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edwards <tsp> ( cnn ) -- jury selection begins thursday in a greensboro , north carolina , federal courtroom in the trial of former democratic presidential candidate john edwards . edwards is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts related to the money dealings of his failed 2008 presidential campaign . rielle hunter , edwards'former mistress , is expected to testify at the trial . a major issue in the approaching trial is whether money given to support hunter , by the former candidate 's benefactors , should have been considered donations toward his presidential campaign . edwards denies any wrongdoing , claiming the money was a gift . edwards is accused of conspiracy , issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws . if convicted on all counts , edwards could face 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 1.5 million . edwards'attorneys have claimed the investigation and prosecution are politically motivated , and the charges do not clearly establish any violation of election law . edwards was sen. john kerry 's running mate on the 2004 democratic presidential ticket . his wife , elizabeth , died of cancer in december 2010 . elizabeth and john edwards separated that year , shortly after he admitted that he had fathered a daughter with hunter , who was hired to make documentary videos for his 2008 campaign . cnn 's joe sutton contributed to this report . | edwards'upcoming criminal trial will look at whether campaign money went to rielle hunter |
edwards <tsp> ( cnn ) -- jury selection begins thursday in a greensboro , north carolina , federal courtroom in the trial of former democratic presidential candidate john edwards . edwards is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts related to the money dealings of his failed 2008 presidential campaign . rielle hunter , edwards'former mistress , is expected to testify at the trial . a major issue in the approaching trial is whether money given to support hunter , by the former candidate 's benefactors , should have been considered donations toward his presidential campaign . edwards denies any wrongdoing , claiming the money was a gift . edwards is accused of conspiracy , issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws . if convicted on all counts , edwards could face 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 1.5 million . edwards'attorneys have claimed the investigation and prosecution are politically motivated , and the charges do not clearly establish any violation of election law . edwards was sen. john kerry 's running mate on the 2004 democratic presidential ticket . his wife , elizabeth , died of cancer in december 2010 . elizabeth and john edwards separated that year , shortly after he admitted that he had fathered a daughter with hunter , who was hired to make documentary videos for his 2008 campaign . cnn 's joe sutton contributed to this report . | hunter , edwards'former mistress , was hired to make documentary videos for 2008 campaign |
wimbledon <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the first time in 78 years , a british man took to the grass courts of the all england club as reigning wimbledon champion . if 2013 winner andy murrray was feeling the weight of history on his shoulders , it did n't show as he secured a comfortable 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory over belgium 's david goffin on the first day of the tournament monday . last year murray became britain 's first men 's singles champion since fred perry won the last of his three consecutive crowns in 1936 . the third seed began his defense by seeing off the challenge of world no . 105 goffin in two hours and two minutes . it was a milestone success for the scot , who registered the 450th win of his career to set up a second round meeting with 92nd-ranked slovenian blaz rola . novak djokovic also began his 2014 campaign in convincing fashion with a straight sets win over andrey golubev . last year 's losing finalist is ranked no . 1 for this year 's tournament and showed why taking the opening 11 games of the match before going onto thrash his kazakhstani opponent 6-0 6-1 6-4 . sixth seed tomas berdych also booked a second round spot with victory over romania 's victor hanescu . the big czech , who reached the 2010 wimbledon final , lost the opening set on the tiebreak on court no . 2 before coming back to win in four sets 6-7 ( 7/5 ) 6-1 6-4 6-3 . berdych 's reward is a second round match with australia 's bernard tomic who beat evgeny donskoy of russia 6-4 6-3 6-2 . spain 's david ferrer eased through to the second round with a four-set win over his compatriot pablo carreno busta . the seventh seed -- a two-time quarter finalist -- lost the second set on the tiebreak but was otherwise untroubled in a 6-0 6-7 ( 7/3 ) 6-1 6-1 victory . no . 11 seed grigor dimitrov is also safely through to the second round after comfortably beating ryan harrison of the u.s . the bulgarian carried the good form he displayed in winning the queen 's club title edging the first set on the tiebreak before notching a comfortable 7-6 ( 7/1 ) 6-3 6-2 win . maria sharapova 's other half will play luke saville in round two . but 18th seed fernando verdasco is out though following defeat to australia 's marinko matosevic . the spaniard , who lost to murray in an epic five-set quarterfinal on center court 12 months ago , was dumped out in four sets ( 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 ) on court no . 8 by the bosnian-born matosevic . italy 's fabio fognini prevailed in a marathon match against america 's alex kuznetzov out on court no . 18 . kuznetzov looked odds on to progress after taking a two-set lead but the italian , seeded 16 , won the next two before clinching the deciding set 9-7 . sloane and sam slip up the women 's competition also got under way with former world no . 1 victoria azarenka battling past spirited croat mirjana lucic-baroni 6-3 7-5 . the belorussian eighth seed will play serb bojana jovanovski for a place in round three . australian open champion li na is also safely through . the no . 2 seed from china beat poland 's paula kania 7-5 6-2 . li 's opponent in the final at melbourne , dominika cibulkova made light work of aleksandra wozniak dispatching the canadian 6-1 6-2 . the 10th seed from slovakia will play belgium 's alison van uytvanck in round two . but there was disappointment for rising american star sloane stephens , who failed to advance beyond the first round of a grand slam for the first time since wimbledon 2011 . the 18th seed was beaten 6-2 7-6 ( 8-6 ) by russia 's maria kirilenko , who will play china 's shuai peng . sam stosur wo n't be improving here poor record at wimbledon after being dumped out on day one by belgium 's yanina wickmayer in straight sets . the australian , seeded 17 , has never got past the third round and ended another dismal day in sw19 losing 6-3 6-4 . five-time champion venus williams enjoyed a happier time on court monday with a three-set win over spain 's maria-teresa torro-flor . williams , seeded 30 this year , took the first set 6-4 before torro-flor fought back to take the second by the same scoreline , but it was the 34-year-old veteran who asserted her authority in the final set taking it 6-2 . younger sister serena will kick off her quest for a sixth wimbledon crown on tuesday . williams junior will start her bid for an 18th grand slam title against world no . 114 anna tatishvili -- a georgian-born player now representing the u.s . | andy murray begins his wimbledon defense with victory |
czech <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the first time in 78 years , a british man took to the grass courts of the all england club as reigning wimbledon champion . if 2013 winner andy murrray was feeling the weight of history on his shoulders , it did n't show as he secured a comfortable 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory over belgium 's david goffin on the first day of the tournament monday . last year murray became britain 's first men 's singles champion since fred perry won the last of his three consecutive crowns in 1936 . the third seed began his defense by seeing off the challenge of world no . 105 goffin in two hours and two minutes . it was a milestone success for the scot , who registered the 450th win of his career to set up a second round meeting with 92nd-ranked slovenian blaz rola . novak djokovic also began his 2014 campaign in convincing fashion with a straight sets win over andrey golubev . last year 's losing finalist is ranked no . 1 for this year 's tournament and showed why taking the opening 11 games of the match before going onto thrash his kazakhstani opponent 6-0 6-1 6-4 . sixth seed tomas berdych also booked a second round spot with victory over romania 's victor hanescu . the big czech , who reached the 2010 wimbledon final , lost the opening set on the tiebreak on court no . 2 before coming back to win in four sets 6-7 ( 7/5 ) 6-1 6-4 6-3 . berdych 's reward is a second round match with australia 's bernard tomic who beat evgeny donskoy of russia 6-4 6-3 6-2 . spain 's david ferrer eased through to the second round with a four-set win over his compatriot pablo carreno busta . the seventh seed -- a two-time quarter finalist -- lost the second set on the tiebreak but was otherwise untroubled in a 6-0 6-7 ( 7/3 ) 6-1 6-1 victory . no . 11 seed grigor dimitrov is also safely through to the second round after comfortably beating ryan harrison of the u.s . the bulgarian carried the good form he displayed in winning the queen 's club title edging the first set on the tiebreak before notching a comfortable 7-6 ( 7/1 ) 6-3 6-2 win . maria sharapova 's other half will play luke saville in round two . but 18th seed fernando verdasco is out though following defeat to australia 's marinko matosevic . the spaniard , who lost to murray in an epic five-set quarterfinal on center court 12 months ago , was dumped out in four sets ( 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 ) on court no . 8 by the bosnian-born matosevic . italy 's fabio fognini prevailed in a marathon match against america 's alex kuznetzov out on court no . 18 . kuznetzov looked odds on to progress after taking a two-set lead but the italian , seeded 16 , won the next two before clinching the deciding set 9-7 . sloane and sam slip up the women 's competition also got under way with former world no . 1 victoria azarenka battling past spirited croat mirjana lucic-baroni 6-3 7-5 . the belorussian eighth seed will play serb bojana jovanovski for a place in round three . australian open champion li na is also safely through . the no . 2 seed from china beat poland 's paula kania 7-5 6-2 . li 's opponent in the final at melbourne , dominika cibulkova made light work of aleksandra wozniak dispatching the canadian 6-1 6-2 . the 10th seed from slovakia will play belgium 's alison van uytvanck in round two . but there was disappointment for rising american star sloane stephens , who failed to advance beyond the first round of a grand slam for the first time since wimbledon 2011 . the 18th seed was beaten 6-2 7-6 ( 8-6 ) by russia 's maria kirilenko , who will play china 's shuai peng . sam stosur wo n't be improving here poor record at wimbledon after being dumped out on day one by belgium 's yanina wickmayer in straight sets . the australian , seeded 17 , has never got past the third round and ended another dismal day in sw19 losing 6-3 6-4 . five-time champion venus williams enjoyed a happier time on court monday with a three-set win over spain 's maria-teresa torro-flor . williams , seeded 30 this year , took the first set 6-4 before torro-flor fought back to take the second by the same scoreline , but it was the 34-year-old veteran who asserted her authority in the final set taking it 6-2 . younger sister serena will kick off her quest for a sixth wimbledon crown on tuesday . williams junior will start her bid for an 18th grand slam title against world no . 114 anna tatishvili -- a georgian-born player now representing the u.s . | czech tomas berdych also safely into the second round |
belgium <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the first time in 78 years , a british man took to the grass courts of the all england club as reigning wimbledon champion . if 2013 winner andy murrray was feeling the weight of history on his shoulders , it did n't show as he secured a comfortable 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory over belgium 's david goffin on the first day of the tournament monday . last year murray became britain 's first men 's singles champion since fred perry won the last of his three consecutive crowns in 1936 . the third seed began his defense by seeing off the challenge of world no . 105 goffin in two hours and two minutes . it was a milestone success for the scot , who registered the 450th win of his career to set up a second round meeting with 92nd-ranked slovenian blaz rola . novak djokovic also began his 2014 campaign in convincing fashion with a straight sets win over andrey golubev . last year 's losing finalist is ranked no . 1 for this year 's tournament and showed why taking the opening 11 games of the match before going onto thrash his kazakhstani opponent 6-0 6-1 6-4 . sixth seed tomas berdych also booked a second round spot with victory over romania 's victor hanescu . the big czech , who reached the 2010 wimbledon final , lost the opening set on the tiebreak on court no . 2 before coming back to win in four sets 6-7 ( 7/5 ) 6-1 6-4 6-3 . berdych 's reward is a second round match with australia 's bernard tomic who beat evgeny donskoy of russia 6-4 6-3 6-2 . spain 's david ferrer eased through to the second round with a four-set win over his compatriot pablo carreno busta . the seventh seed -- a two-time quarter finalist -- lost the second set on the tiebreak but was otherwise untroubled in a 6-0 6-7 ( 7/3 ) 6-1 6-1 victory . no . 11 seed grigor dimitrov is also safely through to the second round after comfortably beating ryan harrison of the u.s . the bulgarian carried the good form he displayed in winning the queen 's club title edging the first set on the tiebreak before notching a comfortable 7-6 ( 7/1 ) 6-3 6-2 win . maria sharapova 's other half will play luke saville in round two . but 18th seed fernando verdasco is out though following defeat to australia 's marinko matosevic . the spaniard , who lost to murray in an epic five-set quarterfinal on center court 12 months ago , was dumped out in four sets ( 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 ) on court no . 8 by the bosnian-born matosevic . italy 's fabio fognini prevailed in a marathon match against america 's alex kuznetzov out on court no . 18 . kuznetzov looked odds on to progress after taking a two-set lead but the italian , seeded 16 , won the next two before clinching the deciding set 9-7 . sloane and sam slip up the women 's competition also got under way with former world no . 1 victoria azarenka battling past spirited croat mirjana lucic-baroni 6-3 7-5 . the belorussian eighth seed will play serb bojana jovanovski for a place in round three . australian open champion li na is also safely through . the no . 2 seed from china beat poland 's paula kania 7-5 6-2 . li 's opponent in the final at melbourne , dominika cibulkova made light work of aleksandra wozniak dispatching the canadian 6-1 6-2 . the 10th seed from slovakia will play belgium 's alison van uytvanck in round two . but there was disappointment for rising american star sloane stephens , who failed to advance beyond the first round of a grand slam for the first time since wimbledon 2011 . the 18th seed was beaten 6-2 7-6 ( 8-6 ) by russia 's maria kirilenko , who will play china 's shuai peng . sam stosur wo n't be improving here poor record at wimbledon after being dumped out on day one by belgium 's yanina wickmayer in straight sets . the australian , seeded 17 , has never got past the third round and ended another dismal day in sw19 losing 6-3 6-4 . five-time champion venus williams enjoyed a happier time on court monday with a three-set win over spain 's maria-teresa torro-flor . williams , seeded 30 this year , took the first set 6-4 before torro-flor fought back to take the second by the same scoreline , but it was the 34-year-old veteran who asserted her authority in the final set taking it 6-2 . younger sister serena will kick off her quest for a sixth wimbledon crown on tuesday . williams junior will start her bid for an 18th grand slam title against world no . 114 anna tatishvili -- a georgian-born player now representing the u.s . | the third seed beats belgium 's david goffin in straight sets |
david goffin <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the first time in 78 years , a british man took to the grass courts of the all england club as reigning wimbledon champion . if 2013 winner andy murrray was feeling the weight of history on his shoulders , it did n't show as he secured a comfortable 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory over belgium 's david goffin on the first day of the tournament monday . last year murray became britain 's first men 's singles champion since fred perry won the last of his three consecutive crowns in 1936 . the third seed began his defense by seeing off the challenge of world no . 105 goffin in two hours and two minutes . it was a milestone success for the scot , who registered the 450th win of his career to set up a second round meeting with 92nd-ranked slovenian blaz rola . novak djokovic also began his 2014 campaign in convincing fashion with a straight sets win over andrey golubev . last year 's losing finalist is ranked no . 1 for this year 's tournament and showed why taking the opening 11 games of the match before going onto thrash his kazakhstani opponent 6-0 6-1 6-4 . sixth seed tomas berdych also booked a second round spot with victory over romania 's victor hanescu . the big czech , who reached the 2010 wimbledon final , lost the opening set on the tiebreak on court no . 2 before coming back to win in four sets 6-7 ( 7/5 ) 6-1 6-4 6-3 . berdych 's reward is a second round match with australia 's bernard tomic who beat evgeny donskoy of russia 6-4 6-3 6-2 . spain 's david ferrer eased through to the second round with a four-set win over his compatriot pablo carreno busta . the seventh seed -- a two-time quarter finalist -- lost the second set on the tiebreak but was otherwise untroubled in a 6-0 6-7 ( 7/3 ) 6-1 6-1 victory . no . 11 seed grigor dimitrov is also safely through to the second round after comfortably beating ryan harrison of the u.s . the bulgarian carried the good form he displayed in winning the queen 's club title edging the first set on the tiebreak before notching a comfortable 7-6 ( 7/1 ) 6-3 6-2 win . maria sharapova 's other half will play luke saville in round two . but 18th seed fernando verdasco is out though following defeat to australia 's marinko matosevic . the spaniard , who lost to murray in an epic five-set quarterfinal on center court 12 months ago , was dumped out in four sets ( 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 ) on court no . 8 by the bosnian-born matosevic . italy 's fabio fognini prevailed in a marathon match against america 's alex kuznetzov out on court no . 18 . kuznetzov looked odds on to progress after taking a two-set lead but the italian , seeded 16 , won the next two before clinching the deciding set 9-7 . sloane and sam slip up the women 's competition also got under way with former world no . 1 victoria azarenka battling past spirited croat mirjana lucic-baroni 6-3 7-5 . the belorussian eighth seed will play serb bojana jovanovski for a place in round three . australian open champion li na is also safely through . the no . 2 seed from china beat poland 's paula kania 7-5 6-2 . li 's opponent in the final at melbourne , dominika cibulkova made light work of aleksandra wozniak dispatching the canadian 6-1 6-2 . the 10th seed from slovakia will play belgium 's alison van uytvanck in round two . but there was disappointment for rising american star sloane stephens , who failed to advance beyond the first round of a grand slam for the first time since wimbledon 2011 . the 18th seed was beaten 6-2 7-6 ( 8-6 ) by russia 's maria kirilenko , who will play china 's shuai peng . sam stosur wo n't be improving here poor record at wimbledon after being dumped out on day one by belgium 's yanina wickmayer in straight sets . the australian , seeded 17 , has never got past the third round and ended another dismal day in sw19 losing 6-3 6-4 . five-time champion venus williams enjoyed a happier time on court monday with a three-set win over spain 's maria-teresa torro-flor . williams , seeded 30 this year , took the first set 6-4 before torro-flor fought back to take the second by the same scoreline , but it was the 34-year-old veteran who asserted her authority in the final set taking it 6-2 . younger sister serena will kick off her quest for a sixth wimbledon crown on tuesday . williams junior will start her bid for an 18th grand slam title against world no . 114 anna tatishvili -- a georgian-born player now representing the u.s . | the third seed beats belgium 's david goffin in straight sets |
american <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the first time in 78 years , a british man took to the grass courts of the all england club as reigning wimbledon champion . if 2013 winner andy murrray was feeling the weight of history on his shoulders , it did n't show as he secured a comfortable 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory over belgium 's david goffin on the first day of the tournament monday . last year murray became britain 's first men 's singles champion since fred perry won the last of his three consecutive crowns in 1936 . the third seed began his defense by seeing off the challenge of world no . 105 goffin in two hours and two minutes . it was a milestone success for the scot , who registered the 450th win of his career to set up a second round meeting with 92nd-ranked slovenian blaz rola . novak djokovic also began his 2014 campaign in convincing fashion with a straight sets win over andrey golubev . last year 's losing finalist is ranked no . 1 for this year 's tournament and showed why taking the opening 11 games of the match before going onto thrash his kazakhstani opponent 6-0 6-1 6-4 . sixth seed tomas berdych also booked a second round spot with victory over romania 's victor hanescu . the big czech , who reached the 2010 wimbledon final , lost the opening set on the tiebreak on court no . 2 before coming back to win in four sets 6-7 ( 7/5 ) 6-1 6-4 6-3 . berdych 's reward is a second round match with australia 's bernard tomic who beat evgeny donskoy of russia 6-4 6-3 6-2 . spain 's david ferrer eased through to the second round with a four-set win over his compatriot pablo carreno busta . the seventh seed -- a two-time quarter finalist -- lost the second set on the tiebreak but was otherwise untroubled in a 6-0 6-7 ( 7/3 ) 6-1 6-1 victory . no . 11 seed grigor dimitrov is also safely through to the second round after comfortably beating ryan harrison of the u.s . the bulgarian carried the good form he displayed in winning the queen 's club title edging the first set on the tiebreak before notching a comfortable 7-6 ( 7/1 ) 6-3 6-2 win . maria sharapova 's other half will play luke saville in round two . but 18th seed fernando verdasco is out though following defeat to australia 's marinko matosevic . the spaniard , who lost to murray in an epic five-set quarterfinal on center court 12 months ago , was dumped out in four sets ( 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 ) on court no . 8 by the bosnian-born matosevic . italy 's fabio fognini prevailed in a marathon match against america 's alex kuznetzov out on court no . 18 . kuznetzov looked odds on to progress after taking a two-set lead but the italian , seeded 16 , won the next two before clinching the deciding set 9-7 . sloane and sam slip up the women 's competition also got under way with former world no . 1 victoria azarenka battling past spirited croat mirjana lucic-baroni 6-3 7-5 . the belorussian eighth seed will play serb bojana jovanovski for a place in round three . australian open champion li na is also safely through . the no . 2 seed from china beat poland 's paula kania 7-5 6-2 . li 's opponent in the final at melbourne , dominika cibulkova made light work of aleksandra wozniak dispatching the canadian 6-1 6-2 . the 10th seed from slovakia will play belgium 's alison van uytvanck in round two . but there was disappointment for rising american star sloane stephens , who failed to advance beyond the first round of a grand slam for the first time since wimbledon 2011 . the 18th seed was beaten 6-2 7-6 ( 8-6 ) by russia 's maria kirilenko , who will play china 's shuai peng . sam stosur wo n't be improving here poor record at wimbledon after being dumped out on day one by belgium 's yanina wickmayer in straight sets . the australian , seeded 17 , has never got past the third round and ended another dismal day in sw19 losing 6-3 6-4 . five-time champion venus williams enjoyed a happier time on court monday with a three-set win over spain 's maria-teresa torro-flor . williams , seeded 30 this year , took the first set 6-4 before torro-flor fought back to take the second by the same scoreline , but it was the 34-year-old veteran who asserted her authority in the final set taking it 6-2 . younger sister serena will kick off her quest for a sixth wimbledon crown on tuesday . williams junior will start her bid for an 18th grand slam title against world no . 114 anna tatishvili -- a georgian-born player now representing the u.s . | victoria azarenka also victorious as american sloane stephens crashes out |
congo <tsp> editor 's note : in our behind the scenes series , cnn correspondents share their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind the events . here , anderson cooper goes to the congo where he covered the killings of endangered mountain gorillas . ten mountain gorillas reportedly have been killed in the democratic republic of congo in the last year . new york ( cnn ) -- you hear them before you actually see them . some branches snap just ahead of you . the adult male silverback grunts somewhere off to the side of you . he even pounds his chest . you approach slowly . mountain gorillas have been used to seeing scientists for decades , but these are wild animals , and you have to be respectful . when you see them , it is shocking . i 've been visiting mountain gorillas since i was 17 -- i 've probably been about six or seven times -- but each visit is extraordinary . they are among our closest animal relatives , and when you stare into their eyes , you see the spark of intelligence . you know these are individuals , with personalities , thoughts and feelings . each gorilla group or family is headed by an adult male silverback . they are massive creatures , weighing up to 500 pounds , and are fiercely protective of their brood . around them baby mountain gorillas tumble and play . they beat their chests just like their father , though the display is far less impressive . if you look closely , you may notice some of the mountain gorillas have lost a hand or a foot . poachers'snares are a problem , even in a well-protected park in rwanda i visited . there are about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world , according to flora and fauna international , an organization that acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems , and they live in a lush forest that straddles rwanda , uganda , and the democratic republic of congo . watch a close-up view of a mountain gorilla » in rwanda and uganda , where they 're well-protected , the mountain gorilla populations are thriving . they are major tourist attractions that bring millions of dollars each year to both countries . the real problem right now is in the democratic republic of congo . for the last 10 years , there has been fighting in that country , and in the last year , according to the u.n. educational , scientific and cultural organization ( unesco ) 10 mountain gorillas have been killed , shot to death . we went to the congo to find out why those mountain gorillas were murdered . and the answer is we just do n't know . because of the fighting , the mountain gorillas are completely cut off . the rangers who protect them have had to flee the park , and no one 's been able to check up on the gorillas . what we do know , and what is so sad , is that these gentle giants trust us . you see it when you sit with them , when they allow you to come so close . they 've been taught that man wo n't hurt them . this year , in the congo , the gorillas have been lied to . e-mail to a friend | ten mountain gorillas have been killed in the congo in last year , u.n. agency says |
americans <tsp> falluja , iraq ( cnn ) -- i can still hear her screams , ' says mohammed rasoul , pointing to the sidewalk where he was sitting moments before a car bomb ripped through his street , killing his younger cousin and blowing off his right leg . mohammed rasoul stands at the grave where his cousin is buried . he lost his right leg in the attack that killed her . mohammed , now 14 , shudders as he stands on the street he grew up on in the war-torn city of falluja . he admits he 's afraid of another explosion . cnn first met mohammed two years ago . every day , on crutches he would make the painstaking journey to his cousin 's grave to water a small tree he planted next to it . she was just 6-years-old when she was killed in the car bombing on october 13 , 2006 . mohammed 's story came to the attention of the global medical relief fund , a u.s.-based charity that helps children in war zones across the globe . within months , mohammed and his mother , jinan mohammed , were on their way to the united states , an experience that changed their lives and their perspectives . watch iraqi amputee walk again » ' before i went to america , the only america i knew was the one that harmed us , destroyed our homes and our lives , ' his mother says . but when i went to america , i saw such kindness and humanity . ' at the shriners children 's hospital in philadelphia , pennsylvania , mohammed was fitted with a prosthetic and for the first time in two years , his mother saw her son stand on his own . her eyes immediately swelled with tears . she had not realized how tall mohammed had gotten since the attack . meet other children helped by the global medical relief fund » ' my son 's life changed , ' she says , back in iraq nearly a year after her son 's treatment . he used to be so depressed . he would watch boys playing football , and he would be balancing on one leg on the sidelines . now , he walks tall and proud . ' when they came back to iraq , there were celebrations for days . everyone wanted to see mohammed walk , and everyone wanted to know what america was like . everyone was so happy , ' mohammed remembers . they were just staring at me because they could n't believe that i was walking . ' but having experienced life in america -- a life without fear -- coming back to falluja , where most of the buildings still bear the scars of war , was a traumatic reality check . his overwhelming fear of another attack came back , even stronger than before . i am afraid , ' he says . i feel that people are pointing at me saying ,'look , he was in america !'and , you know , here people get killed for that . ' he adds , the worst day of my life was when i returned to iraq . ' despite his fears , he still makes the daily trip to his cousin 's grave . he waters the tree -- now just a twig after somebody snapped it in half -- and prays for his cousin 's soul and for his own . his only wish is to leave his country and get past the painful memory of what he has endured . after what i suffered through here , no , i wo n't ever miss iraq , ' he says . this country is over . iraq will never return as it was . ' mohammed has now returned again to the united states with the help of the global medical relief fund . he 's outgrown his prosthetic and will soon be fitted with a new one . | his mother wishes all iraqis could see the generous nature of americans |
china <tsp> ( cnn ) in baseball , there 's a traditional comeback after a tough season : wait 'til next year ! ' for climate change next year ' is now . this year is the time and the united nations'international climate negotiations in paris in december are the place to secure strong global agreement to curb heat-trapping emissions . a successful climate pact will send a signal around the world that a shift to a low-carbon economy is underway . the united states has made clear that it is ready to step up to the plate on climate change . the u.s. administration on tuesday unveiled details about its proposal to reduce u.s. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 % to 28 % below 2005 levels by 2025 . this common-sense and achievable plan to decarbonize the u.s. economy will result in significant cost savings from cleaner technologies and create more american energy jobs to power our homes and businesses . this is an area where the united states needs to lead , and doing so will create a better planet for our children and a more prosperous future for our country . the united states is n't alone in this global climate effort . in a landmark joint announcement with the united states in november , china unveiled its intent to peak its carbon emissions around 2030 and to double its share of zero-carbon energy to 20 % . this shift will require substantial effort from china to retool its economy , increase investment in renewable energy and divest from coal . as the world 's no . 1 investor in renewable energy , china has already taken important steps forward . at the same time , india has set the audacious goal of installing 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022 , a 30-fold increase from current levels and eight times more solar capacity than the united states has today . cities and corporations are joining in as well . more than 200 cities , home to 436 million people , have voluntarily committed to saving 13 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury . and more than a thousand companies , along with 73 countries , voiced support for putting a price on carbon and moving to cleaner energy technologies . leading companies , like apple and google , are making major bets on renewable energy . and another 25 businesses have signed onto the corporate renewable energy buyers'principles—these companies represent energy demand equal to more than 1 million homes . increasing examples demonstrate that strong climate action can be good for the economy . for instance , renewable sources now provide one-fifth of the world 's electricity , while solar manufacturing costs have dropped 80 % in the last seven years . wind turbines installed now are 100 times better at generating power than turbines were 30 years ago . clean technology investments surged to $ 310 billion last year . in the united states , carbon emissions fell by 10 % from 2007 to 2013 , the largest absolute emissions reduction recorded , even as the united states has recovered from the great recession . many of these shifts are unprecedented and could not have been anticipated even five years ago . yet these trends alone are not enough to counter the mounting climate-related impacts that we are already seeing . a global climate agreement in paris this december can send more signals to markets and drive more ambitious climate action for decades to come . a paris agreement would represent a new form of international cooperation and a fundamental change in the global approach to climate action — a shift from burden-sharing to the creation of mutual opportunities ; from cost to investment ; from economic threat to a spur to economic development . with the united states showing the way , and with cooperation from other countries , businesses , investors , cities and citizens , we can achieve a prosperous and secure future for all . each year , baseball returns and hope springs eternal . now , it 's time for all countries to get in the game . | he says china , india , major corporations , cities among those already setting goals for cutting emissions . u.s. must lead in this effort |
india <tsp> ( cnn ) in baseball , there 's a traditional comeback after a tough season : wait 'til next year ! ' for climate change next year ' is now . this year is the time and the united nations'international climate negotiations in paris in december are the place to secure strong global agreement to curb heat-trapping emissions . a successful climate pact will send a signal around the world that a shift to a low-carbon economy is underway . the united states has made clear that it is ready to step up to the plate on climate change . the u.s. administration on tuesday unveiled details about its proposal to reduce u.s. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 % to 28 % below 2005 levels by 2025 . this common-sense and achievable plan to decarbonize the u.s. economy will result in significant cost savings from cleaner technologies and create more american energy jobs to power our homes and businesses . this is an area where the united states needs to lead , and doing so will create a better planet for our children and a more prosperous future for our country . the united states is n't alone in this global climate effort . in a landmark joint announcement with the united states in november , china unveiled its intent to peak its carbon emissions around 2030 and to double its share of zero-carbon energy to 20 % . this shift will require substantial effort from china to retool its economy , increase investment in renewable energy and divest from coal . as the world 's no . 1 investor in renewable energy , china has already taken important steps forward . at the same time , india has set the audacious goal of installing 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022 , a 30-fold increase from current levels and eight times more solar capacity than the united states has today . cities and corporations are joining in as well . more than 200 cities , home to 436 million people , have voluntarily committed to saving 13 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury . and more than a thousand companies , along with 73 countries , voiced support for putting a price on carbon and moving to cleaner energy technologies . leading companies , like apple and google , are making major bets on renewable energy . and another 25 businesses have signed onto the corporate renewable energy buyers'principles—these companies represent energy demand equal to more than 1 million homes . increasing examples demonstrate that strong climate action can be good for the economy . for instance , renewable sources now provide one-fifth of the world 's electricity , while solar manufacturing costs have dropped 80 % in the last seven years . wind turbines installed now are 100 times better at generating power than turbines were 30 years ago . clean technology investments surged to $ 310 billion last year . in the united states , carbon emissions fell by 10 % from 2007 to 2013 , the largest absolute emissions reduction recorded , even as the united states has recovered from the great recession . many of these shifts are unprecedented and could not have been anticipated even five years ago . yet these trends alone are not enough to counter the mounting climate-related impacts that we are already seeing . a global climate agreement in paris this december can send more signals to markets and drive more ambitious climate action for decades to come . a paris agreement would represent a new form of international cooperation and a fundamental change in the global approach to climate action — a shift from burden-sharing to the creation of mutual opportunities ; from cost to investment ; from economic threat to a spur to economic development . with the united states showing the way , and with cooperation from other countries , businesses , investors , cities and citizens , we can achieve a prosperous and secure future for all . each year , baseball returns and hope springs eternal . now , it 's time for all countries to get in the game . | he says china , india , major corporations , cities among those already setting goals for cutting emissions . u.s. must lead in this effort |
murdoch <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- seated side by side , news corp. magnate rupert murdoch and his son , james , told british lawmakers tuesday they were not to blame in a burgeoning scandal that has raised questions of how much top executives knew about illegal phone hacking and when . testy exchanges peppered the nearly three hours of questioning by members of a parliamentary committee who pressed the father and son for answers on who may have authorized or known of reporters'hacking of voice mails . asked by one lawmaker , do you accept that ultimately you are responsible for this whole fiasco ? ' rupert murdoch simply responded : no . ' after declaring it was the most humble day of my life , ' the elder murdoch let james murdoch do most of the talking . when called upon , rupert murdoch indicated he knew little of the day-to-day details of his holdings and that he might hear more from a news of the world editor about extra soccer coverage than a payout to a phone hacking victim . asked whether he had considered resigning , rupert murdoch replied : no , because i feel that the people i trusted , i do n't know at what level , let me down and i think they behaved disgracefully , betrayed the company and me , and it 's for them to pay . ' i think that frankly i 'm the best person to clear this up , ' he added . the culture , media and sport select committee also heard from former top executive rebekah brooks , who testified she never paid a policeman or sanctioned a payment to police . journalists at the now-defunct news of the world are accused of bribing police to get private details about people , including members of the royal family . lawmakers seated at a horseshoe-shaped table quizzed the murdochs about out-of-court settlements and employee actions . but it was an unexpected moment , well into the testimony , that was destined for video highlights . a protester tossed a plate of light-blue shaving cream at rupert murdoch , 80 , prompting a brief recess . you greedy billionaire , ' the man said , as he hit murdoch with the foam . murdoch 's wife , wendi deng , who was seated behind him , leapt to her feet and smashed the attacker 's hand with her own . britain is in an uproar over the scandal , which could have global implications . it began with the phone-hacking claims involving reporters from news of the world -- which led its parent company , news corp. , to shut down the paper -- and quickly broadened into allegations that journalists had paid police for confidential information . tuesday 's hearing was widely anticipated and the murdochs , wearing conservative suits and ties , expressed contrition early on . rupert murdoch hesitated often when answering questions , and james often tried to intercede , saying he could delve into details of internal news corp. investigations . the pair said the company has willingly forwarded information to criminal investigators once it became aware of it . while rupert murdoch said he could not know in any detail the actions of his 53,000 employees , committee member tom watson reminded the elder murdoch several times he is in charge of corporate governance -- the culture and policies of a business entity . when james murdoch tried to intervene on a point , watson stopped him , saying , your father is responsible , and serious wrongdoing has been brought about in the company and it 's revealing in itself what he does n't know and what executives chose not to tell him . ' rupert murdoch said no one brought to his attention the fact that neville thurlbeck , a senior news of the world reporter , had been found guilty of trying to blackmail women . rupert murdoch said he and his son were not guilty of willful blindness to the company 's problems . therese coffey , a member of the parliamentary committee , told cnn after the hearing that she and others were surprised by how little rupert murdoch knew of some details . rupert murdoch told the parliament committee he has seen no evidence ' that victims of the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks in the united states were victims of phone hacking by his employees , and he does not believe it happened . the fbi is investigating news corp. over the claim , made by a british newspaper . in his testimony , james murdoch said he had no knowledge ' that brooks and les hinton , another former news corp. senior official -- both of whom have resigned in the past week -- knew of the extent of phone hacking at the news of the world . he told lawmakers he had no evidence ' they did anything wrong . explaining why he had previously given inaccurate statements to the committee , james murdoch said senior news corp. officials had learned about the extent of phone hacking by their employees as a result of civil lawsuits against news of the world in late 2010 . he said those in charge were determined both to put things right , make sure these things do n't happen again , and to be the company that i know that we have always aspired to be . ' reading a statement at the conclusion of the hearing , rupert murdoch said : james and i would like to say how sorry we are for what has happened -- especially with regard to listening to the voice mail of victims of crime . ' he said that in his 57 years at the head of his company , at no time do i remember being as sickened as when i heard what the dowler family had to endure -- nor do i recall being as angry as when i was told that the news of the world could have compounded their distress . milly dowler was a missing girl whose phone was allegedly hacked . she was later found dead . revelations that journalists working for news of the world had eavesdropped on her phone and deleted some of her messages to make room for more brought the scandal , which had been simmering for years , to a boil . asked how much he knew about day-to-day operations , rupert murdoch said the disgraced sunday tabloid news of the world accounted for less than 1 % of his news corp . he had perhaps lost sight ' of what was happening at the newspaper , he acknowledged . brooks , the former editor of news of the world who went on to become chief executive of its parent company , news international , also appeared before the committee tuesday to answer questions . she said news international acted quickly and decisively ' to investigate internally when the extent of the phone hacking became clear and the company had passed the new information to the police . brooks said she was aware that news of the world used private detectives , and believed every national newspaper in the u.k. did the same . but she said she has never met glenn mulcaire , the private investigator accused of carrying out mass phone hacking for her paper , and did not hear his name until 2006 . brooks was editor of the best-selling sunday tabloid at the time of some of the most serious allegations against it . she resigned july 15 over the scandal and was arrested and questioned by police two days later . her lawyer , steven parkinson , said monday his client is not guilty of any crime . conservative politician louise mensch , who was among the lawmakers to quiz both the murdochs and brooks , told cnn she believed the trio had given full and frank answers ' while presenting their version of events . the thrust of the committee 's questioning was that they should have known what was happening at the news of the world , rather than relying on other people , mensch said . the ripples of the affair have reached as far as british prime minister david cameron , who is cutting short a trip to africa to return to london and deal with the crisis . cameron has faced strong criticism in recent days over his decision to hire andy coulson , a former news of the world editor who resigned as cameron 's spokesman after his newspaper staff were jailed for hacking voice mails . coulson , who resigned his government post in january , has since been arrested . cameron on tuesday vowed to stop the obscenity of hacking and get to the bottom of what happened , ' then put in place measures to prevent such problems from recurring . the police have serious questions to answer about potential corruption and a failed investigation . politicians have been too close to media owners , ' cameron told reporterse in nigeria , part of a two-day africa trip . the prime minister is expected to answer questions wednesday during a debate on the scandal in the house of commons . both brooks and coulson , who are free on bail , deny knowledge of wrongdoing . earlier , the head of london 's metropolitan police and his deputy -- both of whom have resigned -- appeared before a different committee of parliament . commissioner paul stephenson and assistant commissioner john yates defended their actions in failing to authorize a more thorough investigation into the use of phone hacking , following a july 2009 article in the guardian newspaper revealing that tactic had been far more broadly used than previously reported . stephenson said he did not pressure the guardian to drop its investigation , while yates said he had no reason at the time to believe the situation was serious enough to warrant a full-scale investigation . they also defended their hiring of a former news of the world editor , neil wallis , for a public relations job at the department . wallis was arrested last week in connection with the investigation . yates also said he had nothing to do with helping secure a job for wallis'daughter . murdoch 's news corp. encompasses fox news , the wall street journal , the new york post , and harper collins publishers in the united states . news international -- a british subsidiary of news corp. -- owns the sun , the times and the sunday times in britain . cnn 's richard allen greene , jonathan wald , laura perez maestro , andreena narayan , atika shubert , anna stewart , bharati naik and tom watkins contributed to this report . | rupert murdoch tells parliament he 's not responsible for phone-hacking scandal |
