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russia <tsp> editor 's note : andrey kurkov is a ukrainian novelist born in st. petersburg in 1961 . having graduated from the kiev foreign languages institute , he worked as a journalist , did his military service as a prison warden in odessa , then became a cameraman , writer of screenplays and author . his books are published in english by harvill secker in the uk and meville house in the u.s . the views expressed in this commentary are solely his . for two nights between the 4th and 6th of march , i barely slept . i was checking the internet every hour to see if russia had started war with ukraine . then the feeling of imminent danger was replaced by emotional fatigue . although a war still seemed unavoidable , it did n't inspire the same fear as in the early days of the occupation of crimea . ukrainian volunteers started to flow towards crimea and the eastern border with russia , while roads filled up with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles . ukraine was making an attempt to flex its military muscles , both to test the condition of the army and to reassure the population that we could protect ourselves . it became clear that since independence in 1991 neither ukrainian presidents nor the government had taken care of the military . nobody thought that ukraine might need an army ; it was as simple as that . nobody thought that until this year and now it 's an everyday topic . this , and a war with russia . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov repeats each day that russia does n't plan to occupy eastern and southern ukraine . but it would be odd if anyone believed him . russia also did n't plan to annex crimea . even russian president vladimir putin said that . on march 5 , putin announced to the world that military maneuvers ' were successfully completed and by march 7 all russian soldiers , together with their equipment , would be back in their usual location , leaving crimea alone . however , instead of the promised end of these maneuvers , ' more than 10,000 russian troops arrived in crimea . what to do with crimea ? when it comes to the occupation of crimea , the ukrainian government stands firm . something that must occupy the mind of putin and others in the kremlin . this position is without doubt due to the u.s. support of ukraine . the rest of the world agrees that crimea is ukrainian territory occupied by russia . while putin continues to show he is not interested in the opinion of the rest of the world , this fact will have rather serious consequences for the occupied peninsula itself . ukrainian international airlines stopped all its flights to the crimean capital simferopol and crimean residents are now anxiously waiting for the summer holiday season . a recent law passed in kiev about occupied territories means that ukrainians ca n't enter without prior approval from the authorities . russian prime minister medvedev , who visited crimea recently , promised 33 airplanes full of visitors from russia each day during the summer . under pressure from the kremlin , russian airlines -- the only ones now flying to the peninsula -- have slashed prices on flights . i think russian oligarchs will soon receive an order from the kremlin to buy holiday packages to crimean sanitoriums and resorts for their employees . otherwise how will the kremlin get 8 million russian visitors promised to crimea this summer ? and if all of russia 's citizens do decide to support crimean hotels and resorts this summer , then who will visit the newly built super-resort of sochi ? but the summer season in crimea only lasts a little more than three months . and after that , what ? crimea produces wine and grows fruit . they can only export it to russia , but russia has enough wine and fruit of its own . putin will have no other choice but to follow europe 's example and subsidize farmers and winemakers so they do n't grow anything and reduce wine production . the impact of this acquisition ' on russia 's budget looks scary . no wonder that the pre-referendum promise to quadruple pensions for crimea 's residents has been replaced with one to reconsider it starting from january 2016 . currently tram and trolleybus driver 's salaries are frozen , the number of suburban trains had been cut and people are trying to figure out how to keep on living . building a soviet'jurassic park' if the self-proclaimed crimean government asked me the question : how can crimea keep on going ? ' i would answer that we should create some kind of theme park there . something between disneyland and jurassic park , but much bigger and more exotic . for the last 20 years crimea has been known for its love for everything soviet . strictly speaking , crimea has remained soviet . against the background of south crimea 's truly stunning coast , lovingly preserved soviet monuments look very odd . my favorite one -- a big statue of lenin in koreiz , not far from yalta -- has him standing on the cliff looking sternly in the direction of turkey . there are times , when i think that russia occupied this peninsula so that ukrainian nationalists could n't demolish these soviet-era landmarks , just as they did in kiev and central and western ukraine . so in my eyes the only possible solution to the complex economical situation in crimea would be the creation of a theme park of soviet life . considering that putin has often said he considers the collapse of soviet union as his own personal tragedy , it would n't be too much of a risk to call the park , spread over 27,000 square kilometers , putinland . ' a simple , scary scenario but i know that for ukrainians this is not the right moment for jokes . nor for me either ; i look towards the near future with anxiety . my main concern is that russia will start destabilizing southeast ukraine before the presidential elections on may 25 . putin has already declared that he wo n't recognize the results of the elections , but what is even more important for him , is that these elections do n't take place at all . if they do n't then he can keep talking about the illegitimacy of the government , the absence of a legitimate president , and he can move further into ukraine under the pretext of protecting the russian-speaking population . the scenario of the russian expansion could look very simple : may 9 will be commemorated as victory day -- something of an annual cult