- sibley , located in northwest louisiana , in the heart of the bible belt . it 's funny , because southern people living in the heart of the bible belt , there 's a baptist church every 150 feet in that area , and here we are in sodom , in the city of sodom , ' he said . and they just got into it , they enjoyed it so much . ' | year one ' stars jack black and michael cera as stone age men in bible |
duke <tsp> ( cnn ) -- jazz great george duke , a visionary keyboardist , producer , composer and arranger , has died in los angeles . he was 67 . the grammy-winning artist was known for blending jazz with rock , funk , r & b and brazilian sounds , creating music that moved beyond boundaries . over the course of his lengthy career , which spanned nearly 50 years , the prolific musician collaborated with notables such as miles davis , michael jackson , anita baker and frank zappa . according to a statement from his record label , duke was being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia . we are all devastated by the sad news of george 's passing , ' said mark wexler , general manager of the concord-telarc label group . he was a great man , a legendary , one-of-a-kind artist ; and our hearts go out to his family . george will be missed by all . ' a california native , duke was inspired to play the piano after catching a duke ellington performance as a child . in 1997 , he told usa today he remembered seeing this guy in a white suit , playing this big thing , which i later found out was a piano . he had all these guys around him , and he was waving his hands conducting , and he spoke very intelligently and seemed to be having a good time . ... i told my mom ,'i want to be him .'that moment in time set the stage for me . ' an alum of the san francisco conservatory of music and san francisco state university , duke would become renowned for his skills with the keyboard , and according to rolling stone magazine had released more than 40 albums . i was in a rock band , i played with a bunch of brazilians , i played r & b with parliament-funkadelic and all of that , ' he said in an interview , according to the new york times . i mean , i 've done jazz with miles davis and cannonball adderley . it 's a goulash . it 's a gumbo . ' his most recent album , dreamweaver , ' was composed following the death of his wife , corine . it was released on july 16 , and debuted at no . 1 on billboard 's contemporary jazz chart , according to his record label . several stars in the entertainment industry , from quincy jones to janelle monae , have mourned the loss of the jazz giant . rest in peace to my brother and collaborator george duke , ' jones tweeted . a great musician , a greater friend . ' # georgeduke merits the highest praise , ' added questlove of the roots . frank zappa ( beyond genius genius ) loved & respected duke . that means somethin . ' george duke rest in peace , ' monae posted . he was an inspiration to us . ' duke 's son , rashid , shared his gratitude for the support his family has received . the outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father 's friends , fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming , ' he said in a statement . thank you all for your concern , prayers and support . ' people we 've lost in 2013 cnn 's carolyn sung contributed to this report . | duke was known for creating and collaborating across genres |
duke <tsp> ( cnn ) -- jazz great george duke , a visionary keyboardist , producer , composer and arranger , has died in los angeles . he was 67 . the grammy-winning artist was known for blending jazz with rock , funk , r & b and brazilian sounds , creating music that moved beyond boundaries . over the course of his lengthy career , which spanned nearly 50 years , the prolific musician collaborated with notables such as miles davis , michael jackson , anita baker and frank zappa . according to a statement from his record label , duke was being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia . we are all devastated by the sad news of george 's passing , ' said mark wexler , general manager of the concord-telarc label group . he was a great man , a legendary , one-of-a-kind artist ; and our hearts go out to his family . george will be missed by all . ' a california native , duke was inspired to play the piano after catching a duke ellington performance as a child . in 1997 , he told usa today he remembered seeing this guy in a white suit , playing this big thing , which i later found out was a piano . he had all these guys around him , and he was waving his hands conducting , and he spoke very intelligently and seemed to be having a good time . ... i told my mom ,'i want to be him .'that moment in time set the stage for me . ' an alum of the san francisco conservatory of music and san francisco state university , duke would become renowned for his skills with the keyboard , and according to rolling stone magazine had released more than 40 albums . i was in a rock band , i played with a bunch of brazilians , i played r & b with parliament-funkadelic and all of that , ' he said in an interview , according to the new york times . i mean , i 've done jazz with miles davis and cannonball adderley . it 's a goulash . it 's a gumbo . ' his most recent album , dreamweaver , ' was composed following the death of his wife , corine . it was released on july 16 , and debuted at no . 1 on billboard 's contemporary jazz chart , according to his record label . several stars in the entertainment industry , from quincy jones to janelle monae , have mourned the loss of the jazz giant . rest in peace to my brother and collaborator george duke , ' jones tweeted . a great musician , a greater friend . ' # georgeduke merits the highest praise , ' added questlove of the roots . frank zappa ( beyond genius genius ) loved & respected duke . that means somethin . ' george duke rest in peace , ' monae posted . he was an inspiration to us . ' duke 's son , rashid , shared his gratitude for the support his family has received . the outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father 's friends , fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming , ' he said in a statement . thank you all for your concern , prayers and support . ' people we 've lost in 2013 cnn 's carolyn sung contributed to this report . | keyboardist george duke has died |
maine <tsp> ( cnn ) -- early this week , i worked on my addiction treatment center 's detoxification unit . i treated teenagers and young adults , pregnant women and medical professionals . i saw older pain patients who , having lost control over their prescriptions , began using intravenous heroin , very much to their shock . many have developed hepatitis c and , for the first time in my state of maine , i 've begun to see an increase in hiv infections . heroin addiction is a metastatic cultural cancer . crime , disease , suffering and death follow in its wake . heroin takes you down a darker road than even prescription opiate addiction . the death of oscar-winning actor philip seymour hoffman on sunday apparently proves the insidious danger of that very path . maine is in the stranglehold of just such a transitional drug addiction epidemic -- it began in the late '90s . and we are not alone . recent reports of mass overdose deaths in pittsburgh and rhode island are strong indicators that the movement from overdose by prescription pain medication to heroin is national in scope . interestingly , the last 20 years has seen a paradigm shift in physicians'attitudes about prescribing opioids to treat pain . before the federation of state medical boards revised its pain treatment guidelines 10 years ago , doctors tended to avoid prescribing opioids for pain . but the revised guidelines , coupled with accreditation requirements reinforcing screening for pain , and pharmaceutical industry pressure to prescribe , greatly expanded use of opioid analgesics such as oxycontin and vicodin . opinion : what makes someone an addict that perfect storm ' created a prescription drug addiction epidemic in our state . substance abuse and mental health services administration data from 10 years ago show the annual number of treatment admissions in maine increased from a little more than 9,000 to almost 14,000 from 2002 to 2005 . that same data indicated we had one of the highest rates of prescription drug addiction among adolescents and young adults in the country . we still do . it 's only been recently that the rest of the country has awakened to this crisis . in 2011 , the centers for disease control and prevention called prescription drug abuse an epidemic . ' maine was highlighted as having one of the highest volumes of prescription painkillers sold . is it any wonder that , with a vast , attractive market of prescription drug addicts at the ready , out-of-state heroin dealers seized the opportunity to flood maine with their treacherous opioid drug ? in only two years , heroin has saturated every remote , rural corner of our state . they say a country always fights its last war . as we donned battle gear for the war on prescription drug addiction , heroin snuck in from the flank unnoticed . two years ago , the use of heroin exploded in maine like a wave of napalm , incinerating lives , families and communities . our state report on substance abuse trends for 2013 reveals that primary treatment admissions related to heroin or morphine have been increasing since 2010 . ' that means , for three years , more mainers have been seeking treatment solely for heroin addiction . opinion : how to stop deaths from drug ods heroin is no longer only an urban plague . in his state of the state address , vermont gov . peter shumlin awakened america to how heroin is corroding lives in even largely rural states . this quickly spreading opiate addiction has every addiction medicine physician deeply concerned about the pressure to treat this chronic brain disease appropriately . we must respond by providing the proven-effective treatment , combining food and drug administration-approved stabilization medications with holistic rehabilitation . one without the other simply does n't work to manage this chronic disease . addiction disease is just like epilepsy or diabetes in that it 's a lifelong diagnosis that demands lifelong management and vigilance by patients and their medical practitioners . the parents of my patients never sleep soundly , always waiting for the dreaded midnight phone call . these deaths are preventable . treatment saves lives . wishful thinking takes them . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of mark publicker . | he says sellers descended on maine and region has seen surge in heroin addiction |
northern cheyenne <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a flag that accompanied lt. col. george armstrong custer and his 7th cavalry into their final battle 134 years ago will be put up for auction , the auction house that will handle the sale said friday . custer led more than 200 other other soldiers into battle against thousands of lakota and northern cheyenne warriors on june 25 , 1876 , at the little bighorn river in what is now montana . none of the u.s. soldiers survived the battle . the flag that will be sold in october is tattered and fragile , measures 27½ by 33 inches and may be stained with blood . it was found three days after the battle of little bighorn -- or the battle of greasy grass creek , as the victors called it -- beneath the body of one of custer 's men killed in the battle . sgt . ferdinand culbertson , a member of the burial detail assigned to retrieve the remains of the 7th cavalry , found the cavalry guidon , or swallow-tail flag , that was used by cavalry companies . the design reduced wind drag as the soldiers advanced . it 's not a piece of decoration , ' said sotheby 's vice chairman , david redden . it 's a sacred relic . people died for this flag . this flag is really important as it symbolizes one of the great and mythological battles in american history . ' another flag from the battle site was found months later in an indian village seized by u.s. troops and is now owned by the national park service , but redden said it is in very poor condition . custer 's last battle was part of the united states government 's 1876-77 campaign to retake the black hills region , ceded in perpetuity by an 1868 treaty to the lakota . but when gold was discovered in the area , the army was sent to push the aboriginal americans to a reservation set up for them . the 7th cavalry surprised the lakota and cheyenne , camped on the river banks , but custer vastly underestimated their number and was crushed . sitting bull and crazy horse were among the lakota leaders who took part in the battle . the detroit institute for the arts acquired the flag in 1895 for $ 54 but has decided to part with it and use the proceeds for future art acquisitions . the institute 's director , graham beal , says the flag wo n't be missed as it was often on loan to other institutions , most recently at the little bighorn battlefield national monument in montana . the sale will help with future acquisitions , ' said beal . with the proceeds we will get art for the collection . even though we are in detroit , we have one of the great universal collections including baroque , african and early modern collections . we are right up there with chicago , cleveland and philadelphia . author nathaniel philbrick , whose book the last stand : custer , sitting bull and the battle of the little big horn ' was released in may , said the significance of shabby flag is enormous . it 's not only symbolic , but it 's also just a terrific artifact , ' he said . it 's pretty intact and given what it went through , it 's amazing . ' john doerner , chief historian at the little bighorn battlefield national monument , said he believes the flag is stained with the blood of a fallen soldier and that the banner belongs to the american people . it was an act of courage and bravery , ' said doerner , a 20-year veteran of the national parks service . to lose the colors was really something that a soldier would give their lives [ to prevent ] , ' he said . doerner is helping oversee events for the battle 's anniversary this weekend at the national monument , where visitors will hear symposiums and view re-enactments . he is hopeful that a benefactor will purchase the flag and loan it to a national museum . redden said expectations are good that the custer flag sale price might exceed sotheby 's $ 2 million to $ 5 million estimate , but the hope is that the sale will come close to the $ 12.3 million paid for a revolutionary battle flag in 2006 , a record for any military relic at auction . | lakota , northern cheyenne warriors crushed custer 's 7th cavalry |
vonn <tsp> it 's been a long old road to recovery for u.s. skiing star lindsey vonn . the olympic gold medal winner and four time overall world cup champion has been sidelined for much of the last two years after undergoing separate bouts of surgery on a recurring knee injury . a promising returning to action in late 2013 was cut short by a fall in training which meant she missed out on defending her downhill crown at the 2014 winter olympics in sochi . now , after knuckling down in the gym and overcoming that bitter disappointment , the 30-year-old vonn is finally set to return to competitive action . and opening up to cnn , she revealed her secret weapon as she fought to get back to the top of the slopes -- her boyfriend and golf star , tiger woods . tiger and i both went through rehab with our injuries at a similar time , so we were both in the gym together and pushing each other and motivating each other , both frustrated , ' vonn said . i think we both helped each other a lot through that time , and i drew a lot of inspiration from him and i think he does the same with me . we continue to push each other and it 's a really positive relationship in that way . ' woods'own injury problems began after a promising start to 2014 . the 14-time major champion regained the world no 1. spot in march but was unable to recapture the form that took him there after undergoing back surgery shortly afterwards . a poor summer meant woods dropped out of contention for a place in the u.s. 's ill-fated ryder cup team . given his high profile and status within the golfing community , much of the media attention in the run up to the ryder cup focused on woods'absence . being a star that transcends her own sport in a similar manner , vonn can empathize as to the added pressure that the unflinching glare of the spotlight can bring . for us , we 're just two athletes trying to do the best we can in our sports , ' she said . there 's other stuff that goes along with it for both of us , there 's media and stuff like that . ' vonn recently criticized a satirical article published in the golf digest magazine that poked fun at woods . she said she was proud of her boyfriend for taking a stand in criticizing the piece and described much of the reaction surrounding his response as completely ridiculous ' in quotes carried by usa today . vonn is more laid back discussing media relations today . although not directly referring to that incident in particular , she said the attention is all part of sports and part of being a successful athlete . we both understand that and take it in our stride . ' a chipper vonn even revealed the celebrity pair are intensively competitive with one another . responding to a question on whether her golf is better than tiger 's skiing , vonn said that was perhaps too difficult to say . it 's tricky -- i have a hole in one . but he 's a pretty good skier . ' we 're highly competitive . we 're competing at every single thing that we can . and unfortunately he holds the record in ping-pong . i have only one victory to i do n't know how many hundreds he has . ' he 's pretty much better than me at everything , except skiing , so unfortunately he 's the winner of the two of us . ' | lindsey vonn reveals boyfriend tiger woods has helped her through injury rehab |
vonn <tsp> it 's been a long old road to recovery for u.s. skiing star lindsey vonn . the olympic gold medal winner and four time overall world cup champion has been sidelined for much of the last two years after undergoing separate bouts of surgery on a recurring knee injury . a promising returning to action in late 2013 was cut short by a fall in training which meant she missed out on defending her downhill crown at the 2014 winter olympics in sochi . now , after knuckling down in the gym and overcoming that bitter disappointment , the 30-year-old vonn is finally set to return to competitive action . and opening up to cnn , she revealed her secret weapon as she fought to get back to the top of the slopes -- her boyfriend and golf star , tiger woods . tiger and i both went through rehab with our injuries at a similar time , so we were both in the gym together and pushing each other and motivating each other , both frustrated , ' vonn said . i think we both helped each other a lot through that time , and i drew a lot of inspiration from him and i think he does the same with me . we continue to push each other and it 's a really positive relationship in that way . ' woods'own injury problems began after a promising start to 2014 . the 14-time major champion regained the world no 1. spot in march but was unable to recapture the form that took him there after undergoing back surgery shortly afterwards . a poor summer meant woods dropped out of contention for a place in the u.s. 's ill-fated ryder cup team . given his high profile and status within the golfing community , much of the media attention in the run up to the ryder cup focused on woods'absence . being a star that transcends her own sport in a similar manner , vonn can empathize as to the added pressure that the unflinching glare of the spotlight can bring . for us , we 're just two athletes trying to do the best we can in our sports , ' she said . there 's other stuff that goes along with it for both of us , there 's media and stuff like that . ' vonn recently criticized a satirical article published in the golf digest magazine that poked fun at woods . she said she was proud of her boyfriend for taking a stand in criticizing the piece and described much of the reaction surrounding his response as completely ridiculous ' in quotes carried by usa today . vonn is more laid back discussing media relations today . although not directly referring to that incident in particular , she said the attention is all part of sports and part of being a successful athlete . we both understand that and take it in our stride . ' a chipper vonn even revealed the celebrity pair are intensively competitive with one another . responding to a question on whether her golf is better than tiger 's skiing , vonn said that was perhaps too difficult to say . it 's tricky -- i have a hole in one . but he 's a pretty good skier . ' we 're highly competitive . we 're competing at every single thing that we can . and unfortunately he holds the record in ping-pong . i have only one victory to i do n't know how many hundreds he has . ' he 's pretty much better than me at everything , except skiing , so unfortunately he 's the winner of the two of us . ' | vonn will make return to competitive skiing action in coming weeks |
virginia <tsp> even as authorities sort out the events that ended with a virginia state senator stabbed and his son dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound , mental health advocates warned wednesday that a national shortage of beds for psychiatric patients could portend similar incidents . state sen. creigh deeds was stabbed more than 10 times tuesday after an altercation with his 24-year-old son , austin gus ' deeds , state police said . the younger man then shot himself , authorities said . this is such a crystal-clear example of the problem , ' said doris fuller , executive director of the virginia-based treatment advocacy center . if sen . deeds were n't a public figure , we would n't be talking about this . the fact of the matter is that individuals and families and communities suffer every single day everywhere in this country because there are not sufficient acute facilities for people . ' deeds remained hospitalized wednesday , but his condition was upgraded to good , authorities said . deputies called to deeds'home day before fatal fight the stabbing came one day after the son was taken to a local hospital under an emergency custody order . police confirmed that gus deeds was brought in by the local sheriff for evaluation by mental health professionals . the richmond times-dispatch reported tuesday that gus deeds received that evaluation , but he was released because no psychiatric bed could be found in the area . cnn has learned that at least three virginia hospitals had psychiatric beds available the day before the stabbing and suicide . officials at western state , rockingham memorial and uva charlottesville hospitals told cnn on wednesday beds were available , but they had not been contacted by medical personnel who evaluated the younger deeds . the hospitals are within an hour or two from bath county , where the incident occurred , but it was unclear whether those who had the initial contact with gus deeds reached out only to hospitals closer to bath . in the wake of the stabbing , virginia gov . bob mcdonnell ordered a review of state and area mental health services , according to his spokesman . the governor has directed the ( state ) secretary of health and human resources to conduct a full internal review of the events leading up to tuesday 's tragic situation , ' said mcdonnell spokesman taylor keeney . the secretary has already begun his assessment , working in cooperation with all relevant state and local authorities . we will have further comment on this review at the appropriate time . ' where are we putting our mentally ill ? the incident renewed public attention on a chronic shortage of beds for the mentally ill -- an alarming national trend that mental-health advocates say is responsible for a long list of violent acts . research from the nonprofit treatment advocacy center found that the number of state psychiatric beds decreased nationwide by 14 % from 2005 to 2010 . in 2005 , there were 50,509 state psychiatric beds , compared with 43,318 in 2010 . in 1960 , by comparison there were 535,000 public psychiatric beds nationwide . fuller said a person with severe mental illness now is more likely to end up in jail or a state prison than a psychiatric hospital . this is a population with no voice , ' fuller of the advocacy center told cnn . the people who are sick enough to be committed to a hospital for care are not people who are voting , and they are not people who are a political constituency . they 're not a political priority . ' a 90-day audit by the virginia 's inspector general in 2012 termed the practice of releasing the mentally ill because of bed shortages streeting . ' the audit found that 72 individuals determined to meet the statutory criteria for temporary detention were denied access to inpatient psychiatric treatment ' -- placing the person and his/her community at risk . ' in gus deeds'case , the young man was released after