murdoch <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- seated side by side , news corp. magnate rupert murdoch and his son , james , told british lawmakers tuesday they were not to blame in a burgeoning scandal that has raised questions of how much top executives knew about illegal phone hacking and when . testy exchanges peppered the nearly three hours of questioning by members of a parliamentary committee who pressed the father and son for answers on who may have authorized or known of reporters'hacking of voice mails . asked by one lawmaker , do you accept that ultimately you are responsible for this whole fiasco ? ' rupert murdoch simply responded : no . ' after declaring it was the most humble day of my life , ' the elder murdoch let james murdoch do most of the talking . when called upon , rupert murdoch indicated he knew little of the day-to-day details of his holdings and that he might hear more from a news of the world editor about extra soccer coverage than a payout to a phone hacking victim . asked whether he had considered resigning , rupert murdoch replied : no , because i feel that the people i trusted , i do n't know at what level , let me down and i think they behaved disgracefully , betrayed the company and me , and it 's for them to pay . ' i think that frankly i 'm the best person to clear this up , ' he added . the culture , media and sport select committee also heard from former top executive rebekah brooks , who testified she never paid a policeman or sanctioned a payment to police . journalists at the now-defunct news of the world are accused of bribing police to get private details about people , including members of the royal family . lawmakers seated at a horseshoe-shaped table quizzed the murdochs about out-of-court settlements and employee actions . but it was an unexpected moment , well into the testimony , that was destined for video highlights . a protester tossed a plate of light-blue shaving cream at rupert murdoch , 80 , prompting a brief recess . you greedy billionaire , ' the man said , as he hit murdoch with the foam . murdoch 's wife , wendi deng , who was seated behind him , leapt to her feet and smashed the attacker 's hand with her own . britain is in an uproar over the scandal , which could have global implications . it began with the phone-hacking claims involving reporters from news of the world -- which led its parent company , news corp. , to shut down the paper -- and quickly broadened into allegations that journalists had paid police for confidential information . tuesday 's hearing was widely anticipated and the murdochs , wearing conservative suits and ties , expressed contrition early on . rupert murdoch hesitated often when answering questions , and james often tried to intercede , saying he could delve into details of internal news corp. investigations . the pair said the company has willingly forwarded information to criminal investigators once it became aware of it . while rupert murdoch said he could not know in any detail the actions of his 53,000 employees , committee member tom watson reminded the elder murdoch several times he is in charge of corporate governance -- the culture and policies of a business entity . when james murdoch tried to intervene on a point , watson stopped him , saying , your father is responsible , and serious wrongdoing has been brought about in the company and it 's revealing in itself what he does n't know and what executives chose not to tell him . ' rupert murdoch said no one brought to his attention the fact that neville thurlbeck , a senior news of the world reporter , had been found guilty of trying to blackmail women . rupert murdoch said he and his son were not guilty of willful blindness to the company 's problems . therese coffey , a member of the parliamentary committee , told cnn after the hearing that she and others were surprised by how little rupert murdoch knew of some details . rupert murdoch told the parliament committee he has seen no evidence ' that victims of the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks in the united states were victims of phone hacking by his employees , and he does not believe it happened . the fbi is investigating news corp. over the claim , made by a british newspaper . in his testimony , james murdoch said he had no knowledge ' that brooks and les hinton , another former news corp. senior official -- both of whom have resigned in the past week -- knew of the extent of phone hacking at the news of the world . he told lawmakers he had no evidence ' they did anything wrong . explaining why he had previously given inaccurate statements to the committee , james murdoch said senior news corp. officials had learned about the extent of phone hacking by their employees as a result of civil lawsuits against news of the world in late 2010 . he said those in charge were determined both to put things right , make sure these things do n't happen again , and to be the company that i know that we have always aspired to be . ' reading a statement at the conclusion of the hearing , rupert murdoch said : james and i would like to say how sorry we are for what has happened -- especially with regard to listening to the voice mail of victims of crime . ' he said that in his 57 years at the head of his company , at no time do i remember being as sickened as when i heard what the dowler family had to endure -- nor do i recall being as angry as when i was told that the news of the world could have compounded their distress . milly dowler was a missing girl whose phone was allegedly hacked . she was later found dead . revelations that journalists working for news of the world had eavesdropped on her phone and deleted some of her messages to make room for more brought the scandal , which had been simmering for years , to a boil . asked how much he knew about day-to-day operations , rupert murdoch said the disgraced sunday tabloid news of the world accounted for less than 1 % of his news corp . he had perhaps lost sight ' of what was happening at the newspaper , he acknowledged . brooks , the former editor of news of the world who went on to become chief executive of its parent company , news international , also appeared before the committee tuesday to answer questions . she said news international acted quickly and decisively ' to investigate internally when the extent of the phone hacking became clear and the company had passed the new information to the police . brooks said she was aware that news of the world used private detectives , and believed every national newspaper in the u.k. did the same . but she said she has never met glenn mulcaire , the private investigator accused of carrying out mass phone hacking for her paper , and did not hear his name until 2006 . brooks was editor of the best-selling sunday tabloid at the time of some of the most serious allegations against it . she resigned july 15 over the scandal and was arrested and questioned by police two days later . her lawyer , steven parkinson , said monday his client is not guilty of any crime . conservative politician louise mensch , who was among the lawmakers to quiz both the murdochs and brooks , told cnn she believed the trio had given full and frank answers ' while presenting their version of events . the thrust of the committee 's questioning was that they should have known what was happening at the news of the world , rather than relying on other people , mensch said . the ripples of the affair have reached as far as british prime minister david cameron , who is cutting short a trip to africa to return to london and deal with the crisis . cameron has faced strong criticism in recent days over his decision to hire andy coulson , a former news of the world editor who resigned as cameron 's spokesman after his newspaper staff were jailed for hacking voice mails . coulson , who resigned his government post in january , has since been arrested . cameron on tuesday vowed to stop the obscenity of hacking and get to the bottom of what happened , ' then put in place measures to prevent such problems from recurring . the police have serious questions to answer about potential corruption and a failed investigation . politicians have been too close to media owners , ' cameron told reporterse in nigeria , part of a two-day africa trip . the prime minister is expected to answer questions wednesday during a debate on the scandal in the house of commons . both brooks and coulson , who are free on bail , deny knowledge of wrongdoing . earlier , the head of london 's metropolitan police and his deputy -- both of whom have resigned -- appeared before a different committee of parliament . commissioner paul stephenson and assistant commissioner john yates defended their actions in failing to authorize a more thorough investigation into the use of phone hacking , following a july 2009 article in the guardian newspaper revealing that tactic had been far more broadly used than previously reported . stephenson said he did not pressure the guardian to drop its investigation , while yates said he had no reason at the time to believe the situation was serious enough to warrant a full-scale investigation . they also defended their hiring of a former news of the world editor , neil wallis , for a public relations job at the department . wallis was arrested last week in connection with the investigation . yates also said he had nothing to do with helping secure a job for wallis'daughter . murdoch 's news corp. encompasses fox news , the wall street journal , the new york post , and harper collins publishers in the united states . news international -- a british subsidiary of news corp. -- owns the sun , the times and the sunday times in britain . cnn 's richard allen greene , jonathan wald , laura perez maestro , andreena narayan , atika shubert , anna stewart , bharati naik and tom watkins contributed to this report . | the hearing is briefly suspended after a man attacks murdoch with shaving cream |
spanish <tsp> ( cnn ) -- police in europe and south america have arrested 25 alleged members of the anonymous ' hacking group , interpol said , amid a suspected attack on its own website by the group 's supporters . the arrests include four people in spain , 10 in argentina , six in chile and five in colombia as part of a worldwide sweep carried out as part of interpol operation exposure . ' interpol did not immediately announce charges against the 25 . after interpol announced the attacks , its website failed to load , a fact acknowledged by anonymous on twitter with the message interpol.int down . ' who or what is anonymous ? the spanish police website also failed to load after it announced police had arrested four people in the country as part of the international action . spanish police said the four suspects were accused of carrying out denial of service attacks , defacing the websites of political parties , institutions and companies , as well as publishing personal information relating to high-profile figures . one of those arrested was a 16-year-old girl , who was allegedly part of international sector 404 , ' a hacking group which is believed to be linked to the attacks claimed by anonymous . police said the girl had been released to the custody of her parents . two of the others had been detained , while the third was released on bail , police said . anonymous made headlines in 2010 when it carried out distributed denial of service or ddos attacks targeting mastercard , visa and paypal websites . ddos is a kind of network stress test in which each attacker gives consent to have his or her computer linked to a bot net . the force of all those computers working together , focused on one site , overwhelms the targeted site 's server and consequently disrupts or takes the site down . at the time , anonymous claimed that it was lashing out at the corporations because they had stopped doing business with wikileaks , the publisher huge tranches of confidential information under the leadership of founder and editor julian assange . since then , the group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks , notably claiming that it attacked government websites in tunisia and egypt as a way to show support for protesters during arab spring uprisings . a video -- laced with anonymous'typical computer-voiceover -- appeared online during the january 2011 revolution . it threatened egyptian authorities if they attempted to censor internet access and other freedoms . anonymous is you . you will not be denied your right to free speech , free press , free association and your universal right to freely access information both in real life and on the internet , ' the voice said . anonymous had a hand in organizing and agitating in the occupy movement throughout 2011 . protesters have been seen at occupy demonstrations across the globe wearing anonymous'distinctive guy fawkes mask . this year , the group claimed to have posted an internal fbi conference call discussing investigations into anonymous . it also posted e-mails that it claimed were from an adviser to the syrian president , suggesting how bashar al-assad could downplay violence in the country when he was interviewed by barbara walters last summer . cnn 's ashley fantz contributed to this report | spanish police website also down after statement issued |
novak djokovic <tsp> ( cnn ) -- defending champion rafael nadal crashed to a shock defeat by ivan ljubicic in the semifinals of the indian wells masters tournament in california on saturday . the unfancied croatian 20th seed came from behind to beat the former world no . 1 3-6 6-4 7-6 ( 7-1 ) in the outdoor hardcourt event , which the spaniard also won in 2007 . the 31-year-old beat third seed nadal for the second time in seven meetings , with his other victory back in 2005 . ljubicic , who reached a career-high third in the world rankings in 2006 , will face american seventh seed andy roddick in sunday 's final . roddick defeated swedish sixth seed robin soderling 6-4 3-6 6-3 in a showdown between two big servers in the later semifinal to earn his first shot at the indian wells title . now ranked 26th , ljubicic followed up his surprise win over world no . 2 novak djokovic in the fourth round to reach his first atp tour final since winning the lyon tournament in october . the result ended nadal 's strong return to form in his first tournament since retiring hurt in his australian open quarterfinal against andy murray in january . | ljubicic follows up his fourth-round victory over world no . 2 novak djokovic |
hill <tsp> ( cnn ) -- actor jonah hill told radio host howard stern on tuesday that he lost his cool with a paparazzo and is heartbroken that he used a disgusting ' homophobic slur . celebrity gossip site tmz early tuesday morning released a video of the incident in which hill tells a man following him to suck my d -- - , you f -- -- - . ' the actor , who was nominated for academy awards for his roles in the 2011 film moneyball ' and last year 's the wolf of wall street , ' told stern he never meant to insult gay people . i played into exactly what he wanted and lost my cool and in that moment i said a disgusting word that does not at all reflect how i feel about any group of people , ' he told stern . tmz posted a one-minute clip shot by a photographer who at one point mocks hill 's shorts . hill said the photographer had been following him all day and saying hurtful things about my family . ' it would break my heart to think that anyone would think , especially with all the work that i have done and all the loved ones that i have , that i would be against anyone for their sexuality , ' hill said . hill added that he has long been a gay rights advocate . before the winter olympics in russia , hill took a public stance against moscow 's anti-gay laws . he tweeted : help us show russia & the world that # loveconquershate ' while wearing a t-shirt bearing the hashtag message in russian . his new film with channing tatum , 22 jump street , ' is scheduled to open on june 13 . cnn sent a request for comment to hill 's publicist but had not heard back late tuesday . opinion : paparazzi share blame with jonah hill | hill says he was being followed by photographer making remarks about hill 's family |
hill <tsp> ( cnn ) -- actor jonah hill told radio host howard stern on tuesday that he lost his cool with a paparazzo and is heartbroken that he used a disgusting ' homophobic slur . celebrity gossip site tmz early tuesday morning released a video of the incident in which hill tells a man following him to suck my d -- - , you f -- -- - . ' the actor , who was nominated for academy awards for his roles in the 2011 film moneyball ' and last year 's the wolf of wall street , ' told stern he never meant to insult gay people . i played into exactly what he wanted and lost my cool and in that moment i said a disgusting word that does not at all reflect how i feel about any group of people , ' he told stern . tmz posted a one-minute clip shot by a photographer who at one point mocks hill 's shorts . hill said the photographer had been following him all day and saying hurtful things about my family . ' it would break my heart to think that anyone would think , especially with all the work that i have done and all the loved ones that i have , that i would be against anyone for their sexuality , ' hill said . hill added that he has long been a gay rights advocate . before the winter olympics in russia , hill took a public stance against moscow 's anti-gay laws . he tweeted : help us show russia & the world that # loveconquershate ' while wearing a t-shirt bearing the hashtag message in russian . his new film with channing tatum , 22 jump street , ' is scheduled to open on june 13 . cnn sent a request for comment to hill 's publicist but had not heard back late tuesday . opinion : paparazzi share blame with jonah hill | hill is a two-time oscar nominee |
west <tsp> last night , a video emerged of the execution of american journalist steven sotloff , at the hands of abu bakr al-baghdadi 's isis , the extreme jihadist group that has illegitimately declared the establishment of a militant caliphate ' in syria and iraq . this latest execution video follows that of a similar crime committed against another u.s. journalist , james foley , a fortnight ago . like the first message to america , ' this latest video ended with the executioner threatening to behead another captive non-combatant , this time a briton . first and foremost , it is imperative that we do not allow the traction that these videos have gained in the west to eclipse isis 's other inhumane actions . in years gone by , isis -- which refers to itself as the islamic state -- and its forebears have consistently and persistently committed the most atrocious of war crimes against communities in the middle east . in the last month alone , it has been held responsible for attempting a genocide against the yazidi minority sect , as well as the extermination of the turkmen shia muslims of amerli . these come on top of the wholesale massacre it committed against the sunni peoples of the shu'aytat tribe in east syria in august , as well as countless other summary executions of people it deems to be its enemies . we must not be fooled into thinking that isis only beheads its western captives ; last week , a kurdish man - unarmed , of course - was executed in front of a mosque in mosul in a video entitled a message written in blood . ' but because it was directed at the president of iraqi kurdistan , this particular piece of propaganda did not receive widespread coverage in the international media . a cursory glance at isis propaganda suggests that the west is its primary target . while this may be the case in terms of the group 's long-term ambitions , events on the ground in syria and iraq paint a very different picture , with isis predominantly killing those it deems to be apostate ' , including its co-religionists . in light of events in syria and iraq , the international community must react robustly and swiftly . this week 's nato summit is fortuitously timed , and one would hope that the isis crisis takes its place at the top of the meeting 's agenda . however , as i 've said before , a strategy of solely western intervention would play right into the isis ideology . indeed , it would be exactly what the group wants . as such , it is paramount that other states -- particularly those within the region -- step up to the plate as well . countries such as turkey and saudi arabia must actively respond instead of leaving it to others . it is not just the international community that has a responsibility , though : the media must act as well . it is paramount that it carefully considers its treatment of isis propaganda , with its twin aims of intimidation and recruitment . every time a still or clip from an isis video is shown , the group gets what it wants : the oxygen of publicity . of course , it is necessary that people the world over are aware of the atrocities occurring at the hands of isis , but journalists must be careful not to do the jihadists'job for them . this also involves establishing a firm no-platform policy for al-baghadi 's stooges in the west . these insidious individuals thrive on media attention , which they use to amplify their otherwise ostracized voices . as quilliam 's last report , which looked at extremist content online , showed , it is an unfortunate truth that online censorship does not work . any attempts at censorship in the aftermath of the foley killing were always doomed to failure . simply put , corporations and governments are unable to remove propaganda from the internet at the rate that it is uploaded . more effective than government-led censorship was the isis media blackout , ' in which users across the internet resolutely refused to publicize isis material . after all , videos like these have minimal propaganda value if they have no audience . at the same time , instead of publicizing what isis wants , we must popularize what it does n't . the anti-isis fatwa recently released by prominent sunni british imams would be a good place to start , because it dismantles any sense of legitimacy for the self-proclaimed caliphate ' and directly calls for muslim communities to take an active stance in opposing this appalling group . more initiatives like this must emerge . that they have not materialized already is testament an untenable situation in which the vast majority of muslims , who are invariably moderate , are largely silent , something which leaves extremists to dominate the discourse on islam . the time has passed when we can allow isis to popularize itself unchallenged . challenging isis propaganda must be at the forefront of international policy towards syria and iraq . and it is not just something for governments to deal with . people all over the world , muslim and non-muslim alike , are responsible too . | west outraged at beheading of second u.s. hostage by isis militants |
washington <tsp> jerusalem ( cnn ) -- israel 's prime minister will visit the united states in march , officials said sunday . prime minister benjamin netanyahu will attend the annual conference of the american israel public affairs committee in washington , israeli government officials said . aipac is a major force in u.s. politics , making significant campaign donations and drawing top administration and congressional leaders to its conventions . netanyahu also spoke at aipac 's annual conference last year . this year 's trip comes amid mounting tensions between israel and iran over the islamic republic 's nuclear program . speculation is swirling in washington about whether israel may preemptively bomb iran in an effort to slow its nuclear program . the head of israel 's intelligence agency was just in washington for meetings with intelligence officials and some members of congress , according to sen. diane feinstein , d-california , and director of national intelligence james clapper , who mentioned the meetings during a hearing this past week . when the head of the mossad visited washington last week , it was to hear what steps the united states might take against iran , and to gauge what the united states would do if israel were to strike iran on its own , a congressional source told cnn . at a policy conference in israel last week , israeli defense minister ehud barak repeated his government 's concerns that iran 's preparations for the development of a nuclear weapon are entering their final stages and will soon enter the immunity zone from which the iranian regime will be able to complete the program without any effective intervention . ' on sunday , barak appointed a new commander of the israeli air force . gen. amir eshel , currently head of the israeli military 's planning directorate , will replace current chief maj. gen. ido nehushtan in april . cnn 's guy azriel , pam benson , suzanne kelly and kevin flower contributed to this report . | israel 's prime minister will attend an aipac conference in washington |
iran <tsp> jerusalem ( cnn ) -- israel 's prime minister will visit the united states in march , officials said sunday . prime minister benjamin netanyahu will attend the annual conference of the american israel public affairs committee in washington , israeli government officials said . aipac is a major force in u.s. politics , making significant campaign donations and drawing top administration and congressional leaders to its conventions . netanyahu also spoke at aipac 's annual conference last year . this year 's trip comes amid mounting tensions between israel and iran over the islamic republic 's nuclear program . speculation is swirling in washington about whether israel may preemptively bomb iran in an effort to slow its nuclear program . the head of israel 's intelligence agency was just in washington for meetings with intelligence officials and some members of congress , according to sen. diane feinstein , d-california , and director of national intelligence james clapper , who mentioned the meetings during a hearing this past week . when the head of the mossad visited washington last week , it was to hear what steps the united states might take against iran , and to gauge what the united states would do if israel were to strike iran on its own , a congressional source told cnn . at a policy conference in israel last week , israeli defense minister ehud barak repeated his government 's concerns that iran 's preparations for the development of a nuclear weapon are entering their final stages and will soon enter the immunity zone from which the iranian regime will be able to complete the program without any effective intervention . ' on sunday , barak appointed a new commander of the israeli air force . gen. amir eshel , currently head of the israeli military 's planning directorate , will replace current chief maj. gen. ido nehushtan in april . cnn 's guy azriel , pam benson , suzanne kelly and kevin flower contributed to this report . | speculation is swirling over whether israel may bomb iran to slow nuclear efforts |
iran <tsp> jerusalem ( cnn ) -- israel 's prime minister will visit the united states in march , officials said sunday . prime minister benjamin netanyahu will attend the annual conference of the american israel public affairs committee in washington , israeli government officials said . aipac is a major force in u.s. politics , making significant campaign donations and drawing top administration and congressional leaders to its conventions . netanyahu also spoke at aipac 's annual conference last year . this year 's trip comes amid mounting tensions between israel and iran over the islamic republic 's nuclear program . speculation is swirling in washington about whether israel may preemptively bomb iran in an effort to slow its nuclear program . the head of israel 's intelligence agency was just in washington for meetings with intelligence officials and some members of congress , according to sen. diane feinstein , d-california , and director of national intelligence james clapper , who mentioned the meetings during a hearing this past week . when the head of the mossad visited washington last week , it was to hear what steps the united states might take against iran , and to gauge what the united states would do if israel were to strike iran on its own , a congressional source told cnn . at a policy conference in israel last week , israeli defense minister ehud barak repeated his government 's concerns that iran 's preparations for the development of a nuclear weapon are entering their final stages and will soon enter the immunity zone from which the iranian regime will be able to complete the program without any effective intervention . ' on sunday , barak appointed a new commander of the israeli air force . gen. amir eshel , currently head of the israeli military 's planning directorate , will replace current chief maj. gen. ido nehushtan in april . cnn 's guy azriel , pam benson , suzanne kelly and kevin flower contributed to this report . | the trip comes as tensions mount between israel and iran over iran 's nuclear problem |
andrew cunanan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the miami beach , florida , mansion outside which owner and fashion designer gianni versace was killed is up for sale at $ 125 million , a real estate firm said . the 19,000-square-foot casa casuarina in south beach has 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms , and a centerpiece to the gated compound is a 54-foot-long pool lined in 24-karat gold and adorned with mosaics , frescos , statues , arched doorway and a courtyard , according to real estate agents with coldwell banker . versace bought the house in 1992 and spent $ 33 million on improvements such as a south wing expansion , the pool and garden , the agents said . versace 's lake como villa items up for sale versace was shot to death on the doorstep of his home in 1997 , and spree killer andrew cunanan is believed to have killed him and four others before cunanan shot himself in the head on the upper floor of a houseboat in miami beach , where he was holed up to avoid police after the versace shooting . in 2000 , the house was bought by peter loftin , who conserved versace 's touches to the residence , the real estate agents said . this is an iconic oasis for the rich-and-famous that sits in the middle of south beach , ' loftin said in a statement . it 's a one-of-a-kind property , created by a genius ; that is a piece of art , and a piece of history . ' added real estate agent jill eber in statement : the casa casuarina is the crown jewel of luxury real estate . ' the house was built in 1930 by architect , philanthropist , author and political reformer alden freeman , and its design was inspired by the oldest existing house in the western hemisphere , the alcazar de colon ' in santo domingo , dominican republic , the real estate firm said . the alcazar de colon , once a colonial palace , is the only known home of the family of explorer christopher columbus and is now a museum , according to its website . | spree killer andrew cunanan , suspected in versace 's murder , killed himself |
barack obama <tsp> ( cnn ) would sending weapons to ukraine block russia from grabbing territory and stem violence in the volatile region ? or would it fuel further conflict and destabilize europe ? that 's a key issue western leaders are weighing . and even as they tried to present a unified front at a press briefing monday , it was clear that it 's an area where u.s. president barack obama and german chancellor angela merkel do n't quite see eye to eye . obama said he has n't decided yet whether to send arms to ukrainian forces defending their country against russian-backed separatists , and he has n't set a deadline for when he will . but he insists it 's an option that should be considered if diplomacy fails . any weapons the u.s. sends would not be meant to help ukraine defeat the russian army in an all-out battle , obama said . our goal has not been for ukraine to be equipped to carry out offensive operations , ' he said , but to simply defend itself . ' merkel said european diplomats are making one further effort ' at negotiating a deal . a key step is in the works : a possible meeting wednesday between russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president petro poroshenko . i 've always said i do n't see a military solution to this conflict , ' she said . we have to put all our efforts in bringing about a diplomatic solution . ' both obama and merkel stressed the importance of working together . there may be some areas where there are tactical disagreements . there may not be . but the broad principle that we have to stand up for ... the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty is one where we are completely unified , ' he said . western leaders can not stand idly by and simply allow the borders of europe to be redrawn at the barrel of a gun , ' obama said . merkel said the strong alliance between europe and the united states would thrive despite any differences . russia 's incursions on ukraine 's borders , she said , are too dangerous for europe to tolerate . i can only say that if we give up on this principle of territorial integrity of countries , then we will not be able to maintain the peaceful order of europe that we 've been able to achieve , ' she said . of course , those borders have already been redrawn once in the conflict . last year , ukrainian and u.s. officials say russia flooded crimea with troops ahead of its widely disputed annexation of the territory . russia has steadfastly denied accusations that it 's sending forces and weapons into ukraine . but top western and ukrainian leaders have said there is n't any doubt that russia is behind surging violence and separatists'efforts to take over territory in eastern ukraine . merkel in the middle of a u.s.-russia standoff representatives of russia , ukraine , germany and france were making preparations monday for a planned meeting wednesday in minsk , belarus , to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire . if those talks fail , u.s. lawmakers will likely ratchet up pressure on obama to send weapons to ukraine . but even that gathering , which could be a significant meeting between putin and poroshenko , is n't set in stone . we are planning for wednesday if we succeed in settling the various points that we have discussed so intensively over these last days , ' putin said sunday . the big challenge facing putin , poroshenko , merkel and french president francois hollande is whether they can reach a peace agreement that will stick . a peace agreement was signed in september in minsk . it called for a drawback of heavy weapons , self-rule in the eastern regions and a buffer zone to be set up along the russia-ukraine border . but the agreement quickly disintegrated , and the violence continued . the new plan envisions a much broader demilitarized zone to run along the current front lines . all the while , the crisis in ukraine , which stemmed from a trade agreement , has killed more than 5,000 people , including many civilians . at least 224 civilians were killed in the final three weeks of january alone , the u.n. high commissioner for human rights said . cnn 's holly yan , mike pearson and catherine e. shoichet reported and wrote from atlanta . cnn 's matthew chance in moscow , jim acosta in washington , frederik pleitgen and journalist victoria butenko in kiev , ukraine , and radina gigova in atlanta , contributed to this report . | u.s. president barack obama says he has n't decided yet whether to send weapons to ukraine |
standard oil <tsp> ( cnn ) -- richard rockefeller , son of philanthropist david rockefeller and great-grandson of standard oil founder and philanthropist john d. rockefeller , was killed friday in the crash of a single-engine plane in westchester county , new york , a family representative and airport officials said . rockefeller , 65 , was the only one aboard the piper pa-46-500tp meridian aircraft when it crashed at 8:08 a.m. friday less than a mile from takeoff at an airport near white plains , airport manager peter scherrer said after the crash . he said the plane disappeared from radar and authorities lost contact with the pilot . at 8:23 a.m. , police were notified that a plane had crashed in the hamlet of purchase , missing a house by about 200 feet , scherrer said . rockefeller was headed to portland , maine , after flying into new york on thursday for his father 's 99th birthday , he said . scherrer described rockefeller as an experienced pilot and said the morning was foggy with a quarter-mile visibility . this is a terrible tragedy , ' the rockefeller family said in a statement released by spokesman fraser p. seitel . the family is in shock . richard was a wonderful and cherished son , brother , husband , father and grandfather . he was an experienced pilot and respected medical doctor . it is just horribly sad . ' rockefeller was a practicing physician in portland until 2000 , according to his biography posted on the rockefeller brothers fund website , where he is listed as an advisory trustee . rockefeller also taught medicine in maine from 1982 until 2000 , according to the website . he founded and was president of the health commons institute , a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving american medicine , and he was chairman of the u.s . advisory board of doctors without borders from 1989 until 2010 . he had two grown children and resided in falmouth , maine . officials from the federal aviation administration are investigating at the crash site , and national transportation safety board members were on the way to the scene , said harrison , new york , police chief anthony marraccini . cnn 's leigh remizowski contributed to this report . | father is philanthropist david rockefeller ; great-grandfather founded standard oil |
piper pa-46-500tp meridian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- richard rockefeller , son of philanthropist david rockefeller and great-grandson of standard oil founder and philanthropist john d. rockefeller , was killed friday in the crash of a single-engine plane in westchester county , new york , a family representative and airport officials said . rockefeller , 65 , was the only one aboard the piper pa-46-500tp meridian aircraft when it crashed at 8:08 a.m. friday less than a mile from takeoff at an airport near white plains , airport manager peter scherrer said after the crash . he said the plane disappeared from radar and authorities lost contact with the pilot . at 8:23 a.m. , police were notified that a plane had crashed in the hamlet of purchase , missing a house by about 200 feet , scherrer said . rockefeller was headed to portland , maine , after flying into new york on thursday for his father 's 99th birthday , he said . scherrer described rockefeller as an experienced pilot and said the morning was foggy with a quarter-mile visibility . this is a terrible tragedy , ' the rockefeller family said in a statement released by spokesman fraser p. seitel . the family is in shock . richard was a wonderful and cherished son , brother , husband , father and grandfather . he was an experienced pilot and respected medical doctor . it is just horribly sad . ' rockefeller was a practicing physician in portland until 2000 , according to his biography posted on the rockefeller brothers fund website , where he is listed as an advisory trustee . rockefeller also taught medicine in maine from 1982 until 2000 , according to the website . he founded and was president of the health commons institute , a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving american medicine , and he was chairman of the u.s . advisory board of doctors without borders from 1989 until 2010 . he had two grown children and resided in falmouth , maine . officials from the federal aviation administration are investigating at the crash site , and national transportation safety board members were on the way to the scene , said harrison , new york , police chief anthony marraccini . cnn 's leigh remizowski contributed to this report . | richard rockefeller , 65 , was the only one aboard the piper pa-46-500tp meridian aircraft |
jazz messengers <tsp> ( cnn ) -- horace silver , the innovative and prolific jazz pianist best known for such pieces as song for my father ' and the preacher , ' has died . he was 85 . silver died wednesday in new rochelle , new york , according to a statement from his longtime label , blue note records . a pioneer of hard bop and original founder of the jazz messengers , horace tempered bebop with elements of gospel , blues and r & b to create a soulful modern jazz concept that came to identify the'blue note sound ,' said the legendary jazz label . the pianist was known for his light touch and ability to combine a variety of styles in his nimble playing . though known for hard bop ' -- an offshoot of bebop -- he seldom let boundaries contain his playing . his funky , unique and infectious piano-playing style set a standard for many pianists to follow , further cementing his well-deserved legacy , ' the recording academy said in a statement . mainstream audiences might be most familiar with silver 's song for my father , ' a mid-'60s composition that starts with a keyboard phrase later borrowed by steely dan for rikki do n't lose that number . ' but unlike the brooding rikki , ' which came out a decade later , silver 's composition is upbeat and joyful , with sprightly horns and rhythms evoking the island birthplace of silver 's father , the former portuguese colony of cape verde . silver dedicated the piece to his dad and put him on the cover of the song for my father ' lp ( 1965 ) . silver was born in 1928 in norwalk , connecticut . he got his big break when the popular saxophonist stan getz heard him one night and asked him to join him in new york . i had maybe $ 700 in the bank and i had spent all that money on doctor bills , ' he said in an interview with the magazine all about jazz . but the good lord was looking after me and stan getz came through hartford and heard me and my trio and hired us . that was a blessing . ' he formed the jazz messengers with drummer art blakey in 1953 , then left to form his own group two years later . that band , the horace silver quintet , played on some of silver 's most famous recordings . silver is survived by a son , gregory . people we have lost in 2014 | silver co-founded jazz messengers , helped create hard bop ' |
song for my father <tsp> ( cnn ) -- horace silver , the innovative and prolific jazz pianist best known for such pieces as song for my father ' and the preacher , ' has died . he was 85 . silver died wednesday in new rochelle , new york , according to a statement from his longtime label , blue note records . a pioneer of hard bop and original founder of the jazz messengers , horace tempered bebop with elements of gospel , blues and r & b to create a soulful modern jazz concept that came to identify the'blue note sound ,' said the legendary jazz label . the pianist was known for his light touch and ability to combine a variety of styles in his nimble playing . though known for hard bop ' -- an offshoot of bebop -- he seldom let boundaries contain his playing . his funky , unique and infectious piano-playing style set a standard for many pianists to follow , further cementing his well-deserved legacy , ' the recording academy said in a statement . mainstream audiences might be most familiar with silver 's song for my father , ' a mid-'60s composition that starts with a keyboard phrase later borrowed by steely dan for rikki do n't lose that number . ' but unlike the brooding rikki , ' which came out a decade later , silver 's composition is upbeat and joyful , with sprightly horns and rhythms evoking the island birthplace of silver 's father , the former portuguese colony of cape verde . silver dedicated the piece to his dad and put him on the cover of the song for my father ' lp ( 1965 ) . silver was born in 1928 in norwalk , connecticut . he got his big break when the popular saxophonist stan getz heard him one night and asked him to join him in new york . i had maybe $ 700 in the bank and i had spent all that money on doctor bills , ' he said in an interview with the magazine all about jazz . but the good lord was looking after me and stan getz came through hartford and heard me and my trio and hired us . that was a blessing . ' he formed the jazz messengers with drummer art blakey in 1953 , then left to form his own group two years later . that band , the horace silver quintet , played on some of silver 's most famous recordings . silver is survived by a son , gregory . people we have lost in 2014 | composition song for my father ' has keyboard phrase later used in steely dan hit |