holiday for many in russia . you can expect that this year communists and pro-russian activists in the south and east of ukraine will demonstrate , claiming to be commemorating victory over nazi germany . the gatherings will follow a familiar pattern : the occupation of local government buildings and the planting of russian flags on their roofs . it is clear that ukrainian authorities have got stronger and will use police and the security services to prevent this happening . riots will start with the first victims coming from the protesters and police . at that point russia can send in its armed peace-keeping ' forces in to bring order . i am afraid that once russian peace-keepers ' enter ukrainian territory they will not stop until they get to kiev . that is because the kremlin 's main goal remains to put a pro-russian government in ukraine , the kind that will sign an agreement of friendship and cooperation and will recognize to crimea as a russian territory . only when this agreement is reached can russia finally relax and develop the crimean peninsula legally and without the fear of political and economic sanctions from the european union and the u.s . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrey kurkov | crimea may become a burden on russia and isolated from the rest of the world |
russia <tsp> editor 's note : andrey kurkov is a ukrainian novelist born in st. petersburg in 1961 . having graduated from the kiev foreign languages institute , he worked as a journalist , did his military service as a prison warden in odessa , then became a cameraman , writer of screenplays and author . his books are published in english by harvill secker in the uk and meville house in the u.s . the views expressed in this commentary are solely his . for two nights between the 4th and 6th of march , i barely slept . i was checking the internet every hour to see if russia had started war with ukraine . then the feeling of imminent danger was replaced by emotional fatigue . although a war still seemed unavoidable , it did n't inspire the same fear as in the early days of the occupation of crimea . ukrainian volunteers started to flow towards crimea and the eastern border with russia , while roads filled up with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles . ukraine was making an attempt to flex its military muscles , both to test the condition of the army and to reassure the population that we could protect ourselves . it became clear that since independence in 1991 neither ukrainian presidents nor the government had taken care of the military . nobody thought that ukraine might need an army ; it was as simple as that . nobody thought that until this year and now it 's an everyday topic . this , and a war with russia . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov repeats each day that russia does n't plan to occupy eastern and southern ukraine . but it would be odd if anyone believed him . russia also did n't plan to annex crimea . even russian president vladimir putin said that . on march 5 , putin announced to the world that military maneuvers ' were successfully completed and by march 7 all russian soldiers , together with their equipment , would be back in their usual location , leaving crimea alone . however , instead of the promised end of these maneuvers , ' more than 10,000 russian troops arrived in crimea . what to do with crimea ? when it comes to the occupation of crimea , the ukrainian government stands firm . something that must occupy the mind of putin and others in the kremlin . this position is without doubt due to the u.s. support of ukraine . the rest of the world agrees that crimea is ukrainian territory occupied by russia . while putin continues to show he is not interested in the opinion of the rest of the world , this fact will have rather serious consequences for the occupied peninsula itself . ukrainian international airlines stopped all its flights to the crimean capital simferopol and crimean residents are now anxiously waiting for the summer holiday season . a recent law passed in kiev about occupied territories means that ukrainians ca n't enter without prior approval from the authorities . russian prime minister medvedev , who visited crimea recently , promised 33 airplanes full of visitors from russia each day during the summer . under pressure from the kremlin , russian airlines -- the only ones now flying to the peninsula -- have slashed prices on flights . i think russian oligarchs will soon receive an order from the kremlin to buy holiday packages to crimean sanitoriums and resorts for their employees . otherwise how will the kremlin get 8 million russian visitors promised to crimea this summer ? and if all of russia 's citizens do decide to support crimean hotels and resorts this summer , then who will visit the newly built super-resort of sochi ? but the summer season in crimea only lasts a little more than three months . and after that , what ? crimea produces wine and grows fruit . they can only export it to russia , but russia has enough wine and fruit of its own . putin will have no other choice but to follow europe 's example and subsidize farmers and winemakers so they do n't grow anything and reduce wine production . the impact of this acquisition ' on russia 's budget looks scary . no wonder that the pre-referendum promise to quadruple pensions for crimea 's residents has been replaced with one to reconsider it starting from january 2016 . currently tram and trolleybus driver 's salaries are frozen , the number of suburban trains had been cut and people are trying to figure out how to keep on living . building a soviet'jurassic park' if the self-proclaimed crimean government asked me the question : how can crimea keep on going ? ' i would answer that we should create some kind of theme park there . something between disneyland and jurassic park , but much bigger and more exotic . for the last 20 years crimea has been known for its love for everything soviet . strictly speaking , crimea has remained soviet . against the background of south crimea 's truly stunning coast , lovingly preserved soviet monuments look very odd . my favorite one -- a big statue of lenin in koreiz , not far from yalta -- has him standing on the cliff looking sternly in the direction of turkey . there are times , when i think that russia occupied this peninsula so that ukrainian nationalists could n't demolish these