the mental evaluation monday because no psychiatric bed could be located across a wide area of western virginia , dennis cropper , executive director of the rockbridge area community services board , told the richmond times-dispatch on tuesday . cropper declined to comment on the specifics of the case but said not finding a bed was unusual for his agency . the recommendation is 50 beds per 100,000 people to provide the minimally adequate intensive care for people in crisis , fuller on the treatment advocacy center said . the state of virginia averages 17.6 state psychiatric beds per 100,000 people , and that 's actually above average , ' fuller said . arizona , for instance , has 4.1 state psychiatric beds per 100,000 people . england has 62 beds per 100,000 people . mental health warning signs parents ca n't ignore a rapidly ticking clock on finding beds cropper told cnn that under virginia 's emergency custody order process , medical staff members have four hours to decide whether someone should be committed after the family petitions a court to order an evaluation . the clock starts when authorities deliver the patient for clinical evaluation . physicians make a recommendation to the court after the evaluation . if a magistrate approves , medical staff search for an available hospital bed . in certain conditions , a two-hour extension is granted by a magistrate , but under no circumstances can a person be held beyond six hours involuntarily , ' cropper said in a statement . after 32 people were killed in the 2007 virginia tech shooting , virginia lawmakers sought to overhaul the emergency-evaluation processes and increase funding for community mental-health services . but according to the virginia-based national alliance on mental illness , the state 's overall state mental-health budget decreased $ 37.7 million dollars from $ 424.3 million to $ 386.6 million from fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2012 . what you do n't have is sustainable funding , ' said mike fitzpatrick , executive director of the alliance . a tragedy happens , the legislature reacts . you see this in other states then , over time , that 's chopped away and these services are n't available . ' fuller said the shortage of psychiatric beds dates back half a century to president john kennedy 's signing of the community mental health act in 1963 . the goal was to shut down public psychiatric hospitals , replacing them with small community-based centers . it was a perfectly reasonable idea , except the community facilities were never built , ' she said . the hospitals were closed , and the people who once got hospital treatment for the most part no longer do , and the beds are n't there , period . ' institutionalized -- in prisons ' we have an estimated 450,000 people with mental illness in jails and prisons today , ' fuller said . you sort of add up that we have 43,000 in beds and 450,000 in jails and prisons , and you 're almost back to the hospital bed number we had in 1960 -- except we 've just reinstitutionalized them . and , of course , if gus deeds had not killed himself , he would be today in jail . there was n't a hospital bed for him , but we would have found a cell for him . ' at a forum on mental illness in boston last month , health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius recounted the recent experiences of two people close to her dealing with mental health issues . the forum marked the 50th anniversary of kennedy signing the community mental health act . it gave me a real snapshot into some of the challenges in both our mental health and substance abuse systems , ' she said . i 'm the secretary of health and human services . i know who to call . i know where the resources are . so if our friends and family had difficulty , i had a real snapshot into what people in communities deal with every day . ' gus deeds withdrew from the college of william & mary last month after being enrolled off-and-on since 2007 , according to a statement from the school . cory jessee , a high school and college classmate of gus deeds , said his friend was brainy and a talented bluegrass musician . he said those close to deeds knew the family had sought professional help for him . i ca n't imagine him being conscious of what he was doing , ' jessee said of the assault . i knew his family was trying to get him help . everyone did . i knew they had the means and the ability to search for stuff like that and put time into it . i was n't aware of how much time . ' feds boosting mental health access , treatment | virginia averages 17.6 state beds per 100,000 people , which is higher than average |
virginia <tsp> even as authorities sort out the events that ended with a virginia state senator stabbed and his son dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound , mental health advocates warned wednesday that a national shortage of beds for psychiatric patients could portend similar incidents . state sen. creigh deeds was stabbed more than 10 times tuesday after an altercation with his 24-year-old son , austin gus ' deeds , state police said . the younger man then shot himself , authorities said . this is such a crystal-clear example of the problem , ' said doris fuller , executive director of the virginia-based treatment advocacy center . if sen . deeds were n't a public figure , we would n't be talking about this . the fact of the matter is that individuals and families and communities suffer every single day everywhere in this country because there are not sufficient acute facilities for people . ' deeds remained hospitalized wednesday , but his condition was upgraded to good , authorities said . deputies called to deeds'home day before fatal fight the stabbing came one day after the son was taken to a local hospital under an emergency custody order . police confirmed that gus deeds was brought in by the local sheriff for evaluation by mental health professionals . the richmond times-dispatch reported tuesday that gus deeds received that evaluation , but he was released because no psychiatric bed could be found in the area . cnn has learned that at least three virginia hospitals had psychiatric beds available the day before the stabbing and suicide . officials at western state , rockingham memorial and uva charlottesville hospitals told cnn on wednesday beds were available , but they had not been contacted by medical personnel who evaluated the younger deeds . the hospitals are within an hour or two from bath county , where the incident occurred , but it was unclear whether those who had the initial contact with gus deeds reached out only to hospitals closer to bath . in the wake of the stabbing , virginia gov . bob mcdonnell ordered a review of state and area mental health services , according to his spokesman . the governor has directed the ( state ) secretary of health and human resources to conduct a full internal review of the events leading up to tuesday 's tragic situation , ' said mcdonnell spokesman taylor keeney . the secretary has already begun his assessment , working in cooperation with all relevant state and local authorities . we will have further comment on this review at the appropriate time . ' where are we putting our mentally ill ? the incident renewed public attention on a chronic shortage of beds for the mentally ill -- an alarming national trend that mental-health advocates say is responsible for a long list of violent acts . research from the nonprofit treatment advocacy center found that the number of state psychiatric beds decreased nationwide by 14 % from 2005 to 2010 . in 2005 , there were 50,509 state psychiatric beds , compared with 43,318 in 2010 . in 1960 , by comparison there were 535,000 public psychiatric beds nationwide . fuller said a person with severe mental illness now is more likely to end up in jail or a state prison than a psychiatric hospital . this is a population with no voice , ' fuller of the advocacy center told cnn . the people who are sick enough to be committed to a hospital for care are not people who are voting , and they are not people who are a political constituency . they 're not a political priority . ' a 90-day audit by the virginia 's inspector general in 2012 termed the practice of releasing the mentally ill because of bed shortages streeting . ' the audit found that 72 individuals determined to meet the statutory criteria for temporary detention were denied access to inpatient psychiatric treatment ' -- placing the person and his/her community at risk . ' in gus deeds'case , the young man was released after the mental evaluation monday because no psychiatric bed could be located across a wide area of western virginia , dennis cropper , executive director of the rockbridge area community services board , told the richmond times-dispatch on tuesday . cropper declined to comment on the specifics of the case but said not finding a bed was unusual for his agency . the recommendation is 50 beds per 100,000 people to provide the minimally adequate intensive care for people in crisis , fuller on the treatment advocacy center said . the state of virginia averages 17.6 state psychiatric beds per 100,000 people , and that 's actually above average , ' fuller said . arizona , for instance , has 4.1 state psychiatric beds per 100,000 people . england has 62 beds per 100,000 people . mental health warning signs parents ca n't ignore a rapidly ticking clock on finding beds cropper told cnn that under virginia 's emergency custody order process , medical staff members have four hours to decide whether someone should be committed after the family petitions a court to order an evaluation . the clock starts when authorities deliver the patient for clinical evaluation . physicians make a recommendation to the court after the evaluation . if a magistrate approves , medical staff search for an available hospital bed . in certain conditions , a two-hour extension is granted by a magistrate , but under no circumstances can a person be held beyond six hours involuntarily , ' cropper said in a statement . after 32 people were killed in the 2007 virginia tech shooting , virginia lawmakers sought to overhaul the emergency-evaluation processes and increase funding for community mental-health services . but according to the virginia-based national alliance on mental illness , the state 's overall state mental-health budget decreased $ 37.7 million dollars from $ 424.3 million to $ 386.6 million from fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2012 . what you do n't have is sustainable funding , ' said mike fitzpatrick , executive director of the alliance . a tragedy happens , the legislature reacts . you see this in other states then , over time , that 's chopped away and these services are n't available . ' fuller said the shortage of psychiatric beds dates back half a century to president john kennedy 's signing of the community mental health act in 1963 . the goal was to shut down public psychiatric hospitals , replacing them with small community-based centers . it was a perfectly reasonable idea , except the community facilities were never built , ' she said . the hospitals were closed , and the people who once got hospital treatment for the most part no longer do , and the beds are n't there , period . ' institutionalized -- in prisons ' we have an estimated 450,000 people with mental illness in jails and prisons today , ' fuller said . you sort of add up that we have 43,000 in beds and 450,000 in jails and prisons , and you 're almost back to the hospital bed number we had in 1960 -- except we 've just reinstitutionalized them . and , of course , if gus deeds had not killed himself , he would be today in jail . there was n't a hospital bed for him , but we would have found a cell for him . ' at a forum on mental illness in boston last month , health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius recounted the recent experiences of two people close to her dealing with mental health issues . the forum marked the 50th anniversary of kennedy signing the community mental health act . it gave me a real snapshot into some of the challenges in both our mental health and substance abuse systems , ' she said . i 'm the secretary of health and human services . i know who to call . i know where the resources are . so if our friends and family had difficulty , i had a real snapshot into what people in communities deal with every day . ' gus deeds withdrew from the college of william & mary last month after being enrolled off-and-on since 2007 , according to a statement from the school . cory jessee , a high school and college classmate of gus deeds , said his friend was brainy and a talented bluegrass musician . he said those close to deeds knew the family had sought professional help for him . i ca n't imagine him being conscious of what he was doing , ' jessee said of the assault . i knew his family was trying to get him help . everyone did . i knew they had the means and the ability to search for stuff like that and put time into it . i was n't aware of how much time . ' feds boosting mental health access , treatment | at least three virginia hospitals had psychiatric beds one day before state senator stabbed |
asomugha <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- the high school honor student and the nfl 's highest-paid defensive back stroll down the destitute streets of skid row . i can sell you something right quick , ' a drug dealer hisses . another shouts , gon na whoop your ass ! ' more expletives are hurled . seventeen-year-old kenneth chancey is giving a tour to nnamdi asomugha , showing the nfl star the streets that he and his sister used to walk to get to school while living in a skid row homeless shelter . prostitutes , addicts and drug dealers scatter . camera ! camera ! ' they shout . the two make it safely past the park , one of the roughest areas of los angeles . an orange soda whizzes through the air , nearly hitting the teen and the oakland raiders'all-pro cornerback worth $ 45 million . wow , ' the teen says . i 'm sure they watch you every sunday , and they do n't even recognize who you are . ' it is kenneth 's inner strength and his love for education that have brought together this high school class president and nfl star . the thing i took away is how fearless he is , ' asomugha said later . the things he 's been through are so big and so severe -- they were threatening our lives and throwing things at us on skid row . but it does n't bother him . his potential meter is at 1,000 right now . ' escaping through education even while kenneth lived on skid row , he dreamed of attending harvard to become a neurosurgeon . when asomugha saw kenneth 's story on cnn , he wanted to help . he runs a foundation , the asomugha college tour for scholars , that takes talented inner-city kids on tours of college campuses they otherwise would never be able to see . he 's helped get 25 teens into college over the last four years . on this day , he 's come to tell kenneth that he will be among the 16 students traveling in the spring to visit schools in washington , d.c. ' i 'm thankful to be able to give back , ' asomugha said . hours before the skid row tour , asomugha traveled to hollywood 's helen bernstein high school , where kenneth is a starting running back in his senior year . they met at the school 's football stadium , where asomugha told kenneth in person . this smile on my face , ' kenneth said , is a freaking good thing . this is awesome ! ' asomugha leaned closer . you know who we 're working on now ? ' obama ? ' kenneth asked nervously . we have to , ' the nfl star replied . kenneth 's fever-pitched excitement reached a crescendo , oh my gosh ! ' his father , gordon costello , joined in and handed a folded paper to asomugha . the proud dad did n't show off football awards or his son 's athletic achievements . instead , it 's kenneth 's latest report card , straight a 's . he might overqualify for the tour , ' asomugha said as he studied the report card . this shows someone with a lot of drive and ambition . these are some great grades . ' i 'm at a loss for words , ' the teen said . stuff like this does n't happen every day . ' asomugha came from a family where education was stressed from day one . he remembers asking his mom as a boy , can i have some ice cream ? ' no , ' she responded . you have n't finished your homework . ' i 'd say ,'but i 'm 3 !' asomugha 's sister is a pediatrician , his mother holds a doctorate . two other siblings have secondary degrees . i am the least educated in my family , ' asomugha said . i catch a lot of heat from my family . ' the football star , who is the highest-paid defensive back in nfl history , has a degree in finance from the university of california-berkeley . kenneth is energized . i 'm going to be the first one in my family to get a secondary education , ' he told asomugha . and everyone will follow you , ' his father added . kenneth spent his sixth-grade year living in a van with his mother and stepfather . his sister once was beaten up by someone who wanted her shirt . kenneth was held up at gunpoint for his laptop . he refused to hand it over because his grandmother bought it for him . if you 're going to shoot me , shoot me now , ' he told the would-be thief . he said ,'i ai n't gon na kill no little kid .' mantra : always keep your head up from february to august of this year , kenneth lived at the union rescue mission homeless shelter along skid row with his father and sister . after the cnn piece aired , his friend invited him and his sister , stephanie , to stay with his family , while kenneth 's father looked for work . outside kenneth 's earshot , the nfl star talked about how the teen is an inspiration , doing all the right things to achieve greatness in life . you do n't hear about guys like kenneth , ' asomugha said . when you have your back against the wall and you 're trying to fight and there are so many things -- so many obstacles -- against you but you 're still keeping your head above the water like he 's doing ... the sky 's the limit . ' kenneth says he constantly thought about dropping out to get a job to help his father financially . his dad would have none of it . your education will pay off in the long run , ' his father always told him . on the tour at skid row , kenneth took asomugha to the shelter 's rooftop . it 's a million-dollar view of the los angeles skyline . it 's where kenneth studied . it 's also where he learned his biggest lesson : to always keep his head up . the student and the football player leaned over the building 's ledge . down below , drug deals were being made . anytime you look down over the ledge , you start to see the negative , ' asomugha said . when you keep your head up , you 're seeing all the positive . was that your mantra ? ' the teen smiled . that 's how you do it in life , ' kenneth said . i just try to keep my head up , to look into the future . ' five years from now , he 'll be graduating from college . the hell of skid row will be a distant memory . once i succeed , ' he said , i will be able to help other people . ' cnn 's traci tamura and gregg canes contributed to this report . | nfl star nnamdi asomugha decides to help homeless teen after cnn report |
asomugha <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- the high school honor student and the nfl 's highest-paid defensive back stroll down the destitute streets of skid row . i can sell you something right quick , ' a drug dealer hisses . another shouts , gon na whoop your ass ! ' more expletives are hurled . seventeen-year-old kenneth chancey is giving a tour to nnamdi asomugha , showing the nfl star the streets that he and his sister used to walk to get to school while living in a skid row homeless shelter . prostitutes , addicts and drug dealers scatter . camera ! camera ! ' they shout . the two make it safely past the park , one of the roughest areas of los angeles . an orange soda whizzes through the air , nearly hitting the teen and the oakland raiders'all-pro cornerback worth $ 45 million . wow , ' the teen says . i 'm sure they watch you every sunday , and they do n't even recognize who you are . ' it is kenneth 's inner strength and his love for education that have brought together this high school class president and nfl star . the thing i took away is how fearless he is , ' asomugha said later . the things he 's been through are so big and so severe -- they were threatening our lives and throwing things at us on skid row . but it does n't bother him . his potential meter is at 1,000 right now . ' escaping through education even while kenneth lived on skid row , he dreamed of attending harvard to become a neurosurgeon . when asomugha saw kenneth 's story on cnn , he wanted to help . he runs a foundation , the asomugha college tour for scholars , that takes talented inner-city kids on tours of college campuses they otherwise would never be able to see . he 's helped get 25 teens into college over the last four years . on this day , he 's come to tell kenneth that he will be among the 16 students traveling in the spring to visit schools in washington , d.c. ' i 'm thankful to be able to give back , ' asomugha said . hours before the skid row tour , asomugha traveled to hollywood 's helen bernstein high school , where kenneth is a starting running back in his senior year . they met at the school 's football stadium , where asomugha told kenneth in person . this smile on my face , ' kenneth said , is a freaking good thing . this is awesome ! ' asomugha leaned closer . you know who we 're working on now ? ' obama ? ' kenneth asked nervously . we have to , ' the nfl star replied . kenneth 's fever-pitched excitement reached a crescendo , oh my gosh ! ' his father , gordon costello , joined in and handed a folded paper to asomugha . the proud dad did n't show off football awards or his son 's athletic achievements . instead , it 's kenneth 's latest report card , straight a 's . he might overqualify for the tour , ' asomugha said as he studied the report card . this shows someone with a lot of drive and ambition . these are some great grades . ' i 'm at a loss for words , ' the teen said . stuff like this does n't happen every day . ' asomugha came from a family where education was stressed from day one . he remembers asking his mom as a boy , can i have some ice cream ? ' no , ' she responded . you have n't finished your homework . ' i 'd say ,'but i 'm 3 !' asomugha 's sister is a pediatrician , his mother holds a doctorate . two other siblings have secondary degrees . i am the least educated in my family , ' asomugha said . i catch a lot of heat from my family . ' the football star , who is the highest-paid defensive back in nfl history , has a degree in finance from the university of california-berkeley . kenneth is energized . i 'm going to be the first one in my family to get a secondary education , ' he told asomugha . and everyone will follow you , ' his father added . kenneth spent his sixth-grade year living in a van with his mother and stepfather . his sister once was beaten up by someone who wanted her shirt . kenneth was held up at gunpoint for his laptop . he refused to hand it over because his grandmother bought it for him . if you 're going to shoot me , shoot me now , ' he told the would-be thief . he said ,'i ai n't gon na kill no little kid .' mantra : always keep your head up from february to august of this year , kenneth lived at the union rescue mission homeless shelter along skid row with his father and sister . after the cnn piece aired , his friend invited him and his sister , stephanie , to stay with his family , while kenneth 's father looked for work . outside kenneth 's earshot , the nfl star talked about how the teen is an inspiration , doing all the right things to achieve greatness in life . you do n't hear about guys like kenneth , ' asomugha said . when you have your back against the wall and you 're trying to fight and there are so many things -- so many obstacles -- against you but you 're still keeping your head above the water like he 's doing ... the sky 's the limit . ' kenneth says he constantly thought about dropping out to get a job to help his father financially . his dad would have none of it . your education will pay off in the long run , ' his father always told him . on the tour at skid row , kenneth took asomugha to the shelter 's rooftop . it 's a million-dollar view of the los angeles skyline . it 's where kenneth studied . it 's also where he learned his biggest lesson : to always keep his head up . the student and the football player leaned over the building 's ledge . down below , drug deals were being made . anytime you look down over the ledge , you start to see the negative , ' asomugha said . when you keep your head up , you 're seeing all the positive . was that your mantra ? ' the teen smiled . that 's how you do it in life , ' kenneth said . i just try to keep my head up , to look into the future . ' five years from now , he 'll be graduating from college . the hell of skid row will be a distant memory . once i succeed , ' he said , i will be able to help other people . ' cnn 's traci tamura and gregg canes contributed to this report . | asomugha will take chancey and 19 other inner-city kids on college tour in spring |