iran <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- al qaeda propagandist sulaiman abu ghaith had a long plane ride last week to new york and an american jail cell located blocks from ground zero of the september 11 attacks . he filled that time , in part , by talking to u.s. investigators . it was an odd end to a journey that began just weeks earlier in iran . abu ghaith , for reasons still unclear , left iran and entered turkey using a forged saudi passport , turkish media reported . the cia tracked him to a turkish hotel room . he was detained by turkish officials in early february , but they refused for a month to turn him over to the u.s . instead , turkey expelled abu ghaith and put him on a plane to kuwait , where he was born , sources said . u.s. law enforcement took him into custody during a stopover in jordan . members of hig -- the high value interrogation group , which includes the cia -- were also involved in the operation . abu ghaith apparently was n't quiet during his overseas flight with u.s. authorities . the conversations , confirmed by a u.s. official with knowledge of them , are expected to be part of the government 's case to prove abu ghaith helped conspire to kill americans and recruited members for al qaeda . the justice department and fbi declined to comment on whether or when abu ghaith was read his miranda rights after his arrest . however , intelligence experts say that is required if prosecutors intend to use his lengthy statement during trial . that would be the way it was done , ' says mitchell silber , an executive managing director with the security firm k2 intelligence and the new york police department 's former director of intelligence analysis . sources and intelligence experts told cnn it 's questionable how helpful abu ghaith , one of osama bin laden 's sons-in-law , could be in terms of current intelligence , because he has been out of the loop for years . he has lived in iran since 2002 , mostly under house arrest . he 's a low-level target with high political value , ' silber told cnn . his main value would be ( if he 's ) able to help quantify and assess the former top al qaeda leaders with him under house arrest in iran , ' silber says . silber added the u.s. would want abu ghaith to describe the nature of the iranian treatment of them , ' including how adversarial the relationship is between iran and al qaeda . ' there is concern former al qaeda leaders in iran could rise to power again . but the relationship between the predominantly shiite iranians and the largely sunni al qaeda members is a complex one . just how do the iranians view al qaeda ? do they see opportunities for cooperation ? or is the extreme sunni philosophy of the group too much for them ? it 's something investigators would like to know , and abu ghaith may have insights . strange bedfellows -- iran and al qaeda on friday , the fiery former al qaeda spokesman walked into federal court with his hands cuffed . he was only about a mile from ground zero in the very country he had targeted in multiple video messages , warning americans they would be attacked again after 9/11 by airplane storms ' and biochemical attacks . at his arraignment , his cuffs now removed , a not guilty plea was entered on abu ghaith 's behalf by philip weinstein , the attorney appointed to represent him . abu ghaith told the court , through an arabic interpreter , he had no money to pay for a lawyer . prosecutors did n't reveal what abu ghaith had said to them , only telling the court he had made an extensive statement ' after his arrest that filled 22 pages . the charges in the indictment were sealed until his arrest . he is being held without bond until his next appearance in april . no trial date has been set . if found guilty , abu ghaith faces life in prison . | concern is al qaeda could gain power in iran again |
iran <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- al qaeda propagandist sulaiman abu ghaith had a long plane ride last week to new york and an american jail cell located blocks from ground zero of the september 11 attacks . he filled that time , in part , by talking to u.s. investigators . it was an odd end to a journey that began just weeks earlier in iran . abu ghaith , for reasons still unclear , left iran and entered turkey using a forged saudi passport , turkish media reported . the cia tracked him to a turkish hotel room . he was detained by turkish officials in early february , but they refused for a month to turn him over to the u.s . instead , turkey expelled abu ghaith and put him on a plane to kuwait , where he was born , sources said . u.s. law enforcement took him into custody during a stopover in jordan . members of hig -- the high value interrogation group , which includes the cia -- were also involved in the operation . abu ghaith apparently was n't quiet during his overseas flight with u.s. authorities . the conversations , confirmed by a u.s. official with knowledge of them , are expected to be part of the government 's case to prove abu ghaith helped conspire to kill americans and recruited members for al qaeda . the justice department and fbi declined to comment on whether or when abu ghaith was read his miranda rights after his arrest . however , intelligence experts say that is required if prosecutors intend to use his lengthy statement during trial . that would be the way it was done , ' says mitchell silber , an executive managing director with the security firm k2 intelligence and the new york police department 's former director of intelligence analysis . sources and intelligence experts told cnn it 's questionable how helpful abu ghaith , one of osama bin laden 's sons-in-law , could be in terms of current intelligence , because he has been out of the loop for years . he has lived in iran since 2002 , mostly under house arrest . he 's a low-level target with high political value , ' silber told cnn . his main value would be ( if he 's ) able to help quantify and assess the former top al qaeda leaders with him under house arrest in iran , ' silber says . silber added the u.s. would want abu ghaith to describe the nature of the iranian treatment of them , ' including how adversarial the relationship is between iran and al qaeda . ' there is concern former al qaeda leaders in iran could rise to power again . but the relationship between the predominantly shiite iranians and the largely sunni al qaeda members is a complex one . just how do the iranians view al qaeda ? do they see opportunities for cooperation ? or is the extreme sunni philosophy of the group too much for them ? it 's something investigators would like to know , and abu ghaith may have insights . strange bedfellows -- iran and al qaeda on friday , the fiery former al qaeda spokesman walked into federal court with his hands cuffed . he was only about a mile from ground zero in the very country he had targeted in multiple video messages , warning americans they would be attacked again after 9/11 by airplane storms ' and biochemical attacks . at his arraignment , his cuffs now removed , a not guilty plea was entered on abu ghaith 's behalf by philip weinstein , the attorney appointed to represent him . abu ghaith told the court , through an arabic interpreter , he had no money to pay for a lawyer . prosecutors did n't reveal what abu ghaith had said to them , only telling the court he had made an extensive statement ' after his arrest that filled 22 pages . the charges in the indictment were sealed until his arrest . he is being held without bond until his next appearance in april . no trial date has been set . if found guilty , abu ghaith faces life in prison . | expert says his value comes in assessing status of former al qaeda leaders in iran |
iran <tsp> ( cnn ) the outlines of a nuclear deal with iran are in place . unfortunately , it seems like too many in president barack obama 's administration have forgotten that the only reason this terrorist-supporting state came to the negotiating table in the first place was because of tough sanctions imposed by the u.s. congress . indeed , the reality is that president obama is giving up enormous leverage in his nuclear deal with iran -- and i worry we will lose it for good . bleeding money , and faced with falling oil prices , supreme leader ayatollah khamenei gave his government rare permission to bargain with the great satan ' -- the united states . but just as u.s. and european sanctions were forcing iran to the nuclear crossroads , president obama has given tehran an easy exit . for khamenei , the framework ' announced last week looks like a win-win : he gets to keep his nuclear infrastructure , and in return gets billions of dollars in sanctions relief . congress offered a better strategy when the top democrat on the foreign affairs committee , eliot engel , and i introduced a bill to hit tehran with its toughest sanctions yet . unfortunately , this bill -- which passed the house in a 400-20 vote -- was blocked in the senate last year , despite the fact that it would have sharpened the ayatollah 's choice : dismantle your nuclear weapons program or see your economy collapse . president obama once had a tougher line , when in 2012 he said : the deal we 'll accept is they end their nuclear program . it 's very straightforward . ' but the framework announced last week does nothing of the sort . negotiated between iran and the united states , russia , china , britain , france and germany , the framework concedes that iran can maintain a mutually defined enrichment program , ' operate thousands of centrifuges , and continue its research and development of nuclear technologies . the deal currently on the table would hand tehran billions of previously sanctioned funds , filling the coffers of the world 's biggest state sponsor of terrorism , with strongholds in syria , iraq , yemen and lebanon . meanwhile , the strictest restrictions on iran 's enrichment will expire in only 10 years , despite the president receiving a letter from 367 members of congress -- both democrats and republicans -- in which we insisted that verifiable constraints on iran 's nuclear program must last for decades . ' the president admitted as much when he conceded that in year 13 , 14 , 15 , they have advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium fairly rapidly , and at that point the breakout times would have shrunk almost down to zero . ' but as bad as these concessions are , the most concerning aspect of the april 2 deal is that it lacks tough safeguards to stop iran from cheating . the key question is this : will the inspectors at the international atomic energy agency be allowed to inspect these military sites without warning ? because if the iaea can not conduct anytime , anywhere ' inspections , iran will be able to sneak out ' to a bomb . it has been done before . remember , in 1994 , when president bill clinton told us he had struck a deal with north korea that would make the united states , the korean peninsula , and the world safer ' ? president clinton sounded a little too much like the current secretary of state john kerry , when he promised that the north korea agreement does not rely on trust ' and that compliance will be certified by the international atomic energy agency . ' twelve years after these assurances , north korea detonated its first nuclear bomb . iran could easily do the same . the best predictor of its future behavior is its past behavior -- between 2004 and 2009 , the iranian government built a huge centrifuge facility named fordo under a mountain deep in the iranian desert . luckily for the world , western intelligence agencies discovered tehran 's deception . but we can not rely on such luck in the future , particularly when iran still has n't come clean about its history of secret weapons development and is still dodging basic questions from the iaea . let 's not forget the other things iran has been doing while its diplomats have been bargaining with the u.s. and its partners . while iran was showing its friendly new face to the world , it has simultaneously been helping syrian dictator bashar al assad kill his own people , training and funding the terrorist group hezbollah , which aims to annihilate israel , and supporting the houthis , who started a civil war and overthrew the government in yemen -- one of america 's more reliable counterterrorism partners in the region . if president obama is going to hand over billions of dollars to a regime that behaves like this , run by a man who publicly declares : death to america , ' it has to be a better deal . the framework we have before us keeps iran 's nuclear door well and truly open . | ed royce : best predictor of iran 's future behavior is its past behavior |
iran <tsp> ( cnn ) the outlines of a nuclear deal with iran are in place . unfortunately , it seems like too many in president barack obama 's administration have forgotten that the only reason this terrorist-supporting state came to the negotiating table in the first place was because of tough sanctions imposed by the u.s. congress . indeed , the reality is that president obama is giving up enormous leverage in his nuclear deal with iran -- and i worry we will lose it for good . bleeding money , and faced with falling oil prices , supreme leader ayatollah khamenei gave his government rare permission to bargain with the great satan ' -- the united states . but just as u.s. and european sanctions were forcing iran to the nuclear crossroads , president obama has given tehran an easy exit . for khamenei , the framework ' announced last week looks like a win-win : he gets to keep his nuclear infrastructure , and in return gets billions of dollars in sanctions relief . congress offered a better strategy when the top democrat on the foreign affairs committee , eliot engel , and i introduced a bill to hit tehran with its toughest sanctions yet . unfortunately , this bill -- which passed the house in a 400-20 vote -- was blocked in the senate last year , despite the fact that it would have sharpened the ayatollah 's choice : dismantle your nuclear weapons program or see your economy collapse . president obama once had a tougher line , when in 2012 he said : the deal we 'll accept is they end their nuclear program . it 's very straightforward . ' but the framework announced last week does nothing of the sort . negotiated between iran and the united states , russia , china , britain , france and germany , the framework concedes that iran can maintain a mutually defined enrichment program , ' operate thousands of centrifuges , and continue its research and development of nuclear technologies . the deal currently on the table would hand tehran billions of previously sanctioned funds , filling the coffers of the world 's biggest state sponsor of terrorism , with strongholds in syria , iraq , yemen and lebanon . meanwhile , the strictest restrictions on iran 's enrichment will expire in only 10 years , despite the president receiving a letter from 367 members of congress -- both democrats and republicans -- in which we insisted that verifiable constraints on iran 's nuclear program must last for decades . ' the president admitted as much when he conceded that in year 13 , 14 , 15 , they have advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium fairly rapidly , and at that point the breakout times would have shrunk almost down to zero . ' but as bad as these concessions are , the most concerning aspect of the april 2 deal is that it lacks tough safeguards to stop iran from cheating . the key question is this : will the inspectors at the international atomic energy agency be allowed to inspect these military sites without warning ? because if the iaea can not conduct anytime , anywhere ' inspections , iran will be able to sneak out ' to a bomb . it has been done before . remember , in 1994 , when president bill clinton told us he had struck a deal with north korea that would make the united states , the korean peninsula , and the world safer ' ? president clinton sounded a little too much like the current secretary of state john kerry , when he promised that the north korea agreement does not rely on trust ' and that compliance will be certified by the international atomic energy agency . ' twelve years after these assurances , north korea detonated its first nuclear bomb . iran could easily do the same . the best predictor of its future behavior is its past behavior -- between 2004 and 2009 , the iranian government built a huge centrifuge facility named fordo under a mountain deep in the iranian desert . luckily for the world , western intelligence agencies discovered tehran 's deception . but we can not rely on such luck in the future , particularly when iran still has n't come clean about its history of secret weapons development and is still dodging basic questions from the iaea . let 's not forget the other things iran has been doing while its diplomats have been bargaining with the u.s. and its partners . while iran was showing its friendly new face to the world , it has simultaneously been helping syrian dictator bashar al assad kill his own people , training and funding the terrorist group hezbollah , which aims to annihilate israel , and supporting the houthis , who started a civil war and overthrew the government in yemen -- one of america 's more reliable counterterrorism partners in the region . if president obama is going to hand over billions of dollars to a regime that behaves like this , run by a man who publicly declares : death to america , ' it has to be a better deal . the framework we have before us keeps iran 's nuclear door well and truly open . | new framework keeps iran 's nuclear door well and truly open , he says |
dozier school <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for almost 90 years , the casket lay beneath the earth , thomas curry 's family believing the teen who died too young rested in peace there , in an unmarked plot with his great-grandparents . curry was a charge of marianna , florida 's arthur g. dozier school for boys , a now infamous juvenile detention facility that closed in 2011 for budgetary reasons , capping a chilling , 111-year legacy of brutality . from 1900 to 1952 , according to a court document , 100 boys died there , but only about half were buried on the reform institution 's grounds . others were shipped home to their families . curry , 17 , became part of that tally in 1925 when he died under suspicious circumstances while escaping dozier twenty-nine days after arriving , ' says the court order permitting his exhumation this week . the coroner at the time ruled curry 's manner of death was unknown . the ledger entry at the dozier school said he was killed on rr bridge chattahoochee , fla. ' another document at old cathedral cemetery in philadelphia says he was killed by train . ' no one from dozier ever reported his death to the state . he was returned in a casket to his family , who , in turn , buried him in philadelphia . or so the family thought . it was n't until a state investigation beginning in 2008 that curry 's death certificate was found at dozier . it said he died of a crushed skull from an unknown cause . ' and it was n't until tuesday , when university of south florida anthropologists who have been working to unearth and identify remains on the former campus visited philadelphia with pennsylvania authorities , that the family learned curry was n't in the casket -- no bones , no clothing , no sign of him at all . wood . layers of pieces of wood , ' said anthropologist erin kimmerle , explaining what she and her team found in the casket . it was completely filled with wooden planks . ' at first , the team thought they had the wrong grave , but then they found curry 's great-grandparents beneath the wood-filled casket .'decades of efforts to deceive' kimmerle was still incredulous wednesday , as was cpl . tom mcandrew of the pennsylvania state police , who along with philadelphia assistant district attorney brendan o'malley , was instrumental in clearing the path for kimmerle 's team to exhume curry 's remains , she said , ' it was a little bit of a shock . it was certainly anticlimactic , ' mcandrew said . something was shipped up from florida , and it was buried , and someone believed it was thomas curry . ' does he think , as a law enforcement officer , that the finding is indicative of school officials'intent to deceive curry 's family nine decades ago ? absolutely , ' he said , but it 's not surprising when you consider that the investigation into the dozier school has uncovered decades and decades of efforts to deceive , coverups , and not just by one but by many people . ' mcandrew has been in contact with two of curry 's distant cousins , and while they were n't familiar with curry or his death before kimmerle 's team began investigating , they 've done what they could to advance the investigation , the police corporal said . they 've provided names from their family tree and handwritten notes from their mother . one of the cousins , eileen witmier , who is 61 and is the granddaughter of curry 's mom 's sister , provided dna to identify curry -- had he been found . their interest lies in justice being served , ' mcandrew said of the cousins . asked where his own interest lies , mcandrew gave a similar answer , but also noted that kimmerle has been an invaluable ally to law enforcement . quid pro quo among professionals the ex-chief anthropologist for the u.n. international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia , kimmerle has conducted isotope testing ' in her lab to help mcandrew with homicide cases in pennsylvania . for one particularly high-profile case -- a pregnant teen found dismembered in suitcases in 1976 -- kimmerle 's team analyzed the woman 's hair and teeth . via isotope testing , kimmerle was able to determine where the woman lived based on the water she consumed while alive . though police have yet to solve the case , they now know she was born in europe and immigrated to the southeastern united states at age 12 , mcandrew said . when she turned to me for assistance , obviously i would 've done anything for her , ' mcandrew said of kimmerle . kimmerle had hoped , of course , that curry 's remains would unravel some of the mystery surrounding his death . we went into it trying to answer questions , ' she said . what we have is more questions than answers . ' but the investigation continues . now armed with witmier 's dna , kimmerle 's team can return to marianna , about 65 miles west of tallahassee , and attempt to match the sample to one of the dozens of bodies that have already been dug up on the 1,400-acre former campus . though many of the boys died so long ago , it 's important to find their family members , kimmerle believes , if only because of the uncertainties surrounding their deaths and the controversy enveloping the supposed school where they died . a dubious legacy that bodies lay there was never a secret -- 31 rusty , white crosses marked the resting places of victims who died from a dormitory fire , influenza , pneumonia and other causes -- but kimmerle 's team has found a total of 55 bodies there so far . her team also has found records indicating that 22 boys who died at the school are unaccounted for . already , kimmerle and her colleagues have identified three sets of remains . one of those bodies was george owen smith , whose sister ovell krell , 85 , told cnn in august she was elated that the seven-decade mystery surrounding her brother 's death was finally solved . though ex-students provided detailed accounts of vicious beatings , sexual abuse and disappearances , guards and administrators who are still alive have denied the beatings occurred . the state investigation in 2008 and 2009 said there was insufficient evidence of abuse at dozier , but dozens of men , many of them now senior citizens , have come forward with stories . a support group for ex-students , dubbed the white house boys , takes its moniker from the structure where boys say they were beaten with a leather strap attached to a wooden handle . they were whipped until their underwear was embedded in their buttocks , the white house boys say . some were beaten unconscious . crying or screaming out would earn you extra lashes , they say . so while this week 's exhumation did n't answer any of the myriad questions surrounding dozier and its missing and dead boys , it was still an important part of the ongoing investigation , researchers and police said . it definitely had to be done , ' mcandrew said . we had to at least open the grave if this investigation down in florida is going to be resolved . ' remains of 2 more boys identified at shuttered florida reformatory cnn 's ed lavandera contributed to this report . | exhumation part of probe into deaths , disappearances at florida 's infamous dozier school |
europe <tsp> ( cnn ) -- ukraine 's foreign mnister andrii deshchytsya on monday asserted that the situation in his country is almost like ... a war . ' with russian forces effectively having taken control of crimea , this is europe 's biggest geopolitical crisis for at least two decades . russia is currently drafting counter-proposals to a u.s. plan for a negotiated solution . this will seek to challenge washington 's support for the new government in kiev that moscow believes was installed in a coup and has plunged a significant part of the country into chaos . from washington 's perspective , russian troops ( up to 25,000 would normally be stationed in crimea , according to russian state media , but it 's unclear how many are in the region now . ukrainian authorities have said more russian soldiers have come into crimea ) must pull back from ukraine . u.s. secretary of state john kerry is also attempting to secure support for the placement of international monitors , and has also called for moscow to use its influence to stop the march 16 referendum in crimea ( which was annexed into the ukraine in 1956 by soviet leader nikita khruschev ) on whether it should join the russian federation . in seeking to frame russia 's actions in crimea , various historical analogies with nazi germany have been made , including last week by former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton . the use of analogies by politicians in international crises is commonplace . in the complexity and uncertainty of fast moving day-to-day events , policymakers often seek to draw what they perceive as key lessons of the past in seeking to guide and provide rationales for their actions . for much of the period since the 1970s , for instance , many u.s. officials were fearful of another vietnam ' referring to the disastrous u.s. intervention in that asian country . this tended to reduce willingness to deploy u.s. military force internationally unless any action ( such as the 1991 gulf war ) had clear , attainable objectives that could swiftly be achieved with a minimum of casualties . the vietnam debacle also became a key frame of reference when the u.s.-led intervention in iraq faltered after 2003 . this was despite the fact that the two experiences ( iraq and vietnam ) were dissimilar in many respects , including the nature of the insurgencies , and u.s. objectives in each country . however , the most widely used historical analogy is that of munich and nazi germany . the widely seen implication for foreign affairs of the ill-fated 1938 uk-french agreement with adolf hitler is that appeasement with aggressors does n't work . numerous politicians claim to have been influenced by munich , including george w. bush during the war-on-terror , ' margaret thatcher over the falklands conflict , lyndon johnson concerning vietnam , anthony eden and guy mollet during the suez crisis , and harry truman over korea . moreover , the continuing salience of munich is illustrated by the fact that , only last month , philippine president benigno aquino compared what he claimed was china 's recent belligerent behaviour with nazi germany 's expansionism by openly questioning at what point do you say ,'enough is enough ?'' while military action appears to have been ruled out by western policymakers in ukraine , the fact that munich is informing the thinking of some politicians is reflected in clinton 's comments last week . she noted that the claims by president putin and other russians that they had to go into crimea and maybe further into eastern ukraine because they had to protect the russian minorities , this is reminiscent of claims that were made back in the 1930s when germany under the nazis kept talking about how they had to protect german minorities in poland and czechoslovakia and elsewhere throughout europe . i just want everybody to have a little historic perspective . ' these remarks , which were qualified by clinton , have been supported by leading republican senators john mccain , the party 's 2008 presidential nominee , and marco rubio , who is widely anticipated to run for president in 2016 . mccain has gone even further , asserting that the emboldened stance of russia in crimea reflects the fecklessness ' of the obama administration 's foreign policy . while some see very strong similarities between russia 's incursion into ukraine , and nazi germany 's expansionism , the fact remains that use of analogies can be fraught with difficulty for policymakers . on a fundamental level , for instance , not all military actions end up like vietnam , while not all diplomatic agreements turn out like munich . as history shows , there is thus a danger that policymakers misinterpret past crises just as frequently as they learn the right lessons . for instance , suez and vietnam underscore how munich was used to guide or justify major foreign policy blunders by the united states , the united kingdom and france in the 1950s and 1960s . another example is u.s. president john f. kennedy during the cuban missile crisis who was influenced by barbara tuchman 's the guns of august ' book . this argued that world war i started as a result of miscalculation and mistakes from all sides . kennedy believed the events of october 1962 were reminiscent of the lead-up to that conflict and , wisely , sought to deploy a range of diplomatic options with the soviets , overruling advice of military advisers for a quick military strike on cuba . however , an increasing number of academics now believe that germany actively sought war , and that tuchman 's thesis is wrong . in this sense , it has been argued that kennedy 's actions ( which were prudent in the context of cuba , and may have saved the world from nuclear war ) were based on a misreading of world war i history . in the case of ukraine , munich is by no means the only historical lens through which to interpret what is happening in the country . and , even if it were , there are clear differences between the 1930s and today , including in the interdependence of the global economy , wider dissimilarities in the global balance of power , and the fact that russia has an extensive stockpile of nuclear weapons . in the unpredictability and tension of the current moment , it is certainly the case that , like kennedy in 1962 , calm , clear and careful decision-making is now needed by western ( and indeed ukrainian ) politicians as they think through the array of non-military options they have at their disposal , including sanctions . history can provide an especially useful framework in addressing similar or identical policy challenges , but to avoid potentially major misjudgement attention also needs to be given by policymakers to any significant differences between past and present conditions . infographic : comparing ukraine and russia 's military forces the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrew hammond . | andrew hammond : ukraine is europe 's biggest geopolitical crisis for two decades |
los angeles <tsp> ( cnn ) -- traffic on interstate 15 in southern california was backed up for miles early tuesday after a new overpass in the city of hesperia caught fire , a fire official said . the major artery between los angeles and las vegas is expected to be closed for up to 48 hours while crews put out the fire and demolish the damaged structure , according to eric sherwin with the san bernadino county fire department . the bridge caught fire monday when sparks from blowtorches used to cut reinforcing bar ignited the wooden framework supporting the structure . hesperia is about 60 miles northeast of los angeles . college tour in california ends in fiery wreck , leaves 10 dead | interstate 15 is shut down between los angeles and las vegas |
playstation 4 <tsp> at a coming-out party for its upcoming playstation 4 console , sony leveled its guns at rival microsoft 's xbox one device and fired until the chambers were empty . during a press event monday night at the electronic entertainment expo in los angeles , sony hammered home key points about its new gaming system : sharing games will be free . if people want to sell used games , that 's fine . and a near-constant internet connection , meant to monitor game usage , wo n't be required . in other words , the ps4 will do many things the new xbox apparently can not . oh , and the playstation 4 will sell for $ 399 -- $ 100 less than the xbox one . both consoles are expected this fall in time for the holiday shopping season , setting up a battle for the hearts , minds and wallets of the gaming community . a big point of contention among gamers is that microsoft 's new xbox will require an online check-in every 24 hours ( less than the always-on ' mode gamers expected ) and will only allow games to be resold at selected retailers . games may be shared only among a limited number of friends and family members . microsoft 's daily check-in is designed , in part , to make sure users have n't resold , traded in or given away a game they 've already downloaded on their consoles . the idea is to prevent more than one person from effectively owning a game that was purchased only once . after rolling out a list of new games , jack tretton , president and ceo of sony computer entertainment america , essentially went down a laundry list of complaints about the new xbox , which had been showcased earlier monday , and promised the opposite . in addition to creating an amazing library of new titles on playstation 4 , we 're equally focused on delivering what gamers want most without imposing restrictions or devaluing their ps4 purchases , ' tretton said . for instance , playstation 4 wo n't impose any new restrictions on the use of pre-owned games . ' that announcement got a loud and sustained round of applause from an e3 crowd not always easy to impress . i guess that 's a good thing , ' a smiling tretton replied . in game-console terms , digital-rights management is a code that allows users to access a game 's content . it 's designed to assure developers and publishers that only the person who paid for the game , and close family and friends , can play it . sony and microsoft are n't the ones that would benefit from drm , or used-game restrictions . game publishers want to make sure they are getting paid for their work , and that includes the secondhand market . in the weeks leading up to e3 , microsoft had sought to calm gamers'concerns with a series of blog posts that some felt nibbled around the edges of rights-management issues but never offered definitive answers . sony then was conspicuously quiet in what , now , appears to have been an orchestrated effort to lower the boom at e3 . witness the official playstation used game instructional video ' released shortly after the presentation . it 's 22 seconds long and features only step 1 , ' a man handing a disc to another man . that cheeky video had racked up more than 1.5 million views on youtube in less than 24 hours . microsoft did not immediately respond tuesday to a request seeking comment . but online pundits were quick to praise sony for landing some blows against its rival . as crude as it is to declare a company the'winner'of e3 , it 's hard to see sony 's presentation today as anything but a pr coup ... , ' kyle orland , senior gaming editor at cnn content partner ars technica , wrote monday . among some of the most influential and hardest-to-please gamers on the internet , sony is now the savior company that can do no wrong . they should enjoy the ride , which will last just as long as it takes for them to do something wrong . ' writing for time , jared newman takes a longer view . sony 's move is meant to preserve the future of disc-based games , at least for now , while microsoft stands ready to kill discs entirely , moving to an almost entirely digital model , he said . playing to what 's already comfortable for gamers was clearly part of sony 's strategy , newman said . sony is just betting that the good will of gamers will be enough to cut microsoft 's ambitions short , ' he wrote . and microsoft has some big ambitions , not just to be the best game console , but to serve as the central hub of all living room entertainment . it 's a gambit on sony 's part , one that 's going to make the console wars even fiercer . ' | playstation 4 will allow sharing , selling used games |
vettel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- sebastian vettel dashed fernando alonso 's hopes of delivering a home victory for ferrari at monza with another commanding drive to win the italian grand prix sunday . the three-time defending champion secured his sixth win of the season after starting on pole position , relegating spain 's alonso to second place . vettel 's red bull teammate mark webber finished third ahead of the second ferrari of brazilian felipe massa . the victory extended vettel 's advantage in the world title race over alonso to 53 points with seven rounds remaining . britain 's lewis hamilton , who was forced to start from 12th after a poor qualifying session saturday , could only manage ninth spot , but remained in third place in the standings , 81 points adrift . vettel 's only significant problem was self imposed as he flat spotted his front right tire after breaking too sharply into the first corner of the race . under pressure from massa , the 26-year-old german was desperate to hold on to his lead after the traditional flat out start at monza . two time champion alonso , back in fifth on the grid after his difficulties in qualifying , quickly worked his way up to third before massa gave way to him under team orders . vettel was able to nurse his tires until the first and only round of pit stops for the leading contenders without coming under serious challenge . alonso was briefly challenged by webber until the australian was ordered to back off because of gear selection problems , which were also problematic for the leader vettel . but he took the checkered flag 5.4 seconds clear of alonso to take an even firmer grip on the championship he has dominated for the past four seasons . vettel was only too aware that his victory was unlikely to be welcomed by the tifosi diehards who had flocked to the circuit in northern italy to support their beloved ferrari . it was a fantastic race , but you can hear the difference when you do n't win here in a red suit , ' vettel said . but this means you have done well and beaten the red men ! the race was terrific for both of us as we had problems with the gearboxes at the end , but i was ok because i had a good cushion . it is a fantastic win . ' alonso acknowledged there was little he could do to prevent the 32nd victory of vettel 's career . second place is good and to have this podium ceremony which is the most spectacular podium of the year , ' he said . hopefully we 'll come back next year and have first place . every time i am here this podium and this experience is more and more special . ' outside the front runners , germany 's nico hulkenberg underlined his reputation as one of the most promising young drivers on the grid with an excellent fifth place in the uncompetitive sauber . his compatriot nico rosberg finished sixth for mercedes ahead of australian daniel ricciardo of toro rosso , who will replace webber at red bull next season . romain grosjean of lotus held off the fast-charging hamilton for eighth , while britain 's jenson button earned a single point for mclaren , who were celebrating their 50th anniversary as an f1 team . hamilton , who had to contend with a slow puncture which meant an extra pit stop , conceded his title hopes were over . it 's awful when you are just empty of energy and have given everything for just two points -- and that 's it for the championship now , ' he told bbc sport . the f1 circuit will now depart europe for the next round under the lights on the spectacular street circuit in singapore with vettel in prime position for a fourth straight title . | mark webber joins red bull teammate vettel on the podium |
vettel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- sebastian vettel dashed fernando alonso 's hopes of delivering a home victory for ferrari at monza with another commanding drive to win the italian grand prix sunday . the three-time defending champion secured his sixth win of the season after starting on pole position , relegating spain 's alonso to second place . vettel 's red bull teammate mark webber finished third ahead of the second ferrari of brazilian felipe massa . the victory extended vettel 's advantage in the world title race over alonso to 53 points with seven rounds remaining . britain 's lewis hamilton , who was forced to start from 12th after a poor qualifying session saturday , could only manage ninth spot , but remained in third place in the standings , 81 points adrift . vettel 's only significant problem was self imposed as he flat spotted his front right tire after breaking too sharply into the first corner of the race . under pressure from massa , the 26-year-old german was desperate to hold on to his lead after the traditional flat out start at monza . two time champion alonso , back in fifth on the grid after his difficulties in qualifying , quickly worked his way up to third before massa gave way to him under team orders . vettel was able to nurse his tires until the first and only round of pit stops for the leading contenders without coming under serious challenge . alonso was briefly challenged by webber until the australian was ordered to back off because of gear selection problems , which were also problematic for the leader vettel . but he took the checkered flag 5.4 seconds clear of alonso to take an even firmer grip on the championship he has dominated for the past four seasons . vettel was only too aware that his victory was unlikely to be welcomed by the tifosi diehards who had flocked to the circuit in northern italy to support their beloved ferrari . it was a fantastic race , but you can hear the difference when you do n't win here in a red suit , ' vettel said . but this means you have done well and beaten the red men ! the race was terrific for both of us as we had problems with the gearboxes at the end , but i was ok because i had a good cushion . it is a fantastic win . ' alonso acknowledged there was little he could do to prevent the 32nd victory of vettel 's career . second place is good and to have this podium ceremony which is the most spectacular podium of the year , ' he said . hopefully we 'll come back next year and have first place . every time i am here this podium and this experience is more and more special . ' outside the front runners , germany 's nico hulkenberg underlined his reputation as one of the most promising young drivers on the grid with an excellent fifth place in the uncompetitive sauber . his compatriot nico rosberg finished sixth for mercedes ahead of australian daniel ricciardo of toro rosso , who will replace webber at red bull next season . romain grosjean of lotus held off the fast-charging hamilton for eighth , while britain 's jenson button earned a single point for mclaren , who were celebrating their 50th anniversary as an f1 team . hamilton , who had to contend with a slow puncture which meant an extra pit stop , conceded his title hopes were over . it 's awful when you are just empty of energy and have given everything for just two points -- and that 's it for the championship now , ' he told bbc sport . the f1 circuit will now depart europe for the next round under the lights on the spectacular street circuit in singapore with vettel in prime position for a fourth straight title . | sebastian vettel wins italian grand prix at monza |
andrew chan <tsp> ( cnn ) nine of ten mostly foreign prisoners on death row in indonesia have been given 72 hours notice ahead of their execution , according to a spokesperson for the attorney general 's office . seventy-two hours notification means three days , at least , to go to the execution . it may be longer . in other words , there will be no execution less than 72 hours after notification , ' tony spontana told cnn by phone sunday . though indonesian officials said all 10 would be executed at the same time , spontana said french national serge atlaoui had filed a challenge to the state administrative court on thursday so his sentence has been delayed . meanwhile , edre olalia , a lawyer acting for philippines maid mary jane veloso , told cnn sunday that veloso had telephoned her sister on saturday at about 5:30 p.m. local time and said her execution will take place on tuesday , april 28 . officials at the philippines embassy in jakarta confirmed the same information . according to her lawyers , veloso unknowingly carried drugs into indonesia , and that she was set up by members of a drug syndicate . on friday , indonesian officials advised relevant consular officials to travel to indonesia 's execution island ' -- nusa kambangan -- where the ten are being held -- a sign that the sentences may be carried out soon . they will face a firing squad . opinion : why executions wo n't win indonesia 's drug war the ten on death row , which also include two australian citizens andrew chan and myuran sukumaran -- members of the so-called bali nine ' smuggling ring -- as well as prisoners from ghana , brazil , nigeria and indonesia , had their petitions for clemency denied by president joko widodo in late 2014 . a statement sunday from foreign minister julie bishop said the australian government had been notified that the execution of chan and sukumaran would be carried out imminently . ' i spoke to mr. sukumaran 's mother raji yesterday and assured her the government would continue to seek clemency from indonesian president widodo for both men . they have been rehabilitated in a most remarkable way over the past ten years and are genuinely remorseful for their serious crimes . nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young australians are executed . i again respectfully call on the president of indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency . it is not too late for a change of heart . ' the two australians , convicted for their role in a failed 2005 heroin smuggling plot , tried to challenge the president 's decision earlier this month but lost an appeal for the state administrative court to hear their case . their lawyers have since filed another review at the constitutional court . the attorney general 's office has said they would respect all ongoing court proceedings but insisted the inmates have exhausted all their legal options . australia has repeatedly appealed for clemency for the pair and has unsuccessfully proposed a prisoner swap with indonesia as a way of avoiding their deaths . on saturday , united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon called on indonesia 's government to reverse their decision . the secretary-general appeals to the government of indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution , as announced , of 10 prisoners on death row for alleged drug-related crimes , ' a spokesman for ban said , according to various reports . meanwhile , human rights watch says president widodo has an important opportunity to signal indonesia 's rejection of the death penalty by sparing the lives of the 10 people facing looming execution . ' widodo can demonstrate true leadership by ending capital punishment as unacceptable state brutality , ' said phelim kine , deputy asia director at human rights watch , in a statement saturday . president widodo should recognize that the death penalty is not a crime deterrent but an unjustifiable and barbaric punishment . widodo should promote indonesia as a rights-respecting democracy by joining the countries that have abolished capital punishment . ' | they include philippines maid mary jane velos and australians andrew chan and myuran sukumaran |