soviet-era landmarks , just as they did in kiev and central and western ukraine . so in my eyes the only possible solution to the complex economical situation in crimea would be the creation of a theme park of soviet life . considering that putin has often said he considers the collapse of soviet union as his own personal tragedy , it would n't be too much of a risk to call the park , spread over 27,000 square kilometers , putinland . ' a simple , scary scenario but i know that for ukrainians this is not the right moment for jokes . nor for me either ; i look towards the near future with anxiety . my main concern is that russia will start destabilizing southeast ukraine before the presidential elections on may 25 . putin has already declared that he wo n't recognize the results of the elections , but what is even more important for him , is that these elections do n't take place at all . if they do n't then he can keep talking about the illegitimacy of the government , the absence of a legitimate president , and he can move further into ukraine under the pretext of protecting the russian-speaking population . the scenario of the russian expansion could look very simple : may 9 will be commemorated as victory day -- something of an annual cult holiday for many in russia . you can expect that this year communists and pro-russian activists in the south and east of ukraine will demonstrate , claiming to be commemorating victory over nazi germany . the gatherings will follow a familiar pattern : the occupation of local government buildings and the planting of russian flags on their roofs . it is clear that ukrainian authorities have got stronger and will use police and the security services to prevent this happening . riots will start with the first victims coming from the protesters and police . at that point russia can send in its armed peace-keeping ' forces in to bring order . i am afraid that once russian peace-keepers ' enter ukrainian territory they will not stop until they get to kiev . that is because the kremlin 's main goal remains to put a pro-russian government in ukraine , the kind that will sign an agreement of friendship and cooperation and will recognize to crimea as a russian territory . only when this agreement is reached can russia finally relax and develop the crimean peninsula legally and without the fear of political and economic sanctions from the european union and the u.s . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of andrey kurkov | talk of war with russia is on everyone 's mind in ukraine , says novelist andrey kurkov |
italy <tsp> ( cnn ) -- at least 10 people drowned in the mediterranean when a ship sank between libya and the italian island of lampedusa sunday , according to italy 's official news agency . seventy people , including 62 men and eight women , were rescued , ansa reported . one of the women is pregnant , it said . the search by italy 's navy and coast guard is underway for any other survivors , but the report did not say how many people were still missing . the report referred to the ship 's passengers as migrants , suggesting they are from north africa . a boat carrying about 100 migrants from tunisia ran into trouble in the same area two months ago , triggering a rescue effort by the italians and nato ships . lampedusa , the closest italian island to africa , has become a destination for tens of thousands of refugees seeking to enter european union countries . boats carrying migrants often are in peril at sea . amnesty international reported at least 1,500 deaths last year of people attempting to cross the mediterranean sea . the human rights monitoring group said some of the deaths could have been prevented . the desire of some european countries to prevent irregular migration ( people who do not have permission to live and work in these countries ) has undermined safe and timely rescue at sea , ' amnesty international said . | italy 's navy and coast guard is searching for more survivors |
mit <tsp> ( cnn ) -- from the single , centrally-positioned seat to the crash-proof frame , this formula one-like car is an alluring piece of kit . it would make any driver stand out in a traffic jam , and it 's completely road legal . but the truly ground-breaking feature of bac 's ultra-sleek design is still under wraps . the company are developing an autonomous rear wing that self-transforms according to the conditions . in rainy weather it curves to increase downforce for a safer drive , and straightens out when the downpour clears . this process is powered by the rain itself . the startling concept is the result of collaboration with mit 's pioneering self-assembly lab , which seeks to programme materials to build themselves , and transform how we make things . any place that uses robotics today , you could use materials and have the same capabilities , ' says skylar tibbits , a computational architect who leads the lab and the movement . with planes , we have done a great job of making articulated wings to have lift , to change aerodynamics and make the plane functional . but the weight , energy and control mechanisms involved are pretty excessive at this point . trying to find more elegant solutions seems an obvious target , and what we 're proposing is a single material with the same actuation capability , the same sensing , the same range of movement , if not more . ' the self-assembly process has been described as 4d printing . tibbits'team produce composite materials that react in predictable ways when exposed to external stimulus such as water . the materials are 3d-printed into specific shapes and then autonomously transform into another , with wide-ranging implications for industry from automotive to medical to military . but the dream for a new paradigm of component-free , labor-sparing robotics requires further breakthroughs . more materials , more energy sources , ' tibbits says are the current priorities . wood and carbon fibers are responding well , but can we do it with everyday materials , with repeatability ? can we fuel it with heat and light ? ' if he can , the results would not merely match existing capabilities . we can develop material compositions that respond to many different triggers , or find solutions that have n't been programmed but fall within an acceptable range . they could self-optimize based on logic and sensing . ' tibbits acknowledges that not every industry likes