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united <tsp> as families prepare for air travel this coming memorial day weekend , united airlines wo n't be offering early boarding to families in coach with small children . joining a handful of other carriers , united made the policy shift in late april with little fanfare . previously , families with small children flying coach were allowed on aircraft before general boarding , a convenience for moms and dads trying to herd their kids across the friendly skies . we figured it would be better to simplify that process and reduce the number of boarding groups , ' said united spokesman charles hobart . the airline does allow passengers with children traveling in first class or business class to board early . i have to wonder if it will end up slowing things down because of the extra time it takes for families to board , ' said brett snyder of the blog crankyflier.com . kate hanni of flyersrights.org calls the move very anti-family . ' there are very few things a parent can count on when it comes to air travel these days , but one of those things was always the ability to board first to get your children settled in and all of their needs met before the throngs of people board the plane , ' said hanni in an e-mail to cnn . i hope united changes their mind . ' if families do need additional assistance , our gate agent will work to accommodate them , ' hobart said . that message has been communicated . ' we 're not going to fly united knowing that we 're going to have to put up with that extra hassle , ' wrote steven manson , a brooklyn , new york , father of twin 4-year-old boys . frankly , we always look forward to the preboarding when we fly and try and position ourselves near the gate when boarding begins . it 's just so helpful getting the car seat attached and everyone settled before the plane is crowded with passengers , ' manson said in an e-mail to cnn . a guerrilla approach to flying with kids the policy change also has roots in the merger announced in 2010 between united and continental . we transitioned to a common boarding process across all aircraft , ' hobart said . as a policy , american airlines also does not specifically allow families with children to get on aircraft before general boarding . however , the airline said it makes an announcement to all ticketed passengers before general boarding asking anyone who needs extra time or assistance to come forward . it would not be realistic to preboard that many families just on that sole basis alone , ' wrote an american airlines spokeswoman in an e-mail to cnn . it could easily translate into most of the passengers for the flight . ' jetblue offers families traveling coach with children under age 2 to board early , the airline said . delta air lines said it also offers passengers with children an opportunity to preboard , including those with first class and business class tickets . so does virgin america , which said it allows children under 5 to board early . us airways tweaked its child preboarding rules within the past year -- allowing families with kids to get on the plane after the call for zone 2 , but before the general boarding announcement . previously the airline had allowed earlier boarding . we 're always looking for ways to make the boarding process a little more efficient and quicker for our passengers , ' said spokeswoman liz landau . have you had a good or bad experience trying to preboard a flight ? please share your experiences in the comments section below . | united no longer lets coach fliers with small kids board before general boarding |
katherine jackson <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- michael jackson 's ex-wife and the mother of his two oldest children , debbie rowe , has agreed not to challenge the singer 's mother for custody of the children , according to a joint statement from lawyers for rowe and katherine jackson . debbie rowe will not pursue custody of the children she bore with michael jackson , a lawyer says . the agreement does not involve any financial payments to rowe apart from the continuation of spousal support payments ' that michael jackson personally agreed to make to rowe after their divorce , the lawyers said . rowe will get visitation rights with the children and the timing , frequency and manner of visits shall be implemented according to the best interests of the children , as determined by a child psychologist selected jointly , and paid jointly , ' by jackson and rowe , the announcement said . rowe never publicly said if she would fight jackson 's 79-year-old mother for custody of her son and daughter -- ages 11 and 12 -- and a court hearing concerning custody was delayed several times this month while lawyers for the two talked . jackson 's youngest child , 7 , was carried by a surrogate mother , whose name has not yet been released . katherine jackson gained temporary guardianship of the three children soon after his death last month . learn about other notable custody cases » the agreement must be approved by the judge . a custody hearing is set for monday before los angeles county superior court judge mitchell beckloff . beckloff will also hear arguments monday about jackson 's estate and who will control it . katherine jackson is asking the court for more involvement in the estate 's business . watch what may have happened in jackson 's final hours » jackson family lawyer londell mcmillan said the family was pleased the custody matter was resolved and was handled in a caring , thoughtful and courteous manner by the parties and their representatives . ' we were all united in our goals to do what is best for michael 's wonderful children , and both mrs. jackson and debbie rowe were on the exact same page , ' mcmillan said . accordingly , although important issues had to be resolved , this was no legal contest but rather simply a process ( of ) doing the right thing for the right reasons . ' rowe 's lawyer , eric george , said the women and their lawyers engaged in a dignified discussion that resulted in a dignified outcome . ' the sole consideration between the parties was the best interests of the children , ' george said . i 'm proud to have worked with such professionals who represented ms. jackson , and i am particularly proud of deborah for her integrity and selflessness . ' efforts to resolve who will control jackson 's estate have not been so amicable . earlier this month , beckloff granted temporary control to the executors named in his 2002 will : john branca , jackson 's longtime personal attorney , and john mcclain , a music industry executive and longtime friend . mcmillan , in a statement issued wednesday , said katherine jackson was not disputing the will . but , he said , she wanted the judge to order the executors to disclose information about what he said was a suspicious circle of relationships ' involving them . he said the executors have either denied mrs. jackson access to critical information or insisted on ... onerous and unreasonable restrictions ' to information about deals they are making on behalf of the estate . mcmillan , in an interview with cbs thursday , estimated the jackson estate was worth $ 2 billion , while the executors have estimated in court that its value is around $ 500 million . the will placed all assets into a family trust benefiting his mother , his three children and unnamed charities . jackson 's children have been living with their paternal grandmother at her encino , california , home since their father 's death on june 25 . they read the news on the web and the reports , ' mcmillan said . i really tried to push the media to be responsible in how they try to handle this matter because there are three precious children involved . ' the oldest child -- michael joseph jackson jr. , more commonly known as prince michael -- was born in february 1997 . a daughter -- paris michael katherine jackson -- was born the next year . details of how the children were conceived -- and who was the biological father -- have been closely guarded amid much public speculation . the couple divorced in 1999 with rowe giving jackson full custody while she got an $ 8.5 million settlement , according to court documents . jackson later agreed to additional support . rowe gave up parental rights to jackson in 2001 , but she changed her mind more than two years later and sought temporary custody of the children . a california appeals court later ruled her rights were improperly terminated , opening the door to a possible custody battle . cnn 's randi kaye , kay jones and allison blakely contributed to this report . | katherine jackson is the children 's guardian |
katherine jackson <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- michael jackson 's ex-wife and the mother of his two oldest children , debbie rowe , has agreed not to challenge the singer 's mother for custody of the children , according to a joint statement from lawyers for rowe and katherine jackson . debbie rowe will not pursue custody of the children she bore with michael jackson , a lawyer says . the agreement does not involve any financial payments to rowe apart from the continuation of spousal support payments ' that michael jackson personally agreed to make to rowe after their divorce , the lawyers said . rowe will get visitation rights with the children and the timing , frequency and manner of visits shall be implemented according to the best interests of the children , as determined by a child psychologist selected jointly , and paid jointly , ' by jackson and rowe , the announcement said . rowe never publicly said if she would fight jackson 's 79-year-old mother for custody of her son and daughter -- ages 11 and 12 -- and a court hearing concerning custody was delayed several times this month while lawyers for the two talked . jackson 's youngest child , 7 , was carried by a surrogate mother , whose name has not yet been released . katherine jackson gained temporary guardianship of the three children soon after his death last month . learn about other notable custody cases » the agreement must be approved by the judge . a custody hearing is set for monday before los angeles county superior court judge mitchell beckloff . beckloff will also hear arguments monday about jackson 's estate and who will control it . katherine jackson is asking the court for more involvement in the estate 's business . watch what may have happened in jackson 's final hours » jackson family lawyer londell mcmillan said the family was pleased the custody matter was resolved and was handled in a caring , thoughtful and courteous manner by the parties and their representatives . ' we were all united in our goals to do what is best for michael 's wonderful children , and both mrs. jackson and debbie rowe were on the exact same page , ' mcmillan said . accordingly , although important issues had to be resolved , this was no legal contest but rather simply a process ( of ) doing the right thing for the right reasons . ' rowe 's lawyer , eric george , said the women and their lawyers engaged in a dignified discussion that resulted in a dignified outcome . ' the sole consideration between the parties was the best interests of the children , ' george said . i 'm proud to have worked with such professionals who represented ms. jackson , and i am particularly proud of deborah for her integrity and selflessness . ' efforts to resolve who will control jackson 's estate have not been so amicable . earlier this month , beckloff granted temporary control to the executors named in his 2002 will : john branca , jackson 's longtime personal attorney , and john mcclain , a music industry executive and longtime friend . mcmillan , in a statement issued wednesday , said katherine jackson was not disputing the will . but , he said , she wanted the judge to order the executors to disclose information about what he said was a suspicious circle of relationships ' involving them . he said the executors have either denied mrs. jackson access to critical information or insisted on ... onerous and unreasonable restrictions ' to information about deals they are making on behalf of the estate . mcmillan , in an interview with cbs thursday , estimated the jackson estate was worth $ 2 billion , while the executors have estimated in court that its value is around $ 500 million . the will placed all assets into a family trust benefiting his mother , his three children and unnamed charities . jackson 's children have been living with their paternal grandmother at her encino , california , home since their father 's death on june 25 . they read the news on the web and the reports , ' mcmillan said . i really tried to push the media to be responsible in how they try to handle this matter because there are three precious children involved . ' the oldest child -- michael joseph jackson jr. , more commonly known as prince michael -- was born in february 1997 . a daughter -- paris michael katherine jackson -- was born the next year . details of how the children were conceived -- and who was the biological father -- have been closely guarded amid much public speculation . the couple divorced in 1999 with rowe giving jackson full custody while she got an $ 8.5 million settlement , according to court documents . jackson later agreed to additional support . rowe gave up parental rights to jackson in 2001 , but she changed her mind more than two years later and sought temporary custody of the children . a california appeals court later ruled her rights were improperly terminated , opening the door to a possible custody battle . cnn 's randi kaye , kay jones and allison blakely contributed to this report . | debbie rowe , katherine jackson make custody agreement |
syrian <tsp> golan heights ( cnn ) -- israeli troops fired on protesters trying to cross the fortified border between syria and the occupied golan heights on sunday , with syrian authorities reporting more than a dozen dead and hundreds wounded . the protests came on the anniversary of the 1967 middle east war , when israel captured the golan heights from syria . the israel defense forces did not immediately confirm any casualties , though a spokeswoman said that israeli troops used tear gas and live ammunition on members of an angered mob . ' we warned them verbally ( and ) with warning shots into the air , ' lt. col. avital leibovich told cnn . and when these two options failed , we had to open fire selectively into the area , and this actually stopped those syrians from reaching the israeli-syrian fence . ' the syrian state news agency said 23 people were killed and more than 350 wounded in the protests , which continued past nightfall . medics could be seen carrying the wounded to vehicles and driving them away from the border . a spokesman for u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon condemned the violence and urged restraint . the events of today and of 15 may on the golan put the long-held cease-fire in jeopardy . the secretary-general calls for maximum restraint on all sides and strict observance of international humanitarian law to ensure protection of civilians , ' he said . as many as 500 people took part in the demonstration , holding mid-day prayers on the syrian side of the border , then crouching down behind ramparts that israel constructed in response to similar demonstrations three weeks ago . the number later dropped to about 50 , with protesters waving palestinian and syrian flags . clashes also broke out between palestinians and israelis at the qalandia crossing between jerusalem and ramallah in the west bank on sunday . at least six palestinians were injured there , one seriously , by rubber bullets . israeli forces also fired tear gas , while palestinians threw stones . the clashes come three weeks after similar demonstrations marking the 1948 birth of the jewish state -- a day of mourning for palestinians , more than 700,000 of whom were displaced from their homes during the fighting that followed . those protests left at least 12 dead . leibovich accused syria of trying to use the protests to create a diversion from the bloodshed that is taking place inside syria , ' where the united nations says a crackdown against anti-government protests has left more than 1,000 dead . there is no question about it , ' she said . the policemen , the armed syrian forces are looking back and not doing anything . ' demonstrators arrived in at least eight buses before the protest began , then came down from a hill known locally as shouting hill ' -- where people shout to family and friends on the other side of the border -- toward the ramparts israeli forces constructed last month . leibovich said israeli troops were better prepared to deal with the demonstrations than with the may 15 protests , beefing up forces along the frontier and making clear that we would not tolerate any infiltration into the israeli side . ' cnn 's mike schwartz , kevin flower and kareem khadder contributed to this report . | israel says it faced an angered mob ' across the syrian border |
bruins <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the boston bruins won their first stanley cup in 39 years , defeating the vancouver canucks 4-0 wednesday night in the seventh and deciding game of the national hockey league 's annual championship . the loss did n't go over well with hundreds of mostly young canuck fans , who took to the streets and set several overturned vehicles afire a few blocks from rogers arena where the game was played . some fans stopped to pose in front of the flames . others danced on top of another overturned vehicle . a dull cloud of gray smoke choked some areas of downtown . ireport : fires , rioting and looting in vancouver aerial footage showed vancouver police wading into the unruly crowd that continually taunted and threw things at the officers . members of the crowd leaped over one street fire , and officers wrestled several fans to the ground . we 're unable to release anything formal at the moment but officers are busy dealing with a few core groups of people bent on committing criminal acts like mischief , vandalism , and fights , ' vancouver police media relations officer lindsey houghton said in a statement . we 're working hard to get everyone home safe . ' freelance journalist jorge contreras told cnn that 1,000-2,000 people were on the streets in downtown vancouver , and that six police vehicles had been set on fire . after dropping the first two games in vancouver , the bruins took four of the last five games from the canucks , who struggled to stay in game seven after going down 1-0 in the first period . the bruins blew open the game in the second , after rookie brad marchand sprung on a rebound off of canuck goalie roberto luongo to put away his second goal of the match . we knew the second goal was going to be huge , ' marchand , the 23-year-old rookie said in a post-game interview . it was nice to get that one , and we kept pushing forward after that . ' marchand would finish the game with two goals and one assist . but the game was really decided by thomas , who polished off his spectacular playoff performance with a game seven shutout to take the coveted conn smythe trophy . tim thomas -- whose unorthodox goalkeeping mystified the canucks all night -- set the nhl record for most shots faced and most saves in playoff history . he also shattered johnny bower 's 1960s record for most saves in a stanley cup final . coming into the series , vancouver was considered the superior squad on special teams , especially on power plays . but that was n't the case in this year 's stanley cup , as boston put away five power play goals to vancouver 's two . vancouver was also outscored 10-0 in the second period . we finally brought our game from home on the road , ' zdeno chara told team radio canada . we played physical and took care of the puck , played extremely hard and paid attention to the details . ' patrice bergeron 's first period goal should have been enough for fans to know the game 's outcome , as the team that scored the first goal won every game in this series . the bruins now have won the stanley cup six times , fourth-most among all nhl franchises , but had n't captured the sport 's most coveted prize since 1972 . they had been to the finals five other times since they last won , but this time marked their first appearance since 1990 . the canucks have been to the finals three times in their 40 seasons in the league , but have never won . holding the home-ice advantage , they won the first two games of the series , but lost all three games played in boston before losing at home on wednesday . they were seeking to become the first canadian team to win the nhl title since the montreal canadiens in 1993 . | the bruins now have won six stanley cups , making them no . 4 all-time |
south africa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it is a sunday night in bridgetown , barbados . here on this caribbean island , and on the others that make up what 's known as the west indies , life revolves around one thing -- cricket . on this night , locals gather at historic kensington oval , which hosted the 2007 world cup final . there are no national teams on display this time , but there is a local trophy up for grabs . it 's enough to draw a large crowd of boisterous fans . in the concourse , a familiar face makes his way through the crowd . he is franklyn stephenson , and he is the best to have never played for the west indies , all because of one decision he and his teammates made 30 years ago . it left each of them -- forever -- branded a rebel . in 1983 , the west indies cricket team was on top of the world . team captain clive lloyd , from guyana , had led them to back-to-back world cup victories in 1975 and'79 . contact'branded a rebel'presenter don riddell on facebook overflowing with talent , the islands of the west indies could have fielded at least two teams of world-class players . but with all the hype and success , money did not follow . playing international and club cricket was not enough to earn a living . at the same time , a world away , south africa was deep in the heart of apartheid . its government 's policies had split life into different classifications for whites and so-called non-whites . such oppression against the non-white population intensified into violence , landing young protesters like nelson mandela in jail . thousands more were arrested or killed . as the world tried to pressure south africa 's leadership , sanctions were applied , and sport was no exception . in 1970 , the international cricket council banned south africa from international competition , leaving the country 's cricket-mad fans deprived of the sport they loved , and their cricketers of the careers they dreamed of . you 're always optimistic , ' said former south african cricketer clive rice . the stupidity that existed would change and south africa would change much quicker , and we 'd be back playing international sport . but it hung on and hung on . ''rebel tours' to save cricket in south africa , the sport 's administrators knew something had to be done . so , in secret , they began planning rebel tours ' -- inviting various teams from around the world . it was a bold move to defy the icc 's ban by offering lucrative contracts . in march 1982 , the first rebel team from england arrived in johannesburg . from our point of view , we knew we had the best cricketers in the world , ' said former south african cricket union president joe pamensky , one of the rebel tour organizers . we wanted to show them off to the world so they would see it the same as we saw it . ' later that year , a team from sri lanka followed . and it was n't long before many began suspecting south africa was also targeting a team from the west indies , the dominant force in world cricket . you heard a lot of whispers around the place that perhaps these guys were going to south africa , ' recalled broadcaster tony cozier . but at that time , we could n't believe that they could assemble a team of west indies players given the whole background to the anti-apartheid movement . ' many big-name west indies stars were outspoken in their refusal to play in apartheid south africa . captain clive lloyd said no amount of money could get him there . future captain viv richards called it blood money . ' but other players were tempted . the offers from south africa were more than they would likely see in their lifetimes -- estimated to be between $ 100,000 and $ 150,000 per player . it was enough to draw in names like batsmen lawrence rowe and alvin kallicharran , fast bowler sylvester clarke and wicketkeeper david murray -- one of the best in the game . also agreeing to take part was collis king , hero of the 1979 world cup . i made the decision because i was n't getting treated right as far as the west indies ( team ) was concerned , ' said king . and i said to myself ,'well , cricket is my job . you 're not picking me , i 'll go play cricket someplace where people will see proper cricket .'and that 's why i went . ' more than just cricket rising star stephenson was only 23 in 1983 , with a promising career in front of him . he had repeatedly turned down offers to play in south africa . but the day the team left , stephenson had a change of heart . i knew the tour was more important than being just cricket , ' stephenson said . i believe that cricket can make a difference , and i 'm going to be a part of that team . ' on the plane , stephenson recalled , some of the players began having second thoughts . but it was too late -- they were on their way to south africa , to face apartheid head on . when we got to south africa , i realized that separation , and it was n't only black and white , ' he said . it 's the language that you speak , the area that you live in , and it 's what you 're allowed to do , and where you can go . so the divisions were very real when we got there . ' unsure of how they 'd be received by the country 's mainly white fanbase , the west indies rebels prepared for their first test match . but their worries soon proved unfounded -- in droves , crowds came out to see the famous cricketers . we packed them in , ' said murray . we turned out 20,000 in pretoria , the heart of apartheid . ' as the tour went on , the players began to believe something more important than just cricket was taking place . young kids -- white kids -- were begging them for autographs . it seemed south african fans could n't get enough of the black cricketers from the west indies . for the first time , they were seeing blacks beating whites , ' said newspaper writer al gilkes , the only journalist from the caribbean to go to south africa . here was a country in which no black man had ever seen a black person in competition with a white person , and beating them . to me , that was where the real victory was . ''destroyed as cricketers' but critics of the tour disagree . they say the presence of a team of black men in south africa did not help end apartheid , but instead strengthened and supported it . even within the country itself , non-whites protested the west indies rebels . back home in the caribbean , the reaction was worse . a deep sense of betrayal cut through the caribbean . cricketers who were once viewed as heroes were now seen as sellouts . when the month-long tour was over , the rebel players knew they would have to face the repercussions of their decision back home . i felt sorry for them , ' said gilkes , because i knew that they would never outlive what they were returning to . ' the fate of their cricketing careers rested with the west indies cricket board of control . the players were aware they might face a ban -- after all , england 's rebel team had been banned for three years ; sri lanka 's was banned for 25 years . but they did not expect to be banned for life . many of them were destroyed as cricketers , ' said university of west indies professor hilary beckles . their cricket careers came to an end . ' murray , once a star , is now drifting , unable to hold a job in barbados . in the years after the tour , he eventually lost more than just his career . his wife gave birth to their baby daughter in australia , while murray was playing in south africa . they faced being deported from australia for his role in the rebel tours , and were unwelcome back in the caribbean , too . they had a newborn , and nowhere to go . they did n't want me to return , ' murray said . politics got into it . ' when asked if his current situation resulted from his decision to go , murray answered : most likely . ' mercenaries ? for stephenson , the once-rising star , his cricketing past is behind him . he is now a golf instructor at a country club in barbados . but he still finds a way to connect to the sport he loved at the cricket and golf academy he started near his home . there , a photo of his rebel team sits proudly on the shelf . it is not the memories of the tour he wants to forget , but what came after . nobody looked out for us , ' stephenson said . for the players , their lives defined by this single moment in sport history , each day is a reminder of what they lost by going to south africa . but they gained something , too -- strong bonds forged on a tour condemned by the rest of their world , cherished by the participants . and to this day , they hold strongly to the belief that being in south africa in 1983 made a difference in disbanding apartheid , less than a decade after the west indies players were there . gilkes wrote a seven-part series about the tour . in the last article , he stated the trip might have started with the players being viewed as mercenaries , but he saw them as missionaries who converted white south africans to accepting that blacks were their equals . ' i know i went there as a missionary , ' king said . murray agreed . i do n't see the mercenary part of it or whatever . we were just professional cricketers . you 've got work to do . ' what do mercenaries do ? ' stephenson asked . they go and fight somebody else 's cause . well , yes i was a mercenary for black people 's cause , because wherever i 've been , i 've been an ambassador for my country , my race and the game of cricket . so if that 's being a mercenary , then yes i was . ' | accused of strengthening apartheid 's grip in south africa by playing there |
south africa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it is a sunday night in bridgetown , barbados . here on this caribbean island , and on the others that make up what 's known as the west indies , life revolves around one thing -- cricket . on this night , locals gather at historic kensington oval , which hosted the 2007 world cup final . there are no national teams on display this time , but there is a local trophy up for grabs . it 's enough to draw a large crowd of boisterous fans . in the concourse , a familiar face makes his way through the crowd . he is franklyn stephenson , and he is the best to have never played for the west indies , all because of one decision he and his teammates made 30 years ago . it left each of them -- forever -- branded a rebel . in 1983 , the west indies cricket team was on top of the world . team captain clive lloyd , from guyana , had led them to back-to-back world cup victories in 1975 and'79 . contact'branded a rebel'presenter don riddell on facebook overflowing with talent , the islands of the west indies could have fielded at least two teams of world-class players . but with all the hype and success , money did not follow . playing international and club cricket was not enough to earn a living . at the same time , a world away , south africa was deep in the heart of apartheid . its government 's policies had split life into different classifications for whites and so-called non-whites . such oppression against the non-white population intensified into violence , landing young protesters like nelson mandela in jail . thousands more were arrested or killed . as the world tried to pressure south africa 's leadership , sanctions were applied , and sport was no exception . in 1970 , the international cricket council banned south africa from international competition , leaving the country 's cricket-mad fans deprived of the sport they loved , and their cricketers of the careers they dreamed of . you 're always optimistic , ' said former south african cricketer clive rice . the stupidity that existed would change and south africa would change much quicker , and we 'd be back playing international sport . but it hung on and hung on . ''rebel tours' to save cricket in south africa , the sport 's administrators knew something had to be done . so , in secret , they began planning rebel tours ' -- inviting various teams from around the world . it was a bold move to defy the icc 's ban by offering lucrative contracts . in march 1982 , the first rebel team from england arrived in johannesburg . from our point of view , we knew we had the best cricketers in the world , ' said former south african cricket union president joe pamensky , one of the rebel tour organizers . we wanted to show them off to the world so they would see it the same as we saw it . ' later that year , a team from sri lanka followed . and it was n't long before many began suspecting south africa was also targeting a team from the west indies , the dominant force in world cricket . you heard a lot of whispers around the place that perhaps these guys were going to south africa , ' recalled broadcaster tony cozier . but at that time , we could n't believe that they could assemble a team of west indies players given the whole background to the anti-apartheid movement . ' many big-name west indies stars were outspoken in their refusal to play in apartheid south africa . captain clive lloyd said no amount of money could get him there . future captain viv richards called it blood money . ' but other players were tempted . the offers from south africa were more than they would likely see in their lifetimes -- estimated to be between $ 100,000 and $ 150,000 per player . it was enough to draw in names like batsmen lawrence rowe and alvin kallicharran , fast bowler sylvester clarke and wicketkeeper david murray -- one of the best in the game . also agreeing to take part was collis king , hero of the 1979 world cup . i made the decision because i was n't getting treated right as far as the west indies ( team ) was concerned , ' said king . and i said to myself ,'well , cricket is my job . you 're not picking me , i 'll go play cricket someplace where people will see proper cricket .'and that 's why i went . ' more than just cricket rising star stephenson was only 23 in 1983 , with a promising career in front of him . he had repeatedly turned down offers to play in south africa . but the day the team left , stephenson had a change of heart . i knew the tour was more important than being just cricket , ' stephenson said . i believe that cricket can make a difference , and i 'm going to be a part of that team . ' on the plane , stephenson recalled , some of the players began having second thoughts . but it was too late -- they were on their way to south africa , to face apartheid head on . when we got to south africa , i realized that separation , and it was n't only black and white , ' he said . it 's the language that you speak , the area that you live in , and it 's what you 're allowed to do , and where you can go . so the divisions were very real when we got there . ' unsure of how they 'd be received by the country 's mainly white fanbase , the west indies rebels prepared for their first test match . but their worries soon proved unfounded -- in droves , crowds came out to see the famous cricketers . we packed them in , ' said murray . we turned out 20,000 in pretoria , the heart of apartheid . ' as the tour went on , the players began to believe something more important than just cricket was taking place . young kids -- white kids -- were begging them for autographs . it seemed south african fans could n't get enough of the black cricketers from the west indies . for the first time , they were seeing blacks beating whites , ' said newspaper writer al gilkes , the only journalist from the caribbean to go to south africa . here was a country in which no black man had ever seen a black person in competition with a white person , and beating them . to me , that was where the real victory was . ''destroyed as cricketers' but critics of the tour disagree . they say the presence of a team of black men in south africa did not help end apartheid , but instead strengthened and supported it . even within the country itself , non-whites protested the west indies rebels . back home in the caribbean , the reaction was worse . a deep sense of betrayal cut through the caribbean . cricketers who were once viewed as heroes were now seen as sellouts . when the month-long tour was over , the rebel players knew they would have to face the repercussions of their decision back home . i felt sorry for them , ' said gilkes , because i knew that they would never outlive what they were returning to . ' the fate of their cricketing careers rested with the west indies cricket board of control . the players were aware they might face a ban -- after all , england 's rebel team had been banned for three years ; sri lanka 's was banned for 25 years . but they did not expect to be banned for life . many of them were destroyed as cricketers , ' said university of west indies professor hilary beckles . their cricket careers came to an end . ' murray , once a star , is now drifting , unable to hold a job in barbados . in the years after the tour , he eventually lost more than just his career . his wife gave birth to their baby daughter in australia , while murray was playing in south africa . they faced being deported from australia for his role in the rebel tours , and were unwelcome back in the caribbean , too . they had a newborn , and nowhere to go . they did n't want me to return , ' murray said . politics got into it . ' when asked if his current situation resulted from his decision to go , murray answered : most likely . ' mercenaries ? for stephenson , the once-rising star , his cricketing past is behind him . he is now a golf instructor at a country club in barbados . but he still finds a way to connect to the sport he loved at the cricket and golf academy he started near his home . there , a photo of his rebel team sits proudly on the shelf . it is not the memories of the tour he wants to forget , but what came after . nobody looked out for us , ' stephenson said . for the players , their lives defined by this single moment in sport history , each day is a reminder of what they lost by going to south africa . but they gained something , too -- strong bonds forged on a tour condemned by the rest of their world , cherished by the participants . and to this day , they hold strongly to the belief that being in south africa in 1983 made a difference in disbanding apartheid , less than a decade after the west indies players were there . gilkes wrote a seven-part series about the tour . in the last article , he stated the trip might have started with the players being viewed as mercenaries , but he saw them as missionaries who converted white south africans to accepting that blacks were their equals . ' i know i went there as a missionary , ' king said . murray agreed . i do n't see the mercenary part of it or whatever . we were just professional cricketers . you 've got work to do . ' what do mercenaries do ? ' stephenson asked . they go and fight somebody else 's cause . well , yes i was a mercenary for black people 's cause , because wherever i 've been , i 've been an ambassador for my country , my race and the game of cricket . so if that 's being a mercenary , then yes i was . ' | west indian cricketers shunned after touring apartheid-era south africa |
panetta <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- in the most extensive reshaping of the obama administration 's national security team to date , the president will name central intelligence agency director leon panetta as his nominee to succeed robert gates as defense secretary , top u.s. officials said wednesday . gen. david petraeus will be nominated to take over as cia director , and lt. gen. john allen will succeed petraeus as head of the u.s-led international military force in afghanistan , a senior administration official told reporters . in addition , longtime diplomat ryan crocker will be nominated as the next u.s. ambassador to afghanistan , the official said . president barack obama will formally announce the changes on thursday , according to the senior administration official . it is the biggest reshaping of obama 's national security team since he took office in january 2009 and reflects a longstanding plan by gates to step aside this year . more changes also are coming . both adm. mike mullen , chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , and fbi director robert mueller are not eligible for renomination for terms that expire this year . gates will resign effective june 30 , assuming panetta gets confirmed by congress in time and is ready to start on july 1 , according to an administration official and a congressional aide familiar with phone calls gates was making to legislators and senior staff members . petraeus will remain in command in afghanistan until allen is ready to take over at the beginning of september , officials said , which could require an interim cia director if panetta moves to the defense secretary 's office as planned on july 1 . in addition , petraeus will resign from the military once confirmed so that he serves as a civilian cia director , officials said . initial reaction from congress was positive , with key legislators on intelligence and security issues praising both panetta and petraeus as good choices . the sum total of these picks is that the president has chosen experienced people with unique capabilities to serve our nation at a dangerous time , ' said republican sen. lindsey graham of south carolina . this team will provide the leadership to help make our nation safer . i could not be more pleased with these selections . i hope these nominees receive swift approval by the united states senate . ' gates was telling legislators and staff members that he recommended panetta for his job six months ago , and joked that panetta stopped speaking to him for days for doing so , the officials said . in addition , gates was saying that allen was a consensus choice to succeed petraeus , according to the officials . it took a meeting with obama to convince panetta to accept the job , a source familiar with the discussions told cnn . panetta has been happy serving at the cia , but believes strongly in public service and answering the call from the commander-in-chief , ' the source said . panetta , 72 , took over at the cia in february 2009 . he served as chief of staff to president bill clinton between 1994 and 1997 , and was previously the director of the office of management and budget ( omb ) . the california democrat served in the house of representatives from 1977 to 1993 . before coming to the cia , he spent 10 years co-directing a public policy institute with his wife , sylvia . he was brought in as a relative outsider , without hands-on intelligence experience , to manage an agency that had been shaken by the exposure and criticism of its controversial interrogation and detention program . panetta 's longstanding ties to congress were seen as a way to restore the administration 's relationship with oversight committees . he has been given high marks on both fronts from inside the agency and in congress . david berteau , a senior adviser at the center for strategic and international studies , said panetta brings several important qualities to the table . he learned a lot of lessons ' about defense budgeting during his stint as the head of the omb , and knows how to deal with a republican congress , as he did during the clinton administration , berteau said . panetta 's former congressional district in northern california had a huge defense presence , berteau said . panetta has earned the trust and confidence of obama as leader of the cia , and has name recognition , which is important , berteau said , adding : it 's a name americans recognize . filling bob gates'shoes is really going to be a tough job . ' berteau said the president 's choice of petraeus to lead the cia indicates that obama is interested in his national security views and efforts and it indicates that the president cares about the way all those pieces fit together . ' earlier this month , petraeus took a highly unusual step for a military officer when he publicly acknowledged the possibility of being in contention for a presidential appointment . it 's probably not appropriate for me to comment on whatever might be considered down the road , ' he told reporters in kabul when asked about the possible cia nomination . i 've had discussions , but again , it would n't be appropriate to comment . ' petraeus , 58 , assumed command of the nato international security assistance force ( isaf ) and u.s . forces afghanistan on july 4 , 2010 , after serving for more than 20 months as commander of united states central command . he previously commanded multi-national forces in iraq , leading the so-called surge . ' during his time commanding the u.s. army combined arms center and fort leavenworth , he oversaw the development of the army/marine corps counterinsurgency manual . crocker has served previously as u.s. ambassador to iraq and to pakistan , while allen became deputy commander of u.s. central command in july 2008 . gates is the only cabinet member from the previous administration to stay on when obama came into office . president george w. bush nominated gates as the nation 's 22nd secretary of defense in december 2006 to replace donald rumsfeld , one of the architects of the iraq war who was facing widespread criticism . gates did not expect to stay on after bush 's presidency ended . when asked if he would continue under another administration , gates said in 2008 , i learned a long time ago never to say never , so my answer is : the circumstances under which i would do that are inconceivable to me . ' but those circumstances arose . in december 2008 , then-president-elect obama expressed a desire for continuity at the pentagon , given the ongoing conflicts abroad in iraq and afghanistan . i spent a long time hoping the question would never be popped , ' gates admitted the day after obama announced his nomination . but , he said , obama impressed ' him . it is unclear who may replace mueller at the fbi . attorney general eric holder on tuesday did not rule out mueller staying on short-term when his 10-year term expires in september if a successor has not yet been confirmed . mueller will leave hard shoes to fill , ' holder said . holder said he has been discussing potential nominees with white house officials , including vice president joe biden . holder said he believes that if a nominee is selected by may , the administration should have time to get the new director confirmed by august . if that timeline slips , however , the mueller term would end september 4 , one week before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the world trade center and the pentagon . mueller has often remarked that he barely had a chance to find his desk before the 9/11 attacks occurred , and his entire decade was dominated by the fight against al qaeda and its scattered supporters at home and abroad . cnn 's barbara starr , joe sterling , terry frieden , tom cohen , john king and chris lawrence contributed to this report . | it took a meeting with obama to convince panetta to take the job , a source says |
kultala <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- supporting a congressional campaign usually means donating money , knocking on doors and making phone calls . rarely does it mean acting like a nudist in a television ad that will be played throughout your community . that is , until the kelly kultala for congress campaign asked exactly that from their supporters . kultala , a democrat running to oust kansas republican rep. kevin yoder , released an ad on thursday that featured a handful of seemingly naked people urging viewers to support the democrat in november 's election . the people in the ad , however , are not actual nudists . they are supporters of the kultala campaign who agreed to appear on tv with different objects in front of their naked bits . they are volunteers who agreed to do it because they support our campaign and our message , ' said jacob becklund , the kultala campaign manager. it should also be noted that nobody was actually nude during filming . ' according to becklund , it was a pretty easy sell to all of our volunteers , ' even though the ad -- which comes with a high five figure ( cost ) behind it ' -- will be seen on cable and broadcast in the kansas city market starting friday . the ( faux ) nudity in the ad -- titled naked truth ' -- was a knock on yoder , who in 2011 skinny dipped in the sea of galilee in israel , a decision for which he was reprimanded by house republicans in 2012 . awhile back , congressman yoder made news by skinny dipping on the job , ' kultala says in the ad . but it is more shameless what he is doing to kansas . ' the ad then features the seemingly naked volunteers citing different aspects of yoder 's record , including that yoder lines the pockets of his millionaire donors with big tax cuts . and they line his , when he has pockets . ' we thought it was a humorous hook , ' becklund said , to get people to pay attention to the message . ' | kelly kultala for congress campaign releases an ad with folks seemingly naked |