australia <tsp> ( cnn ) nine of ten mostly foreign prisoners on death row in indonesia have been given 72 hours notice ahead of their execution , according to a spokesperson for the attorney general 's office . seventy-two hours notification means three days , at least , to go to the execution . it may be longer . in other words , there will be no execution less than 72 hours after notification , ' tony spontana told cnn by phone sunday . though indonesian officials said all 10 would be executed at the same time , spontana said french national serge atlaoui had filed a challenge to the state administrative court on thursday so his sentence has been delayed . meanwhile , edre olalia , a lawyer acting for philippines maid mary jane veloso , told cnn sunday that veloso had telephoned her sister on saturday at about 5:30 p.m. local time and said her execution will take place on tuesday , april 28 . officials at the philippines embassy in jakarta confirmed the same information . according to her lawyers , veloso unknowingly carried drugs into indonesia , and that she was set up by members of a drug syndicate . on friday , indonesian officials advised relevant consular officials to travel to indonesia 's execution island ' -- nusa kambangan -- where the ten are being held -- a sign that the sentences may be carried out soon . they will face a firing squad . opinion : why executions wo n't win indonesia 's drug war the ten on death row , which also include two australian citizens andrew chan and myuran sukumaran -- members of the so-called bali nine ' smuggling ring -- as well as prisoners from ghana , brazil , nigeria and indonesia , had their petitions for clemency denied by president joko widodo in late 2014 . a statement sunday from foreign minister julie bishop said the australian government had been notified that the execution of chan and sukumaran would be carried out imminently . ' i spoke to mr. sukumaran 's mother raji yesterday and assured her the government would continue to seek clemency from indonesian president widodo for both men . they have been rehabilitated in a most remarkable way over the past ten years and are genuinely remorseful for their serious crimes . nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young australians are executed . i again respectfully call on the president of indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency . it is not too late for a change of heart . ' the two australians , convicted for their role in a failed 2005 heroin smuggling plot , tried to challenge the president 's decision earlier this month but lost an appeal for the state administrative court to hear their case . their lawyers have since filed another review at the constitutional court . the attorney general 's office has said they would respect all ongoing court proceedings but insisted the inmates have exhausted all their legal options . australia has repeatedly appealed for clemency for the pair and has unsuccessfully proposed a prisoner swap with indonesia as a way of avoiding their deaths . on saturday , united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon called on indonesia 's government to reverse their decision . the secretary-general appeals to the government of indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution , as announced , of 10 prisoners on death row for alleged drug-related crimes , ' a spokesman for ban said , according to various reports . meanwhile , human rights watch says president widodo has an important opportunity to signal indonesia 's rejection of the death penalty by sparing the lives of the 10 people facing looming execution . ' widodo can demonstrate true leadership by ending capital punishment as unacceptable state brutality , ' said phelim kine , deputy asia director at human rights watch , in a statement saturday . president widodo should recognize that the death penalty is not a crime deterrent but an unjustifiable and barbaric punishment . widodo should promote indonesia as a rights-respecting democracy by joining the countries that have abolished capital punishment . ' | australia has repeatedly appealed for clemency for the pair |
philippines <tsp> ( cnn ) nine of ten mostly foreign prisoners on death row in indonesia have been given 72 hours notice ahead of their execution , according to a spokesperson for the attorney general 's office . seventy-two hours notification means three days , at least , to go to the execution . it may be longer . in other words , there will be no execution less than 72 hours after notification , ' tony spontana told cnn by phone sunday . though indonesian officials said all 10 would be executed at the same time , spontana said french national serge atlaoui had filed a challenge to the state administrative court on thursday so his sentence has been delayed . meanwhile , edre olalia , a lawyer acting for philippines maid mary jane veloso , told cnn sunday that veloso had telephoned her sister on saturday at about 5:30 p.m. local time and said her execution will take place on tuesday , april 28 . officials at the philippines embassy in jakarta confirmed the same information . according to her lawyers , veloso unknowingly carried drugs into indonesia , and that she was set up by members of a drug syndicate . on friday , indonesian officials advised relevant consular officials to travel to indonesia 's execution island ' -- nusa kambangan -- where the ten are being held -- a sign that the sentences may be carried out soon . they will face a firing squad . opinion : why executions wo n't win indonesia 's drug war the ten on death row , which also include two australian citizens andrew chan and myuran sukumaran -- members of the so-called bali nine ' smuggling ring -- as well as prisoners from ghana , brazil , nigeria and indonesia , had their petitions for clemency denied by president joko widodo in late 2014 . a statement sunday from foreign minister julie bishop said the australian government had been notified that the execution of chan and sukumaran would be carried out imminently . ' i spoke to mr. sukumaran 's mother raji yesterday and assured her the government would continue to seek clemency from indonesian president widodo for both men . they have been rehabilitated in a most remarkable way over the past ten years and are genuinely remorseful for their serious crimes . nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young australians are executed . i again respectfully call on the president of indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency . it is not too late for a change of heart . ' the two australians , convicted for their role in a failed 2005 heroin smuggling plot , tried to challenge the president 's decision earlier this month but lost an appeal for the state administrative court to hear their case . their lawyers have since filed another review at the constitutional court . the attorney general 's office has said they would respect all ongoing court proceedings but insisted the inmates have exhausted all their legal options . australia has repeatedly appealed for clemency for the pair and has unsuccessfully proposed a prisoner swap with indonesia as a way of avoiding their deaths . on saturday , united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon called on indonesia 's government to reverse their decision . the secretary-general appeals to the government of indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution , as announced , of 10 prisoners on death row for alleged drug-related crimes , ' a spokesman for ban said , according to various reports . meanwhile , human rights watch says president widodo has an important opportunity to signal indonesia 's rejection of the death penalty by sparing the lives of the 10 people facing looming execution . ' widodo can demonstrate true leadership by ending capital punishment as unacceptable state brutality , ' said phelim kine , deputy asia director at human rights watch , in a statement saturday . president widodo should recognize that the death penalty is not a crime deterrent but an unjustifiable and barbaric punishment . widodo should promote indonesia as a rights-respecting democracy by joining the countries that have abolished capital punishment . ' | australian and philippines governments given notice their nationals will be executed in 72 hours |
philippines <tsp> ( cnn ) nine of ten mostly foreign prisoners on death row in indonesia have been given 72 hours notice ahead of their execution , according to a spokesperson for the attorney general 's office . seventy-two hours notification means three days , at least , to go to the execution . it may be longer . in other words , there will be no execution less than 72 hours after notification , ' tony spontana told cnn by phone sunday . though indonesian officials said all 10 would be executed at the same time , spontana said french national serge atlaoui had filed a challenge to the state administrative court on thursday so his sentence has been delayed . meanwhile , edre olalia , a lawyer acting for philippines maid mary jane veloso , told cnn sunday that veloso had telephoned her sister on saturday at about 5:30 p.m. local time and said her execution will take place on tuesday , april 28 . officials at the philippines embassy in jakarta confirmed the same information . according to her lawyers , veloso unknowingly carried drugs into indonesia , and that she was set up by members of a drug syndicate . on friday , indonesian officials advised relevant consular officials to travel to indonesia 's execution island ' -- nusa kambangan -- where the ten are being held -- a sign that the sentences may be carried out soon . they will face a firing squad . opinion : why executions wo n't win indonesia 's drug war the ten on death row , which also include two australian citizens andrew chan and myuran sukumaran -- members of the so-called bali nine ' smuggling ring -- as well as prisoners from ghana , brazil , nigeria and indonesia , had their petitions for clemency denied by president joko widodo in late 2014 . a statement sunday from foreign minister julie bishop said the australian government had been notified that the execution of chan and sukumaran would be carried out imminently . ' i spoke to mr. sukumaran 's mother raji yesterday and assured her the government would continue to seek clemency from indonesian president widodo for both men . they have been rehabilitated in a most remarkable way over the past ten years and are genuinely remorseful for their serious crimes . nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young australians are executed . i again respectfully call on the president of indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency . it is not too late for a change of heart . ' the two australians , convicted for their role in a failed 2005 heroin smuggling plot , tried to challenge the president 's decision earlier this month but lost an appeal for the state administrative court to hear their case . their lawyers have since filed another review at the constitutional court . the attorney general 's office has said they would respect all ongoing court proceedings but insisted the inmates have exhausted all their legal options . australia has repeatedly appealed for clemency for the pair and has unsuccessfully proposed a prisoner swap with indonesia as a way of avoiding their deaths . on saturday , united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon called on indonesia 's government to reverse their decision . the secretary-general appeals to the government of indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution , as announced , of 10 prisoners on death row for alleged drug-related crimes , ' a spokesman for ban said , according to various reports . meanwhile , human rights watch says president widodo has an important opportunity to signal indonesia 's rejection of the death penalty by sparing the lives of the 10 people facing looming execution . ' widodo can demonstrate true leadership by ending capital punishment as unacceptable state brutality , ' said phelim kine , deputy asia director at human rights watch , in a statement saturday . president widodo should recognize that the death penalty is not a crime deterrent but an unjustifiable and barbaric punishment . widodo should promote indonesia as a rights-respecting democracy by joining the countries that have abolished capital punishment . ' | they include philippines maid mary jane velos and australians andrew chan and myuran sukumaran |
myuran sukumaran <tsp> ( cnn ) nine of ten mostly foreign prisoners on death row in indonesia have been given 72 hours notice ahead of their execution , according to a spokesperson for the attorney general 's office . seventy-two hours notification means three days , at least , to go to the execution . it may be longer . in other words , there will be no execution less than 72 hours after notification , ' tony spontana told cnn by phone sunday . though indonesian officials said all 10 would be executed at the same time , spontana said french national serge atlaoui had filed a challenge to the state administrative court on thursday so his sentence has been delayed . meanwhile , edre olalia , a lawyer acting for philippines maid mary jane veloso , told cnn sunday that veloso had telephoned her sister on saturday at about 5:30 p.m. local time and said her execution will take place on tuesday , april 28 . officials at the philippines embassy in jakarta confirmed the same information . according to her lawyers , veloso unknowingly carried drugs into indonesia , and that she was set up by members of a drug syndicate . on friday , indonesian officials advised relevant consular officials to travel to indonesia 's execution island ' -- nusa kambangan -- where the ten are being held -- a sign that the sentences may be carried out soon . they will face a firing squad . opinion : why executions wo n't win indonesia 's drug war the ten on death row , which also include two australian citizens andrew chan and myuran sukumaran -- members of the so-called bali nine ' smuggling ring -- as well as prisoners from ghana , brazil , nigeria and indonesia , had their petitions for clemency denied by president joko widodo in late 2014 . a statement sunday from foreign minister julie bishop said the australian government had been notified that the execution of chan and sukumaran would be carried out imminently . ' i spoke to mr. sukumaran 's mother raji yesterday and assured her the government would continue to seek clemency from indonesian president widodo for both men . they have been rehabilitated in a most remarkable way over the past ten years and are genuinely remorseful for their serious crimes . nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young australians are executed . i again respectfully call on the president of indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency . it is not too late for a change of heart . ' the two australians , convicted for their role in a failed 2005 heroin smuggling plot , tried to challenge the president 's decision earlier this month but lost an appeal for the state administrative court to hear their case . their lawyers have since filed another review at the constitutional court . the attorney general 's office has said they would respect all ongoing court proceedings but insisted the inmates have exhausted all their legal options . australia has repeatedly appealed for clemency for the pair and has unsuccessfully proposed a prisoner swap with indonesia as a way of avoiding their deaths . on saturday , united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon called on indonesia 's government to reverse their decision . the secretary-general appeals to the government of indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution , as announced , of 10 prisoners on death row for alleged drug-related crimes , ' a spokesman for ban said , according to various reports . meanwhile , human rights watch says president widodo has an important opportunity to signal indonesia 's rejection of the death penalty by sparing the lives of the 10 people facing looming execution . ' widodo can demonstrate true leadership by ending capital punishment as unacceptable state brutality , ' said phelim kine , deputy asia director at human rights watch , in a statement saturday . president widodo should recognize that the death penalty is not a crime deterrent but an unjustifiable and barbaric punishment . widodo should promote indonesia as a rights-respecting democracy by joining the countries that have abolished capital punishment . ' | they include philippines maid mary jane velos and australians andrew chan and myuran sukumaran |
henry earl <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a lot of folks in lexington , kentucky , are hoping for a christmas miracle ' for the city 's , and perhaps the world 's , most-arrested man . it 's a dubious honor , for sure , but henry earl , 64 , has become a sort of celebrity , especially among students and police in the city of 300,000 . to many , the homeless gent goes by james brown , after the godfather of soul , ' and can often be found singing and shaking his moneymaker for change to buy his next drink . hence , the arrests -- which have topped 1,500 , according to the smoking gun , which is owned by cnn 's parent company . earl was scheduled to appear in a fayette county court thursday for a probation revocation hearing after being arrested for alcohol intoxication last week , landing him in jail for his third thanksgiving in five years . he also spent his 64th birthday there in october , the smoking gun reported . there was a period where we could n't access his arrests . we think he has likely passed 1,600 , but decided to play it safe , ' site editor william bastone said in an e-mail . the smoking gun has become a sort of de facto repository for earl 's arrest statistics -- the site says he 's logged almost 6,000 collective days in jail , for instance -- and in september 2008 corrected a local television station that aired a report stating earl had been arrested for the 1,000th time . not so , the site reported . earl had been arrested 1,332 times as of august 31 , 2008 . the station , it turned out , had n't accessed the records before 1992 , omitting 264 arrests in the 1970s and 1980s alone , the smoking gun said . ( full disclosure : cnn misreported the 1,000th arrest as well . ) we have literally been following henry earl 's arrest history ( and collecting his mug shots ) for more than a decade . we even devoted a page to him in our last book , ' bastone wrote . we have continued to monitor his arrests and the days he has been incarcerated as a result of those collars . ' man about town lexington police and fayette county jail officials say they ca n't confirm an exact number because their records go back to only 1992 ( earl began his arrest career in 1970 ) , but lexington police spokeswoman sherelle roberts says earl has definitely ' been in handcuffs more than 1,000 times . it 's a weekly , if not every-two-or-three-days thing , ' she said . he 's never doing bad or illegal things purposely . ... he 's just so highly intoxicated that he 's posing a danger to himself . ' almost all of his arrests have been for alcohol intoxication , though there 's the occasional criminal trespass , roberts said . there have even been times when earl was released from the fayette county jail in the evening , only to return by midnight . one anecdote -- and there are many -- places a fresh-out-of-the-clink earl in a sandwich shop near the university of kentucky campus , telling jokes and dancing for change , wrote commenter douglas hurt on the smoking gun website . we walked outside and he said he needed a place to go and looked around like he was looking for someone . next thing i know is that a cop drives by and henry says ,'welp ... here 's my ride'and grabs someone 's drink and throws it at the cop car , ' hurt wrote . lately , judges have started handing down harsher sentences , jail spokeswoman jennifer taylor said . she said some of earl 's sentences in recent years have lasted three months . he 's been arrested five times this year , she said . in the past , when his sentences were shorter , it was common for earl to rack up dozens of arrests in a year , she said . most people on the streets of lexington know who he is , ' taylor said . a local band , the dangles , even wrote a song about him a few years back . the chorus goes , so tell henry earl i wan na be his girl/he 's the sanest guy in town and he can dance just like james brown/unlike the other boys around that made me cry . ' glimmers of hope there have been signs that earl might change his ways . in 2009 , he attended an alcohol-recovery program for about five months before falling off the wagon a few days shy of his graduation , said attorney stephen gray mcfayden , who represented earl three times in 2008 and 2009 . earl was en route to getting an apartment and food stamp benefits , so mcfayden was particularly disappointed when earl snapped his spate of sobriety in april 2009 . he was telling me how sorry he was . he was actually in tears , ' the lawyer recalled . mcfayden took up earl 's case pro bono after deciding that the town dipsomaniac was an easy target for police officers looking for a quick collar . he just gets in the car in his handcuffs and rides , ' mcfayden said of earl , adding that when earl gets in front of a judge , he pleads guilty in five minutes . ' earl , who began drinking in his teens when his adoptive mother died , may have a fear of being sober , ' mcfayden said . several people have tried to help him , including fayette county district court judge megan lake thornton , who allowed him to go to rehab in 2009 even though the statute calls for 90 days in jail . she gave us a lot of leeway to work with henry . a lot of his successes in the past are due to her giving him chances in the first place , ' the attorney said . most judges are thoughtful about how wasteful it is to put someone away for 90 days for being drunk . ' despite that earl lists no one as next of kin in his booking records -- and mcfayden said the only family of which he is aware lives in georgetown , about 13 miles north of lexington -- earl once declined an offer to relocate to pittsburgh so he could get away from the elements that draw him back to drinking . he likes lexington and does n't want to leave . the good thing is , he knows where stuff is . the bad thing is , he knows where stuff is , ' mcfayden said . sobriety on horizon ? the attorney is holding out hope for a christmas miracle , ' though : seeing earl kick the booze habit for good . he 's not the only one . ginny ramsey , co-founder of lexington 's catholic action center , said she considers the very pleasant ' earl a friend . he occasionally drops by the center for a bed or a bite to eat , but he 's pretty independent , ' she said . you ca n't help but love him , i tell you . ... he 's as honest as the day is long , ' she said . with henry earl , you 're going to hear the truth . ' she said wednesday that she might give thornton a call and offer to house him at the all-volunteer nonprofit center , where putting a roof over his head will cost $ 2.50 a night rather than the $ 80 a day the jail costs taxpayers . but , she concedes , until someone is sick and tired of being sick and tired , it 's not going to work . ' the center 's staff was within an inch ' of getting him on the right path last year , but earl told her , with a trademark smile on his face , i 'm not ready , ' she said . maybe this year , it 'll take . i do n't think it 's going to take many more winters , and this one may be the one , ' ramsey said . there 's never going to be a time when i 'm not going to find something , even if it 's one of our couches , for henry earl . ' | henry earl will go before a judge thursday for his latest alcohol-related arrest |
ntsb <tsp> ( cnn ) -- trains and text messages made a deadly combination when two locomotives collided head-on last year near los angeles , california , witnesses told an investigative panel this week . firefighters and investigators inspect the wreckage a day after a train collision in california killed 25 people . metrolink commuter train engineer robert sanchez missed a stop signal while trading text messages with a friend on september 12 , leading to a collision with a union pacific freight train that killed sanchez and 24 other people in chatsworth , california . the accident injured 101 people and caused $ 10.6 million in damages , according to a report by federal investigators . one national transportation safety board member worries other disasters loom on the nation 's rail system . one train , one day , one crew . it raises questions for me as to what the heck else is going on out there , ' said kitty higgins , chairwoman of a two-day ntsb hearing in washington on the accident . sanchez violated his employer 's safety rules by even having a cell phone in the cab of the locomotive , a supervisor testified . watch what investigators found » phone records show sanchez was not only texting a friend just 22 seconds before the collision , but he also had made plans to allow the same friend to actually operate the train . this was a text conversation four days before the crash : [ sanchez to friend ] : i 'm really looking forward to getting you in the cab and showing you how to run a locomotive . ' [ friend to sanchez ] : omg dude me too . running a locomotive . having all of that in the palms of my hands . ' [ sanchez to friend ] : i 'm gon na do all the radio talkin'... ur gon na run the locomotive & i 'm gon na tell u how to do it. at the hearing , officials said sanchez had been caught with a cell phone twice before . once another employee turned him in , another time a manager called his phone to see if it was with him in the train cab . the engineer 's cell phone rang . it was in his briefcase on the other side of the train . i told the engineer that he was in violation of our policy , ' rick dahl , who was a safety manager with metrolink at the time of the accident , told the ntsb investigative panel . federal regulations do not cover cell phone use by train crews . records also indicate sanchez previously had allowed unauthorized people to ride in the cab , and one person even sat at the controls while the train was operating , investigators said . phone company records indicate the union pacific freight train conductor , who was not named and who survived , also sent a text message about two minutes before the collision , but no other crew member sent or received any messages while on duty , investigators said . that train crew followed all signals and other procedures properly , according to an ntsb timeline . the metrolink train stopped at a station for 57 seconds to allow passengers to exit and board the train , according to an animation of the timeline presented at the hearing . the engineer is required to call all signals and indications via radio , ' dahl testified . sanchez did not call any of the last three signals before the crash , investigators determined . the freight train was supposed to move onto a siding to allow the metrolink train to pass , but it never got there because the commuter train ignored a stop signal and intercepted it at a curve . the freight train was just emerging from a tunnel in the rugged topanga canyon , and the trains were visible to each other in the curve for only about five seconds , according to the report . at the time of impact , the metrolink train was traveling about 42 mph and the union pacific train 41 mph . the freight train braked for two seconds before impact ; the commuter train did n't brake at all , according to onboard data recorders . investigators found no problems with the signals , the trains'brakes and radios or the tracks . the union pacific conductor 's blood and urine tested positive for marijuana , but no other crew member 's from either train did . a final report on the southern california crash is months away . a month after the crash , former president bush signed into law a bill requiring the railroad industry to implement by 2016 a rail-traffic control system akin to the familiar air-traffic control system in the nation 's airports . such a system had been on the ntsb 's wish list ' since 1990 , an agency press release said . many lives will be saved as a result of this legislation , ' ntsb chairman mark v. rosenker said at the time . cnn 's ted rowlands and jim kavanagh contributed to this report . | ntsb : train engineer missed stop signal just before crash |
french <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the search for the data and voice recorders from the air france plane that crashed more than a month ago off brazil 's coast is entering a new phase , according to france 's accident investigation agency . searchers have discovered hundreds of pieces of wreckage from air france flight 447 . all 228 people aboard the plane were killed in the june 1 crash . the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder , commonly known as black boxes , stop giving out acoustic broadcasts after 30 days . but investigators decided to continue listening for the pings ' for 10 days after that . now , the two u.s. naval vessels and a french navy submarine will halt their search for the recorders which investigators hope will shed light on exactly how the plane crashed . the second phase of the search will involve france 's oceanographic ship pourquoi pas ? ' which carries specialized exploration and intervention vehicles , according to the french air accident investigation agency known as the bea . the french vessel will conduct new searches using diving equipment and towed sonar , the bea said . finding the recorders is of capital importance , ' and no effort must be spared in achieving this end , ' air france has said . we want to stress that for the sake of the families , we hope that the search for the black boxes will be successful , ' an air france representative said . this month , investigators revealed that the plane bellyflopped intact into the atlantic ocean . investigator alain bouillard said it was still not clear what caused the crash , the deadliest in air france 's 75-year history . the mountainous ocean floor in the search area ranges from 3,280 to 15,091 feet , bea officials have said , making the search for the recorders -- and the rest of the plane 's debris -- difficult . it is as if it fell in the andes , ' said olivier ferrante , chief of the bea search mission . flight 447 went down in stormy weather while flying from rio de janeiro , brazil , to charles de gaulle airport in paris , france . brazil called off the search for bodies june 27 , having found 51 of the 228 people who died , according to the military . investigators have also found more than 600 parts and structural components of the plane , along with luggage , bouillard said . | french oceanographic ship will conduct new searches |
facebook <tsp> ( cnn ) -- one of the internet 's great promises is that it 's the ultimate democratizer . it 's open to everyone and allows all people to communicate . facebook and google have added new translation tools , but they take different approaches . but , so far , there have been several hitches in that plan . not everyone has access to a computer and a broadband connection . some governments still censor the internet . and of course , we do n't all speak the same language . for the world wide web to be truly global , should n't chinese speakers be able to chat online with people who only speak spanish ? and why should an english speaker be barred from reading blogs written in malagasy or zulu ? facebook inc. and google inc. are two web companies trying particularly hard to make this happen , and they 've released a number of updates to their translation services in recent weeks . the two online giants are going about the process in different ways . facebook aims to translate the web using an army of volunteers and some hired professional translators . meanwhile , google plans to let computers do most of the work . which method will ultimately prevail remains to be seen . but for now , here 's a look at the latest language features from both companies , and some background on how their translation services work . ( feel free to add your own internet translation tips -- and fun translation bloopers -- in the comments section at the bottom of the story ) : facebook 's human translation many tech bloggers think facebook 's method of human translation seems promising . after all , the american-born social networking site introduced non-english languages for the first time only in january 2008 . now about 70 percent of facebook 's 300 million users are outside of the united states . how it works : real people are at the heart of facebook translation plan . they suggest translated phrases and vote on translations that others have submitted . these crowd-sourced edits -- which work kind of like wikipedia -- make facebook 's translation service smarter over time . go to facebook 's translation page to check it out or to participate . size : more than 65 languages function on facebook now , according to facebook 's statistics . at least another 30 languages are in the works , meaning facebook needs help working out the kinks on those languages before they 're put to use . what 's new ? facebook announced in a blog post on september 30 that the social network has made its crowd-sourced translation technology available to other sites on the web . the update allows sites to install a translation gadget on their sites through facebook connect , a service that lets facebook users sign in on other web pages . facebook also added some new languages , including latin and pirate , ' which translates the facebooky word share ' as blabber t'yer mates ! ' pros and cons : people are good at knowing idioms and slang , so facebook tends to get these right , but there are limited numbers of multi-lingual volunteers who want to spend time helping facebook translate things . also , facebook 's site is available in many languages , but its human translators do n't touch wall posts , photo comments and other user-submitted items , which is a big con if you want to have friends who do n't share a common language with you . people who use facebook connect to translate their sites can choose which text they want users to help translate , according to facebook spokeswoman malorie lucich . craig ulliott , founder of whereivebeen.com , said he 's excited about facebook 's translation application , but it would be too much to ask his site 's users to translate user-submitted material . google 's'mechanical'translation google uses mathematical equations to try to translate the web 's content . this fits in line with the company 's mission , which is to organize the world 's information and make it useful and accessible to all . how it works : google 's computers learn how to be translators by examining text that 's already on the web , and from professional web translations posted online , said franz och , a principal scientist at google . the more text is out there , the more google learns and the better its translations become . the search-engine company currently translates documents , search results and full web pages . size : google claims to be the largest free language translation service online . it covers 51 languages and more than 2,500 language pairs . the site 's interface has been translated , with the help of google users , into 130 languages . what 's new ? : google recently created a widget that any web developer can put on his or her page to offer up google translations . so , say you 're a blogger who writes about music . you might get some brazilian readers if you offered up a button to translate your site into portuguese . google also recently unveiled a translation service for google docs , which lets anyone upload a document to the web and have it translated into a number of languages for free . and there 's a new firefox add-on from google to help people translate the web more quickly . och said real-time translation of internet chats is on the horizon , as are more languages and increased quality as google 's computers get smarter . pros and cons : google 's computerized approach means it can translate tons of content -- and fast . but computers are n't quite up to speed with ever-evolving modern speech , so reports of translation errors are fairly common . on the plus side , the service has been vastly improved in the last five years , och said . also , google lets people spot translation errors , suggest new wordings and translate its interface into languages google 's computers do n't speak just yet . | facebook announces a new service to let internet users help translate sites |
facebook <tsp> ( cnn ) -- one of the internet 's great promises is that it 's the ultimate democratizer . it 's open to everyone and allows all people to communicate . facebook and google have added new translation tools , but they take different approaches . but , so far , there have been several hitches in that plan . not everyone has access to a computer and a broadband connection . some governments still censor the internet . and of course , we do n't all speak the same language . for the world wide web to be truly global , should n't chinese speakers be able to chat online with people who only speak spanish ? and why should an english speaker be barred from reading blogs written in malagasy or zulu ? facebook inc. and google inc. are two web companies trying particularly hard to make this happen , and they 've released a number of updates to their translation services in recent weeks . the two online giants are going about the process in different ways . facebook aims to translate the web using an army of volunteers and some hired professional translators . meanwhile , google plans to let computers do most of the work . which method will ultimately prevail remains to be seen . but for now , here 's a look at the latest language features from both companies , and some background on how their translation services work . ( feel free to add your own internet translation tips -- and fun translation bloopers -- in the comments section at the bottom of the story ) : facebook 's human translation many tech bloggers think facebook 's method of human translation seems promising . after all , the american-born social networking site introduced non-english languages for the first time only in january 2008 . now about 70 percent of facebook 's 300 million users are outside of the united states . how it works : real people are at the heart of facebook translation plan . they suggest translated phrases and vote on translations that others have submitted . these crowd-sourced edits -- which work kind of like wikipedia -- make facebook 's translation service smarter over time . go to facebook 's translation page to check it out or to participate . size : more than 65 languages function on facebook now , according to facebook 's statistics . at least another 30 languages are in the works , meaning facebook needs help working out the kinks on those languages before they 're put to use . what 's new ? facebook announced in a blog post on september 30 that the social network has made its crowd-sourced translation technology available to other sites on the web . the update allows sites to install a translation gadget on their sites through facebook connect , a service that lets facebook users sign in on other web pages . facebook also added some new languages , including latin and pirate , ' which translates the facebooky word share ' as blabber t'yer mates ! ' pros and cons : people are good at knowing idioms and slang , so facebook tends to get these right , but there are limited numbers of multi-lingual volunteers who want to spend time helping facebook translate things . also , facebook 's site is available in many languages , but its human translators do n't touch wall posts , photo comments and other user-submitted items , which is a big con if you want to have friends who do n't share a common language with you . people who use facebook connect to translate their sites can choose which text they want users to help translate , according to facebook spokeswoman malorie lucich . craig ulliott , founder of whereivebeen.com , said he 's excited about facebook 's translation application , but it would be too much to ask his site 's users to translate user-submitted material . google 's'mechanical'translation google uses mathematical equations to try to translate the web 's content . this fits in line with the company 's mission , which is to organize the world 's information and make it useful and accessible to all . how it works : google 's computers learn how to be translators by examining text that 's already on the web , and from professional web translations posted online , said franz och , a principal scientist at google . the more text is out there , the more google learns and the better its translations become . the search-engine company currently translates documents , search results and full web pages . size : google claims to be the largest free language translation service online . it covers 51 languages and more than 2,500 language pairs . the site 's interface has been translated , with the help of google users , into 130 languages . what 's new ? : google recently created a widget that any web developer can put on his or her page to offer up google translations . so , say you 're a blogger who writes about music . you might get some brazilian readers if you offered up a button to translate your site into portuguese . google also recently unveiled a translation service for google docs , which lets anyone upload a document to the web and have it translated into a number of languages for free . and there 's a new firefox add-on from google to help people translate the web more quickly . och said real-time translation of internet chats is on the horizon , as are more languages and increased quality as google 's computers get smarter . pros and cons : google 's computerized approach means it can translate tons of content -- and fast . but computers are n't quite up to speed with ever-evolving modern speech , so reports of translation errors are fairly common . on the plus side , the service has been vastly improved in the last five years , och said . also , google lets people spot translation errors , suggest new wordings and translate its interface into languages google 's computers do n't speak just yet . | facebook favors human translation ; google leans on its computers |
facebook <tsp> ( cnn ) -- one of the internet 's great promises is that it 's the ultimate democratizer . it 's open to everyone and allows all people to communicate . facebook and google have added new translation tools , but they take different approaches . but , so far , there have been several hitches in that plan . not everyone has access to a computer and a broadband connection . some governments still censor the internet . and of course , we do n't all speak the same language . for the world wide web to be truly global , should n't chinese speakers be able to chat online with people who only speak spanish ? and why should an english speaker be barred from reading blogs written in malagasy or zulu ? facebook inc. and google inc. are two web companies trying particularly hard to make this happen , and they 've released a number of updates to their translation services in recent weeks . the two online giants are going about the process in different ways . facebook aims to translate the web using an army of volunteers and some hired professional translators . meanwhile , google plans to let computers do most of the work . which method will ultimately prevail remains to be seen . but for now , here 's a look at the latest language features from both companies , and some background on how their translation services work . ( feel free to add your own internet translation tips -- and fun translation bloopers -- in the comments section at the bottom of the story ) : facebook 's human translation many tech bloggers think facebook 's method of human translation seems promising . after all , the american-born social networking site introduced non-english languages for the first time only in january 2008 . now about 70 percent of facebook 's 300 million users are outside of the united states . how it works : real people are at the heart of facebook translation plan . they suggest translated phrases and vote on translations that others have submitted . these crowd-sourced edits -- which work kind of like wikipedia -- make facebook 's translation service smarter over time . go to facebook 's translation page to check it out or to participate . size : more than 65 languages function on facebook now , according to facebook 's statistics . at least another 30 languages are in the works , meaning facebook needs help working out the kinks on those languages before they 're put to use . what 's new ? facebook announced in a blog post on september 30 that the social network has made its crowd-sourced translation technology available to other sites on the web . the update allows sites to install a translation gadget on their sites through facebook connect , a service that lets facebook users sign in on other web pages . facebook also added some new languages , including latin and pirate , ' which translates the facebooky word share ' as blabber t'yer mates ! ' pros and cons : people are good at knowing idioms and slang , so facebook tends to get these right , but there are limited numbers of multi-lingual volunteers who want to spend time helping facebook translate things . also , facebook 's site is available in many languages , but its human translators do n't touch wall posts , photo comments and other user-submitted items , which is a big con if you want to have friends who do n't share a common language with you . people who use facebook connect to translate their sites can choose which text they want users to help translate , according to facebook spokeswoman malorie lucich . craig ulliott , founder of whereivebeen.com , said he 's excited about facebook 's translation application , but it would be too much to ask his site 's users to translate user-submitted material . google 's'mechanical'translation google uses mathematical equations to try to translate the web 's content . this fits in line with the company 's mission , which is to organize the world 's information and make it useful and accessible to all . how it works : google 's computers learn how to be translators by examining text that 's already on the web , and from professional web translations posted online , said franz och , a principal scientist at google . the more text is out there , the more google learns and the better its translations become . the search-engine company currently translates documents , search results and full web pages . size : google claims to be the largest free language translation service online . it covers 51 languages and more than 2,500 language pairs . the site 's interface has been translated , with the help of google users , into 130 languages . what 's new ? : google recently created a widget that any web developer can put on his or her page to offer up google translations . so , say you 're a blogger who writes about music . you might get some brazilian readers if you offered up a button to translate your site into portuguese . google also recently unveiled a translation service for google docs , which lets anyone upload a document to the web and have it translated into a number of languages for free . and there 's a new firefox add-on from google to help people translate the web more quickly . och said real-time translation of internet chats is on the horizon , as are more languages and increased quality as google 's computers get smarter . pros and cons : google 's computerized approach means it can translate tons of content -- and fast . but computers are n't quite up to speed with ever-evolving modern speech , so reports of translation errors are fairly common . on the plus side , the service has been vastly improved in the last five years , och said . also , google lets people spot translation errors , suggest new wordings and translate its interface into languages google 's computers do n't speak just yet . | facebook and google are finding new ways to translate the web |