surprises , ' but the lab 's client list indicates a huge appetite for self-assembly . in addition to bac , the team are collaborating with airbus to develop the wing design . they are working with engineering giants geosyntec to deliver autonomous pipes that expand , narrow and regulate the flow , taking on the function of pump and valve . fashion and furniture are also targets -- making the self-lacing sneakers of'back to the future'a possibility at last . the field is expanding . harvard 's dr. jennifer lewis is leading a wide-ranging exploration of 4d printing , which recently received a grant from the us military , along with two other research institutions . morphing camouflage is among the mooted targets . demand for 4d is reaching a fever pitch , says dr. junus kahn , founder of carbitex , which produces the materials used by the self-assembly lab , as well as supplying them to major business clients . our clients are looking for the next big idea , they are actively seeking innovation and believe this could transform manufacturing , ' says kahn . if you have products that know how to mould and assemble based on energy , it takes out the menial labor that has forced manufacturers to relocate abroad where it 's cheaper . ' kahn believes transport is the fastest-progressing sector for the concept , and expects automotive examples to be on the market as early as 2016 . once self-assembly is proven , it could spread as rapidly as its precursor 3d printing , along with concerns about the implications . everyone is always scared that technology will take our jobs , ' says tibbits , rolling his eyes . but it has always created jobs rather than destroyed them . another fear is it will get out of control , or be abused . but we should be afraid of people not technology , we should n't stop inventing . ' if the full scale of his vision is realized , we might need to do little else . read more from make , create , innovate : beyond pistorius : rise of the'cyberathletes' turn your kitchen into an orchestra with this magic device an end to all airport security lines ? | mit 's self-assembly lab have partnership in industries from fashion to aviation |
spain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- argentina 's david nalbandian and eduardo schwank kept argentina 's davis cup dreams alive after they thrashed spain 's feliciano lopez and fernando verdasco in the doubles rubber 6-4 6-2 6-3 in seville on saturday . trailing 2-0 after friday 's singles matches , argentina had to win saturday 's only rubber to stop spain from claiming their fifth win in the competition . fighting ferrer give spain commanding lead nalbandian and schwank never looked in any trouble throughout the match , breaking in the fifth game of the first set before racing into a 4-0 lead in the second . spain 's only two chances to break came in the sixth game of the third set but both times nalbandian denied them . argentina now trail spain 2-1 . if they win both singles rubbers on sunday they will become the first team in 72 years to win the david cup from 2-0 down . juan martin del potro will face rafael nadal in the first singles match while nalbadian is scheduled to face david ferrer . | nalbandian and schwank beat spain 's lopez and verdasco 6-4 6-2 6-3 |
spain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- argentina 's david nalbandian and eduardo schwank kept argentina 's davis cup dreams alive after they thrashed spain 's feliciano lopez and fernando verdasco in the doubles rubber 6-4 6-2 6-3 in seville on saturday . trailing 2-0 after friday 's singles matches , argentina had to win saturday 's only rubber to stop spain from claiming their fifth win in the competition . fighting ferrer give spain commanding lead nalbandian and schwank never looked in any trouble throughout the match , breaking in the fifth game of the first set before racing into a 4-0 lead in the second . spain 's only two chances to break came in the sixth game of the third set but both times nalbandian denied them . argentina now trail spain 2-1 . if they win both singles rubbers on sunday they will become the first team in 72 years to win the david cup from 2-0 down . juan martin del potro will face rafael nadal in the first singles match while nalbadian is scheduled to face david ferrer . | argentina trail spain 2-1 in davis cup after straight sets doubles win |
als <tsp> ( cnn ) -- besides charting the nature of space and time and penning the bestseller a brief history of time , ' stephen hawking has another distinction : he beat the life-expectancy odds for people with als , amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . stephen hawking , shown in pasadena , california , in march , is hospitalized but said to be comfortable . ' most people with als survive only two to five years after diagnosis . hawking , on the other hand , has lived more than 40 years since he learned he had the disease , which is also known as lou gehrig 's disease in america and motor neuron disease , or mnd , in the united kingdom . hawking , 67 , was taken to addenbrookes hospital in cambridge , england , on monday in a very ill ' condition , and spent the night in the hospital . he was said to be comfortable ' tuesday . bob hawkins , 75 , of fayetteville , north carolina , who learned of his als diagnosis last year , said hawking , with his long life and ability to communicate through a voice synthesizer , gives him hope . the physicist should be a role model for people with the disease as well as those without it , hawkins said . the man is brilliant , and he has striven through a lot of adversity to accomplish all of the things he has accomplished , ' hawkins said . he should be an inspiration for anyone . ' the british physicist also embodies the idea of empowering people with als to live life to the fullest , said dr. lucie bruijn , scientific director for the als association , in an e-mail . this empowerment theme is part of the mission of the als association , she said . to have achieved so much in his lifetime while battling lou gehrig 's disease is quite remarkable , ' she said . als affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord , which results in muscle weakness and atrophy . the disease causes the death of motor neurons , meaning the brain loses its ability to control muscle movement . hawking has had direct involvement in promoting awareness and research into his disease . he recently agreed to be a patron of the mnd association in northampton , england , meaning he will lend his name to the charity and support it by attending events , fundraising , or other activities . he has participated in some of the organization 's high-profile events , said mel barry , communications manager at the mnd association . he 's a very busy man , so it 's wonderful that he 's publicly supporting us with his very heavy workload , ' she said . hawking 's case is also unusual because his condition was diagnosed at a young age , said sharon matland , vice president of patient services at the als association . people typically are between 40 and 70 when they learn they have als ; hawking found out at age 21 . some very rare cases manifest in the late teens , bruijn said . there have been other rare cases of people living long lives with als , although none as famous as hawking . barry said she knows of a man in ireland who has lived with the disease for 30 years -- but only about 5 percent of people with als live longer than 10 years . als affects 350,000 people worldwide and up to 30,000 people in the united states , the als association estimates . it totally upsets your entire way of living , ' hawkins of north carolina said . it slowly takes over your entire muscle structure and eventually your limbs are affected , your speech may or may not be affected . the only part of your body that is n't affected is your mind . ' still , patients experience different symptoms , and some do have cognitive impairment , matland said . they may have trouble making day-to-day decisions , such as choosing which bills to pay first . hawkins said he first experienced weakness in his legs and arms , typical symptoms of the disease . people with als may also find it difficult to lift their arms or feet , matland said . you drop things or you ca n't grasp things as you might have been able to do in the past , ' she said . loss of voice is another potential symptom , but some people are able to speak until they die , barry said . the nature of the disease is that it 's very different in each person , she said . most people with als become dependent on a wheelchair -- sometimes within six to eight months , but the time frame varies , matland said . typically , the ultimate cause of death is respiratory failure , because als affects the muscles used for breathing , she said . david niven , the english actor known for his roles in around the world in 80 days ' and the pink panther , ' died of als at age 73 . he suffered from the disease for more than a year . a variety of ongoing clinical trials seek to find an effective treatment for als in the u.s . drugs in these trials include lithium , ceftriaxone , and memantine , according to the als association . a recent study showed there may be a genetic component to the disease . in the uk , the mnd association is funding a trial for lithium , which has produced promising results in mice , barry said . psychiatrists currently prescribe lithium , a mood-stabilizing drug , for bipolar disorder and other conditions . an fda-approved drug called riluzole has been shown to prolong survival for some als patients , but extends the life span by only three to six months , barry said . typically , palliative care is the main treatment -- managing symptoms rather than stopping or curing them . stem cell therapy may hold promise for the disease , but the general perception is that research into it is not sufficiently advanced , according to the mnd association . to raise money for research in the u.s. , the als association hosts walks across the country . hawkins said he will be participating in the 2009 fayetteville , north carolina , walk to defeat als in may . i would encourage everyone to recognize how terrible this disease is , and encourage them to support the als association and research projects , ' he said . cnn 's jennifer pifer bixler contributed to this report . | stephen hawking is a rare case of someone who has survived decades with als |
als <tsp> ( cnn ) -- besides charting the nature of space and time and penning the bestseller a brief history of time , ' stephen hawking has another distinction : he beat the life-expectancy odds for people with als , amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . stephen hawking , shown in pasadena , california , in march , is hospitalized but said to be comfortable . ' most people with als survive only two to five years after diagnosis . hawking , on the other hand , has lived more than 40 years since he learned he had the disease , which is also known as lou gehrig 's disease in america and motor neuron disease , or mnd , in the united kingdom . hawking , 67 , was taken to addenbrookes hospital in cambridge , england , on monday in a very ill ' condition , and spent the night in the hospital . he was said to be comfortable ' tuesday . bob hawkins , 75 , of fayetteville , north carolina , who learned of his als diagnosis last year , said hawking , with his long life and ability to communicate through a voice synthesizer , gives him hope . the physicist should be a role model for people with the disease as well as those without it , hawkins said . the man is brilliant , and he has striven through a lot of adversity to accomplish all of the things he has accomplished , ' hawkins said . he should be an inspiration for anyone . ' the british physicist also embodies the idea of empowering people with als to live life to the fullest , said dr. lucie bruijn , scientific director for the als association , in an e-mail . this empowerment theme is part of the mission of the als association , she said . to have achieved so much in his lifetime while battling lou gehrig 's disease is quite remarkable , ' she said . als affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord , which results in muscle weakness and atrophy . the disease causes the death of motor neurons , meaning the brain loses its ability to control muscle movement . hawking has had direct involvement in promoting awareness and research into his disease . he recently agreed to be a patron of the mnd association in northampton , england , meaning he will lend his name to the charity and support it by attending events , fundraising , or other activities . he has participated in some of the organization 's high-profile events , said mel barry , communications manager at the mnd association . he 's a very busy