kultala <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- supporting a congressional campaign usually means donating money , knocking on doors and making phone calls . rarely does it mean acting like a nudist in a television ad that will be played throughout your community . that is , until the kelly kultala for congress campaign asked exactly that from their supporters . kultala , a democrat running to oust kansas republican rep. kevin yoder , released an ad on thursday that featured a handful of seemingly naked people urging viewers to support the democrat in november 's election . the people in the ad , however , are not actual nudists . they are supporters of the kultala campaign who agreed to appear on tv with different objects in front of their naked bits . they are volunteers who agreed to do it because they support our campaign and our message , ' said jacob becklund , the kultala campaign manager. it should also be noted that nobody was actually nude during filming . ' according to becklund , it was a pretty easy sell to all of our volunteers , ' even though the ad -- which comes with a high five figure ( cost ) behind it ' -- will be seen on cable and broadcast in the kansas city market starting friday . the ( faux ) nudity in the ad -- titled naked truth ' -- was a knock on yoder , who in 2011 skinny dipped in the sea of galilee in israel , a decision for which he was reprimanded by house republicans in 2012 . awhile back , congressman yoder made news by skinny dipping on the job , ' kultala says in the ad . but it is more shameless what he is doing to kansas . ' the ad then features the seemingly naked volunteers citing different aspects of yoder 's record , including that yoder lines the pockets of his millionaire donors with big tax cuts . and they line his , when he has pockets . ' we thought it was a humorous hook , ' becklund said , to get people to pay attention to the message . ' | kultala 's opponent -- rep. kevin yoder -- was reprimanded in 2012 for skinny dipping on a trip |
kevin yoder <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- supporting a congressional campaign usually means donating money , knocking on doors and making phone calls . rarely does it mean acting like a nudist in a television ad that will be played throughout your community . that is , until the kelly kultala for congress campaign asked exactly that from their supporters . kultala , a democrat running to oust kansas republican rep. kevin yoder , released an ad on thursday that featured a handful of seemingly naked people urging viewers to support the democrat in november 's election . the people in the ad , however , are not actual nudists . they are supporters of the kultala campaign who agreed to appear on tv with different objects in front of their naked bits . they are volunteers who agreed to do it because they support our campaign and our message , ' said jacob becklund , the kultala campaign manager. it should also be noted that nobody was actually nude during filming . ' according to becklund , it was a pretty easy sell to all of our volunteers , ' even though the ad -- which comes with a high five figure ( cost ) behind it ' -- will be seen on cable and broadcast in the kansas city market starting friday . the ( faux ) nudity in the ad -- titled naked truth ' -- was a knock on yoder , who in 2011 skinny dipped in the sea of galilee in israel , a decision for which he was reprimanded by house republicans in 2012 . awhile back , congressman yoder made news by skinny dipping on the job , ' kultala says in the ad . but it is more shameless what he is doing to kansas . ' the ad then features the seemingly naked volunteers citing different aspects of yoder 's record , including that yoder lines the pockets of his millionaire donors with big tax cuts . and they line his , when he has pockets . ' we thought it was a humorous hook , ' becklund said , to get people to pay attention to the message . ' | kultala 's opponent -- rep. kevin yoder -- was reprimanded in 2012 for skinny dipping on a trip |
games <tsp> ( cnn ) -- swimming superstar michael phelps once claimed he scoffed up to 12,000 calories a day . usain bolt 's big sprint rival yohan blake says he chomps 16 ripe bananas every 24 hours . a tiny japanese athlete easily tucked away 50 pieces of sushi after training , while another marathon runner gobbled plates of raw mince . or how about the weightlifter who drinks the first milk of a cow that has just given birth ? with extreme eating habits like these , it may be some surprise to learn that within the olympic village there lurks a culinary trap that can potentially tip athletes over the fine line between success and failure at london 2012 . competitors spend years honing their bodies to perfection , scrupulously eating the right foods , avoiding the wrong ones ... and then ? they encounter the olympic dining hall . with a mcdonald 's at one end and machines dispensing other sponsors'soft drinks and confectionery , the giant eating area provides mountains of fodder from around the world -- a full gamut of gluttony from one extreme of the health spectrum to the other . cooking for an olympic champ : a recipe for success it 's a 5,000-capacity , 24-hour facility where organizers expect 25,000 loaves of bread , 232 tons of potatoes , 75,000 liters of milk and more than 330 tons of fruit and vegetables to be consumed by the time the games finish on august 12 . some 1.2 million meals will be served -- 60,000 a day . for the younger athletes it 's an exciting new experience , ' says sports scientist jess corones , who works with the australian olympic swim team . it 's all free . there 's thousands of athletes and there 's pretty much every kind of cuisine that you could possibly want . there 's a stand that gives you unlimited mcdonald 's , there 's machines that pump out unlimited amounts of soft drinks for you . that 's exciting and it can be a distraction for them . they think ,'oh this is so cool ,'and they just run to it -- but you have to remind them that it 'll still be there when they 've finished competing and that until they 've finished competing they 've got to stay on their normal routine . ' what passes for normal ' can vary wildly . phelps , after winning a record eight gold medals at beijing 2008 , told nbc that he gorged on carbohydrate-heavy pasta and pizza at the height of his extreme training . jamaica 's 100-meter world champion blake says he eats so many bananas to keep up his potassium levels . british weightlifter jake oliver says that every morning he drinks a shake containing colostrum -- a protein-rich form of milk produced during the late stages of cows'pregnancy . i 've tried to get people to try it , but they wo n't . just the smell of it is enough to put people off , ' he told uk newspaper the guardian . or even japan 's former olympic marathon champion naoko takahashi , a diminutive runner who told cnn she could consume about 2 kg of fish after a big session . i only ate twice a day . but i ate a lot , ' said takahashi , who won gold at sydney 2000 and now works in television . british olympian explains her ideal meals however , it 's rare for athletes to eat quite that much , says corones , who first worked with australia 's track and field team at the 2004 athens games . phelps actually admitted this year that the report of his gargantuan appetite was a myth , saying such intake would be impossible . i find it hard to believe , ' corones said . i tell you what , if he is eating that he 's got a pretty exceptional metabolism ! the only people that i 've seen eat close to that are the hammer throwers , and they all weigh in at 120 kilos . ' corones has had some experience of quirky diets though , citing australia 's ethiopia-born marathon runner sisay bezabeh from the 2004 team . we had our camp in italy and all he used to eat every dinner was a bowl of raw mince . i found it quite disgusting but he needed iron for his running , and that 's what he did . you would n't get many athletes doing that these days . ' good nutrition from a young age can be vital if you want to be an elite athlete . becky stevenson , a british dietitian based in the netherlands , has researched the importance of vitamin d for improving performance and avoiding injury . she cites reports that showed chinese adolescent girls with adequate vitamin d had significant higher bone mass and muscle strength . ' questions have been raised about teenage swimmer ye shiwen 's incredible performances at london 2012 , but such research has yet to prove that high levels of vitamin d could be a contributing factor to her success . we know low levels may impact muscle strength and bone turnover , but if an athlete has adequate levels there is no evidence of an enhanced benefit to performance , so natural talent and athletic ability is more likely , ' stevenson told cnn . meanwhile , studies have shown that young athletes in northern european countries such as britain , finland and germany often suffer from vitamin d deficiency . proper levels can reduce the risk of stress fractures , inflammatory injuries and upper respiratory tract infections . you can get vitamin d in food sources ( such as eggs , dairy and fish ) but it 's not as effective as sunshine production , ' stevenson said . those at risk are athletes training at 35 degrees or above latitude -- northern europe , north china , north america -- as uvb rays are inadequate during the winter months from november to april . when we measured our elite tennis players we only found one athlete who was marginal with vitamin d , as he had been injured and was rehabbing indoors . there needs to be more research evidence looking at vitamin d and injury prevention -- most of the work is retrospective . ' most athletes use supplements to bolster their dietary intake , everything from everyday vitamins such as magnesium and iron plus products such as whey protein , creatine , carnitine and branched-chain amino acids ( bcaas ) specifically aimed at improving performance and recovery . but , with drug-testing standards improving year by year and the list of banned substances also increasing , there is a strong onus for athletes to be acutely aware of everything they put in their mouth . most athletes are using quite a few supplements . they live an extreme life , the amount of training they do is extreme , they exercise way outside what the normal person would do , so it is important to supplement their diet , ' corones says . there is a very fine line and it 's something that athletes need to stay on top of . the onus is 100 % on the athlete and we make that very clear to them from a young age that they are responsible for what goes in their mouth . no matter if it comes from their coach or their parents or their brother or their friend , they have to know what they 're putting in their body . you might trust your coach 100 % but if he gives you a bottle of tablets and tells you it 's iron , it 's still your responsibility to get that checked . we have hotlines where the athletes can call up and check anything , so it 's pretty easy to find out if it 's okay to take . ' at this stage , with the games underway and many athletes still waiting to begin their competitions , the emphasis is on refinement as opposed to strength building . it varies depending on where we are in the year , ' says corones , who works for the new south wales institute of sport in sydney . earlier on we want them to be carrying a bit of extra weight to reduce the chances of injury and illness , but then when it gets down to racing it 's stripped down to the bare minimum , ' she says . we do n't really get them to count calories , we more look at what areas of food groups they 're eating from . you 're looking at getting quality fats , making sure you get enough carbohydrates , and also the timing of the meal -- if you 're swimming or doing gym . if you 're doing gym there 's a greater mechanical breakdown of the muscle so we need to eat more protein post the session , with a little bit pre the session . ' a big part of corones'job is making sure athletes learn the right food habits -- and this generally means breaking eating patterns formed at a young age . it 's a pretty big education process for the athletes . there are still some that struggle with that concept that the less processed it is , the better it is for them , ' she says . often early on in their careers , in their young teens , they do a lot of training and they want to grab the first thing that 's quickest available because they 're always hungry after training . so they get in the habit of having a bucket of hot chips after every training session . obviously that 's not great so we try to break those habits . we often find that the processed foods -- with the high salt and the high sugar content in them -- that the body can crave them . it 's about trying to break those cycles and get them eating as well as they can . ' | many competitors have extreme eating habits but taper off at games time |
brazile <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the u.s. supreme court ruled in favor of marriage equality this week . marriage is an institution intended for two people who love one another , who want to commit to lifetime bonding as mates , and to form a family , whether it 's only the two of them , or also includes children . the traditional concept of marriage has evolved over time . in recent history , it has been defined by most religions , and the states , as one man and a woman . yet there are millions of humans whose makeup is such that they are attracted to the same gender and share the universal human desire to bond with a lifetime mate . they 're gays . in 2013 , the vast majority of americans have moved beyond prejudice toward gays and lesbians . gay couples and their families have lived openly in our communities for more than 30 years , and we know them now as neighbors , family members and friends . in the course of living their daily lives , raising families and contributing to society , we 've come to see that gay and lesbian americans share the same hopes and dreams as everyone else . yet for decades , we 've had a political debate about opposite-gender vs. same-gender marriages that has created a constant undercurrent of unrest . what many public figures have known to be true about gay people in their personal lives has been -- until recently -- unacceptable to acknowledge openly in the political realm . over the last several years , however , public opinion has pushed our political conversation forward dramatically . four out of five young voters , of all faiths and political parties , support marriage equality , and even those who continue to oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples can see that it is inevitable . the problem is that even while public opinion has reached an all-time high on marriage equality , old laws discriminating against gay and lesbian americans have stayed on the books , hurting gay couples and their families . congress passed a law -- the defense of marriage act or doma -- that forbade the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage , although this is a matter , constitutionally , that most agree belongs to the states to decide . and that is the wrong that the supreme court set right this week . the court found doma to be unconstitutional -- and it also allowed marriage rights for same-sex couples to return to california . writing for the majority , justice anthony kennedy ruled that restricting marriage to opposite-gender couples forces same-sex couples to live as married for the purpose of state law but unmarried for the purpose of federal law , thus diminishing the stability and predictability of basic personal relations the state has found it proper to acknowledge and protect . ' kennedy also said the law unfairly treated the 220,000 children of same-sex couples in american differently from the children of opposite-sex parents -- which we should all be able to agree is harsh , unnecessary and unjust . ensuring that all children can grow up with the same federal benefits and protections afforded by their parents'marriage and legal status is crucial , and kennedy rightly saw the impact of not only making marriages equal for federal purposes -- but making their families equal . marriage is an institution that provides stability for society and for the family . by striking down doma and dismissing the appeal on california 's proposition 8 , the supreme court has forged a bipartisan consensus that marriage is an important enough institution that it should apply to humans equally , regardless of gender . importantly , the court also strengthened the foundation upon which advocates and officials will one day achieve marriage equality nationwide . that was n't so hard now , was it ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | brazile : public figures who support gays have been hesitant to make beliefs public |
brazile <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the u.s. supreme court ruled in favor of marriage equality this week . marriage is an institution intended for two people who love one another , who want to commit to lifetime bonding as mates , and to form a family , whether it 's only the two of them , or also includes children . the traditional concept of marriage has evolved over time . in recent history , it has been defined by most religions , and the states , as one man and a woman . yet there are millions of humans whose makeup is such that they are attracted to the same gender and share the universal human desire to bond with a lifetime mate . they 're gays . in 2013 , the vast majority of americans have moved beyond prejudice toward gays and lesbians . gay couples and their families have lived openly in our communities for more than 30 years , and we know them now as neighbors , family members and friends . in the course of living their daily lives , raising families and contributing to society , we 've come to see that gay and lesbian americans share the same hopes and dreams as everyone else . yet for decades , we 've had a political debate about opposite-gender vs. same-gender marriages that has created a constant undercurrent of unrest . what many public figures have known to be true about gay people in their personal lives has been -- until recently -- unacceptable to acknowledge openly in the political realm . over the last several years , however , public opinion has pushed our political conversation forward dramatically . four out of five young voters , of all faiths and political parties , support marriage equality , and even those who continue to oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples can see that it is inevitable . the problem is that even while public opinion has reached an all-time high on marriage equality , old laws discriminating against gay and lesbian americans have stayed on the books , hurting gay couples and their families . congress passed a law -- the defense of marriage act or doma -- that forbade the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage , although this is a matter , constitutionally , that most agree belongs to the states to decide . and that is the wrong that the supreme court set right this week . the court found doma to be unconstitutional -- and it also allowed marriage rights for same-sex couples to return to california . writing for the majority , justice anthony kennedy ruled that restricting marriage to opposite-gender couples forces same-sex couples to live as married for the purpose of state law but unmarried for the purpose of federal law , thus diminishing the stability and predictability of basic personal relations the state has found it proper to acknowledge and protect . ' kennedy also said the law unfairly treated the 220,000 children of same-sex couples in american differently from the children of opposite-sex parents -- which we should all be able to agree is harsh , unnecessary and unjust . ensuring that all children can grow up with the same federal benefits and protections afforded by their parents'marriage and legal status is crucial , and kennedy rightly saw the impact of not only making marriages equal for federal purposes -- but making their families equal . marriage is an institution that provides stability for society and for the family . by striking down doma and dismissing the appeal on california 's proposition 8 , the supreme court has forged a bipartisan consensus that marriage is an important enough institution that it should apply to humans equally , regardless of gender . importantly , the court also strengthened the foundation upon which advocates and officials will one day achieve marriage equality nationwide . that was n't so hard now , was it ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | brazile : justice kennedy rules federal ban unfairly treats children of same-sex couples |
brazile <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the u.s. supreme court ruled in favor of marriage equality this week . marriage is an institution intended for two people who love one another , who want to commit to lifetime bonding as mates , and to form a family , whether it 's only the two of them , or also includes children . the traditional concept of marriage has evolved over time . in recent history , it has been defined by most religions , and the states , as one man and a woman . yet there are millions of humans whose makeup is such that they are attracted to the same gender and share the universal human desire to bond with a lifetime mate . they 're gays . in 2013 , the vast majority of americans have moved beyond prejudice toward gays and lesbians . gay couples and their families have lived openly in our communities for more than 30 years , and we know them now as neighbors , family members and friends . in the course of living their daily lives , raising families and contributing to society , we 've come to see that gay and lesbian americans share the same hopes and dreams as everyone else . yet for decades , we 've had a political debate about opposite-gender vs. same-gender marriages that has created a constant undercurrent of unrest . what many public figures have known to be true about gay people in their personal lives has been -- until recently -- unacceptable to acknowledge openly in the political realm . over the last several years , however , public opinion has pushed our political conversation forward dramatically . four out of five young voters , of all faiths and political parties , support marriage equality , and even those who continue to oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples can see that it is inevitable . the problem is that even while public opinion has reached an all-time high on marriage equality , old laws discriminating against gay and lesbian americans have stayed on the books , hurting gay couples and their families . congress passed a law -- the defense of marriage act or doma -- that forbade the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage , although this is a matter , constitutionally , that most agree belongs to the states to decide . and that is the wrong that the supreme court set right this week . the court found doma to be unconstitutional -- and it also allowed marriage rights for same-sex couples to return to california . writing for the majority , justice anthony kennedy ruled that restricting marriage to opposite-gender couples forces same-sex couples to live as married for the purpose of state law but unmarried for the purpose of federal law , thus diminishing the stability and predictability of basic personal relations the state has found it proper to acknowledge and protect . ' kennedy also said the law unfairly treated the 220,000 children of same-sex couples in american differently from the children of opposite-sex parents -- which we should all be able to agree is harsh , unnecessary and unjust . ensuring that all children can grow up with the same federal benefits and protections afforded by their parents'marriage and legal status is crucial , and kennedy rightly saw the impact of not only making marriages equal for federal purposes -- but making their families equal . marriage is an institution that provides stability for society and for the family . by striking down doma and dismissing the appeal on california 's proposition 8 , the supreme court has forged a bipartisan consensus that marriage is an important enough institution that it should apply to humans equally , regardless of gender . importantly , the court also strengthened the foundation upon which advocates and officials will one day achieve marriage equality nationwide . that was n't so hard now , was it ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | donna brazile : vast majority of young americans support same-sex marriage |
haylee <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a 4-year-old ohio girl who vanished more than three weeks ago was found alive and in good condition , halfway across the country in southern california , authorities said . haylee donathan was found with her mother and her mother 's boyfriend , fugitive sex offender robbie potter . haylee donathan , her mother candace watson and robbie potter were discovered hiding for the past week at the morning star ranch , a retreat in valley center , near san diego , said peter elliott , united states marshal for the northern district of ohio . potter is a registered sex offender , officials said . he was being sought by the u.s . marshal 's service . late tuesday haylee was in the custody of a children 's protective services agency in the san diego county area , elliott said . she was doing well but may have chicken pox , he added . we understand she is healthy and happy and i believe , waiting to come back to her grandmother here , ' he said . watch authorities announce their find » the journey west took them more than two thousand miles from mansfield , the north-central ohio city where the girl and her mother live . i am very happy that my granddaughter 's coming home , ' said mary watson , haylee 's grandmother . and i just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart . ' watson , 24 , and potter , 27 , were arrested without incident and held by the san diego county sheriff 's department . when asked their reaction , elliott said , i believe a little shocked that we were able to find them . ' potter and watson were still using the same vehicle , a 1980s blue chevrolet pickup truck they drove from ohio , elliott said . watson 's hair was a bit darker and potter also changed his appearance slightly . authorities had feared haylee was endangered . potter , a sex offender , had escaped a half-way house on may 28 , the day the girl and her mother fell out of sight . countless tips came in while they were missing but one in particular led to the breakthrough on tuesday , elliott said without elaborating . but a tip from members of the ranch could have lead to the raid and arrest , a ranchmember told cnn . kevin carlin , a member of the ranch in the neighborhood of valley center , told cnn in a telephone interview that ranch members became suspicious when a former ranch guest saw billboards urging help in finding haylee and the two adults . elliott also praised intense national news coverage from programs such as hln 's nancy grace and issues with jane velez-mitchell , as well as local media and clear channel , which put up missing child billboards across the country . when she is returned to ohio , haylee will be placed in the custody of her grandmother , elliott said . the u.s . marshals northern ohio violent fugitive task force had offered a $ 10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of 27-year-old potter . potter was wanted on a state warrant for parole violation and a federal warrant for probation violation . he is a convicted tier three sex offender , according to the u.s . marshals service , a unit of the justice department . while on the run , potter and watson were reportedly seen on surveillance video on may 31 at a wal-mart store in marion , ohio , 40 miles from mansfield . haylee was not on that video . adding to concerns , watson 's roommate , samantha covert , said last week in an interview on nancy grace that she saw the little girl in bed with her mother and potter the morning they disappeared . covert said watson carried a basket of clothing , pillows and blankets . watson will likely face state charges , including harboring a fugitive , according to elliott . in addition to other charges , he said potter may be prosecuted under the adam walsh child protection and safety act , a federal sex offender registration and self-reporting law that carries a multi-year felony sentence if violated . on its web site , the morning star ranch describes itself as a community of growers of organic , pesticide-free avocados , grapefruit , persimmons , nuts , and other produce . ' elliot said he believed it is a rehab facility and also called it a christian retreat . | haylee , mother were last seen may 28 |
haylee <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a 4-year-old ohio girl who vanished more than three weeks ago was found alive and in good condition , halfway across the country in southern california , authorities said . haylee donathan was found with her mother and her mother 's boyfriend , fugitive sex offender robbie potter . haylee donathan , her mother candace watson and robbie potter were discovered hiding for the past week at the morning star ranch , a retreat in valley center , near san diego , said peter elliott , united states marshal for the northern district of ohio . potter is a registered sex offender , officials said . he was being sought by the u.s . marshal 's service . late tuesday haylee was in the custody of a children 's protective services agency in the san diego county area , elliott said . she was doing well but may have chicken pox , he added . we understand she is healthy and happy and i believe , waiting to come back to her grandmother here , ' he said . watch authorities announce their find » the journey west took them more than two thousand miles from mansfield , the north-central ohio city where the girl and her mother live . i am very happy that my granddaughter 's coming home , ' said mary watson , haylee 's grandmother . and i just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart . ' watson , 24 , and potter , 27 , were arrested without incident and held by the san diego county sheriff 's department . when asked their reaction , elliott said , i believe a little shocked that we were able to find them . ' potter and watson were still using the same vehicle , a 1980s blue chevrolet pickup truck they drove from ohio , elliott said . watson 's hair was a bit darker and potter also changed his appearance slightly . authorities had feared haylee was endangered . potter , a sex offender , had escaped a half-way house on may 28 , the day the girl and her mother fell out of sight . countless tips came in while they were missing but one in particular led to the breakthrough on tuesday , elliott said without elaborating . but a tip from members of the ranch could have lead to the raid and arrest , a ranchmember told cnn . kevin carlin , a member of the ranch in the neighborhood of valley center , told cnn in a telephone interview that ranch members became suspicious when a former ranch guest saw billboards urging help in finding haylee and the two adults . elliott also praised intense national news coverage from programs such as hln 's nancy grace and issues with jane velez-mitchell , as well as local media and clear channel , which put up missing child billboards across the country . when she is returned to ohio , haylee will be placed in the custody of her grandmother , elliott said . the u.s . marshals northern ohio violent fugitive task force had offered a $ 10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of 27-year-old potter . potter was wanted on a state warrant for parole violation and a federal warrant for probation violation . he is a convicted tier three sex offender , according to the u.s . marshals service , a unit of the justice department . while on the run , potter and watson were reportedly seen on surveillance video on may 31 at a wal-mart store in marion , ohio , 40 miles from mansfield . haylee was not on that video . adding to concerns , watson 's roommate , samantha covert , said last week in an interview on nancy grace that she saw the little girl in bed with her mother and potter the morning they disappeared . covert said watson carried a basket of clothing , pillows and blankets . watson will likely face state charges , including harboring a fugitive , according to elliott . in addition to other charges , he said potter may be prosecuted under the adam walsh child protection and safety act , a federal sex offender registration and self-reporting law that carries a multi-year felony sentence if violated . on its web site , the morning star ranch describes itself as a community of growers of organic , pesticide-free avocados , grapefruit , persimmons , nuts , and other produce . ' elliot said he believed it is a rehab facility and also called it a christian retreat . | haylee donathan was with mother , boyfriend who 's a fugitive sex offender |
cbs <tsp> ( cnn ) the tv season is winding down , and the finales are starting . those endings lead off this week 's six things to watch . 1 . the americans , ' 10 p.m . et wednesday , fx critics continue to praise the americans ' as one of the best series on tv , and every finale has delivered in a big way . season 3 has seen a battle for the soul of daughter paige , the return of fan favorite margo martindale and soviet agent nina getting back in the game . the finale is titled march 8 , 1983 . ' that 's the date when president reagan called the soviet union an evil empire . ' we shall see what surprises lie in store for the season ender . 2 . fresh off the boat , ' 8 p.m . et tuesday , abc critics and viewers seem to have taken to fresh , ' the first sitcom with an asian-american cast since the 1990s . it has n't been picked up for a second season , but the signs are looking good . 3 . vikings , ' 10 p.m . et thursday , history the first history channel scripted series , which been renewed for a fourth season , wraps up on thursday . 4 . scorpion , ' 8 p.m . et monday , cbs this based-on-a-true-story show , about a ragtag band of geniuses sent on secret missions , got a lot of hype for cbs in the early going , and that was enough to get it a second season . with the producers safe in that knowledge , we could get a surprising season finale . 5 . broadchurch , ' 10 p.m . et wednesday , bbc america fox 's american remake , gracepoint , ' did n't last , but the british mystery series starring david tennant continues . another murder could be solved -- and the trial based on the events of season 1 resolved -- by the end of this finale . 6 . academy of country music awards , 8 p.m . et sunday , cbs luke bryan and blake shelton return to host the 50th annual awards . christina aguilera is set to perform a surprise duet ' ( yes , that christina aguilera ) . | academy of country music awards holds its 50th ceremony sunday on cbs |
academy of country music awards <tsp> ( cnn ) the tv season is winding down , and the finales are starting . those endings lead off this week 's six things to watch . 1 . the americans , ' 10 p.m . et wednesday , fx critics continue to praise the americans ' as one of the best series on tv , and every finale has delivered in a big way . season 3 has seen a battle for the soul of daughter paige , the return of fan favorite margo martindale and soviet agent nina getting back in the game . the finale is titled march 8 , 1983 . ' that 's the date when president reagan called the soviet union an evil empire . ' we shall see what surprises lie in store for the season ender . 2 . fresh off the boat , ' 8 p.m . et tuesday , abc critics and viewers seem to have taken to fresh , ' the first sitcom with an asian-american cast since the 1990s . it has n't been picked up for a second season , but the signs are looking good . 3 . vikings , ' 10 p.m . et thursday , history the first history channel scripted series , which been renewed for a fourth season , wraps up on thursday . 4 . scorpion , ' 8 p.m . et monday , cbs this based-on-a-true-story show , about a ragtag band of geniuses sent on secret missions , got a lot of hype for cbs in the early going , and that was enough to get it a second season . with the producers safe in that knowledge , we could get a surprising season finale . 5 . broadchurch , ' 10 p.m . et wednesday , bbc america fox 's american remake , gracepoint , ' did n't last , but the british mystery series starring david tennant continues . another murder could be solved -- and the trial based on the events of season 1 resolved -- by the end of this finale . 6 . academy of country music awards , 8 p.m . et sunday , cbs luke bryan and blake shelton return to host the 50th annual awards . christina aguilera is set to perform a surprise duet ' ( yes , that christina aguilera ) . | academy of country music awards holds its 50th ceremony sunday on cbs |
americans <tsp> ( cnn ) the tv season is winding down , and the finales are starting . those endings lead off this week 's six things to watch . 1 . the americans , ' 10 p.m . et wednesday , fx critics continue to praise the americans ' as one of the best series on tv , and every finale has delivered in a big way . season 3 has seen a battle for the soul of daughter paige , the return of fan favorite margo martindale and soviet agent nina getting back in the game . the finale is titled march 8 , 1983 . ' that 's the date when president reagan called the soviet union an evil empire . ' we shall see what surprises lie in store for the season ender . 2 . fresh off the boat , ' 8 p.m . et tuesday , abc critics and viewers seem to have taken to fresh , ' the first sitcom with an asian-american cast since the 1990s . it has n't been picked up for a second season , but the signs are looking good . 3 . vikings , ' 10 p.m . et thursday , history the first history channel scripted series , which been renewed for a fourth season , wraps up on thursday . 4 . scorpion , ' 8 p.m . et monday , cbs this based-on-a-true-story show , about a ragtag band of geniuses sent on secret missions , got a lot of hype for cbs in the early going , and that was enough to get it a second season . with the producers safe in that knowledge , we could get a surprising season finale . 5 . broadchurch , ' 10 p.m . et wednesday , bbc america fox 's american remake , gracepoint , ' did n't last , but the british mystery series starring david tennant continues . another murder could be solved -- and the trial based on the events of season 1 resolved -- by the end of this finale . 6 . academy of country music awards , 8 p.m . et sunday , cbs luke bryan and blake shelton return to host the 50th annual awards . christina aguilera is set to perform a surprise duet ' ( yes , that christina aguilera ) . | the americans ' ends a critically acclaimed third season wednesday |
whatsapp <tsp> ( cnn ) -- recently , investors celebrated the birthday of the current bull market , which turned five years old . on this anniversary , it 's worth reflecting on how valuations , particularly of technology companies , are being calculated . on thursday , the wall street journal reported that airbnb , a travel rental company , which has not released information about its revenue or profitability , may be approaching a valuation of $ 10 billion . other startups in the ipo pipeline include a number of unprofitable companies like box and square , with rumored valuations in the billions . have billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar valuations become the norm ? is it all about hype and greed nowadays ? whatever happened to the wisdom of investors like warren buffet who evaluated companies based on their profits and fundamental performances ? the value of any company is a function of the cash flow it will generate in the future . a healthy cash flow allows a company to repay its shareholders and initial investors who , understandably , expect their investment to be eventually reimbursed . ordinary investors who rely on the hype surrounding a company rather than the company 's fundamentals may make decisions that they regret later on . just ask anyone who invested in the pets.com ipo about the danger of falling for overvalued companies . granted , everyone in the tech industry -- from startup founders to venture capitalists -- is eager to find and bet on the next big thing . still , the money being thrown around is mind-boggling . even a decent business model and the potential for growth do not justify a multibillion-dollar valuation . yet , facebook recently offered an astounding $ 19 billion to buy whatsapp , a popular messaging service . though whatsapp has reportedly been able to turn a small profit , this overblown acquisition price is higher than the market cap of 275 companies in the s & p 500 . some market watchers have argued , as michael wolf did on cnn.com , that the whatsapp acquisition is indicative of a fundamental shift , and that traditional old world ' methods of determining valuation have been replaced by new world ' metrics . for example , wolf cited facebook 's acquisition of whatsapp at $ 42 per user , which is in line with price-per-user acquisitions of companies like youtube , tumblr and instagram . this is one way of looking at things , but it 's severely flawed . the value of a customer is in the revenue the customer provides , not in his or her mere existence . if we look at the price-per-user metric without evaluating revenue per customer , the analysis becomes eerily similar to the late 1990s , during the dotcom boom when , for example , number of eyeballs ' was a metric used to evaluate technology companies . counting eyeballs ' or user base ' or potential ' only works in a bull market when market momentum can make poor decisions seem wise . perhaps we remember the nasdaq 's high of 5048.62 , during the height of the tech boom , and not when it fell to 1114.11 in 2002 when the tech bubble burst . but bull markets do not last forever , and it 's important to make sure we 're evaluating companies based on their long-term value , regardless of market cycle . of course , not all overvalued companies are bad ' companies . twitter , for example , has a sizable user base , solid revenue growth and an undeniably disruptive and innovative technology . it 's safe to say that twitter has a lot of potential . however , the company 's valuation is simply not justified by its fundamental performance . twitter 's stock is trading at nearly 45 times its 2013 revenue , and its profit multiple ( a company 's market value expressed in terms of its earnings ) is nonexistent , given that it has yet to establish a profitable business model . sure , there are some companies , like amazon , that do n't meet traditional metrics of financial strength that end up performing incredibly well in the stock market . but they are the exception , not the rule . consider the example of vonage , one of the hottest ipos of 2006 . despite losing 97 cents of every dollar in sales , the company had a $ 2.6 billion valuation . the company 's fundamentals did not match its valuation . the results speak for themselves , with vonage shares currently trading at $ 4.53 , down from their $ 17.00 ipo price . we are forced to accede to the most logical and rational valuation methods ; otherwise , there is no structure to making investment decisions . for every amazon , there are several vonages . despite what some market watchers say , the old world ' method of valuing companies is still the best way of valuing companies . i suppose it 's true that christopher columbus made a great discovery by sailing the wrong way around the earth trying to find india . here is a case where somebody happened upon great success based on incorrect data and methods . however , investors placing their bets on tech companies without basic fundamentals are more likely to resemble ponce de leon : map-less and looking hopelessly for the fountain of youth . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of brian hamilton . | whatsapp 's acquisition price is above market cap of 275 companies in s & p 500 |
hamilton <tsp> ( cnn ) -- recently , investors celebrated the birthday of the current bull market , which turned five years old . on this anniversary , it 's worth reflecting on how valuations , particularly of technology companies , are being calculated . on thursday , the wall street journal reported that airbnb , a travel rental company , which has not released information about its revenue or profitability , may be approaching a valuation of $ 10 billion . other startups in the ipo pipeline include a number of unprofitable companies like box and square , with rumored valuations in the billions . have billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar valuations become the norm ? is it all about hype and greed nowadays ? whatever happened to the wisdom of investors like warren buffet who evaluated companies based on their profits and fundamental performances ? the value of any company is a function of the cash flow it will generate in the future . a healthy cash flow allows a company to repay its shareholders and initial investors who , understandably , expect their investment to be eventually reimbursed . ordinary investors who rely on the hype surrounding a company rather than the company 's fundamentals may make decisions that they regret later on . just ask anyone who invested in the pets.com ipo about the danger of falling for overvalued companies . granted , everyone in the tech industry -- from startup founders to venture capitalists -- is eager to find and bet on the next big thing . still , the money being thrown around is mind-boggling . even a decent business model and the potential for growth do not justify a multibillion-dollar valuation . yet , facebook recently offered an astounding $ 19 billion to buy whatsapp , a popular messaging service . though whatsapp has reportedly been able to turn a small profit , this overblown acquisition price is higher than the market cap of 275 companies in the s & p 500 . some market watchers have argued , as michael wolf did on cnn.com , that the whatsapp acquisition is indicative of a fundamental shift , and that traditional old world ' methods of determining valuation have been replaced by new world ' metrics . for example , wolf cited facebook 's acquisition of whatsapp at $ 42 per user , which is in line with price-per-user acquisitions of companies like youtube , tumblr and instagram . this is one way of looking at things , but it 's severely flawed . the value of a customer is in the revenue the customer provides , not in his or her mere existence . if we look at the price-per-user metric without evaluating revenue per customer , the analysis becomes eerily similar to the late 1990s , during the dotcom boom when , for example , number of eyeballs ' was a metric used to evaluate technology companies . counting eyeballs ' or user base ' or potential ' only works in a bull market when market momentum can make poor decisions seem wise . perhaps we remember the nasdaq 's high of 5048.62 , during the height of the tech boom , and not when it fell to 1114.11 in 2002 when the tech bubble burst . but bull markets do not last forever , and it 's important to make sure we 're evaluating companies based on their long-term value , regardless of market cycle . of course , not all overvalued companies are bad ' companies . twitter , for example , has a sizable user base , solid revenue growth and an undeniably disruptive and innovative technology . it 's safe to say that twitter has a lot of potential . however , the company 's valuation is simply not justified by its fundamental performance . twitter 's stock is trading at nearly 45 times its 2013 revenue , and its profit multiple ( a company 's market value expressed in terms of its earnings ) is nonexistent , given that it has yet to establish a profitable business model . sure , there are some companies , like amazon , that do n't meet traditional metrics of financial strength that end up performing incredibly well in the stock market . but they are the exception , not the rule . consider the example of vonage , one of the hottest ipos of 2006 . despite losing 97 cents of every dollar in sales , the company had a $ 2.6 billion valuation . the company 's fundamentals did not match its valuation . the results speak for themselves , with vonage shares currently trading at $ 4.53 , down from their $ 17.00 ipo price . we are forced to accede to the most logical and rational valuation methods ; otherwise , there is no structure to making investment decisions . for every amazon , there are several vonages . despite what some market watchers say , the old world ' method of valuing companies is still the best way of valuing companies . i suppose it 's true that christopher columbus made a great discovery by sailing the wrong way around the earth trying to find india . here is a case where somebody happened upon great success based on incorrect data and methods . however , investors placing their bets on tech companies without basic fundamentals are more likely to resemble ponce de leon : map-less and looking hopelessly for the fountain of youth . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of brian hamilton . | brian hamilton : have billion-dollar valuations of companies become the norm ? |