baumgartner <tsp> travis baumgartner , the man accused of killing three people during a robbery attempt at a canadian university , was arrested saturday by u.s. border officials in washington , police said . he was caught while attempting to cross into the united states at the lynden , washington , u.s.-canada border , south of abbotsford , british columbia . we 're grateful to the border officials at lynden , washington , for their excellent work in arresting a man we believe was armed and extremely dangerous , ' bob hassel , superintendent of the edmonton police criminal investigations division , said in a statement . baumgartner -- who was driving a dark blue ford f-150 with what was likely his mother 's license plate -- will be brought back to edmonton , the statement read . his arrest ended a 36-hour manhunt . edmonton police say baumgartner is behind the friday robbery of an armored vehicle at the university of alberta . the shooting left three security employees dead and a fourth critically injured . canadian authorities filed warrants for three counts of murder for the 21-year-old man , who worked at the same security firm as the victims . he is believed to be one of several armored company employees that attended the u of a around midnight ' on friday to make a delivery , ' edmonton police said in a statement . before his capture , both police and his mother begged baumgartner to turn himself in . trav , as your mother , i ask that you come forward now and take responsibility for your actions , ' said sandy baumgartner , according to the edmonton police service . please travis , i love you , and i 'm pleading with you with all of my heart , to end this without further bloodshed . as your mother , i promise to you now , that i will be there by your side to support you . ' canadian police prepare murder warrants against man sought in alberta shooting | baumgartner is suspected of killing three people during a robbery attempt at the university of alberta |
baumgartner <tsp> travis baumgartner , the man accused of killing three people during a robbery attempt at a canadian university , was arrested saturday by u.s. border officials in washington , police said . he was caught while attempting to cross into the united states at the lynden , washington , u.s.-canada border , south of abbotsford , british columbia . we 're grateful to the border officials at lynden , washington , for their excellent work in arresting a man we believe was armed and extremely dangerous , ' bob hassel , superintendent of the edmonton police criminal investigations division , said in a statement . baumgartner -- who was driving a dark blue ford f-150 with what was likely his mother 's license plate -- will be brought back to edmonton , the statement read . his arrest ended a 36-hour manhunt . edmonton police say baumgartner is behind the friday robbery of an armored vehicle at the university of alberta . the shooting left three security employees dead and a fourth critically injured . canadian authorities filed warrants for three counts of murder for the 21-year-old man , who worked at the same security firm as the victims . he is believed to be one of several armored company employees that attended the u of a around midnight ' on friday to make a delivery , ' edmonton police said in a statement . before his capture , both police and his mother begged baumgartner to turn himself in . trav , as your mother , i ask that you come forward now and take responsibility for your actions , ' said sandy baumgartner , according to the edmonton police service . please travis , i love you , and i 'm pleading with you with all of my heart , to end this without further bloodshed . as your mother , i promise to you now , that i will be there by your side to support you . ' canadian police prepare murder warrants against man sought in alberta shooting | travis baumgartner , 21 , is captured while attempting to cross into the united states |
oscar <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- hal david , the lyricist behind such standards as raindrops keep falling on my head ' and what the world needs now is love , ' has died at 91 , the american society of composers , authors and publishers said saturday . the oscar- and grammy-winning songwriter , who teamed with musician burt bacharach on dozens of hit songs , died saturday at cedars-sinai hospital in los angeles from complications of a stroke , ascap said . david 's greatest hits david started working with bacharach in the late 1950s on tunes recorded by artists including perry como , gene pitney , dusty springfield , tom jones , frank sinatra , the carpenters , barbra streisand and dionne warwick . in may , president barack obama and the first lady hosted a concert honoring bacharach and david as part of the in performance at the white house ' series . as a lyric writer , hal was simple , concise and poetic -- conveying volumes of meaning in fewest possible words and always in service to the music , ' ascap president and chairman paul williams said . it is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs ... the backdrop of our lives . ' singer smokey robinson on saturday said david was one of his songwriting idols when he was growing up . i hope that the music world will join together in celebrating the life of one of our greatest composers ever , ' robinson said in a statement saturday . i will really miss my friend but i will celebrate his life and he will live on-and-on through his incredible musical contribution . ' lyricist carole bayer sager , who also worked extensively with then-husband burt bacharach , said david made bacharach 's melodies seem effortless . ' david was president of ascap from 1980 till 1986 . the recording academy called david an exquisite lyricist ' whose work has left a lasting impact on our culture . ' he was born in brooklyn , new york , to parents who had immigrated from austria . he studied journalism at new york university before joining the military during world war ii . returning to new york after the war , he began working with songwriters he met at the famous brill building , which at the time was the center of the city 's song industry , ascap said . it was his collaboration with bacharach that proved the most fruitful . they were some of the first to work with warwick when she was a young vocalist . dionne warwick sings hal david 's last lyrics they also helped herb alpert to no . 1 with this guy 's in love with you ' and wrote the carpenters'no . 1 hit ( they long to be ) close to you . ' british invasion stars like springfield and sandie shaw sought the pair 's talents in the 1960s , and they got tom jones into the top 10 with what 's new pussycat . ' the pair 's accomplishments extended to stage and screen as well . they wrote scores and themes for 1960s films including alfie ' and casino royale . ' their raindrops ' tune was written for butch cassidy and the sundance kid ' and reached no . 1 . they wrote the score for the musical promises , promises , ' which was nominated for a tony award and won a grammy for best cast album of the year in 1970 . david parted ways with bacharach in the early 1970s , but he went on to work with other composers , including albert hammond -- with whom he wrote to all the girls i 've loved before . ' his first wife , anne , died in 1987 . he is survived by his wife , eunice ; two sons , three grandchildren , and two stepsons . david 's older brother mack , who died in 1991 , was also a famous songwriter who wrote such hits as la vie en rose , ' candy , ' and bibiddi-bobbidi-boo . ' people we 've lost in 2012 : they lives they lived | he was an oscar and grammy award winner |
shiite <tsp> beirut , lebanon ( cnn ) -- tensions were high friday night around lebanon , hours after a top lebanese intelligence official known for his anti-syrian stance and at least two others were killed in a massive explosion in normally peaceful neighborhood of beirut . gunfire erupted in the capital and enraged citizens blocked roads after the blast , which left brig . gen. wissam al-hassan dead and heightened fears that syria 's civil war could boil over into neighboring lebanon . in sidon , people shouted , blocked city streets and burned tires in protest , according to cnn ireporter ernesto altamirano . the friction turned to violence in other spots , including clashes in the seaside lebanese city of tripoli between supporters and foes of syria 's government . saad hariri , a lebanese opposition leader and former prime minister , told cnn that he had no doubt who was responsible for the bloody car bombing : syrian president bashar al-assad . he accused the syrian leader of killing his own people ' and said he will not think twice ' about killing lebanese in order to protect himself . the message from damascus today is anywhere you are , if you are against the regime from lebanon , we will come and get you , ' said hariri , who blames the 2005 assassination of his father , former prime minister rafik hariri , on syria 's government . no matter what you try to do , we will keep on assassinating the lebanese . ' the blast took place during friday afternoon rush hour in east beirut 's cosmopolitan ashrafiyeh district , a predominantly christian and populous area replete with shops , churches and office buildings . the neighborhood is considered among the safest in the city , said aram nerguizian , who teaches around the block from the attack site . the huge blast shattered this peace -- spurring panicked and tearful residents to pour out of their apartments , with some carrying victims to nearby ambulances . the bomb 's impact created a crater near sassine square , tore balconies off apartments , left rows of mangled cars and charred buildings , and shook the windows in cnn 's offices , about a 10-minute drive from the scene . photos : aftermath of beirut blast at least one car was engulfed in flames , blackened wreckage littered the street , and windows were blown out . the exact casualty count was unclear : lebanon 's national news agency said eight people died and more than 90 were injured , but it later amended the figure to at least three deaths and 110 injuries . reports said al-hassan was among the dead . and a lebanese political source who did not want to be named told cnn it was 99 % confirmed that al-hassan had been killed . there is an unrecognizable body found , and they have found his personal belongings at the scene , ' the source said . the intelligence official 's killing brought a sense of deja vu to lebanese , recalling the 2005 assassination of rafik hariri , which triggered the end of syria 's occupation of lebanon , and the turmoil that followed . brig . gen. wissam al-hassan a pivotal ,'polarizing'figure al-hassan , the chief of the internal security forces information branch , was a powerful sunni muslim figure aligned with a political movement that emerged after rafik hariri 's assassination and opposes syria 's government under al-assad . he was also leading an investigation into a lebanese politician accused of working with two syrian officials to plan attacks inside lebanon . that former minister and member of parliament , michel samaha , is in jail awaiting trial after being accused of trying to arm and form an armed group to spread sectarian violence in lebanon by plotting political and religious assassinations . two syrian security officers also have been charged in the case . unfortunately , today , al-hassan paid the price for his success , ' saad hariri said . his brother ahmed hariri , a top party official in the march 14 movement opposition bloc , said in a press conference that he holds lebanon 's government responsible for inadequate security and not doing more to prevent the blast . he urged lebanese prime minister najib mikati and his government to resign immediately . mikati declared saturday a day of national mourning in decrying the abominable crime ' in a statement . but his failure to appear publicly after the explosion elicited criticism , including from one protester in beirut who said , this government is killing us by not doing anything . it is not acting like a government . it is like a ghost government . ' human rights groups , foreign governments and world leaders condemned the attack , demanded justice and called for calm in the volatile middle east nation . u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon , for instance , urged all lebanese parties not to be provoked by this heinous terrorist act and to maintain their commitment to national unity . ' the shiite militant and political movement hezbollah -- which has a prominent role in lebanon 's government and which the u.s. government labels a terrorist organization -- also criticized the blast , which it described as a sinful attempt to target the stability and national unity . ' syria called the attack a cowardly , unjustifiable ' terrorist act . yet some , including saad hariri and andrew tabler of the washington institute for near east policy , are not convinced , believing damascus is responsible either directly or indirectly for the bombing . many lebanese believe al-assad wants to promote instability in lebanon and elsewhere to turn attention away from the 19-month long civil war in his country . lebanon is still recovering from its own 15-year civil war , which ended in 1990 . since then , the country has been plagued by assassinations and sectarian tension among sunnis , shiites , christians and others . an event like this can increase the risks of sunni-shiite conflict in urban centers like beirut , ' nerguizian said . it could be a harbinger for more instability . ' cnn 's nick paton walsh and mohammed jamjoom reported from beirut . cnn 's joe sterling reported from atlanta . cnn 's greg botelho , saad abedine , amir ahmed , nada husseini and tracy doueiry contributed to this report . | there are fears the attack could spur more violence between shiite and sunni muslims |
barack obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- tom wheeler 's monday started with protesters , ended with protesters , and was punctuated with pressure from president barack obama in between . the chairman of the federal communications commission tried to leave his house in the morning , but his driveway was blocked by a small group of demonstrators who urged him to adopt tighter net neutrality rules . at first wheeler tried to play along by helping them hold up a sign that blares save the internet . ' i 'm on your side , ' he argued , saying he also believes in an open internet . but he could hardly get in a word in , as the protestors , affiliated with the group popular resistance , chanted and sang songs outside his house . both sides claim they want a free and open internet , but they disagree on just how to make that happen . the protesters want tighter regulations to ensure none of the major internet providers get better access to websites and services than smaller competitors . such access , also known as fast lanes , ' has been supported by wheeler in the past . i think you 've all made your points . can i get out of my driveway now ? ' wheeler asked , saying that they were now violating his rights . it 's the only moral choice we have , ' one of the protesters replied . wheeler was more than familiar with the group . they had staged multiple protests earlier in the year outside of the fcc , including an event that they billed as a musical . after about five minutes monday , wheeler is seen stepping around the demonstrators , abandoning his car and seemingly heading to work by foot . edward wyatt , a new york times reporter , tweeted that wheeler took the metro . wheeler 's office did not immediately return a request for comment about the group . later monday morning , in a surprise announcement , obama made clear his own proposals for net neutrality , agreeing that there should n't be any fast lanes and calling for stricter regulations to keep things equal . wheeler , in a written statement , said obama 's plan was a welcome and important addition . ' encouraged by the president 's proposals , the protesters returned to wheeler 's home monday night . but this time the mood was a bit lighter . margaret flowers , organizer with popular resistance , told cnn that they decided to change the tone a little bit . ' they gave wheeler 's wife a bottle of wine , and politely urged the chairman to be their internet hero ' by adopting the president 's proposals . he was n't quite as eager to engage with the protesters as he was in the morning , but things still remained cordial . flowers said she was surprised the police were n't called . after wheeler went inside , there was more singing . the group plans to hold another event thursday night by the fcc , flowers said . perhaps some sort of dance party , something more festive . ' | they came the same day as president barack obama made an announcement on the issue |
russian <tsp> preliminary results in sunday 's referendum on whether ukraine 's crimea region should join russia or become an independent state show overwhelming support for russia . with 75 % percent of the ballots counted , close to 96 % of voters want to become part of that country , according to the crimean electoral commission . an official had announced earlier that more than 80 % of voters had cast ballots by the time polls closed at 8 p.m. local time ( 2 p.m . et ) sunday . final results are expected later . we are going home . crimea is in russia , ' crimea 's prime minister sergey aksyonov told crowds celebrating in simferopol 's lenin square . music blared as they cheered and waved russian flags . the united states has already said it expects the black sea peninsula 's majority ethnic russian population to vote in favor of joining russia . moscow has strongly backed the referendum . u.s. president barack obama and russian president vladimir putin spoke sunday , according to a readout from the white house . president obama emphasized that the crimean'referendum ,'which violates the ukrainian constitution and occurred under duress of russian military intervention , would never be recognized by the united states and the international community , ' it said . he emphasized that russia 's actions were in violation of ukraine 's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that , in coordination with our european partners , we are prepared to impose additional costs on russia for its actions . ' earlier , the white house released a statement that said the vote was administered under threats of violence and intimidation from a russian military intervention that violates international law . ' the voting has put the united states and russia on the kind of collision course not seen since the end of the cold war . u.s. secretary of state john kerry reaffirmed in a call with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov that the united states considered the referendum illegal under ukrainian law and that the united states would not recognize the outcome . the european union on sunday repeated its strong condemnation ' of the referendum and called on russia to withdraw its troops from the region . it , too , has called the referendum illegal and said it is looking at sanctions . lavrov said in a statement saturday that crimea 's referendum conforms to international law . european nations and the united states have announced some targeted punishments against russia and have threatened tougher sanctions if the secession vote goes through , as now appears likely . is the referendum legal ?'russia is an opportunity' at a polling station in perevalnoye , near a military base , a steady stream of voters arrived to cast their ballots despite the wintry weather . blaring dance tunes and russian folk music welcomed them to the polling station , in an echo of soviet times . what appeared to be a group of russian soldiers -- without identifying insignia but with russian license plates on their vehicles -- stood nearby . one voter , grigory illarionovich , told cnn , i 'm for restoring crimea to russia . returning what khrushchev took away . ' the black sea peninsula was part of russia until soviet leader nikita khrushchev gave it to ukraine in 1954 . ukraine was then part of the soviet union . another voter in perevalnoye , viktor savchenko , said he would never vote for the government in kiev . i want us to join russia , and live like russians , with all their rights , ' he said . victoria khudyakova said she also had voted to join russia , which she sees as being spiritually close ' to crimea . for me , russia is an opportunity for our crimea to develop , to bloom . and i believe that it will be so , ' she said . but ukraine 's prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk , speaking in kiev , dismissed the referendum as illegitimate under ukrainian and international law and improperly run . he said ukrainian authorities had information from crimea about voting irregularities , including people who are not crimean citizens casting ballots , the absence of proper monitoring and the presence of armed men . mikhail malyshev , the head of the crimean election commission , said there was no information that people with foreign passports were voting in the referendum . he also said no provocations ' had been reported at polling stations . cnn analyst and russian journalist vladimir pozner similarly stressed that sunday 's vote was in no way staged . when you look at the celebrations , you ca n't doubt that these people really are very happy , ' he said . double voting ? in simferopol , voters filed into a polling place , picked up white and yellow ballots and headed to private booths to fill them out before dropping them through the slits of clear ballot boxes . in another polling station , the vast majority of ballots dropped in the boxes appeared to be marked in favor of joining russia . some 80 % of voters turning out at a polling station in bakhchysaray were not on the electoral roll , the registrar told cnn . those not on the roll have their passports and papers checked to establish identity . on the spot , election staff decide , with a show of hands , whether to allow those voters to participate . a cnn team photographed one voter dropping two pieces of paper into the ballot box , raising questions over how effectively the vote is being monitored . turnout was high , but many crimean tatars , an ethnic turkic group with deep roots on the peninsula , were boycotting the vote , as were many ethnic ukrainians . tatars , who make up about 12 % of the crimean population , have faced severe persecution in the past , when crimea belonged to russia . on saturday , representatives issued a statement recognizing ukraine with its present borders , which would include crimea . they asked the ukrainian parliament in kiev for more legal protection for their ethnic group . much pro-russian propaganda has been in evidence in the run-up to the referendum , both on the airwaves and in the form of campaign posters showing the crimean peninsula painted with either a nazi swastika or the russian flag . moscow has insisted it has the right to protect ethnic russians in ukraine , who it claims are threatened by radical nationalists and fascists . ' could donetsk go in the same way as crimea ? russian squeeze pro-russian troops remain firmly in control of the black sea peninsula . ukraine and the west insist the soldiers belong to moscow , but the kremlin vehemently denies it , saying they are crimean self-defense ' forces . ukraine 's acting defense minister ihor tenyukh said sunday that ukraine had reached an agreement with the russian side ' that russian forces will allow the delivery of food and basic supplies to ukrainian military bases in crimea until friday . the bases have been blockaded for days . tenyukh told a cabinet meeting that there are now 21,500 russian troops on crimean soil . russia is entitled to station 25,000 troops at its leased sevastopol naval base -- but the question is where those troops are . tenyukh also said ukrainian troops and equipment are being moved into ukraine 's east and south , in line with where russian military forces are located . moscow has been carrying out mass military exercises not far from ukraine 's eastern border . russia tightened its military grip on saturday within ukraine . about 60 russian troops in six helicopters and three armored vehicles reportedly crossed into ukraine 's kherson region and were in the town of strilkove , on a strip of land just northeast of crimea . the region is key to neighboring crimea , because it gets electricity , fresh water and natural gas from there . the russians said they were in kherson to prevent a possible terrorist attack on oil assets , according to ukrainian border guards . german chancellor angela merkel criticized russian activities in kherson in a phone call with putin on sunday , according to a statement from her office . she urged an increase in the presence of observers from the organization for security and co-operation in europe , so they can quickly be sent to contested areas , especially in eastern ukraine , and called on putin to talk to the government in kiev . the kremlin 's readout of the phone call said the pair had constructive ' discussions on sending an osce observer mission to ukraine . putin also voiced concern that radical groups ' in league with kiev were stirring up tensions in eastern and southeastern ukraine and argued that the crimean referendum is legal , it said . ukraine 's cabinet said sunday it had asked for a new osce diplomatic monitoring mission to be sent to ukraine . a military observer mission is currently in the country but has been prevented from entering crimea . cnn team in crimea : this is a mcmoment to remember what happens next in crimea ? if the vote goes in favor of joining russia , as it looks like it will , crimea 's government will declare its independence and ask moscow to let it join the russian federation . russian lawmakers have said they 'll vote on the question on friday . christopher hill , a former u.s. ambassador to south korea , iraq and poland , described sunday as a bad day for east-west relations . putin has left our president with no choice . he needs to impose sanctions . i know putin will come back and impose his own , ' he said . i think the end of this is going to be to cast russia out into the cold . and the problem is , i do n't think putin really cares . i think this is where he wants to take russia . ' in simferopol and other places with russian majorities , blue , white and red russian flags have dominated the streets . in the coastal crimean town of sevastopol , concerts on the main square have been celebrating the return to the motherland ' this past week . everybody believes the results are already rigged , ' said cnn ireporter maia mikhaluk from kiev . people are concerned what is going to happen after the referendum , ' she said . people are concerned that the russian army will use force , guns to push ( the ) ukrainian army from crimea . ' in the city of donetsk , near the russian border in eastern ukraine , pro-russian demonstrators stormed the prosecutor 's office , forcing their way through a door of the building . the activists are demanding the release of pro-moscow movement leader pavel gubarev , who was arrested on march 6 for leading an occupation of the regional administration office . earlier , thousands of pro-russian demonstrators gathered for a second day in a central donetsk square before marching through the city . riot police stood on guard outside the offices of ukraine 's security service and the regional administration . addressing the cabinet meeting , acting interior minister arsen avakov said small rallies in donetsk and another nearby city , lugansk , had ended . about 4,000 pro-russian protesters have gathered for a third rally , in kharkiv , he said . deja vu about georgia in ukraine ? not exactly opinion : can west make putin blink ? opinion : europe must check the putin doctrine map : why the eu and u.s. are out of step on russia sanctions crimea : echoes of history on road to yalta | crowds wave russian flags , celebrate in simferopol 's lenin square |
japan <tsp> tokyo , japan ( cnn ) -- the u.s. military in japan has charged a marine with rape and other violations of the uniform code of military justice in the alleged sexual assault of 14-year old girl in okinawa . a civic group member protests against hadnott near the u.s. embassy in tokyo on february 13 . staff sgt . tyrone luther hadnott , 38 , has been charged with the rape of a child under 16 , abusive sexual contact with a child , making a false official statement , adultery and kidnapping , the marines said friday . no dates for the court-martial have been set . in february , japanese authorities released hadnott after the girl dropped the allegations against him , but the marine corps conducted its own investigation to see if hadnott violated codes of military justice . it held him at a marine facility . the rape accusation against hadnott stirred memories of a brutal rape more than a decade ago and triggered outrage across japan . prime minister yasuo fukuda deplored as unforgivable ' the allegations against hadnott . the incident also led to tight restrictions , for a time , for american troops and their families at the u.s. base on okinawa . the u.s. military in japan also formed a sexual assault prevention task force after the incident . more than 40,000 u.s. troops are stationed in japan , most of them on okinawa . the troops were placed there under a security alliance after japan was defeated in world war ii and was renounced its right to a military . the u.s. military presence has at times bred resentment among some japanese , who have long complained about crime , noise and accidents . anti-american sentiments boiled over in 1995 after three american servicemen kidnapped and gang-raped a 12-year-old okinawan schoolgirl . two years ago , a u.s. civilian military employee was jailed for nine years for raping two women . e-mail to a friend | most of u.s. troops in japan are stationed in okinawa |
abrams <tsp> ( cnn ) -- j.j. abrams has given star wars ' fans something new to geek out about , and better yet , it 's for a good cause . as part of star wars : force for change , a charity campaign that supports unicef , the director has announced an enviable prize while coyly giving fans a glimpse of the x-wing starfighter in star wars : episode vii . ' filmed on episode vii 's ' london set , abrams revealed that fans who contribute to force for change 's charity drive can not only win a visit to the set and the chance to be in the movie , they will snag a private advance screening of the film .'star wars'cast gets two unknowns , takes break while harrison ford heals the force for change campaign , which is hosted by the omaze fundraising site , has received participation from supporters in 119 countries since it kicked off in may . the money goes to support unicef 's innovation labs and programs , which work to find solutions to the problems faced by kids and families around the globe . any contribution made to star wars : force for change ' by friday makes the participant eligible for prizes , including the granddaddy prize of a trip for two to the star wars ' set . harrison ford broke leg in'star wars'set mishap action on the production is expected to stall in coming weeks as returning star wars ' star harrison ford recovers from a leg injury . the 72-year-old actor broke his leg in an on-set accident in june , and star wars : episode vii ' will take a two-week break in august as ford heals . the movie , which has been staffing up with a number of little-known actors , is scheduled to bow on december 18 , 2015 . | j.j. abrams has upped the ante in his force for change campaign |
abrams <tsp> ( cnn ) -- j.j. abrams has given star wars ' fans something new to geek out about , and better yet , it 's for a good cause . as part of star wars : force for change , a charity campaign that supports unicef , the director has announced an enviable prize while coyly giving fans a glimpse of the x-wing starfighter in star wars : episode vii . ' filmed on episode vii 's ' london set , abrams revealed that fans who contribute to force for change 's charity drive can not only win a visit to the set and the chance to be in the movie , they will snag a private advance screening of the film .'star wars'cast gets two unknowns , takes break while harrison ford heals the force for change campaign , which is hosted by the omaze fundraising site , has received participation from supporters in 119 countries since it kicked off in may . the money goes to support unicef 's innovation labs and programs , which work to find solutions to the problems faced by kids and families around the globe . any contribution made to star wars : force for change ' by friday makes the participant eligible for prizes , including the granddaddy prize of a trip for two to the star wars ' set . harrison ford broke leg in'star wars'set mishap action on the production is expected to stall in coming weeks as returning star wars ' star harrison ford recovers from a leg injury . the 72-year-old actor broke his leg in an on-set accident in june , and star wars : episode vii ' will take a two-week break in august as ford heals . the movie , which has been staffing up with a number of little-known actors , is scheduled to bow on december 18 , 2015 . | in his announcement , abrams gave fans a look at an x-wing starfighter |
watchmen <tsp> ( entertainment weekly ) -- the disney family film update , race to witch mountain , ' won the weekend box office in fine fashion , grossing $ 25 million according to sunday 's estimates from media by numbers . race to witch mountain ' won the weekend box office in fine fashion , grossing $ 25 million . that 's the second best opening ever for a movie fronted by dwayne johnson alone , trailing only the first feature that starred the artist formerly known as the rock , the scorpion king , ' which banked $ 36.1 million in its 2002 debut . race to witch mountain 's ' take was in line with expectations and garnered an okay cinemascore grade of b+ from an audience that was 60 percent female . it should stay strong at the box office at least until monsters vs. aliens ' opens in two weeks . also in race to witch mountain 's ' favor : weak competition from reigning champ watchmen ' ( no . 2 ) , which dropped a hefty 67 percent from its big opening last weekend to gross $ 18.1 million . zack snyder 's adaptation of alan moore 's landmark superhero saga is clearly slowing down , although it has grossed $ 86 million in 10 days . freshman fright flick the last house on the left ' was next at no . 3 , with an anticipated $ 14.7 million . that 's a decent sum for a horror movie that had the added benefit of opening on friday the 13th ; ' indeed , it 's in line with what most scary remakes tend to bring in on their first weekends . thus , you can expect this film ( which got a so-so b cinemascore review ) to fall off the map after this frame , since that 's also what most horror movies do . taken ' ( no . 4 with $ 6.7 million ) remained in the top five well into its second month at the multiplex . tyler perry 's madea goes to jail ' came in at no . 5 with $ 5.1 million . and the weekend 's other new wide release , the playboy-centric comedy miss march , ' grossed an unsexy $ 2.3 million way down at no . 10 . meanwhile , the limited indie release sunshine cleaning , ' starring emily blunt and amy adams , scored the highest opening-weekend per-theater average thus far in 2009 , dusting up a stellar average of $ 53,500 in four theaters in new york and los angeles . overall , the box office was a little on the sluggish side , dropping nearly 17 percent from the same frame a year ago , when dr. seuss'horton hears a who ! ' was the big winner . still , this is just the first down ' weekend in more than a month , which is comforting . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly copyright 2009 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | watchmen ' dropped a hefty 67 percent from its big opening last weekend |
united states <tsp> los cabos , mexico ( cnn ) -- president barack obama received praise monday from mexico 's president for the decision last week to stop deporting some young illegal immigrants . after the two leaders met one-on-one before the start of the g-20 summit in los cabos , president felipe calderon thanked obama for what he called an unprecedented ' move in halting the deportations . we believe this is very just , ' calderon said , according to an interpreter , adding : thank you for the valor and courage that you had in implementing this action . i 'm sure many , many families in the united states thank you as well . ' obama made no new comment on the election-year policy change announced friday that prompted immediate praise from latino leaders who have criticized congress and the white house for inaction on immigration reform . republicans have reacted with outrage , saying the move amounts to amnesty -- a negative buzz word among conservatives -- and usurps congressional authority . in announcing the change in the white house rose garden , obama said it will make immigration policy more fair , more efficient and more just . ' this is not amnesty . this is not immunity . this is not a path to citizenship . it 's not a permanent fix , ' obama said to take on conservative criticism of the step . this is a temporary stopgap measure . ' noting children of illegal immigrants study in our schools , play in our neighborhoods , befriend our kids , pledge allegiance to our flag , ' obama said , it makes no sense to expel talented young people who are , for all intents and purposes , americans . ' under the new policy , people younger than 30 who came to the united states before the age of 16 , pose no criminal or security threat , and were successful students or served in the military can get a two-year deferral from deportation , homeland security secretary janet napolitano said . it also will allow those meeting the requirements to apply for work permits , napolitano said , adding that participants must be in the united states now and be able to prove they have been living in the country continuously for at least five years . the change is part of a department effort to target resources at illegal immigrants who pose a greater threat , such as criminals and those trying to enter the country now , napolitano said , adding it was well within the framework of existing laws . ' the move addresses a major concern of the hispanic community and mimics some of the provisions of a democratic proposal called the dream act that has failed to win enough republican support to gain congressional approval . obama has been criticized by hispanic-american leaders for an overall increase in deportations of illegal aliens in recent years . last year , u.s. immigration and customs enforcement removed 396,906 illegal immigrants , the largest number in the agency 's history . friday 's policy change is expected to potentially affect 800,000 people , an administration official told cnn on background . others put the figure at potentially more than 1 million people . hispanics make up the fastest-growing immigrant population in the country , and the latino vote is considered a crucial bloc for the november presidential election . democrats , however , rejected republican claims that the move was political . sen. dick durbin of illinois , who sponsored the dream act , noted that obama repeatedly called for congress to pass immigration reform legislation , including the dream act . the president acted only after it became clear no progress would come in this congress , durbin said . cnn 's tom cohen contributed to this report . | the change defers deportation of some who came to the united states illegally as children |
instagram <tsp> ( cnn ) -- so what really goes on at the world 's busiest airport ? since midnight tuesday , a team of more than 30 journalists from cnn has descended on hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport -- the world 's busiest by volume of passengers -- to find out . cnn is looking at the areas we never see when we travel -- behind-the-scenes luggage screening with the transportation security administration , on the ramp with southwest airlines ground crews and more . and we 're looking at the stories behind the people who pass through and work in the airport every day . the resulting project will publish later this year , but you can follow along by searching the hashtag # atl24 on twitter or instagram or by following this twitter list from @ cnntravel . here 's a collection of some of the most interesting posts so far . tweet with # atl24 or post a comment to let us know what you 'd like to learn more about at the world 's busiest airport . . | follow along by searching hashtag # atl24 on twitter or instagram |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- so what really goes on at the world 's busiest airport ? since midnight tuesday , a team of more than 30 journalists from cnn has descended on hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport -- the world 's busiest by volume of passengers -- to find out . cnn is looking at the areas we never see when we travel -- behind-the-scenes luggage screening with the transportation security administration , on the ramp with southwest airlines ground crews and more . and we 're looking at the stories behind the people who pass through and work in the airport every day . the resulting project will publish later this year , but you can follow along by searching the hashtag # atl24 on twitter or instagram or by following this twitter list from @ cnntravel . here 's a collection of some of the most interesting posts so far . tweet with # atl24 or post a comment to let us know what you 'd like to learn more about at the world 's busiest airport . . | cnn explores areas and people that few travelers see in an airport |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- so what really goes on at the world 's busiest airport ? since midnight tuesday , a team of more than 30 journalists from cnn has descended on hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport -- the world 's busiest by volume of passengers -- to find out . cnn is looking at the areas we never see when we travel -- behind-the-scenes luggage screening with the transportation security administration , on the ramp with southwest airlines ground crews and more . and we 're looking at the stories behind the people who pass through and work in the airport every day . the resulting project will publish later this year , but you can follow along by searching the hashtag # atl24 on twitter or instagram or by following this twitter list from @ cnntravel . here 's a collection of some of the most interesting posts so far . tweet with # atl24 or post a comment to let us know what you 'd like to learn more about at the world 's busiest airport . . | team of 30-plus cnn journalists descends on world 's busiest airport |
luke somers <tsp> lawmakers from both parties defended the obama administration 's attempt to rescue american journalist luke somers early sunday morning , even though the dangerous mission did not result in saving somer 's life . it was an unfortunate outcome , ' house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers , a republican , told candy crowley on cnn 's state of the union . ' but i do believe you have to make these kinds of decisions . ' rep. adam schiff , d-california , who also serves on committee , said on cnn newsroom ' on sunday , obviously we would have loved to be able to rescue these hostages and preserve their lives . ' but i think it was the right decision to make ... the president made the call , the tough call that it was worth the risk . and i think he was exactly right , ' he said . american photojournalist luke somers and south african pierre korkie , a teacher who was reportedly set to be released on sunday , were fatally shot in the compound by terrorists as the secret mission unfolded , a u.s. official said sunday . some critics have argued , in light of recent hostage killings , the administration should reconsidered its policy not to negotiate ransoms with terrorist organizations . but in a visit to afghanistan sunday , defense secretary chuck hagel defended the administration 's policy , while also acknowledging that the pentagon needs to be careful in how it conducts raids . there 's an immense amount of focus and time and review that goes into these operations , ' hagel told reporters , according to a pool report . so , i do n't think it 's a matter of going back and having a review of our process . our process is about as thorough as there can be . ' is it imperfect ? yes . is there risk ? yes . but we start with the fact that we have an american that 's being held hostage , and that american 's life is in danger . that 's where we start , and then we proceed from there , ' said the outgoing secretary . both rogers and schiff also defended the administration 's hostage policy -- and like hagel -- they acknowledged that improvements need to be made to u.s. rescue operations . when you pay ransom , you get more kidnappings . that 's certainly what we saw across africa . we 're certainly seeing it in yemen as well , ' rogers said . if we 're going to be extorted into paying ransom to al qaeda so that they can rape women and blow up buildings and kill civilians , men , women and children , that 's a pretty bad plan to start with . i agreed with the president 's decision . ' schiff reinforced roger 's position that paying ransoms only fuels more violence . i think you end up funding other hostage taking and the cycle just perpetuates itself , so i think our decision is the right one , ' he said . rather , try to rescue our hostages than pay ransoms , and , of course , prospectively trying to keep our people out of harm 's way . i think that is really the right policy , as painful as it is , and as enormously agonizing as it is for the families of these hostages . ' | a failed effort led to the deaths of hostages luke somers , an american journalist , and pierre korkie , a south african teacher |