nfl <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- the high school honor student and the nfl 's highest-paid defensive back stroll down the destitute streets of skid row . i can sell you something right quick , ' a drug dealer hisses . another shouts , gon na whoop your ass ! ' more expletives are hurled . seventeen-year-old kenneth chancey is giving a tour to nnamdi asomugha , showing the nfl star the streets that he and his sister used to walk to get to school while living in a skid row homeless shelter . prostitutes , addicts and drug dealers scatter . camera ! camera ! ' they shout . the two make it safely past the park , one of the roughest areas of los angeles . an orange soda whizzes through the air , nearly hitting the teen and the oakland raiders'all-pro cornerback worth $ 45 million . wow , ' the teen says . i 'm sure they watch you every sunday , and they do n't even recognize who you are . ' it is kenneth 's inner strength and his love for education that have brought together this high school class president and nfl star . the thing i took away is how fearless he is , ' asomugha said later . the things he 's been through are so big and so severe -- they were threatening our lives and throwing things at us on skid row . but it does n't bother him . his potential meter is at 1,000 right now . ' escaping through education even while kenneth lived on skid row , he dreamed of attending harvard to become a neurosurgeon . when asomugha saw kenneth 's story on cnn , he wanted to help . he runs a foundation , the asomugha college tour for scholars , that takes talented inner-city kids on tours of college campuses they otherwise would never be able to see . he 's helped get 25 teens into college over the last four years . on this day , he 's come to tell kenneth that he will be among the 16 students traveling in the spring to visit schools in washington , d.c. ' i 'm thankful to be able to give back , ' asomugha said . hours before the skid row tour , asomugha traveled to hollywood 's helen bernstein high school , where kenneth is a starting running back in his senior year . they met at the school 's football stadium , where asomugha told kenneth in person . this smile on my face , ' kenneth said , is a freaking good thing . this is awesome ! ' asomugha leaned closer . you know who we 're working on now ? ' obama ? ' kenneth asked nervously . we have to , ' the nfl star replied . kenneth 's fever-pitched excitement reached a crescendo , oh my gosh ! ' his father , gordon costello , joined in and handed a folded paper to asomugha . the proud dad did n't show off football awards or his son 's athletic achievements . instead , it 's kenneth 's latest report card , straight a 's . he might overqualify for the tour , ' asomugha said as he studied the report card . this shows someone with a lot of drive and ambition . these are some great grades . ' i 'm at a loss for words , ' the teen said . stuff like this does n't happen every day . ' asomugha came from a family where education was stressed from day one . he remembers asking his mom as a boy , can i have some ice cream ? ' no , ' she responded . you have n't finished your homework . ' i 'd say ,'but i 'm 3 !' asomugha 's sister is a pediatrician , his mother holds a doctorate . two other siblings have secondary degrees . i am the least educated in my family , ' asomugha said . i catch a lot of heat from my family . ' the football star , who is the highest-paid defensive back in nfl history , has a degree in finance from the university of california-berkeley . kenneth is energized . i 'm going to be the first one in my family to get a secondary education , ' he told asomugha . and everyone will follow you , ' his father added . kenneth spent his sixth-grade year living in a van with his mother and stepfather . his sister once was beaten up by someone who wanted her shirt . kenneth was held up at gunpoint for his laptop . he refused to hand it over because his grandmother bought it for him . if you 're going to shoot me , shoot me now , ' he told the would-be thief . he said ,'i ai n't gon na kill no little kid .' mantra : always keep your head up from february to august of this year , kenneth lived at the union rescue mission homeless shelter along skid row with his father and sister . after the cnn piece aired , his friend invited him and his sister , stephanie , to stay with his family , while kenneth 's father looked for work . outside kenneth 's earshot , the nfl star talked about how the teen is an inspiration , doing all the right things to achieve greatness in life . you do n't hear about guys like kenneth , ' asomugha said . when you have your back against the wall and you 're trying to fight and there are so many things -- so many obstacles -- against you but you 're still keeping your head above the water like he 's doing ... the sky 's the limit . ' kenneth says he constantly thought about dropping out to get a job to help his father financially . his dad would have none of it . your education will pay off in the long run , ' his father always told him . on the tour at skid row , kenneth took asomugha to the shelter 's rooftop . it 's a million-dollar view of the los angeles skyline . it 's where kenneth studied . it 's also where he learned his biggest lesson : to always keep his head up . the student and the football player leaned over the building 's ledge . down below , drug deals were being made . anytime you look down over the ledge , you start to see the negative , ' asomugha said . when you keep your head up , you 're seeing all the positive . was that your mantra ? ' the teen smiled . that 's how you do it in life , ' kenneth said . i just try to keep my head up , to look into the future . ' five years from now , he 'll be graduating from college . the hell of skid row will be a distant memory . once i succeed , ' he said , i will be able to help other people . ' cnn 's traci tamura and gregg canes contributed to this report . | nfl star nnamdi asomugha decides to help homeless teen after cnn report |
sony <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for many gamers , recent news stories about potential security breaches , lost data or lifted financial information were missing the most basic , most important point : when do i get to play again ? sony 's playstation network breach was one of those things that was n't supposed to happen . and the subsequent network crash was one of those things many gamers really , really , really did n't want to happen . sure , gamers could play locally , off-network -- as in by yourself . ' but that can be a little like playing tennis by yourself . ' which potentially ( if not inevitably ) leads to heat exhaustion , sun poisoning , and never being able to track down where all the fuzzy little balls went . and , to some , it seemed like sony was n't terribly forthcoming about what had happened or , during those first few days , that anything significant had happened . those observations appear to have crossed the minds of rep. mary bono mack , r-california , and rep. g.k. butterfield , d-north carolina . the playstation network breach affects millions of potential young voters , so congress got into the act , asking sony to do some explaining . in a letter to its chairman , a house subcommittee on energy and commerce asked why sony waited so long to notify customers about the breach . reps. bono mack and butterfield asked how they could be confident credit card information was n't stolen and if sony knew the identity of those responsible . or , to paraphrase their letter : ' dear sony , come on , when do we get to play portal 2 ? later , congress . ' sony has said that the network will be up this week . and here we are on thursday afternoon , with no game . until the network is back up and running at full strength , how are gamers dealing with the outage ? reading ? pointing ps3 controller at their televisions and muttering , weeping ? practicing knife kills on mall security while clutching rubber spatulas ? ps3 people always talk about their hardware being better , ' said mike pascuzzi , a 27-year-old gamer from houston . so for all the xbox people , this is hysterical to them . i 've got a ps3 and an xbox , so i 'm in both camps . but , you see now why xbox live service costs money . it has that added security -- that 's part of what you 're paying for . it 's more secure , so it 's more safe . ' still , ' pascuzzi said , i took my credit card information off the xbox servers yesterday . ' courtney nawara works in the gaming industry and lives in tampa , florida . in her home she plays on a ps3 , xbox360 and a wii . some games play better on one system or are n't available on another , ' she said . viva pinata is only available on the xbox360 . portal 2 seemed like it would be better on the ps3 as opposed to the xbox360 . the wii seemed like a good idea at the time , but it hardly gets touched ever . ' nawara is still a fan of sony but is waiting for some answers from the tech giant . i 'd love to know how easy it was for sony 's security to get compromised , how much credit card information was leaked and how far back it goes , ' she said . like was my information from when i played everquest over seven years ago still stored in their system ? ' as impatient gamers from all over the world wistfully pick up their familiar , even comforting , ergonomic ps3 game controller , many are asking the same question nawara is : i 'd also love to know what sony is doing to prevent this from happening again . ' from his los angeles home , andrew walker said he 's frustrated by the psn outage and has been spending more time on microsoft 's system . i just wish my xbox did n't sound like a helicopter taking off when i switch it on , ' he said . walker feels a big part of sony 's job will be getting the network back up . another big part ? a type of digital mea culpa tour . sony does need to figure some form of grand gesture back to their customers , ' walker said . what with soe being hacked as well , this could be a lingering black mark against their reputation . i honestly do n't know what it will take , but they may want to look at how apple handled the iphone 4 antenna debacle . ' ( geek out ! contacted sony for a comment on this article but as of this publishing the company has not responded . however they have responded to congress with a letter . ) when the playstation network does come back online , it 'll be coming up slowly , not all at once . sony will also fire up a welcome back ' program to encourage its customers to re-embrace the playstation network . initial indications from sony are that they 'll give current psn customers the premium service , playstation plus , free for 30 days . current playstation plus customers may also get 30 days free . tina tynda , the founder of girls on gaming , does n't need the freebies . she said she 's sticking with psn because no matter how hard they firewall an open network , there will always be some amount of vulnerability . no personal information stored online is ever 100 % safe , if someone wants it bad enough . i 'm still a fan of sony 's playstation network , though , ' she said . i 've never had the'red ring of death'on my ps3 . ' ` | gamers suggest sony give them a grand gesture ' of good faith |
new york post <tsp> ( people.com ) -- in light of some media coverage of their daughter alexa ray joel 's recent hospital stay , her parents , billy joel and christie brinkley , have issued the following statement . in its entirety , it reads : every parent can imagine the pain and anguish we face as parents of a daughter who is working to recover from the dangerous actions she took while suffering a devastating heartbreak . as much as we hate dignifying tabloid stories with a response , we feel we must set the record straight to protect our family . the story that ran in the new york post on december 8 , and has been subsequently spread across the internet , is filled with vicious lies and attempts to smear our character and that of our beloved daughter . we ask the public and legitimate media outlets to please consider the source ' and to not further exacerbate our daughter 's situation by repeating and legitimizing these false reports . with much appreciation , billy joel & christie brinkley © 2011 people and time inc. all rights reserved . | joel and brinkley say the december 8 new york post story is filled with lies |
title <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the department of veterans affairs can not deny benefits to the wife of a lesbian military veteran , a u.s. district judge in california said in a ruling that in part cites this summer 's supreme court invalidation of a key defense of marriage act section . the case involved former army sgt . tracey cooper-harris , an iraq and afghanistan war veteran who sued the department last year after it denied dependency benefits to her wife -- whom she legally married in california -- because the federal government did n't recognize same-sex marriages . while cooper-harris'case moved through the court system , the supreme court in june rejected the part of doma that denied federal benefits to same-sex partners , even those legally married . that left title 38 of the u.s. code , parts of which ban veterans'benefits for same-sex spouses . in thursday 's ruling , judge consuelo b. marshall , after noting the doma rejection , ruled that the government could n't use title 38 to deny benefits to cooper-harris'wife , maggie cooper . marshall cited defense experts who argued veterans'benefits are an essential promise to service members , helping retention and recruiting . married same-sex couples gain equal tax benefits ' the denial of benefits to spouses in same-sex marriages is not rationally related to any ... military purposes , ' the judge wrote . additionally , title 38 is not rationally related to the military 's commitment to caring for and providing for veteran families . ' military to extend same-sex marriage benefits | with doma 's ban invalidated , a judge rules title 38 also ca n't block benefits |
tennessee <tsp> ( cnn ) -- more than 160,000 people flocked to the tenth coachella music festival in april , signaling the start of the annual summer music festival season worldwide . bestival , on the isle of wight , was voted last year 's best lineup ' in the uk . the equivalent of a small city materialized for three days amid the searing heat and palm tree lined fields in east california , featuring performances from paul mccartney , leonard cohen , and tv on the radio . from silent disco parties at bonnaroo in tennessee to all-night raves at serbia 's exit festival , our guide prepares music fans worldwide for another year of summer music festivals in the sun . bonnaroo , tennessee , u.s. june 11-14 ( $ 235 ) the word bonnaroo ' is new orleans slang for the best on the streets , ' and the bonnaroo festival has grown into that name over the past eight years , winning rolling stone magazine 's best festival ' award in 2008 . in addition to promoting mainstream and independent rock , hip-hop , and electronic groups , bonnaroo also features a stand-up comedians'tent and a silent disco ' tent -- where everyone gets a pair of headphones that sync up with the music for late night dancing without the noise complaints . over 80,000 people will head to the festival outside of nashville to see headliners including bruce springsteen , phish , and snoop dogg . glastonbury , somerset , england june 24-28 ( $ 255 ) glastonbury has been around since dairy farmer michael eavis first held a free-two day festival on his farm in 1970 , and it 's long been the festival in england for seeing the biggest and best bands in the world . it also may be the muddiest -- heavy rain in several years , most notably 1997 , turned glastonbury into a muddy bog . everyone from radiohead to jay-z has headlined the festival , and with over 700 acts each year , there is something for everybody , and some of the proceeds from the festival go to oxfam and greenpeace . this year 's headliners include franz ferdinand , blur , and bruce springsteen . rock al parque , bogota , colombia june 27-29 ( free ) the rock al parque festival , launched in 1995 , has become south america 's biggest rockfest in recent years -- some 320,000 people traveled to simon bolivar park in 2006 for a weekend of colombia 's biggest rock bands and renowned international headliners . funded by colombia 's culture secretary , the free festival has included some of rock 's biggest names , including black rebel motorcycle club , manu chao , and bloc party . in the days leading up to rock al parque , the festival organizers host a series of panel discussions on music production , management , and the recording industry . roskilde , denmark july 2-5 ( $ 220 ) since 1971 , the rock festival in roskilde has hosted the biggest names in music , from bob marley to bob dylan . it is the biggest summer festival in northern europe , and the arena ' stage boasts a 17,000-capacity tent , the largest in europe . the festival boasts a daily newspaper and a 24-hour live radio station , and is also home to the annual naked run , ' where the first naked person to cross the finish line receives a free ticket for next year 's festival . some 80,000 will travel to roskilde to see headliners including coldplay , oasis and nine inch nails . exit , novi sad , serbia july 9-12 ( $ 105 ) created in 2000 by three university students as a protest against former serbian president slobodan milosevic , the electro-focused festival in the heart of serbia was named europe 's best festival in 2007 . over 200,000 people attended exit last year , dancing at all night raves in the gorgeous surroundings of petrovaradin fortress , an eighteenth century castle near the danube river . some of techno 's biggest names will be on hand to celebrate exit 's 10-year anniversary , including moby , kraftwerk , and the prodigy . thisday , abuja/lagos , nigeria dates tbc the thisday festival in nigeria , launched in 2006 by the editor-in-chief of thisday newspaper , nduka obaigbena , to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the end of slavery , is the biggest music and fashion festival in africa . according to obaigbena , the festival is meant to highlight the positive progress being made in africa , and find sustainable solutions for the continent 's problems . the theme of last year 's festival was africa rising , ' and it showcased some of the world 's biggest artists including jay-z , rihanna , and usher . stay tuned for this year 's lineup . fuji rock , naeba , japan july 24-26 ( $ 410 ) japan 's biggest outdoor festival takes its name from mt . fuji , the site of the first festival in 1997 . fuji rock has been set amongst the cool forested mountains of the naeba ski resort for the past ten years -- gondolas and hilly trails transport people from stage to stage , and the streams and forests between them are the reason why fuji rock has been called the most beautiful festival in the world . it 's not just about the scenery , though -- over 100,000 people will trek through the mountains to see headliners franz ferdinand , the killers , and weezer . lollapalooza , chicago , u.s. august 7-9 ( $ 190 ) rocker perry farrell began lollapalooza in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band , jane 's addiction . the biggest grunge rock festival during the nineties disappeared for awhile around the turn of the century , but it was revived in 2005 as a more traditional big weekend ' destination festival in chicago . the past few years at grant park have been marked by hot summers , huge crowds , and even bigger bands . the anticipated crowd of nearly 200,000 is staggering , as are this year 's headliners : kings of leon , tool , depeche mode , and beastie boys , just to name a few . bestival , isle of wight , england september 11-13 ( $ 205 ) the trendy bestival , the original boutique weekend festival on the isle of wight , is the best way to end the summer festival season in europe . bestival boasts a yearly fancy dress competition -- last year was 30,000 freaks under the sea , ' and 2009 is the year of outer space , ' so make sure to dress accordingly . thousands of bestival-goers will witness an eclectic lineup including lily allen , massive attack , and mgmt in the picturesque surroundings of robin hill park . for family fun , look no further than camp bestival , a three day family festival at a castle by the sea in july . parklife , australia late september-early october the parklife one-day music festivals kick off the summer festival season across australia . the dance-focused fests have featured heavyweights justice , mia , and muscles over the past two years . the day-long festivals are followed by an official after life ' party that runs until the early hours of the morning , so be prepared for a long one if you 're one of the estimated 100,000 people attending a parklife gig in one of capital cities across australia at the end of september . woodstock , cape town , south africa late fall 2009 when people think of woodstock , cape town is n't necessarily what comes to mind . but for the past decade , the south african festival has been the biggest youth music event in the country , hosting a variety of both well-known and upcoming mainstream and hip-hop acts -- not to mention a variety of extreme sports stunt acts , paintballing , and flea-market stalls . woodstock may not have the star power of the legendary american festival -- but with the wide range of music and outdoor activities it presents , its promoters are n't lying when they say that boredom simply is n't an option . sunburn , goa , india december 2009 sunburn festival launched in december 2007 as south asia 's first electronic music festival , and featured heavyweights like carl cox and john'00'fleming . located seaside in goa , on india 's west coast , the festival has its roots in goa trance , ' a type of pulsing , transcendental electro music that became popular in the early 1990s . sunburn again treated over 5,000 electro revelers to a three-day party by the beach in december 2008 . the festival 's founder has said sunburn will always be free to attend , and it is not to be missed if you happen to be in india in december . | enjoy the music , comedians and silent disco at bonnaroo , tennessee |