hamilton <tsp> ( cnn ) -- recently , investors celebrated the birthday of the current bull market , which turned five years old . on this anniversary , it 's worth reflecting on how valuations , particularly of technology companies , are being calculated . on thursday , the wall street journal reported that airbnb , a travel rental company , which has not released information about its revenue or profitability , may be approaching a valuation of $ 10 billion . other startups in the ipo pipeline include a number of unprofitable companies like box and square , with rumored valuations in the billions . have billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar valuations become the norm ? is it all about hype and greed nowadays ? whatever happened to the wisdom of investors like warren buffet who evaluated companies based on their profits and fundamental performances ? the value of any company is a function of the cash flow it will generate in the future . a healthy cash flow allows a company to repay its shareholders and initial investors who , understandably , expect their investment to be eventually reimbursed . ordinary investors who rely on the hype surrounding a company rather than the company 's fundamentals may make decisions that they regret later on . just ask anyone who invested in the pets.com ipo about the danger of falling for overvalued companies . granted , everyone in the tech industry -- from startup founders to venture capitalists -- is eager to find and bet on the next big thing . still , the money being thrown around is mind-boggling . even a decent business model and the potential for growth do not justify a multibillion-dollar valuation . yet , facebook recently offered an astounding $ 19 billion to buy whatsapp , a popular messaging service . though whatsapp has reportedly been able to turn a small profit , this overblown acquisition price is higher than the market cap of 275 companies in the s & p 500 . some market watchers have argued , as michael wolf did on cnn.com , that the whatsapp acquisition is indicative of a fundamental shift , and that traditional old world ' methods of determining valuation have been replaced by new world ' metrics . for example , wolf cited facebook 's acquisition of whatsapp at $ 42 per user , which is in line with price-per-user acquisitions of companies like youtube , tumblr and instagram . this is one way of looking at things , but it 's severely flawed . the value of a customer is in the revenue the customer provides , not in his or her mere existence . if we look at the price-per-user metric without evaluating revenue per customer , the analysis becomes eerily similar to the late 1990s , during the dotcom boom when , for example , number of eyeballs ' was a metric used to evaluate technology companies . counting eyeballs ' or user base ' or potential ' only works in a bull market when market momentum can make poor decisions seem wise . perhaps we remember the nasdaq 's high of 5048.62 , during the height of the tech boom , and not when it fell to 1114.11 in 2002 when the tech bubble burst . but bull markets do not last forever , and it 's important to make sure we 're evaluating companies based on their long-term value , regardless of market cycle . of course , not all overvalued companies are bad ' companies . twitter , for example , has a sizable user base , solid revenue growth and an undeniably disruptive and innovative technology . it 's safe to say that twitter has a lot of potential . however , the company 's valuation is simply not justified by its fundamental performance . twitter 's stock is trading at nearly 45 times its 2013 revenue , and its profit multiple ( a company 's market value expressed in terms of its earnings ) is nonexistent , given that it has yet to establish a profitable business model . sure , there are some companies , like amazon , that do n't meet traditional metrics of financial strength that end up performing incredibly well in the stock market . but they are the exception , not the rule . consider the example of vonage , one of the hottest ipos of 2006 . despite losing 97 cents of every dollar in sales , the company had a $ 2.6 billion valuation . the company 's fundamentals did not match its valuation . the results speak for themselves , with vonage shares currently trading at $ 4.53 , down from their $ 17.00 ipo price . we are forced to accede to the most logical and rational valuation methods ; otherwise , there is no structure to making investment decisions . for every amazon , there are several vonages . despite what some market watchers say , the old world ' method of valuing companies is still the best way of valuing companies . i suppose it 's true that christopher columbus made a great discovery by sailing the wrong way around the earth trying to find india . here is a case where somebody happened upon great success based on incorrect data and methods . however , investors placing their bets on tech companies without basic fundamentals are more likely to resemble ponce de leon : map-less and looking hopelessly for the fountain of youth . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of brian hamilton . | hamilton : even a decent business model does not justify such high numbers |
hamilton <tsp> ( cnn ) -- recently , investors celebrated the birthday of the current bull market , which turned five years old . on this anniversary , it 's worth reflecting on how valuations , particularly of technology companies , are being calculated . on thursday , the wall street journal reported that airbnb , a travel rental company , which has not released information about its revenue or profitability , may be approaching a valuation of $ 10 billion . other startups in the ipo pipeline include a number of unprofitable companies like box and square , with rumored valuations in the billions . have billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar valuations become the norm ? is it all about hype and greed nowadays ? whatever happened to the wisdom of investors like warren buffet who evaluated companies based on their profits and fundamental performances ? the value of any company is a function of the cash flow it will generate in the future . a healthy cash flow allows a company to repay its shareholders and initial investors who , understandably , expect their investment to be eventually reimbursed . ordinary investors who rely on the hype surrounding a company rather than the company 's fundamentals may make decisions that they regret later on . just ask anyone who invested in the pets.com ipo about the danger of falling for overvalued companies . granted , everyone in the tech industry -- from startup founders to venture capitalists -- is eager to find and bet on the next big thing . still , the money being thrown around is mind-boggling . even a decent business model and the potential for growth do not justify a multibillion-dollar valuation . yet , facebook recently offered an astounding $ 19 billion to buy whatsapp , a popular messaging service . though whatsapp has reportedly been able to turn a small profit , this overblown acquisition price is higher than the market cap of 275 companies in the s & p 500 . some market watchers have argued , as michael wolf did on cnn.com , that the whatsapp acquisition is indicative of a fundamental shift , and that traditional old world ' methods of determining valuation have been replaced by new world ' metrics . for example , wolf cited facebook 's acquisition of whatsapp at $ 42 per user , which is in line with price-per-user acquisitions of companies like youtube , tumblr and instagram . this is one way of looking at things , but it 's severely flawed . the value of a customer is in the revenue the customer provides , not in his or her mere existence . if we look at the price-per-user metric without evaluating revenue per customer , the analysis becomes eerily similar to the late 1990s , during the dotcom boom when , for example , number of eyeballs ' was a metric used to evaluate technology companies . counting eyeballs ' or user base ' or potential ' only works in a bull market when market momentum can make poor decisions seem wise . perhaps we remember the nasdaq 's high of 5048.62 , during the height of the tech boom , and not when it fell to 1114.11 in 2002 when the tech bubble burst . but bull markets do not last forever , and it 's important to make sure we 're evaluating companies based on their long-term value , regardless of market cycle . of course , not all overvalued companies are bad ' companies . twitter , for example , has a sizable user base , solid revenue growth and an undeniably disruptive and innovative technology . it 's safe to say that twitter has a lot of potential . however , the company 's valuation is simply not justified by its fundamental performance . twitter 's stock is trading at nearly 45 times its 2013 revenue , and its profit multiple ( a company 's market value expressed in terms of its earnings ) is nonexistent , given that it has yet to establish a profitable business model . sure , there are some companies , like amazon , that do n't meet traditional metrics of financial strength that end up performing incredibly well in the stock market . but they are the exception , not the rule . consider the example of vonage , one of the hottest ipos of 2006 . despite losing 97 cents of every dollar in sales , the company had a $ 2.6 billion valuation . the company 's fundamentals did not match its valuation . the results speak for themselves , with vonage shares currently trading at $ 4.53 , down from their $ 17.00 ipo price . we are forced to accede to the most logical and rational valuation methods ; otherwise , there is no structure to making investment decisions . for every amazon , there are several vonages . despite what some market watchers say , the old world ' method of valuing companies is still the best way of valuing companies . i suppose it 's true that christopher columbus made a great discovery by sailing the wrong way around the earth trying to find india . here is a case where somebody happened upon great success based on incorrect data and methods . however , investors placing their bets on tech companies without basic fundamentals are more likely to resemble ponce de leon : map-less and looking hopelessly for the fountain of youth . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of brian hamilton . | hamilton : investors should value companies based on fundamentals , like profitability |
pyongyang <tsp> ( cnn ) -- an american man has been detained in north korea , two state department officials told cnn . diplomatic sources speaking on condition of not being identified said the man is a korean-american businessman . one of the sources said the businessman had a visa to enter north korea . the state department is working with the swedish embassy in the north korean capital , pyongyang , the officials said . the united states is urging north korean authorities , through the swedes , to release the man on humanitarian grounds . sweden represents america 's interests in north korea because the united states and north korea do not have diplomatic relations . the swedes have been granted consular access to the man and have visited him , the officials said . the swedes are asking for regular visits , the officials said . a swedish official in stockholm confirmed to cnn that the embassy in pyongyang is working on the case . the sources declined to provide additional information because of privacy concerns . north korea has detained several americans in recent years , increasing tension levels in what is already a rocky relationship between pyongyang and washington . in 2010 , former president jimmy carter helped secure the release of aijalon mahli gomes , a u.s. citizen who had been fined roughly $ 600,000 and sentenced to eight years of hard labor for crossing over the chinese border into north korea . gomes , who attempted to commit suicide while in north korean custody , was believed to be a christian activist . two american journalists -- laura ling and euna lee , who had entered north korea in march 2009 and were arrested and sentenced to 12 years hard labor -- were released in august 2009 after an intervention by former u.s. president bill clinton . tensions between north korea and the west have spiked in recent years due in part to concerns over pyongyang 's nuclear development program . the united states and south korea held joint military drills in february , despite north korea 's warning to the south not to carry out the drills , calling them a provocation and threatening to engulf seoul in a sea of flames . ' south korea accuses the north of torpedoing and sinking one of its warships in march 2010 , killing 46 sailors , and last november , north korea shelled yeonpyeong island , killing two south korean marines and two civilians . cnn 's paula hancocks contributed to this report | the state department is working on the case with the swedish embassy in pyongyang |
state department <tsp> ( cnn ) -- an american man has been detained in north korea , two state department officials told cnn . diplomatic sources speaking on condition of not being identified said the man is a korean-american businessman . one of the sources said the businessman had a visa to enter north korea . the state department is working with the swedish embassy in the north korean capital , pyongyang , the officials said . the united states is urging north korean authorities , through the swedes , to release the man on humanitarian grounds . sweden represents america 's interests in north korea because the united states and north korea do not have diplomatic relations . the swedes have been granted consular access to the man and have visited him , the officials said . the swedes are asking for regular visits , the officials said . a swedish official in stockholm confirmed to cnn that the embassy in pyongyang is working on the case . the sources declined to provide additional information because of privacy concerns . north korea has detained several americans in recent years , increasing tension levels in what is already a rocky relationship between pyongyang and washington . in 2010 , former president jimmy carter helped secure the release of aijalon mahli gomes , a u.s. citizen who had been fined roughly $ 600,000 and sentenced to eight years of hard labor for crossing over the chinese border into north korea . gomes , who attempted to commit suicide while in north korean custody , was believed to be a christian activist . two american journalists -- laura ling and euna lee , who had entered north korea in march 2009 and were arrested and sentenced to 12 years hard labor -- were released in august 2009 after an intervention by former u.s. president bill clinton . tensions between north korea and the west have spiked in recent years due in part to concerns over pyongyang 's nuclear development program . the united states and south korea held joint military drills in february , despite north korea 's warning to the south not to carry out the drills , calling them a provocation and threatening to engulf seoul in a sea of flames . ' south korea accuses the north of torpedoing and sinking one of its warships in march 2010 , killing 46 sailors , and last november , north korea shelled yeonpyeong island , killing two south korean marines and two civilians . cnn 's paula hancocks contributed to this report | the state department is working on the case with the swedish embassy in pyongyang |
egyptair <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a lufthansa jumbo jet nearly collided with another plane at john f. kennedy international airport monday after an egyptair flight apparently veered into its path just as the jet barreled down the runway , according to air traffic controller tapes . the near miss was captured on audio recordings , revealing an air traffic controller communicating with the lufthansa pilot , yelling cancel takeoff ! cancel takeoff plans ! ' as the two planes moved toward each other . the pilot of the lufthansa jet acknowledged as the plane rolled to a halt . lufthansa flight 411 , an airbus 340 packed with 286 passengers and crew , was cleared for takeoff by air traffic control shortly before 7 p.m. monday , according to a statement from federal aviation administration spokeswoman kathleen bergen . egyptair flight 986 , a boeing 777 , was issued instructions to taxi from the ramp area to the airfield for departure . the plane was instructed to turn onto another taxiway , but instead went straight , the statement said . a spokesman for egyptair said the flight was delayed 40 minutes because lufthansa 's departure was delayed . the plane did not move until the tower issued clearance , spokesman mohamed rahma said . after a brief inspection at the gate , the lufthansa flight continued on its flight to munich , germany , and arrived safely , according to lufthansa spokesman martin riecken . the faa is currently investigating the incident . mohamed fadel fahmy contributed to this report . | egyptair flight made a wrong turn while taxiing |
egyptair <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a lufthansa jumbo jet nearly collided with another plane at john f. kennedy international airport monday after an egyptair flight apparently veered into its path just as the jet barreled down the runway , according to air traffic controller tapes . the near miss was captured on audio recordings , revealing an air traffic controller communicating with the lufthansa pilot , yelling cancel takeoff ! cancel takeoff plans ! ' as the two planes moved toward each other . the pilot of the lufthansa jet acknowledged as the plane rolled to a halt . lufthansa flight 411 , an airbus 340 packed with 286 passengers and crew , was cleared for takeoff by air traffic control shortly before 7 p.m. monday , according to a statement from federal aviation administration spokeswoman kathleen bergen . egyptair flight 986 , a boeing 777 , was issued instructions to taxi from the ramp area to the airfield for departure . the plane was instructed to turn onto another taxiway , but instead went straight , the statement said . a spokesman for egyptair said the flight was delayed 40 minutes because lufthansa 's departure was delayed . the plane did not move until the tower issued clearance , spokesman mohamed rahma said . after a brief inspection at the gate , the lufthansa flight continued on its flight to munich , germany , and arrived safely , according to lufthansa spokesman martin riecken . the faa is currently investigating the incident . mohamed fadel fahmy contributed to this report . | a spokesman for egyptair said the plane did not move until the tower issued clearance |
kanye west <tsp> ( cnn ) -- much has been said about kim kardashian in the weeks leading up to her wedding , and now the reality star is speaking for herself . the 33-year-old opened up wednesday on topics ranging from the truth about her wedding dress to racism . for starters , she posted may 7 , she and fiance kanye west are n't married yet , despite speculation earlier in the week that the two had secured a marriage license . they 're also not going to film their upcoming nuptials for e ! 's keeping up with the kardashians . ' you will see everything leading up til and after ! ' kardashian tweeted . as much as we would love to share these memories on camera , we 've decided to keep this close to our heart & share thru photos . ' there 's also been chatter about who will and wo n't be coming to the kardashian-west wedding -- people magazine has indicated that the kardashian family will be there , but not west 's pals jay z and beyonce -- while others have gossiped about the details of kardashian 's wedding dress . yet according to the reality star , her fans should n't believe a word unless you hear it from us . ' no guest list has been released . seeing fake ones , ' she tweeted . especially not 1600 people invited like i just read . ( the wedding is ) very small & intimate . ' and for that matter , she 's seen fake wedding dress pics of me . no one has seen my dress ! those photos are old or photoshopped . ' after kardashian got those wedding-related thoughts off her chest , she turned to a more serious matter : how being a mother of a mixed-race child has affected her understanding of racism . in a blog post titled on my mind , ' kardashian spoke about how welcoming daughter north with west last june is like getting to see the world for the first time again , but through someone else 's eyes . ' it 's amazing how one little person and the love i have for her has brought new meaning to every moment . what once seemed so important , now feels insignificant , ' she writes . to be honest , before i had north , i never really gave racism or discrimination a lot of thought . it is obviously a topic that kanye is passionate about , but i guess it was easier for me to believe that it was someone else 's battle . ' but with the arrival of her daughter , kardashian says she 's more aware of a side of life that is n't always so pretty . ' i feel a responsibility as a mother , a public figure , a human being , to do what i can to make sure that not only my child , but all children , do n't have to grow up in a world where they are judged by the color of their skin , or their gender , or their sexual orientation , ' kardashian concluded . i want my daughter growing up in a world where love for one another is the most important thing . ' | the reality star is set to marry kanye west on may 24 |
north korea <tsp> ( cnn ) -- china 's top foreign policy official met with north korean leader kim jong il thursday and the two sides reached consensus ' about defusing tensions on the korean peninsula , officials said . the meeting marks the first between kim and a top official from china since the flareup between the two koreas . the two sides reached consensus on bilateral relations and the situation on the korean peninsula after candid and in-depth talks , ' said chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu . she did not elaborate on what kim discussed with the official , dai bingguo , during the latter 's visit to pyongyang . tensions on the korean peninsula escalated following north korea 's shelling of south korea 's yeonpyeong island last month , as well as the march sinking of a south korean warship -- allegedly by a north korean torpedo -- and recent revelations that it is enriching uranium for nuclear weapons . north korean officials have been pushing for the resumption of six-party talks including china and russia . china has also called for emergency ' talks among all the six countries -- north korea , south korea , china , the united states , japan and russia -- to address the tensions on the korean peninsula . but the united states has thus far refused , looking first for proof that north korea is serious about not stoking military tensions and serious about stifling development of its nuclear program . for the second day in a row , the head of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff called on china to use its influence instead to rein in north korea to prevent a full-blown crisis . china is north korea 's strongest ally and largest trading partner . i actually believe that because these provocations continue and seemingly at a frequent interval , that the danger is going up and that steps must be taken to ensure that they stop , ' he said at a news conference in tokyo . much of that volatility is owed to the reckless behavior of the north korean regime , enabled by their friends in china . ' cnn 's jo kent contributed to this report | new : mullen calls north korea 's behavior reckless ' |
north korea <tsp> ( cnn ) -- china 's top foreign policy official met with north korean leader kim jong il thursday and the two sides reached consensus ' about defusing tensions on the korean peninsula , officials said . the meeting marks the first between kim and a top official from china since the flareup between the two koreas . the two sides reached consensus on bilateral relations and the situation on the korean peninsula after candid and in-depth talks , ' said chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu . she did not elaborate on what kim discussed with the official , dai bingguo , during the latter 's visit to pyongyang . tensions on the korean peninsula escalated following north korea 's shelling of south korea 's yeonpyeong island last month , as well as the march sinking of a south korean warship -- allegedly by a north korean torpedo -- and recent revelations that it is enriching uranium for nuclear weapons . north korean officials have been pushing for the resumption of six-party talks including china and russia . china has also called for emergency ' talks among all the six countries -- north korea , south korea , china , the united states , japan and russia -- to address the tensions on the korean peninsula . but the united states has thus far refused , looking first for proof that north korea is serious about not stoking military tensions and serious about stifling development of its nuclear program . for the second day in a row , the head of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff called on china to use its influence instead to rein in north korea to prevent a full-blown crisis . china is north korea 's strongest ally and largest trading partner . i actually believe that because these provocations continue and seemingly at a frequent interval , that the danger is going up and that steps must be taken to ensure that they stop , ' he said at a news conference in tokyo . much of that volatility is owed to the reckless behavior of the north korean regime , enabled by their friends in china . ' cnn 's jo kent contributed to this report | mullen challenges china to use its influence with north korea |
charlie mulgrew <tsp> ( cnn ) -- rangers scored three second-half goals to beat celtic 4-2 in glasgow 's old firm derby sunday and go four points clear in the scottish premier league . in-form steven naismith fired rangers ahead with a thumping strike after 22nd minutes but celtic were quick to level through gary hooper 's well-worked goal 12 minutes later . celtic took the lead just before halftime as rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor allowed a weak shot from moroccan badr el kaddouri to elude his grasp and trickle into the net . but nikica jelavic headed rangers level seven minutes after the interval and they were ahead when kyle lafferty converted after 67 minutes . mulgrew , who was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for his first half challenge , then saw red in the 75th minute and naismith took advantage against 10 men to score the fourth and his second in injury time . i did n't think there was an awful lot between the teams in the first-half . i 'm not sure we deserved to go in 2-1 down but that 's what we were faced with , ' rangers manager ally mccoist told sky sports . we asked the boys for a reaction in the second-half and boy did we get it . ' celtic manager neil lennon was disappointed by his team 's second half display : we did n't compete and it was almost as if the players had gone out in the second-half thinking the game was won , ' he said . matches between the two giants of scottish football usually prove crucial in the domestic title race and the victory left rangers on 19 points after seven games , with celtic on 15 in second . | celtic have charlie mulgrew sent off in the second half for second bookable foul |
celtic <tsp> ( cnn ) -- rangers scored three second-half goals to beat celtic 4-2 in glasgow 's old firm derby sunday and go four points clear in the scottish premier league . in-form steven naismith fired rangers ahead with a thumping strike after 22nd minutes but celtic were quick to level through gary hooper 's well-worked goal 12 minutes later . celtic took the lead just before halftime as rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor allowed a weak shot from moroccan badr el kaddouri to elude his grasp and trickle into the net . but nikica jelavic headed rangers level seven minutes after the interval and they were ahead when kyle lafferty converted after 67 minutes . mulgrew , who was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for his first half challenge , then saw red in the 75th minute and naismith took advantage against 10 men to score the fourth and his second in injury time . i did n't think there was an awful lot between the teams in the first-half . i 'm not sure we deserved to go in 2-1 down but that 's what we were faced with , ' rangers manager ally mccoist told sky sports . we asked the boys for a reaction in the second-half and boy did we get it . ' celtic manager neil lennon was disappointed by his team 's second half display : we did n't compete and it was almost as if the players had gone out in the second-half thinking the game was won , ' he said . matches between the two giants of scottish football usually prove crucial in the domestic title race and the victory left rangers on 19 points after seven games , with celtic on 15 in second . | rangers score three second half goals to beat celtic in glasgow 's old firm derby |
celtic <tsp> ( cnn ) -- rangers scored three second-half goals to beat celtic 4-2 in glasgow 's old firm derby sunday and go four points clear in the scottish premier league . in-form steven naismith fired rangers ahead with a thumping strike after 22nd minutes but celtic were quick to level through gary hooper 's well-worked goal 12 minutes later . celtic took the lead just before halftime as rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor allowed a weak shot from moroccan badr el kaddouri to elude his grasp and trickle into the net . but nikica jelavic headed rangers level seven minutes after the interval and they were ahead when kyle lafferty converted after 67 minutes . mulgrew , who was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for his first half challenge , then saw red in the 75th minute and naismith took advantage against 10 men to score the fourth and his second in injury time . i did n't think there was an awful lot between the teams in the first-half . i 'm not sure we deserved to go in 2-1 down but that 's what we were faced with , ' rangers manager ally mccoist told sky sports . we asked the boys for a reaction in the second-half and boy did we get it . ' celtic manager neil lennon was disappointed by his team 's second half display : we did n't compete and it was almost as if the players had gone out in the second-half thinking the game was won , ' he said . matches between the two giants of scottish football usually prove crucial in the domestic title race and the victory left rangers on 19 points after seven games , with celtic on 15 in second . | celtic have charlie mulgrew sent off in the second half for second bookable foul |
syria <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the six-point peace plan for syria proposed by kofi annan is doomed to fail for one simple reason : neither president bashar al-assad nor the government opposition is interested in making it work . for al-assad , full implementation of the plan , which includes a political settlement through dialogue and respect for the rights of citizens to demonstrate peacefully , will bring an end to his regime . from the onset of the uprisings , his government knew that a repeat of the protests in egypt 's tahrir square or bahrain 's pearl square in damascus or aleppo will mean regime change . al-assad and his inner circle are not about to create conditions that are conducive for such sit-ins just because the annan plan calls on them to do so . for the opposition groups , annan could spend all the time he wants on negotiations , but any talks not predicated on al-assad 's stepping aside will not be acceptable . the activists who are spearheading syria 's revolution insist that the opposition exile leadership has a limited mandate and that is to discuss details for the transfer of power from the assad family to the opposition . the bottom line is that the two main protagonists in the conflict look at the annan plan as a means to achieve their respective , mutually exclusive objectives . by agreeing to the annan plan , al-assad pursues a dual-track strategy : he appeases his russian and iranian allies , who have been pressuring him to accept a political solution , while working to kill his way out of the crisis under the pretext that he is confronting armed terrorists and gangs . ' the opposition wants the cease-fire in order to field mass protests . as one activist from hama put it to me recently : we do n't need military intervention , we do n't need humanitarian corridors , we do n't need safe areas . enforce the cease-fire and millions will march toward the presidential palace demanding assad 's ouster . ' after more than a year of uprisings , syria is still stuck in a violent stalemate . al-assad has not been able to crush the opposition , and opposition seems nowhere near to dislodging al-assad . increasingly , the conflict is being framed in existential terms , with some involved becoming more radicalized . the majority of alawites believe their physical survival is at stake , because they are convinced al-assad 's demise will engender wide-scale revenge killings on them . hence , they will not accept a solution that will produce a new regime in which they are not guaranteed a leading role . similarly , the opposition groups believe that if they stop now and al-assad remains in power , he will hunt them down . absent a game changer that will tip the balance in favor of one side or the other , the crisis in syria will become a full-blown sectarian war pitting sunnis against alawites , which will likely spill over into the neighboring countries of iraq and lebanon . although military options have been considered by the west , it 's hard to say whether that would make a difference in reversing the dynamics in the country . a military operation might cause a regional war involving turkey , saudi arabia and iran , with each country supporting its allies in syria . for now , iran 's supreme leader has cast his support firmly with al-assad . a well-informed iranian source told me that the iranian regime will support al-assad no matter what until the end . on the other hand , russia 's syria policy seems to be in flux judging by its vote in the united nations recently . it 's too early to tell whether russia will ease al-assad out the way saudi arabia did in the case of yemen 's abdullah saleh . russia and iran will probably not abandon al-assad until they are part of the deal-making process about syria 's future government . one possible game changer is if the protest movement in syria becomes widespread and covers large stretches of the country . to date , only four of syria 's 14 governorates constitute the major hubs of the protest movement : homs , hama , idlib and daraa . while we have seen protests in other regions , they have not been as sustained and extensive as those in the four governorates . this is partly due to the state of fragmentation in the opposition ranks , especially among the exile groups , which do not inspire confidence among fence-sitters . although large segments of fence-sitters including businessmen have come around to supporting the opposition , many remain ambivalent because they doubt the opposition will succeed in overthrowing al-assad . this perception is reinforced by the fact that annan 's plan does not call for al-assad to step down -- a detail that is not missed by the assad regime propaganda machine . while the exile opposition remains divided , there are hopeful signs that the opposition ranks within syria are becoming better organized , better trained and gaining legitimacy . the future leaders of syria will not come from the syrian national council or the national coordination committee for change ; they will emerge from the ranks of the revolutionary councils that are forming in different parts of the country . these councils bring together an eclectic mix of the most active local coordinating committees , independent activists , community and business leaders and military defectors . they are putting in place an administrative infrastructure that is akin to a local provincial council , handling everything from media affairs to helping families who lost their homes to providing legal aid to jailed activists . they are also coordinating with each other to protect relief supply lines that cross their respective territories . in the process , the leaders in these councils , who hail from syria 's different religious and ethnic groups , are developing political skills , cultivating local constituencies and learning through trial and error the business of governing . in a country that is increasingly polarized along sectarian and ethnic lines , these councils can perhaps provide the glue that keeps the country stitched together . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of randa slim . | she says one possible game changer is if the protests in syria become more widespread |
syria <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the six-point peace plan for syria proposed by kofi annan is doomed to fail for one simple reason : neither president bashar al-assad nor the government opposition is interested in making it work . for al-assad , full implementation of the plan , which includes a political settlement through dialogue and respect for the rights of citizens to demonstrate peacefully , will bring an end to his regime . from the onset of the uprisings , his government knew that a repeat of the protests in egypt 's tahrir square or bahrain 's pearl square in damascus or aleppo will mean regime change . al-assad and his inner circle are not about to create conditions that are conducive for such sit-ins just because the annan plan calls on them to do so . for the opposition groups , annan could spend all the time he wants on negotiations , but any talks not predicated on al-assad 's stepping aside will not be acceptable . the activists who are spearheading syria 's revolution insist that the opposition exile leadership has a limited mandate and that is to discuss details for the transfer of power from the assad family to the opposition . the bottom line is that the two main protagonists in the conflict look at the annan plan as a means to achieve their respective , mutually exclusive objectives . by agreeing to the annan plan , al-assad pursues a dual-track strategy : he appeases his russian and iranian allies , who have been pressuring him to accept a political solution , while working to kill his way out of the crisis under the pretext that he is confronting armed terrorists and gangs . ' the opposition wants the cease-fire in order to field mass protests . as one activist from hama put it to me recently : we do n't need military intervention , we do n't need humanitarian corridors , we do n't need safe areas . enforce the cease-fire and millions will march toward the presidential palace demanding assad 's ouster . ' after more than a year of uprisings , syria is still stuck in a violent stalemate . al-assad has not been able to crush the opposition , and opposition seems nowhere near to dislodging al-assad . increasingly , the conflict is being framed in existential terms , with some involved becoming more radicalized . the majority of alawites believe their physical survival is at stake , because they are convinced al-assad 's demise will engender wide-scale revenge killings on them . hence , they will not accept a solution that will produce a new regime in which they are not guaranteed a leading role . similarly , the opposition groups believe that if they stop now and al-assad remains in power , he will hunt them down . absent a game changer that will tip the balance in favor of one side or the other , the crisis in syria will become a full-blown sectarian war pitting sunnis against alawites , which will likely spill over into the neighboring countries of iraq and lebanon . although military options have been considered by the west , it 's hard to say whether that would make a difference in reversing the dynamics in the country . a military operation might cause a regional war involving turkey , saudi arabia and iran , with each country supporting its allies in syria . for now , iran 's supreme leader has cast his support firmly with al-assad . a well-informed iranian source told me that the iranian regime will support al-assad no matter what until the end . on the other hand , russia 's syria policy seems to be in flux judging by its vote in the united nations recently . it 's too early to tell whether russia will ease al-assad out the way saudi arabia did in the case of yemen 's abdullah saleh . russia and iran will probably not abandon al-assad until they are part of the deal-making process about syria 's future government . one possible game changer is if the protest movement in syria becomes widespread and covers large stretches of the country . to date , only four of syria 's 14 governorates constitute the major hubs of the protest movement : homs , hama , idlib and daraa . while we have seen protests in other regions , they have not been as sustained and extensive as those in the four governorates . this is partly due to the state of fragmentation in the opposition ranks , especially among the exile groups , which do not inspire confidence among fence-sitters . although large segments of fence-sitters including businessmen have come around to supporting the opposition , many remain ambivalent because they doubt the opposition will succeed in overthrowing al-assad . this perception is reinforced by the fact that annan 's plan does not call for al-assad to step down -- a detail that is not missed by the assad regime propaganda machine . while the exile opposition remains divided , there are hopeful signs that the opposition ranks within syria are becoming better organized , better trained and gaining legitimacy . the future leaders of syria will not come from the syrian national council or the national coordination committee for change ; they will emerge from the ranks of the revolutionary councils that are forming in different parts of the country . these councils bring together an eclectic mix of the most active local coordinating committees , independent activists , community and business leaders and military defectors . they are putting in place an administrative infrastructure that is akin to a local provincial council , handling everything from media affairs to helping families who lost their homes to providing legal aid to jailed activists . they are also coordinating with each other to protect relief supply lines that cross their respective territories . in the process , the leaders in these councils , who hail from syria 's different religious and ethnic groups , are developing political skills , cultivating local constituencies and learning through trial and error the business of governing . in a country that is increasingly polarized along sectarian and ethnic lines , these councils can perhaps provide the glue that keeps the country stitched together . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of randa slim . | randa slim : the peace plan for syria proposed by kofi annan is doomed to fail |
syria <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the six-point peace plan for syria proposed by kofi annan is doomed to fail for one simple reason : neither president bashar al-assad nor the government opposition is interested in making it work . for al-assad , full implementation of the plan , which includes a political settlement through dialogue and respect for the rights of citizens to demonstrate peacefully , will bring an end to his regime . from the onset of the uprisings , his government knew that a repeat of the protests in egypt 's tahrir square or bahrain 's pearl square in damascus or aleppo will mean regime change . al-assad and his inner circle are not about to create conditions that are conducive for such sit-ins just because the annan plan calls on them to do so . for the opposition groups , annan could spend all the time he wants on negotiations , but any talks not predicated on al-assad 's stepping aside will not be acceptable . the activists who are spearheading syria 's revolution insist that the opposition exile leadership has a limited mandate and that is to discuss details for the transfer of power from the assad family to the opposition . the bottom line is that the two main protagonists in the conflict look at the annan plan as a means to achieve their respective , mutually exclusive objectives . by agreeing to the annan plan , al-assad pursues a dual-track strategy : he appeases his russian and iranian allies , who have been pressuring him to accept a political solution , while working to kill his way out of the crisis under the pretext that he is confronting armed terrorists and gangs . ' the opposition wants the cease-fire in order to field mass protests . as one activist from hama put it to me recently : we do n't need military intervention , we do n't need humanitarian corridors , we do n't need safe areas . enforce the cease-fire and millions will march toward the presidential palace demanding assad 's ouster . ' after more than a year of uprisings , syria is still stuck in a violent stalemate . al-assad has not been able to crush the opposition , and opposition seems nowhere near to dislodging al-assad . increasingly , the conflict is being framed in existential terms , with some involved becoming more radicalized . the majority of alawites believe their physical survival is at stake , because they are convinced al-assad 's demise will engender wide-scale revenge killings on them . hence , they will not accept a solution that will produce a new regime in which they are not guaranteed a leading role . similarly , the opposition groups believe that if they stop now and al-assad remains in power , he will hunt them down . absent a game changer that will tip the balance in favor of one side or the other , the crisis in syria will become a full-blown sectarian war pitting sunnis against alawites , which will likely spill over into the neighboring countries of iraq and lebanon . although military options have been considered by the west , it 's hard to say whether that would make a difference in reversing the dynamics in the country . a military operation might cause a regional war involving turkey , saudi arabia and iran , with each country supporting its allies in syria . for now , iran 's supreme leader has cast his support firmly with al-assad . a well-informed iranian source told me that the iranian regime will support al-assad no matter what until the end . on the other hand , russia 's syria policy seems to be in flux judging by its vote in the united nations recently . it 's too early to tell whether russia will ease al-assad out the way saudi arabia did in the case of yemen 's abdullah saleh . russia and iran will probably not abandon al-assad until they are part of the deal-making process about syria 's future government . one possible game changer is if the protest movement in syria becomes widespread and covers large stretches of the country . to date , only four of syria 's 14 governorates constitute the major hubs of the protest movement : homs , hama , idlib and daraa . while we have seen protests in other regions , they have not been as sustained and extensive as those in the four governorates . this is partly due to the state of fragmentation in the opposition ranks , especially among the exile groups , which do not inspire confidence among fence-sitters . although large segments of fence-sitters including businessmen have come around to supporting the opposition , many remain ambivalent because they doubt the opposition will succeed in overthrowing al-assad . this perception is reinforced by the fact that annan 's plan does not call for al-assad to step down -- a detail that is not missed by the assad regime propaganda machine . while the exile opposition remains divided , there are hopeful signs that the opposition ranks within syria are becoming better organized , better trained and gaining legitimacy . the future leaders of syria will not come from the syrian national council or the national coordination committee for change ; they will emerge from the ranks of the revolutionary councils that are forming in different parts of the country . these councils bring together an eclectic mix of the most active local coordinating committees , independent activists , community and business leaders and military defectors . they are putting in place an administrative infrastructure that is akin to a local provincial council , handling everything from media affairs to helping families who lost their homes to providing legal aid to jailed activists . they are also coordinating with each other to protect relief supply lines that cross their respective territories . in the process , the leaders in these councils , who hail from syria 's different religious and ethnic groups , are developing political skills , cultivating local constituencies and learning through trial and error the business of governing . in a country that is increasingly polarized along sectarian and ethnic lines , these councils can perhaps provide the glue that keeps the country stitched together . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of randa slim . | slim : after more than a year of uprisings , syria is still stuck in a violent stalemate |