yemeni <tsp> lawmakers from both parties defended the obama administration 's attempt to rescue american journalist luke somers early sunday morning , even though the dangerous mission did not result in saving somer 's life . it was an unfortunate outcome , ' house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers , a republican , told candy crowley on cnn 's state of the union . ' but i do believe you have to make these kinds of decisions . ' rep. adam schiff , d-california , who also serves on committee , said on cnn newsroom ' on sunday , obviously we would have loved to be able to rescue these hostages and preserve their lives . ' but i think it was the right decision to make ... the president made the call , the tough call that it was worth the risk . and i think he was exactly right , ' he said . american photojournalist luke somers and south african pierre korkie , a teacher who was reportedly set to be released on sunday , were fatally shot in the compound by terrorists as the secret mission unfolded , a u.s. official said sunday . some critics have argued , in light of recent hostage killings , the administration should reconsidered its policy not to negotiate ransoms with terrorist organizations . but in a visit to afghanistan sunday , defense secretary chuck hagel defended the administration 's policy , while also acknowledging that the pentagon needs to be careful in how it conducts raids . there 's an immense amount of focus and time and review that goes into these operations , ' hagel told reporters , according to a pool report . so , i do n't think it 's a matter of going back and having a review of our process . our process is about as thorough as there can be . ' is it imperfect ? yes . is there risk ? yes . but we start with the fact that we have an american that 's being held hostage , and that american 's life is in danger . that 's where we start , and then we proceed from there , ' said the outgoing secretary . both rogers and schiff also defended the administration 's hostage policy -- and like hagel -- they acknowledged that improvements need to be made to u.s. rescue operations . when you pay ransom , you get more kidnappings . that 's certainly what we saw across africa . we 're certainly seeing it in yemen as well , ' rogers said . if we 're going to be extorted into paying ransom to al qaeda so that they can rape women and blow up buildings and kill civilians , men , women and children , that 's a pretty bad plan to start with . i agreed with the president 's decision . ' schiff reinforced roger 's position that paying ransoms only fuels more violence . i think you end up funding other hostage taking and the cycle just perpetuates itself , so i think our decision is the right one , ' he said . rather , try to rescue our hostages than pay ransoms , and , of course , prospectively trying to keep our people out of harm 's way . i think that is really the right policy , as painful as it is , and as enormously agonizing as it is for the families of these hostages . ' | lawmakers on both sides of the aisle defended the obama administration 's yemeni rescue attempt |
wisconsinites <tsp> milwaukee ( cnn ) -- my 91-year-old mother finds a lot of things aggravating . drugstores that run out of things that are on sale . typos . and phone calls from mitt romney . quite a few phone calls from mitt romney . also from rick santorum . and other people advocating for each of them . she 's had enough . also the television ads . do they have to run so many ? this is one time my mother and the rest of wisconsin appear to be in sync . the political atmosphere that has prevailed since february 2011 , when republican gov . scott walker launched his proposals to strip public employee unions of almost all of their power , remains supercharged . but as one big event follows another , with more coming soon , there is also a widespread sense that it 's all getting to be too much . how much can one state take ? a sense of political fatigue appears to be growing just as events are coming to a peak . actually , they 're coming to quite a few peaks , which is part of the problem . there 's the peak that comes tuesday , with the republican presidential primary . romney and santorum , the two front-runners , have been up and down , particularly in the eastern half of wisconsin the last few days . it 's been rare in the last few decades for a wisconsin primary to be consequential , but the general assumption is that if romney beats santorum , romney will pretty much seal the deal as the gop nominee . so this is kind of a big deal . then there 's the peak that will come over the next few weeks : a recall election in which walker , who took office only 15 months ago , will face a democratic challenger , quite possibly the person he defeated in november 2010 , milwaukee mayor tom barrett . the recall , only the third for a governor in american history , was ordered after more than 900,000 people signed petitions . a democratic primary with -- as it appears at the moment -- four candidates will be held on may 8 , with a final election june 5 . at the same time in recall-happy wisconsin , walker 's lieutenant governor , rebecca kleefisch , will also face a recall , making her the first lieutenant governor in american history in that situation , and four state senate seats held by republicans will be involved in recall elections , with control of that house of the wisconsin legislature in the balance . then there are the fall elections , with the strong prospect that wisconsin will be a key battleground between president barack obama and the republican nominee . then there 's an open seat for the u.s. senate . democratic sen. herb kohl is retiring , and a heated republican primary for that nomination is shaping up for august . so that totals up to major election days in april , may , june , august and november . it also means the prospect -- already being demonstrated -- of amazing amounts of campaign spending , much of it by independent groups ; of robocalls inundating people across the state , and a level of television advertising that some experts say may leave wisconsin viewers in the unenviable position of being exposed to more political spots in one year than virtually anyone else in u.s. history . it adds up to more than $ 100 million worth of political advertising in one state over 11 months . if one were to rank these election dates in order of interest , the walker recall would be at the top of the stack . tuesday 's presidential primary may be a big deal in the national perspective , but it has been a relatively low-passion event at ground level . according to polls , romney trailed santorum in february ; he was ahead in the last few days . wisconsin has a large number of conservative voters , but the religiously motivated are n't as numerous as they are in southern states , where santorum has done well . plus , it appears many wisconsin republicans , starting with powerful rep. paul ryan , want to get the nomination race over and unite behind romney . as in other places , support of romney does n't appear to mean high enthusiasm . the walker recall , on the other hand , carries huge implications for wisconsin 's political climate for at least the next few years . walker remains a polarizing figure like few who have ever crossed the landscape of the state . in almost any conversation with people who are not directly working in campaigns , the exhaustion factor comes up quickly . when will it all end ? how many more ads can we take ? how bottomless are the checkbooks of donors , especially the small- to midlevel donors ? these concerns are sort of like the old yogi berra line about the restaurant that nobody goes to anymore because it 's too crowded . wisconsinites are worn down precisely because so much is going on , so many people are in various forms of uproar , and the parade of amazing political events does n't seem to stop . but in a state that historically has had very high voter turnout , one of the things that will be important to watch in coming months is how many people come to the polls . will turnout begin to droop ? if so , to whose advantage or disadvantage ? at what point does fatigue become a major player on the battlefield of wisconsin politics , and a 91-year-old woman who would prefer some political peace and quiet become a key opinion leader ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of alan j. borsuk . | borsuk : fall vote , open senate seat mean wisconsinites are suffering from political fatigue |
arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- after a nerve-jangling four days , arsenal can breathe a little easier . a 3-1 win over west ham united on tuesday saw arsene wenger 's team climb back into the english premier league 's top four , keeping the gunners in contention to qualify for the lucrative european champions league . two goals from germany 's lukas podolski and a 20th of the season from frenchman olivier giroud saw arsenal leapfrog everton in the table , after matt jarvis had given west ham a shock lead in the first half . the vital victory came just three days after arsenal had secured a place in the fa cup final with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over second-tier wigan athletic . two wins in quick succession have boosted arsenal 's hopes of reaching the champions league for 17th consecutive season , while also keeping alive their chances of lifting silverware for the first time in nine years and relieving some of the pressure on beleaguered manager wenger . i think we built the victory tonight through consistency in our game , the vital part was to come back just before half time and in the second half we controlled the game well , ' wenger , who has been at arsenal since 1996 , told sky . after saturday 's game we had to dig deep . ' everton climbed above arsenal at the weekend , and it looked as if the north london club would lose further ground in the battle for fourth place when west ham took the lead on 39 minutes through one-time england winger matt jarvis . with arsenal fans fearing a chastening defeat , the home team responded . just five minutes later , spain 's santi cazorla expertly picked out podolski , who turned inside the penalty area and fired a fierce low drive beyond west ham goalkeeper adrian . ten minutes into the second half , arsenal hit the front when giroud showed sublime touch to control thomas vermaelen 's lofted pass before converting with aplomb . podolski put the seal on a much-needed result when he lashed home on 78 minutes following a header from substitute aaron ramsey , who was making his first premier league appearance after a lengthy injury layoff . the win move arsenal onto 67 points with five matches left to play , one point clear of everton who have a game in hand on their rivals . arsenal 's next match is on sunday at hull city , who they will play in the fa cup final on may 17 . after the fa cup it was important we switched on to the premier league , ' said two-goal hero podolski . everyone wants to play in the champions league because the matches are amazing and important for the club . there are hard matches to come , we must win all of our matches and then i think we will qualify . the most important thing tonight was to win . we focus now on the next game . ' | on saturday arsenal reached the fa cup final by beating wigan athletic |
arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- after a nerve-jangling four days , arsenal can breathe a little easier . a 3-1 win over west ham united on tuesday saw arsene wenger 's team climb back into the english premier league 's top four , keeping the gunners in contention to qualify for the lucrative european champions league . two goals from germany 's lukas podolski and a 20th of the season from frenchman olivier giroud saw arsenal leapfrog everton in the table , after matt jarvis had given west ham a shock lead in the first half . the vital victory came just three days after arsenal had secured a place in the fa cup final with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over second-tier wigan athletic . two wins in quick succession have boosted arsenal 's hopes of reaching the champions league for 17th consecutive season , while also keeping alive their chances of lifting silverware for the first time in nine years and relieving some of the pressure on beleaguered manager wenger . i think we built the victory tonight through consistency in our game , the vital part was to come back just before half time and in the second half we controlled the game well , ' wenger , who has been at arsenal since 1996 , told sky . after saturday 's game we had to dig deep . ' everton climbed above arsenal at the weekend , and it looked as if the north london club would lose further ground in the battle for fourth place when west ham took the lead on 39 minutes through one-time england winger matt jarvis . with arsenal fans fearing a chastening defeat , the home team responded . just five minutes later , spain 's santi cazorla expertly picked out podolski , who turned inside the penalty area and fired a fierce low drive beyond west ham goalkeeper adrian . ten minutes into the second half , arsenal hit the front when giroud showed sublime touch to control thomas vermaelen 's lofted pass before converting with aplomb . podolski put the seal on a much-needed result when he lashed home on 78 minutes following a header from substitute aaron ramsey , who was making his first premier league appearance after a lengthy injury layoff . the win move arsenal onto 67 points with five matches left to play , one point clear of everton who have a game in hand on their rivals . arsenal 's next match is on sunday at hull city , who they will play in the fa cup final on may 17 . after the fa cup it was important we switched on to the premier league , ' said two-goal hero podolski . everyone wants to play in the champions league because the matches are amazing and important for the club . there are hard matches to come , we must win all of our matches and then i think we will qualify . the most important thing tonight was to win . we focus now on the next game . ' | arsenal beat west ham 3-1 to climb back in fourth place in the epl |
arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- after a nerve-jangling four days , arsenal can breathe a little easier . a 3-1 win over west ham united on tuesday saw arsene wenger 's team climb back into the english premier league 's top four , keeping the gunners in contention to qualify for the lucrative european champions league . two goals from germany 's lukas podolski and a 20th of the season from frenchman olivier giroud saw arsenal leapfrog everton in the table , after matt jarvis had given west ham a shock lead in the first half . the vital victory came just three days after arsenal had secured a place in the fa cup final with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over second-tier wigan athletic . two wins in quick succession have boosted arsenal 's hopes of reaching the champions league for 17th consecutive season , while also keeping alive their chances of lifting silverware for the first time in nine years and relieving some of the pressure on beleaguered manager wenger . i think we built the victory tonight through consistency in our game , the vital part was to come back just before half time and in the second half we controlled the game well , ' wenger , who has been at arsenal since 1996 , told sky . after saturday 's game we had to dig deep . ' everton climbed above arsenal at the weekend , and it looked as if the north london club would lose further ground in the battle for fourth place when west ham took the lead on 39 minutes through one-time england winger matt jarvis . with arsenal fans fearing a chastening defeat , the home team responded . just five minutes later , spain 's santi cazorla expertly picked out podolski , who turned inside the penalty area and fired a fierce low drive beyond west ham goalkeeper adrian . ten minutes into the second half , arsenal hit the front when giroud showed sublime touch to control thomas vermaelen 's lofted pass before converting with aplomb . podolski put the seal on a much-needed result when he lashed home on 78 minutes following a header from substitute aaron ramsey , who was making his first premier league appearance after a lengthy injury layoff . the win move arsenal onto 67 points with five matches left to play , one point clear of everton who have a game in hand on their rivals . arsenal 's next match is on sunday at hull city , who they will play in the fa cup final on may 17 . after the fa cup it was important we switched on to the premier league , ' said two-goal hero podolski . everyone wants to play in the champions league because the matches are amazing and important for the club . there are hard matches to come , we must win all of our matches and then i think we will qualify . the most important thing tonight was to win . we focus now on the next game . ' | the win lifts arsenal back above everton and into the final champions league spot |
washington <tsp> ( cnn ) yesterday , members of the 114th congress took the oath of office and ushered in a new republican majority . it 's a fresh beginning for our country , and i 'm optimistic . a lot can be achieved if president obama and his party work with us to advance common-sense jobs ideas for the middle class . in the senate , we welcome many new senators determined to achieve serious results . these men and women share my party 's resolve to end washington 's dysfunction and get things done for the middle class again . the truth is , the american people no longer trust washington to do the right thing . for many , it 's never seemed harder just to get by . many faced the reality of losing their health plan after being told they could keep it . many continue to struggle with rising medical costs that the president and his allies in congress repeatedly told us would fall . confidence in the american dream wanes at home , while the world seems filled with chaos overseas . americans are rightly concerned . and yet , for years washington has seemed uninterested or incapable of addressing their concerns ; for years , washington seemed to be working for itself instead of for them . that changes today . because the message voters sent in november was clear . they want the administration to change course and move to the middle , and they want dysfunction in the senate to come to an end . the american people did n't ask for a government that tries to do everything and they did n't ask for a government that aims to do nothing . they want a government that works again . they want us to focus on more jobs , more opportunity , and more flexibility for a middle class that feels squeezed . jobs ideas with strong bipartisan support -- like simplifying our broken tax system , opening more markets to american-made products , and approving bipartisan infrastructure projects like the keystone pipeline -- provide a strong foundation for success . we plan to work to send that kind of common-sense legislation to the president for his signature . but to ensure the best outcome , two things will be needed . first , we need a congress that functions again . having an effective congress will help us move beyond an age of government by crisis . but it 's going to take significant changes to the way the senate 's been operating . the era we 've just been through -- with bipartisan jobs bills sent over from the house routinely killed , and senators'serious jobs ideas regularly silenced — has to change . second , both parties need to make divided government work . this is where president obama really comes in . his recent actions , including threatening to veto a bipartisan jobs project like the keystone xl pipeline within minutes of the new congress being sworn in , have been anything but productive . the president himself has noted that the american people are counting on him to work with the congress they elected to get things accomplished . now it 's time to show he meant it i hope he will . as we 've seen in the past , divided government is n't a reason to do nothing ; it 's often been a spur to achieve big things . reagan worked with democratic leaders to pass bold reforms to taxes and social security . a republican congress worked with clinton to pass groundbreaking welfare reform . and if president obama is interested in historic achievement , this can be his time , too . but bipartisan progress can only be achieved if president obama is interested in it . he 's the only one who can bring his party on board or sign what congress passes . it wo n't be easy for him . the president 's supporters are pressing for militancy , not compromise . but they need to understand that democracy is n't about what you can get away with , it 's about what you can achieve together . whatever the president decides , this congress is going to function again . it 's going to legislate again for the people we were sent here to serve . some of the things we pass may seem significant ; some may seem more modest . that 's okay . and while we 're always going to be looking for areas where we can agree , it 's also okay if the president does n't love every bill congress passes . few presidents do . the point is , our job is not to protect the president from good ideas . our job is to get the senate back to work . our job is to focus on serious ideas designed to boost the middle class and help restore our nation 's promise for future generations . and that 's just what we plan to do . | mitch mcconnell : americans expect washington to work for them |
aristotle <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the longest debate since humans have been having debates is whether we are good or evil . it underlies the stories of adam and eve , cain and abel , jesus and judas . what is our human nature ? of course , the answer is we can be both good and evil . but what determines which part of our character emerges ? about a decade ago , my lab made an unexpected breakthrough in the understanding of good and evil . we discovered that the neurochemical oxytocin makes people trustworthy . we then found oxytocin was responsible for many other moral behaviors , from being generous to sacrificing to help a stranger . wait -- morality is chemical ? in my ted talk , i describe how i made the unlikely discovery of the moral molecule , how i was roundly discouraged from even looking for such a chemical , and what drove me to persist in my search . in these experiments , we tempt people with virtue and vice using money ( share with others : virtue ; selfishly keep everything for yourself : vice ) . using money to understand how and why humans make decisions is a field now called neuroeconomics . money gives us a convenient way to measure how much someone cares about another person . for example , in one experiment we randomly matched strangers in the lab by computer and put $ 10 in an account for each of them . in each pair there was a decision-maker 1 ( dm1 ) and a decision-maker 2 ( dm2 ) . all participants got these instructions : dm1 can give up some or all of his or her $ 10 and transfer it to dm2 by computer but can not talk to , or meet , the other person . whatever is transferred is removed from dm1 's account but is tripled in dm2 's account . then , dm2 gets a computer message identifying how much has been received from dm1 and a reminder of the total in his or her account . next , the software asks dm2 if she or he wants to send some of this larger pot of money back to dm1 . the amount sent back comes out of dm2 's account one for one and is not tripled -- it 's a pure loss to dm2 . for example , if dm1 transfers $ 8 , he or she would keep $ 2 and dm2 would receive $ 24 ( =3 x $ 8 ) . the total in dm2 's account would be $ 34 ( $ 24 + $ 10 ) . if you were dm2 , what would you do -- keep it all or share some back with dm1 ? we found that 90 % of dm1s send money and of the dm2s who receive money , 95 % return at least some of it . usually both dms in a pair leave the lab with more than $ 10 , sometimes much more . the dm1 to dm2 transfer is understood to be a measure of trust , while the dm2 to dm1 transfer measures trustworthiness . by taking blood from participants , we found that the more money denoting trust dm2 received , the more oxytocin his or her brain made . and , the more oxytocin on board , the more money was returned to dm1 . all this happened without any face-to-face interactions , revealing how easily the oxytocin system activates . ted.com : how we read each other 's minds morality has traditionally been the domain of theologians and philosophers , often providing prescriptions of what we must do . but in the past decade , neuroscientists have started analyzing brain activity while people think about , and engage in , moral or immoral acts . these findings have changed the inquiry into morals from prescriptive to descriptive . as i discuss in my talk , i have even done studies that have manipulated brain chemistry in human beings to show that oxytocin directly causes people to be moral . i also talk about what having a chemical that affects morality means for individuals , organizations and entire societies . for example , does my chemicals made me do it ' absolve people from legal or moral responsibility ? if we have a moral molecule , where does evil come from ? by the way , oxytocin does n't only cause morality in a laboratory setting -- i 've done studies in churches , on sports fields and among indigenous people to show that the biology of morality is a human universal . ted.com : the battle between your present and your future self while neuroscience has provided new insights into our human nature , the philosophy of morality has not gone away . my talk identifies the philosophers whose insights and arguments are consistent with the way oxytocin works in the human brain . two hit the mark : aristotle and adam smith . aristotle claimed that the reason to be a virtuous person is because it makes us happy . i found the same thing : those who release the most oxytocin in the lab are more satisfied with their lives ( watch the talk to find out why ) . and then there is adam smith . yes , the same adam smith who is considered the father ' of economics was a moral philosopher . in 1759 , smith published a book called the theory of moral sentiments ' that nearly perfectly anticipated my findings . smith 's book caused a sensation when it came out because of his radical claim that morality comes from humans'social nature , not from god . sociality , said smith , means we inevitably share the emotions of others . this is just what i found : when the brain is flooded with oxytocin , people feel empathy for others . it is this emotional connection that causes most of us , most of the time , to behave well toward each other . i 've also found that societies that are more moral ( for example , more trustworthy and more tolerant ) also have higher standards of living . smith understood why : morality undergirds economic exchange , opening up more opportunities for the creation of wealth that individuals in a transaction can share . and , prosperity ( perhaps surprisingly ) can make societies more moral . all this occurs as part of our human nature , our brains adapting to evolving social environments . so , this ancient and tiny molecule , oxytocin , has taken us from being social creatures to , increasingly , being tolerant , empathic and prosperous ones . quite a nice trick for a tiny molecule that traces its lineage back at least 400 million years . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of paul zak . | zak : aristotle was right in saying that the reason to be virtuous is that it makes us happy |
taliban <tsp> ( cnn ) -- pakistani taliban factions and their allies have set up a council of elders in hopes of coordinating efforts against nato troops in afghanistan , a spokesman said monday . the five participating factions , including the taliban branch led by hakimullah mehsud and the militant haqqani network , announced the move in a leaflet circulated in the pakistani tribal district of north waziristan over the weekend . the council 's creation was spurred by fugitive afghan taliban leader mullah mohammed omar , who urged the pakistani taliban and associated jihadist groups to put aside their internal disputes and work together to battle the u.s.-led alliance across the border , pakistani taliban spokesman ihsanullah ihsan told cnn . 15 killed in pakistan explosions near afghanistan ihsan told cnn that omar had sent three of his representatives to pakistan to urge the jihadist movements there to put aside their differences and work together to attack coalition forces in afghanistan . ihsan said the insurgents would start moving across the mountainous border in march . the taliban ruled most of afghanistan before the u.s.-led invasion that followed the september 11 , 2001 , attacks on new york and washington . the fundamentalist islamic militia was quickly turned out of power but regrouped in the countryside and has been battling nato troops and the western-backed government in kabul ever since . the leaflet announcing the council calls for an immediate halt to the killings and kidnappings of innocent people . but the pakistani taliban will keep fighting pakistani security forces as long as their attacks on the taliban continue , ihsan said . journalist saboor khattak contributed to this report . | five jihadist groups will coordinate efforts , a pakistani taliban spokesman says |
african <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the netherlands finally found some pre-euro 2012 form on saturday with an ominous 6-0 thrashing of northern ireland that will boost the 2010 world cup finalists'hopes of a second continental title . having lost to german club bayern munich and 96th-ranked bulgaria before beating slovakia 2-0 on wednesday , the 1988 european champions needed a good result before heading to the tournament in poland and ukraine . coach bert van marwijk gave a pointer to the opening group b game against denmark on june 9 by leaving free-scoring striker klaas-jan huntelaar on the bench , as robin van persie spearheaded the attack with arjen robben and ibrahim afellay on the wings . the arsenal forward continued the form that made him the english premier league 's top scorer as he netted twice , while barcelona 's afellay also bagged a double . wes sneijder scored the second goal with a superb free-kick in the 15th minute as the inter milan playmaker shook off an ankle worry that saw him fail to finish the slovakia game , while defender ron vlaar sealed it with a header on 78 . denmark also wrapped up preparations with a win , bouncing back from the 3-1 defeat by brazil to beat australia 2-0 . daniel agger netted a first-half penalty and fellow central defender andreas bjelland doubled the lead in the second half . however portugal -- who face germany in the other group b opener -- crashed to a disappointing 3-1 home defeat against turkey as cristiano ronaldo missed a penalty . having been held goalless by poland and macedonia , the euro 2004 finalists needed a good result but went 2-0 down as toulouse striker umut bulut scored in each half . midfielder nani reduced the deficit in the 57th minute , but real madrid top scorer ronaldo 's penalty was saved by volkan demirel before defender pepe diverted an attempted clearance by teammate ricardo costa into his own net near the end of the match . co-hosts poland , who kick off the tournament with a group a match against greece on friday , won 4-0 against european minnows andorra . ludovic obraniak and striker robert lewandowski scored before jakub blaszczykowski 's penalty made it 3-0 at halftime , while marcin wasilewski added another spot-kick after the break in front of a 30,000 crowd in warsaw . new england boss roy hodgson enjoyed his second successive 1-0 victory , but faces more injury problems following the home match against belgium . hodgson has already lost midfielders gareth barry and frank lampard for euro 2012 , and now gary cahill needs a scan on a suspected broken jaw and fellow central defender john terry will have a tight hamstring checked . manchester united striker danny welbeck scored the only goal of the game in the first half , but was taken off as a precaution in the second period . croatia conceded a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with norway , as striker eduardo 's second-half header was canceled out by tarik elyounoussi . slaven bilic 's team , who beat estonia 3-1 on may 25 , will face the republic of ireland in their group c opener next weekend . in world cup qualifiers , uruguay and venezuela moved to the top of the south american group after a 1-1 draw in montevideo . however , both nations could be overtaken by argentina and chile , who were to play fifth-placed ecuador and bottom team bolivia respectively later on saturday . in african qualifiers , cameroon 's indomitable lions made a winning start to their bid to appear at the world cup for the seventh time , beating democratic republic of congo 1-0 . with captain samuel eto'o suspended , the winner came via a second-half penalty from eric maxim choupo-moting . in group b , tunisia beat equatorial guinea 3-1 while sierra leone won 2-1 at home cape verde islands . in group c , ivory coast opened with a 2-0 win over 10-man tanzania thanks to goals from european champions league winners salomon kalou and didier drogba , while morocco fought back to earn a 1-1 draw away to gambia . in group d , african cup of nations champions zambia lost 2-0 away to sudan -- and next weekend face ghana , who thrashed lesotho 7-0 . senegal beat liberia 3-1 in group j , while on friday egypt won 2-0 against mozambique in group g . | cameroon and ivory coast win as african qualifiers start for brazil 2014 |
michael bloomberg <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the new york police department denies it is actively searching for the mysterious street and graffiti artist known as banksy , according to a spokeswoman . yet , new york city mayor michael bloomberg suggested banksy is breaking the law with his guerrilla art exhibits . annette markowski , an nypd public information officer , told cnn police have not launched an investigation of banksy because they have not received any complaints of vandalism related to the artist . every day this month , banksy has been unveiling new works of art around new york . the works are then announced on his website . some of the surprise exhibits are stencils spray-painted on streets and walls of buildings . others have included whimsical mobile displays transported on trucks , an animated youtube video and , on wednesday , a performance art piece involving a dirt-smeared boy shining the shoes of a life-sized statue of ronald mcdonald outside one of the fast-food chains franchises . big-ticket graffiti artist banksy says he offered paintings for $ 60 in central park ' graffiti does ruin people 's property and is a sign of decay and loss of control , ' bloomberg said at a press conference wednesday , when asked by journalists about banksy 's street art . running up to somebody 's property or public property and defacing it is not my definition of art . or it may be art but it should not be permitted . i think that 's exactly what the law says , ' bloomberg continued . he said the city 's department of cultural affairs would look into the matter . on thursday , the unidentified artist published a photo on his website of the front page of the new york post with the headline get banksy ! nypd hunts artist . ' i do n't read what i believe in the papers , ' the artist wrote in a caption below the photo . could the next banksy come from dubai ? | mayor michael bloomberg calls graffiti a sign of decay and loss of control ' |
russia <tsp> moscow , russia ( reuters ) -- a moscow court began trying a supermarket worker who prosecutors say murdered 49 people over a 14-year period , which would make him russia 's worst serial killer in a decade . pichushkin is accused of luring victims to his flat before smashing them to death with a hammer . his lawyer said 33-year-old alexander pichushkin had confessed to most of the murders , but it was unclear how many . the jury must decide whether or not he is of sound mind . my client understands that he is to blame for most of these murders , ' pichushkin 's lawyer , pavel ivannikov , told reporters outside the courtroom after a fifteen-minute hearing . pichushkin scowled as he was brought into moscow city court under heavy guard for a preliminary hearing at which he opted to be tried by a jury , instead of a panel of judges . if convicted , pichushkin -- called the bitsevsky maniac ' by russian media after the moscow park where many of the alleged victims were killed -- would be russia 's most deadly serial killer since andrei chikatilo , convicted in 1992 of 52 murders . prosecutors say pichushkin befriended many of his victims in bitsevsky park by inviting them to drink vodka with him , then bludgeoned them to death with a hammer . some of the victims had fragments of glass pressed into their skulls . prosecutors also say pichushkin confessed to the murders in police custody . russian media reported that for every person he killed , he placed a coin on a chess board and that he had been planning to cover all 64 squares on the board . the trial was adjourned until september 13 to allow time for a jury to be selected . it is expected to be lengthy , as it will hear from at least 41 relatives of the alleged victims and a total of 98 other witnesses . during the hearing , relatives of two of the alleged victims sat just meters from pichushkin . the accused occasionally stretched his arms and stared out from the glass enclosure where he was held , without displaying any emotion . in a red and white checked shirt and jeans , he looked older than his age , with gray peppering his dark hair . speaking quietly before the hearing , one middle aged man , alexander fyodorov , recalled his family 's efforts to track down his missing brother , who would be 47 this year . i want pichushkin to sit in prison for the rest of his life , ' he said . although russia has not formally abolished the death penalty , it has been observing a moratorium on capital punishment . another elderly woman who was also in the court , tamara klimova , came home from holiday to discover her husband was missing . the body was not found for five years . prosecutors now believe he was killed by pichushkin . i would like him to be handed over to the people so that they can tear him apart , ' klimova told reporters . e-mail to a friend | if convicted pichushkin would be russia 's most deadly serial killer since 1992 |
senate <tsp> sioux falls , south dakota ( cnn ) -- a dimly lit sports bar reading cowboy poetry ' is not exactly where you 'd expect to find a candidate for u.s. senate . but this was a campaign event wednesday for larry pressler , a former republican senator now running as an independent 18 years after he was voted out of office . he joined a meeting of the badger clark poetry society , of which is he a member , to get his campaign messages across with couplets and free verse . take care of your friends ' by the western poet baxter black was one of the poems he chose to read , saying it reflects what he is trying to do -- bring civility back to a broken senate . among the apropos lines in black 's poem , read by pressler : ' a hug or a shake or whatever seems right . it 's a highpoint of giving , i 'll tell you tonight . all worldly riches and tributes of men ca n't hold a candle to the worth of a friend . ' just in case it was a bit too subtle , pressler hit it home with an explanation . in today 's washington you can hardly have a friend because you 're categorized immediately . i 've said that i think our leaders should be able to visit together , more civility should be returned to washington , d.c , ' pressler told the crowd of a couple dozen people . he also read a poem called homecoming queen , ' written by south dakota poet m.j. mcmillan , who was in attendance . homecoming queen ' is about a beautiful young girl whose life did n't turn out the way she had hoped , becoming an embittered 40 year-old a waitress : ' waitin'tables and cryin'the blues . do n't judge her too harshly 'till you 've had the chance to walk a few miles in her shoes ' it was another campaign message -- that the former republican cares about the underdogs -- those who need a second chance , or a second look . it was an off-beat event befitting an unusual candidacy . pressler voted for barack obama twice , yet he contributed to mitt romney 's campaign . i want to work with both sides , ' pressler said in an interview following his poetry reading . suddenly what was supposed to be a slam-dunk for republican candidate mike rounds is more competitive , thanks in part to an anemic campaign and a scandal from his time as governor . pressler 's presence in the race has made it even more unpredictable , since he is a well-known figure , especially for older voters . strategists in both parties believe he pulls votes more from rounds than the democratic candidate , rick weiland -- but both sides are going after him . i 'm bad to republicans and democrats . that 's reflective of what is happening across the board in the united states . you ca n't be a friend with anybody else and admit to it , ' pressler told cnn . he supports obamacare ( with some changes ) and opposes the standard gop promise to eliminate the department of education . on abortion , he insists he does not believe roe vs. wade should be overturned , despite what appeared to be contradictory statements on the issue . it 's no wonder he says he stopped being a republican because it went too far to the right in this state . he says he donated $ 100,000 of his own savings to his campaign , took out another $ 100,000 loan and raised about the same . he only has one full time paid staffer , and two part timers and sends out his own press releases . before he was defeated , pressler served three senate terms -- 18 years . this time around pressler is vowing to only stay one term so that he is beholden to no outside special interests . today 's united states senators spend about 52 % of their time raising money , either for themselves or their colleagues for the next election . i will not have a next election . this is my last campaign , win or lose , and if i were in the senate it would be a glorious job because i would n't have to raise money , ' pressler told us . he wo n't say which party he will caucus with if he does pull off a win -- thanks to advice from maine 's independent senator angus king . he said it 's a very appropriate thing for an independent not to say which side you 're caucusing with . that 's the approach he took , and the reason is then i would be running as just another republican or democrat , ' pressler said . since pressler was defeated in 1996 , he has spent a lot of time still in washington -- another line of attack from opponents , especially republicans . but he makes no apologies for that , but also insists he spends half to three quarters ' of his time in south dakota . he is quite realistic about his chances for re-election saying its going to be tough . ' but , he insists , it 's about the journey ' rather than the destination . | larry pressler is a former republican now running as an independent senate candidate . |
france <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the lessons of the first round of the french presidential elections are multiple and somewhat contradictory . there is , on the one hand , the first-round victory of a self-described normal man ' who is still -- in spite of very tight results -- likely to become the next president of france : françois hollande . his lack of charisma has not been a handicap , so great was the rejection of incumbent president nicolas sarkozy . françois hollande 's good-naturedness and his smiling personality evoke a mixture of jacques chirac and even georges pompidou . one should not be deluded : any successful politician has a killer instinct . but his friendliness is reassuring after the hyper-energetic and aggressive personality of sarkozy , whose style was making people unnecessarily anxious . hollande has managed to turn the first round into a referendum against the personality and style of the incumbent . one might say sarkozy 's behavior greatly encouraged him in this choice of strategy . the incumbent candidate would have done better campaigning on his success in dealing with an unprecedented economic crisis with determination and firmness . in 2007 , sarkozy campaigned on hope and modernity . in 2012 , he was the candidate of fear , appealing to the right-wing opponents of immigration . it was n't expected at all , but french participation was at a level that americans dream about : more than 80 % . but this apparent triumph of democracy was somewhat tainted . nearly 20 % of the electorate voted for the national front , the party of the extreme right . to add insult to injury , many young voters supported the party 's candidate , marine le pen . youth is supposed to be synonymous with hope . with the rise of unemployment and the decline of belief in the value of the european union , it seems young people , especially poorly educated ones , are motivated by fear much more than by hope . this rise of right-wing populism affecting mostly the young , which one witnesses from hungary to france , is of course the direct consequence of the economic , social -- if not ethical -- crisis that besets europe once again . it would be excessive to speak of the return of the 1930s . those tragic years were the product of the encounter between the great war of 1914-18 and the great depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s . we are not there and , we hope , will never again be there . nevertheless , in france , sarkozy has been playing with fire in his attempt to seduce extreme-right voices . as churchill would have said : he will have dishonour first and then defeat . ' at this point , only a miracle could save sarkozy . in 2007 , modernity meant the call for structural reforms . in 2012 , modernity may be on hollande 's side when he campaigns on fairness and the fight against social injustice . in this juncture in our global world , there is a need to restore a broken social contract resulting from too much inequality . it is a most modern issue that concerns the entire world , with the possible exception of nordic europe . it affects the united states as well as china , india or brazil . sacrifices can only be acceptable if they seem to be equally shared by all segments of society . what would a hollande victory mean for france and for europe ? the year 2012 is not 1981 , when the left came to power behind françois mitterrand for the first time in the history of the fifth republic . the cold war is over ; the reds are more pale pink ' than ever ; the rules of monetary union are much stricter than they ever were . the margin for maneuver in a sovereign state in europe is extremely limited by law as much as by economic circumstances . hollande is a social democrat ; he does not have the means to be a revolutionary . as for europe , hollande in power in france would merely be an accelerating factor in the slow evolution of the eu away from a strict austerity policy , which the germans themselves have started to question . can a normal man ' be the right choice for exceptional times ? harry truman in the united states rose to the challenge . why not hollande in france ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dominique moisi . | hollande 's success shows a need to address the economic inequality in france , he writes |