man , so it 's wonderful that he 's publicly supporting us with his very heavy workload , ' she said . hawking 's case is also unusual because his condition was diagnosed at a young age , said sharon matland , vice president of patient services at the als association . people typically are between 40 and 70 when they learn they have als ; hawking found out at age 21 . some very rare cases manifest in the late teens , bruijn said . there have been other rare cases of people living long lives with als , although none as famous as hawking . barry said she knows of a man in ireland who has lived with the disease for 30 years -- but only about 5 percent of people with als live longer than 10 years . als affects 350,000 people worldwide and up to 30,000 people in the united states , the als association estimates . it totally upsets your entire way of living , ' hawkins of north carolina said . it slowly takes over your entire muscle structure and eventually your limbs are affected , your speech may or may not be affected . the only part of your body that is n't affected is your mind . ' still , patients experience different symptoms , and some do have cognitive impairment , matland said . they may have trouble making day-to-day decisions , such as choosing which bills to pay first . hawkins said he first experienced weakness in his legs and arms , typical symptoms of the disease . people with als may also find it difficult to lift their arms or feet , matland said . you drop things or you ca n't grasp things as you might have been able to do in the past , ' she said . loss of voice is another potential symptom , but some people are able to speak until they die , barry said . the nature of the disease is that it 's very different in each person , she said . most people with als become dependent on a wheelchair -- sometimes within six to eight months , but the time frame varies , matland said . typically , the ultimate cause of death is respiratory failure , because als affects the muscles used for breathing , she said . david niven , the english actor known for his roles in around the world in 80 days ' and the pink panther , ' died of als at age 73 . he suffered from the disease for more than a year . a variety of ongoing clinical trials seek to find an effective treatment for als in the u.s . drugs in these trials include lithium , ceftriaxone , and memantine , according to the als association . a recent study showed there may be a genetic component to the disease . in the uk , the mnd association is funding a trial for lithium , which has produced promising results in mice , barry said . psychiatrists currently prescribe lithium , a mood-stabilizing drug , for bipolar disorder and other conditions . an fda-approved drug called riluzole has been shown to prolong survival for some als patients , but extends the life span by only three to six months , barry said . typically , palliative care is the main treatment -- managing symptoms rather than stopping or curing them . stem cell therapy may hold promise for the disease , but the general perception is that research into it is not sufficiently advanced , according to the mnd association . to raise money for research in the u.s. , the als association hosts walks across the country . hawkins said he will be participating in the 2009 fayetteville , north carolina , walk to defeat als in may . i would encourage everyone to recognize how terrible this disease is , and encourage them to support the als association and research projects , ' he said . cnn 's jennifer pifer bixler contributed to this report . | als affects 350,000 people worldwide and as many as 30,000 people in the u.s . |
gus <tsp> creigh deeds remembers turning his back just before his son attacked him , stabbing the virginia state senator multiple times . deeds had gone out to the barn to feed the horses . his son , austin gus ' deeds , came across the yard . i said ,'hey bud , how 'd you sleep ?'he said ,'fine .'i turned my back ... and he was just on me , ' deeds told cbs' 60 minutes ' in an interview that aired sunday night . i said ,'gus , i love you so much .'i said ,'do n't make this any worse than it is .'he just kept coming at me . ' deputies called to deeds'home day before fatal fight less than 24 hours before the november 19 stabbing , deeds'son had undergone an evaluation by mental health professionals while he was under an emergency custody order . officials reportedly had to release gus , 24 , because no psychiatric bed was available and an individual could only be held under emergency custody for up to six hours . the system failed my son , ' deeds said he told a representative of the county agency that manages mental health care . i was concerned that if he came home there was going to be a crisis , ' deeds told 60 minutes . ' after newtown , mental health gains prominence in gun debate that night , deeds and his son sat at opposite ends of a dining room table at the residence in millboro . deeds ate while gus wrote furiously in his journal . i felt like there 'd be a confrontation but i did n't , i had no reason to think there 'd be violence , ' deeds said . the next morning , gus stabbed his father in the chest and head . he then turned a gun on himself and died . deeds still bears scars on his face . in spite of the attack , he told 60 minutes ' that gus was a great kid . ... perfect son . ' he said he hopes that his son is not defined by his illness and that his life will have a positive impact . the democratic lawmaker has introduced legislation that targets mental health services in the commonwealth . his agenda for the 2014 session includes proposals that would create a psychiatric bed registry and expand the time limit for emergency custody orders . i want people to remember the brilliant , friendly , loving kid that was gus deeds , ' his father said . we 'll use gus , i hope , to address mental health and to make sure that other people do n't have to suffer through this . ' creigh deeds :'i am alive for a reason ' | sen. creigh deeds was stabbed multiple times by his son , gus |