syria <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the six-point peace plan for syria proposed by kofi annan is doomed to fail for one simple reason : neither president bashar al-assad nor the government opposition is interested in making it work . for al-assad , full implementation of the plan , which includes a political settlement through dialogue and respect for the rights of citizens to demonstrate peacefully , will bring an end to his regime . from the onset of the uprisings , his government knew that a repeat of the protests in egypt 's tahrir square or bahrain 's pearl square in damascus or aleppo will mean regime change . al-assad and his inner circle are not about to create conditions that are conducive for such sit-ins just because the annan plan calls on them to do so . for the opposition groups , annan could spend all the time he wants on negotiations , but any talks not predicated on al-assad 's stepping aside will not be acceptable . the activists who are spearheading syria 's revolution insist that the opposition exile leadership has a limited mandate and that is to discuss details for the transfer of power from the assad family to the opposition . the bottom line is that the two main protagonists in the conflict look at the annan plan as a means to achieve their respective , mutually exclusive objectives . by agreeing to the annan plan , al-assad pursues a dual-track strategy : he appeases his russian and iranian allies , who have been pressuring him to accept a political solution , while working to kill his way out of the crisis under the pretext that he is confronting armed terrorists and gangs . ' the opposition wants the cease-fire in order to field mass protests . as one activist from hama put it to me recently : we do n't need military intervention , we do n't need humanitarian corridors , we do n't need safe areas . enforce the cease-fire and millions will march toward the presidential palace demanding assad 's ouster . ' after more than a year of uprisings , syria is still stuck in a violent stalemate . al-assad has not been able to crush the opposition , and opposition seems nowhere near to dislodging al-assad . increasingly , the conflict is being framed in existential terms , with some involved becoming more radicalized . the majority of alawites believe their physical survival is at stake , because they are convinced al-assad 's demise will engender wide-scale revenge killings on them . hence , they will not accept a solution that will produce a new regime in which they are not guaranteed a leading role . similarly , the opposition groups believe that if they stop now and al-assad remains in power , he will hunt them down . absent a game changer that will tip the balance in favor of one side or the other , the crisis in syria will become a full-blown sectarian war pitting sunnis against alawites , which will likely spill over into the neighboring countries of iraq and lebanon . although military options have been considered by the west , it 's hard to say whether that would make a difference in reversing the dynamics in the country . a military operation might cause a regional war involving turkey , saudi arabia and iran , with each country supporting its allies in syria . for now , iran 's supreme leader has cast his support firmly with al-assad . a well-informed iranian source told me that the iranian regime will support al-assad no matter what until the end . on the other hand , russia 's syria policy seems to be in flux judging by its vote in the united nations recently . it 's too early to tell whether russia will ease al-assad out the way saudi arabia did in the case of yemen 's abdullah saleh . russia and iran will probably not abandon al-assad until they are part of the deal-making process about syria 's future government . one possible game changer is if the protest movement in syria becomes widespread and covers large stretches of the country . to date , only four of syria 's 14 governorates constitute the major hubs of the protest movement : homs , hama , idlib and daraa . while we have seen protests in other regions , they have not been as sustained and extensive as those in the four governorates . this is partly due to the state of fragmentation in the opposition ranks , especially among the exile groups , which do not inspire confidence among fence-sitters . although large segments of fence-sitters including businessmen have come around to supporting the opposition , many remain ambivalent because they doubt the opposition will succeed in overthrowing al-assad . this perception is reinforced by the fact that annan 's plan does not call for al-assad to step down -- a detail that is not missed by the assad regime propaganda machine . while the exile opposition remains divided , there are hopeful signs that the opposition ranks within syria are becoming better organized , better trained and gaining legitimacy . the future leaders of syria will not come from the syrian national council or the national coordination committee for change ; they will emerge from the ranks of the revolutionary councils that are forming in different parts of the country . these councils bring together an eclectic mix of the most active local coordinating committees , independent activists , community and business leaders and military defectors . they are putting in place an administrative infrastructure that is akin to a local provincial council , handling everything from media affairs to helping families who lost their homes to providing legal aid to jailed activists . they are also coordinating with each other to protect relief supply lines that cross their respective territories . in the process , the leaders in these councils , who hail from syria 's different religious and ethnic groups , are developing political skills , cultivating local constituencies and learning through trial and error the business of governing . in a country that is increasingly polarized along sectarian and ethnic lines , these councils can perhaps provide the glue that keeps the country stitched together . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of randa slim . | slim : members in local councils are syria 's best hope for future leadership |
european space agency <tsp> what do you need to map a billion stars ? a billion-pixel camera certainly helps . scientists hope to glean more clues about the origin and evolution of the universe , and in particular our own galaxy , after a camera of this incredible scale -- fitted to the gaia space telescope -- was launched thursday . gaia , which lifted off from french guiana , has been tasked with mapping the milky way in greater detail than ever before . designed and built by astrium for the european space agency ( esa ) , the makers say the telescope is so sensitive that it could measure a person 's thumbnail from the moon , or to put it another way , detect the width of a human hair from 1,000km ( 620 miles ) away . the mission 's aim is to build a three-dimensional picture of our galaxy , measuring precise distances to a billion stars . even this is a small fraction of the milky way , as astronomers believe there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy . tens of billions like earth , study says astrium says gaia is also expected to log a million quasars beyond the milky way , and a quarter of a million objects in our own solar system , including comets and asteroids . it can do it with incredible accuracy . it 's the biggest camera ever put into space , ' said ralph cordey , head of science and exploration at astrium . he said the spacecraft cost 400 million euros ( $ 549 million ) to build , but the total cost of the mission would come to 740 million euros ( $ 1.02 billion ) when the expense of the launch and running the mission for its projected five-year lifetime are included . if successful , gaia will add to the knowledge gained from nasa 's hubble space telescope , which is still in operation , and esa 's hipparcos satellite , which gathered data until 1993 . hubble spots azure planet where it may rain glass the value of putting a billion-pixel camera into space has been championed by robert massey from the uk 's royal astronomical society . gaia is an amazingly ambitious mission , ' he said . until now astronomers have relied on very indirect methods to gauge the distance to all but the nearest stars , meaning that the foundation on which we build a map of the universe is surprisingly weak . building on the work of the pioneering hipparcos satellite that mapped the stellar neighbourhood in the 1990s , gaia will be used to carry out work analogous to the cartographers who surveyed the earth in the 19th and 20th centuries , building up the first accurate charts of the cosmos and helping us better understand the structure , history and fate of the galaxy we live in . ' one of gaia 's objectives is to help in the hunt for exoplanets -- new worlds beyond our own solar system . nasa 's kepler mission has so far confirmed the existence of 167 exoplanets with hundreds more being investigated , but cordey anticipates gaia will likely discover thousands of new planets , while further missions will be able to uncover more detail about them . in a recent interview with cnn , george whitesides , ceo of virgin galactic -- the company planning to take tourists into space -- said he thought that within a lifetime it would be possible to detect seasons on far-off worlds . he may have not have too long to wait , as astrium is already working on design concepts to examine exoplanet atmospheres -- which may provide signs of seasonal variations . we are designing missions that could probably do that very thing -- it 's not science fiction , ' said cordey . read more : cassini spots massive'hexagon'on saturn | european space agency 's gaia has been tasked with making a 3d map of the milky way |
saudi arabia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- tribal fighters took control of a top yemeni city on tuesday , a setback for an embattled government whose wounded president is hospitalized in saudi arabia . more than 400 tribal gunmen took over taiz in southwest yemen , witnesses there said . government forces have been regrouping in an effort to re-enter the city . yemen 's government has faced international criticism for excessive use of force against anti-regime protesters and the deaths of anti-government demonstrators in taiz . are you in yemen ? share your photos and videos from the scene , but please stay safe . meanwhile , president ali abdullah saleh was in saudi arabia tuesday , recovering from burns over 40 % of his body and a collapsed lung , a u.s. government official briefed on the matter said . whether he will return to yemen remained uncertain . saleh was wounded friday in an attack at his presidential compound . an arab diplomatic source with knowledge of saleh 's condition said one shrapnel wound was 7 centimeters ( 2.75 inches ) deep . fighting between government and tribal forces has been raging in the capital of sanaa , where thousands of anti-government protesters have been pressuring saleh to give up power since january . and there has been unrest elsewhere . at least 15 people were killed in abyan monday night and tuesday morning in clashes between islamic militants and security forces , according to a security source in abyan . al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has a presence in the southern province of abyan , a u.s. official said . it 's also home to an islamic militant movement that has targeted government troops in recent days . the abyan dead include nine soldiers , four militants and two civilians in zinjibar and other suburbs in the province , according to the source , who asked to not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media . there was also violence along the saudi-yemeni border , where there have long been concerns of infiltration by militants . a man trying to cross into yemen from saudi arabia early tuesday fatally shot two security officers and wounded another , the state-run saudi press agency said tuesday . the man , described as an infiltrator ' who tried to cross the metal-and-sand barriers at the border , fired at the security officers when they approached him , the agency said . security personnel tracked the man and he was killed in an exchange of fire , it added . the turmoil in yemen peaked friday , when a mosque in saleh 's presidential compound was attacked . yemen 's state-run news agency saba , citing a source in saleh 's office , reported last week that three guards and an imam were killed . western diplomats said the attack came from a bomb . yemeni investigations are focusing on what happened inside the mosque , ' not a rocket or mortar attack , diplomats said monday . one diplomat said the attack was not a suicide bombing and that the yemeni investigation was ongoing . the description of the attack as a bombing differs from what a yemeni official told cnn last week . the official , who asked not to be identified , said that saleh was in the mosque when two projectiles ' were fired during friday prayers . supporters of sadeq al-ahmar , leader of the hashed tribe and an opponent of the yemeni government , were suspected in the attack . in response , yemeni security forces shelled al-ahmar 's home friday , killing 10 people and wounding 35 others , according to fawzi al-jaradi , an official with the hashed tribal confederation . after saleh was taken to saudi arabia for treatment , the tribal leader and vice president abed rabbo mansour hadi -- yemen 's interim leader -- agreed on a cease-fire , said abdulqawi al-qaisi , spokesman for the hashed leader . yemen 's largest opposition bloc has vowed to prevent saleh from returning . the yemeni people will do all in their power to not allow saleh to re-enter the country , ' joint meeting parties spokesman mohammed qahtan said sunday . a u.s. government official said monday he could not imagine the saudis letting saleh return . he said it was critical that the saudis press saleh to accept a gulf cooperation council deal offering him immunity in exchange for stepping down . saudi state-run ekhbariya television reported monday that saleh had undergone two operations in saudi arabia and would return to yemen after he recovers . a u.s. official told cnn monday that the unrest makes u.s. counterterrorism efforts in yemen more difficult . ' we rely on the yemeni government as partners , ' the official said . the more the government is distracted by the political unrest , the more difficult it is for us . ' the yemeni government has had a big impact on acquiring information on aqap , ' the official said , referring to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula . if that information flow slows or stops , it inhibits our ability to gather information . ' cnn 's nic robertson , elise labott , pam benson , tim lister and jill dougherty contributed to this report . | saleh is in saudi arabia for treatment after being wounded |
obamacare <tsp> ( cnn ) -- supreme court justice sonia sotomayor was thrust into the national spotlight on two hot-button issues this week . it had nothing to do with the cases involved -- same-sex marriage in utah and a requirement for contraceptive coverage under obamacare . the two emergency appeals on new year 's eve came her way because the cases originated in western areas of the country -- colorado and utah -- that fall under her jurisdiction for reviewing time-sensitive federal motions . sotomayor sought more information on an appeal from utah to uphold its voter-approved ban on same-sex unions in the state . but she made headlines on the politically charged case around the affordable care act just as new rules were about to take effect . sotomayor issued an order that , for the moment , stayed a requirement under the sweeping health law for certain religiously affiliated groups to ensure that employees receive coverage for contraception at no cost . the denver-based organization that cares for elderly poor , the little sisters of the poor , objects to complying with rules under the law that would guarantee it an exemption but , in theory , still require a third party to provide contraception insurance . ultimately , it believes authorizing a form that passes the ball to another entity still means contraception coverage for its employees and that , to the nuns , is objectionable on moral grounds . the catholic church opposes artificial contraception . while sotomayor 's emergency injunction or any follow up to extend it or seek the opinion of her fellow justices for additional review may seem like a blow to the politically charged health care law , it is n't . nor does it convey any meaning about where sotomayor , a liberal jurist , may stand on the larger issues raised in the appeal overall . she just placed a single case on hold . she did not overturn obamacare , ' cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin said . her decision late on tuesday simply put the brakes on compliance for the little sisters of the poor and enabled the obama administration to file its arguments . the justice department said on friday the appeal lacked merit . the charity , it said , is eligible for an exemption and moreover , the entity that administers its insurance plans , the non-profit christian brothers services , is also exempt under certain conditions in the obamacare rules applying to religious institutions . toobin said sotomayor acted based on her view of the law ' in holding up the rule in this case . sotomayor voted to uphold the affordable care act in 2012 in a blockbuster supreme court ruling that gave obama an enormous political victory . obamacare seeks to extend health coverage to millions of americans without it and is the president 's signature domestic achievement . it is relentlessly under attack from conservatives who have made numerous attempts to repeal or otherwise sink it , and is the focus of numerous legal challenges . | sotomayor upheld obamacare last year , now she 's in the spotlight again in another appeal |
obamacare <tsp> ( cnn ) -- supreme court justice sonia sotomayor was thrust into the national spotlight on two hot-button issues this week . it had nothing to do with the cases involved -- same-sex marriage in utah and a requirement for contraceptive coverage under obamacare . the two emergency appeals on new year 's eve came her way because the cases originated in western areas of the country -- colorado and utah -- that fall under her jurisdiction for reviewing time-sensitive federal motions . sotomayor sought more information on an appeal from utah to uphold its voter-approved ban on same-sex unions in the state . but she made headlines on the politically charged case around the affordable care act just as new rules were about to take effect . sotomayor issued an order that , for the moment , stayed a requirement under the sweeping health law for certain religiously affiliated groups to ensure that employees receive coverage for contraception at no cost . the denver-based organization that cares for elderly poor , the little sisters of the poor , objects to complying with rules under the law that would guarantee it an exemption but , in theory , still require a third party to provide contraception insurance . ultimately , it believes authorizing a form that passes the ball to another entity still means contraception coverage for its employees and that , to the nuns , is objectionable on moral grounds . the catholic church opposes artificial contraception . while sotomayor 's emergency injunction or any follow up to extend it or seek the opinion of her fellow justices for additional review may seem like a blow to the politically charged health care law , it is n't . nor does it convey any meaning about where sotomayor , a liberal jurist , may stand on the larger issues raised in the appeal overall . she just placed a single case on hold . she did not overturn obamacare , ' cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin said . her decision late on tuesday simply put the brakes on compliance for the little sisters of the poor and enabled the obama administration to file its arguments . the justice department said on friday the appeal lacked merit . the charity , it said , is eligible for an exemption and moreover , the entity that administers its insurance plans , the non-profit christian brothers services , is also exempt under certain conditions in the obamacare rules applying to religious institutions . toobin said sotomayor acted based on her view of the law ' in holding up the rule in this case . sotomayor voted to uphold the affordable care act in 2012 in a blockbuster supreme court ruling that gave obama an enormous political victory . obamacare seeks to extend health coverage to millions of americans without it and is the president 's signature domestic achievement . it is relentlessly under attack from conservatives who have made numerous attempts to repeal or otherwise sink it , and is the focus of numerous legal challenges . | she just placed a single case on hold . she did not overturn obamacare , ' analyst says |
denver <tsp> ( cnn ) -- supreme court justice sonia sotomayor was thrust into the national spotlight on two hot-button issues this week . it had nothing to do with the cases involved -- same-sex marriage in utah and a requirement for contraceptive coverage under obamacare . the two emergency appeals on new year 's eve came her way because the cases originated in western areas of the country -- colorado and utah -- that fall under her jurisdiction for reviewing time-sensitive federal motions . sotomayor sought more information on an appeal from utah to uphold its voter-approved ban on same-sex unions in the state . but she made headlines on the politically charged case around the affordable care act just as new rules were about to take effect . sotomayor issued an order that , for the moment , stayed a requirement under the sweeping health law for certain religiously affiliated groups to ensure that employees receive coverage for contraception at no cost . the denver-based organization that cares for elderly poor , the little sisters of the poor , objects to complying with rules under the law that would guarantee it an exemption but , in theory , still require a third party to provide contraception insurance . ultimately , it believes authorizing a form that passes the ball to another entity still means contraception coverage for its employees and that , to the nuns , is objectionable on moral grounds . the catholic church opposes artificial contraception . while sotomayor 's emergency injunction or any follow up to extend it or seek the opinion of her fellow justices for additional review may seem like a blow to the politically charged health care law , it is n't . nor does it convey any meaning about where sotomayor , a liberal jurist , may stand on the larger issues raised in the appeal overall . she just placed a single case on hold . she did not overturn obamacare , ' cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin said . her decision late on tuesday simply put the brakes on compliance for the little sisters of the poor and enabled the obama administration to file its arguments . the justice department said on friday the appeal lacked merit . the charity , it said , is eligible for an exemption and moreover , the entity that administers its insurance plans , the non-profit christian brothers services , is also exempt under certain conditions in the obamacare rules applying to religious institutions . toobin said sotomayor acted based on her view of the law ' in holding up the rule in this case . sotomayor voted to uphold the affordable care act in 2012 in a blockbuster supreme court ruling that gave obama an enormous political victory . obamacare seeks to extend health coverage to millions of americans without it and is the president 's signature domestic achievement . it is relentlessly under attack from conservatives who have made numerous attempts to repeal or otherwise sink it , and is the focus of numerous legal challenges . | sotomayor got the case because the nuns live in denver , a town in her region ' |
denver <tsp> ( cnn ) -- supreme court justice sonia sotomayor was thrust into the national spotlight on two hot-button issues this week . it had nothing to do with the cases involved -- same-sex marriage in utah and a requirement for contraceptive coverage under obamacare . the two emergency appeals on new year 's eve came her way because the cases originated in western areas of the country -- colorado and utah -- that fall under her jurisdiction for reviewing time-sensitive federal motions . sotomayor sought more information on an appeal from utah to uphold its voter-approved ban on same-sex unions in the state . but she made headlines on the politically charged case around the affordable care act just as new rules were about to take effect . sotomayor issued an order that , for the moment , stayed a requirement under the sweeping health law for certain religiously affiliated groups to ensure that employees receive coverage for contraception at no cost . the denver-based organization that cares for elderly poor , the little sisters of the poor , objects to complying with rules under the law that would guarantee it an exemption but , in theory , still require a third party to provide contraception insurance . ultimately , it believes authorizing a form that passes the ball to another entity still means contraception coverage for its employees and that , to the nuns , is objectionable on moral grounds . the catholic church opposes artificial contraception . while sotomayor 's emergency injunction or any follow up to extend it or seek the opinion of her fellow justices for additional review may seem like a blow to the politically charged health care law , it is n't . nor does it convey any meaning about where sotomayor , a liberal jurist , may stand on the larger issues raised in the appeal overall . she just placed a single case on hold . she did not overturn obamacare , ' cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin said . her decision late on tuesday simply put the brakes on compliance for the little sisters of the poor and enabled the obama administration to file its arguments . the justice department said on friday the appeal lacked merit . the charity , it said , is eligible for an exemption and moreover , the entity that administers its insurance plans , the non-profit christian brothers services , is also exempt under certain conditions in the obamacare rules applying to religious institutions . toobin said sotomayor acted based on her view of the law ' in holding up the rule in this case . sotomayor voted to uphold the affordable care act in 2012 in a blockbuster supreme court ruling that gave obama an enormous political victory . obamacare seeks to extend health coverage to millions of americans without it and is the president 's signature domestic achievement . it is relentlessly under attack from conservatives who have made numerous attempts to repeal or otherwise sink it , and is the focus of numerous legal challenges . | she issued stay to give denver nuns reprieve on providing birth control to workers |
chinon <tsp> ( budget travel ) -- just a two-hour detour from paris , the loire was once a playground to renaissance royals . now its vaunted châteaux are attracting enterprising young couples and artists who have remade them into captivating -- and surprisingly affordable -- inns . surrounded by 10-foot-high limestone walls , le clos d'amboise offers an unexpected sanctuary in the town of amboise . chinon hôtel diderot ' if you 've never eaten a brioche with fresh ste . maure goat cheese , honey and walnuts for breakfast , then you have n't been to the loire , ' says laurent dutheil , who is justifiably proud of the simple breakfasts he serves at his 23-room hotel in the western corner of the valley . dutheil also produces dozens of fragrant artisanal jams such as apple-lavender and quince-cinnamon . ( sadly , they are n't for sale , but you can buy dutheil 's recipe book , jam in the cupboard . ' ) the traditional foods fit well with the hotel 's venerable atmosphere : diderot is housed in a sprawling 15th-century home that the chinon-born dutheil , along with his two sisters , martine and francoise , bought and renovated six years ago . budget travel : see the hotels dutheil tackled structural issues , taking care to keep the exposed oak beams and original stone walls intact , while his sisters refurbished the rooms with cheerful striped wallpaper , toile bedding , and 19th-century armoires they scavenged on trips to paris . the largest room , which sleeps four , has double windows with views of a courtyard . in the distance lie vineyards full of the red chinon grapes much loved by 16th-century novelist and satirist françois rabelais . 4 rue de buffon , 011-33/2-47-93-18-87 , hoteldiderot.com , rooms from $ 72 . thésée le moulin de la renne a tunnel of towering fir trees leads to the entrance of this converted 19th-century mill in thésée , on the banks of the cher river . guests are greeted by an enormous bernese mountain dog named alpha and his equally friendly owners , véronique and christophe villanfin . there are 13 guest rooms , decorated with items such as embroidered quilts and framed puzzles of boats assembled by jigsaw fanatic véronique . jazz enthusiasts , the villanfins host occasional concerts featuring local groups , including les bras'coeurs , a quartet that performs georges brassens standards . the soirees are held in the restaurant , known locally for its coq au vin : rooster stewed in cabernet bottled at le chai des varennes winery next door . 11 route de vierzon , 011-33/2-54-71-41-56 , moulindelarenne.com , closed jan. 10 -- feb. 10 and 10 days in nov. , rooms from $ 76 , entrées from $ 15.75 . civray-de-touraine château de l'isle the château de l'isle is quiet to the core -- unless you count the chorus of quacks coming from the duck pond on the 35-acre grounds . the 18th-century manor house had been abandoned for 10 years when denis gandon bought it in 1986 and transformed the place into a 12-room hotel . still , the château somehow feels like a private home : a portrait of gandon 's grandfather hangs over a 100-year-old antique table in the dining area , and an amiable jack russell terrier entertains guests with endless rounds of fetch . the stylish bedrooms have exposed wood beams and beds draped with coverlets in shades of crimson and marigold . budget travel : see the hotels in the summer , breakfast is served in an expansive glassed-in terrace overlooking the garden . a nearby potager ( or kitchen garden ) supplies produce for some of chef fabrice cherioux 's breakfast treats , such as a zesty tomato confiture . 1 rue de l'ecluse , 011-33/2-47-23-63-60 , chateau-de-lisle.com , rooms from $ 69 , breakfast $ 13 . chenonceaux la roseraie this 18-room hotel in chenonceaux was a must-stay on the itineraries of political notables after world war ii , when the allies were trying to figure out how to piece europe back together . winston churchill , harry truman and eleanor roosevelt all , at one time or another , laid their heads at la roseraie . ( a letter from roosevelt still hangs in the breakfast room . ) in 2000 , sophie and laurent fiorito acquired the property and completed a top-to-bottom renovation . there is no such thing as a standard room here -- tiny singles have just enough space for a twin bed , while one suite fits a family of five . the decor is equally varied . one room has a louis philippe-style dresser and a crystal chandelier ; another shows off a modern pink-checkered sofa . the hotel 's best asset is its proximity ( a five-minute walk ) to château de chenonceau , which henri ii gave to his beloved mistress , diane de poitiers ; the massive 16th-century building hovers over the river cher . 7 rue du docteur bretonneau , 011-33/2-47-23-90-09 , hotel-chenonceau.com , closed nov. -- jan. and mar. , rooms from $ 85 . amboise le clos d'amboise surrounded by 10-foot-high limestone walls , in the heart of the old market center of amboise , this 17-room mansion inn offers an unexpected sanctuary from the town 's bustling , narrow streets . the bedrooms come equipped with decorative elements such as mahogany four-poster beds and original fireplaces , while the common room features wood floors modeled after those at the palace of versailles . most of the rooms overlook the hotel 's private park , landscaped with 100-year-old magnolias and a pine tree that survived the french revolution . a pool by the rose garden is perfect for a cool dip after relaxing in the wood sauna , housed in a former stable . just a 10-minute stroll from the hotel stands the riverside castle that belonged to king françois i -- part medieval fortress , part renaissance royal house . the king became famously enthralled by leonardo da vinci during a 1515 excursion to italy , and he set up the painter in a gabled redbrick château ( now a museum ) , just down the road from his castle . 27 rue rabelais , 011-33/2-47-30-10-20 , leclosamboise.com , closed dec. -- jan. , rooms from $ 98 . limeray auberge de launay between the two of them , françois and hélène thévard have honed their hospitality skills at some of the world 's most well-respected hotels , including le meurice in paris and the savoy in london . after years helping manage other people 's properties , the couple -- with their two small kids , emma and alexandre -- packed up their paris apartment and bought an unassuming farmhouse in the secluded hamlet of limeray to convert to a 15-room inn . i grew up in the region , so when we made the decision to open our own place , i knew that i had to come back to the loire , ' says françois . in keeping with the spare design of the house , the decor at the auberge is simple -- bedrooms are outfitted with neutral suede sofas , blond-wood floors and minimalist photographs of daisies and landscapes . the duo oversees the daily lunch and dinner service at the on-site restaurant , which serves local specialties such as butter-poached loire eel and chicken with mustard cream . the house dessert , a salted-caramel fruit tart , is baked with apples picked in the hotel 's orchard . le haut chantier , 011-33/2-47-30-16-82 , aubergedelaunay.com , closed dec. 15 -- jan. 15 , rooms from $ 72 , two-course dinner from $ 26 . onzain château des tertres this mansion in the heart of the loire once belonged to the mother of novelist marguerite duras ( who mentions the château in her famous work the lover ' ) . later , in the 1960s , its marble hallways were filled with students from a nearby engineering school , which used the building as a dorm . in 1992 , another curious owner took over management of the 14-room château : bernard valois , an artist who kept the mansion 's 19th-century detailing ( high ceilings , gilded mirrors ) but added contemporary design flourishes , such as a photograph of a mysterious pair of eyes in the foyer . last year , valois and his wife , christine , redecorated a former gatekeeper 's house as a contemporary four-room cottage with knockoff jackson pollock paintings and sculptures that resemble enormous eggs . my husband likes to turn things that seem ordinary into the extraordinary , ' christine says . he designed a'sputnik'bidet that has japanese robots stationed around the tank . ' valois also tends a 12-acre garden of roses and clematises , where guests can find a shed stocked with complimentary bikes for exploring the area 's 186 miles of riding paths . 11 rue de meuves , 011-33/2-54-20-83-88 , chateau-tertres.com , closed oct. 19-apr . 1 , rooms from $ 94 . chitenay auberge du centre when gilles martinet 's grandmother found herself widowed at the end of world war i , she started selling milk and eggs to make ends meet . one thing led to another , and her home eventually became a guesthouse and restaurant specializing in french country fare , like chicken sautéed in fresh cider . three generations later , martinet is now proprietor and chef of this inn , which has 26 brightly decorated rooms in shades of sage and rose , as well as a flower-filled garden terrace out back . he has kept the breakfast area much the way his grandmother designed it , with rustic stone walls , an ample fireplace and simple country furnishings . there are bicycles available to rent ( $ 14.50 per day ) for excursions to the château de cheverny , about five miles away . 34 grande rue , 011-33/2-54-70-42-11 , auberge-du-centre.com , closed feb. , rooms from $ 78 , entrées from $ 17 . loire basics a two-hour drive southwest of paris , the loire valley is known for its earthy cabernet franc wines and hundreds of majestic castles . it 's impossible to see them all ( a visit to one château can take half a day ) , so it 's wise to focus on the worthy ones : chenonceau , the graceful riverine palace that once belonged to henri ii ( chenonceau.com , $ 13 ) ; chambord , which has a double-helix staircase inspired by the designs of leonardo da vinci ( chambord.org , $ 12.50 ) ; and cheverny , renowned for its flamboyant , gilded interiors ( chateau-cheverny.com , $ 9.75 ) . get the best travel deals and tips emailed to you free - click here ! copyright © 2009 newsweek budget travel , inc. , all rights reserved . note : this story was accurate when it was published . please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip . | hotel diderot in chinon is housed in a sprawling 15th-century home |
mississippi river <tsp> ( cnn ) -- two tank barges loaded with light crude oil struck a bridge in the mississippi river early sunday morning . the coast guard said it was trying to determine how many gallons may have been spilled into the river near vicksburg , mississippi . the tank that was leaking contained 80,000 gallons of oil . a coast guard team has stopped the source of the spill , the agency said in a news release . the river is closed from mile marker 425 to 441 . no one was injured in the accident , which happened at 1:30 a.m . the mississippi river at vicksburg moves about 890,000 cubic feet of water per second , according to the u.s. geological survey . if the vessel were to lose all its oil , that would be about 11,000 cubic feet . in february 2012 a tanker barge spilled 10,000 gallons of oil into the mississippi after a collision near new orleans . the coast guard drained the barge and towed it to a repair facility . cnn 's chandler friedman contributed to this report . | no one injured in accident ; mississippi river was closed for 16 miles |
republican <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a california republican official has apologized for sending an e-mail that depicts president barack obama as a young chimpanzee . to my fellow americans and to everyone else who has seen the e-mail i forwarded and was offended by my action , i humbly apologize and ask for your forgiveness of my unwise behavior , ' marilyn davenport said in a statement obtained by cnn . davenport , who is a tea party activist and an elected member of the central committee of the republican party of orange county , said she felt the e-mail was a joke , cnn affiliate ktla reported . the e-mail contains a doctored photo of what appears to be a family portrait of two adult chimpanzees posing with a young chimpanzee with obama 's face pasted on it . the caption that ran with the photo says now you know why no birth certificate , ' the affiliate reported . davenport said she would not repeat her error in the apology that included two bible passages . i am an imperfect christian lady who tries her best to live a christ-like honoring life , ' the statement said . i would never do anything to intentionally harm or berate others regardless of ethnicity . so i ask for your forgiveness , for i am truly sorry . ' despite criticism , davenport told the affiliate that she does not need to resign her position because of the e-mail . scott baugh , chairman of the republican party of orange county , said he was surprised by the e-mail . there 's no question the e-mail is racist . the only question is what was in marilyn 's heart , what was her intent . but i do n't think there 's anybody on her committee or anybody in the world really that does n't see it as a racist , ' baugh said on cnn 's ac360 . ' baugh said he feels davenport should resign . the bottom line is being sorry for something and having a sincere apology does n't undo the action , it does n't stop the consequences , ' baugh said . there 's still consequences for what she 's done and what she 's done will continue to bring controversy to my party so i 'm inclined to think at this time that she should still resign from the committee . ' watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 10pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | new : a republican chairman says marilyn davenport should resign |
georgia <tsp> ( cnn ) craigslist reports about 80 million ads on its site each month , so even if you have n't met a stranger to buy or sell something online , chances are you know someone who has . the overwhelming majority of transactions go smoothly , but the site has a history of being co-opted by criminals on occasion . a couple from georgia was traveling to a craigslist transaction last month when they left their suburban atlanta home in hopes of buying a 1966 ford mustang . they did everything right -- they went together , and they told their family they were going to the transaction . yet the bodies of elrey bud ' runion , and his wife , june , were found january 26 , police said . a south georgia man has been charged with murder in their deaths . in a separate incident friday , two men in georgia met a seller to purchase a dog . the seller drew a gun on them in an attempted robbery , but one of the buyers was carrying a handgun and fatally shot the seller , police said . the investigation is ongoing . the recent incidents should remind those engaged in this type of online commerce that it pays to be vigilant . so what can you do to make sure you do n't fall prey to ne'er-do-wells next time you respond to an online ad ? philip holloway is a law enforcement adviser and defense attorney with some tips on things you should remember when buying and selling goods online : 10 . do n't reveal personal information remember this is a business transaction , so never reveal social security numbers , home or business addresses or banking information . 9 . keep your cell phone close have a cell phone in your hand during the entire transaction and be ready to call 911 at the first sign of trouble . 8 . do n't use your personal email use an anonymous email address to communicate with the buyer or seller . 7 . disable caller id disable caller id when calling the buyer or seller on the phone . most cell phone and landline carriers offer this by dialing * 67 before making the outgoing call . 6 . do n't pay in cash do not accept cash and do not offer to pay in cash . use a cashier 's check instead and make it a non-negotiable term of the transaction . 5 . if it 's a high-priced transaction , do it at a bank the higher the price of the item involved , the higher the risk of the transaction . conduct these transactions at a banking facility so a banking professional can confirm the funds have been delivered successfully . 4 . always meet during the day never conduct your transactions at night . 3 . never meet at home find a neutral site to meet -- never at your or someone else 's home . 2 . tell someone tell a trusted friend or family member what you 're doing and have another trusted friend or family member accompany you to the transaction . 1 . always meet in a public place most police departments will be happy to accommodate you , and they are open 24/7 . | a georgia couple was slain last month as they traveled to make a craigslist transaction |
georgia <tsp> ( cnn ) craigslist reports about 80 million ads on its site each month , so even if you have n't met a stranger to buy or sell something online , chances are you know someone who has . the overwhelming majority of transactions go smoothly , but the site has a history of being co-opted by criminals on occasion . a couple from georgia was traveling to a craigslist transaction last month when they left their suburban atlanta home in hopes of buying a 1966 ford mustang . they did everything right -- they went together , and they told their family they were going to the transaction . yet the bodies of elrey bud ' runion , and his wife , june , were found january 26 , police said . a south georgia man has been charged with murder in their deaths . in a separate incident friday , two men in georgia met a seller to purchase a dog . the seller drew a gun on them in an attempted robbery , but one of the buyers was carrying a handgun and fatally shot the seller , police said . the investigation is ongoing . the recent incidents should remind those engaged in this type of online commerce that it pays to be vigilant . so what can you do to make sure you do n't fall prey to ne'er-do-wells next time you respond to an online ad ? philip holloway is a law enforcement adviser and defense attorney with some tips on things you should remember when buying and selling goods online : 10 . do n't reveal personal information remember this is a business transaction , so never reveal social security numbers , home or business addresses or banking information . 9 . keep your cell phone close have a cell phone in your hand during the entire transaction and be ready to call 911 at the first sign of trouble . 8 . do n't use your personal email use an anonymous email address to communicate with the buyer or seller . 7 . disable caller id disable caller id when calling the buyer or seller on the phone . most cell phone and landline carriers offer this by dialing * 67 before making the outgoing call . 6 . do n't pay in cash do not accept cash and do not offer to pay in cash . use a cashier 's check instead and make it a non-negotiable term of the transaction . 5 . if it 's a high-priced transaction , do it at a bank the higher the price of the item involved , the higher the risk of the transaction . conduct these transactions at a banking facility so a banking professional can confirm the funds have been delivered successfully . 4 . always meet during the day never conduct your transactions at night . 3 . never meet at home find a neutral site to meet -- never at your or someone else 's home . 2 . tell someone tell a trusted friend or family member what you 're doing and have another trusted friend or family member accompany you to the transaction . 1 . always meet in a public place most police departments will be happy to accommodate you , and they are open 24/7 . | two men in georgia were involved in a separate , fatal incident early friday |