bestival <tsp> ( cnn ) -- more than 160,000 people flocked to the tenth coachella music festival in april , signaling the start of the annual summer music festival season worldwide . bestival , on the isle of wight , was voted last year 's best lineup ' in the uk . the equivalent of a small city materialized for three days amid the searing heat and palm tree lined fields in east california , featuring performances from paul mccartney , leonard cohen , and tv on the radio . from silent disco parties at bonnaroo in tennessee to all-night raves at serbia 's exit festival , our guide prepares music fans worldwide for another year of summer music festivals in the sun . bonnaroo , tennessee , u.s. june 11-14 ( $ 235 ) the word bonnaroo ' is new orleans slang for the best on the streets , ' and the bonnaroo festival has grown into that name over the past eight years , winning rolling stone magazine 's best festival ' award in 2008 . in addition to promoting mainstream and independent rock , hip-hop , and electronic groups , bonnaroo also features a stand-up comedians'tent and a silent disco ' tent -- where everyone gets a pair of headphones that sync up with the music for late night dancing without the noise complaints . over 80,000 people will head to the festival outside of nashville to see headliners including bruce springsteen , phish , and snoop dogg . glastonbury , somerset , england june 24-28 ( $ 255 ) glastonbury has been around since dairy farmer michael eavis first held a free-two day festival on his farm in 1970 , and it 's long been the festival in england for seeing the biggest and best bands in the world . it also may be the muddiest -- heavy rain in several years , most notably 1997 , turned glastonbury into a muddy bog . everyone from radiohead to jay-z has headlined the festival , and with over 700 acts each year , there is something for everybody , and some of the proceeds from the festival go to oxfam and greenpeace . this year 's headliners include franz ferdinand , blur , and bruce springsteen . rock al parque , bogota , colombia june 27-29 ( free ) the rock al parque festival , launched in 1995 , has become south america 's biggest rockfest in recent years -- some 320,000 people traveled to simon bolivar park in 2006 for a weekend of colombia 's biggest rock bands and renowned international headliners . funded by colombia 's culture secretary , the free festival has included some of rock 's biggest names , including black rebel motorcycle club , manu chao , and bloc party . in the days leading up to rock al parque , the festival organizers host a series of panel discussions on music production , management , and the recording industry . roskilde , denmark july 2-5 ( $ 220 ) since 1971 , the rock festival in roskilde has hosted the biggest names in music , from bob marley to bob dylan . it is the biggest summer festival in northern europe , and the arena ' stage boasts a 17,000-capacity tent , the largest in europe . the festival boasts a daily newspaper and a 24-hour live radio station , and is also home to the annual naked run , ' where the first naked person to cross the finish line receives a free ticket for next year 's festival . some 80,000 will travel to roskilde to see headliners including coldplay , oasis and nine inch nails . exit , novi sad , serbia july 9-12 ( $ 105 ) created in 2000 by three university students as a protest against former serbian president slobodan milosevic , the electro-focused festival in the heart of serbia was named europe 's best festival in 2007 . over 200,000 people attended exit last year , dancing at all night raves in the gorgeous surroundings of petrovaradin fortress , an eighteenth century castle near the danube river . some of techno 's biggest names will be on hand to celebrate exit 's 10-year anniversary , including moby , kraftwerk , and the prodigy . thisday , abuja/lagos , nigeria dates tbc the thisday festival in nigeria , launched in 2006 by the editor-in-chief of thisday newspaper , nduka obaigbena , to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the end of slavery , is the biggest music and fashion festival in africa . according to obaigbena , the festival is meant to highlight the positive progress being made in africa , and find sustainable solutions for the continent 's problems . the theme of last year 's festival was africa rising , ' and it showcased some of the world 's biggest artists including jay-z , rihanna , and usher . stay tuned for this year 's lineup . fuji rock , naeba , japan july 24-26 ( $ 410 ) japan 's biggest outdoor festival takes its name from mt . fuji , the site of the first festival in 1997 . fuji rock has been set amongst the cool forested mountains of the naeba ski resort for the past ten years -- gondolas and hilly trails transport people from stage to stage , and the streams and forests between them are the reason why fuji rock has been called the most beautiful festival in the world . it 's not just about the scenery , though -- over 100,000 people will trek through the mountains to see headliners franz ferdinand , the killers , and weezer . lollapalooza , chicago , u.s. august 7-9 ( $ 190 ) rocker perry farrell began lollapalooza in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band , jane 's addiction . the biggest grunge rock festival during the nineties disappeared for awhile around the turn of the century , but it was revived in 2005 as a more traditional big weekend ' destination festival in chicago . the past few years at grant park have been marked by hot summers , huge crowds , and even bigger bands . the anticipated crowd of nearly 200,000 is staggering , as are this year 's headliners : kings of leon , tool , depeche mode , and beastie boys , just to name a few . bestival , isle of wight , england september 11-13 ( $ 205 ) the trendy bestival , the original boutique weekend festival on the isle of wight , is the best way to end the summer festival season in europe . bestival boasts a yearly fancy dress competition -- last year was 30,000 freaks under the sea , ' and 2009 is the year of outer space , ' so make sure to dress accordingly . thousands of bestival-goers will witness an eclectic lineup including lily allen , massive attack , and mgmt in the picturesque surroundings of robin hill park . for family fun , look no further than camp bestival , a three day family festival at a castle by the sea in july . parklife , australia late september-early october the parklife one-day music festivals kick off the summer festival season across australia . the dance-focused fests have featured heavyweights justice , mia , and muscles over the past two years . the day-long festivals are followed by an official after life ' party that runs until the early hours of the morning , so be prepared for a long one if you 're one of the estimated 100,000 people attending a parklife gig in one of capital cities across australia at the end of september . woodstock , cape town , south africa late fall 2009 when people think of woodstock , cape town is n't necessarily what comes to mind . but for the past decade , the south african festival has been the biggest youth music event in the country , hosting a variety of both well-known and upcoming mainstream and hip-hop acts -- not to mention a variety of extreme sports stunt acts , paintballing , and flea-market stalls . woodstock may not have the star power of the legendary american festival -- but with the wide range of music and outdoor activities it presents , its promoters are n't lying when they say that boredom simply is n't an option . sunburn , goa , india december 2009 sunburn festival launched in december 2007 as south asia 's first electronic music festival , and featured heavyweights like carl cox and john'00'fleming . located seaside in goa , on india 's west coast , the festival has its roots in goa trance , ' a type of pulsing , transcendental electro music that became popular in the early 1990s . sunburn again treated over 5,000 electro revelers to a three-day party by the beach in december 2008 . the festival 's founder has said sunburn will always be free to attend , and it is not to be missed if you happen to be in india in december . | you can dress to kill at england 's bestival 's fancy dress competition |
serbian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- more than 160,000 people flocked to the tenth coachella music festival in april , signaling the start of the annual summer music festival season worldwide . bestival , on the isle of wight , was voted last year 's best lineup ' in the uk . the equivalent of a small city materialized for three days amid the searing heat and palm tree lined fields in east california , featuring performances from paul mccartney , leonard cohen , and tv on the radio . from silent disco parties at bonnaroo in tennessee to all-night raves at serbia 's exit festival , our guide prepares music fans worldwide for another year of summer music festivals in the sun . bonnaroo , tennessee , u.s. june 11-14 ( $ 235 ) the word bonnaroo ' is new orleans slang for the best on the streets , ' and the bonnaroo festival has grown into that name over the past eight years , winning rolling stone magazine 's best festival ' award in 2008 . in addition to promoting mainstream and independent rock , hip-hop , and electronic groups , bonnaroo also features a stand-up comedians'tent and a silent disco ' tent -- where everyone gets a pair of headphones that sync up with the music for late night dancing without the noise complaints . over 80,000 people will head to the festival outside of nashville to see headliners including bruce springsteen , phish , and snoop dogg . glastonbury , somerset , england june 24-28 ( $ 255 ) glastonbury has been around since dairy farmer michael eavis first held a free-two day festival on his farm in 1970 , and it 's long been the festival in england for seeing the biggest and best bands in the world . it also may be the muddiest -- heavy rain in several years , most notably 1997 , turned glastonbury into a muddy bog . everyone from radiohead to jay-z has headlined the festival , and with over 700 acts each year , there is something for everybody , and some of the proceeds from the festival go to oxfam and greenpeace . this year 's headliners include franz ferdinand , blur , and bruce springsteen . rock al parque , bogota , colombia june 27-29 ( free ) the rock al parque festival , launched in 1995 , has become south america 's biggest rockfest in recent years -- some 320,000 people traveled to simon bolivar park in 2006 for a weekend of colombia 's biggest rock bands and renowned international headliners . funded by colombia 's culture secretary , the free festival has included some of rock 's biggest names , including black rebel motorcycle club , manu chao , and bloc party . in the days leading up to rock al parque , the festival organizers host a series of panel discussions on music production , management , and the recording industry . roskilde , denmark july 2-5 ( $ 220 ) since 1971 , the rock festival in roskilde has hosted the biggest names in music , from bob marley to bob dylan . it is the biggest summer festival in northern europe , and the arena ' stage boasts a 17,000-capacity tent , the largest in europe . the festival boasts a daily newspaper and a 24-hour live radio station , and is also home to the annual naked run , ' where the first naked person to cross the finish line receives a free ticket for next year 's festival . some 80,000 will travel to roskilde to see headliners including coldplay , oasis and nine inch nails . exit , novi sad , serbia july 9-12 ( $ 105 ) created in 2000 by three university students as a protest against former serbian president slobodan milosevic , the electro-focused festival in the heart of serbia was named europe 's best festival in 2007 . over 200,000 people attended exit last year , dancing at all night raves in the gorgeous surroundings of petrovaradin fortress , an eighteenth century castle near the danube river . some of techno 's biggest names will be on hand to celebrate exit 's 10-year anniversary , including moby , kraftwerk , and the prodigy . thisday , abuja/lagos , nigeria dates tbc the thisday festival in nigeria , launched in 2006 by the editor-in-chief of thisday newspaper , nduka obaigbena , to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the end of slavery , is the biggest music and fashion festival in africa . according to obaigbena , the festival is meant to highlight the positive progress being made in africa , and find sustainable solutions for the continent 's problems . the theme of last year 's festival was africa rising , ' and it showcased some of the world 's biggest artists including jay-z , rihanna , and usher . stay tuned for this year 's lineup . fuji rock , naeba , japan july 24-26 ( $ 410 ) japan 's biggest outdoor festival takes its name from mt . fuji , the site of the first festival in 1997 . fuji rock has been set amongst the cool forested mountains of the naeba ski resort for the past ten years -- gondolas and hilly trails transport people from stage to stage , and the streams and forests between them are the reason why fuji rock has been called the most beautiful festival in the world . it 's not just about the scenery , though -- over 100,000 people will trek through the mountains to see headliners franz ferdinand , the killers , and weezer . lollapalooza , chicago , u.s. august 7-9 ( $ 190 ) rocker perry farrell began lollapalooza in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band , jane 's addiction . the biggest grunge rock festival during the nineties disappeared for awhile around the turn of the century , but it was revived in 2005 as a more traditional big weekend ' destination festival in chicago . the past few years at grant park have been marked by hot summers , huge crowds , and even bigger bands . the anticipated crowd of nearly 200,000 is staggering , as are this year 's headliners : kings of leon , tool , depeche mode , and beastie boys , just to name a few . bestival , isle of wight , england september 11-13 ( $ 205 ) the trendy bestival , the original boutique weekend festival on the isle of wight , is the best way to end the summer festival season in europe . bestival boasts a yearly fancy dress competition -- last year was 30,000 freaks under the sea , ' and 2009 is the year of outer space , ' so make sure to dress accordingly . thousands of bestival-goers will witness an eclectic lineup including lily allen , massive attack , and mgmt in the picturesque surroundings of robin hill park . for family fun , look no further than camp bestival , a three day family festival at a castle by the sea in july . parklife , australia late september-early october the parklife one-day music festivals kick off the summer festival season across australia . the dance-focused fests have featured heavyweights justice , mia , and muscles over the past two years . the day-long festivals are followed by an official after life ' party that runs until the early hours of the morning , so be prepared for a long one if you 're one of the estimated 100,000 people attending a parklife gig in one of capital cities across australia at the end of september . woodstock , cape town , south africa late fall 2009 when people think of woodstock , cape town is n't necessarily what comes to mind . but for the past decade , the south african festival has been the biggest youth music event in the country , hosting a variety of both well-known and upcoming mainstream and hip-hop acts -- not to mention a variety of extreme sports stunt acts , paintballing , and flea-market stalls . woodstock may not have the star power of the legendary american festival -- but with the wide range of music and outdoor activities it presents , its promoters are n't lying when they say that boredom simply is n't an option . sunburn , goa , india december 2009 sunburn festival launched in december 2007 as south asia 's first electronic music festival , and featured heavyweights like carl cox and john'00'fleming . located seaside in goa , on india 's west coast , the festival has its roots in goa trance , ' a type of pulsing , transcendental electro music that became popular in the early 1990s . sunburn again treated over 5,000 electro revelers to a three-day party by the beach in december 2008 . the festival 's founder has said sunburn will always be free to attend , and it is not to be missed if you happen to be in india in december . | dance all weekend in the shadows of a 300 year old serbian castle |
australian open <tsp> ( cnn ) -- on a record attendance day at the monte carlo masters tennis event , the king of clay held court . world no . 1 rafael nadal began his quest for a record-extending ninth triumph at the principality tournament with a 6-4 6-1 victory over russia 's teymuraz gabashvili . a capacity crowd of 14,600 fans packed into the monte carlo country club , where nadal won eight successive titles between 2005 and 2012 . his winning run was snapped 12 months ago by rival novak djokovic , who opened his campaign tuesday with a defeat of albert montanes . nadal came within a point of going a double break down in wednesday 's opening set , but he recovered to wrap up victory in resounding fashion . it was very important that point , 3-1 , break point for him , ' nadal told the atp tour 's official website . i saved it with one good shot and one good volley . after that i felt that was the time to try to push a little bit more and increase the rhythm and the intensity . i played a good game to get the break back . i felt that i had the match a little bit more under control . ' next for nadal is a third-round tie with italy 's andreas seppi , who emerged victorious from a marathon encounter with spaniard pablo andujar that lasted two hours and 48 minutes . also off to a winning start was roger federer , who took a wildcard to appear at the tournament for the first time since 2011 . the 17-time grand slam champion effortlessly dispatched radek stepanek of the czech republic 6-1 6-2 , and will next face czech lukas rosol . i 'm very happy now that i 'm doing well , ' said fourth seed federer , a three-time runner-up in monte carlo . but , of course , i also expect this from myself . so i 'm just trying to keep up that rhythm . i feel free physically and in my mind . i 'm eager to play , i 'm eager to practice . i want to play good points . i 'm no longer afraid that the rally will last too long . this was getting in the way of my game last year , whereas now i can really enjoy myself . ' federer has been usurped as switzerland 's top-ranked player by stanislas wawrinka , who won the first grand slam title of his career at january 's australian open . the world no . 3 wasted no time in his match against croatia 's marin cilic , sealing a 6-0 6-2 triumph in just 46 minutes . i practiced perfectly before , ' said the 29-year-old , who next faces spanish 15th seed nicolas almagro . i expected a more difficult or more complicated first round against him . but i was able , as i said , to practice well before . i felt good on the court . i know that physically if i feel good , then i am able to put a lot of pressure on the opponent . now the clay court season is just starting and i 'm always very pumped up for this particular moment of the year . i 'm aware of my strengths , and i know that i must practice a lot and prepare well . ' | australian open champion stanislas wawrinka also victorious on wednesday |
salazar <tsp> ( cnn ) -- interior secretary ken salazar on wednesday approved the nation 's first offshore wind farm , signing off on a project that has bitterly divided cape cod over the last nine years . the 130 turbines are to be located several miles from the massachusetts shore in the iconic waters of nantucket sound . the interior secretary said cape wind , as the project is known , is the start of a new energy frontier . ' the united states is leading a clean energy revolution that is reshaping our future , ' salazar told reporters in boston . cape wind is an opening of a new chapter in that future , and we are all part of that history . ' cape wind will be the nation 's first offshore wind farm , supplying clean power to homes and businesses in massachusetts , plus creating good jobs here in america , ' he said . this will be the first of many projects up and down the atlantic coast . ' thank you for this decision , ' said gov . deval patrick . with this project , massachusetts will lead the nation . this day has been a long time coming . ' the location of the wind farm has stirred heated emotions over the years . cape wind became one of the most heavily vetted energy projects in the world . seventeen state and federal agencies weighed in , reviewing everything from its impact on shipping , aviation and fisheries . salazar visited the cape earlier this year . at the time , he pledged to cut through the nine years of regulatory red tape and make a final decision by the end of april . at wednesday 's news conference , the interior secretary said the process took far too long and future offshore projects would follow a more rational and orderly ' process . there is no reason , he said , why an offshore wind permit should take a decade to review and approve . ' the most notable opponent of cape wind was the late sen. ted kennedy , a champion of green energy who , to the dismay of environmentalists , fought against the wind farm . the kennedy compound will have a view of the wind turbines . see how the views on the cape will change other opponents ranged from billionaire energy giant william koch to former massachusetts gov . mitt romney . american indians in the region also objected , saying the wind farm would be located on sacred ancestral grounds and disturb important sunrise ceremonies . i am strongly opposed to the administration 's misguided decision to move forward with cape wind , ' sen. scott brown said wednesday . while i support the concept of wind power as an alternative source of energy , nantucket sound is a national treasure that should be protected from industrialization . ' in announcing his decision , salazar said cape wind must follow stringent measures during construction , and it must conduct additional marine and archeological assessments of its impact . the company must also explore ways to make the wind turbines less visible from shore . the smart responsible development of wind potential on horseshoe shoal need not conflict with the history and tradition of nantucket sound , ' salazar said . greenpeace , the sierra club and nearly every major environmental group in the nation supported the project , saying it 's necessary in moving the nation forward . six governors in the region also backed cape wind . even though we enjoy overwhelming majority support , it 's not a popularity contest , ' cape wind ceo jim gordon told cnn . this decision needs to be made on the merits . and the record shows that it is in the public interest . ' in an editorial today , the boston globe said simply : make clean energy a reality ; approve cape wind now . ' the new york times earlier this week also endorsed the project . offshore wind farms are a common sight in europe but not here , ' the times wrote . cape wind would be this country 's first -- sending , finally , a signal to the world about america 's resolve to fight global warming and reduce its dependence on foreign oil . ' the wind farm would bring hundreds of jobs and provide up to 75 percent of the power needed by the cape and islands of martha 's vineyard and nantucket , according to cape wind . estimates of the project have ranged from $ 800 million to $ 1 billion ; cape wind has not released how much it believes the wind farm will cost . see the location of the wind farm the 130 turbines , spaced a third- to a half-mile apart , will cover about 25 of the 500 square miles of nantucket sound . they will stand more than 40 stories tall , well over 10 times bigger than nearly every other structure around the cape . cape wind has said the project will not necessarily bring cheaper energy , but will bring cleaner electricity and become a model for offshore wind energy . the alliance to protect nantucket sound , the project 's chief nemesis , has vowed to file suit to continue to try to block it . the project already has withstood multiple court challenges . buddy vanderhoop , a member of the wampanoag tribe , harshly criticized the decision to go ahead with the project . this is a federal embarrassment and a slap in the face not only to the tribes ... but it 's also a slap in the face to the people who make their living ' off fishing in the area of the wind farm 's location , vanderhoop said . barbara hill has long supported cape wind as the executive director of the grassroots organization clean power now . we 're going to be partying later on tonight , ' she said . we applaud secretary salazar for his vision and leadership in making this landmark decision and look forward to the day when the wind farm in nantucket sound will be producing the majority of the electrical needs of the cape and islands . ' wind farms produce roughly 2 percent of the nation 's energy , all from land-based facilities in california , texas , oklahoma , wyoming and a few other states . locations offshore are considered optimal because the winds are stronger and more consistent . a 2008 energy department report calls for 20 percent wind energy by 2030 . ' it said 18 percent of the nation 's wind energy should come from offshore sites . cape wind first sought a permit in fall 2001 . during that time , china built its first offshore wind farm . nine other countries have offshore farms : belgium , denmark , finland , germany , ireland , the netherlands , norway , sweden and the united kingdom . on wednesday , gov . patrick said cape wind will now allow the united states to join the offshore wind race . america now has a chance to turn that around . ' | salazar approves nation 's first offshore wind farm |