georgia <tsp> atlanta , georgia ( cnn ) -- a georgia man convicted of kidnapping and killing his girlfriend was executed tuesday . a geogia official says executed killer william earl lynd did not make a final statement . william earl lynd was the first inmate to die by injection since september , when the u.s. supreme court agreed to consider whether the three-drug combination represented cruel and unusual punishment . the process began at 7:34 p.m. and ended 17 minutes later at 7:51 p.m. , said paul czachowski , public affairs manager for the georgia department of corrections . the condemned declined to make a last statement or accept a prayer ; he remained quiet and calm throughout the whole procedure , ' he said . lynd , 53 , had requested as his last meal two pepper jack bbq burgers with crisp onions , two baked potatoes with sour cream , bacon and cheese and a large strawberry milkshake -- all from a local restaurant . the u.s. supreme court had refused to stay lynd 's execution hours earlier tuesday . the application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to justice [ clarence ] thomas and by him referred to the court is denied , ' the court said . georgia became the first state to resume executions since the court validated the lethal injection process last month with a ruling in a kentucky case . all but one of the 36 states with capital punishment use a three-drug mixture : an anesthetic , a muscle paralyzer and a heart-stopping substance . death penalty opponents have argued that if inmates are not given enough anesthetic , they could be conscious enough to suffer excruciating pain without being able to express it because of the paralyzer . the court 's decision in the kentucky case prompted about a dozen states to announce they would resume executions . watch a report on the decision » on monday , texas officials said they plan to execute mexican-born jose medellin in august for the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls 15 years ago in houston . in mississippi , authorities had planned to execute earl wesley berry on monday , but the state supreme court set the date for may 21 . berry was convicted of kidnapping a woman from a church parking lot in 1987 , beating her to death and dumping her body in a wooded area . in the georgia case , lynd was convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend , virginia ginger ' moore , in berrien county in 1988 . during the trial , prosecutors painted moore 's death as especially agonizing and lengthy . according to trial testimony , lynd shot moore in the face , and she fell unconscious onto a bed . he then went outside to smoke a cigarette . moore regained consciousness and staggered outside , where she was shot a second time and put into the trunk of her car . after driving to a nearby farmhouse , lynd said he heard moore kicking inside the trunk , according to testimony . he opened the trunk and shot her a third time , this time fatally . as the sentence was being carried out , about 20 opponents of the death penalty prayed and sang songs outside the prison , located 45 minutes south of atlanta , said laura moye , chairwoman of georgians for alternatives to the death penalty . we 're here to express our opposition to the state of georgia taking human life on behalf of u.s. citizens of georgia , ' she said . we are sad and upset that our state is leading the country in resumption of executions . we think this rush to executions is irresponsible in light of the many well-documented problems that have been revealed about the death penalty . ' human rights groups have also raised the possibility that an innocent person could be put to death . they pointed to friday 's release in north carolina of levan bo ' jones , an african-american inmate who spent 14 years on death row before a judge said the evidence was faulty and overturned his murder conviction . the charges have been dropped . georgia prosecutors , however , maintain that the death penalty is carried out fairly in their state . there 's been no evidence in this state -- and i 'm not aware of any in the country -- that any demonstrably innocent person has been put to death , ' said tommy floyd , chairman of the prosecuting attorneys'council of georgia . no prosecutor i know wants to execute an innocent person . ' there have been 40 executions in the state since the supreme court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 , ruling in a georgia case . lynd was the 17th inmate executed by injection in the state . in virginia , a may 27 execution date has been set for death row inmate kevin green , and the state is proceeding on schedule , said david clementson of the virginia attorney general 's office . four executions are set in texas for june and july ; in louisiana , former new orleans police officer antoinette frank is set to die in july . if she is executed , she would be the first woman put to death in three years . south dakota , which has sent one inmate to death in three decades , has scheduled a lethal injection in october . florida , alabama , arkansas , illinois and oklahoma have said they will resume capital punishment as soon as possible . nebraska is the only state that does not use lethal injection , but its use of the electric chair was ruled unconstitutional in february . texas and mississippi are among the states that use 2 grams of sodium thiopental , the anesthetic used to render condemned inmates unconscious . kentucky and other states use 3 grams , a standard that the supreme court judged to be constitutional . cnn 's bill mears contributed to this report . | new : georgia executes inmate convicted of killing girlfriend in 1988 |
los angeles <tsp> monterey park , california ( cnn ) -- five men are accused of starting a massive malibu wildfire at that destroyed more than 50 homes and forced about 15,000 people to evacuate . a firefighter works to contain a wildfire threatening homes in malibu , california , on november 24 . authorities say the five , ranging in ages from 18 to 27 , were drinking in a popular party spot in a cave at the park when they started the fire . all five are from the los angeles area and are being charged with three felonies -- including two arson-related charges . each count carries a sentence of two to four years in prison . baca said investigators traced the fire to the cave , then used receipts and surveillance camera footage from a nearby store to hunt down the men . investigators would not comment on why the men started the fire . during the investigation , fire officials speculated that a campfire may have started the blaze -- which engulfed roughly 5,000 acres and destroyed 80 structures , including the 53 homes . california gov . arnold schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the wake of the fire , which started on november 24 . the blaze , which was fueled by dry santa ana winds and low humidity , followed a spate of california wildfires in october that charred more than 508,000 acres in several counties . those fires forced 1 million people from their homes and left 14 people dead . the men are expected to make their first court appearance on monday . e-mail to a friend | all five are from the los angeles area and are being charged with three felonies |