kerrigan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- olympic figure skater nancy kerrigan solomon tearfully pleaded thursday for leniency for her brother , who was sentenced to prison on a lesser charge in his fatal altercation with their father . a middlesex county superior court judge sentenced mark kerrigan to 2.5 years after a jury convicted him wednesday of assault and battery . a jury acquitted kerrigan on an involuntary manslaughter charge . the prosecution argued that the elder kerrigan died from a heart attack caused during a physical struggle . solomon asked judge jane haggerty for no prison time for her brother , saying the family had already suffered enough trauma and hardship . none of us have had really the chance to grieve for our father , ' she said in court . mark kerrigan was taken into custody immediately , said cara o'brien , spokeswoman for the middlesex county district attorney 's office . the judge sentenced mark kerrigan to serve two years in prison , followed by two years of probation , during which he will have to satisfy several conditions , including mental health and alcohol abuse treatment , according to o'brien . if kerrigan completes all the conditions , the remaining six months of his prison sentence will be suspended , the judge ruled . mark kerrigan showed little emotion as the verdict was read wednesday in woburn , massachusetts . my family has never believed at all that my brother had anything to do with my father 's death , ' nancy kerrigan said outside the courthouse . my dad would never have wanted any of this . ' prosecutors say daniel kerrigan , 70 , died after having an argument and physical confrontation with his intoxicated son . a medical examiner had found that daniel kerrigan 's 2010 death came from cardiac dysrhythmia triggered by the brawl , which resulted in a larynx injury . cardiac dysrhythmia is abnormal electrical activity in the heart . kerrigan 's family has said daniel kerrigan had a heart condition . | 2010 altercation between kerrigan and his father preceded father 's death |
kerrigan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- olympic figure skater nancy kerrigan solomon tearfully pleaded thursday for leniency for her brother , who was sentenced to prison on a lesser charge in his fatal altercation with their father . a middlesex county superior court judge sentenced mark kerrigan to 2.5 years after a jury convicted him wednesday of assault and battery . a jury acquitted kerrigan on an involuntary manslaughter charge . the prosecution argued that the elder kerrigan died from a heart attack caused during a physical struggle . solomon asked judge jane haggerty for no prison time for her brother , saying the family had already suffered enough trauma and hardship . none of us have had really the chance to grieve for our father , ' she said in court . mark kerrigan was taken into custody immediately , said cara o'brien , spokeswoman for the middlesex county district attorney 's office . the judge sentenced mark kerrigan to serve two years in prison , followed by two years of probation , during which he will have to satisfy several conditions , including mental health and alcohol abuse treatment , according to o'brien . if kerrigan completes all the conditions , the remaining six months of his prison sentence will be suspended , the judge ruled . mark kerrigan showed little emotion as the verdict was read wednesday in woburn , massachusetts . my family has never believed at all that my brother had anything to do with my father 's death , ' nancy kerrigan said outside the courthouse . my dad would never have wanted any of this . ' prosecutors say daniel kerrigan , 70 , died after having an argument and physical confrontation with his intoxicated son . a medical examiner had found that daniel kerrigan 's 2010 death came from cardiac dysrhythmia triggered by the brawl , which resulted in a larynx injury . cardiac dysrhythmia is abnormal electrical activity in the heart . kerrigan 's family has said daniel kerrigan had a heart condition . | mark kerrigan was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter |
haiyang zhu <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a female graduate student at virginia tech was killed wednesday night when a man she knew attacked her with a knife and decapitated her , a school spokesman said . virginia tech police chief wendell flinchum talks about the first slaying on campus since the 2007 shootings . virginia tech spokesman mark owczarski said thursday that xin yang 's killing was the first on the campus since april 16 , 2007 , when a shooter killed 32 people before turning a gun on himself . yang , 22 , from beijing , china , was killed at the au bon pain restaurant in the graduate life center at around 7 p.m. , school spokesman larry hincker said in a written statement . campus police took haiyang zhu , 25 , into custody at the scene . the ningbo , china , native has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail at a local jail , hincker said . zhu did not say anything to the arresting officers , said campus police chief wendell flinchum . there was blood on him , ' flinchum said . the young woman and the suspect were not seen arguing , or anything of that nature , ' he added , citing witness statements . authorities said the two students knew each other . based on emergency contact records maintained by the university , it is known that zhu and yang knew each other , ' hincker said . no other details were provided . the young woman arrived at the university two weeks ago to begin studies in accounting , he said in the statement . zhu is a graduate student pursuing a doctorate in agricultural and applied economics . he began studies at virginia tech in fall 2008 , hincker said . our hearts go out to the victim and her family , ' president charles w. steger said in a letter to the campus community . an act of violence like this one brings back memories of the april 16 tragedy and i have no doubt that many of us feel especially distraught . ' authorities say on april 16 , 2007 , seung-hui cho killed 32 students and professors before killing himself . | haiyang zhu , 25 , taken into custody ; he is charged with first-degree murder |
sean edwards <tsp> ( cnn ) -- sean edwards , one of britain 's most promising racing drivers , has been killed in a crash at the queensland raceway in australia . edwards , 26 , was the son of former formula one driver guy edwards and played the role of his father in the recently-released movie rush . edwards was leading the drivers'championship in the 2013 porsche mobil 1 supercup season and was taking part in a private training session for young drivers . the accident occurred when the porsche 966 car in which he was traveling in as a passenger smashed into a tire barrier . guy edwards was one of three drivers who famously pulled niki lauda out of his car before it burst into flames following a crash at the nurburgring during the 1976 german grand prix . his son had followed him into racing and was highly rated . condolences ' our thoughts are with his family and we want to express our deepest condolences to his relatives , ' said hartmut kristen , head of motorsport at porsche . inspector dave preston , from queensland police , said emergency services had struggled to get edwards out of the damaged vehicles . the fire and rescue had to do extensive work in relation to extracting and opening the vehicle up sufficiently to remove him , he was trapped for some time , ' he told reporters . when i last went down there and he was being removed he [ the driver ] was awake and aware of what was going on around him . ' edwards began his career in formula ford 10 years ago before going on to compete in the formula renault uk and british gt . he won the fia gt3 championship in 2006 before making the move to the porsche supercup competition in 2008 . shocking david coulthard , the former formula one driver , took to twitter to extend his condolences . he wrote : shocking news about sean edwards passing , top man and super talented racer , condolences to his nearest and dearest . ' the motor sports association ( msa ) also offered its best wishes to the family , saying it was shocked and saddened ' by the news .'sean was a hugely promising young racer who came through the junior formulas in britain , before making a career in international sports car racing , ' read the statement . he is leading the 2013 porsche supercup championship and had won both the nurburgring and dubai 24 hours this year . the msa extends its deepest sympathies to sean 's family , friends and fans at this difficult time . ' | sean edwards was one of britain 's most promising racing drivers |
kashmir <tsp> ( cnn ) -- five days of gunbattles between the indian army and separatist militants in indian-administered kashmir have left at least 25 dead -- eight indian army troopers , including one officer , and 17 militants , the indian military said tuesday . an indian army soldier lays a wreath during the funeral of a slain soldier , northeast of srinagar on tuesday . defense minister a.k . antony , meeting with india 's military chiefs in delhi , reviewed the situation in the himalayan region and told the army to deal with the situation in the himalayan region with utmost firmness . ' kashmir has been in the throes of a violent separatist campaign for nearly two decades during which authorities say 43,000 people have been killed . however , various ngos and rights groups put the number of dead at twice the official count . in srinigar , kashmir , army spokesman lt. col. j.s . brar told cnn the army was moving against the militants based on sound intelligence inputs as well as human intelligence provided by our own sources . ' the battles in the shamsbhari forests of north kashmir kupwara district have caused minimum collateral damage to property , ' brar said . the spokesman denied media reports that helicopter gunships and heavy weapons had been used by the army during these operations against the militants . this month 's encounter between the indian army and the militants is the second longest in kashmir this year . in january , a fierce encounter raged for seven days in the poonch district of jammu region of indian-administered kashmir . two soldiers , a policeman and four militants were killed in that encounter . kashmir has been the source of bitter dispute and two wars between india and neighboring pakistan . both control parts of the region which is predominantly muslim . | kashmir has been in throes of separatist campaign for 20 years |
kashmir <tsp> ( cnn ) -- five days of gunbattles between the indian army and separatist militants in indian-administered kashmir have left at least 25 dead -- eight indian army troopers , including one officer , and 17 militants , the indian military said tuesday . an indian army soldier lays a wreath during the funeral of a slain soldier , northeast of srinagar on tuesday . defense minister a.k . antony , meeting with india 's military chiefs in delhi , reviewed the situation in the himalayan region and told the army to deal with the situation in the himalayan region with utmost firmness . ' kashmir has been in the throes of a violent separatist campaign for nearly two decades during which authorities say 43,000 people have been killed . however , various ngos and rights groups put the number of dead at twice the official count . in srinigar , kashmir , army spokesman lt. col. j.s . brar told cnn the army was moving against the militants based on sound intelligence inputs as well as human intelligence provided by our own sources . ' the battles in the shamsbhari forests of north kashmir kupwara district have caused minimum collateral damage to property , ' brar said . the spokesman denied media reports that helicopter gunships and heavy weapons had been used by the army during these operations against the militants . this month 's encounter between the indian army and the militants is the second longest in kashmir this year . in january , a fierce encounter raged for seven days in the poonch district of jammu region of indian-administered kashmir . two soldiers , a policeman and four militants were killed in that encounter . kashmir has been the source of bitter dispute and two wars between india and neighboring pakistan . both control parts of the region which is predominantly muslim . | new : 25 dead in kashmir gunfights between indian troops , separatist militants |
indian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- five days of gunbattles between the indian army and separatist militants in indian-administered kashmir have left at least 25 dead -- eight indian army troopers , including one officer , and 17 militants , the indian military said tuesday . an indian army soldier lays a wreath during the funeral of a slain soldier , northeast of srinagar on tuesday . defense minister a.k . antony , meeting with india 's military chiefs in delhi , reviewed the situation in the himalayan region and told the army to deal with the situation in the himalayan region with utmost firmness . ' kashmir has been in the throes of a violent separatist campaign for nearly two decades during which authorities say 43,000 people have been killed . however , various ngos and rights groups put the number of dead at twice the official count . in srinigar , kashmir , army spokesman lt. col. j.s . brar told cnn the army was moving against the militants based on sound intelligence inputs as well as human intelligence provided by our own sources . ' the battles in the shamsbhari forests of north kashmir kupwara district have caused minimum collateral damage to property , ' brar said . the spokesman denied media reports that helicopter gunships and heavy weapons had been used by the army during these operations against the militants . this month 's encounter between the indian army and the militants is the second longest in kashmir this year . in january , a fierce encounter raged for seven days in the poonch district of jammu region of indian-administered kashmir . two soldiers , a policeman and four militants were killed in that encounter . kashmir has been the source of bitter dispute and two wars between india and neighboring pakistan . both control parts of the region which is predominantly muslim . | incident comes after india accuses pakistani troops of firing on indian troops |
indian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- five days of gunbattles between the indian army and separatist militants in indian-administered kashmir have left at least 25 dead -- eight indian army troopers , including one officer , and 17 militants , the indian military said tuesday . an indian army soldier lays a wreath during the funeral of a slain soldier , northeast of srinagar on tuesday . defense minister a.k . antony , meeting with india 's military chiefs in delhi , reviewed the situation in the himalayan region and told the army to deal with the situation in the himalayan region with utmost firmness . ' kashmir has been in the throes of a violent separatist campaign for nearly two decades during which authorities say 43,000 people have been killed . however , various ngos and rights groups put the number of dead at twice the official count . in srinigar , kashmir , army spokesman lt. col. j.s . brar told cnn the army was moving against the militants based on sound intelligence inputs as well as human intelligence provided by our own sources . ' the battles in the shamsbhari forests of north kashmir kupwara district have caused minimum collateral damage to property , ' brar said . the spokesman denied media reports that helicopter gunships and heavy weapons had been used by the army during these operations against the militants . this month 's encounter between the indian army and the militants is the second longest in kashmir this year . in january , a fierce encounter raged for seven days in the poonch district of jammu region of indian-administered kashmir . two soldiers , a policeman and four militants were killed in that encounter . kashmir has been the source of bitter dispute and two wars between india and neighboring pakistan . both control parts of the region which is predominantly muslim . | new : 25 dead in kashmir gunfights between indian troops , separatist militants |
jean monnet <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- more than six decades ago , the european movement 's founder jean monnet shared his vision for the region 's nascent union , prescribing money as a means to heal the wounds left by two world wars . the fusion ' of europe 's economic ties , he said , would compel its nations to fuse their sovereignty ' as well into that of a single european state . ' to the frenchman , a federal europe was the natural progression of the bloc 's newfound stability . a collection of like-minded countries whose shared goals were so clear they would willingly surrender their own governments for the group 's greater good . that was 1952 . a time when the future held great promise after the horrors of the past and anything seemed possible -- even creating a new pseudo country . a place now known as the european union . fast forward to the present day and , though the eu does have some shared organs of government , like a commission and parliament , it certainly is n't the set of united states ' monnet hoped for . ones with the same deep-seated convictions and beliefs . the glue holding their common ideologies together came unstuck with the fall of the berlin wall . since then , a crisis among countries sharing the euro has reopened old wounds . ironically , instead of bringing nations together , their finances have threatened to tear them apart . this leaves us with one fundamental question : if the eu 's main task is no longer to provide peace , and it ca n't guarantee prosperity either , then what should its role be ? born from the ashes of europe 's turbulent past , the eu has accomplished much for its members . it has taught its citizens value of compromise over violence , providing protection and strength in numbers . it has boosted prosperity , thanks to the free flow of goods and labor brought about by the single market , while consumer and workers'rights have been reinforced and their health improved thanks to bans on smoking . but the eu has also drifted far from its original concept , its ranks swollen by a massive brussels-based bureaucratic machine which , critics say , is stifling industry and is pushing members like the uk towards the exit door . the bloc 's borders have doubled with its endless absorption of former communist countries , stretching the definition of europe to its limits , making membership to this formerly elite club appear more like a handy foreign policy tool rather than a cherished vision . the eu faces a constant challenge living up to the expectations of its citizens and without two-tier policies it has no hope of serving both the bloc 's strong and weak economies alike . the eu needs a new vision a new project its people can feel passionate about . and where better to start then this week 's pivotal parliamentary elections . read more : boss puts stamp on family business read more : how to rebuild trans-atlantic ties | the european movement 's founder jean monnet laid out his vision for the bloc more than six decades ago |
walker <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- paul walker 's brothers are helping fill in small gaps ' in fast & furious 7 ' action sequences not finished before the actor 's death , producers said tuesday . walker died in a fiery car crash during a thanksgiving break in filming last november , forcing a halt to production . we had to take time to grieve paul , the brother we love and lost , and to figure out if we should move on with our film , ' producers wrote to fans in a facebook post tuesday . the decision to resume filming was the only choice , ' the note said . we believe our fans want that , and we believe paul would want that , too . ' walker 's dramatic scenes were completed before his death but some action sequences were unfinished , they said . we have resumed shooting and now welcome paul 's brothers , caleb and cody , into our'fast'family , ' the post said . caleb and cody are helping us complete some remaining action for their brother and fill in small gaps left in production . having them on set has made us all feel that paul is with us , too . ' the movie was to have been released this summer , but universal pushed it back to april 10 , 2015 . this film is the most important we 've ever done together , ' the post said . it will allow the character of brian o'conner to live on and let us celebrate paul in his most defining role . ' walker 's o'conner character is a staple of the long-running and hugely profitable film franchise . directed by james wan , it also stars vin diesel , dwayne johnson , michelle rodriguez and jason statham . walker 's death : video shows car erupted in flames after 60 seconds investigators concluded in a report released in march that speed was to blame in walker 's death . investigators determined the cause of the fatal solo-vehicle collision was unsafe speed for the roadway conditions , ' los angeles county sheriff 's commander mike parker said . the high-performance 2005 porsche carrera gt was going between 80 and 93 mph at the time the car impacted a power pole and several trees , ' the final report said . the posted speed limit on the santa clarita , california , office park road was 45 mph . walker , 40 , and friend roger rodas , 38 , had no drugs or alcohol in their blood , the report said . both men were wearing seat belts . the airbags deployed as they should have when the car clipped a light pole and several trees , investigators said . nothing mechanical went wrong to cause the porsche to leave the wide road . investigators found no pre-existing conditions that would have caused this collision , ' the report said . porsche carrera gt : 5 reasons the car paul walker died in is different walker and rodas , racing team partners , left a charity event at a car shop co-owned by the men to take a ride in an office park in the community of valencia in santa clarita , about 30 miles north of hollywood . the crash happened a few hundred yards away on a wide street . ice cube apologizes for offending paul walker fans | walker 's death last november forced a halt to production |
england <tsp> ( cnn ) -- fernando torres'highly-anticipated switch to english champions chelsea was completed just before monday transfer window closed in a deal that his former team liverpool said had broken the british record . chelsea 's website reported that the spain striker had signed a five-and-a-half-year contract , but did not disclose the fee -- which british media speculated would be about £50 million ( $ 80 million ) . however , it was still well short of the world-record $ 130 million that spain 's real madrid paid english club manchester united for cristiano ronaldo in 2009 . in another deal confirmed late on monday , benfica said that brazil defender david luiz had joined chelsea in a deal worth $ 34 million that saw serbian midfielder nemanja matic sign for the portuguese club . i am very happy with my transfer to chelsea and i am looking forward very much to helping my new team-mates this season and for many years to come , ' 2010 world cup winner torres told the london side 's website . having played against chelsea many times since coming to england , and in some very big games i will never forget , i know there are many great players here and i will work hard to win a place in the team . i hope i can score some important goals for the supporters to enjoy this season . ' the 26-year-old scored 65 goals in 102 premier league appearances for liverpool after joining from atletico madrid in 2007 in a £20 million deal , netting 81 in 142 games in all competitions . torres'move followed the news that liverpool had agreed a club-record fee for newcastle 's england striker andy carroll , who handed in a transfer request in the afternoon after the 18-time english champions made an improved bid . just before the 2300 gmt deadline , liverpool confirmed that the 22-year-old had signed a contract until 2016 . the fee was not disclosed but it reportedly surpassed the previous british record of £33 million ( $ 53 million ) that manchester city paid for brazilian robinho in 2008 . will deadline-day spending buck the trend ? chelsea 's billionaire owner roman abramovich has been relatively quiet in transfer market for the past two seasons , but has this time backed coach carlo ancelotti with two marquee signings as his club languish fourth in the table -- 10 points behind leaders manchester united . the london team also announced on monday that the chelsea fc plc made a loss of £70.9 million ( $ 113 million ) for the year ended june 30 , 2010 . the reduction in operating losses and increased sales in 2009-10 shows that we are moving in the right direction especially when viewed against the difficult macroeconomic environment , ' chief executive ron gourlay told chelsea 's website . the club is in a strong position to meet the challenges of uefa'financial fair play'initiatives which will be relevant to the financial statements to be released in early 2013 . ' latest transfer rumors on twitter carroll joined uruguay world cup striker luis suarez at liverpool , with the 24-year-old completing his $ 36 million transfer from dutch club ajax earlier on monday to become kenny dalglish 's first major signing in his second stint as manager . the 24-year-old has scored 111 goals in 159 games for the amsterdam side . another high-profile striker on the move monday was tottenham 's robbie keane , who has agreed a loan switch to london rivals west ham until the end of this season . the move is likely to become permanent should the hammers , currently bottom of the epl , avoid relegation to the second flight . blog : who will be the best signing of the transfer window ? manager avram grant said after the 3-2 fa cup win nottingham forest that he hoped the republic of ireland international would provide the spark to get the club away from the drop zone . he is not just a good player , he is a good character that we need in the next 14 games , ' the israeli told the uk press association . tottenham , who face ac milan in the last 16 of the champions league next month , were linked with a bid for atletico madrid 's sergio aguero . but the argentina striker has signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract extension with the spanish side until 2014 and told the la liga outfit 's official website : i 'm staying here because i want to . ' spurs manager harry redknapp would not confirm his interest in aguero or other reported targets in spain as he arrived for monday 's training session , but told sky sports that former england defender jonathan woodgate would not be leaving on loan . woodgate , who has returned to fitness after long-term injury , is needed as defensive cover after captain michael dawson was banned for three matches after being sent off in the 4-0 fa cup defeat to fulham , while french fellow center-back younes kaboul needs an operation , said redknapp . united states international midfielder michael bradley has joined english club aston villa from german side borussia monchengladbach on loan until the end of this season . villa boss gerard houllier told reporters : we 've got to prepare for the future and michael is 23 and a very hard-working midfielder who can score goals . ' villa allowed irish midfielder stephen ireland to join newcastle on loan for the rest of this season , almost six months after he arrived from manchester city . houllier also said that the club had received no bids for england winger ashley young . turkey international striker tuncay sanli has moved from english premier league side stoke to wolfsburg in a $ 7 million deal , the german club announced on their official website . the bundesliga side also announced the arrival of attacking midfielders koo ja-cheoul of south korea and venezuelan yohandry orozco , plus bayer leverkusen 's germany international striker patrick helmes and czech midfielder jan polak . the 21-year-old koo -- who scored five goals in six matches at the recent asian cup -- signed a three-and-a-half-year deal from korean side jeju united , while 19-year-old orozco signed from venezuela 's zulia fc until 2015 . stoke also allowed former chelsea and barcelona striker eidur gudjohnsen to join english rivals fulham on loan , with the iceland international having failed to win a regular place since his pre-season move from monaco . german rivals schalke signed iran international midfielder ali karimi , who worked with coach felix magath when they were both at bayern munich , plus clubless greece striker angelos charisteas -- who scored the winning goal in the final of euro 2004 . serie a leaders ac milan confirmed on their website the signing of 34-year-old italy defender nicola legrottaglie from league rivals juventus , on a contract until june this year . italian champions inter milan have signed japan leftback yuto nagamoto on loan from cesena on loan for the rest of this season , with 20-year-old italy international defender davide santon moving in the opposite direction . the 24-year-old nagamoto set up the only goal of the asian cup final against australia on saturday which sealed a record fourth title for the blue samurai . inter coach leonardo has allowed colombian defender nelson rivas to join ukrainian side dnipro dnipropetrovsk on loan , with a view to a permanent deal . brazil-born italy international striker amauri has returned to parma on loan from italian rivals juventus , who have replaced him with cagliari 's alessandro matri . english club birmingham city signed nigeria international obafemi martins in a six-month loan deal from russian side rubin kazan , after the former newcastle striker was granted a work permit . portugal international striker liedson has returned to the country of his birth after joining brazilian club corinthians from sporting lisbon in a $ 2.9 million deal . the 32-year-old qualified for portuguese nationality in 2009 and played for his adopted nation at last year 's world cup finals in south africa . ecuador midfielder jefferson montero has swapped spanish clubs after joining struggling levante from champions league hopefuls villarreal on loan . dutch club feyenoord have signed denmark international striker soren larsen from french side toulouse on loan for the rest of this season , along with arsenal 's new 18-year-old japanese forward ryo miyaichi and borussia monchengladbach midfielder marcel meeuwis . | liverpool complete club-record deal for newcastle 's england striker andy carroll |
justice department <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- former republican sen. ted stevens of alaska has been cleared ' by the justice department 's request to dismiss his federal corruption convictions and drop all charges against him , his lawyer said wednesday . former sen. ted stevens , 85 , of alaska lost his re-election bid in november . prosecutors accused stevens of failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies ' from an oilfield services company on senate ethics forms . but in december , an unnamed fbi whistle-blower accused prosecutors of withholding evidence from the defense , and the justice department asked a judge to dismiss the charges against stevens on wednesday . his name is cleared , ' stevens'lawyer , brendan sullivan , told reporters . he is innocent of the charges , as if they 'd never been brought . ' stevens , 85 , lost his bid for a seventh full term in november after his conviction on seven counts of lying on senate ethics forms . sullivan said the justice department was forced to request the dismissal because of extraordinary evidence of government corruption . ' watch more on the dismissal of the case » ' not only did the government fail to provide evidence to the defense that the law requires them to provide , but they created false testimony that they gave us and actually presented false testimony in the courtroom , ' he said . and one of stevens'longtime friends , utah sen. orrin hatch , said wednesday that stevens was screwed by our own justice department . ' in a statement issued wednesday morning , stevens thanked the justice department and attorney general eric holder for requesting that the charges be dropped . i always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed , ' stevens said . that day has finally come . ' u.s. district judge emmet sullivan has set a tuesday hearing on the justice department 's request to dismiss the case . sullivan , who is not related to stevens'lawyer , excoriated prosecutors during the trial and held the prosecution in contempt at one point . in december , two months after the guilty verdicts , the fbi whistle-blower accused prosecutors of withholding evidence from the defense and reported that someone with the government had had an inappropriate relationship with bill allen , an oil industry executive who was the government 's key witness . in the motion it filed wednesday , the justice department acknowledged that stevens was not given access to notes taken by prosecutors during an april 2008 interview with allen , the former chairman of an oilfield services company at the center of a corruption probe in alaska . the notes show that responses by allen , the prosecution 's star witness , were inconsistent with testimony he gave against stevens , and that information from the interview could have benefited stevens at trial , the motion says . in light of this conclusion , and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case , i have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial , ' holder said in a written statement . hatch , a senior republican on the senate judiciary committee , said he called stevens in alaska on wednesday and the former senator sounded elated , as anyone would . ' here 's a guy who gave better than 60 years'service to the country and was screwed -- screwed by our own justice department , ' hatch said . but he praised holder for standing up and fixing this foul situation . ' i think he 's more than shown integrity and decency in this matter , and it 's not an easy thing for him to do that , ' hatch said . he has , in looking at it , realized now what people like myself have been saying is 100 percent right . ' senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , also commented on the justice department 's request , saying , ted stevens is 85 years old . he 's already been punished enough . i 'm satisfied . ' and in a statement wednesday , alaska gov . sarah palin said that stevens deserves to be very happy today . what a horrible thing he has endured . the blatant attempts by adversaries to destroy one 's reputation , career and finances are an abuse of our well-guarded process and violate our god-given rights afforded in the constitution . it is a frightening thing to contemplate what we may be witnessing here -- the undermining of the political process through unscrupulous ploys and professional misconduct . senator stevens ... never gave up hope . it is unfortunate that , as a result of the questionable proceedings which led to senator stevens'conviction days before the election , alaskans lost an esteemed statesman on capitol hill . his presence is missed . ' the justice department 's office of professional responsibility will review the prosecution team 's conduct in stevens'case , holder said . asked whether the prosecutors should be charged themselves , sullivan told reporters , that is not my job . i 'm a defense lawyer . ' during the trial , assistant attorney general matthew friedrich said stevens hid hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies ' he received from allen 's company , veco , and from allen himself . many of the allegedly free services were given as part of the renovation of stevens'alaska home , prosecutors said . cnn 's terry frieden , paul courson , ted barrett and deb krajnak contributed to this report . | new : senate majority leader , alaska governor back justice department action |
senate <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- former republican sen. ted stevens of alaska has been cleared ' by the justice department 's request to dismiss his federal corruption convictions and drop all charges against him , his lawyer said wednesday . former sen. ted stevens , 85 , of alaska lost his re-election bid in november . prosecutors accused stevens of failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies ' from an oilfield services company on senate ethics forms . but in december , an unnamed fbi whistle-blower accused prosecutors of withholding evidence from the defense , and the justice department asked a judge to dismiss the charges against stevens on wednesday . his name is cleared , ' stevens'lawyer , brendan sullivan , told reporters . he is innocent of the charges , as if they 'd never been brought . ' stevens , 85 , lost his bid for a seventh full term in november after his conviction on seven counts of lying on senate ethics forms . sullivan said the justice department was forced to request the dismissal because of extraordinary evidence of government corruption . ' watch more on the dismissal of the case » ' not only did the government fail to provide evidence to the defense that the law requires them to provide , but they created false testimony that they gave us and actually presented false testimony in the courtroom , ' he said . and one of stevens'longtime friends , utah sen. orrin hatch , said wednesday that stevens was screwed by our own justice department . ' in a statement issued wednesday morning , stevens thanked the justice department and attorney general eric holder for requesting that the charges be dropped . i always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed , ' stevens said . that day has finally come . ' u.s. district judge emmet sullivan has set a tuesday hearing on the justice department 's request to dismiss the case . sullivan , who is not related to stevens'lawyer , excoriated prosecutors during the trial and held the prosecution in contempt at one point . in december , two months after the guilty verdicts , the fbi whistle-blower accused prosecutors of withholding evidence from the defense and reported that someone with the government had had an inappropriate relationship with bill allen , an oil industry executive who was the government 's key witness . in the motion it filed wednesday , the justice department acknowledged that stevens was not given access to notes taken by prosecutors during an april 2008 interview with allen , the former chairman of an oilfield services company at the center of a corruption probe in alaska . the notes show that responses by allen , the prosecution 's star witness , were inconsistent with testimony he gave against stevens , and that information from the interview could have benefited stevens at trial , the motion says . in light of this conclusion , and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case , i have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial , ' holder said in a written statement . hatch , a senior republican on the senate judiciary committee , said he called stevens in alaska on wednesday and the former senator sounded elated , as anyone would . ' here 's a guy who gave better than 60 years'service to the country and was screwed -- screwed by our own justice department , ' hatch said . but he praised holder for standing up and fixing this foul situation . ' i think he 's more than shown integrity and decency in this matter , and it 's not an easy thing for him to do that , ' hatch said . he has , in looking at it , realized now what people like myself have been saying is 100 percent right . ' senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , also commented on the justice department 's request , saying , ted stevens is 85 years old . he 's already been punished enough . i 'm satisfied . ' and in a statement wednesday , alaska gov . sarah palin said that stevens deserves to be very happy today . what a horrible thing he has endured . the blatant attempts by adversaries to destroy one 's reputation , career and finances are an abuse of our well-guarded process and violate our god-given rights afforded in the constitution . it is a frightening thing to contemplate what we may be witnessing here -- the undermining of the political process through unscrupulous ploys and professional misconduct . senator stevens ... never gave up hope . it is unfortunate that , as a result of the questionable proceedings which led to senator stevens'conviction days before the election , alaskans lost an esteemed statesman on capitol hill . his presence is missed . ' the justice department 's office of professional responsibility will review the prosecution team 's conduct in stevens'case , holder said . asked whether the prosecutors should be charged themselves , sullivan told reporters , that is not my job . i 'm a defense lawyer . ' during the trial , assistant attorney general matthew friedrich said stevens hid hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies ' he received from allen 's company , veco , and from allen himself . many of the allegedly free services were given as part of the renovation of stevens'alaska home , prosecutors said . cnn 's terry frieden , paul courson , ted barrett and deb krajnak contributed to this report . | new : senate majority leader , alaska governor back justice department action |
boston <tsp> ( cnn ) syria is a hell on earth that is expanding in plain sight . the death toll there has doubled in a year 's time , if an opposition group is right . since civil war broke out there , 310,000 people have been killed , the syrian observatory for human rights said thursday . a year earlier , sohr 's tally stood at 162,402 . and the year before , the united nations put the death toll at 70,000 . violence has plunged well over half of all syrians into such destitution that they are in dire need of survival aid , the united nations says , as food rations are being cut for lack of donations . numbers alone ca n't convey the immeasurable anguish of millions , but maybe it can remind the rest of us of the magnitude of the world 's currently greatest tragedy . the number of years since perpetual bloodshed began , since dictator bashar al-assad 's security forces fired on crowds of demonstrators and armed militant groups rose up against him in march 2011 . percentage of the syrian population killed . it would be like killing 3 to 4 million americans . the range comes from the sohr 's death toll of 310,000 and a recent lower estimate by the u.n. of at least 220,000 dead . the number of syrians in need of immediate life-saving aid , according to the u.n. that 's the population of moscow . syrians driven from their homes , the u.n. says . imagine the entire boston metropolitan area emptied out . syrians who have fled as refugees to neighboring countries , creating humanitarian and economic hardship across syria 's borders . turkey has taken in 1.7 million , lebanon 1.2 million , jordan 625,000 , and iraq 245,000 . the reduction in the size of food rations the world food programme says it has been forced to make due to a lack of donations . that means people receiving aid will get only 60 % of the daily nutrition they need . | more people have been displaced than live in moscow ; more people lost their homes than live in greater boston |
wfp <tsp> ( cnn ) syria is a hell on earth that is expanding in plain sight . the death toll there has doubled in a year 's time , if an opposition group is right . since civil war broke out there , 310,000 people have been killed , the syrian observatory for human rights said thursday . a year earlier , sohr 's tally stood at 162,402 . and the year before , the united nations put the death toll at 70,000 . violence has plunged well over half of all syrians into such destitution that they are in dire need of survival aid , the united nations says , as food rations are being cut for lack of donations . numbers alone ca n't convey the immeasurable anguish of millions , but maybe it can remind the rest of us of the magnitude of the world 's currently greatest tragedy . the number of years since perpetual bloodshed began , since dictator bashar al-assad 's security forces fired on crowds of demonstrators and armed militant groups rose up against him in march 2011 . percentage of the syrian population killed . it would be like killing 3 to 4 million americans . the range comes from the sohr 's death toll of 310,000 and a recent lower estimate by the u.n. of at least 220,000 dead . the number of syrians in need of immediate life-saving aid , according to the u.n. that 's the population of moscow . syrians driven from their homes , the u.n. says . imagine the entire boston metropolitan area emptied out . syrians who have fled as refugees to neighboring countries , creating humanitarian and economic hardship across syria 's borders . turkey has taken in 1.7 million , lebanon 1.2 million , jordan 625,000 , and iraq 245,000 . the reduction in the size of food rations the world food programme says it has been forced to make due to a lack of donations . that means people receiving aid will get only 60 % of the daily nutrition they need . | the wfp has cut food ration sizes by 30 % for lack of donations |
moscow <tsp> ( cnn ) syria is a hell on earth that is expanding in plain sight . the death toll there has doubled in a year 's time , if an opposition group is right . since civil war broke out there , 310,000 people have been killed , the syrian observatory for human rights said thursday . a year earlier , sohr 's tally stood at 162,402 . and the year before , the united nations put the death toll at 70,000 . violence has plunged well over half of all syrians into such destitution that they are in dire need of survival aid , the united nations says , as food rations are being cut for lack of donations . numbers alone ca n't convey the immeasurable anguish of millions , but maybe it can remind the rest of us of the magnitude of the world 's currently greatest tragedy . the number of years since perpetual bloodshed began , since dictator bashar al-assad 's security forces fired on crowds of demonstrators and armed militant groups rose up against him in march 2011 . percentage of the syrian population killed . it would be like killing 3 to 4 million americans . the range comes from the sohr 's death toll of 310,000 and a recent lower estimate by the u.n. of at least 220,000 dead . the number of syrians in need of immediate life-saving aid , according to the u.n. that 's the population of moscow . syrians driven from their homes , the u.n. says . imagine the entire boston metropolitan area emptied out . syrians who have fled as refugees to neighboring countries , creating humanitarian and economic hardship across syria 's borders . turkey has taken in 1.7 million , lebanon 1.2 million , jordan 625,000 , and iraq 245,000 . the reduction in the size of food rations the world food programme says it has been forced to make due to a lack of donations . that means people receiving aid will get only 60 % of the daily nutrition they need . | more people have been displaced than live in moscow ; more people lost their homes than live in greater boston |