salazar <tsp> ( cnn ) -- interior secretary ken salazar on wednesday approved the nation 's first offshore wind farm , signing off on a project that has bitterly divided cape cod over the last nine years . the 130 turbines are to be located several miles from the massachusetts shore in the iconic waters of nantucket sound . the interior secretary said cape wind , as the project is known , is the start of a new energy frontier . ' the united states is leading a clean energy revolution that is reshaping our future , ' salazar told reporters in boston . cape wind is an opening of a new chapter in that future , and we are all part of that history . ' cape wind will be the nation 's first offshore wind farm , supplying clean power to homes and businesses in massachusetts , plus creating good jobs here in america , ' he said . this will be the first of many projects up and down the atlantic coast . ' thank you for this decision , ' said gov . deval patrick . with this project , massachusetts will lead the nation . this day has been a long time coming . ' the location of the wind farm has stirred heated emotions over the years . cape wind became one of the most heavily vetted energy projects in the world . seventeen state and federal agencies weighed in , reviewing everything from its impact on shipping , aviation and fisheries . salazar visited the cape earlier this year . at the time , he pledged to cut through the nine years of regulatory red tape and make a final decision by the end of april . at wednesday 's news conference , the interior secretary said the process took far too long and future offshore projects would follow a more rational and orderly ' process . there is no reason , he said , why an offshore wind permit should take a decade to review and approve . ' the most notable opponent of cape wind was the late sen. ted kennedy , a champion of green energy who , to the dismay of environmentalists , fought against the wind farm . the kennedy compound will have a view of the wind turbines . see how the views on the cape will change other opponents ranged from billionaire energy giant william koch to former massachusetts gov . mitt romney . american indians in the region also objected , saying the wind farm would be located on sacred ancestral grounds and disturb important sunrise ceremonies . i am strongly opposed to the administration 's misguided decision to move forward with cape wind , ' sen. scott brown said wednesday . while i support the concept of wind power as an alternative source of energy , nantucket sound is a national treasure that should be protected from industrialization . ' in announcing his decision , salazar said cape wind must follow stringent measures during construction , and it must conduct additional marine and archeological assessments of its impact . the company must also explore ways to make the wind turbines less visible from shore . the smart responsible development of wind potential on horseshoe shoal need not conflict with the history and tradition of nantucket sound , ' salazar said . greenpeace , the sierra club and nearly every major environmental group in the nation supported the project , saying it 's necessary in moving the nation forward . six governors in the region also backed cape wind . even though we enjoy overwhelming majority support , it 's not a popularity contest , ' cape wind ceo jim gordon told cnn . this decision needs to be made on the merits . and the record shows that it is in the public interest . ' in an editorial today , the boston globe said simply : make clean energy a reality ; approve cape wind now . ' the new york times earlier this week also endorsed the project . offshore wind farms are a common sight in europe but not here , ' the times wrote . cape wind would be this country 's first -- sending , finally , a signal to the world about america 's resolve to fight global warming and reduce its dependence on foreign oil . ' the wind farm would bring hundreds of jobs and provide up to 75 percent of the power needed by the cape and islands of martha 's vineyard and nantucket , according to cape wind . estimates of the project have ranged from $ 800 million to $ 1 billion ; cape wind has not released how much it believes the wind farm will cost . see the location of the wind farm the 130 turbines , spaced a third- to a half-mile apart , will cover about 25 of the 500 square miles of nantucket sound . they will stand more than 40 stories tall , well over 10 times bigger than nearly every other structure around the cape . cape wind has said the project will not necessarily bring cheaper energy , but will bring cleaner electricity and become a model for offshore wind energy . the alliance to protect nantucket sound , the project 's chief nemesis , has vowed to file suit to continue to try to block it . the project already has withstood multiple court challenges . buddy vanderhoop , a member of the wampanoag tribe , harshly criticized the decision to go ahead with the project . this is a federal embarrassment and a slap in the face not only to the tribes ... but it 's also a slap in the face to the people who make their living ' off fishing in the area of the wind farm 's location , vanderhoop said . barbara hill has long supported cape wind as the executive director of the grassroots organization clean power now . we 're going to be partying later on tonight , ' she said . we applaud secretary salazar for his vision and leadership in making this landmark decision and look forward to the day when the wind farm in nantucket sound will be producing the majority of the electrical needs of the cape and islands . ' wind farms produce roughly 2 percent of the nation 's energy , all from land-based facilities in california , texas , oklahoma , wyoming and a few other states . locations offshore are considered optimal because the winds are stronger and more consistent . a 2008 energy department report calls for 20 percent wind energy by 2030 . ' it said 18 percent of the nation 's wind energy should come from offshore sites . cape wind first sought a permit in fall 2001 . during that time , china built its first offshore wind farm . nine other countries have offshore farms : belgium , denmark , finland , germany , ireland , the netherlands , norway , sweden and the united kingdom . on wednesday , gov . patrick said cape wind will now allow the united states to join the offshore wind race . america now has a chance to turn that around . ' | new : interior secretary ken salazar : cape cod wind farm is start of new energy frontier ' |
adams <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- michael jackson and dr. conrad murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour , according to testimony in the aeg live wrongful death trial . murray arranged the meeting in march 2009 in which jackson asked dr. david adams to travel with him to london , adams testified . adams said that after he offered to take the job for $ 100,000 a month guaranteed for three years , murray stopped communicating with him . i texted basically , you know ,'what 's going on , i 'm on board , ' adams said . and no response . ' just weeks later murray accepted an offer from an aeg live executive to be jackson 's personal physician on his this is it ' tour for $ 150,000 a month . murray told investigators he began infusing jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in april , a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon . debbie rowe : paris jackson'has no life'since father 's death jurors in the trial of jackson 's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of adams and two other witnesses wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony . jackson 's mother and children are suing aeg live , contending the company 's executives negligently hired , retained or supervised murray , who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in jackson 's propofol overdose death . aeg live 's lawyers argue it was jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom . jackson :'help me get my rest' adams , who administered propofol to jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in las vegas four times in 2008 , said jackson and murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour . i said'i do n't sing and i really ca n't dance , so to do what ? ' adams testified . he says'well , you know , i 'm entertaining , i 'm jumping around , i 'm doing this . every once in a while i need an iv , ' adams testified . and he says'i just need you to help me get my rest .'they were pretty vague , but on hindsight i know what they were talking about . ' jackson and murray , however , never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour , the anesthesiologist testified . jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate , adams said . adams hinted that there was jealously on murray 's part when jackson courted him for a tour job . murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend ' when jackson was discussing it , adams said . oh , he was truly upset . ' defense expert : promoter did n't pressure jackson 's doctor murray told cnn 's anderson cooper in april that michael jackson had his own stash ' of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it . i did not agree with michael , but michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked , ' murray said . and given the situation at the time , it was my approach to try to get him off of it , but michael jackson was not the kind of person you can just say'put it down'and he 's going to do that . ' jackson lawyers argue that aeg live was negligent for not checking out murray 's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $ 150,000 a month . it created a conflict of interest that led murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to jackson 's health , they contend . aeg live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that jackson 's health was deteriorating under murray 's care and another doctor should have been called in , they argue . adams was in a las vegas operating room on june 25 , 2009 , when he learned jackson had died . i texted murray'i 'm sorry to hear what happened . take care ,'' he said . murray never responded , he said . dr. murray 's connection to michael jackson murray did respond that night to a phone call from another adams . jeffrey adams is the person who initially introduced him to michael jackson in february 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in las vegas . jeffrey adams -- no relation to dr. david adams -- had known murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father 's heart ailment in 2007 . his video deposition was shown to jurors wednesday morning . he testified that he called dr. murray to offer his help after he saw on television that jackson had died . i told him he had taken care of my father for me and i would be at his side until this situation was complete , ' adams testified . murray told him that night he was going to need a lawyer , ' he said . he and murray did everything together ' from june 26 , 2009 -- a day after jackson 's death -- until november 7 , 2011 -- the day murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter , he said . jeffrey adams said he served as murray 's bodyguard for more than two years without pay . despite his close relationship to murray , adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail . murray is expected to be released from jail on october 28 , 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence , according to his lawyer . doctor 's competed to give jackson painkillers , ex-wife says murray and jackson : seemed very odd ' murray 's relationship with michael jackson seemed very odd , ' according to las vegas plastic surgeon dr. stephen gordon . jurors also watched his video deposition wednesday . he presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent ' when murray accompanied jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on may 14 , 2007 , gordon said . gordon had treated jackson several times four years earlier , but not when murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $ 1,300 check to pay for the procedure , he said . the whole situation seemed very odd and it did n't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person , ' gordon testified . i felt like a successful cardiologist does n't go around being somebody 's private physician and speaking for them , in my experience . ' jackson , however , appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own , gordon said . he gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do . ' jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in las vegas to give him collagen and botox treatments , he said . at first i thought it was somebody playing a prank , one of my friends fooling around , ' gordon said . he realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias michael jefferson , ' he said . wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial , which the judge predicted would last another month . | jackson 's offer to dr. david adams made dr. murray truly upset , ' adams says |
adams <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- michael jackson and dr. conrad murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour , according to testimony in the aeg live wrongful death trial . murray arranged the meeting in march 2009 in which jackson asked dr. david adams to travel with him to london , adams testified . adams said that after he offered to take the job for $ 100,000 a month guaranteed for three years , murray stopped communicating with him . i texted basically , you know ,'what 's going on , i 'm on board , ' adams said . and no response . ' just weeks later murray accepted an offer from an aeg live executive to be jackson 's personal physician on his this is it ' tour for $ 150,000 a month . murray told investigators he began infusing jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in april , a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon . debbie rowe : paris jackson'has no life'since father 's death jurors in the trial of jackson 's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of adams and two other witnesses wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony . jackson 's mother and children are suing aeg live , contending the company 's executives negligently hired , retained or supervised murray , who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in jackson 's propofol overdose death . aeg live 's lawyers argue it was jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom . jackson :'help me get my rest' adams , who administered propofol to jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in las vegas four times in 2008 , said jackson and murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour . i said'i do n't sing and i really ca n't dance , so to do what ? ' adams testified . he says'well , you know , i 'm entertaining , i 'm jumping around , i 'm doing this . every once in a while i need an iv , ' adams testified . and he says'i just need you to help me get my rest .'they were pretty vague , but on hindsight i know what they were talking about . ' jackson and murray , however , never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour , the anesthesiologist testified . jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate , adams said . adams hinted that there was jealously on murray 's part when jackson courted him for a tour job . murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend ' when jackson was discussing it , adams said . oh , he was truly upset . ' defense expert : promoter did n't pressure jackson 's doctor murray told cnn 's anderson cooper in april that michael jackson had his own stash ' of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it . i did not agree with michael , but michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked , ' murray said . and given the situation at the time , it was my approach to try to get him off of it , but michael jackson was not the kind of person you can just say'put it down'and he 's going to do that . ' jackson lawyers argue that aeg live was negligent for not checking out murray 's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $ 150,000 a month . it created a conflict of interest that led murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to jackson 's health , they contend . aeg live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that jackson 's health was deteriorating under murray 's care and another doctor should have been called in , they argue . adams was in a las vegas operating room on june 25 , 2009 , when he learned jackson had died . i texted murray'i 'm sorry to hear what happened . take care ,'' he said . murray never responded , he said . dr. murray 's connection to michael jackson murray did respond that night to a phone call from another adams . jeffrey adams is the person who initially introduced him to michael jackson in february 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in las vegas . jeffrey adams -- no relation to dr. david adams -- had known murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father 's heart ailment in 2007 . his video deposition was shown to jurors wednesday morning . he testified that he called dr. murray to offer his help after he saw on television that jackson had died . i told him he had taken care of my father for me and i would be at his side until this situation was complete , ' adams testified . murray told him that night he was going to need a lawyer , ' he said . he and murray did everything together ' from june 26 , 2009 -- a day after jackson 's death -- until november 7 , 2011 -- the day murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter , he said . jeffrey adams said he served as murray 's bodyguard for more than two years without pay . despite his close relationship to murray , adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail . murray is expected to be released from jail on october 28 , 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence , according to his lawyer . doctor 's competed to give jackson painkillers , ex-wife says murray and jackson : seemed very odd ' murray 's relationship with michael jackson seemed very odd , ' according to las vegas plastic surgeon dr. stephen gordon . jurors also watched his video deposition wednesday . he presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent ' when murray accompanied jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on may 14 , 2007 , gordon said . gordon had treated jackson several times four years earlier , but not when murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $ 1,300 check to pay for the procedure , he said . the whole situation seemed very odd and it did n't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person , ' gordon testified . i felt like a successful cardiologist does n't go around being somebody 's private physician and speaking for them , in my experience . ' jackson , however , appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own , gordon said . he gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do . ' jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in las vegas to give him collagen and botox treatments , he said . at first i thought it was somebody playing a prank , one of my friends fooling around , ' gordon said . he realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias michael jefferson , ' he said . wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial , which the judge predicted would last another month . | anesthesiologist david adams offered to go on tour with michael jackson for $ 100,000 a month |
jackson <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- michael jackson and dr. conrad murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour , according to testimony in the aeg live wrongful death trial . murray arranged the meeting in march 2009 in which jackson asked dr. david adams to travel with him to london , adams testified . adams said that after he offered to take the job for $ 100,000 a month guaranteed for three years , murray stopped communicating with him . i texted basically , you know ,'what 's going on , i 'm on board , ' adams said . and no response . ' just weeks later murray accepted an offer from an aeg live executive to be jackson 's personal physician on his this is it ' tour for $ 150,000 a month . murray told investigators he began infusing jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in april , a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon . debbie rowe : paris jackson'has no life'since father 's death jurors in the trial of jackson 's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of adams and two other witnesses wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony . jackson 's mother and children are suing aeg live , contending the company 's executives negligently hired , retained or supervised murray , who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in jackson 's propofol overdose death . aeg live 's lawyers argue it was jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom . jackson :'help me get my rest' adams , who administered propofol to jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in las vegas four times in 2008 , said jackson and murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour . i said'i do n't sing and i really ca n't dance , so to do what ? ' adams testified . he says'well , you know , i 'm entertaining , i 'm jumping around , i 'm doing this . every once in a while i need an iv , ' adams testified . and he says'i just need you to help me get my rest .'they were pretty vague , but on hindsight i know what they were talking about . ' jackson and murray , however , never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour , the anesthesiologist testified . jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate , adams said . adams hinted that there was jealously on murray 's part when jackson courted him for a tour job . murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend ' when jackson was discussing it , adams said . oh , he was truly upset . ' defense expert : promoter did n't pressure jackson 's doctor murray told cnn 's anderson cooper in april that michael jackson had his own stash ' of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it . i did not agree with michael , but michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked , ' murray said . and given the situation at the time , it was my approach to try to get him off of it , but michael jackson was not the kind of person you can just say'put it down'and he 's going to do that . ' jackson lawyers argue that aeg live was negligent for not checking out murray 's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $ 150,000 a month . it created a conflict of interest that led murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to jackson 's health , they contend . aeg live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that jackson 's health was deteriorating under murray 's care and another doctor should have been called in , they argue . adams was in a las vegas operating room on june 25 , 2009 , when he learned jackson had died . i texted murray'i 'm sorry to hear what happened . take care ,'' he said . murray never responded , he said . dr. murray 's connection to michael jackson murray did respond that night to a phone call from another adams . jeffrey adams is the person who initially introduced him to michael jackson in february 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in las vegas . jeffrey adams -- no relation to dr. david adams -- had known murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father 's heart ailment in 2007 . his video deposition was shown to jurors wednesday morning . he testified that he called dr. murray to offer his help after he saw on television that jackson had died . i told him he had taken care of my father for me and i would be at his side until this situation was complete , ' adams testified . murray told him that night he was going to need a lawyer , ' he said . he and murray did everything together ' from june 26 , 2009 -- a day after jackson 's death -- until november 7 , 2011 -- the day murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter , he said . jeffrey adams said he served as murray 's bodyguard for more than two years without pay . despite his close relationship to murray , adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail . murray is expected to be released from jail on october 28 , 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence , according to his lawyer . doctor 's competed to give jackson painkillers , ex-wife says murray and jackson : seemed very odd ' murray 's relationship with michael jackson seemed very odd , ' according to las vegas plastic surgeon dr. stephen gordon . jurors also watched his video deposition wednesday . he presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent ' when murray accompanied jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on may 14 , 2007 , gordon said . gordon had treated jackson several times four years earlier , but not when murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $ 1,300 check to pay for the procedure , he said . the whole situation seemed very odd and it did n't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person , ' gordon testified . i felt like a successful cardiologist does n't go around being somebody 's private physician and speaking for them , in my experience . ' jackson , however , appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own , gordon said . he gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do . ' jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in las vegas to give him collagen and botox treatments , he said . at first i thought it was somebody playing a prank , one of my friends fooling around , ' gordon said . he realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias michael jefferson , ' he said . wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial , which the judge predicted would last another month . | jackson 's offer to dr. david adams made dr. murray truly upset , ' adams says |