moisi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the lessons of the first round of the french presidential elections are multiple and somewhat contradictory . there is , on the one hand , the first-round victory of a self-described normal man ' who is still -- in spite of very tight results -- likely to become the next president of france : françois hollande . his lack of charisma has not been a handicap , so great was the rejection of incumbent president nicolas sarkozy . françois hollande 's good-naturedness and his smiling personality evoke a mixture of jacques chirac and even georges pompidou . one should not be deluded : any successful politician has a killer instinct . but his friendliness is reassuring after the hyper-energetic and aggressive personality of sarkozy , whose style was making people unnecessarily anxious . hollande has managed to turn the first round into a referendum against the personality and style of the incumbent . one might say sarkozy 's behavior greatly encouraged him in this choice of strategy . the incumbent candidate would have done better campaigning on his success in dealing with an unprecedented economic crisis with determination and firmness . in 2007 , sarkozy campaigned on hope and modernity . in 2012 , he was the candidate of fear , appealing to the right-wing opponents of immigration . it was n't expected at all , but french participation was at a level that americans dream about : more than 80 % . but this apparent triumph of democracy was somewhat tainted . nearly 20 % of the electorate voted for the national front , the party of the extreme right . to add insult to injury , many young voters supported the party 's candidate , marine le pen . youth is supposed to be synonymous with hope . with the rise of unemployment and the decline of belief in the value of the european union , it seems young people , especially poorly educated ones , are motivated by fear much more than by hope . this rise of right-wing populism affecting mostly the young , which one witnesses from hungary to france , is of course the direct consequence of the economic , social -- if not ethical -- crisis that besets europe once again . it would be excessive to speak of the return of the 1930s . those tragic years were the product of the encounter between the great war of 1914-18 and the great depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s . we are not there and , we hope , will never again be there . nevertheless , in france , sarkozy has been playing with fire in his attempt to seduce extreme-right voices . as churchill would have said : he will have dishonour first and then defeat . ' at this point , only a miracle could save sarkozy . in 2007 , modernity meant the call for structural reforms . in 2012 , modernity may be on hollande 's side when he campaigns on fairness and the fight against social injustice . in this juncture in our global world , there is a need to restore a broken social contract resulting from too much inequality . it is a most modern issue that concerns the entire world , with the possible exception of nordic europe . it affects the united states as well as china , india or brazil . sacrifices can only be acceptable if they seem to be equally shared by all segments of society . what would a hollande victory mean for france and for europe ? the year 2012 is not 1981 , when the left came to power behind françois mitterrand for the first time in the history of the fifth republic . the cold war is over ; the reds are more pale pink ' than ever ; the rules of monetary union are much stricter than they ever were . the margin for maneuver in a sovereign state in europe is extremely limited by law as much as by economic circumstances . hollande is a social democrat ; he does not have the means to be a revolutionary . as for europe , hollande in power in france would merely be an accelerating factor in the slow evolution of the eu away from a strict austerity policy , which the germans themselves have started to question . can a normal man ' be the right choice for exceptional times ? harry truman in the united states rose to the challenge . why not hollande in france ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dominique moisi . | dominique moisi : the french dislike sarkozy , and hollande is sure to win the presidency |
moisi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the lessons of the first round of the french presidential elections are multiple and somewhat contradictory . there is , on the one hand , the first-round victory of a self-described normal man ' who is still -- in spite of very tight results -- likely to become the next president of france : françois hollande . his lack of charisma has not been a handicap , so great was the rejection of incumbent president nicolas sarkozy . françois hollande 's good-naturedness and his smiling personality evoke a mixture of jacques chirac and even georges pompidou . one should not be deluded : any successful politician has a killer instinct . but his friendliness is reassuring after the hyper-energetic and aggressive personality of sarkozy , whose style was making people unnecessarily anxious . hollande has managed to turn the first round into a referendum against the personality and style of the incumbent . one might say sarkozy 's behavior greatly encouraged him in this choice of strategy . the incumbent candidate would have done better campaigning on his success in dealing with an unprecedented economic crisis with determination and firmness . in 2007 , sarkozy campaigned on hope and modernity . in 2012 , he was the candidate of fear , appealing to the right-wing opponents of immigration . it was n't expected at all , but french participation was at a level that americans dream about : more than 80 % . but this apparent triumph of democracy was somewhat tainted . nearly 20 % of the electorate voted for the national front , the party of the extreme right . to add insult to injury , many young voters supported the party 's candidate , marine le pen . youth is supposed to be synonymous with hope . with the rise of unemployment and the decline of belief in the value of the european union , it seems young people , especially poorly educated ones , are motivated by fear much more than by hope . this rise of right-wing populism affecting mostly the young , which one witnesses from hungary to france , is of course the direct consequence of the economic , social -- if not ethical -- crisis that besets europe once again . it would be excessive to speak of the return of the 1930s . those tragic years were the product of the encounter between the great war of 1914-18 and the great depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s . we are not there and , we hope , will never again be there . nevertheless , in france , sarkozy has been playing with fire in his attempt to seduce extreme-right voices . as churchill would have said : he will have dishonour first and then defeat . ' at this point , only a miracle could save sarkozy . in 2007 , modernity meant the call for structural reforms . in 2012 , modernity may be on hollande 's side when he campaigns on fairness and the fight against social injustice . in this juncture in our global world , there is a need to restore a broken social contract resulting from too much inequality . it is a most modern issue that concerns the entire world , with the possible exception of nordic europe . it affects the united states as well as china , india or brazil . sacrifices can only be acceptable if they seem to be equally shared by all segments of society . what would a hollande victory mean for france and for europe ? the year 2012 is not 1981 , when the left came to power behind françois mitterrand for the first time in the history of the fifth republic . the cold war is over ; the reds are more pale pink ' than ever ; the rules of monetary union are much stricter than they ever were . the margin for maneuver in a sovereign state in europe is extremely limited by law as much as by economic circumstances . hollande is a social democrat ; he does not have the means to be a revolutionary . as for europe , hollande in power in france would merely be an accelerating factor in the slow evolution of the eu away from a strict austerity policy , which the germans themselves have started to question . can a normal man ' be the right choice for exceptional times ? harry truman in the united states rose to the challenge . why not hollande in france ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dominique moisi . | moisi : hollande 's success also signals disaffection with european austerity policies |
camp ashraf <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- calling the situation untenable , ' a senior state department official gave details thursday of a proposed humanitarian ' solution to the standoff over iraq 's camp ashraf , a settlement of iranian dissidents who say they will be killed if they are returned to iran . under the u.s. plan , the approximately 3,400 residents of ashraf would be temporarily relocated within iraq , farther from the border with iran , the official said . the camp houses followers and members of the mojahedin-e khalq organization ( mek ) . the united states considers it to be a terrorist organization . the mek has opposed the iranian government for decades , and the group was sheltered in that camp and other locations in iraq during the era of iraqi leader saddam hussein . the group was used by hussein as part of his security forces and has a tense relationship with many iraqis , especially shias and kurds . the relocation would be temporary , the official said , with final settlement of the inhabitants in other countries . that would not include the united states , the official said , since u.s. law bars anyone associated with a terrorist organization from settling there . the new location would be chosen and maintained and operated ' by iraq and appropriate humanitarian conditions would have to be maintained in this camp , the official said . we will work with the government of iraq , ashraf residents and international partners to guarantee the safety of ashraf residents if they agree to this move , ' the official said , if all sides agree to this plan . ' iraq has ordered the camp be closed by the end of the year and wants the residents to leave the country . the residents are refusing to budge , and do not recognize iraqi sovereignty over their camp . the u.s. plan has been presented to the iraqi government , the official said , and it is reviewing its position . ' we hope the ashraf leaders will react positively to this plan , as we hope the government of iraq will react positively to this plan , largely because we see no other solution for a group that has no status , ' the state department official said . the united states has discussed its proposal with the international community , this official said . in april , 34 people were killed and more than 300 others were wounded in a confrontation between iraqi security forces and people in camp ashraf . the exiles said iraqi security forces invaded their camp , but security forces said their members were attacked by the group . the violence , the official said , highlights the vulnerability of the camp 's residents , who lack any legal status in iraq but have refused to request refugee status . given the history of mutual provocation we are deeply concerned about the possibility of future violence , ' the official said . the u.s. would work to guarantee the safety of all sides , the official said , but this would not involve american troops . there 's no easy solution to this matter , ' the official said . we believe this is the best way forward ... our bottom line is that both sides need to step back from violence and the violence that has characterized the relationship , and we want to avoid another tragedy at ashraf . ' iraq under saddam and iran fought a bloody war in the 1980s . since the u.s.-led invasion in 2003 , relations between iran and iraq have improved . a majority of iraq 's new government is composed of shiite muslims , the majority religion in iraq , and official attitudes toward the mek changed . the camp has been the subject of debate in iraq since american forces relinquished control of it in 2009 . iran has long urged iraq to get rid of camp ashraf and the opposition group there , and iraq 's failure to do so is a point of tension between the two countries . tehran considers the mek to be a terrorist outfit . the european union does not . another state department official said the department is reviewing the foreign terrorist organization designation of the mek , with a final decision to be made by secretary of state hillary clinton on whether to maintain or rescind it . the mek is providing information for the review , the official told cnn . cnn 's mohammed tawfeeq contributed to this report . | deadly violence at camp ashraf broke out last month |
mad men <tsp> ( cnn ) this is the end . beautiful friend , the end . for the 1960s , the end arrived with -- depending on your ideals and your tribe -- either the rolling stones'altamont fiasco in december 1969 , the kent state shootings in may 1970 or richard nixon 's 1972 re-election . for mad men , ' the end of an era , ' as its slogan has it , begins sunday . over the past eight years , the show about a 1960s advertising agency and its collision with changing times has become part of the national fabric , if never a huge ratings hit . stores have created fashion lines inspired by the show ; there have been mad men ' cocktails and mad men ' museum exhibits and even mad men ' presidential references . don draper , the creative director played by jon hamm , has become a symbol of the times -- his and , sometimes , ours . its subjects have taken the show to heart . in march , a mad men ' bench was unveiled in front of new york 's time & life building , where the fictional firm of sterling cooper & partners has its headquarters . the end of a tv series brings with it some risk . the sopranos , ' mad men ' creator matthew weiner 's former employer , divided fans with its famous cut-to-black finale . on the other hand , mad men 's ' former amc stablemate , breaking bad , ' was saluted for an almost perfect landing . speaking of landings : the last season -- technically , the first half of season 7 -- ended with the moon landing in july 1969 . though weiner and his cast have been typically tight-lipped -- weiner even hid the finale from his cast at first -- it 's reasonable to assume the new season will pick up soon afterward . what 's going to happen ? here are some educated guesses . with the '60s screaming towards their conclusion , mad men ' probably wo n't jump ahead much . the latter half of 1969 included the manson murders , the woodstock festival , a new york mayoral campaign and the vietnam war moratorium demonstrations -- plenty of fodder for the characters to interact with , if only tangentially . who knows ? the show might even mention the miracle mets . it would be a nice way to acknowledge the agency 's late lane pryce . of course , weiner might have a different idea ; he 's from baltimore . mad men ' is generally a show about disintegration , reflective of the '60s themselves . the old orders are falling apart : white-shoe wasp firms like sterling cooper giving way to the ethnic pace-setters such as doyle dane bernbach ; grimy new york replaced by sunny los angeles ; the good war ' generation butting heads with the make love , not war ' cohort ; vacuum tubes and ledger books being displaced by a sleek , solid-state ibm world . it 's all an ad agency can do to keep up . last season saw plenty of intraoffice turmoil , thanks to the ill-fitting merger between sterling cooper and former rival cutler gleason and chaough . though the agency survived , it 's now without bert cooper ( robert morse ) and under the ownership of ( real-life ) madison avenue titan mccann erickson . that 's not a recipe for long-term survival , and expect a number of longtime characters -- ken cosgrove ( aaron staton ) , harry crane ( rich sommer ) and perhaps even joan harris ( christina hendricks ) -- to look for an exit . roger sterling -- the wisecracking executive played by john slattery -- might find an exit as well , but not one he 's anticipating . he 's suffered two heart attacks . he drinks to excess . he 's never grown up . bet on a sudden and shocking departure . on the other hand , peggy olson 's star has continued to rise ( much like one of the character 's models , advertising wunderkind mary wells lawrence ) . she left sterling cooper once ; indeed , she would n't have returned if her new agency had n't merged with her old one . if olson , played by elisabeth moss , bolts the firm , it will probably be to head her own agency -- and possibly get married . that is , if she 's still interested in such an old-fashioned tradition . in recent seasons , don 's ex-wife , betty ( january jones ) , has lost herself amid all the turmoil . she sees herself through the eyes of her spouses , and though husband henry francis ( christopher stanley ) has been far more supportive than don , he 's a busy man . and sally , don 's daughter ( kiernan shipka ) , is proving to be a handful . on the one hand , she 's obviously bright ; on the other , she 's a teenager and starting to rebel . in recent seasons she 's run away and started sneaking cigarettes , and she 's always fighting with her mother . you could see her hitchhiking to woodstock , or at least dropping out of school . anything 's possible , but given all that the character has been through -- divorces , affairs , office politics , morose late-night rides with glen bishop -- it 's a bit on the nose , is n't it ? instead , try this : it 's april 1 , 1970 . richard nixon is signing legislation banning cigarette ads on radio and television , reminding don of the day 10 years earlier when he came up with the lucky strike campaign that began the series . no fool , he had seen this day coming years before . he 'll fix himself a drink , ponder buying an avocado-colored refrigerator , clean out his ashtray and leave the show the way he arrived : on top of the zeitgeist , unable to accept his past and utterly , inscrutably alone . | mad men 's ' final seven episodes begin airing april 5 |
jenkins <tsp> aaron hernandez 's fiancee pleaded not guilty to perjury on tuesday , with prosecutors alleging she lied to those looking into the death of odin lloyd , whom hernandez is accused of killing . a lawyer for shayanna jenkins strongly denied the claims in a fall river , massachusetts , court , saying her client has been fully cooperative other than insisting on her fifth amendment rights ' and received immunity for grand jury testimony . jenkins is among a handful of people charged as investigators look into lloyd 's fatal shooting in june . hernandez has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in lloyd 's death . it seems to me that this is overreaching , the indictment is overreaching , the statement by ( the prosecutor ) is overreaching , and the request for bail is overreaching , ' said jenkins'lawyer , janice bassil . she spoke after bristol county assistant district attorney patrick bomberg presented a case against jenkins . who was odin lloyd ? among other things , bomberg alleged jenkins destroyed evidence -- a box that hernandez , who until earlier this year was a standout tight end for the new england patriots , asked her to find in his north attleborough , massachusetts , home and get rid of . ' jenkins then left her home with a black trash bag and returned sometime later without it , the prosecutor said . she told her sister that she was going to the bank , she told her uncle ... she was going to the store , she told the grand jurors that she was going to get baby formula , ' bomberg said . asked where she did go , the prosecutor said jenkins told the grand jury she did n't know where she went ' and she could n't remember what hernandez asked her to dispose of . jenkins testified she tossed the trash bag in a dumpster , though she could n't say where that dumpster was , bomberg said . witness says he was with hernandez before double homicide speaking on this point , jenkins'lawyer said her client received immunity on all of these things they are accusing her of ' and , even then , she did n't lie to the grand jury . at that time , bassil said , jenkins was subject to heavy-handed questioning ' during an extremely difficult ' period when hernandez , the father of her young child , was under arrest for murder . bassil described the relationship between hernandez and jenkins as do n't ask , do n't tell . ' she could spend her life tracking him down and asking where he was every single minute , or she could choose to say what you do on your own time is your own time , ' the lawyer argued . if you did n't do this , you did n't do this . i do n't need to know any more detail . ' bomberg , the prosecutor , also said that jenkins lied to police when she told them lloyd was a drug dealer . jenkins corrected that in the grand jury ' testimony , bassil said , stating that while she knew lloyd provided marijuana to hernandez , she had no other evidence ' that he dealt drugs . after tuesday 's hearing , the judge denied the prosecution 's request for $ 5,000 bail and instead released jenkins on her own recognizance pending trial . the next hearing in her case is set for november 6 . | shayanna jenkins , aaron hernandez 's fiancee , pleads not guilty to perjury |
jenkins <tsp> aaron hernandez 's fiancee pleaded not guilty to perjury on tuesday , with prosecutors alleging she lied to those looking into the death of odin lloyd , whom hernandez is accused of killing . a lawyer for shayanna jenkins strongly denied the claims in a fall river , massachusetts , court , saying her client has been fully cooperative other than insisting on her fifth amendment rights ' and received immunity for grand jury testimony . jenkins is among a handful of people charged as investigators look into lloyd 's fatal shooting in june . hernandez has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in lloyd 's death . it seems to me that this is overreaching , the indictment is overreaching , the statement by ( the prosecutor ) is overreaching , and the request for bail is overreaching , ' said jenkins'lawyer , janice bassil . she spoke after bristol county assistant district attorney patrick bomberg presented a case against jenkins . who was odin lloyd ? among other things , bomberg alleged jenkins destroyed evidence -- a box that hernandez , who until earlier this year was a standout tight end for the new england patriots , asked her to find in his north attleborough , massachusetts , home and get rid of . ' jenkins then left her home with a black trash bag and returned sometime later without it , the prosecutor said . she told her sister that she was going to the bank , she told her uncle ... she was going to the store , she told the grand jurors that she was going to get baby formula , ' bomberg said . asked where she did go , the prosecutor said jenkins told the grand jury she did n't know where she went ' and she could n't remember what hernandez asked her to dispose of . jenkins testified she tossed the trash bag in a dumpster , though she could n't say where that dumpster was , bomberg said . witness says he was with hernandez before double homicide speaking on this point , jenkins'lawyer said her client received immunity on all of these things they are accusing her of ' and , even then , she did n't lie to the grand jury . at that time , bassil said , jenkins was subject to heavy-handed questioning ' during an extremely difficult ' period when hernandez , the father of her young child , was under arrest for murder . bassil described the relationship between hernandez and jenkins as do n't ask , do n't tell . ' she could spend her life tracking him down and asking where he was every single minute , or she could choose to say what you do on your own time is your own time , ' the lawyer argued . if you did n't do this , you did n't do this . i do n't need to know any more detail . ' bomberg , the prosecutor , also said that jenkins lied to police when she told them lloyd was a drug dealer . jenkins corrected that in the grand jury ' testimony , bassil said , stating that while she knew lloyd provided marijuana to hernandez , she had no other evidence ' that he dealt drugs . after tuesday 's hearing , the judge denied the prosecution 's request for $ 5,000 bail and instead released jenkins on her own recognizance pending trial . the next hearing in her case is set for november 6 . | her lawyer calls prosecution 's case overreaching , ' notes jenkins had immunity |
heathrow <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- the worst snowstorm to hit britain in 18 years forced the cancellation of more than 650 flights at london 's heathrow airport monday and shut down the city 's bus network , partially paralyzing the british capital . a group of men push a giant snowball across kensington gardens , west london monday . heathrow , one of the busiest transport hubs in the world , closed both its runways for more than two hours monday morning and operated with just one for the rest of the morning , according to baa , the company which runs it . london city airport is also closed , while the british capital 's other two airports , stansted and gatwick , were operating with severe delays , baa said . british airways canceled all flights out of heathrow until 5 p.m. except for edinburgh and lisbon routes . send your ireport videos , stories one of the city 's largest cab companies was in such high demand it stopped taking cash and credit card bookings , serving only customers with accounts , it said . dial-a-cab , which has a fleet of over 2,500 vehicles , served mainly blue-chip companies trying to get employees into work , said keith cain a control room manager for the company . customers waited up to an hour and a half for a cab early in the morning , he said . see gallery of uk under snow » jochen jaeger , 36 , found himself stranded at heathrow , unable to fly home to zurich or to get back into the apartment he rented in london . i will stay here at the airport , ' he told cnn . there is no other option . i may have to spend the night here . ' american businessman ken plunkett , 60 , from st. paul , minnesota , was trying to fly out from heathrow airport but found himself caught in the weather chaos . i know england does not have the infrastructure to remove snow like we do in minnesota , ' he said . watch passenger stranded by snow » jenny leslie , a shop worker at heathrow 's terminal 2 , said it was so quiet at the airport you can hear a pin drop . ' southampton airport , southwest of london , was also closed for several hours monday morning , but re-opened by 1200 gmt . but many people in the city were delighted by the unusual weather . londoners of all ages are childishly happy to be making snowmen and having snowball fights . bankers of all ages are throwing snowballs in the middle of the residential streets , ' monica majumdar told cnn in an ireport . she lived in new york before moving to london four years ago , and was surprised by how little snow it took to bring the british capital to a standstill . i have seen snow like this . but somehow , it 's more beautiful here . it 's partly due to the fact that even londoners are amazed by the snow -- so there is a general air of surrealism , ' she said via e-mail. i do feel like i 'm in a christmas snowglobe , with all the iconic london monuments blanketed by the powdered snow . ' london 's famous red buses were pulled off the roads on sunday night as the snow got deeper . it was the first time in living memory ' that all city bus service had been suspended , including when london was being bombed during world war ii , a spokesman for the city 's transit agency , transport for london , said . bus services were suspended throughout london last night on the grounds of passenger safety due to the unsafe road conditions resulting in a large number of traffic incidents across london , ' the agency said in a statement monday morning . watch london grind to a halt » about six million people ride london buses each day , said the spokesman , who asked not to be named . some bus service had been restored by lunchtime on monday . london mayor boris johnson suspended the £8 ( $ 11.30 ) daily congestion charge drivers normally pay to enter central london , the city transport authority said . some bus service had been restored by lunchtime on monday . the city 's subway system was also experiencing severe delays , leaving normally bustling central london something of a ghost town . on a regular weekday , london 's transit system handles more than three million passenger journeys . the federation of small businesses estimated that at least one in five workers nationwide -- about 6.4 million employees -- failed to make it into work monday morning . but the figure was estimated to be far higher -- around two in five -- in london and southeast england , which is home to around a fifth of all british businesses . monday 's disruptions are likely to cost businesses £1.2 billion ( $ 1.7 billion ) , fsb spokesman stephen alambritis told cnn . britain 's national weather service , the met office , issued severe weather warnings for all of england and much of scotland and wales for both monday and tuesday . it reported 20cm of snow in balham , south london , and 15cm at canary wharf in east london . the last time such widespread snowfall affected britain was in february 1991 , the met office said . watch ireport on snowy stonehenge . the snow meant a break from school for the region 's children as classes gave way to snowball fights . in the southern english seaside resort of brighton there was a carnival atmosphere as dozens of people who were unable to get to work threw snowballs and built snowmen on the beach . mother-of-three fiona robbins , 45 , added : everyone is very excited to be able to show their children proper snow for the first time . ' tuesday 's forecast is expected to bring some relief , with the snow expected to stop and temperatures to rise above freezing . two climbers were found dead monday morning on snowdon , the highest mountain in wales , after being reported missing sunday night , north wales police said . it was not clear if their deaths were related to the storm . cnn business assignment editor alysen miller , laura perez maestro , simon hooper and olivia feld in london contributed to this report . | major international airports including heathrow , gatwick badly affected |
sandusky <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i met jerry sandusky in the late 1990s . i was at penn state conducting a workshop with coaches on sexual violence . it was a few years after my retirement from professional football and a decade removed from my days at syracuse university , where i competed against sandusky 's defense on the playing field . i had great respect for sandusky as a coach and remember his masterful game plan in the 1986 national championship , when penn state defeated miami with its impeccable strategy , devised by the architect of linebacker u . ' i spoke with sandusky and found he was not a typical defensive coach . he was pleasant and passionate about his charity , the second mile , and the work it did to help young men find their way . i was thoroughly impressed . if the allegations that sandusky sexually abused young boys are true , it would defy the common misperception that pedophiles are monstrous misfits . but it would fit in with the true profile . when i began working in the field of sexual and domestic violence prevention in 1995 , i was stunned to find that more than 80 % of rape survivors know the men who attack them . the vast majority of sexual predators rely on an insidiously derived trust that not only provides access to their victims , but works to maintain their anonymity even in the light of day . they often stand on a broader , established reputation and use threats and gifts to maintain their victims'silence . when i served on the board of stop it now , which is focused on the prevention of sexual abuse of children , i learned that more than 90 % of abused children know their attacker . once again , this defies our misguided belief that predators are like lions in the tall grass waiting to attack . the overwhelming reality is that they are individuals who manipulate trust and positions of power to gain access to their victims and control them . it is this reality that has led to such terms as intimate partner violence ' and interpersonal violence ' and acquaintance rape . ' trust , access and familiarity are the tools of sustained abuse . it is important to note that , in most cases , men are the abusers . this is essential in developing prevention strategies that are grounded in an accurate assessment of who commits the crimes . ignoring the gender of the abusers fits in with our broad view that sexual predators are monsters , ' or social deviants living in shadows . we think of men as the sturdy keepers of social status and power , and the standard bearers of a decent society that plays by the rules . sandusky established a level of trust with his charity work consistent with the commitment he showed for the institutions he represented for most of his life . as a football coach at penn state , sandusky was the epitome of its image and reputation . the program under joe paterno is considered one of the cleanest in college football , boasting high graduation rates and on-field performance . the image , right down to the nittany lion uniform , has been conservative and upstanding . as a prominent coach in that system , sandusky was a central figure . it 's not hard to understand why many around him might have a vested interest in maintaining that perception . penn state stood above in the hypercompetitive and often unscrupulous world of college sports , and this served as a recruiting tool and an assurance to parents of promising high school football players . it 's also not hard to understand why parents of troubled young men would want their sons to have the influence of the environment that penn state and sandusky provided . it would be convenient to consider a child abuser a monster . ' it would be convenient to call the alleged coverup a mistake ' by a couple of college administrators who sought to protect their institutional reputation . that talk has already begun , in part because we do n't want to look at the issue of child sexual abuse or abandon the beliefs we hold , including and especially our faith in sports . but that faith and trust is waning . in an attempt to preserve a storied reputation , joe paterno has called on all penn staters to trust what that ( institution ) stands for . ' if these charges are true , that same veil of trust might have allowed a child sexual predator to go undetected . the world of sports contains many good men . but there is also a culture of silence upon which the myth of men thrives . we often speak of sports in terms of courage and integrity . those altruistic qualities must transcend the field and be brought to bear for the protection of our children . the opinions in this commentary are solely those of don mcpherson . | don mcpherson met jerry sandusky at penn state , had great respect for him |
sandusky <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i met jerry sandusky in the late 1990s . i was at penn state conducting a workshop with coaches on sexual violence . it was a few years after my retirement from professional football and a decade removed from my days at syracuse university , where i competed against sandusky 's defense on the playing field . i had great respect for sandusky as a coach and remember his masterful game plan in the 1986 national championship , when penn state defeated miami with its impeccable strategy , devised by the architect of linebacker u . ' i spoke with sandusky and found he was not a typical defensive coach . he was pleasant and passionate about his charity , the second mile , and the work it did to help young men find their way . i was thoroughly impressed . if the allegations that sandusky sexually abused young boys are true , it would defy the common misperception that pedophiles are monstrous misfits . but it would fit in with the true profile . when i began working in the field of sexual and domestic violence prevention in 1995 , i was stunned to find that more than 80 % of rape survivors know the men who attack them . the vast majority of sexual predators rely on an insidiously derived trust that not only provides access to their victims , but works to maintain their anonymity even in the light of day . they often stand on a broader , established reputation and use threats and gifts to maintain their victims'silence . when i served on the board of stop it now , which is focused on the prevention of sexual abuse of children , i learned that more than 90 % of abused children know their attacker . once again , this defies our misguided belief that predators are like lions in the tall grass waiting to attack . the overwhelming reality is that they are individuals who manipulate trust and positions of power to gain access to their victims and control them . it is this reality that has led to such terms as intimate partner violence ' and interpersonal violence ' and acquaintance rape . ' trust , access and familiarity are the tools of sustained abuse . it is important to note that , in most cases , men are the abusers . this is essential in developing prevention strategies that are grounded in an accurate assessment of who commits the crimes . ignoring the gender of the abusers fits in with our broad view that sexual predators are monsters , ' or social deviants living in shadows . we think of men as the sturdy keepers of social status and power , and the standard bearers of a decent society that plays by the rules . sandusky established a level of trust with his charity work consistent with the commitment he showed for the institutions he represented for most of his life . as a football coach at penn state , sandusky was the epitome of its image and reputation . the program under joe paterno is considered one of the cleanest in college football , boasting high graduation rates and on-field performance . the image , right down to the nittany lion uniform , has been conservative and upstanding . as a prominent coach in that system , sandusky was a central figure . it 's not hard to understand why many around him might have a vested interest in maintaining that perception . penn state stood above in the hypercompetitive and often unscrupulous world of college sports , and this served as a recruiting tool and an assurance to parents of promising high school football players . it 's also not hard to understand why parents of troubled young men would want their sons to have the influence of the environment that penn state and sandusky provided . it would be convenient to consider a child abuser a monster . ' it would be convenient to call the alleged coverup a mistake ' by a couple of college administrators who sought to protect their institutional reputation . that talk has already begun , in part because we do n't want to look at the issue of child sexual abuse or abandon the beliefs we hold , including and especially our faith in sports . but that faith and trust is waning . in an attempt to preserve a storied reputation , joe paterno has called on all penn staters to trust what that ( institution ) stands for . ' if these charges are true , that same veil of trust might have allowed a child sexual predator to go undetected . the world of sports contains many good men . but there is also a culture of silence upon which the myth of men thrives . we often speak of sports in terms of courage and integrity . those altruistic qualities must transcend the field and be brought to bear for the protection of our children . the opinions in this commentary are solely those of don mcpherson . | he says if it 's true sandusky raped boys , it would fit profile of a pedophile |
chavez <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in the wake of his decision to devalue venezuela 's currency , president hugo chavez on sunday said he would put the military on the streets to ensure that business owners do n't raise prices . speaking on his weekly television program , alo presidente , ' chavez railed against merchants who re-price their items in reaction to friday 's announcement that the venezuelan bolivar currency , which had been fixed at 2.15 to the u.s. dollar since 2005 , was devalued to 4.3 to the dollar . for food and medicine , chavez announced a second fixed exchange rate for these necessity ' goods at 2.6 bolivares to the dollar . i want the national guard in the streets , with the people , to fight speculation , ' chavez said , calling re-pricing a form of robbery . a devaluation makes foreign products relatively more expensive for domestic consumers , discouraging imports . chavez showed a photograph in a newspaper of consumers in long lines over the weekend to buy goods , fearing that the sharp devaluation could result in higher prices . the president blamed such lines on teleterror , ' saying that opposition media outlets were fueling a panic . at this moment , there is absolutely no reason for anyone to raise the prices of anything , ' chavez said . he encouraged people to publicly denounce businesses where prices increase and threatened to expropriate businesses that do . the government would transfer ownership of such businesses to the workers , chavez said . | chavez : there is absolutely no reason for anyone to raise the prices of anything ' |
chavez <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in the wake of his decision to devalue venezuela 's currency , president hugo chavez on sunday said he would put the military on the streets to ensure that business owners do n't raise prices . speaking on his weekly television program , alo presidente , ' chavez railed against merchants who re-price their items in reaction to friday 's announcement that the venezuelan bolivar currency , which had been fixed at 2.15 to the u.s. dollar since 2005 , was devalued to 4.3 to the dollar . for food and medicine , chavez announced a second fixed exchange rate for these necessity ' goods at 2.6 bolivares to the dollar . i want the national guard in the streets , with the people , to fight speculation , ' chavez said , calling re-pricing a form of robbery . a devaluation makes foreign products relatively more expensive for domestic consumers , discouraging imports . chavez showed a photograph in a newspaper of consumers in long lines over the weekend to buy goods , fearing that the sharp devaluation could result in higher prices . the president blamed such lines on teleterror , ' saying that opposition media outlets were fueling a panic . at this moment , there is absolutely no reason for anyone to raise the prices of anything , ' chavez said . he encouraged people to publicly denounce businesses where prices increase and threatened to expropriate businesses that do . the government would transfer ownership of such businesses to the workers , chavez said . | chavez threatens to expropriate businesses that raise prices |
chavez <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in the wake of his decision to devalue venezuela 's currency , president hugo chavez on sunday said he would put the military on the streets to ensure that business owners do n't raise prices . speaking on his weekly television program , alo presidente , ' chavez railed against merchants who re-price their items in reaction to friday 's announcement that the venezuelan bolivar currency , which had been fixed at 2.15 to the u.s. dollar since 2005 , was devalued to 4.3 to the dollar . for food and medicine , chavez announced a second fixed exchange rate for these necessity ' goods at 2.6 bolivares to the dollar . i want the national guard in the streets , with the people , to fight speculation , ' chavez said , calling re-pricing a form of robbery . a devaluation makes foreign products relatively more expensive for domestic consumers , discouraging imports . chavez showed a photograph in a newspaper of consumers in long lines over the weekend to buy goods , fearing that the sharp devaluation could result in higher prices . the president blamed such lines on teleterror , ' saying that opposition media outlets were fueling a panic . at this moment , there is absolutely no reason for anyone to raise the prices of anything , ' chavez said . he encouraged people to publicly denounce businesses where prices increase and threatened to expropriate businesses that do . the government would transfer ownership of such businesses to the workers , chavez said . | venezuela president hugo chavez announces devaluation of country 's currency |
pakistan <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- about 35 american activists dressed in pink are expected to take part in a demonstration friday in islamabad against u.s. drone strikes that target militants in pakistan . the u.s. protesters , from the anti-war group code pink , are visiting pakistan to make contact with people affected by the drone strikes and draw the attention of the american public to the situation in areas where the attacks take place . we are here to say , on behalf of those americans with a conscience , that we apologize to the people of pakistan for the killing and suffering ' caused by the drones , medea benjamin , one of the founders of code pink , said at a news conference thursday in islamabad . organized in conjunction with a british advocacy group , the rally friday is scheduled to take place in one of the pakistani capital 's busiest market places . the protesters say they plan to wear bright pink clothes , carry banners and recite anti-drone chants . the drone strike program in pakistan has long been controversial , with conflicting reports on its impact from the u.s. government , pakistani officials and independent organizations . american officials insist that the choice and execution of the strikes -- begun under former president george w. bush and ramped up under president barack obama -- meet strict standards and that cases of civilian deaths or injuries are extremely rare . but a study released last month by stanford law school and new york university 's school of law said the drone attacks had killed far more people than the united states acknowledges , traumatized innocent residents and been largely ineffective . civilians account for a significant portion of those killed , the study said . the drone program is deeply unpopular in pakistan , where the national parliament voted in april to end any authorization for it . code pink 's demonstration friday in islamabad is the precursor to a bigger , more ambitious protest over drone strikes in which the group plans to participate over the weekend . the activists say they hope to join cricket-star-turned-politician imran khan and his party , pakistan tehreek-e-insaf , in a march to south waziristan , part of pakistan 's ungoverned tribal region along the afghanistan border where drone strikes are frequent . but the activists say they are unsure if the pakistani government will allow them to take part in the march to the restive region . the neighboring district , north waziristan , is widely believed to be the headquarters of the haqqani network -- a militant group washington has long accused of fueling some of the deadliest attacks against nato troops in afghanistan . if the authorities prevent them from participating in the march to south waziristan , the code pink activists say they will invite people from the area affected by the drone strikes to join them in a large gathering in islamabad . they say they are also considering the possibility of a hunger strike outside the u.s. embassy in the capital . code pink says on its website that the broader goal of its pakistan trip is to stop the drone strikes and get compensation for the families of civilians killed by the strikes . ' it has held meetings in islamabad this week with victims of the strikes and u.s. officials . the women-led organization became known for antiwar demonstrations in washington during the u.s. buildup in iraq . the group has held protests over a range of different international issues . code pink has regularly disrupted high-profile congressional hearings dealing with war and national defense issues , as well as interrupting speeches by foreign officials like prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel . among the activists with the code pink delegation in pakistan at the moment is ann wright , a former u.s. army colonel and state department official who quit her post to protest the u.s. invasion of iraq . in an appearance this week on the pakistani television station geo tv , wright said that u.s. drone strikes are a violation of pakistan 's sovereignty and are fueling anti-american sentiment in the region . when the pakistani television host asked wright to respond to accusations that she was a radical activist , she said jokingly , i 'm a radical peace activist . ' cnn 's shaan khan reported from islamabad , and jethro mullen from hong kong . cnn 's reza sayah contributed to this report . | the drone strike program in pakistan has long been controversial |