cnn <tsp> calvert county , maryland ( cnn ) -- getting out of her car , the wife of a furloughed government worker walked toward a small building full of free food . she approached the door with her head down . an attendant asked for her name , she looked up and began to sob . it 's ok , it 's not your fault , ' the volunteer said as she wrapped her arms around the crying woman . chesapeake cares food pantry , located 30 miles from the political impasse in washington that resulted in the shutdown , put together a food giveaway tailored to affected workers not at their jobs and not being paid . roughly 200 people received bags of frozen meat , canned vegetables and other staples on monday morning . these folks ( furloughed government employees ) do n't know how to be poor , ' said rev . robert hahn , the head end hunger in calvert county , a consortium of food pantries in the area . these folks are fish out of water and they feel humiliated , like they have lost their dignity . ' this is the second offering hahn 's group has made to federal employees . last week , the group passed out 2,700 pounds of food to 71 different families . and if the government shutdown continues , hahn said he anticipates his group will continue this sort of offering . the shutdown that began on october 1 has impacted hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors in the washington region , including people at the epicenter of the partisan shutdown showdown in congress . washington-area food banks have responded to an unexpected need this fall created by the shutdown , their efforts already tested by a continued , uneven economic recovery and tough job market . men and women were on both sides of the help on monday in calvert county -- those receiving and those distributing food . those helping out included one person who works for the department of justice and another employed by the navy . cnn agreed not to identify furloughed workers receiving food due to a combination of their embarrassment and not wanting to hurt their employer . getting paid helps , but it does n't help right now , ' said one , who acknowledged she 'll probably get paid once the shutdown ends . still , the woman said she is struggling to put food on the table . some told cnn they were living paycheck to paycheck . the biggest thing ( people are feeling ) is fear , ' said hahn . even a lot of federal employees who know that they 're going to get their checks made up , they 're still going to be shy ' if they miss a couple of pay periods . president barack obama visited a food pantry in downtown washington on monday where he helped make peanut butter sandwiches . he told reporters that he stopped by martha 's table because many of volunteers there had been furloughed . they 're here contributing and giving back to the community and i think that shows the kind of spirit that we have among all kinds of federal workers all across the country , people who dedicate their lives to public service , ' obama said . hahn , who has worked for chesapeake church for 20 years , said many of the men and women he saw collect food on monday were new faces who had never sought their help in the past . while a study by main street showed that calvert county was the 13th wealthiest county in the united states in 2012 , hahn said that ranking does n't show how many working poor ' live in the area . it 's a damn shame , ' maryland gov . martin o'malley told cnn . it 's no fault of their own , but they find themselves now in a position of , of having to come here for help . ' o'malley , who attended the event , said he would recommend that those who for ideological reasons feel shutting down our government is a good idea ' should come here and see the families that are showing up for help to feed their families for the first time in their lives . ' as volunteers passed out food , there was obvious frustration with political leaders in washington . those in line lamented the fact they were expected to just go without pay . hahn said he had more important things to do than worry about how things will shake out on capitol hill . i would say this to the president and congress , your job is to solve problems , not to create problems , ' hahn said . we are here solving problems . ' cnn 's jim acosta contributed to this report . | it 's a damn shame , ' maryland gov . martin o'malley , told cnn . |
nhtsa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- after receiving nearly 100 reports of stuck gas pedals in ford and mazda vehicles , federal regulators said tuesday they have launched an investigation into the problem , which is a suspected cause of one death and nine injuries . the stuck accelerators are being investigated for their possible role in one fatal accident , 13 nonfatal crashes or fires and eight injury accidents , according to the national highway transportation safety administration . ford and mazda said 591,245 vehicles were potentially affected , according to the automakers'reports to the nhtsa in 2004 . more than half the vehicles were 2001-2004 model year ford escapes . the remaining vehicles were 2001-2004 mazda tributes . the nhtsa now has identified 730,000 vehicles potentially affected , expanding the scope of vehicles in question . all 730,000 are 2001-2004 ford escape and mazda tribute suvs with v6 engines , according to the nhtsa . mazda and ford issued recalls in 2004 on models of the sport utility vehicles that had 3.0 liter six cylinder engines . several of the reports to the nhtsa involve vehicles not covered by previous recalls , the agency said in a letter to ford 's environmental and safety compliance global director on thursday . one complaint is based on a fatal crash that occurred in january 2012 , the nhtsa said . some of the complaints allege that failures may have been related to repairs made in response to safety recalls initiated in 2004 , the investigation summary said . the 2004 ford and mazda recalls were for the vehicle speed control cables in their affected vehicles . letters were also sent to dealers and customers , according to filings on the nhtsa website . on your vehicle , it is possible that the accelerator cable may prevent the throttle from returning to the idle position , possibly resulting in elevated engine speeds while driving , ' ford 's letter to customers read . an unexpected increase in engine idle speed may increase stopping distance and may result in a vehicle crash without warning . ' the center for auto safety petitioned the nhtsa to open a similar investigation on july 8 . the petition was denied thursday because part of the request is being covered by the agency 's newly opened investigation . the nhtsa has opened the investigation to assess the scope , frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect , ' the agency said . neither ford nor mazda responded to cnn 's requests for comment . | nhtsa has received nearly 100 reports of stuck gas pedals |
rolling stone <tsp> tennis ace serena williams clarified wednesday the controversial comments she made in a magazine article about the victim 's role in the steubenville , ohio , rape case that garnered national headlines earlier this year . in march , two high school football players were convicted of raping a drunk teen at a party and posting pictures of the incident online . in an upcoming issue of rolling stone magazine , williams talks about the convicted rapists after a news report about the case appeared on a nearby tv screen during the interview . do you think it was fair , what they got ? they did something stupid , but i do n't know . i 'm not blaming the girl , but if you 're a 16-year-old and you 're drunk like that , your parents should teach you : do n't take drinks from other people , ' she told rolling stone . of the victim , williams also says in the interview : she 's 16 , why was she that drunk where she does n't remember ? it could have been much worse . she 's lucky . obviously , i do n't know , maybe she was n't a virgin , but she should n't have put herself in that position , unless they slipped her something , then that 's different . ' the comments , posted on rolling stone 's website tuesday , immediately caused a firestorm on social media , particularly on twitter where users castigated the tennis star . on wednesday , williams released a statement on her website clarifying her remarks . what happened in steubenville was a real shock for me . i was deeply saddened . for someone to be raped , and at only sixteen , is such a horrible tragedy ! for both families involved -- that of the rape victim and of the accused , ' she wrote . i am currently reaching out to the girl 's family to let her know that i am deeply sorry for what was written in the rolling stone article . what was written -- what i supposedly said -- is insensitive and hurtful , and i by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame , ' williams added . stephen rodrick , who wrote the rolling stone article , stands by his reporting , telling the poynter institute : the interview is on tape . other than that , i 'll let the story speak for itself . ' | rolling stone reporter stands by the article , says interview is on tape |
rolling stone <tsp> tennis ace serena williams clarified wednesday the controversial comments she made in a magazine article about the victim 's role in the steubenville , ohio , rape case that garnered national headlines earlier this year . in march , two high school football players were convicted of raping a drunk teen at a party and posting pictures of the incident online . in an upcoming issue of rolling stone magazine , williams talks about the convicted rapists after a news report about the case appeared on a nearby tv screen during the interview . do you think it was fair , what they got ? they did something stupid , but i do n't know . i 'm not blaming the girl , but if you 're a 16-year-old and you 're drunk like that , your parents should teach you : do n't take drinks from other people , ' she told rolling stone . of the victim , williams also says in the interview : she 's 16 , why was she that drunk where she does n't remember ? it could have been much worse . she 's lucky . obviously , i do n't know , maybe she was n't a virgin , but she should n't have put herself in that position , unless they slipped her something , then that 's different . ' the comments , posted on rolling stone 's website tuesday , immediately caused a firestorm on social media , particularly on twitter where users castigated the tennis star . on wednesday , williams released a statement on her website clarifying her remarks . what happened in steubenville was a real shock for me . i was deeply saddened . for someone to be raped , and at only sixteen , is such a horrible tragedy ! for both families involved -- that of the rape victim and of the accused , ' she wrote . i am currently reaching out to the girl 's family to let her know that i am deeply sorry for what was written in the rolling stone article . what was written -- what i supposedly said -- is insensitive and hurtful , and i by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame , ' williams added . stephen rodrick , who wrote the rolling stone article , stands by his reporting , telling the poynter institute : the interview is on tape . other than that , i 'll let the story speak for itself . ' | serena williams clarifies comments on steubenville rape published in rolling stone |
rolling stone <tsp> tennis ace serena williams clarified wednesday the controversial comments she made in a magazine article about the victim 's role in the steubenville , ohio , rape case that garnered national headlines earlier this year . in march , two high school football players were convicted of raping a drunk teen at a party and posting pictures of the incident online . in an upcoming issue of rolling stone magazine , williams talks about the convicted rapists after a news report about the case appeared on a nearby tv screen during the interview . do you think it was fair , what they got ? they did something stupid , but i do n't know . i 'm not blaming the girl , but if you 're a 16-year-old and you 're drunk like that , your parents should teach you : do n't take drinks from other people , ' she told rolling stone . of the victim , williams also says in the interview : she 's 16 , why was she that drunk where she does n't remember ? it could have been much worse . she 's lucky . obviously , i do n't know , maybe she was n't a virgin , but she should n't have put herself in that position , unless they slipped her something , then that 's different . ' the comments , posted on rolling stone 's website tuesday , immediately caused a firestorm on social media , particularly on twitter where users castigated the tennis star . on wednesday , williams released a statement on her website clarifying her remarks . what happened in steubenville was a real shock for me . i was deeply saddened . for someone to be raped , and at only sixteen , is such a horrible tragedy ! for both families involved -- that of the rape victim and of the accused , ' she wrote . i am currently reaching out to the girl 's family to let her know that i am deeply sorry for what was written in the rolling stone article . what was written -- what i supposedly said -- is insensitive and hurtful , and i by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame , ' williams added . stephen rodrick , who wrote the rolling stone article , stands by his reporting , telling the poynter institute : the interview is on tape . other than that , i 'll let the story speak for itself . ' | the victim should n't have put herself in that position , ' williams said , according to rolling stone |
south pacific <tsp> ( cnn ) -- six uyghurs who were imprisoned in the detention facility at guantanamo bay , cuba , were transferred saturday to the south pacific island nation of palau , the justice department said . ahmad tourson , abdul ghappar abdul rahman , edham mamet , anwar hassan , dawut abdurehim and adel noori were resettled in palau , the justice department said in a statement saturday . seven uyghurs are still at guantanamo bay , where 215 prisoners remain . uyghur is an ethnic group from western china . since january , 25 detainees have been transferred to other countries . the united states has coordinated with palau to ensure that the transfers take place under appropriate security measures and will continue to consult with the republic of palau regarding the individuals , ' the justice department said . the 13 uyghurs were accused of receiving weapons and military training in afghanistan . some of them have been cleared for release since 2003 , and other uyghurs have been released to other countries . the united states said it would not send them back to their homeland because of concern they would be tortured by chinese authorities . the chinese government has said no returned uyghurs would be mistreated and has repeatedly warned other countries against taking the men . beijing officials this summer again urged the united states to hand over all remaining uyghurs instead of sending them elsewhere . china alleges the men are part of the east turkestan islamic movement , a group the u.s. state department considers a terrorist organization , that operates in the xinjiang region . east turkestan is another name for xinjiang . on october 20 , the supreme court tentatively agreed to accept an appeal from the 13 uyghurs to be released into the united states from american military custody . cnn 's carol cratty and bill mears contributed to this report . | the uyghurs -- muslims from southern china -- went to south pacific island nation saturday |
taser <tsp> ( cnn ) feidin santana , the man who recorded a south carolina police officer fatally shooting a fleeing , unarmed man , told cnn on thursday night he was told by another cop to stop using his phone to capture the incident . one of the officers told me to stop , but it was because i ( said ) to them that what they did it was an abuse and i witnessed everything , ' he told cnn 's anderson cooper 360˚ . ' santana told cooper an officer told him to wait where he was but eventually he left the scene to go to work . in other interviews , santana has said he feared for his life , which almost kept him from revealing the recording . santana recalled the moments when he recorded a roughly three-minute video of north charleston police officer michael slager shooting walter scott as scott was running away saturday . that evidence led to the officer 's firing and arrest on a murder charge . santana said when he first came on the scene while walking to his job he saw slager on top of scott , who was on the ground . he could hear the sound of a taser in use . at no time did santana see scott go after the taser . he believes scott was trying to get away . mr. scott never tried to fight , ' santana told cnn . police said slager used a taser against scott , but slager would also later tell a dispatcher that scott at some point had grabbed the taser . after slager shot scott five times , the officer went back to pick up something . santana thinks it was the taser but said he was n't 100 % sure what it was . neither the struggle nor the use of a taser was captured on video , because santana had yet to begin recording . what we know about officer slager the cell phone video , which santana revealed this week , reignited national outcries surrounding police treatment of african-americans and led to a murder charge against slager , who is white . scott was black . police said slager pulled the 50-year-old scott over for a nonworking brake light on saturday morning . scott , according to a dash cam video , fled from slager for unexplained reasons , and the officer chased him on foot . when santana 's video begins , scott starts running away from the officer , with scott 's back to slager . the video shows slager shooting at scott eight times before scott falls down . who was walter scott ? scott 's mother , judy scott , told cooper this week that she would want to thank santana for coming forward . he was there . god planned that . he 's the ram in the bush -- i truly believe that , ' judy scott said . santana agreed . i think she was right , ' he said . god put me there for a reason . ' judy scott said she could n't watch the whole recording . when i saw my son running and i saw the policeman behind him , i could n't take it , ' she said . i had to turn away . i could n't handle it . in an interview with nbc 's matt lauer , santana suggested that he was giving media interviews in part to protect himself against retribution . at some point i thought about staying anonymous , and do n't show my face , do n't talk about it . but ... if i would n't show my face , everybody over there knows , including the police , who i am , ' santana said . santana did not say whether he had received threats . his attorney , todd rutherford , said santana 's video would be useful in an investigation -- not only into the shooting but also into whether scott received prompt medical attention . in the last half of the video , a second officer appears to examine scott with gloved hands . witness video , official accounts raise questions santana said after he stopped recording , he watched for a few more minutes but never saw anyone perform cpr . a police report says a third officer -- not shown in the video -- reported seeing an officer administering first aid , and that the third officer approached and helped that person with first aid and cpr . ' on wednesday , asked whether cpr was performed on scott , north charleston police chief eddie driggers said : in the end of it ( the video ) , what i saw was ( what i ) believed to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life-saving ( procedure ) , but i 'm not sure what took place there . ' a timeline of events cnn 's jason hanna , ashley fantz and ray sanchez contributed to this report . watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 8pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | feidin santana says walter scott did n't take michael slager 's taser |
walter scott <tsp> ( cnn ) feidin santana , the man who recorded a south carolina police officer fatally shooting a fleeing , unarmed man , told cnn on thursday night he was told by another cop to stop using his phone to capture the incident . one of the officers told me to stop , but it was because i ( said ) to them that what they did it was an abuse and i witnessed everything , ' he told cnn 's anderson cooper 360˚ . ' santana told cooper an officer told him to wait where he was but eventually he left the scene to go to work . in other interviews , santana has said he feared for his life , which almost kept him from revealing the recording . santana recalled the moments when he recorded a roughly three-minute video of north charleston police officer michael slager shooting walter scott as scott was running away saturday . that evidence led to the officer 's firing and arrest on a murder charge . santana said when he first came on the scene while walking to his job he saw slager on top of scott , who was on the ground . he could hear the sound of a taser in use . at no time did santana see scott go after the taser . he believes scott was trying to get away . mr. scott never tried to fight , ' santana told cnn . police said slager used a taser against scott , but slager would also later tell a dispatcher that scott at some point had grabbed the taser . after slager shot scott five times , the officer went back to pick up something . santana thinks it was the taser but said he was n't 100 % sure what it was . neither the struggle nor the use of a taser was captured on video , because santana had yet to begin recording . what we know about officer slager the cell phone video , which santana revealed this week , reignited national outcries surrounding police treatment of african-americans and led to a murder charge against slager , who is white . scott was black . police said slager pulled the 50-year-old scott over for a nonworking brake light on saturday morning . scott , according to a dash cam video , fled from slager for unexplained reasons , and the officer chased him on foot . when santana 's video begins , scott starts running away from the officer , with scott 's back to slager . the video shows slager shooting at scott eight times before scott falls down . who was walter scott ? scott 's mother , judy scott , told cooper this week that she would want to thank santana for coming forward . he was there . god planned that . he 's the ram in the bush -- i truly believe that , ' judy scott said . santana agreed . i think she was right , ' he said . god put me there for a reason . ' judy scott said she could n't watch the whole recording . when i saw my son running and i saw the policeman behind him , i could n't take it , ' she said . i had to turn away . i could n't handle it . in an interview with nbc 's matt lauer , santana suggested that he was giving media interviews in part to protect himself against retribution . at some point i thought about staying anonymous , and do n't show my face , do n't talk about it . but ... if i would n't show my face , everybody over there knows , including the police , who i am , ' santana said . santana did not say whether he had received threats . his attorney , todd rutherford , said santana 's video would be useful in an investigation -- not only into the shooting but also into whether scott received prompt medical attention . in the last half of the video , a second officer appears to examine scott with gloved hands . witness video , official accounts raise questions santana said after he stopped recording , he watched for a few more minutes but never saw anyone perform cpr . a police report says a third officer -- not shown in the video -- reported seeing an officer administering first aid , and that the third officer approached and helped that person with first aid and cpr . ' on wednesday , asked whether cpr was performed on scott , north charleston police chief eddie driggers said : in the end of it ( the video ) , what i saw was ( what i ) believed to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life-saving ( procedure ) , but i 'm not sure what took place there . ' a timeline of events cnn 's jason hanna , ashley fantz and ray sanchez contributed to this report . watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 8pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | witness who took video of shooting said when he arrived officer was on top of walter scott |
walter scott <tsp> ( cnn ) feidin santana , the man who recorded a south carolina police officer fatally shooting a fleeing , unarmed man , told cnn on thursday night he was told by another cop to stop using his phone to capture the incident . one of the officers told me to stop , but it was because i ( said ) to them that what they did it was an abuse and i witnessed everything , ' he told cnn 's anderson cooper 360˚ . ' santana told cooper an officer told him to wait where he was but eventually he left the scene to go to work . in other interviews , santana has said he feared for his life , which almost kept him from revealing the recording . santana recalled the moments when he recorded a roughly three-minute video of north charleston police officer michael slager shooting walter scott as scott was running away saturday . that evidence led to the officer 's firing and arrest on a murder charge . santana said when he first came on the scene while walking to his job he saw slager on top of scott , who was on the ground . he could hear the sound of a taser in use . at no time did santana see scott go after the taser . he believes scott was trying to get away . mr. scott never tried to fight , ' santana told cnn . police said slager used a taser against scott , but slager would also later tell a dispatcher that scott at some point had grabbed the taser . after slager shot scott five times , the officer went back to pick up something . santana thinks it was the taser but said he was n't 100 % sure what it was . neither the struggle nor the use of a taser was captured on video , because santana had yet to begin recording . what we know about officer slager the cell phone video , which santana revealed this week , reignited national outcries surrounding police treatment of african-americans and led to a murder charge against slager , who is white . scott was black . police said slager pulled the 50-year-old scott over for a nonworking brake light on saturday morning . scott , according to a dash cam video , fled from slager for unexplained reasons , and the officer chased him on foot . when santana 's video begins , scott starts running away from the officer , with scott 's back to slager . the video shows slager shooting at scott eight times before scott falls down . who was walter scott ? scott 's mother , judy scott , told cooper this week that she would want to thank santana for coming forward . he was there . god planned that . he 's the ram in the bush -- i truly believe that , ' judy scott said . santana agreed . i think she was right , ' he said . god put me there for a reason . ' judy scott said she could n't watch the whole recording . when i saw my son running and i saw the policeman behind him , i could n't take it , ' she said . i had to turn away . i could n't handle it . in an interview with nbc 's matt lauer , santana suggested that he was giving media interviews in part to protect himself against retribution . at some point i thought about staying anonymous , and do n't show my face , do n't talk about it . but ... if i would n't show my face , everybody over there knows , including the police , who i am , ' santana said . santana did not say whether he had received threats . his attorney , todd rutherford , said santana 's video would be useful in an investigation -- not only into the shooting but also into whether scott received prompt medical attention . in the last half of the video , a second officer appears to examine scott with gloved hands . witness video , official accounts raise questions santana said after he stopped recording , he watched for a few more minutes but never saw anyone perform cpr . a police report says a third officer -- not shown in the video -- reported seeing an officer administering first aid , and that the third officer approached and helped that person with first aid and cpr . ' on wednesday , asked whether cpr was performed on scott , north charleston police chief eddie driggers said : in the end of it ( the video ) , what i saw was ( what i ) believed to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life-saving ( procedure ) , but i 'm not sure what took place there . ' a timeline of events cnn 's jason hanna , ashley fantz and ray sanchez contributed to this report . watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 8pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | feidin santana says walter scott did n't take michael slager 's taser |
michael slager <tsp> ( cnn ) feidin santana , the man who recorded a south carolina police officer fatally shooting a fleeing , unarmed man , told cnn on thursday night he was told by another cop to stop using his phone to capture the incident . one of the officers told me to stop , but it was because i ( said ) to them that what they did it was an abuse and i witnessed everything , ' he told cnn 's anderson cooper 360˚ . ' santana told cooper an officer told him to wait where he was but eventually he left the scene to go to work . in other interviews , santana has said he feared for his life , which almost kept him from revealing the recording . santana recalled the moments when he recorded a roughly three-minute video of north charleston police officer michael slager shooting walter scott as scott was running away saturday . that evidence led to the officer 's firing and arrest on a murder charge . santana said when he first came on the scene while walking to his job he saw slager on top of scott , who was on the ground . he could hear the sound of a taser in use . at no time did santana see scott go after the taser . he believes scott was trying to get away . mr. scott never tried to fight , ' santana told cnn . police said slager used a taser against scott , but slager would also later tell a dispatcher that scott at some point had grabbed the taser . after slager shot scott five times , the officer went back to pick up something . santana thinks it was the taser but said he was n't 100 % sure what it was . neither the struggle nor the use of a taser was captured on video , because santana had yet to begin recording . what we know about officer slager the cell phone video , which santana revealed this week , reignited national outcries surrounding police treatment of african-americans and led to a murder charge against slager , who is white . scott was black . police said slager pulled the 50-year-old scott over for a nonworking brake light on saturday morning . scott , according to a dash cam video , fled from slager for unexplained reasons , and the officer chased him on foot . when santana 's video begins , scott starts running away from the officer , with scott 's back to slager . the video shows slager shooting at scott eight times before scott falls down . who was walter scott ? scott 's mother , judy scott , told cooper this week that she would want to thank santana for coming forward . he was there . god planned that . he 's the ram in the bush -- i truly believe that , ' judy scott said . santana agreed . i think she was right , ' he said . god put me there for a reason . ' judy scott said she could n't watch the whole recording . when i saw my son running and i saw the policeman behind him , i could n't take it , ' she said . i had to turn away . i could n't handle it . in an interview with nbc 's matt lauer , santana suggested that he was giving media interviews in part to protect himself against retribution . at some point i thought about staying anonymous , and do n't show my face , do n't talk about it . but ... if i would n't show my face , everybody over there knows , including the police , who i am , ' santana said . santana did not say whether he had received threats . his attorney , todd rutherford , said santana 's video would be useful in an investigation -- not only into the shooting but also into whether scott received prompt medical attention . in the last half of the video , a second officer appears to examine scott with gloved hands . witness video , official accounts raise questions santana said after he stopped recording , he watched for a few more minutes but never saw anyone perform cpr . a police report says a third officer -- not shown in the video -- reported seeing an officer administering first aid , and that the third officer approached and helped that person with first aid and cpr . ' on wednesday , asked whether cpr was performed on scott , north charleston police chief eddie driggers said : in the end of it ( the video ) , what i saw was ( what i ) believed to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life-saving ( procedure ) , but i 'm not sure what took place there . ' a timeline of events cnn 's jason hanna , ashley fantz and ray sanchez contributed to this report . watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 8pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | feidin santana says walter scott did n't take michael slager 's taser |
santana <tsp> ( cnn ) feidin santana , the man who recorded a south carolina police officer fatally shooting a fleeing , unarmed man , told cnn on thursday night he was told by another cop to stop using his phone to capture the incident . one of the officers told me to stop , but it was because i ( said ) to them that what they did it was an abuse and i witnessed everything , ' he told cnn 's anderson cooper 360˚ . ' santana told cooper an officer told him to wait where he was but eventually he left the scene to go to work . in other interviews , santana has said he feared for his life , which almost kept him from revealing the recording . santana recalled the moments when he recorded a roughly three-minute video of north charleston police officer michael slager shooting walter scott as scott was running away saturday . that evidence led to the officer 's firing and arrest on a murder charge . santana said when he first came on the scene while walking to his job he saw slager on top of scott , who was on the ground . he could hear the sound of a taser in use . at no time did santana see scott go after the taser . he believes scott was trying to get away . mr. scott never tried to fight , ' santana told cnn . police said slager used a taser against scott , but slager would also later tell a dispatcher that scott at some point had grabbed the taser . after slager shot scott five times , the officer went back to pick up something . santana thinks it was the taser but said he was n't 100 % sure what it was . neither the struggle nor the use of a taser was captured on video , because santana had yet to begin recording . what we know about officer slager the cell phone video , which santana revealed this week , reignited national outcries surrounding police treatment of african-americans and led to a murder charge against slager , who is white . scott was black . police said slager pulled the 50-year-old scott over for a nonworking brake light on saturday morning . scott , according to a dash cam video , fled from slager for unexplained reasons , and the officer chased him on foot . when santana 's video begins , scott starts running away from the officer , with scott 's back to slager . the video shows slager shooting at scott eight times before scott falls down . who was walter scott ? scott 's mother , judy scott , told cooper this week that she would want to thank santana for coming forward . he was there . god planned that . he 's the ram in the bush -- i truly believe that , ' judy scott said . santana agreed . i think she was right , ' he said . god put me there for a reason . ' judy scott said she could n't watch the whole recording . when i saw my son running and i saw the policeman behind him , i could n't take it , ' she said . i had to turn away . i could n't handle it . in an interview with nbc 's matt lauer , santana suggested that he was giving media interviews in part to protect himself against retribution . at some point i thought about staying anonymous , and do n't show my face , do n't talk about it . but ... if i would n't show my face , everybody over there knows , including the police , who i am , ' santana said . santana did not say whether he had received threats . his attorney , todd rutherford , said santana 's video would be useful in an investigation -- not only into the shooting but also into whether scott received prompt medical attention . in the last half of the video , a second officer appears to examine scott with gloved hands . witness video , official accounts raise questions santana said after he stopped recording , he watched for a few more minutes but never saw anyone perform cpr . a police report says a third officer -- not shown in the video -- reported seeing an officer administering first aid , and that the third officer approached and helped that person with first aid and cpr . ' on wednesday , asked whether cpr was performed on scott , north charleston police chief eddie driggers said : in the end of it ( the video ) , what i saw was ( what i ) believed to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life-saving ( procedure ) , but i 'm not sure what took place there . ' a timeline of events cnn 's jason hanna , ashley fantz and ray sanchez contributed to this report . watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 8pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | santana said he never saw officers perform cpr before he left the scene to go to work |
santana <tsp> ( cnn ) feidin santana , the man who recorded a south carolina police officer fatally shooting a fleeing , unarmed man , told cnn on thursday night he was told by another cop to stop using his phone to capture the incident . one of the officers told me to stop , but it was because i ( said ) to them that what they did it was an abuse and i witnessed everything , ' he told cnn 's anderson cooper 360˚ . ' santana told cooper an officer told him to wait where he was but eventually he left the scene to go to work . in other interviews , santana has said he feared for his life , which almost kept him from revealing the recording . santana recalled the moments when he recorded a roughly three-minute video of north charleston police officer michael slager shooting walter scott as scott was running away saturday . that evidence led to the officer 's firing and arrest on a murder charge . santana said when he first came on the scene while walking to his job he saw slager on top of scott , who was on the ground . he could hear the sound of a taser in use . at no time did santana see scott go after the taser . he believes scott was trying to get away . mr. scott never tried to fight , ' santana told cnn . police said slager used a taser against scott , but slager would also later tell a dispatcher that scott at some point had grabbed the taser . after slager shot scott five times , the officer went back to pick up something . santana thinks it was the taser but said he was n't 100 % sure what it was . neither the struggle nor the use of a taser was captured on video , because santana had yet to begin recording . what we know about officer slager the cell phone video , which santana revealed this week , reignited national outcries surrounding police treatment of african-americans and led to a murder charge against slager , who is white . scott was black . police said slager pulled the 50-year-old scott over for a nonworking brake light on saturday morning . scott , according to a dash cam video , fled from slager for unexplained reasons , and the officer chased him on foot . when santana 's video begins , scott starts running away from the officer , with scott 's back to slager . the video shows slager shooting at scott eight times before scott falls down . who was walter scott ? scott 's mother , judy scott , told cooper this week that she would want to thank santana for coming forward . he was there . god planned that . he 's the ram in the bush -- i truly believe that , ' judy scott said . santana agreed . i think she was right , ' he said . god put me there for a reason . ' judy scott said she could n't watch the whole recording . when i saw my son running and i saw the policeman behind him , i could n't take it , ' she said . i had to turn away . i could n't handle it . in an interview with nbc 's matt lauer , santana suggested that he was giving media interviews in part to protect himself against retribution . at some point i thought about staying anonymous , and do n't show my face , do n't talk about it . but ... if i would n't show my face , everybody over there knows , including the police , who i am , ' santana said . santana did not say whether he had received threats . his attorney , todd rutherford , said santana 's video would be useful in an investigation -- not only into the shooting but also into whether scott received prompt medical attention . in the last half of the video , a second officer appears to examine scott with gloved hands . witness video , official accounts raise questions santana said after he stopped recording , he watched for a few more minutes but never saw anyone perform cpr . a police report says a third officer -- not shown in the video -- reported seeing an officer administering first aid , and that the third officer approached and helped that person with first aid and cpr . ' on wednesday , asked whether cpr was performed on scott , north charleston police chief eddie driggers said : in the end of it ( the video ) , what i saw was ( what i ) believed to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life-saving ( procedure ) , but i 'm not sure what took place there . ' a timeline of events cnn 's jason hanna , ashley fantz and ray sanchez contributed to this report . watch anderson cooper 360° weeknights 8pm et . for the latest from ac360° click here . | feidin santana says walter scott did n't take michael slager 's taser |
world cup <tsp> ( cnn ) -- under christmas trees around the world , parcels of underpants and bundles of briefs are waiting to be opened -- perhaps with a tinge of dismay -- by the men in your life . underwear is a big hitter on the traditional holiday gift list and now soccer stars are muscling into the market . colombian world cup star james rodriguez became the latest footballer to tackle branded underwear , launching his j10 collection for bronzini last month and posing semi-naked to show off the goods on offer . the 23-year-old was following the lead of his portuguese real madrid teammate cristiano ronaldo , whose cr7 underwear label recently celebrated its one-year anniversary . david beckham 's pants hit high streets in close to 40 countries when the former la galaxy and manchester united maestro teamed up with swedish fashion store h & m in 2012 . even though he is approaching 40 -- that 's 17 years older than undies rival rodriguez -- beckham stripped off again this summer to model his wares . but why do footballers choose to branch out their brand in the most intimate way ? christmas comes round once a year but footballers are in the shop window continually , ' steve martin , the global ceo for brand agency m & c saatchi sport and entertainment , told cnn . underwear is an every day purchase and wearing the right underwear has seen it become something of a lifestyle item . for some of the major players , it 's a natural extension of their individual brand . they do n't need the money . it 's not about greed but it is about making the most of their true value over the short period of their career . ' martin helps manage the branding and marketing for ronaldo 's cr7 range , which he says is available in almost 100 countries -- its main markets are in southern europe , asia and south america -- as well as online . read more : ronaldo immortalized in bronze statue ronaldo 's luxury trunks cost $ 36 a pair with the briefs priced at $ 30 but he also stocks a basic line where trunks are $ 30 and briefs $ 17 . the core audience [ for the cr7 range ] is football fans who aspire to ronaldo 's look and image , ' martin adds . the age range is mainly 18-24 year olds and slightly older . the beauty of ronaldo is that he cuts across quite a big demographic . ' the aesthetic allure of ronaldo , rodriguez and beckham is an undeniable factor in why their underwear packs a punch . beckham stopped traffic as an underwear model for emporio armani before collaborating with h & m while the perfectly manicured ronaldo oozes style on and off the pitch . rodriguez may still be baby faced but he is already winning awards for his looks , voted the world 's sexiest man in 2014 by spain 's people ' magazine . when this handsome trio launched their underwear collections , they not only appealed to football fans but to their gift buying wives , girlfriends and mothers too . i 'm sure h & m chose david beckham because he 's a very attractive , fit fellow , ' seth stevenson , new york based senior writer for slate , told cnn . they also chose him because he has appeal in a lot of different places . he 's famous in asia , he 's well known in the u.s. and he 's married to victoria beckham . he 's got some profile all over the world and they 've got stores all over the world . celebrities are a popular advertising gambit because people are interested in celebrities and like to do what they do . ' the pioneer of the celebrity underwear market was , however , not a footballer but swedish tennis ace bjorn borg . after his sudden retirement from the game in 1983 at the age of just 26 , the 11-time grand slam singles champion served up another winner by launching his eponymous underwear brand in 1984 . the company now sells around five million items of underwear across its male and female ranges each year and is stocked in 20 global markets . the bjorn borg name is a very strong part of this success , ' says the company 's marketing and communications manager jonas lindberg nyvang . he 's still involved in that he comes to the office , he 's informed about what we do and he 's still part of the process . ' borg 's dashing good looks , like those of beckham , ronaldo and rodriguez , certainly helped him cut a dash in the underwear market but sustaining a successful brand over 30 years relies on more than superficial appeal . sports stars arguably make natural underwear manufacturers because they understand more than most about the importance of comfort on the go . if you have the right underwear you feel more confidence on the court or off the court , ' explains nyvang . it 's important for sporting performance . at bjorn borg we focus on the perfect fit and we are also very fashion conscious . we put out underwear that makes people feel more active and attractive . ' but before you dream about wrapping up a nigel de jong thong or a pair of neymar knickers for your loved ones , bear in mind it takes a certain type of star to make money from undies . you are talking about one-offs here , ' says martin . there are probably only a handful of global sports stars that can attempt something like this . for every ronaldo there are thousands and thousands and thousands of footballers who do n't make a thousandth of what he does . ' stevenson agrees that true sporting icons stand a better chance of successfully creating a product line that is not directly connected to their core business -- but that even then there could be pit falls . | world cup star james rodriguez is the latest to launch an underwear brand |
brazilian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- felipe massa had emergency surgery for a fractured skull after a freak crash in final qualifying for sunday 's hungarian grand prix . felipe massa receives attention after his high-speed crash in hungarian grand prix qualifying . the brazilian careered off at the 200kph turn four at the hungaroring after being hit in the helmet by flying debris from rear wing of the brawn gp of compatriot rubens barrichello . 2008 championship runner-up massa was stunned and lost control as his ferrari flew into a tire wall at high speed . he was airlifted from the circuit to the aek hospital in budapest and later underwent an emergency operation for the damage to his skull . massa is in intensive care on a respirator and remains under observation in an induced coma . the condition of the driver is serious , but stable , ' said a hospital spokesman . after the frightening incident , fernando alonso claimed a surprising pole position in a chaotic end to saturday 's proceedings . the massa accident happened at the end of the second qualifying session and the action was suspended while officials checked for debris . when the third and final qualifying session got underway it was renault 's alonso clocked the fastest time of one minute 21.559 seconds . sebastian vettel , second in the title race to jenson button , will start alongside alonso on the front row , with his red bull teammate mark webber qualifying third . button was only eighth fastest with brawn gp teammate barrichello 13th best , their worst qualifying performance of the season . button delayed his final qualifying run while his car was checked out after the earlier incident . reigning world champion lewis hamilton was fourth best for the improving mclaren team with nico rosberg in fifth for williams . with the electronic timing system lost to the pit lane and the television coverage , former two-time world champion alonso was at first unaware he had taken his first pole of the season . we have made a good step forward and the car did improve in the last two races . we are more competitive , but i do n't think we are as quick as these two guys ( referring to red bull drivers vettel and webber ) , ' he said . we will try to win , but being honest and realistic , our target is to get some good points , ' added the spaniard . | brazilian has emergency surgery after damaging his skull in the accident |