jackson <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- michael jackson and dr. conrad murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour , according to testimony in the aeg live wrongful death trial . murray arranged the meeting in march 2009 in which jackson asked dr. david adams to travel with him to london , adams testified . adams said that after he offered to take the job for $ 100,000 a month guaranteed for three years , murray stopped communicating with him . i texted basically , you know ,'what 's going on , i 'm on board , ' adams said . and no response . ' just weeks later murray accepted an offer from an aeg live executive to be jackson 's personal physician on his this is it ' tour for $ 150,000 a month . murray told investigators he began infusing jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in april , a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon . debbie rowe : paris jackson'has no life'since father 's death jurors in the trial of jackson 's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of adams and two other witnesses wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony . jackson 's mother and children are suing aeg live , contending the company 's executives negligently hired , retained or supervised murray , who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in jackson 's propofol overdose death . aeg live 's lawyers argue it was jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom . jackson :'help me get my rest' adams , who administered propofol to jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in las vegas four times in 2008 , said jackson and murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour . i said'i do n't sing and i really ca n't dance , so to do what ? ' adams testified . he says'well , you know , i 'm entertaining , i 'm jumping around , i 'm doing this . every once in a while i need an iv , ' adams testified . and he says'i just need you to help me get my rest .'they were pretty vague , but on hindsight i know what they were talking about . ' jackson and murray , however , never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour , the anesthesiologist testified . jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate , adams said . adams hinted that there was jealously on murray 's part when jackson courted him for a tour job . murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend ' when jackson was discussing it , adams said . oh , he was truly upset . ' defense expert : promoter did n't pressure jackson 's doctor murray told cnn 's anderson cooper in april that michael jackson had his own stash ' of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it . i did not agree with michael , but michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked , ' murray said . and given the situation at the time , it was my approach to try to get him off of it , but michael jackson was not the kind of person you can just say'put it down'and he 's going to do that . ' jackson lawyers argue that aeg live was negligent for not checking out murray 's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $ 150,000 a month . it created a conflict of interest that led murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to jackson 's health , they contend . aeg live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that jackson 's health was deteriorating under murray 's care and another doctor should have been called in , they argue . adams was in a las vegas operating room on june 25 , 2009 , when he learned jackson had died . i texted murray'i 'm sorry to hear what happened . take care ,'' he said . murray never responded , he said . dr. murray 's connection to michael jackson murray did respond that night to a phone call from another adams . jeffrey adams is the person who initially introduced him to michael jackson in february 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in las vegas . jeffrey adams -- no relation to dr. david adams -- had known murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father 's heart ailment in 2007 . his video deposition was shown to jurors wednesday morning . he testified that he called dr. murray to offer his help after he saw on television that jackson had died . i told him he had taken care of my father for me and i would be at his side until this situation was complete , ' adams testified . murray told him that night he was going to need a lawyer , ' he said . he and murray did everything together ' from june 26 , 2009 -- a day after jackson 's death -- until november 7 , 2011 -- the day murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter , he said . jeffrey adams said he served as murray 's bodyguard for more than two years without pay . despite his close relationship to murray , adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail . murray is expected to be released from jail on october 28 , 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence , according to his lawyer . doctor 's competed to give jackson painkillers , ex-wife says murray and jackson : seemed very odd ' murray 's relationship with michael jackson seemed very odd , ' according to las vegas plastic surgeon dr. stephen gordon . jurors also watched his video deposition wednesday . he presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent ' when murray accompanied jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on may 14 , 2007 , gordon said . gordon had treated jackson several times four years earlier , but not when murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $ 1,300 check to pay for the procedure , he said . the whole situation seemed very odd and it did n't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person , ' gordon testified . i felt like a successful cardiologist does n't go around being somebody 's private physician and speaking for them , in my experience . ' jackson , however , appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own , gordon said . he gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do . ' jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in las vegas to give him collagen and botox treatments , he said . at first i thought it was somebody playing a prank , one of my friends fooling around , ' gordon said . he realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias michael jefferson , ' he said . wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial , which the judge predicted would last another month . | murray presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson ' in 2007 |
jackson <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- michael jackson and dr. conrad murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour , according to testimony in the aeg live wrongful death trial . murray arranged the meeting in march 2009 in which jackson asked dr. david adams to travel with him to london , adams testified . adams said that after he offered to take the job for $ 100,000 a month guaranteed for three years , murray stopped communicating with him . i texted basically , you know ,'what 's going on , i 'm on board , ' adams said . and no response . ' just weeks later murray accepted an offer from an aeg live executive to be jackson 's personal physician on his this is it ' tour for $ 150,000 a month . murray told investigators he began infusing jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in april , a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon . debbie rowe : paris jackson'has no life'since father 's death jurors in the trial of jackson 's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of adams and two other witnesses wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony . jackson 's mother and children are suing aeg live , contending the company 's executives negligently hired , retained or supervised murray , who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in jackson 's propofol overdose death . aeg live 's lawyers argue it was jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom . jackson :'help me get my rest' adams , who administered propofol to jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in las vegas four times in 2008 , said jackson and murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour . i said'i do n't sing and i really ca n't dance , so to do what ? ' adams testified . he says'well , you know , i 'm entertaining , i 'm jumping around , i 'm doing this . every once in a while i need an iv , ' adams testified . and he says'i just need you to help me get my rest .'they were pretty vague , but on hindsight i know what they were talking about . ' jackson and murray , however , never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour , the anesthesiologist testified . jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate , adams said . adams hinted that there was jealously on murray 's part when jackson courted him for a tour job . murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend ' when jackson was discussing it , adams said . oh , he was truly upset . ' defense expert : promoter did n't pressure jackson 's doctor murray told cnn 's anderson cooper in april that michael jackson had his own stash ' of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it . i did not agree with michael , but michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked , ' murray said . and given the situation at the time , it was my approach to try to get him off of it , but michael jackson was not the kind of person you can just say'put it down'and he 's going to do that . ' jackson lawyers argue that aeg live was negligent for not checking out murray 's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $ 150,000 a month . it created a conflict of interest that led murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to jackson 's health , they contend . aeg live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that jackson 's health was deteriorating under murray 's care and another doctor should have been called in , they argue . adams was in a las vegas operating room on june 25 , 2009 , when he learned jackson had died . i texted murray'i 'm sorry to hear what happened . take care ,'' he said . murray never responded , he said . dr. murray 's connection to michael jackson murray did respond that night to a phone call from another adams . jeffrey adams is the person who initially introduced him to michael jackson in february 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in las vegas . jeffrey adams -- no relation to dr. david adams -- had known murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father 's heart ailment in 2007 . his video deposition was shown to jurors wednesday morning . he testified that he called dr. murray to offer his help after he saw on television that jackson had died . i told him he had taken care of my father for me and i would be at his side until this situation was complete , ' adams testified . murray told him that night he was going to need a lawyer , ' he said . he and murray did everything together ' from june 26 , 2009 -- a day after jackson 's death -- until november 7 , 2011 -- the day murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter , he said . jeffrey adams said he served as murray 's bodyguard for more than two years without pay . despite his close relationship to murray , adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail . murray is expected to be released from jail on october 28 , 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence , according to his lawyer . doctor 's competed to give jackson painkillers , ex-wife says murray and jackson : seemed very odd ' murray 's relationship with michael jackson seemed very odd , ' according to las vegas plastic surgeon dr. stephen gordon . jurors also watched his video deposition wednesday . he presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent ' when murray accompanied jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on may 14 , 2007 , gordon said . gordon had treated jackson several times four years earlier , but not when murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $ 1,300 check to pay for the procedure , he said . the whole situation seemed very odd and it did n't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person , ' gordon testified . i felt like a successful cardiologist does n't go around being somebody 's private physician and speaking for them , in my experience . ' jackson , however , appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own , gordon said . he gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do . ' jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in las vegas to give him collagen and botox treatments , he said . at first i thought it was somebody playing a prank , one of my friends fooling around , ' gordon said . he realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias michael jefferson , ' he said . wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial , which the judge predicted would last another month . | anesthesiologist david adams offered to go on tour with michael jackson for $ 100,000 a month |
jackson <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- michael jackson and dr. conrad murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour , according to testimony in the aeg live wrongful death trial . murray arranged the meeting in march 2009 in which jackson asked dr. david adams to travel with him to london , adams testified . adams said that after he offered to take the job for $ 100,000 a month guaranteed for three years , murray stopped communicating with him . i texted basically , you know ,'what 's going on , i 'm on board , ' adams said . and no response . ' just weeks later murray accepted an offer from an aeg live executive to be jackson 's personal physician on his this is it ' tour for $ 150,000 a month . murray told investigators he began infusing jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in april , a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon . debbie rowe : paris jackson'has no life'since father 's death jurors in the trial of jackson 's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of adams and two other witnesses wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony . jackson 's mother and children are suing aeg live , contending the company 's executives negligently hired , retained or supervised murray , who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in jackson 's propofol overdose death . aeg live 's lawyers argue it was jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom . jackson :'help me get my rest' adams , who administered propofol to jackson during cosmetic dental procedures in las vegas four times in 2008 , said jackson and murray never told him what his duties would be if he took a job with the tour . i said'i do n't sing and i really ca n't dance , so to do what ? ' adams testified . he says'well , you know , i 'm entertaining , i 'm jumping around , i 'm doing this . every once in a while i need an iv , ' adams testified . and he says'i just need you to help me get my rest .'they were pretty vague , but on hindsight i know what they were talking about . ' jackson and murray , however , never mentioned that administering propofol or treating his insomnia would be one of his responsibilities on tour , the anesthesiologist testified . jackson never asked him to do anything medically inappropriate , adams said . adams hinted that there was jealously on murray 's part when jackson courted him for a tour job . murray really looked like he had just lost his best friend ' when jackson was discussing it , adams said . oh , he was truly upset . ' defense expert : promoter did n't pressure jackson 's doctor murray told cnn 's anderson cooper in april that michael jackson had his own stash ' of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it . i did not agree with michael , but michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked , ' murray said . and given the situation at the time , it was my approach to try to get him off of it , but michael jackson was not the kind of person you can just say'put it down'and he 's going to do that . ' jackson lawyers argue that aeg live was negligent for not checking out murray 's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $ 150,000 a month . it created a conflict of interest that led murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to jackson 's health , they contend . aeg live executives also ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them that jackson 's health was deteriorating under murray 's care and another doctor should have been called in , they argue . adams was in a las vegas operating room on june 25 , 2009 , when he learned jackson had died . i texted murray'i 'm sorry to hear what happened . take care ,'' he said . murray never responded , he said . dr. murray 's connection to michael jackson murray did respond that night to a phone call from another adams . jeffrey adams is the person who initially introduced him to michael jackson in february 2007 when the singer needed a doctor to treat one of his children in las vegas . jeffrey adams -- no relation to dr. david adams -- had known murray for years and the cardiologist had treated his father 's heart ailment in 2007 . his video deposition was shown to jurors wednesday morning . he testified that he called dr. murray to offer his help after he saw on television that jackson had died . i told him he had taken care of my father for me and i would be at his side until this situation was complete , ' adams testified . murray told him that night he was going to need a lawyer , ' he said . he and murray did everything together ' from june 26 , 2009 -- a day after jackson 's death -- until november 7 , 2011 -- the day murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter , he said . jeffrey adams said he served as murray 's bodyguard for more than two years without pay . despite his close relationship to murray , adams said he has not spoken to the doctor since he was put in handcuffs in the courtroom and taken to jail . murray is expected to be released from jail on october 28 , 2013 -- after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence , according to his lawyer . doctor 's competed to give jackson painkillers , ex-wife says murray and jackson : seemed very odd ' murray 's relationship with michael jackson seemed very odd , ' according to las vegas plastic surgeon dr. stephen gordon . jurors also watched his video deposition wednesday . he presented himself as being mr. jackson 's personal physician and spokesperson to some extent ' when murray accompanied jackson on an appointment to have cosmetic filler put in his face on may 14 , 2007 , gordon said . gordon had treated jackson several times four years earlier , but not when murray was with him -- and he even wrote a $ 1,300 check to pay for the procedure , he said . the whole situation seemed very odd and it did n't add up and that caused me not to fully trust the person , ' gordon testified . i felt like a successful cardiologist does n't go around being somebody 's private physician and speaking for them , in my experience . ' jackson , however , appeared to be capable of dealing with doctors on his own , gordon said . he gave me the impression that he was used to telling doctors what he wanted them to do . ' jackson personally called him in 2002 when he was looking for a doctor in las vegas to give him collagen and botox treatments , he said . at first i thought it was somebody playing a prank , one of my friends fooling around , ' gordon said . he realized it really was the pop star when he called him back at his hotel -- asking for him under his alias michael jefferson , ' he said . wednesday was the 74th day of testimony on the trial , which the judge predicted would last another month . | i just need you to help me get my rest , ' michael jackson tells anesthesiologist |
buckingham palace <tsp> prince william 's wife , catherine , plans to give birth to their first baby in the same hospital wing where her husband was born to diana , princess of wales , almost 31 years ago , sources familiar with the plans said wednesday . the first details of the protocol surrounding the announcement of the birth were revealed as the duchess of cambridge enters the final weeks of her pregnancy . the baby -- which , regardless of gender , will be heir to the british throne -- is expected to arrive in mid-july . according to sources familiar with the plans , the birth will take place in the private lindo wing of st. mary 's hospital in paddington , west london . the first indication that the baby is on its way will be the announcement to the media that the duchess of cambridge has been admitted to the hospital in the early stages of labor , royal sources told cnn . the next public announcement is expected to be that of the birth . it will be made in the form of a formal bulletin , signed by medical staff and rushed in a car with a police escort to buckingham palace . there , the notice will be placed on an easel on the palace forecourt , the royal sources said . this will be the first chance for the nation and those watching around the world to find out whether the new baby is a boy or a girl . william and catherine do n't know the sex of their baby and want to keep the surprise until it 's born , the royal sources said . william 's grandmother queen elizabeth ii and other members of both families will be told of the birth before the public knows . the next announcement will be that the duchess of cambridge and her baby are to be discharged from the hospital . people are already laying bets on what the newest member of the royal family will be named . alexandra appears to be the favorite for a girl , with george the favored name for a boy , according to uk betting websites . diana , elizabeth and victoria are also popular choices with punters . the baby will be third in line to the throne after prince charles and prince william . paternity leave the royal couple will probably present their baby to the world on the same doorstep where a proud diana and prince charles showed off william in 1982 . it 's not yet been disclosed where the duke and duchess of cambridge plan to spend the days and weeks following the birth , the royal sources said . william , who will turn 31 on friday , is expected to be given the usual paternity leave of two weeks by the ministry of defence , the royal sources said . he will then return to his job as a helicopter search and rescue pilot . the revelation of the birth details may be cause for some anxiety , given the tragedy that followed catherine 's hospitalization late last year for acute morning sickness . in that instance , a prank call by an australian radio station to nursing staff at king edward vii 's hospital , which sparked a media frenzy after details of catherine 's care were revealed , resulted in a nurse 's suicide . we would appeal to all members of the media for an appropriate degree of sensitivity , dignity and privacy in their reporting , ' a royal source said . with the events of the king edward hospital still strong in our memories , we would expect any media covering the duchess of cambridge 's hospitalization to ensure that the normal functions of the hospital are not impeded by any media presence . ' champagne on ice ? according to the lindo wing website , it has been offering private obstetric and neonatal care for mothers and babies since 1937 . the private wing operates alongside the imperial college healthcare nhs trust , which is part of the national health service . over the years , we have gained an international reputation for clinical excellence in both obstetric and neonatal medicine which has made us the choice for thousands of mothers . but what really sets us apart is the discreet , traditional , individualised service we provide , ' the lindo wing 's online brochure says . according to the prices listed , a stay in the lindo wing does n't come cheap by comparison with national health service care , which is free at the point of delivery . however , the mother can stay in a room with its own bath or private suite , with a range of facilities and services offered . among them is a comprehensive wine list should you wish to enjoy a glass of champagne and toast your baby 's arrival . ' the care package for the first 24 hours with a normal delivery starts at £4,965 ( $ 7,777 ) , with the price increasing for a larger room or suite , or if a forceps delivery or caesarean section is needed . an additional night 's stay costs £900 ( $ 1,400 ) or more on top of that price . pregnant catherine , duchess of cambridge , names cruise ship magazine defends photos of pregnant , bikini-clad duchess of cambridge | once the baby is born , the official notice will be displayed at buckingham palace |
spaceshiptwo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- virgin galactic is one flight closer to becoming a commercial spaceline . ' the company 's passenger spacecraft , spaceshiptwo , completed its first rocket-powered flight monday morning above the mojave desert in california . about 45 minutes into the flight , spaceshiptwo was released from its carrier craft , whiteknighttwo . ignition of the rocket motor was triggered , carrying spaceshiptwo to a maximum altitude of 56,000 feet . during the 16-second engine burn , the spaceship broke the sound barrier , according to a statement from virgin galactic . the rocket-powered portion of the flight lasted a little more than 10 minutes , and the entire flight took about an hour . the flight was not a space flight . virgin galactic said it will continue testing this year and plans to reach full space flight by the end of 2013 . for the first time , we were able to prove the key components of the system , ' said virgin galactic founder sir richard branson in a statement . branson was in the mojave desert for the flight . today 's supersonic success opens the way for rapid expansion of the spaceship 's powered flight envelope , with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year 's end . ' more than 500 would-be space tourists have signed up to take short $ 200,000 flights that would involve several minutes of weightlessness . | virgin galactic : first rocket-powered test flight completed for spaceshiptwo |