pakistan <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- about 35 american activists dressed in pink are expected to take part in a demonstration friday in islamabad against u.s. drone strikes that target militants in pakistan . the u.s. protesters , from the anti-war group code pink , are visiting pakistan to make contact with people affected by the drone strikes and draw the attention of the american public to the situation in areas where the attacks take place . we are here to say , on behalf of those americans with a conscience , that we apologize to the people of pakistan for the killing and suffering ' caused by the drones , medea benjamin , one of the founders of code pink , said at a news conference thursday in islamabad . organized in conjunction with a british advocacy group , the rally friday is scheduled to take place in one of the pakistani capital 's busiest market places . the protesters say they plan to wear bright pink clothes , carry banners and recite anti-drone chants . the drone strike program in pakistan has long been controversial , with conflicting reports on its impact from the u.s. government , pakistani officials and independent organizations . american officials insist that the choice and execution of the strikes -- begun under former president george w. bush and ramped up under president barack obama -- meet strict standards and that cases of civilian deaths or injuries are extremely rare . but a study released last month by stanford law school and new york university 's school of law said the drone attacks had killed far more people than the united states acknowledges , traumatized innocent residents and been largely ineffective . civilians account for a significant portion of those killed , the study said . the drone program is deeply unpopular in pakistan , where the national parliament voted in april to end any authorization for it . code pink 's demonstration friday in islamabad is the precursor to a bigger , more ambitious protest over drone strikes in which the group plans to participate over the weekend . the activists say they hope to join cricket-star-turned-politician imran khan and his party , pakistan tehreek-e-insaf , in a march to south waziristan , part of pakistan 's ungoverned tribal region along the afghanistan border where drone strikes are frequent . but the activists say they are unsure if the pakistani government will allow them to take part in the march to the restive region . the neighboring district , north waziristan , is widely believed to be the headquarters of the haqqani network -- a militant group washington has long accused of fueling some of the deadliest attacks against nato troops in afghanistan . if the authorities prevent them from participating in the march to south waziristan , the code pink activists say they will invite people from the area affected by the drone strikes to join them in a large gathering in islamabad . they say they are also considering the possibility of a hunger strike outside the u.s. embassy in the capital . code pink says on its website that the broader goal of its pakistan trip is to stop the drone strikes and get compensation for the families of civilians killed by the strikes . ' it has held meetings in islamabad this week with victims of the strikes and u.s. officials . the women-led organization became known for antiwar demonstrations in washington during the u.s. buildup in iraq . the group has held protests over a range of different international issues . code pink has regularly disrupted high-profile congressional hearings dealing with war and national defense issues , as well as interrupting speeches by foreign officials like prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel . among the activists with the code pink delegation in pakistan at the moment is ann wright , a former u.s. army colonel and state department official who quit her post to protest the u.s. invasion of iraq . in an appearance this week on the pakistani television station geo tv , wright said that u.s. drone strikes are a violation of pakistan 's sovereignty and are fueling anti-american sentiment in the region . when the pakistani television host asked wright to respond to accusations that she was a radical activist , she said jokingly , i 'm a radical peace activist . ' cnn 's shaan khan reported from islamabad , and jethro mullen from hong kong . cnn 's reza sayah contributed to this report . | new : an activist says the group is in pakistan to apologize for the killing and suffering ' |
u.s . <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- u.s. coast guard planes and ships were searching friday for a japanese balloonist who disappeared off the alaska coast while flying from japan to the west coast united states . missing japanese balloonist michio kanda ( r ) with naoki ishikawa . friends of balloonist michio kanda , who was on a solo flight , last heard from him via satellite phone at 9 a.m. alaska time ( 6 p.m. gmt ) thursday , said uscg petty officer levi read . when he missed three subsequent scheduled calls over the next six hours , they called the coast guard , read said . read said two coast guard c130 hercules planes conducted searches thursday 435 miles south of adak , alaska , the balloonist 's last known position . the searches continued friday and are ongoing , read said . two coast guard cutters are also headed for the area , but both are at least a day away , he said . read said the balloonist , who was heading for portland , oregon , is equipped with provisions and a survival suit . kanda holds the world record for the longest-duration balloon flight , with a time of 50 hours and 38 minutes , according to the world air sports federation . in that january 1997 flight , he and hirosuke takezawa flew from the canadian provionce of alberta to the u.s. state of montana , according to the federation . e-mail to a friend | balloonist michio kanda missing on flight from japan to u.s . |
japan <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- japan women 's national football team will square off against favorites the united states sunday in their first appearance in a world cup final . regardless of the result , japan 's surprise progress in germany is a much-needed boost for a country recently devastated by massive tremors and a subsequent tsunami . it is also putting women 's sport in the shop window like never before . this is a breath of fresh air , because everything out of japan has been negative over the last few months , ' said tom byer , a youth soccer instructor in japan for over 25 years and former soccer instructor of starter aya miyama . now , you turn on every channel and there are big segments about women 's soccer ... it 's huge for women 's sports here . ' can world cup spark women 's soccer surge ? known as nadeshiko -- or beautiful flower in japanese -- the women 's national team has been the underdog throughout this year 's tournament . they are unlikely to relinquish this role in sunday 's final in frankfurt , with a star-studded and battle tested u.s. squad -- which took home the cup in 1991 and 1999 -- standing in their way . but what many people may not know , byer said , is that the japanese squad has enjoyed a high level of success on the international scene over the last 20 years . in addition to their fourth-place showing at the 2008 beijing olympics , nadeshiko has appeared in each of the six women 's world cups since 1991 , and are coming off a recent win at the 2010 asia games held in guangzhou , china . yet their success has not had a significant impact on the women 's game generally in japan . women 's soccer is grossly underfunded , ' said byer , who once played in japan 's professional soccer league . it was n't until five or six years ago that the japanese football association ( jfa ) got together and decided to put more resources behind women 's soccer . ' he added that recent success from japan 's national team has not increased the number of young girls interested in playing organized soccer . there are just 25,000 girls registered to play youth soccer in japan , a country of more than 125 million people , byer said . this compares to around 200,000 girls registered with the american youth soccer organization in the u.s. state of california alone . so why are japanese women enjoying such a successful period ? it 's not like new york , where you play soccer from the summertime until thanksgiving , ' byer said . in japan , you play 365 days a year and you play only one sport . and you train and train until you fall down . ' but the culture of sport in japan is far different that in the u.s. , byer said . women 's youth soccer in the u.s. , especially for girls under 12 , is purely recreational , ' he said . in japan they are already trying to find who can be on the national team at the age of 12 . ' watching the final game ? send us video of your viewing parties . unlike the u.s. women 's professional soccer league , japan 's l. league is non-professional . in fact , many of the league 's players work normal day jobs to pay their bills . aya [ miyama ] and some of the other players from the team are from mimasaka , a hot spring town . a lot of those women work in the hot spring resort hotels during the day , after the job they go and train , ' said byer . andrew mckirdy , a sports writer for the japan times , an english language newspaper in japan , said the success of the women 's national soccer team has reinvigorated a nation plagued by recent tragedy . the women take a lot of pride in the fact that everything is staked against them , ' he said . looking at germany and sweden -- the last two teams they beat -- those teams are among the best in the world ... that is a source of inspiration for the country . ' the time difference with germany has made watching this year 's world cup difficult for many japanese fans , and the final match -- broadcast at 3:15 a.m. in japan -- is no different . nonetheless , diehard nadeshiko fans are expected to crowd tokyo 's sports bars , cheering on their ladies as they reach for history . i 'm so happy . i was moved very much that nadeshiko japan played such a great game , ' one japanese male fan told cnn , following the team 's semifinals win against sweden . i want nadeshiko to let us dream again at the final game . ' for byer , a bronx-native , the outcome of sunday 's u.s.-japan final is less important than the buzz nadeshiko has already generated in japan about women 's sport . it 's going to lift the whole nation if they win the world cup , ' byer said . even if they do n't , the fact that they got to the final has had a residual effect in japan ... winning it would just be the icing on the cake . ' cnn 's junko ogura and kotoe oshima contributed to this report . | the japan women 's national soccer team is also known as nadeshiko -- or beautiful flower in japanese |
japan <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- japan women 's national football team will square off against favorites the united states sunday in their first appearance in a world cup final . regardless of the result , japan 's surprise progress in germany is a much-needed boost for a country recently devastated by massive tremors and a subsequent tsunami . it is also putting women 's sport in the shop window like never before . this is a breath of fresh air , because everything out of japan has been negative over the last few months , ' said tom byer , a youth soccer instructor in japan for over 25 years and former soccer instructor of starter aya miyama . now , you turn on every channel and there are big segments about women 's soccer ... it 's huge for women 's sports here . ' can world cup spark women 's soccer surge ? known as nadeshiko -- or beautiful flower in japanese -- the women 's national team has been the underdog throughout this year 's tournament . they are unlikely to relinquish this role in sunday 's final in frankfurt , with a star-studded and battle tested u.s. squad -- which took home the cup in 1991 and 1999 -- standing in their way . but what many people may not know , byer said , is that the japanese squad has enjoyed a high level of success on the international scene over the last 20 years . in addition to their fourth-place showing at the 2008 beijing olympics , nadeshiko has appeared in each of the six women 's world cups since 1991 , and are coming off a recent win at the 2010 asia games held in guangzhou , china . yet their success has not had a significant impact on the women 's game generally in japan . women 's soccer is grossly underfunded , ' said byer , who once played in japan 's professional soccer league . it was n't until five or six years ago that the japanese football association ( jfa ) got together and decided to put more resources behind women 's soccer . ' he added that recent success from japan 's national team has not increased the number of young girls interested in playing organized soccer . there are just 25,000 girls registered to play youth soccer in japan , a country of more than 125 million people , byer said . this compares to around 200,000 girls registered with the american youth soccer organization in the u.s. state of california alone . so why are japanese women enjoying such a successful period ? it 's not like new york , where you play soccer from the summertime until thanksgiving , ' byer said . in japan , you play 365 days a year and you play only one sport . and you train and train until you fall down . ' but the culture of sport in japan is far different that in the u.s. , byer said . women 's youth soccer in the u.s. , especially for girls under 12 , is purely recreational , ' he said . in japan they are already trying to find who can be on the national team at the age of 12 . ' watching the final game ? send us video of your viewing parties . unlike the u.s. women 's professional soccer league , japan 's l. league is non-professional . in fact , many of the league 's players work normal day jobs to pay their bills . aya [ miyama ] and some of the other players from the team are from mimasaka , a hot spring town . a lot of those women work in the hot spring resort hotels during the day , after the job they go and train , ' said byer . andrew mckirdy , a sports writer for the japan times , an english language newspaper in japan , said the success of the women 's national soccer team has reinvigorated a nation plagued by recent tragedy . the women take a lot of pride in the fact that everything is staked against them , ' he said . looking at germany and sweden -- the last two teams they beat -- those teams are among the best in the world ... that is a source of inspiration for the country . ' the time difference with germany has made watching this year 's world cup difficult for many japanese fans , and the final match -- broadcast at 3:15 a.m. in japan -- is no different . nonetheless , diehard nadeshiko fans are expected to crowd tokyo 's sports bars , cheering on their ladies as they reach for history . i 'm so happy . i was moved very much that nadeshiko japan played such a great game , ' one japanese male fan told cnn , following the team 's semifinals win against sweden . i want nadeshiko to let us dream again at the final game . ' for byer , a bronx-native , the outcome of sunday 's u.s.-japan final is less important than the buzz nadeshiko has already generated in japan about women 's sport . it 's going to lift the whole nation if they win the world cup , ' byer said . even if they do n't , the fact that they got to the final has had a residual effect in japan ... winning it would just be the icing on the cake . ' cnn 's junko ogura and kotoe oshima contributed to this report . | there are just 25,000 girls registered to play youth soccer in japan , a country of more than 125 million people |
japan <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- japan women 's national football team will square off against favorites the united states sunday in their first appearance in a world cup final . regardless of the result , japan 's surprise progress in germany is a much-needed boost for a country recently devastated by massive tremors and a subsequent tsunami . it is also putting women 's sport in the shop window like never before . this is a breath of fresh air , because everything out of japan has been negative over the last few months , ' said tom byer , a youth soccer instructor in japan for over 25 years and former soccer instructor of starter aya miyama . now , you turn on every channel and there are big segments about women 's soccer ... it 's huge for women 's sports here . ' can world cup spark women 's soccer surge ? known as nadeshiko -- or beautiful flower in japanese -- the women 's national team has been the underdog throughout this year 's tournament . they are unlikely to relinquish this role in sunday 's final in frankfurt , with a star-studded and battle tested u.s. squad -- which took home the cup in 1991 and 1999 -- standing in their way . but what many people may not know , byer said , is that the japanese squad has enjoyed a high level of success on the international scene over the last 20 years . in addition to their fourth-place showing at the 2008 beijing olympics , nadeshiko has appeared in each of the six women 's world cups since 1991 , and are coming off a recent win at the 2010 asia games held in guangzhou , china . yet their success has not had a significant impact on the women 's game generally in japan . women 's soccer is grossly underfunded , ' said byer , who once played in japan 's professional soccer league . it was n't until five or six years ago that the japanese football association ( jfa ) got together and decided to put more resources behind women 's soccer . ' he added that recent success from japan 's national team has not increased the number of young girls interested in playing organized soccer . there are just 25,000 girls registered to play youth soccer in japan , a country of more than 125 million people , byer said . this compares to around 200,000 girls registered with the american youth soccer organization in the u.s. state of california alone . so why are japanese women enjoying such a successful period ? it 's not like new york , where you play soccer from the summertime until thanksgiving , ' byer said . in japan , you play 365 days a year and you play only one sport . and you train and train until you fall down . ' but the culture of sport in japan is far different that in the u.s. , byer said . women 's youth soccer in the u.s. , especially for girls under 12 , is purely recreational , ' he said . in japan they are already trying to find who can be on the national team at the age of 12 . ' watching the final game ? send us video of your viewing parties . unlike the u.s. women 's professional soccer league , japan 's l. league is non-professional . in fact , many of the league 's players work normal day jobs to pay their bills . aya [ miyama ] and some of the other players from the team are from mimasaka , a hot spring town . a lot of those women work in the hot spring resort hotels during the day , after the job they go and train , ' said byer . andrew mckirdy , a sports writer for the japan times , an english language newspaper in japan , said the success of the women 's national soccer team has reinvigorated a nation plagued by recent tragedy . the women take a lot of pride in the fact that everything is staked against them , ' he said . looking at germany and sweden -- the last two teams they beat -- those teams are among the best in the world ... that is a source of inspiration for the country . ' the time difference with germany has made watching this year 's world cup difficult for many japanese fans , and the final match -- broadcast at 3:15 a.m. in japan -- is no different . nonetheless , diehard nadeshiko fans are expected to crowd tokyo 's sports bars , cheering on their ladies as they reach for history . i 'm so happy . i was moved very much that nadeshiko japan played such a great game , ' one japanese male fan told cnn , following the team 's semifinals win against sweden . i want nadeshiko to let us dream again at the final game . ' for byer , a bronx-native , the outcome of sunday 's u.s.-japan final is less important than the buzz nadeshiko has already generated in japan about women 's sport . it 's going to lift the whole nation if they win the world cup , ' byer said . even if they do n't , the fact that they got to the final has had a residual effect in japan ... winning it would just be the icing on the cake . ' cnn 's junko ogura and kotoe oshima contributed to this report . | japan is seeking its first women 's world cup title |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the national rifle association is heading back to the airwaves with yet another round of ads aimed at fighting gun-control initiatives circulating in washington . the advocacy group announced earlier this week that its ceo , wayne lapierre , would unveil the new ad campaign saturday night from salt lake city during a speech at the western hunting and conservation expo . in the same statement saying lapierre would showcase new ads , the nra said he would also confront the real consequences of so-called'universal background checks .'' as it turned out , lapierre did not mention any new advertising in his remarks . but he did -- as he has done passionately in the past -- rail against president barack obama and other democrats and the background checks that he said are at the very heart of their anti-gun agenda . ' this so-called universal background check that you 're hearing about all over the media ... is aimed at one thing : it 's aimed at registering your guns , ' lapierre claimed . and when another tragic opportunity presents itself , that registry will be used to confiscate your guns . ' the ads are the nra 's latest salvo in the gun debate , attempting to influence the public -- and , thus , lawmakers -- to challenge a fresh gun-control push , one that the nra ceo called the single most devastating attack on the second amendment that this country has ever seen . ' the influential lobbying group has been vocal since obama called for action in the days after the mass shooting at an elementary school in newtown , connecticut , that left 20 students and six adults dead . afterward , nra leaders said they would work with local officials to get more qualified armed guards in schools , while sharply resisting proposals to ban assault weapons , limit the size of gun magazines and to expand the system of background checks for firearms purchases . the nra efforts include advertisements such as the one , broadcast in mid-january , that described obama as an elitist hypocrite ' because his two daughters are protected while at school by armed federal agents and yet he is skeptical ' about having armed personnel at all schools . the white house blasted that ad , as did members of both political parties , for injecting the president 's children into the debate ( and not acknowledging they may face different threats than other american schoolchildren ) . but nra president david keene defended the spot on cnn , saying , what we 're talking about is folks who have protections for their own children , ... then pooh-pooh the idea that the average american 's children should have the same sort of protection . ' the gun rights organization also posted a web video that month asserting obama 's attempts to enact gun control laws would result in the confiscation ' of people 's firearms . more recently , the nra ran ads in newspapers in five states -- arkansas , louisiana , maine , north carolina and west virginia -- with the headline : will obama 's gun control proposals work ? his own experts say'no .'' democratic incumbent senators in three of those states are facing tough reelection fights , another is retiring and in the fifth , maine , moderate republican sen. susan collins is up for reelection next year . that ad buy , which also includes regional publications and online commercials , will cost the nra about $ 350,000 , a source familiar with it told cnn . this follows the spending of about $ 100,000 to air a web video on various news sites in alaska , arkansas , louisiana , colorado , south dakota and the district of columbia . the nra has been successful in the past in thwarting gun-control legislation by building support on the grass-roots level , and that is where the group is focusing much of its efforts now . still , the organization has a challenge , given the horrific nature of the newtown massacre -- coming on the heels of several other mass shootings -- and the high priority that obama is placing on gun control . it also has competition in terms of ads , with groups such as moveon.org and mayors against illegal guns taking to newspapers and the airwaves themselves to push for stricter gun control measures . | group has actively opposed gun control measures backed by president obama |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the national rifle association is heading back to the airwaves with yet another round of ads aimed at fighting gun-control initiatives circulating in washington . the advocacy group announced earlier this week that its ceo , wayne lapierre , would unveil the new ad campaign saturday night from salt lake city during a speech at the western hunting and conservation expo . in the same statement saying lapierre would showcase new ads , the nra said he would also confront the real consequences of so-called'universal background checks .'' as it turned out , lapierre did not mention any new advertising in his remarks . but he did -- as he has done passionately in the past -- rail against president barack obama and other democrats and the background checks that he said are at the very heart of their anti-gun agenda . ' this so-called universal background check that you 're hearing about all over the media ... is aimed at one thing : it 's aimed at registering your guns , ' lapierre claimed . and when another tragic opportunity presents itself , that registry will be used to confiscate your guns . ' the ads are the nra 's latest salvo in the gun debate , attempting to influence the public -- and , thus , lawmakers -- to challenge a fresh gun-control push , one that the nra ceo called the single most devastating attack on the second amendment that this country has ever seen . ' the influential lobbying group has been vocal since obama called for action in the days after the mass shooting at an elementary school in newtown , connecticut , that left 20 students and six adults dead . afterward , nra leaders said they would work with local officials to get more qualified armed guards in schools , while sharply resisting proposals to ban assault weapons , limit the size of gun magazines and to expand the system of background checks for firearms purchases . the nra efforts include advertisements such as the one , broadcast in mid-january , that described obama as an elitist hypocrite ' because his two daughters are protected while at school by armed federal agents and yet he is skeptical ' about having armed personnel at all schools . the white house blasted that ad , as did members of both political parties , for injecting the president 's children into the debate ( and not acknowledging they may face different threats than other american schoolchildren ) . but nra president david keene defended the spot on cnn , saying , what we 're talking about is folks who have protections for their own children , ... then pooh-pooh the idea that the average american 's children should have the same sort of protection . ' the gun rights organization also posted a web video that month asserting obama 's attempts to enact gun control laws would result in the confiscation ' of people 's firearms . more recently , the nra ran ads in newspapers in five states -- arkansas , louisiana , maine , north carolina and west virginia -- with the headline : will obama 's gun control proposals work ? his own experts say'no .'' democratic incumbent senators in three of those states are facing tough reelection fights , another is retiring and in the fifth , maine , moderate republican sen. susan collins is up for reelection next year . that ad buy , which also includes regional publications and online commercials , will cost the nra about $ 350,000 , a source familiar with it told cnn . this follows the spending of about $ 100,000 to air a web video on various news sites in alaska , arkansas , louisiana , colorado , south dakota and the district of columbia . the nra has been successful in the past in thwarting gun-control legislation by building support on the grass-roots level , and that is where the group is focusing much of its efforts now . still , the organization has a challenge , given the horrific nature of the newtown massacre -- coming on the heels of several other mass shootings -- and the high priority that obama is placing on gun control . it also has competition in terms of ads , with groups such as moveon.org and mayors against illegal guns taking to newspapers and the airwaves themselves to push for stricter gun control measures . | one past ad questions why obama 's children have armed security , other students do not |
portugal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- wherever the olive tree grows , you wo n't find much tax being collected , ' the mayor of a small town in southern spain told me a few years ago . he shrugged ; such was life . he probably had no idea that some high-powered academics were about to come up with the same conclusion . when they analyzed europe 's shadow economies ' -- defined as areas that fall beyond the reach of the taxman -- those of greece , italy , spain and portugal were much larger ( relatively ) than those in northern europe . that is partly because of the higher number of self-employed and family businesses , which tend to deal in cash and pay little tax . but to many economic commentators , tax evasion is also a national pastime in much of southern europe , and a significant factor in the region 's burgeoning financial crisis . according to a 2007 paper by austrian economist friedrich schneider , the shadow economy in italy accounted for 22.3 % of gross domestic product ( gdp ) , that of spain 19.3 % ; portugal 19.2 % and greece a staggering 25.1 % . by comparison , the u.s. shadow economy was 7.2 % of gdp . a recent european union report came up with similar figures . silvio berlusconi mused several years ago that high tax rates in italy made evasion a natural right ' for many . and the evidence does suggest that wherever tax rates and social security contributions are high , the shadow economy is larger . the u.s. ambassador in rome noted in a 2009 diplomatic cable published by wikileaks that italy was addicted both to profligate social welfare spending and to tax evasion . ' and this year , industry minister paolo romani estimated phantom ' or undeclared income in italy at a monstrous $ 320 billion . the italian state -- whose debt has measured more than 100 % of gdp every year since 1992 -- is perennially poor , in a country of individual wealth that 's well hidden from the authorities . economy minister giulio tremonti recently told a conference that fewer than 800 people in italy -- which is the world 's seventh-richest country -- had declared incomes of more than 1 million euros ( $ 1.4 million ) in 2010 . that means the salaried middle class end up paying more . tremonti is aiming to more than double the amount recovered from tax evasion within the next two years . a recently unveiled series of television commercials attacks the parassita della societa ' -- the parasites evading taxes , comparing them with malarial mosquitoes . even so , the european commission is not optimistic that italy 's heavy reliance ' on tackling tax evasion will be enough to balance the budget within two years . greek pm optimistic about referendum until 2006 , national and local taxes in italy were collected by banks and other private institutions . it was only five years ago that a single agency -- equitalia -- was created to modernize tax collection . not that italians have taken the agency to their hearts , with effigies of equitalia sometimes hanged at public protests . the italian media and activist groups say the agency has gone after the lower middle-class taxpayers for small tax debts , often forcing people into foreclosure , while tax evasion among the wealthy remains rampant . taxation in italy also is a cumbersome business . for example , there are six different levels of taxation on diesel fuel -- from fishing boats to taxis and ambulances . and there are multiple agencies involved in tax assessment that are not famous for cooperating . but the price of not improving the government 's tax take may be high . until now italy has been able to service its debt with relative comfort , but higher interest rates on its bonds may imperil that . the yield on italian debt now exceeds 6 % . greece is renowned for its history of tax evasion , estimated last year as worth 4 % of gdp -- $ 11 billion . it may be much more : the federation of greek industries has estimated that the government may be losing as much as $ 30 billion a year to tax evasion . a report by the organization for economic co-operation and development on greece last year concluded that to fight widespread tax evasion , a sustained and major effort to strengthen tax administration is necessary . particular emphasis should be placed on enforcement to ensure that those in the informal economy are brought into the tax net . ' that apparently includes some prominent doctors in an up-market part of athens , who declared incomes of less that $ 45,000 but had kids at private schools , and owned swimming pools , yachts and other visible signs of wealth . their names were published last year as part of a populist campaign by prime minister george papandreou to get tough with tax evaders . more embarrassment came when professor herakles polemarchakis -- former head of the prime minister 's economic department -- found that the farming town of larisa in greece had more porsche cayenne suvs per capita than any other city in the world . in an article , polemarchakis noted : the proliferation of cayennes is a curiosity , given that farming is not a flourishing sector in greece ' and that declared incomes in larisa were very modest . greece has revived an economic crimes enforcement agency ' and tried to improve tax collection as part of a multi-pronged initiative to cut the budget deficit . but collecting more taxes in the teeth of a savage recession is not easy . the opposition new democracy party has argued for lower tax rates combined with more effective action in tackling tax evasion . the influential london business school says in a recent paper that the greek tax system is hopelessly broken . tax and customs and excise evasion must be addressed head-on , ' it says , while noting that former senior officials at the ministry of finance had forecast astonishingly , that even if all the tax-collecting authorities were shut down , state revenues would not suffer noticeably . ' the london business school report says many officials had simply refused to carry out audits demanded by the finance ministry and concluded that the current tax authorities were beyond salvation . ' spain has done more than most to tackle tax evasion , according to analysts , taking more tax cheats to court and gathering more data from bills and credit card records to pursue tax evaders . authorities have tracked down an estimated 200,000 individuals who had not declared income from rental properties , previously a massive source of tax evasion . five years ago the spanish ministry of finance also launched an investigation to find out why a quarter of all high-denomination 500-euro notes circulating in europe were in spain . the answer -- they were handy for organized crime and as a way of evading taxes in spain 's booming ( but now busted ) construction industry . spaniards began calling the 500-euro note the'bin laden'-- everyone knew what it stood for and what it looked like , but no one ever saw it . ( italian investigators have warned that the bank note was becoming popular with the mafia and adding to the problem of tax evasion . ) the spanish government reaped more than $ 13 billion last year by clamping down on evasion -- 23 % more than in 2009 . spain 's tax authorities have established special units to monitor the offshoring ' of revenues by companies and fraud in the real estate market . but groups like the corporate social responsibility observatory say 80 % of spain 's largest firms continue to harbor profits in tax havens . better tax collection is not going to solve the myriad of economic problems confronting the mediterranean countries , where extravagant state spending , inflexible labor markets , distorted competition policy and inefficient state enterprises have all contributed to the current crisis . but at a time when investors and lenders want to see fiscal rectitude , ' going after tax evaders is one of the easier ways of demonstrating intent . | for greece , italy , spain and portugal , they represent sizable portions of the gdp |
iraq <tsp> copenhagen , denamrk ( cnn ) -- what makes someone decide to become an actor ? it sometimes seems as if the average hollywood star is motivated mainly by the promise of a fat pay check . connie nielsen shot to fame playing lucilla in gladiator . ' or perhaps they 're drawn to the celebrity lifestyle . maybe they crave the love of an adoring public , or perhaps they see the movies as a way to leave their mark on the world , to be immortalized on celluloid . for danish actress connie nielsen it was something quite different . for her , being an actor means being an outsider . as an artist you actually do have to make a choice to be an outsider . if you 're an outsider you have the freedom to say what people on the inside do n't dare to say , ' she told cnn . so connie nielsen is not your typical movie star . as a 5-foot-10-inch blonde scandinavian beauty she has the looks of a classic silver screen siren , but she has steadfastly resisted a career as hollywood eye candy and rejected the lifestyle that goes with it . i absolutely refuse the fame part of my business , ' she says . i refuse even the money side of my business . i try to do as good work as i can do , i try to grow in my art and reach for truth , ' she says . raised in elling , a small coastal village in denmark , she is fluent in seven languages and studied acting in france and italy , making her screen debut in french comedy par où t'es rentré ? on t'a pas vu sortir ' ( u.s. title how did you get in ? we did n't see you leave ' ) in 1984 . she appeared in more french and italian movies before landing a role opposite al pacino and keanu reeves in the devil 's advocate ' in 1997 . but it was n't until 2000 , when she was cast in ridley scott 's oscar-winning gladiator ' , that nielsen landed a role that really let her show her acting ability . as lucilla , the sister of the villainous emperor commodus , nielsen brought some much-needed subtlety to the swords-and-sandals epic and held her own sharing the screen with joaquin phoenix and russell crowe . the movie made nielsen an international star and she scored other successes with one hour photo ' in 2002 , and the hunted ' in 2003 . but while the success of gladiator ' opened doors for her , it also meant she had to fight the kind of typecasting that would try to limit her to playing the love interest ' to a male lead who got all the good lines . nielsen has in the past been critical of hollywood for its lack of female roles , saying you think once you 've shown what you can do , and your movies have been successful , that snap , you work . so to discover the difference between guys'roles and girls'roles made me plain mad . it 's unjust . ' but nielsen has refused to be pigeonholed , seemingly drawn to difficult roles in controversial movies . she appeared in french movie demonlover ' , which dealt with pornography , violence and corporate amorality , while more recent films have taken on the wars in afghanistan and iraq . danish drama brødre ' ( u.s. title brothers ' ) is about a soldier who returns from afghanistan a broken man , unable to communicate his experiences from the conflict . playing his wife , nielsen put in a powerful performance that won her awards and served to highlight how hollywood had underused her talents . the situation ' in 2006 was billed as the first film to be made about the iraq war and told the story of ordinary iraqis caught up in the conflict , while battle of seattle ' examined how peaceful protests erupted into riots when the world trade organization met in seattle in 1999 . of her choice of subject matter , nielsen says that rather than making a political point she is trying to show the human aspects of the conflicts . but nielsen makes it clear that her career is not the focus of her life and she stresses the importance of making time outside the movies . she is passionate about literature and art and she is currently dating lars ulrich , drummer of rock group metallica . she had a son with him in 2007 and has another son from a previous relationship . i will always find something that i want to try and become better at . i always love to spend more time with my friends , more time with my family , my extended family . i always want to read more books , ' she says . perhaps her commitment to her art , her interest in social issues and her disavowal of fame simply reflect her danish upbringing , but there 's no doubt that compared to many other hollywood stars connie nielsen is a breath of fresh air . | she has appeared in movies dealing with the wars in afghanistan and iraq |
missouri <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a 41-year-old elephant named patience charged and killed a springfield , missouri , zookeeper who had come to feed her friday . john phillip bradford , 62 , died in the elephant enclosure at dickerson park zoo , according to springfield police department spokeswoman lisa cox . he was the manager of elephants , and had worked at the zoo for 30 years , according to a zoo statement . bradford was in the enclosure with two other workers when patience charged him . the other two workers were unharmed , cox said . what set off the incident is unclear . the zoo referred questions to the city . this is very sad day for the zoo family , as well as our community as a whole , ' zoo director mike crocker said in a written statement . the elephant has been at the zoo since 1990 . the zoo has n't had any previous problems with its elephants , cox said . the zoo 's elephant matriarch , connie , died last week , according to the zoo website . the zoo opened as normal friday , but the elephant exhibit was closed . | john philip bradford was 30-year veteran of a missouri zoo |
eta <tsp> madrid ( cnn ) -- spanish police seized a total of 1,600 kilos of bomb-making materials this week from suspected eta hideouts -- the largest haul ever against the basque separatist group in spain . authorities also arrested three eta suspects this week -- including one during a seizure on thursday -- in the latest actions in a police crackdown against eta despite its unilateral cease-fire declared last january 10 . the spanish government has vowed to keep up the pressure on eta because the outlawed group , listed as a terrorist organization by the european union and the united states , has broken cease-fires in the past . the police on tuesday arrested two men in northern spain suspected of supplying explosives and bomb-making materials to eta . a search of their property turned up 850 kilos ( 1,870 pounds ) of bomb-making components . then on thursday , the police discovered another 750 kilos ( 1,650 pounds ) of explosives and components at various suspected hideouts , and arrested a third suspect . the two seizures totaled about 3,520 pounds . eta is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for basque independence , many of those due to car bombs and package bombs . last month in france , police arrested the suspected military chief of eta , in charge of commandos who carry out the bombings . in recent years , the police have arrested in succession a series of suspected eta military chiefs as eta replacements step in to fill the vacant position at the top . also last month , in northern spain , police arrested four key eta suspects who authorities said had tried to operate under police radar , carrying on ostensibly law-abiding lives but secretly working for eta . police seized 200 kilograms ( 440 pounds ) of explosives in those raids . top government officials have said eta appears to be weaker than ever , but they have warned that the group still has the capacity to kill . the socialist government and the main opposition conservative party have said eta 's current unilateral cease-fire is not enough , and that only a commitment to permanently end the violence and lay down weapons would suffice . deputy prime minister alfredo perez rubalcaba said last month , the government 's anti-terrorist policy has not changed at all because eta has not definitively abandoned its weapons . and as long as it does n't , the police will continue to arrest them , one after another . ' | officials say eta appears to be weaker than ever , but warn it the group is still deadly |
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