hungarian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- felipe massa had emergency surgery for a fractured skull after a freak crash in final qualifying for sunday 's hungarian grand prix . felipe massa receives attention after his high-speed crash in hungarian grand prix qualifying . the brazilian careered off at the 200kph turn four at the hungaroring after being hit in the helmet by flying debris from rear wing of the brawn gp of compatriot rubens barrichello . 2008 championship runner-up massa was stunned and lost control as his ferrari flew into a tire wall at high speed . he was airlifted from the circuit to the aek hospital in budapest and later underwent an emergency operation for the damage to his skull . massa is in intensive care on a respirator and remains under observation in an induced coma . the condition of the driver is serious , but stable , ' said a hospital spokesman . after the frightening incident , fernando alonso claimed a surprising pole position in a chaotic end to saturday 's proceedings . the massa accident happened at the end of the second qualifying session and the action was suspended while officials checked for debris . when the third and final qualifying session got underway it was renault 's alonso clocked the fastest time of one minute 21.559 seconds . sebastian vettel , second in the title race to jenson button , will start alongside alonso on the front row , with his red bull teammate mark webber qualifying third . button was only eighth fastest with brawn gp teammate barrichello 13th best , their worst qualifying performance of the season . button delayed his final qualifying run while his car was checked out after the earlier incident . reigning world champion lewis hamilton was fourth best for the improving mclaren team with nico rosberg in fifth for williams . with the electronic timing system lost to the pit lane and the television coverage , former two-time world champion alonso was at first unaware he had taken his first pole of the season . we have made a good step forward and the car did improve in the last two races . we are more competitive , but i do n't think we are as quick as these two guys ( referring to red bull drivers vettel and webber ) , ' he said . we will try to win , but being honest and realistic , our target is to get some good points , ' added the spaniard . | felipe massa suffers high-speed crash in qualifying for hungarian grand prix |
massa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- felipe massa had emergency surgery for a fractured skull after a freak crash in final qualifying for sunday 's hungarian grand prix . felipe massa receives attention after his high-speed crash in hungarian grand prix qualifying . the brazilian careered off at the 200kph turn four at the hungaroring after being hit in the helmet by flying debris from rear wing of the brawn gp of compatriot rubens barrichello . 2008 championship runner-up massa was stunned and lost control as his ferrari flew into a tire wall at high speed . he was airlifted from the circuit to the aek hospital in budapest and later underwent an emergency operation for the damage to his skull . massa is in intensive care on a respirator and remains under observation in an induced coma . the condition of the driver is serious , but stable , ' said a hospital spokesman . after the frightening incident , fernando alonso claimed a surprising pole position in a chaotic end to saturday 's proceedings . the massa accident happened at the end of the second qualifying session and the action was suspended while officials checked for debris . when the third and final qualifying session got underway it was renault 's alonso clocked the fastest time of one minute 21.559 seconds . sebastian vettel , second in the title race to jenson button , will start alongside alonso on the front row , with his red bull teammate mark webber qualifying third . button was only eighth fastest with brawn gp teammate barrichello 13th best , their worst qualifying performance of the season . button delayed his final qualifying run while his car was checked out after the earlier incident . reigning world champion lewis hamilton was fourth best for the improving mclaren team with nico rosberg in fifth for williams . with the electronic timing system lost to the pit lane and the television coverage , former two-time world champion alonso was at first unaware he had taken his first pole of the season . we have made a good step forward and the car did improve in the last two races . we are more competitive , but i do n't think we are as quick as these two guys ( referring to red bull drivers vettel and webber ) , ' he said . we will try to win , but being honest and realistic , our target is to get some good points , ' added the spaniard . | felipe massa suffers high-speed crash in qualifying for hungarian grand prix |
massa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- felipe massa had emergency surgery for a fractured skull after a freak crash in final qualifying for sunday 's hungarian grand prix . felipe massa receives attention after his high-speed crash in hungarian grand prix qualifying . the brazilian careered off at the 200kph turn four at the hungaroring after being hit in the helmet by flying debris from rear wing of the brawn gp of compatriot rubens barrichello . 2008 championship runner-up massa was stunned and lost control as his ferrari flew into a tire wall at high speed . he was airlifted from the circuit to the aek hospital in budapest and later underwent an emergency operation for the damage to his skull . massa is in intensive care on a respirator and remains under observation in an induced coma . the condition of the driver is serious , but stable , ' said a hospital spokesman . after the frightening incident , fernando alonso claimed a surprising pole position in a chaotic end to saturday 's proceedings . the massa accident happened at the end of the second qualifying session and the action was suspended while officials checked for debris . when the third and final qualifying session got underway it was renault 's alonso clocked the fastest time of one minute 21.559 seconds . sebastian vettel , second in the title race to jenson button , will start alongside alonso on the front row , with his red bull teammate mark webber qualifying third . button was only eighth fastest with brawn gp teammate barrichello 13th best , their worst qualifying performance of the season . button delayed his final qualifying run while his car was checked out after the earlier incident . reigning world champion lewis hamilton was fourth best for the improving mclaren team with nico rosberg in fifth for williams . with the electronic timing system lost to the pit lane and the television coverage , former two-time world champion alonso was at first unaware he had taken his first pole of the season . we have made a good step forward and the car did improve in the last two races . we are more competitive , but i do n't think we are as quick as these two guys ( referring to red bull drivers vettel and webber ) , ' he said . we will try to win , but being honest and realistic , our target is to get some good points , ' added the spaniard . | massa was hit in the helmet by debris from the brawn gp of rubens barrichello |
roithmayr <tsp> editor 's note : daria roithmayr is a law professor at the university of southern california , gould school of law , where she teaches on race and law . she worked for sen. edward kennedy as special counsel on the clarence thomas and david souter confirmation hearings . guy-uriel charles is a law professor at duke law school where he is the founding director of the center on law , race , and politics . daria roithmayr says sotomayor would add broader life experiences to the background of supreme court justices . no one was surprised when the subject of race dominated the public conversation during sonia sotomayor 's confirmation hearings . what was surprising was how unwilling both sides of the aisle were to talk about race openly . republicans tried to argue that race should be completely separated from judicial decision-making . for their part , democrats tried to minimize the importance of her race to her decision-making by focusing on her record , to show that her race had played no role in her decisions . judge sotomayor herself suggested that life experiences are an important part of the process of judging , but then sought to minimize the difference that those experiences might have made to a particular result . most people understand that life experiences and racial identity do affect the decision-making process . but is this something to be lamented or celebrated ? we think the latter . in this , the not quite post-racial era of obama , scholars are developing new understandings of the connection between race , life experience and decisions . researchers such as scott page and james surowiecki are telling us that varied life experiences and ethnicity can improve the result when a group makes decisions together . at the university of michigan , page uses mathematical models to show not only that people 's backgrounds make a difference in how they think , but far more importantly , that these differences are essential for good collective decision-making . as page acknowledges , the relationship between life experience and decision-making is an empirical question -- a question of fact to be determined based on research . in some domains -- making decisions about the scope of anti-discrimination law or deciding on a health care policy -- we likely will see that broader life experience makes for better decisions . surowiecki , who wrote the wisdom of crowds , ' points out that a group will more often than not come to a better decision than the average individual , so long as the group includes a range of people with different life experiences and ways of looking at and solving problems . as surowiecki notes , if the group has enough variation in the information that they bring to the table , their thought processes and their approach to solving problems , the group is more likely to come up with the right answer before an individual , even in some instances when the individual is an expert . the constitution itself recognizes the importance of life experiences to legal decision-making . defendants in the criminal process are entitled to a jury of their peers precisely because jurors bring to the process a collection of life experiences that will shape their understanding of the facts and the law . all-white juries are problematic in large part because we believe that the life experiences of jurors are an integral part of their collective judgment of innocence or guilt . we also are coming to understand that race is just one of several structural factors that affect a person 's life experiences and life chances , together with economic security , gender , class and geography . these days , the best thinking on race focuses less on racial symbolism and more on understanding how race affects a person 's life experiences and life chances -- her access to education , health care , economic and physical security , her experience with the criminal justice system , whether she grew up wealthy or in a public housing project . thus , we understand that the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates jr. for disorderly conduct after he opened his jammed front door might be a signal of existing racism in law enforcement . but the better way to understand his arrest might be to acknowledge that whether one thinks this is the symbol of continued racism in law enforcement or an officer trying to do his job , in general , gates'race affects his life chances and life experiences . as an african-american , gates runs a much greater chance of being arrested during his lifetime than does his white counterpart . we should also acknowledge the role that class plays in life chances -- gates was able to summon with a simple phone call one of the best criminal lawyers in the country , an opportunity not available to most african americans . although we have not yet figured out the meaning of race in this supposedly post-racial era , we know that race still matters , even as we know that it does not matter in the same way that it used to . democrats and republicans should acknowledge that having a latina on the bench will make a difference because it will improve the court 's collective decision-making . wise men and women with different life experiences are more likely to reach a result that is better , that is wiser and that is more just . in that vein , sotomayor 's life story -- in which a puerto rican girl from bronxdale houses grows up to attend yale law school and become a supreme court justice -- is a story that should matter to us all . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of daria roithmayr and guy-uriel charles . | roithmayr , charles : race dominated the senate hearing on sotomayor |
roithmayr <tsp> editor 's note : daria roithmayr is a law professor at the university of southern california , gould school of law , where she teaches on race and law . she worked for sen. edward kennedy as special counsel on the clarence thomas and david souter confirmation hearings . guy-uriel charles is a law professor at duke law school where he is the founding director of the center on law , race , and politics . daria roithmayr says sotomayor would add broader life experiences to the background of supreme court justices . no one was surprised when the subject of race dominated the public conversation during sonia sotomayor 's confirmation hearings . what was surprising was how unwilling both sides of the aisle were to talk about race openly . republicans tried to argue that race should be completely separated from judicial decision-making . for their part , democrats tried to minimize the importance of her race to her decision-making by focusing on her record , to show that her race had played no role in her decisions . judge sotomayor herself suggested that life experiences are an important part of the process of judging , but then sought to minimize the difference that those experiences might have made to a particular result . most people understand that life experiences and racial identity do affect the decision-making process . but is this something to be lamented or celebrated ? we think the latter . in this , the not quite post-racial era of obama , scholars are developing new understandings of the connection between race , life experience and decisions . researchers such as scott page and james surowiecki are telling us that varied life experiences and ethnicity can improve the result when a group makes decisions together . at the university of michigan , page uses mathematical models to show not only that people 's backgrounds make a difference in how they think , but far more importantly , that these differences are essential for good collective decision-making . as page acknowledges , the relationship between life experience and decision-making is an empirical question -- a question of fact to be determined based on research . in some domains -- making decisions about the scope of anti-discrimination law or deciding on a health care policy -- we likely will see that broader life experience makes for better decisions . surowiecki , who wrote the wisdom of crowds , ' points out that a group will more often than not come to a better decision than the average individual , so long as the group includes a range of people with different life experiences and ways of looking at and solving problems . as surowiecki notes , if the group has enough variation in the information that they bring to the table , their thought processes and their approach to solving problems , the group is more likely to come up with the right answer before an individual , even in some instances when the individual is an expert . the constitution itself recognizes the importance of life experiences to legal decision-making . defendants in the criminal process are entitled to a jury of their peers precisely because jurors bring to the process a collection of life experiences that will shape their understanding of the facts and the law . all-white juries are problematic in large part because we believe that the life experiences of jurors are an integral part of their collective judgment of innocence or guilt . we also are coming to understand that race is just one of several structural factors that affect a person 's life experiences and life chances , together with economic security , gender , class and geography . these days , the best thinking on race focuses less on racial symbolism and more on understanding how race affects a person 's life experiences and life chances -- her access to education , health care , economic and physical security , her experience with the criminal justice system , whether she grew up wealthy or in a public housing project . thus , we understand that the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates jr. for disorderly conduct after he opened his jammed front door might be a signal of existing racism in law enforcement . but the better way to understand his arrest might be to acknowledge that whether one thinks this is the symbol of continued racism in law enforcement or an officer trying to do his job , in general , gates'race affects his life chances and life experiences . as an african-american , gates runs a much greater chance of being arrested during his lifetime than does his white counterpart . we should also acknowledge the role that class plays in life chances -- gates was able to summon with a simple phone call one of the best criminal lawyers in the country , an opportunity not available to most african americans . although we have not yet figured out the meaning of race in this supposedly post-racial era , we know that race still matters , even as we know that it does not matter in the same way that it used to . democrats and republicans should acknowledge that having a latina on the bench will make a difference because it will improve the court 's collective decision-making . wise men and women with different life experiences are more likely to reach a result that is better , that is wiser and that is more just . in that vein , sotomayor 's life story -- in which a puerto rican girl from bronxdale houses grows up to attend yale law school and become a supreme court justice -- is a story that should matter to us all . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of daria roithmayr and guy-uriel charles . | roithmayr , charles : we should strive for diversity of class , gender , geography |
syrian <tsp> after three years of seesaw battles with the regime , syrian rebels now face another daunting challenge : fending off radical sunni militants who are taking over swaths of the country . the islamic state in iraq and syria ( isis ) has gained notoriety in recent weeks as the group captured city after city in iraq . its goal : to create a caliphate , or islamic state , spanning iraq and syria . now , the crises in both countries are blending into a combined regional disaster as isis now controls land on both sides of the border -- opening the floodgates for weapons and fighters between syria and iraq . all the cities between deir ezzor city and the iraq border -- a stretch of 90 miles ( 150 kilometers ) -- have fallen to isis , said omar abu leila , a spokesman for the rebel free syrian army . deir ezzor itself is controlled partly by the government and partly by opposition militants , he said . that 's not all . isis also took over six syrian oil and gas fields and a major pumping station that distributes oil from iraq into syria , abu leila said . the captures include the al-omar oil field , syria 's largest oil facility that can produce 75,000 barrels of oil a day . isis has also seized a military airport and a local army base . the land grabs by isis now stretch from syria 's deir ezzor province to the group 's recently gained territories in iraq 's sunni heartland , the opposition syrian observatory for human rights ( sohr ) said . while isis has controlled parts of syria for some time now , the group was fighting to open a route between its captures in iraq and in syria . that victory came thursday , when isis wrested control of the albu kamal border crossing and all the cities between the crossing and deir ezzor city from syrian rebels . some syrians turn to isis isis has gained not just cities , but also some syrians'claims of allegiance . after capturing the town of al-shahil , isis demanded last week that fighters surrender their weapons and repent for fighting isis . the militants then called on residents to leave the town for a week to 10 days until peace returns to the streets , ' according to a social media video obtained by activists . in a video statement , leaders in the town of al-shahil announced their withdrawal from all anti-isis groups . a town representative announced by video that they decided to swear allegiance ' to shadowy isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi . but about 30,000 people have fled the town , abu leila said . other syrians flee days after their land grabs across deir ezzor province , isis militants have not let residents return to the towns of khsham and tabyeh , the sohr said . about 15,000 people lived in each town . the residents were forced to leave on june 23 . they had been told to accept their repentance ' after fighting isis , the sohr said . isis militants have already declared they have set up an islamic state spanning large areas of the two countries . the group called on muslims to swear allegiance to the caliphate . the message claims that the group 's territory now spans from aleppo province in northwestern syria to diyala province in eastern iraq . it announced that isis was changing its name to just the islamic state . ' but both shia and sunni muslims have been deeply offended by the claim . syrian rebels demand help a group of 11 battalions fighting isis in syria has threatened to stop battling the insurgents by the end of this week if they do n't get supplies and support from their western-backed interim government . the demand , posted on the facebook page of one of the battalions , was addressed to the syrian coalition and the syrian interim government -- both of which are western-backed rebel groups fighting the syrian regime . we ask for reinforcement and full support to face ( isis ) , and expel them from our land , and stop them from advancing on the liberated cities , ' the statement said . if our call is not answered , we will be forced to lay down our weapons and pull our fighters from the areas we control . ' syrian coalition spokeswoman bayan khatib relayed the group 's demands to the media , saying isis is not only a threat to syria , but to the west as well . the free syrian army has made significant gains in syria , but isis has consistently battled them for these areas and often won , ' khatib said . the demands come after isis made advances in deir ezzor and , more alarmingly , the suburbs of aleppo -- syria 's largest city , khatib said . the rebels have been screaming at the top of their lungs for months for assistance that never came , ' khatib said . in their statement , they predict that isis will take over all opposition territory in syria unless decisive action is taken promptly . ' how isis is overshadowing al qaeda group : isis takes major syrian oil field who is the isis ? | syrian rebels threaten to stop fighting isis if they do n't get supplies and support |
chinese <tsp> beijing ( cnn ) -- chinese foreign minister yang jiechi on tuesday called on the united states to tread carefully on issues related to china 's core interests in order to build trust and avoid conflicts . in particular , the u.s. side needs to honor its commitments and carefully and properly handle taiwan- and tibet-related issues that concern china 's core interests , ' yang said at a news conference held on the sidelines of the chinese legislature 's annual meeting . he also said that china and the united states were in close communication ' on the issues of syria and iran . yang said china opposed the development and possession of nuclear weapons by any country in the middle east , including iran . at the same time , ' he added , countries have the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy . ' the iran nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue , not confrontation , through cooperation , not sanctions , ' yang said . we oppose unilateral sanctions and believe the majority in the world agrees with that . ' president barack obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said monday they stood together in their efforts to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon , but netanyahu warned that time for diplomacy was running short . yang reiterated china 's diplomatic stance on syria , which has been the subject of international criticism . the minister said china 's stance has been gaining understanding and support in the international community . ' china this week made new diplomatic efforts to help mediate in the syria conflict , where president bashar al-assad 's regime has been pursuing a nationwide campaign to crush the nearly year-old protests against his rule . the united nations says at least 7,500 people have died in the crackdown , while opposition activists put the toll at more than 9,000 . li huaxin , china 's former ambassador to syria , is visiting the troubled country on tuesday and wednesday as a representative of yang . li is expected to discuss with syrian officials china 's six point statement , ' which was issued this week . the statement calls for respect of syrian sovereignty , delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid and support for mediation efforts by kofi annan , the former u.n. secretary-general who is now special joint envoy to syria for the united nations and the arab league . yang reiterated china 's opposition to unilateral outside intervention . people in the middle east know the situation best and it should be resolved by the people in the middle east . they should determine their own destiny , ' he said at the news conference tuesday . yang said , although there are some differences and disagreements between beijing and washington , on the whole the sino-u.s. relationship has been moving forward , not backward . ' this year , obama and top defense officials unveiled a new u.s. defense strategy that focuses heavily on the asia-pacific region . many asian economies are growing fast , but the region contains numerous potential flashpoints that the administration has identified as crucial to u.s. interests . the strategy calls for the united states to increase its military 's institutional weight and focus on enhanced presence , power projection , and deterrence in asia-pacific , ' said defense secretary leon panetta . when asked whether beijing views the strategic shift by the united states in asia as threatening , the foreign minister replied : the two sides should view bilateral ties from a long-term strategic perspective . ' china and the u.s. have more converging interests in the asia-pacific region than anywhere else in the world , ' he said . we hope to see and welcome a constructive role by the u.s. in this region , and at the same time we hope that the u.s. side will respect china 's interests and concerns . ' those include the issues of taiwan and tibet . beijing considers taiwan a breakaway province and has never ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification . if china were to use military force , the united states -- which does not support taiwan independence -- could intervene under the taiwan relations act , a 1979 law declaring that peace and stability in the area are in u.s. interests . that raises fears of a much wider conflict were china to intervene . taiwan 's incumbent president ma ying jeou was re-elected in january . he has fostered warmer ties with china in recent years , providing a lift to taiwan 's economy . china is grappling with unrest and a series of self-immolations among its tibetan population in western provinces like sichuan . it has flooded some ethic tibetan areas with security forces ahead of the anniversary this month of tibetan protests in 2008 that ended in bloodshed . the united states , which recognizes tibet as an autonomous region of china , has expressed concern about the situation . looking ahead , yang said he saw a trend of peace and development gaining momentum , even as the global community continues to deal with the impact of the international financial crisis . the global economy is recovering slowly , ' he said . the challenges from climate change , energy and food security remain stark . all these issues will exert major impact on the global situation and on china 's diplomacy in the years to come . ' | a chinese envoy is visiting syria this week amid other diplomatic efforts |
chinese <tsp> beijing ( cnn ) -- chinese foreign minister yang jiechi on tuesday called on the united states to tread carefully on issues related to china 's core interests in order to build trust and avoid conflicts . in particular , the u.s. side needs to honor its commitments and carefully and properly handle taiwan- and tibet-related issues that concern china 's core interests , ' yang said at a news conference held on the sidelines of the chinese legislature 's annual meeting . he also said that china and the united states were in close communication ' on the issues of syria and iran . yang said china opposed the development and possession of nuclear weapons by any country in the middle east , including iran . at the same time , ' he added , countries have the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy . ' the iran nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue , not confrontation , through cooperation , not sanctions , ' yang said . we oppose unilateral sanctions and believe the majority in the world agrees with that . ' president barack obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said monday they stood together in their efforts to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon , but netanyahu warned that time for diplomacy was running short . yang reiterated china 's diplomatic stance on syria , which has been the subject of international criticism . the minister said china 's stance has been gaining understanding and support in the international community . ' china this week made new diplomatic efforts to help mediate in the syria conflict , where president bashar al-assad 's regime has been pursuing a nationwide campaign to crush the nearly year-old protests against his rule . the united nations says at least 7,500 people have died in the crackdown , while opposition activists put the toll at more than 9,000 . li huaxin , china 's former ambassador to syria , is visiting the troubled country on tuesday and wednesday as a representative of yang . li is expected to discuss with syrian officials china 's six point statement , ' which was issued this week . the statement calls for respect of syrian sovereignty , delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid and support for mediation efforts by kofi annan , the former u.n. secretary-general who is now special joint envoy to syria for the united nations and the arab league . yang reiterated china 's opposition to unilateral outside intervention . people in the middle east know the situation best and it should be resolved by the people in the middle east . they should determine their own destiny , ' he said at the news conference tuesday . yang said , although there are some differences and disagreements between beijing and washington , on the whole the sino-u.s. relationship has been moving forward , not backward . ' this year , obama and top defense officials unveiled a new u.s. defense strategy that focuses heavily on the asia-pacific region . many asian economies are growing fast , but the region contains numerous potential flashpoints that the administration has identified as crucial to u.s. interests . the strategy calls for the united states to increase its military 's institutional weight and focus on enhanced presence , power projection , and deterrence in asia-pacific , ' said defense secretary leon panetta . when asked whether beijing views the strategic shift by the united states in asia as threatening , the foreign minister replied : the two sides should view bilateral ties from a long-term strategic perspective . ' china and the u.s. have more converging interests in the asia-pacific region than anywhere else in the world , ' he said . we hope to see and welcome a constructive role by the u.s. in this region , and at the same time we hope that the u.s. side will respect china 's interests and concerns . ' those include the issues of taiwan and tibet . beijing considers taiwan a breakaway province and has never ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification . if china were to use military force , the united states -- which does not support taiwan independence -- could intervene under the taiwan relations act , a 1979 law declaring that peace and stability in the area are in u.s. interests . that raises fears of a much wider conflict were china to intervene . taiwan 's incumbent president ma ying jeou was re-elected in january . he has fostered warmer ties with china in recent years , providing a lift to taiwan 's economy . china is grappling with unrest and a series of self-immolations among its tibetan population in western provinces like sichuan . it has flooded some ethic tibetan areas with security forces ahead of the anniversary this month of tibetan protests in 2008 that ended in bloodshed . the united states , which recognizes tibet as an autonomous region of china , has expressed concern about the situation . looking ahead , yang said he saw a trend of peace and development gaining momentum , even as the global community continues to deal with the impact of the international financial crisis . the global economy is recovering slowly , ' he said . the challenges from climate change , energy and food security remain stark . all these issues will exert major impact on the global situation and on china 's diplomacy in the years to come . ' | chinese foreign minister cites taiwan and tibet as key issues |
baltimore <tsp> ( cnn ) protests are gaining steam in baltimore after a man died from a devastating injury he allegedly suffered while in police custody . demonstrators have vowed they 'll keep taking to the streets until they get justice . to start , protesters say they 're looking for answers about what happened to freddie gray , and why . but it seems like the questions in the controversial case just keep growing . protesters rallied at baltimore city hall on thursday , and another march is planned for saturday . here 's a look at key issues protesters are asking about : police say when gray saw police on april 12 , he started running . within minutes , they caught up with him and arrested him after finding a knife in his pocket . protesters have echoed the claims of the gray family 's attorney , who argues that police did n't have any probable cause to pursue him , but chased him for running while black . ' baltimore police union attorney michael davey told reporters wednesday that officers had every right to chase gray . there is a supreme court case that states that if you are in a high-crime area , and you flee from the police unprovoked , the police have the legal ability to pursue you , and that 's what they did , ' he said . in this type of an incident , you do not need probable cause to arrest . you just need a reasonable suspicion to make the stop . ' an autopsy says gray died from a severe spinal cord injury . his family says his voice box was crushed and his neck snapped before he slipped into a coma and later died . police say they spotted gray , gave chase , caught him , cuffed him and requested a wagon ' to transport him in less than four minutes . the transport van left with gray about 11 minutes afterward , police said , and another 30 minutes passed before units request paramedics to the western district to transport the suspect to an area hospital . ' protesters want to know exactly what happened in those 30 minutes , and say it 's clear police used too much force when gray was in their custody . investigators still have n't said what happened inside the van . union officials from the fraternal order of police lodge 3 say something happened inside the vehicle , but they do n't know what . baltimore police commissioner anthony batts told cnn affiliate wjz that another prisoner inside the van said he did n't see any harm done to gray . what he has said is that he heard freddie thrashing about , ' batts said . the driver did n't drive erratically , was n't slamming on breaks , was n't turning corners fast or in an irrational way . ' five of the six officers involved in gray 's arrest have provided statements to investigators , the baltimore police department said wednesday . they have completely cooperated with the investigation from day 1 , ' davey told reporters . but details of what the officers said have n't been released yet by authorities . neither have the officers'personnel records or photos . police say doing that would violate the law . the lack of details a week and a half after the incident is fueling cries from the public , and the lawmakers who represent them . protesters say police should be releasing what they know now . baltimore police officials say they 're being as transparent as they can about the case while their criminal investigation is ongoing . and they say they plan to hand over details from the investigation to the state attorney 's office next week . some protesters say the officers should be charged with murder for gray 's death . officials say an investigation is ongoing , and all the officers involved have been suspended with pay . at this point , it is n't clear whether any charges will be filed . the u.s. justice department is also investigating the case . the police union said it 's 100 % behind the officers and compared protesters to a lynch mob , accusing them of calling for charges against officers without knowing the facts of the case or giving them a day in court . there is , at this time , no indication of any criminal activity whatsoever , ' the union 's statement said , but our support will not waiver for any reason . ' gray 's case is getting a lot of attention . but protest organizers say it 's emblematic of a broader problem . some protesters say it 's not the only time they 've seen police brutality on the streets of their city . long before they took to the streets to demonstrate over gray 's death , some of them had already been at city hall , voicing their concerns over other cases . right now there 's a lot of mistrust . they feel it 's us versus them , ' baltimore city council president jack young said . it should not be that way and it needs to be fixed . ' according to the baltimore sun , the city has paid more than $ 5.7 million since 2011 for more than 100 cases involving allegations of police wrongdoing . police did n't admit fault in any of the cases . the police union said in a statement on wednesday that the reason for the settlements was simple : city officials believe lawsuits are too costly . let us be clear , we completely disagree with this policy , as many of these cases are settled without concern for the facts but , rather , to avoid the high cost of defending a potential lawsuit . we believe that these cases should be decided in court where proper time and attention can be given , ' the union said . the ease of settlement , and substantial award amount , has led to the unjustified perception of an increase in brutality complaints . ' cnn 's dana ford , eliott c. mclaughlin , suzanne malveaux , jake tapper , miguel marquez , brian todd , polo sandoval , justin lear , jason carroll and patrick cornell contributed to this report . | freddie gray 's death has fueled protests in baltimore |
freddie gray <tsp> ( cnn ) protests are gaining steam in baltimore after a man died from a devastating injury he allegedly suffered while in police custody . demonstrators have vowed they 'll keep taking to the streets until they get justice . to start , protesters say they 're looking for answers about what happened to freddie gray , and why . but it seems like the questions in the controversial case just keep growing . protesters rallied at baltimore city hall on thursday , and another march is planned for saturday . here 's a look at key issues protesters are asking about : police say when gray saw police on april 12 , he started running . within minutes , they caught up with him and arrested him after finding a knife in his pocket . protesters have echoed the claims of the gray family 's attorney , who argues that police did n't have any probable cause to pursue him , but chased him for running while black . ' baltimore police union attorney michael davey told reporters wednesday that officers had every right to chase gray . there is a supreme court case that states that if you are in a high-crime area , and you flee from the police unprovoked , the police have the legal ability to pursue you , and that 's what they did , ' he said . in this type of an incident , you do not need probable cause to arrest . you just need a reasonable suspicion to make the stop . ' an autopsy says gray died from a severe spinal cord injury . his family says his voice box was crushed and his neck snapped before he slipped into a coma and later died . police say they spotted gray , gave chase , caught him , cuffed him and requested a wagon ' to transport him in less than four minutes . the transport van left with gray about 11 minutes afterward , police said , and another 30 minutes passed before units request paramedics to the western district to transport the suspect to an area hospital . ' protesters want to know exactly what happened in those 30 minutes , and say it 's clear police used too much force when gray was in their custody . investigators still have n't said what happened inside the van . union officials from the fraternal order of police lodge 3 say something happened inside the vehicle , but they do n't know what . baltimore police commissioner anthony batts told cnn affiliate wjz that another prisoner inside the van said he did n't see any harm done to gray . what he has said is that he heard freddie thrashing about , ' batts said . the driver did n't drive erratically , was n't slamming on breaks , was n't turning corners fast or in an irrational way . ' five of the six officers involved in gray 's arrest have provided statements to investigators , the baltimore police department said wednesday . they have completely cooperated with the investigation from day 1 , ' davey told reporters . but details of what the officers said have n't been released yet by authorities . neither have the officers'personnel records or photos . police say doing that would violate the law . the lack of details a week and a half after the incident is fueling cries from the public , and the lawmakers who represent them . protesters say police should be releasing what they know now . baltimore police officials say they 're being as transparent as they can about the case while their criminal investigation is ongoing . and they say they plan to hand over details from the investigation to the state attorney 's office next week . some protesters say the officers should be charged with murder for gray 's death . officials say an investigation is ongoing , and all the officers involved have been suspended with pay . at this point , it is n't clear whether any charges will be filed . the u.s. justice department is also investigating the case . the police union said it 's 100 % behind the officers and compared protesters to a lynch mob , accusing them of calling for charges against officers without knowing the facts of the case or giving them a day in court . there is , at this time , no indication of any criminal activity whatsoever , ' the union 's statement said , but our support will not waiver for any reason . ' gray 's case is getting a lot of attention . but protest organizers say it 's emblematic of a broader problem . some protesters say it 's not the only time they 've seen police brutality on the streets of their city . long before they took to the streets to demonstrate over gray 's death , some of them had already been at city hall , voicing their concerns over other cases . right now there 's a lot of mistrust . they feel it 's us versus them , ' baltimore city council president jack young said . it should not be that way and it needs to be fixed . ' according to the baltimore sun , the city has paid more than $ 5.7 million since 2011 for more than 100 cases involving allegations of police wrongdoing . police did n't admit fault in any of the cases . the police union said in a statement on wednesday that the reason for the settlements was simple : city officials believe lawsuits are too costly . let us be clear , we completely disagree with this policy , as many of these cases are settled without concern for the facts but , rather , to avoid the high cost of defending a potential lawsuit . we believe that these cases should be decided in court where proper time and attention can be given , ' the union said . the ease of settlement , and substantial award amount , has led to the unjustified perception of an increase in brutality complaints . ' cnn 's dana ford , eliott c. mclaughlin , suzanne malveaux , jake tapper , miguel marquez , brian todd , polo sandoval , justin lear , jason carroll and patrick cornell contributed to this report . | freddie gray 's death has fueled protests in baltimore |
vos <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i was finding it hard to breathe , and i really thought that was it for me . i thought'this is it - i 'm not coming out of here ,'' said earthquake survivor anne vos . she was speaking from her hospital bed in christchurch , new zealand , after being rescued from the rubble of a five-story building that collapsed during tuesday 's 6.3-magnitude earthquake . vos had spoken to the media on her mobile phone while trapped under her desk in the pyne gould corporation building , drawing international attention to her plight . in the 24 hours she spent under the rubble , vos , 57 , said she gave up hope , and accepted she would die . i 'm very lucky , i 'm very , very lucky , ' she said . she said she remembered vividly the moment the quake struck . she had taken over at the reception desk to allow a colleague to go for lunch , and she was logging onto a computer when the rumbling ' started . it happened so quickly . i heard the rumble and then stuff was falling from the ceiling and i thought it was best to go under the desk rather than try to get out . there was n't any time to think , but i am lucky i did n't go to the stairs . there would n't have been time . i do n't know what might have happened . a lot of concrete pieces fell on me and the desk sort of bent completely around . my arm was trapped under a huge piece of concrete . it was starting to swell and i could n't feel my hand . i could n't get my feet out , and there was a lot of broken glass and electrical wires so i could n't move at all . i was stuck there in a little cubby hole , ' she said . it was then , in severe pain and struggling to breathe , that vos realized she may not survive . she began to call close friends and family on her mobile phone . i was more or less saying goodbye . i just wanted to tell people that i loved them and to say goodbye . ' she was unable to reach her melbourne-based son , robert , and she left a goodbye message on his voicemail . some time after those initial calls , vos says she passed out . she was awakened by shaking , but she says she does n't know whether it was an aftershock or the building further collapsing . whatever it was , it changed her fortune . when i came to , it ( the piece of concrete on her ) had moved and i was able to wriggle a bit . once that came off and i could breathe again , i started to think maybe i could i make it . the whole time i was thinking about my family and my friends and i just wanted to make it out . i was hoping someone would rescue me soon . ' vos'next few hours were remarkable . her son , robert , gave her number to a melbourne radio station , and soon conversations with her were being broadcast internationally . she spoke to the media from underneath her crushed desk until her phone battery died . listen to anne vos talking to the media vos was not rescued until early wednesday afternoon . she was taken to hospital with cracked ribs , heavy bruising and multiple cuts . she said the feeling of relief was hard to describe , especially when she saw the state of the building . while i was in there i did n't know what was going on . i was just trapped under my desk , you know . when i got out it was such a shock . the building was n't there anymore . the job the search teams did was just fantastic . ' vos says she now needs to assess the damage to her possessions , and after experiencing two major earthquakes and many aftershocks , she may decide to move away from the area . i do n't know if i 'll stay . i am scared . i feel a bit like i have nothing keeping me here . i do n't know if my place has survived . ' there are other anxieties too . i am also a bit worried about where i could work . i think i would be too afraid to go into a tall building for a while , ' she said . | anne vos spent 24 hours trapped in the rubble of the pyne gould corporation building |