hernandez <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a lawyer for a man accused of killing 6-year-old etan patz in 1979 says his client falsely confessed to authorities in may and will plead not guilty when he is arraigned next month . the attorney 's statement thursday morning came after pedro hernandez made a brief appearance in manhattan criminal court . the statements by my client ( to police last spring ) are not reliable , ' defense attorney harvey fishbein said . they are what we term false confessions . ' a grand jury on wednesday indicted new jersey resident hernandez on charges of second-degree murder first-degree kidnapping . at thursday 's hearing , a judge transferred the case to new york state supreme court -- the state 's main trial court system -- in manhattan and set an arraignment for december 12 . missing child case'awakened america' police said hernandez in may confessed to killing patz , who disappeared on his way to a new york school bus stop more than 33 years ago . hernandez -- who was a stock clerk in lower manhattan in may 1979 -- admitted that he choked the boy after luring him into the basement of a manhattan grocery store , police said . hernandez allegedly told authorities that he threw away the boy 's body in a garbage bag . the remains have not been found . etan disappeared on may 25 , roughly a month before hernandez left new york to resume living at his mother 's south jersey home , according to family members and police . fishbein has claimed hernandez has been repeatedly diagnosed with schizophrenia , and that he has an iq in the borderline-to-mild mental retardation range . ' patz investigation a 33-year-long roller coast ride on wednesday , district attorney spokeswoman erin duggan said the indictment was the outcome of a lengthy and deliberative process , involving months of factual investigation and legal analysis . ' we believe the evidence that mr. hernandez killed etan patz to be credible and persuasive , and that his statements are not the product of any mental illness , ' she said wednesday . besides arguing that the confession was false , fishbein said he would argue that the prosecution has insufficient evidence , and that the statements hernandez made to police are inadmissible . patz 's plight catapulted concern for missing children to the national forefront after authorities put his image on thousands of milk cartons , a technique that would become more common in the next few years . opinion : missing children , perception vs. reality cnn 's ross levitt and jason hanna contributed to this report . | a grand jury indicted pedro hernandez in the case this week |
hernandez <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a lawyer for a man accused of killing 6-year-old etan patz in 1979 says his client falsely confessed to authorities in may and will plead not guilty when he is arraigned next month . the attorney 's statement thursday morning came after pedro hernandez made a brief appearance in manhattan criminal court . the statements by my client ( to police last spring ) are not reliable , ' defense attorney harvey fishbein said . they are what we term false confessions . ' a grand jury on wednesday indicted new jersey resident hernandez on charges of second-degree murder first-degree kidnapping . at thursday 's hearing , a judge transferred the case to new york state supreme court -- the state 's main trial court system -- in manhattan and set an arraignment for december 12 . missing child case'awakened america' police said hernandez in may confessed to killing patz , who disappeared on his way to a new york school bus stop more than 33 years ago . hernandez -- who was a stock clerk in lower manhattan in may 1979 -- admitted that he choked the boy after luring him into the basement of a manhattan grocery store , police said . hernandez allegedly told authorities that he threw away the boy 's body in a garbage bag . the remains have not been found . etan disappeared on may 25 , roughly a month before hernandez left new york to resume living at his mother 's south jersey home , according to family members and police . fishbein has claimed hernandez has been repeatedly diagnosed with schizophrenia , and that he has an iq in the borderline-to-mild mental retardation range . ' patz investigation a 33-year-long roller coast ride on wednesday , district attorney spokeswoman erin duggan said the indictment was the outcome of a lengthy and deliberative process , involving months of factual investigation and legal analysis . ' we believe the evidence that mr. hernandez killed etan patz to be credible and persuasive , and that his statements are not the product of any mental illness , ' she said wednesday . besides arguing that the confession was false , fishbein said he would argue that the prosecution has insufficient evidence , and that the statements hernandez made to police are inadmissible . patz 's plight catapulted concern for missing children to the national forefront after authorities put his image on thousands of milk cartons , a technique that would become more common in the next few years . opinion : missing children , perception vs. reality cnn 's ross levitt and jason hanna contributed to this report . | hernandez , charged with murder , confessed to killing the 6-year-old , police say |
hernandez <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a lawyer for a man accused of killing 6-year-old etan patz in 1979 says his client falsely confessed to authorities in may and will plead not guilty when he is arraigned next month . the attorney 's statement thursday morning came after pedro hernandez made a brief appearance in manhattan criminal court . the statements by my client ( to police last spring ) are not reliable , ' defense attorney harvey fishbein said . they are what we term false confessions . ' a grand jury on wednesday indicted new jersey resident hernandez on charges of second-degree murder first-degree kidnapping . at thursday 's hearing , a judge transferred the case to new york state supreme court -- the state 's main trial court system -- in manhattan and set an arraignment for december 12 . missing child case'awakened america' police said hernandez in may confessed to killing patz , who disappeared on his way to a new york school bus stop more than 33 years ago . hernandez -- who was a stock clerk in lower manhattan in may 1979 -- admitted that he choked the boy after luring him into the basement of a manhattan grocery store , police said . hernandez allegedly told authorities that he threw away the boy 's body in a garbage bag . the remains have not been found . etan disappeared on may 25 , roughly a month before hernandez left new york to resume living at his mother 's south jersey home , according to family members and police . fishbein has claimed hernandez has been repeatedly diagnosed with schizophrenia , and that he has an iq in the borderline-to-mild mental retardation range . ' patz investigation a 33-year-long roller coast ride on wednesday , district attorney spokeswoman erin duggan said the indictment was the outcome of a lengthy and deliberative process , involving months of factual investigation and legal analysis . ' we believe the evidence that mr. hernandez killed etan patz to be credible and persuasive , and that his statements are not the product of any mental illness , ' she said wednesday . besides arguing that the confession was false , fishbein said he would argue that the prosecution has insufficient evidence , and that the statements hernandez made to police are inadmissible . patz 's plight catapulted concern for missing children to the national forefront after authorities put his image on thousands of milk cartons , a technique that would become more common in the next few years . opinion : missing children , perception vs. reality cnn 's ross levitt and jason hanna contributed to this report . | hernandez 's statements to police are not reliable , his attorney says |
romania <tsp> ( cnn ) -- romanian striker adrian mutu saw his late penalty saved by gianluigi buffon as world champions italy scraped a 1-1 draw in zurich to keep their euro 2008 hopes hanging by a thread . romanian players celebrate adrian mutu 's opening goal in the thrilling 1-1 draw against italy . mutu had earlier given romania the lead only for christian panucci to level a minute later . the result leaves italy needing to beat france in their final match to qualify , while romania also have a chance to progress if they defeat netherlands in their final match . italy coach roberto donadoni made five changes to his starting line-up , following the dismal opening 3-0 defeat by netherlands , with world cup winners marco materazzi and gennaro gattuso among those left out . those changes looked to be working as the azzurri started brightly , almost breaking the deadlock in the eighth minute when alessandro del piero 's close-range header from simone perrotta 's cross went just wide of the near post . in the 15th minute , romania should have gone in front but mutu 's left-footed strike from the edge of the area was parried away by buffon . at the other end , luci toni latched onto fabio grosso 's cross but his header went high over the bar . buffon was then forced to fully stretch to clear gabriel tamas'free-kick towards the far post . italy almost fell behind in the 19th minute when cristian chivu 's free-kick rebounded off the far post after being deflected by panucci , with buffon already beaten . but the italians were looking more dangerous . both del piero and toni headed wide from good positions , while romania goalkeeper bogdan lobont made a fine one-handed save to deny toni 's header from del piero 's corner having previously anticipated giorgio chiellini 's cross into the box . then , on the stroke of half-time , toni appeared to have given italy the lead with a header , but norwegian referee tom henning ruled the effort out for offside . disaster struck for italy after the break when gianluca zambrotta 's 57th back header towards buffon was intercepted by a determined mutu , who fired past the goalkeeper . however , it did not take long for donadoni 's men to hit back . chiellini latched onto del piero 's corner and headed towards the far post where an unmarked panucci fired into the back of the net . the goal inspired the italians , who surged forward more aggressively but failed to find the finishing touch . in the 73rd minute , grosso made a vital tackle on substitute banel nicolita as he threatened to break clear , while at the other end lobont made a spectacular save from daniele de rossi 's flying header . italy continued to surge forward but their efforts to clinch their first win on swiss soil proved no avail and they have buffon to thank for keeping their euro 2008 hopes alive . with seven minutes remaining panucci was adjudged to have pulled down daniel niculae in the area but mutu 's well-struck penalty was superbly kept out by buffon with a save which saw the ball rebound off both his hand and foot before heading out for a corner . donadoni felt his team were the superior side but also admitted the azzurri were fortunate to be alive in the tournament after several refereeing decisions went against them . i do n't usually speak about referees , ' said donadoni . but today 's refereeing was not of high quality . let 's just say the referee did not have the best of days . i think my players interpreted the game well , with a lot of determination . romania are a difficult team and i think my players merit praise for what they have done today . considering what we have done in terms of chances and the determination we have shown on the pitch , i think italy have been superior to romania . ' romania coach victor piturca also believed italy were fortunate to clinch a point . italy had a lucky escape , ' said piturca . maybe mutu was a little bit overwhelmed by buffon being a top-class goalkeeper . but these things happen and it will not be the first time nor the last time that a player has his spot-kick saved . i am actually more angry about how we conceded italy 's equaliser than about mutu 's penalty kick . ' piturca was nevertheless satisfied with the result , which sees his team remain unbeaten in the tournament having held france to a goalless draw on monday . this is a good result for the romanian team , ' he said . we have played against the world champions and against the world cup runners-up and we have two points . we still have chances to qualify . ' | italy 's euro 2008 hopes hanging by a thread after their 1-1 draw with romania |
romania <tsp> ( cnn ) -- romanian striker adrian mutu saw his late penalty saved by gianluigi buffon as world champions italy scraped a 1-1 draw in zurich to keep their euro 2008 hopes hanging by a thread . romanian players celebrate adrian mutu 's opening goal in the thrilling 1-1 draw against italy . mutu had earlier given romania the lead only for christian panucci to level a minute later . the result leaves italy needing to beat france in their final match to qualify , while romania also have a chance to progress if they defeat netherlands in their final match . italy coach roberto donadoni made five changes to his starting line-up , following the dismal opening 3-0 defeat by netherlands , with world cup winners marco materazzi and gennaro gattuso among those left out . those changes looked to be working as the azzurri started brightly , almost breaking the deadlock in the eighth minute when alessandro del piero 's close-range header from simone perrotta 's cross went just wide of the near post . in the 15th minute , romania should have gone in front but mutu 's left-footed strike from the edge of the area was parried away by buffon . at the other end , luci toni latched onto fabio grosso 's cross but his header went high over the bar . buffon was then forced to fully stretch to clear gabriel tamas'free-kick towards the far post . italy almost fell behind in the 19th minute when cristian chivu 's free-kick rebounded off the far post after being deflected by panucci , with buffon already beaten . but the italians were looking more dangerous . both del piero and toni headed wide from good positions , while romania goalkeeper bogdan lobont made a fine one-handed save to deny toni 's header from del piero 's corner having previously anticipated giorgio chiellini 's cross into the box . then , on the stroke of half-time , toni appeared to have given italy the lead with a header , but norwegian referee tom henning ruled the effort out for offside . disaster struck for italy after the break when gianluca zambrotta 's 57th back header towards buffon was intercepted by a determined mutu , who fired past the goalkeeper . however , it did not take long for donadoni 's men to hit back . chiellini latched onto del piero 's corner and headed towards the far post where an unmarked panucci fired into the back of the net . the goal inspired the italians , who surged forward more aggressively but failed to find the finishing touch . in the 73rd minute , grosso made a vital tackle on substitute banel nicolita as he threatened to break clear , while at the other end lobont made a spectacular save from daniele de rossi 's flying header . italy continued to surge forward but their efforts to clinch their first win on swiss soil proved no avail and they have buffon to thank for keeping their euro 2008 hopes alive . with seven minutes remaining panucci was adjudged to have pulled down daniel niculae in the area but mutu 's well-struck penalty was superbly kept out by buffon with a save which saw the ball rebound off both his hand and foot before heading out for a corner . donadoni felt his team were the superior side but also admitted the azzurri were fortunate to be alive in the tournament after several refereeing decisions went against them . i do n't usually speak about referees , ' said donadoni . but today 's refereeing was not of high quality . let 's just say the referee did not have the best of days . i think my players interpreted the game well , with a lot of determination . romania are a difficult team and i think my players merit praise for what they have done today . considering what we have done in terms of chances and the determination we have shown on the pitch , i think italy have been superior to romania . ' romania coach victor piturca also believed italy were fortunate to clinch a point . italy had a lucky escape , ' said piturca . maybe mutu was a little bit overwhelmed by buffon being a top-class goalkeeper . but these things happen and it will not be the first time nor the last time that a player has his spot-kick saved . i am actually more angry about how we conceded italy 's equaliser than about mutu 's penalty kick . ' piturca was nevertheless satisfied with the result , which sees his team remain unbeaten in the tournament having held france to a goalless draw on monday . this is a good result for the romanian team , ' he said . we have played against the world champions and against the world cup runners-up and we have two points . we still have chances to qualify . ' | mutu had earlier given romania the lead only for christian panucci to equalize |
bahrain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- bahrain on thursday acquitted nine medical professionals who were accused of involvement in unrest in the country but upheld convictions of another 11 . all 20 were convicted last year of attempting to overthrow the government and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms . bahrain sliced the sentences of many whose convictions were upheld thursday . of the 11 whose convictions stand , two are at large , five will be released on time served and the other four can appeal their sentences again , the bahrain information affairs authority announced . human rights groups and some of the medical professionals , which include doctors , say they were treating people injured in last year 's protests against the government . the group physicians for human rights denounced the sentences and called on the government to set aside the verdicts against all the medics . eighteen of the accused medical professionals have alleged that bahraini security forces tortured them while in detention , ' the group said in a statement . maryam alkhawaja , vice president of the bahrain center for human rights , tweeted that the nine acquittals should not be seen as an achievement , because they should n't have been arrested and tortured to begin with . ' in a statement , the government insisted that no medic is being charged for treating protesters . the charges brought against the medics were primarily for their involvement in politicizing their profession , breaching medical ethics ' and , most seriously , calling for and involvement in the overthrow of the monarchy . ' another bahraini doctor , nabeel hameed , told cnn last month that during last year 's protests , we became automatic witnesses . ' he was on call -- one of only three neurosurgeons at salmaniya hospital , on february 18 , 2011 -- when an injured protester was brought in . the patient had been shot in the head . for treating him and then expressing my concerns about the way he was injured , i got labeled as a traitor , ' hameed told cnn 's christiane amanpour . two months later , he was arrested , he said . they took me into an interrogation center for about four days of torture . i was not alone . i was with other doctors . they made us stand for days together ... without sleep , without toilet privileges , without anything . and in between that , you get abused , you get spat at , you got insulted ... and everybody who passes by you just beats you on the head or the back . ' but the worst thing is a room , an electronically locked room ... and when the doors open , all hell breaks loose . because you start hearing these shouts of torture . of people inside . ... your turn is next . and my turn was next . ... somebody even took a gun to my head and threatened me with death , ' hameed said . he was later released , but as a changed man , he said . bahraini officials have denied ordering torture . cnn 's lucky gold contributed to this report . | five were sentenced to time served ; the other four can appeal , bahrain says |
bahrain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- bahrain on thursday acquitted nine medical professionals who were accused of involvement in unrest in the country but upheld convictions of another 11 . all 20 were convicted last year of attempting to overthrow the government and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms . bahrain sliced the sentences of many whose convictions were upheld thursday . of the 11 whose convictions stand , two are at large , five will be released on time served and the other four can appeal their sentences again , the bahrain information affairs authority announced . human rights groups and some of the medical professionals , which include doctors , say they were treating people injured in last year 's protests against the government . the group physicians for human rights denounced the sentences and called on the government to set aside the verdicts against all the medics . eighteen of the accused medical professionals have alleged that bahraini security forces tortured them while in detention , ' the group said in a statement . maryam alkhawaja , vice president of the bahrain center for human rights , tweeted that the nine acquittals should not be seen as an achievement , because they should n't have been arrested and tortured to begin with . ' in a statement , the government insisted that no medic is being charged for treating protesters . the charges brought against the medics were primarily for their involvement in politicizing their profession , breaching medical ethics ' and , most seriously , calling for and involvement in the overthrow of the monarchy . ' another bahraini doctor , nabeel hameed , told cnn last month that during last year 's protests , we became automatic witnesses . ' he was on call -- one of only three neurosurgeons at salmaniya hospital , on february 18 , 2011 -- when an injured protester was brought in . the patient had been shot in the head . for treating him and then expressing my concerns about the way he was injured , i got labeled as a traitor , ' hameed told cnn 's christiane amanpour . two months later , he was arrested , he said . they took me into an interrogation center for about four days of torture . i was not alone . i was with other doctors . they made us stand for days together ... without sleep , without toilet privileges , without anything . and in between that , you get abused , you get spat at , you got insulted ... and everybody who passes by you just beats you on the head or the back . ' but the worst thing is a room , an electronically locked room ... and when the doors open , all hell breaks loose . because you start hearing these shouts of torture . of people inside . ... your turn is next . and my turn was next . ... somebody even took a gun to my head and threatened me with death , ' hameed said . he was later released , but as a changed man , he said . bahraini officials have denied ordering torture . cnn 's lucky gold contributed to this report . | bahrain acquitted nine of them thursday |