vos <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i was finding it hard to breathe , and i really thought that was it for me . i thought'this is it - i 'm not coming out of here ,'' said earthquake survivor anne vos . she was speaking from her hospital bed in christchurch , new zealand , after being rescued from the rubble of a five-story building that collapsed during tuesday 's 6.3-magnitude earthquake . vos had spoken to the media on her mobile phone while trapped under her desk in the pyne gould corporation building , drawing international attention to her plight . in the 24 hours she spent under the rubble , vos , 57 , said she gave up hope , and accepted she would die . i 'm very lucky , i 'm very , very lucky , ' she said . she said she remembered vividly the moment the quake struck . she had taken over at the reception desk to allow a colleague to go for lunch , and she was logging onto a computer when the rumbling ' started . it happened so quickly . i heard the rumble and then stuff was falling from the ceiling and i thought it was best to go under the desk rather than try to get out . there was n't any time to think , but i am lucky i did n't go to the stairs . there would n't have been time . i do n't know what might have happened . a lot of concrete pieces fell on me and the desk sort of bent completely around . my arm was trapped under a huge piece of concrete . it was starting to swell and i could n't feel my hand . i could n't get my feet out , and there was a lot of broken glass and electrical wires so i could n't move at all . i was stuck there in a little cubby hole , ' she said . it was then , in severe pain and struggling to breathe , that vos realized she may not survive . she began to call close friends and family on her mobile phone . i was more or less saying goodbye . i just wanted to tell people that i loved them and to say goodbye . ' she was unable to reach her melbourne-based son , robert , and she left a goodbye message on his voicemail . some time after those initial calls , vos says she passed out . she was awakened by shaking , but she says she does n't know whether it was an aftershock or the building further collapsing . whatever it was , it changed her fortune . when i came to , it ( the piece of concrete on her ) had moved and i was able to wriggle a bit . once that came off and i could breathe again , i started to think maybe i could i make it . the whole time i was thinking about my family and my friends and i just wanted to make it out . i was hoping someone would rescue me soon . ' vos'next few hours were remarkable . her son , robert , gave her number to a melbourne radio station , and soon conversations with her were being broadcast internationally . she spoke to the media from underneath her crushed desk until her phone battery died . listen to anne vos talking to the media vos was not rescued until early wednesday afternoon . she was taken to hospital with cracked ribs , heavy bruising and multiple cuts . she said the feeling of relief was hard to describe , especially when she saw the state of the building . while i was in there i did n't know what was going on . i was just trapped under my desk , you know . when i got out it was such a shock . the building was n't there anymore . the job the search teams did was just fantastic . ' vos says she now needs to assess the damage to her possessions , and after experiencing two major earthquakes and many aftershocks , she may decide to move away from the area . i do n't know if i 'll stay . i am scared . i feel a bit like i have nothing keeping me here . i do n't know if my place has survived . ' there are other anxieties too . i am also a bit worried about where i could work . i think i would be too afraid to go into a tall building for a while , ' she said . | vos was rescued and taken to the hospital with cracked ribs and heavy bruises on wednesday |
vos <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i was finding it hard to breathe , and i really thought that was it for me . i thought'this is it - i 'm not coming out of here ,'' said earthquake survivor anne vos . she was speaking from her hospital bed in christchurch , new zealand , after being rescued from the rubble of a five-story building that collapsed during tuesday 's 6.3-magnitude earthquake . vos had spoken to the media on her mobile phone while trapped under her desk in the pyne gould corporation building , drawing international attention to her plight . in the 24 hours she spent under the rubble , vos , 57 , said she gave up hope , and accepted she would die . i 'm very lucky , i 'm very , very lucky , ' she said . she said she remembered vividly the moment the quake struck . she had taken over at the reception desk to allow a colleague to go for lunch , and she was logging onto a computer when the rumbling ' started . it happened so quickly . i heard the rumble and then stuff was falling from the ceiling and i thought it was best to go under the desk rather than try to get out . there was n't any time to think , but i am lucky i did n't go to the stairs . there would n't have been time . i do n't know what might have happened . a lot of concrete pieces fell on me and the desk sort of bent completely around . my arm was trapped under a huge piece of concrete . it was starting to swell and i could n't feel my hand . i could n't get my feet out , and there was a lot of broken glass and electrical wires so i could n't move at all . i was stuck there in a little cubby hole , ' she said . it was then , in severe pain and struggling to breathe , that vos realized she may not survive . she began to call close friends and family on her mobile phone . i was more or less saying goodbye . i just wanted to tell people that i loved them and to say goodbye . ' she was unable to reach her melbourne-based son , robert , and she left a goodbye message on his voicemail . some time after those initial calls , vos says she passed out . she was awakened by shaking , but she says she does n't know whether it was an aftershock or the building further collapsing . whatever it was , it changed her fortune . when i came to , it ( the piece of concrete on her ) had moved and i was able to wriggle a bit . once that came off and i could breathe again , i started to think maybe i could i make it . the whole time i was thinking about my family and my friends and i just wanted to make it out . i was hoping someone would rescue me soon . ' vos'next few hours were remarkable . her son , robert , gave her number to a melbourne radio station , and soon conversations with her were being broadcast internationally . she spoke to the media from underneath her crushed desk until her phone battery died . listen to anne vos talking to the media vos was not rescued until early wednesday afternoon . she was taken to hospital with cracked ribs , heavy bruising and multiple cuts . she said the feeling of relief was hard to describe , especially when she saw the state of the building . while i was in there i did n't know what was going on . i was just trapped under my desk , you know . when i got out it was such a shock . the building was n't there anymore . the job the search teams did was just fantastic . ' vos says she now needs to assess the damage to her possessions , and after experiencing two major earthquakes and many aftershocks , she may decide to move away from the area . i do n't know if i 'll stay . i am scared . i feel a bit like i have nothing keeping me here . i do n't know if my place has survived . ' there are other anxieties too . i am also a bit worried about where i could work . i think i would be too afraid to go into a tall building for a while , ' she said . | vos 's conversations with the media while hiding under her desk were broadcast internationally |
mumbai <tsp> new delhi , india ( cnn ) -- the alleged surviving attacker from last month 's mumbai terror attacks is seeking help from pakistani officials , india said monday . guests arrive at the reopening of the taj mahal palace hotel in mumbai . the suspect , mohammed ajmal amir kasab , wrote a letter to pakistan 's high commission in india that was handed over to pakistan 's acting high commissioner in new delhi on monday evening , india 's foreign ministry said . asked about the statement , pakistan 's foreign ministry said the government in islamabad has so far not received any information or evidence relating to the mumbai incident from the government of india . ' according to india 's foreign ministry , kasab , 21 , stated in his letter that he and the other attackers were from pakistan and asked for a meeting with pakistan 's high commission . indian authorities said kasab had admitted he was one of 10 gunmen who attacked several targets in mumbai on november 26 , sparking three days of battles with police and indian troops in the heart of the city that is the hub of india 's financial and entertainment industries . india said kasab told investigators he and the others were trained for more than a year in pakistan by lashkar-e-tayyiba , a banned islamic militant group . the attacks left more than 160 people dead , as well as nine of the gunmen . most of the deaths occurred at the taj mahal palace and the oberoi-trident hotels , which reopened on sunday -- three weeks after the attacks . cnn 's sara sidner in new delhi and zein basravi in islamabad contributed to this report . | alleged surviving attacker from mumbai terror attacks seeks pakistani help |
azarenka <tsp> ( cnn ) -- world no . 1 victoria azarenka rallied from a set and 4-0 down to unseeded italian alberta brianti as she eventually emerged into the second round of the french open on monday . the 22-year-old looked like she would achieve the unwanted feat of becoming the first top-seeded player to lose in the opening round at roland garros in the open era . but after brianti moved to within two games of a landmark victory azarenka , from belarus , won 12 of the next 14 to finally earn a clash with germany 's dinah pfizenmaier . i was kind of thinking there was a flight straight to minsk around 3pm tomorrow , so i could catch that , ' azarenka told the wta tour 's official website . but i did n't want to leave too soon . courting china : li na leaps up sport 's rich list ' i think it was maybe a mix of things , ' azarenka added of her below-par opening to the tournament . i was waiting a long time for my first match here , so i could n't wait to get out there . maybe i was rushing too much to finish the points . plus i also have to give alberta a lot of credit , she played really well , and she pushed me to dig deep today . bad days happen . the important thing is how i came out of it . ' defending champion li na , from china , had no such difficulties as she eased into round two with a regulation 6-2 6-1 victory over romania 's sorana cirstea . the 30-year-old became the first asian winner of a grand slam singles title at last year 's event and is aiming to become the first woman since belgium 's justine henin in 2007 to successfully defend her crown . i 'll just try my best , ' she told reporters . it 's tough for me to stay at the same level all the time . ' li will now face france 's stephanie foretz gacon in the next round . polish third seed agnieszka radwanska sped to a 6-1 6-0 win over serbia 's bojana jovanovksi in just 49 minutes and will now face seven-time grand slam winner venus williams in round two . home favorite and no . 8 seed marion bartoli progressed into the second round with a 6-3 6-3 win over czech qualifier karolina plizkova . but russian 11th seed vera zvonareva withdrew from the tournament on monday morning with a right shoulder injury . sabine lisicki , the no . 12 seed from germany , slumped to a surprise 6-4 6-3 defeat to america 's bethanie mattek-sands . there were also victories on monday for slovakia 's dominika cibulkova , serbia 's jelena jankovic , petra cetkovska of the czech republic and italy 's no . 17 seed roberta vinci . | azarenka goes one set and 4-0 down before fighting back to beat alberta brianti |
azarenka <tsp> ( cnn ) -- world no . 1 victoria azarenka rallied from a set and 4-0 down to unseeded italian alberta brianti as she eventually emerged into the second round of the french open on monday . the 22-year-old looked like she would achieve the unwanted feat of becoming the first top-seeded player to lose in the opening round at roland garros in the open era . but after brianti moved to within two games of a landmark victory azarenka , from belarus , won 12 of the next 14 to finally earn a clash with germany 's dinah pfizenmaier . i was kind of thinking there was a flight straight to minsk around 3pm tomorrow , so i could catch that , ' azarenka told the wta tour 's official website . but i did n't want to leave too soon . courting china : li na leaps up sport 's rich list ' i think it was maybe a mix of things , ' azarenka added of her below-par opening to the tournament . i was waiting a long time for my first match here , so i could n't wait to get out there . maybe i was rushing too much to finish the points . plus i also have to give alberta a lot of credit , she played really well , and she pushed me to dig deep today . bad days happen . the important thing is how i came out of it . ' defending champion li na , from china , had no such difficulties as she eased into round two with a regulation 6-2 6-1 victory over romania 's sorana cirstea . the 30-year-old became the first asian winner of a grand slam singles title at last year 's event and is aiming to become the first woman since belgium 's justine henin in 2007 to successfully defend her crown . i 'll just try my best , ' she told reporters . it 's tough for me to stay at the same level all the time . ' li will now face france 's stephanie foretz gacon in the next round . polish third seed agnieszka radwanska sped to a 6-1 6-0 win over serbia 's bojana jovanovksi in just 49 minutes and will now face seven-time grand slam winner venus williams in round two . home favorite and no . 8 seed marion bartoli progressed into the second round with a 6-3 6-3 win over czech qualifier karolina plizkova . but russian 11th seed vera zvonareva withdrew from the tournament on monday morning with a right shoulder injury . sabine lisicki , the no . 12 seed from germany , slumped to a surprise 6-4 6-3 defeat to america 's bethanie mattek-sands . there were also victories on monday for slovakia 's dominika cibulkova , serbia 's jelena jankovic , petra cetkovska of the czech republic and italy 's no . 17 seed roberta vinci . | world no . 1 victoria azarenka survives huge scare in french open first round |
isaf <tsp> ( cnn ) -- all 77 nato service members wounded in a saturday attack against a coalition base in afghanistan are u.s. troops , a spokeswoman for the international security assistance force said sunday . two afghan civilians were killed and 25 others also were wounded in the attack , which occurred on the eve of the 10th anniversary of al qaeda 's attack on the united states on 9/11 , u.s. army sgt . lindsey kibler said . none of the injuries is life-threatening , isaf said , and those wounded are expected to return to duties shortly . ' the truck bombing took place in the central-east province of wardak , and those killed were afghan laborers , said shahidullah shahid , the wardak governor 's spokesman . this attack was a high-profile attack . it was a pretty significant suicide vehicle bomb , ' gen. john r. allen , commander of coalition and u.s. forces in afghanistan , told cnn 's suzanne malveaux sunday . the taliban claimed responsibility for the assault . nato 's international security assistance force confirmed the attack was carried out by a taliban suicide bomber . allen said the attack indicates much more what the taliban are unable to do ' than what they are able to do . they have been ejected from the population in so many places around the country that their only ability to influence the battlefield on many occasions is simply to go for a high-profile attack . and that 's how we view this particular attack , ' he said . shahid said three people had died , while nato said two . nato also said 77 of its personnel were injured , while the provincial government said only 10 people were injured . it is not uncommon for a local government and nato to have varying accounts of an attack . the attacker was driving a truck carrying firewood and detonated his explosives at an entry point to the base , isaf said in a statement . most of the force of the explosion was absorbed by the protective barrier at the outpost entrance and though there were a significant number of injuries ... none is immediately life threatening , ' the statement said . in a video issued by isaf on saturday , allen spoke about the 9/11 anniversary and the long war , saying that while there is still much work to be done ' in the fight against taliban militants , we will prevail . ' he also praised the troops from the 49 nations serving in the isaf coalition . the protracted war began just a month after the al qaeda terror network , sheltered at the time by the ruling taliban militants , attacked the united states on september 11 , 2001 . u.s.-led forces kicked off operation enduring freedom in october and ousted the taliban . coalition and afghan troops have been fighting the tenacious taliban militants in the afghan-pakistani region . allen noted that september 11 marks the 10th anniversary of an event that changed the world . ' ever since that day , he said , the troops have crippled insurgents and have honored the victims of terrorism worldwide . he said the coalition is committed to making sure afghanistan is never again a safe haven for al qaeda . you have helped the afghan people build their nation , a democratic government and an ever-strengthening security force , ' he said , saying afghanistan has made advances in security , economic development and governance . the coalition death toll in the war is nearing 2,700 , according to a cnn count , with the united states sustaining most of the casualties in operation enduring freedom . august was the deadliest month for u.s. forces in afghanistan since the conflict began . seventy-one american troops died in august , topping july 2010 , when 65 troops died , according to the cnn tally . the surge in u.s. deaths comes as nato is drawing down and handing over security control to national forces . some 10,000 u.s. troops are scheduled to depart by year 's end , with all u.s. military personnel out of afghanistan by the end of 2014 . cnn 's joe sterling , adam levine , matiullah mati , claudia dominguez and tom evans contributed to this report . | new : all of the injured troops are americans , an isaf official says |
ukraine <tsp> editor 's note : andrey kurkov is a ukrainian novelist born in st. petersburg in 1961 . having graduated from the kiev foreign languages institute , he worked as a journalist , did his military service as a prison warden in odessa , then became a cameraman , writer of screenplays and author . his books are published in english by harvill secker in the uk and meville house in the u.s . the views expressed in this commentary are solely his . for two nights between the 4th and 6th of march , i barely slept . i was checking the internet every hour to see if russia had started war with ukraine . then the feeling of imminent danger was replaced by emotional fatigue . although a war still seemed unavoidable , it did n't inspire the same fear as in the early days of the occupation of crimea . ukrainian volunteers started to flow towards crimea and the eastern border with russia , while roads filled up with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles . ukraine was making an attempt to flex its military muscles , both to test the condition of the army and to reassure the population that we could protect ourselves . it became clear that since independence in 1991 neither ukrainian presidents nor the government had taken care of the military . nobody thought that ukraine might need an army ; it was as simple as that . nobody thought that until this year and now it 's an everyday topic . this , and a war with russia . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov repeats each day that russia does n't plan to occupy eastern and southern ukraine . but it would be odd if anyone believed him . russia also did n't plan to annex crimea . even russian president vladimir putin said that . on march 5 , putin announced to the world that military maneuvers ' were successfully completed and by march 7 all russian soldiers , together with their equipment , would be back in their usual location , leaving crimea alone . however , instead of the promised end of these maneuvers , ' more than 10,000 russian troops arrived in crimea . what to do with crimea ? when it comes to the occupation of crimea , the ukrainian government stands firm . something that must occupy the mind of putin and others in the kremlin . this position is without doubt due to the u.s. support of ukraine . the rest of the world agrees that crimea is ukrainian territory occupied by russia . while putin continues to show he is not interested in the opinion of the rest of the world , this fact will have rather serious consequences for the occupied peninsula itself . ukrainian international airlines stopped all its flights to the crimean capital simferopol and crimean residents are now anxiously waiting for the summer holiday season . a recent law passed in kiev about occupied territories means that ukrainians ca n't enter without prior approval from the authorities . russian prime minister medvedev , who visited crimea recently , promised 33 airplanes full of visitors from russia each day during the summer . under pressure from the kremlin , russian airlines -- the only ones now flying to the peninsula -- have slashed prices on flights . i think russian oligarchs will soon receive an order from the kremlin to buy holiday packages to crimean sanitoriums and resorts for their employees . otherwise how will the kremlin get 8 million russian visitors promised to crimea this summer ? and if all of russia 's citizens do decide to support crimean hotels and resorts this summer , then who will visit the newly built super-resort of sochi ? but the summer season in crimea only lasts a little more than three months . and after that , what ? crimea produces wine and grows fruit . they can only export it to russia , but russia has enough wine and fruit of its own . putin will have no other choice but to follow europe 's example and subsidize farmers and winemakers so they do n't grow anything and reduce wine production . the impact of this acquisition ' on russia 's budget looks scary . no wonder that the pre-referendum promise to quadruple pensions for crimea 's residents has been replaced with one to reconsider it starting from january 2016 . currently tram and trolleybus driver 's salaries are frozen , the number of suburban trains had been cut and people are trying to figure out how to keep on living . building a soviet'jurassic park' if the self-proclaimed crimean government asked me the question : how can crimea keep on going ? ' i would answer that we should create some kind of theme park there . something between disneyland and jurassic park , but much bigger and more exotic . for the last 20 years crimea has been known for its love for everything soviet . strictly speaking , crimea has remained soviet . against the background of south crimea 's truly stunning coast , lovingly preserved soviet monuments look very odd . my favorite one -- a big statue of lenin in koreiz , not far from yalta -- has him standing on the cliff looking sternly in the direction of turkey . there are times , when i think that russia occupied this peninsula so that ukrainian nationalists could n't demolish these soviet-era landmarks , just as they did in kiev and central and western ukraine . so in my eyes the only possible solution to the complex economical situation in crimea would be the creation of a theme park of soviet life . considering that putin has often said he considers the collapse of soviet union as his own personal tragedy , it would n't be too much of a risk to call the park , spread over 27,000 square kilometers , putinland . ' a simple , scary scenario but i know that for ukrainians this is not the right moment for jokes . nor for me either ; i look towards the near future with anxiety . my main concern is that russia will start destabilizing southeast ukraine before the presidential elections on may 25 . putin has already declared that he wo n't recognize the results of the elections , but what is even more important for him , is that these elections do n't take place at all . if they do n't then he can keep talking about the illegitimacy of the government , the absence of a legitimate president , and he can move further into ukraine under the pretext of protecting the russian-speaking population . the scenario of the russian expansion could look very simple : may 9 will be commemorated as victory day -- something of an annual cult holiday for many in russia . you can expect that this year communists and pro-russian activists in the south and east of ukraine will demonstrate , claiming to be commemorating victory over nazi germany . the gatherings will follow a familiar pattern : the occupation of local government buildings and the planting of russian flags on their roofs . it is clear that ukrainian authorities have got stronger and will use police and the security services to prevent this happening . riots will start with the first victims coming from the protesters and police . at that point russia can send in its armed peace-keeping ' forces in to bring order . i am afraid that once russian peace-keepers ' enter ukrainian territory they will not stop until they get to kiev . that is because the kremlin 's main goal remains to put a pro-russian government in ukraine , the kind that will sign an agreement of friendship and cooperation and will recognize to crimea as a russian territory . only when this agreement is reached can russia finally relax and develop the crimean peninsula legally and without the fear of political and economic sanctions from the european union and the u.s . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrey kurkov | fears that russia will destabilize southern and eastern ukraine before elections on may 25 |
ukraine <tsp> editor 's note : andrey kurkov is a ukrainian novelist born in st. petersburg in 1961 . having graduated from the kiev foreign languages institute , he worked as a journalist , did his military service as a prison warden in odessa , then became a cameraman , writer of screenplays and author . his books are published in english by harvill secker in the uk and meville house in the u.s . the views expressed in this commentary are solely his . for two nights between the 4th and 6th of march , i barely slept . i was checking the internet every hour to see if russia had started war with ukraine . then the feeling of imminent danger was replaced by emotional fatigue . although a war still seemed unavoidable , it did n't inspire the same fear as in the early days of the occupation of crimea . ukrainian volunteers started to flow towards crimea and the eastern border with russia , while roads filled up with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles . ukraine was making an attempt to flex its military muscles , both to test the condition of the army and to reassure the population that we could protect ourselves . it became clear that since independence in 1991 neither ukrainian presidents nor the government had taken care of the military . nobody thought that ukraine might need an army ; it was as simple as that . nobody thought that until this year and now it 's an everyday topic . this , and a war with russia . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov repeats each day that russia does n't plan to occupy eastern and southern ukraine . but it would be odd if anyone believed him . russia also did n't plan to annex crimea . even russian president vladimir putin said that . on march 5 , putin announced to the world that military maneuvers ' were successfully completed and by march 7 all russian soldiers , together with their equipment , would be back in their usual location , leaving crimea alone . however , instead of the promised end of these maneuvers , ' more than 10,000 russian troops arrived in crimea . what to do with crimea ? when it comes to the occupation of crimea , the ukrainian government stands firm . something that must occupy the mind of putin and others in the kremlin . this position is without doubt due to the u.s. support of ukraine . the rest of the world agrees that crimea is ukrainian territory occupied by russia . while putin continues to show he is not interested in the opinion of the rest of the world , this fact will have rather serious consequences for the occupied peninsula itself . ukrainian international airlines stopped all its flights to the crimean capital simferopol and crimean residents are now anxiously waiting for the summer holiday season . a recent law passed in kiev about occupied territories means that ukrainians ca n't enter without prior approval from the authorities . russian prime minister medvedev , who visited crimea recently , promised 33 airplanes full of visitors from russia each day during the summer . under pressure from the kremlin , russian airlines -- the only ones now flying to the peninsula -- have slashed prices on flights . i think russian oligarchs will soon receive an order from the kremlin to buy holiday packages to crimean sanitoriums and resorts for their employees . otherwise how will the kremlin get 8 million russian visitors promised to crimea this summer ? and if all of russia 's citizens do decide to support crimean hotels and resorts this summer , then who will visit the newly built super-resort of sochi ? but the summer season in crimea only lasts a little more than three months . and after that , what ? crimea produces wine and grows fruit . they can only export it to russia , but russia has enough wine and fruit of its own . putin will have no other choice but to follow europe 's example and subsidize farmers and winemakers so they do n't grow anything and reduce wine production . the impact of this acquisition ' on russia 's budget looks scary . no wonder that the pre-referendum promise to quadruple pensions for crimea 's residents has been replaced with one to reconsider it starting from january 2016 . currently tram and trolleybus driver 's salaries are frozen , the number of suburban trains had been cut and people are trying to figure out how to keep on living . building a soviet'jurassic park' if the self-proclaimed crimean government asked me the question : how can crimea keep on going ? ' i would answer that we should create some kind of theme park there . something between disneyland and jurassic park , but much bigger and more exotic . for the last 20 years crimea has been known for its love for everything soviet . strictly speaking , crimea has remained soviet . against the background of south crimea 's truly stunning coast , lovingly preserved soviet monuments look very odd . my favorite one -- a big statue of lenin in koreiz , not far from yalta -- has him standing on the cliff looking sternly in the direction of turkey . there are times , when i think that russia occupied this peninsula so that ukrainian nationalists could n't demolish these soviet-era landmarks , just as they did in kiev and central and western ukraine . so in my eyes the only possible solution to the complex economical situation in crimea would be the creation of a theme park of soviet life . considering that putin has often said he considers the collapse of soviet union as his own personal tragedy , it would n't be too much of a risk to call the park , spread over 27,000 square kilometers , putinland . ' a simple , scary scenario but i know that for ukrainians this is not the right moment for jokes . nor for me either ; i look towards the near future with anxiety . my main concern is that russia will start destabilizing southeast ukraine before the presidential elections on may 25 . putin has already declared that he wo n't recognize the results of the elections , but what is even more important for him , is that these elections do n't take place at all . if they do n't then he can keep talking about the illegitimacy of the government , the absence of a legitimate president , and he can move further into ukraine under the pretext of protecting the russian-speaking population . the scenario of the russian expansion could look very simple : may 9 will be commemorated as victory day -- something of an annual cult holiday for many in russia . you can expect that this year communists and pro-russian activists in the south and east of ukraine will demonstrate , claiming to be commemorating victory over nazi germany . the gatherings will follow a familiar pattern : the occupation of local government buildings and the planting of russian flags on their roofs . it is clear that ukrainian authorities have got stronger and will use police and the security services to prevent this happening . riots will start with the first victims coming from the protesters and police . at that point russia can send in its armed peace-keeping ' forces in to bring order . i am afraid that once russian peace-keepers ' enter ukrainian territory they will not stop until they get to kiev . that is because the kremlin 's main goal remains to put a pro-russian government in ukraine , the kind that will sign an agreement of friendship and cooperation and will recognize to crimea as a russian territory . only when this agreement is reached can russia finally relax and develop the crimean peninsula legally and without the fear of political and economic sanctions from the european union and the u.s . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrey kurkov | talk of war with russia is on everyone 's mind in ukraine , says novelist andrey kurkov |
andrey kurkov <tsp> editor 's note : andrey kurkov is a ukrainian novelist born in st. petersburg in 1961 . having graduated from the kiev foreign languages institute , he worked as a journalist , did his military service as a prison warden in odessa , then became a cameraman , writer of screenplays and author . his books are published in english by harvill secker in the uk and meville house in the u.s . the views expressed in this commentary are solely his . for two nights between the 4th and 6th of march , i barely slept . i was checking the internet every hour to see if russia had started war with ukraine . then the feeling of imminent danger was replaced by emotional fatigue . although a war still seemed unavoidable , it did n't inspire the same fear as in the early days of the occupation of crimea . ukrainian volunteers started to flow towards crimea and the eastern border with russia , while roads filled up with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles . ukraine was making an attempt to flex its military muscles , both to test the condition of the army and to reassure the population that we could protect ourselves . it became clear that since independence in 1991 neither ukrainian presidents nor the government had taken care of the military . nobody thought that ukraine might need an army ; it was as simple as that . nobody thought that until this year and now it 's an everyday topic . this , and a war with russia . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov repeats each day that russia does n't plan to occupy eastern and southern ukraine . but it would be odd if anyone believed him . russia also did n't plan to annex crimea . even russian president vladimir putin said that . on march 5 , putin announced to the world that military maneuvers ' were successfully completed and by march 7 all russian soldiers , together with their equipment , would be back in their usual location , leaving crimea alone . however , instead of the promised end of these maneuvers , ' more than 10,000 russian troops arrived in crimea . what to do with crimea ? when it comes to the occupation of crimea , the ukrainian government stands firm . something that must occupy the mind of putin and others in the kremlin . this position is without doubt due to the u.s. support of ukraine . the rest of the world agrees that crimea is ukrainian territory occupied by russia . while putin continues to show he is not interested in the opinion of the rest of the world , this fact will have rather serious consequences for the occupied peninsula itself . ukrainian international airlines stopped all its flights to the crimean capital simferopol and crimean residents are now anxiously waiting for the summer holiday season . a recent law passed in kiev about occupied territories means that ukrainians ca n't enter without prior approval from the authorities . russian prime minister medvedev , who visited crimea recently , promised 33 airplanes full of visitors from russia each day during the summer . under pressure from the kremlin , russian airlines -- the only ones now flying to the peninsula -- have slashed prices on flights . i think russian oligarchs will soon receive an order from the kremlin to buy holiday packages to crimean sanitoriums and resorts for their employees . otherwise how will the kremlin get 8 million russian visitors promised to crimea this summer ? and if all of russia 's citizens do decide to support crimean hotels and resorts this summer , then who will visit the newly built super-resort of sochi ? but the summer season in crimea only lasts a little more than three months . and after that , what ? crimea produces wine and grows fruit . they can only export it to russia , but russia has enough wine and fruit of its own . putin will have no other choice but to follow europe 's example and subsidize farmers and winemakers so they do n't grow anything and reduce wine production . the impact of this acquisition ' on russia 's budget looks scary . no wonder that the pre-referendum promise to quadruple pensions for crimea 's residents has been replaced with one to reconsider it starting from january 2016 . currently tram and trolleybus driver 's salaries are frozen , the number of suburban trains had been cut and people are trying to figure out how to keep on living . building a soviet'jurassic park' if the self-proclaimed crimean government asked me the question : how can crimea keep on going ? ' i would answer that we should create some kind of theme park there . something between disneyland and jurassic park , but much bigger and more exotic . for the last 20 years crimea has been known for its love for everything soviet . strictly speaking , crimea has remained soviet . against the background of south crimea 's truly stunning coast , lovingly preserved soviet monuments look very odd . my favorite one -- a big statue of lenin in koreiz , not far from yalta -- has him standing on the cliff looking sternly in the direction of turkey . there are times , when i think that russia occupied this peninsula so that ukrainian nationalists could n't demolish these soviet-era landmarks , just as they did in kiev and central and western ukraine . so in my eyes the only possible solution to the complex economical situation in crimea would be the creation of a theme park of soviet life . considering that putin has often said he considers the collapse of soviet union as his own personal tragedy , it would n't be too much of a risk to call the park , spread over 27,000 square kilometers , putinland . ' a simple , scary scenario but i know that for ukrainians this is not the right moment for jokes . nor for me either ; i look towards the near future with anxiety . my main concern is that russia will start destabilizing southeast ukraine before the presidential elections on may 25 . putin has already declared that he wo n't recognize the results of the elections , but what is even more important for him , is that these elections do n't take place at all . if they do n't then he can keep talking about the illegitimacy of the government , the absence of a legitimate president , and he can move further into ukraine under the pretext of protecting the russian-speaking population . the scenario of the russian expansion could look very simple : may 9 will be commemorated as victory day -- something of an annual cult holiday for many in russia . you can expect that this year communists and pro-russian activists in the south and east of ukraine will demonstrate , claiming to be commemorating victory over nazi germany . the gatherings will follow a familiar pattern : the occupation of local government buildings and the planting of russian flags on their roofs . it is clear that ukrainian authorities have got stronger and will use police and the security services to prevent this happening . riots will start with the first victims coming from the protesters and police . at that point russia can send in its armed peace-keeping ' forces in to bring order . i am afraid that once russian peace-keepers ' enter ukrainian territory they will not stop until they get to kiev . that is because the kremlin 's main goal remains to put a pro-russian government in ukraine , the kind that will sign an agreement of friendship and cooperation and will recognize to crimea as a russian territory . only when this agreement is reached can russia finally relax and develop the crimean peninsula legally and without the fear of political and economic sanctions from the european union and the u.s . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrey kurkov | talk of war with russia is on everyone 's mind in ukraine , says novelist andrey kurkov |
russia <tsp> editor 's note : andrey kurkov is a ukrainian novelist born in st. petersburg in 1961 . having graduated from the kiev foreign languages institute , he worked as a journalist , did his military service as a prison warden in odessa , then became a cameraman , writer of screenplays and author . his books are published in english by harvill secker in the uk and meville house in the u.s . the views expressed in this commentary are solely his . for two nights between the 4th and 6th of march , i barely slept . i was checking the internet every hour to see if russia had started war with ukraine . then the feeling of imminent danger was replaced by emotional fatigue . although a war still seemed unavoidable , it did n't inspire the same fear as in the early days of the occupation of crimea . ukrainian volunteers started to flow towards crimea and the eastern border with russia , while roads filled up with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles . ukraine was making an attempt to flex its military muscles , both to test the condition of the army and to reassure the population that we could protect ourselves . it became clear that since independence in 1991 neither ukrainian presidents nor the government had taken care of the military . nobody thought that ukraine might need an army ; it was as simple as that . nobody thought that until this year and now it 's an everyday topic . this , and a war with russia . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov repeats each day that russia does n't plan to occupy eastern and southern ukraine . but it would be odd if anyone believed him . russia also did n't plan to annex crimea . even russian president vladimir putin said that . on march 5 , putin announced to the world that military maneuvers ' were successfully completed and by march 7 all russian soldiers , together with their equipment , would be back in their usual location , leaving crimea alone . however , instead of the promised end of these maneuvers , ' more than 10,000 russian troops arrived in crimea . what to do with crimea ? when it comes to the occupation of crimea , the ukrainian government stands firm . something that must occupy the mind of putin and others in the kremlin . this position is without doubt due to the u.s. support of ukraine . the rest of the world agrees that crimea is ukrainian territory occupied by russia . while putin continues to show he is not interested in the opinion of the rest of the world , this fact will have rather serious consequences for the occupied peninsula itself . ukrainian international airlines stopped all its flights to the crimean capital simferopol and crimean residents are now anxiously waiting for the summer holiday season . a recent law passed in kiev about occupied territories means that ukrainians ca n't enter without prior approval from the authorities . russian prime minister medvedev , who visited crimea recently , promised 33 airplanes full of visitors from russia each day during the summer . under pressure from the kremlin , russian airlines -- the only ones now flying to the peninsula -- have slashed prices on flights . i think russian oligarchs will soon receive an order from the kremlin to buy holiday packages to crimean sanitoriums and resorts for their employees . otherwise how will the kremlin get 8 million russian visitors promised to crimea this summer ? and if all of russia 's citizens do decide to support crimean hotels and resorts this summer , then who will visit the newly built super-resort of sochi ? but the summer season in crimea only lasts a little more than three months . and after that , what ? crimea produces wine and grows fruit . they can only export it to russia , but russia has enough wine and fruit of its own . putin will have no other choice but to follow europe 's example and subsidize farmers and winemakers so they do n't grow anything and reduce wine production . the impact of this acquisition ' on russia 's budget looks scary . no wonder that the pre-referendum promise to quadruple pensions for crimea 's residents has been replaced with one to reconsider it starting from january 2016 . currently tram and trolleybus driver 's salaries are frozen , the number of suburban trains had been cut and people are trying to figure out how to keep on living . building a soviet'jurassic park' if the self-proclaimed crimean government asked me the question : how can crimea keep on going ? ' i would answer that we should create some kind of theme park there . something between disneyland and jurassic park , but much bigger and more exotic . for the last 20 years crimea has been known for its love for everything soviet . strictly speaking , crimea has remained soviet . against the background of south crimea 's truly stunning coast , lovingly preserved soviet monuments look very odd . my favorite one -- a big statue of lenin in koreiz , not far from yalta -- has him standing on the cliff looking sternly in the direction of turkey . there are times , when i think that russia occupied this peninsula so that ukrainian nationalists could n't demolish these soviet-era landmarks , just as they did in kiev and central and western ukraine . so in my eyes the only possible solution to the complex economical situation in crimea would be the creation of a theme park of soviet life . considering that putin has often said he considers the collapse of soviet union as his own personal tragedy , it would n't be too much of a risk to call the park , spread over 27,000 square kilometers , putinland . ' a simple , scary scenario but i know that for ukrainians this is not the right moment for jokes . nor for me either ; i look towards the near future with anxiety . my main concern is that russia will start destabilizing southeast ukraine before the presidential elections on may 25 . putin has already declared that he wo n't recognize the results of the elections , but what is even more important for him , is that these elections do n't take place at all . if they do n't then he can keep talking about the illegitimacy of the government , the absence of a legitimate president , and he can move further into ukraine under the pretext of protecting the russian-speaking population . the scenario of the russian expansion could look very simple : may 9 will be commemorated as victory day -- something of an annual cult holiday for many in russia . you can expect that this year communists and pro-russian activists in the south and east of ukraine will demonstrate , claiming to be commemorating victory over nazi germany . the gatherings will follow a familiar pattern : the occupation of local government buildings and the planting of russian flags on their roofs . it is clear that ukrainian authorities have got stronger and will use police and the security services to prevent this happening . riots will start with the first victims coming from the protesters and police . at that point russia can send in its armed peace-keeping ' forces in to bring order . i am afraid that once russian peace-keepers ' enter ukrainian territory they will not stop until they get to kiev . that is because the kremlin 's main goal remains to put a pro-russian government in ukraine , the kind that will sign an agreement of friendship and cooperation and will recognize to crimea as a russian territory . only when this agreement is reached can russia finally relax and develop the crimean peninsula legally and without the fear of political and economic sanctions from the european union and the u.s . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrey kurkov | fears that russia will destabilize southern and eastern ukraine before elections on may 25 |
Subsets and Splits