nadal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- rafael nadal landed a record extending ninth french open title this year and also reached the final of the australian open . but typical for the spaniard in recent campaigns , those grand slam accomplishments mingled with further health woes . looking back on his 2014 , it 's no wonder , then , that nadal utters : too many things ( happened ) to be happy during ' the whole year . that 's part of my life , though . it 's happened a few times in my career . ' indeed . and in keeping with nadal 's approach during his recovery from an avalanche of afflictions in the past , he vows to keep working hard . ' now i have a month to prepare for the 2015 season , and that 's my goal , ' the 28-year-old told cnn 's open court in late november shortly before the groundbreaking ceremony of the rafa nadal sports center and academy . i 'm going to work as much as i can , hope to be healthy for that . if i am healthy , i am confident that i can come back strong again . ' jimmy arias , a former top-five player who made the semifinals at the u.s. open and quarterfinals at nadal 's beloved french open in the 1980s , is n't about to disagree . ever since he came onto the tour , he had all the markings of a guy that would be done with tennis by 26 , 27 , because his game was such a grind mentally and physically , ' arias , now a tennis analyst for several networks , told cnn.com . he 's obviously outlasted that age . he 's made of sterner stuff than most of us because he 's able to keep coming back from injuries and long layoffs and continues to dominate . now , you get the sense that he 's going to be as always -- if he 's physically fit . if nadal 's body might be giving him a few problems , his mind remains as strong as ever . it 's his psychological strength that sets him apart from the rest , according to arias . i would say he 's the greatest mental player in the history of the sport . not strategy , necessarily , but the ability to play every point as if that 's the most important one you 've ever played , and do it every match . ' nadal is a veteran at coming back , having been slowed by , most notably , injuries to both knees . however , this year saw the 14-time grand slam champion miss a chunk of time due to a back problem , wrist complaint and appendix surgery , in that order . it all began at the australian open in january , when nadal hurt his back while warming up in the final against stan wawrinka . holding a 12-0 record without conceding a set to the swiss heading into the contest , a hampered nadal fell in four sets with the ordeal leaving him in tears . recently he has undergone stem-cell treatment to aid his back after the same therapy , he said , helped his problematic , famous knees . the back bothered nadal , he added , throughout 2014 . i repeated the treatment that worked very well for my knees at the end of last year , so i am doing that for my back now and i hope i have a good success on that , ' he said . when the wrist sidelined nadal at the u.s. open , it ensured another year he skipped a major -- the last time he contested all four in a season came in 2011 . contrast his attendance with roger federer -- the only man ahead of nadal on the grand slam ladder with 17 titles . the smooth federer has appeared in 60 consecutive grand slams , a men 's record . nadal subsequently underwent appendix surgery in early november , ruling him out of the prestigious year-end championships in london . i started this year believing that i was ready for everything again , ' said nadal , looking back to the start of 2014 . i started well , playing the final in australia , but during the final i injured my back . it was hard for me to accept that i did n't have the chance to compete in the final , ' he added , referring to his defeat by wawrinka in the opening slam of the season . then i went down for a while . takes a little bit of time to recover from that mentally and physically . i was coming back to my best again ... playing better and better every single week and arriving in roland garros with a great level . then i won there and i was fully confident again . it was the most beautiful part of the year for me . ' wimbledon 's grass has n't been as pleasant for nadal since he nabbed the last of his two titles in 2010 . hindered by his knees in 2012 and 2013 , he was on the receiving end of two of the biggest upsets in wimbledon history , exiting to lukas rosol and steve darcis , respectively . in the most recent edition , nadal succumbed to fearless young australian nick kyrgios , who seemingly could do no wrong on his serve in the fourth-round tussle . kyrgios struck 37 aces and was broken once . there was , though , a positive for nadal . i felt the knees were more comfortable playing there , ' he said . that 's important for me . i loved that match , but i could n't win that match . that can happen on grass but i was proud the way that i played this year . ' next year nadal 's chances at wimbledon should increase , since an extra week features between the french open and the year 's third grand slam . nadal is n't thinking yet about winning a 10th french open or triumphing at wimbledon , more preoccupied with being ready -- and competitive -- for the australian open next month . nadal won the australian open in 2009 , but lately his memories of oz presumably have n't been as upbeat . aside from his back issue versus wawrinka , he retired in 2010 , injured his hamstring in 2011 as he sought a fourth straight grand slam title -- or the'rafa slam'-- and lost the longest grand slam final in history in 2012 to novak djokovic . my main goal today is try to put my body and my tennis again in a competitive way , ' said nadal . that 's what i 'm going to try to do during this december . i am thinking i am ( focused ) about australia because i like a lot of years in australia , and i felt that i was doing the right things there so many years during my career . i have a special motivation for that . ' | this year was bittersweet for rafael nadal , who won another major but suffered more injuries |
nadal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- rafael nadal landed a record extending ninth french open title this year and also reached the final of the australian open . but typical for the spaniard in recent campaigns , those grand slam accomplishments mingled with further health woes . looking back on his 2014 , it 's no wonder , then , that nadal utters : too many things ( happened ) to be happy during ' the whole year . that 's part of my life , though . it 's happened a few times in my career . ' indeed . and in keeping with nadal 's approach during his recovery from an avalanche of afflictions in the past , he vows to keep working hard . ' now i have a month to prepare for the 2015 season , and that 's my goal , ' the 28-year-old told cnn 's open court in late november shortly before the groundbreaking ceremony of the rafa nadal sports center and academy . i 'm going to work as much as i can , hope to be healthy for that . if i am healthy , i am confident that i can come back strong again . ' jimmy arias , a former top-five player who made the semifinals at the u.s. open and quarterfinals at nadal 's beloved french open in the 1980s , is n't about to disagree . ever since he came onto the tour , he had all the markings of a guy that would be done with tennis by 26 , 27 , because his game was such a grind mentally and physically , ' arias , now a tennis analyst for several networks , told cnn.com . he 's obviously outlasted that age . he 's made of sterner stuff than most of us because he 's able to keep coming back from injuries and long layoffs and continues to dominate . now , you get the sense that he 's going to be as always -- if he 's physically fit . if nadal 's body might be giving him a few problems , his mind remains as strong as ever . it 's his psychological strength that sets him apart from the rest , according to arias . i would say he 's the greatest mental player in the history of the sport . not strategy , necessarily , but the ability to play every point as if that 's the most important one you 've ever played , and do it every match . ' nadal is a veteran at coming back , having been slowed by , most notably , injuries to both knees . however , this year saw the 14-time grand slam champion miss a chunk of time due to a back problem , wrist complaint and appendix surgery , in that order . it all began at the australian open in january , when nadal hurt his back while warming up in the final against stan wawrinka . holding a 12-0 record without conceding a set to the swiss heading into the contest , a hampered nadal fell in four sets with the ordeal leaving him in tears . recently he has undergone stem-cell treatment to aid his back after the same therapy , he said , helped his problematic , famous knees . the back bothered nadal , he added , throughout 2014 . i repeated the treatment that worked very well for my knees at the end of last year , so i am doing that for my back now and i hope i have a good success on that , ' he said . when the wrist sidelined nadal at the u.s. open , it ensured another year he skipped a major -- the last time he contested all four in a season came in 2011 . contrast his attendance with roger federer -- the only man ahead of nadal on the grand slam ladder with 17 titles . the smooth federer has appeared in 60 consecutive grand slams , a men 's record . nadal subsequently underwent appendix surgery in early november , ruling him out of the prestigious year-end championships in london . i started this year believing that i was ready for everything again , ' said nadal , looking back to the start of 2014 . i started well , playing the final in australia , but during the final i injured my back . it was hard for me to accept that i did n't have the chance to compete in the final , ' he added , referring to his defeat by wawrinka in the opening slam of the season . then i went down for a while . takes a little bit of time to recover from that mentally and physically . i was coming back to my best again ... playing better and better every single week and arriving in roland garros with a great level . then i won there and i was fully confident again . it was the most beautiful part of the year for me . ' wimbledon 's grass has n't been as pleasant for nadal since he nabbed the last of his two titles in 2010 . hindered by his knees in 2012 and 2013 , he was on the receiving end of two of the biggest upsets in wimbledon history , exiting to lukas rosol and steve darcis , respectively . in the most recent edition , nadal succumbed to fearless young australian nick kyrgios , who seemingly could do no wrong on his serve in the fourth-round tussle . kyrgios struck 37 aces and was broken once . there was , though , a positive for nadal . i felt the knees were more comfortable playing there , ' he said . that 's important for me . i loved that match , but i could n't win that match . that can happen on grass but i was proud the way that i played this year . ' next year nadal 's chances at wimbledon should increase , since an extra week features between the french open and the year 's third grand slam . nadal is n't thinking yet about winning a 10th french open or triumphing at wimbledon , more preoccupied with being ready -- and competitive -- for the australian open next month . nadal won the australian open in 2009 , but lately his memories of oz presumably have n't been as upbeat . aside from his back issue versus wawrinka , he retired in 2010 , injured his hamstring in 2011 as he sought a fourth straight grand slam title -- or the'rafa slam'-- and lost the longest grand slam final in history in 2012 to novak djokovic . my main goal today is try to put my body and my tennis again in a competitive way , ' said nadal . that 's what i 'm going to try to do during this december . i am thinking i am ( focused ) about australia because i like a lot of years in australia , and i felt that i was doing the right things there so many years during my career . i have a special motivation for that . ' | nadal is putting an emphasis on the australian open , the year 's first major that starts next month |
nadal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- rafael nadal landed a record extending ninth french open title this year and also reached the final of the australian open . but typical for the spaniard in recent campaigns , those grand slam accomplishments mingled with further health woes . looking back on his 2014 , it 's no wonder , then , that nadal utters : too many things ( happened ) to be happy during ' the whole year . that 's part of my life , though . it 's happened a few times in my career . ' indeed . and in keeping with nadal 's approach during his recovery from an avalanche of afflictions in the past , he vows to keep working hard . ' now i have a month to prepare for the 2015 season , and that 's my goal , ' the 28-year-old told cnn 's open court in late november shortly before the groundbreaking ceremony of the rafa nadal sports center and academy . i 'm going to work as much as i can , hope to be healthy for that . if i am healthy , i am confident that i can come back strong again . ' jimmy arias , a former top-five player who made the semifinals at the u.s. open and quarterfinals at nadal 's beloved french open in the 1980s , is n't about to disagree . ever since he came onto the tour , he had all the markings of a guy that would be done with tennis by 26 , 27 , because his game was such a grind mentally and physically , ' arias , now a tennis analyst for several networks , told cnn.com . he 's obviously outlasted that age . he 's made of sterner stuff than most of us because he 's able to keep coming back from injuries and long layoffs and continues to dominate . now , you get the sense that he 's going to be as always -- if he 's physically fit . if nadal 's body might be giving him a few problems , his mind remains as strong as ever . it 's his psychological strength that sets him apart from the rest , according to arias . i would say he 's the greatest mental player in the history of the sport . not strategy , necessarily , but the ability to play every point as if that 's the most important one you 've ever played , and do it every match . ' nadal is a veteran at coming back , having been slowed by , most notably , injuries to both knees . however , this year saw the 14-time grand slam champion miss a chunk of time due to a back problem , wrist complaint and appendix surgery , in that order . it all began at the australian open in january , when nadal hurt his back while warming up in the final against stan wawrinka . holding a 12-0 record without conceding a set to the swiss heading into the contest , a hampered nadal fell in four sets with the ordeal leaving him in tears . recently he has undergone stem-cell treatment to aid his back after the same therapy , he said , helped his problematic , famous knees . the back bothered nadal , he added , throughout 2014 . i repeated the treatment that worked very well for my knees at the end of last year , so i am doing that for my back now and i hope i have a good success on that , ' he said . when the wrist sidelined nadal at the u.s. open , it ensured another year he skipped a major -- the last time he contested all four in a season came in 2011 . contrast his attendance with roger federer -- the only man ahead of nadal on the grand slam ladder with 17 titles . the smooth federer has appeared in 60 consecutive grand slams , a men 's record . nadal subsequently underwent appendix surgery in early november , ruling him out of the prestigious year-end championships in london . i started this year believing that i was ready for everything again , ' said nadal , looking back to the start of 2014 . i started well , playing the final in australia , but during the final i injured my back . it was hard for me to accept that i did n't have the chance to compete in the final , ' he added , referring to his defeat by wawrinka in the opening slam of the season . then i went down for a while . takes a little bit of time to recover from that mentally and physically . i was coming back to my best again ... playing better and better every single week and arriving in roland garros with a great level . then i won there and i was fully confident again . it was the most beautiful part of the year for me . ' wimbledon 's grass has n't been as pleasant for nadal since he nabbed the last of his two titles in 2010 . hindered by his knees in 2012 and 2013 , he was on the receiving end of two of the biggest upsets in wimbledon history , exiting to lukas rosol and steve darcis , respectively . in the most recent edition , nadal succumbed to fearless young australian nick kyrgios , who seemingly could do no wrong on his serve in the fourth-round tussle . kyrgios struck 37 aces and was broken once . there was , though , a positive for nadal . i felt the knees were more comfortable playing there , ' he said . that 's important for me . i loved that match , but i could n't win that match . that can happen on grass but i was proud the way that i played this year . ' next year nadal 's chances at wimbledon should increase , since an extra week features between the french open and the year 's third grand slam . nadal is n't thinking yet about winning a 10th french open or triumphing at wimbledon , more preoccupied with being ready -- and competitive -- for the australian open next month . nadal won the australian open in 2009 , but lately his memories of oz presumably have n't been as upbeat . aside from his back issue versus wawrinka , he retired in 2010 , injured his hamstring in 2011 as he sought a fourth straight grand slam title -- or the'rafa slam'-- and lost the longest grand slam final in history in 2012 to novak djokovic . my main goal today is try to put my body and my tennis again in a competitive way , ' said nadal . that 's what i 'm going to try to do during this december . i am thinking i am ( focused ) about australia because i like a lot of years in australia , and i felt that i was doing the right things there so many years during my career . i have a special motivation for that . ' | nadal sustained back and wrist injuries before undergoing appendix surgery in november |
cnn student news <tsp> april 8 , 2015 after a report on headlines concerning the u.s. and cuba , cnn student news gives some perspective on california 's historic drought : its effects are becoming more likely to ripple across the nation . there 's been a flu outbreak in chicago -- but not one that affects humans . and a proposed tunnel would connect denmark and germany via an undersea road and rail line . on this page you will find today 's show transcript and a place for you to request to be on the cnn student news roll call . transcript click here to access the transcript of today 's cnn student news program . please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published . cnn student news is created by a team of journalists who consider the common core state standards , national standards in different subject areas , and state standards when producing the show . roll call for a chance to be mentioned on the next cnn student news , comment on the bottom of this page with your school name , mascot , city and state . we will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show . you must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the cnn student news roll call ! thank you for using cnn student news ! | at the bottom of the page , comment for a chance to be mentioned on cnn student news . you must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the cnn student news roll call . |
cnn student news roll call <tsp> april 8 , 2015 after a report on headlines concerning the u.s. and cuba , cnn student news gives some perspective on california 's historic drought : its effects are becoming more likely to ripple across the nation . there 's been a flu outbreak in chicago -- but not one that affects humans . and a proposed tunnel would connect denmark and germany via an undersea road and rail line . on this page you will find today 's show transcript and a place for you to request to be on the cnn student news roll call . transcript click here to access the transcript of today 's cnn student news program . please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published . cnn student news is created by a team of journalists who consider the common core state standards , national standards in different subject areas , and state standards when producing the show . roll call for a chance to be mentioned on the next cnn student news , comment on the bottom of this page with your school name , mascot , city and state . we will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show . you must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the cnn student news roll call ! thank you for using cnn student news ! | at the bottom of the page , comment for a chance to be mentioned on cnn student news . you must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the cnn student news roll call . |
west africa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- once upon a time , people thought that swarming creatures such as fish , bees and locusts communicated their movements by thought transference , ' or telepathy . thanks in part to the work of princeton ecologist iain couzin , now we know better . couzin 's lab is using computer-vision technology and even the xbox 's motion-sensing camera , called kinect , to try to get a grip on how these creatures maintain their individually but also function so gracefully as a collective . computer vision has been very important to us . this is where you program a computer to see the world for us , ' he said in an interview last year at poptech , a science , technology and big-ideas conference held in camden , maine . among the lab 's most surprising discoveries : locusts in the western sahara desert swarm because they 're trying to not to be eaten by their cannibalistic buddies . we just discovered by accident that the locusts were trying to eat each other , ' he said . so when it looks like a cooperative swarm , in actual fact it 's a selfish , sort of cannibalistic horde . everyone is trying to eat everyone else and trying to avoid being eaten . ' using tools like kinect , couzin 's team is able to collect a much more detailed data set about how various organisms behave , which in turn makes it easier to figure out what they 're doing and why . what 's next : in mauritania , sunny with a chance of locusts all this may be interesting enough in the abstract ( couzin said he 's been fascinated by swarming organisms since he was a young boy ) . but it 's also a matter of life and death . locust swarms are blamed for countless deaths in west african countries including mauritania , which couzin visited to conduct some of his research . the swarms buzz across the desert , chewing up all of the crops and vegetation in their paths . on tuesday , the un 's food and agriculture organization said in a news release that locust swarms were threatening pastures and crops in niger and mali . research about how and why the locusts swarm could lead scientists to be able to forecast locust swarms just like they would a weather event such as a tornado or hurricane . why this is important is that we can now build better predictive models and computational models of where swarms may break out , ' couzin said . so that could be very helpful for control measures . ' genetically modified mosquitoes fight dengue fever | he studies , among other things , why locusts swarm in west africa |
benedetti <tsp> ( cnn ) -- famed uruguayan author mario benedetti died at his home in montevideo , uruguay , on sunday , his personal secretary , ariel silva , told cnn . author mario benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month . benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month . a descendent of italian immigrants , benedetti authored such best-selling novels as the truce ' and juan angel 's birthday , ' as well as a collection of short stories and poems . the poet-turned-novelist became a part of a thriving era of latin authors including gabriel garcia marquez , carlos fuentes , and mario vargas llosa , who often intertwined politics with their work . a supporter of fidel castro 's government , benedetti left uruguay to live in exile , partly in cuba , where his writings grew more political . i have never hidden my political position so i had to leave the country , ' he told cnn in a june 2005 interview . i 've had many mishaps , many problems in my short life , ' he added . journalist dario klein in montevideo contributed this report . | benedetti authored novels such as the truce ' and juan angel 's birthday ' |
benedetti <tsp> ( cnn ) -- famed uruguayan author mario benedetti died at his home in montevideo , uruguay , on sunday , his personal secretary , ariel silva , told cnn . author mario benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month . benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month . a descendent of italian immigrants , benedetti authored such best-selling novels as the truce ' and juan angel 's birthday , ' as well as a collection of short stories and poems . the poet-turned-novelist became a part of a thriving era of latin authors including gabriel garcia marquez , carlos fuentes , and mario vargas llosa , who often intertwined politics with their work . a supporter of fidel castro 's government , benedetti left uruguay to live in exile , partly in cuba , where his writings grew more political . i have never hidden my political position so i had to leave the country , ' he told cnn in a june 2005 interview . i 've had many mishaps , many problems in my short life , ' he added . journalist dario klein in montevideo contributed this report . | a supporter of fidel castro 's government , benedetti left uruguay to live in exile |
benedetti <tsp> ( cnn ) -- famed uruguayan author mario benedetti died at his home in montevideo , uruguay , on sunday , his personal secretary , ariel silva , told cnn . author mario benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month . benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month . a descendent of italian immigrants , benedetti authored such best-selling novels as the truce ' and juan angel 's birthday , ' as well as a collection of short stories and poems . the poet-turned-novelist became a part of a thriving era of latin authors including gabriel garcia marquez , carlos fuentes , and mario vargas llosa , who often intertwined politics with their work . a supporter of fidel castro 's government , benedetti left uruguay to live in exile , partly in cuba , where his writings grew more political . i have never hidden my political position so i had to leave the country , ' he told cnn in a june 2005 interview . i 've had many mishaps , many problems in my short life , ' he added . journalist dario klein in montevideo contributed this report . | mario benedetti , 88 , was battling intestinal problems ; hospitalized earlier this month |
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