indonesian <tsp> robin lim , an american woman who has helped thousands of poor indonesian women have a healthy pregnancy and birth , was named the 2011 cnn hero of the year on sunday night . through her bumi sehat health clinics , mother robin , ' or ibu robin ' as she is called by the locals , offers free prenatal care , birthing services and medical aid in indonesia , where many families can not afford care . every baby 's first breath on earth could be one of peace and love . every mother should be healthy and strong . every birth could be safe and loving . but our world is not there yet , ' lim said during cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' which took place at the shrine auditorium in los angeles and recognized lim and the other top 10 cnn heroes of 2011 . many women in the developing world do not have access to contraception or maternal care . according to the united nations population fund , three out of five women giving birth in south asia do so without a skilled birth attendant on hand . in indonesia , the average family earns the equivalent of $ 8 a day , according to the international monetary fund . but a baby delivery costs about $ 70 at a hospital , and a caesarian section can cost as much as $ 700 . lim believes indonesia 's high maternal and infant mortality rates are caused in part by these costs , which many women can not meet . the situation is bad ... babies are unattended , deliveries have become commercialized , and mothers die from hemorrhage after childbirth because they ca n't afford proper care , ' lim told cnn earlier this year . the cnn hero of the year was chosen by the public after an 11-week vote on cnn.com . for being named hero of the year , lim will receive $ 250,000 for her cause . that 's in addition to the $ 50,000 that she and the rest of the top 10 heroes each received for making the top 10 . this is the fifth year that cnn , with the help of entertainers and other celebrities , have honored everyday people changing the world . among this year 's presenters were comedians jerry seinfeld and george lopez ; actors j.r. martinez and chris colfer ; musical artists ice cube and will.i.am ; model christy turlington burns ; former nfl quarterback kurt warner ; and actresses laura dern , mary-louise parker and sofia vergara . ( photos : scenes from the night ) kid rock performed the song care ' from his platinum-selling album born free , ' while miley cyrus sang her triple-platinum hit the climb . ' turlington burns introduced lim 's video tribute during sunday 's show , before the hero of the year announcement . as founder of every mother counts , she is also a passionate advocate for maternal health around the world . eight years ago , after giving birth to my first child , grace , i felt what could have been a life-threatening complication , ' she told the audience of nearly 5,000 . it suddenly got very scary , very fast . if i had n't received the expert care in the hospital birthing center i was in , then i may have not been so fortunate . my wish is that every mother all over the world has the same chance surviving childbirth i had . my friend robin lim shares that wish and she spends her days and nights making it so . ' photos : see how lim helps thousands of women turlington burns recently made the trip to indonesia to meet lim and see her work firsthand . lim became a midwife after her sister -- and her sister 's baby -- died from complications during pregnancy several years ago . she and her husband then sold their home in hawaii and moved to bali to reinvent their lives , ' she said . it was there she learned she could make a difference , ' turlington burns said . she opened a clinic , bumi sehat , so poor mothers can give birth safely and be treated with dignity and respect . she has delivered thousands of babies , and that is why they call her'ibu'-- mother . ' after being announced as the cnn hero of the year , a tearful lim accepted the award from host anderson cooper and made an impassioned plea for help . today on our earth , 981 mothers in the prime of their life will die -- and tomorrow again and yesterday , ' she said . and i 'm asking you to help change that . we do n't even know how many babies are lost , but all of us can help change that . ' here are the other top 10 cnn heroes of 2011 , in alphabetical order : eddie canaleseddie canales'son was paralyzed during a high school football game in 2001 . today , canales'nonprofit , gridiron heroes , provides emotional and financial support to high school football players who 've sustained life-changing spinal cord injuries . taryn davis taryn davis was just 21 when her husband , an army corporal , was killed in iraq . in 2007 , she created the american widow project . to date , her nonprofit has provided a community of support to more than 900 young military widows . sal dimiceli sal dimiceli has spent decades helping people get back on their feet . through a local newspaper column and his nonprofit , the time is now to help , dimiceli assists about 500 people a year with food , rent , utilities and other necessities . derreck kayongo derreck kayongo 's global soap project collects partially used hotel soap and reprocesses it to save lives . since 2009 , the atlanta-based nonprofit has provided about 150,000 bars of soap for communities in 10 countries . diane latiker surrounded by gang violence in her chicago neighborhood , diane latiker opened her home to area youth and started a community program called kids off the block . since 2003 , her program has helped more than 1,500 young people . patrice millet after being stricken with cancer , patrice millet dedicated his life to helping children in his native haiti . his nonprofit youth soccer program provides free equipment , coaching and food to hundreds of participants from the slums and teaches them to become responsible citizens . bruno serato since 2005 , chef bruno serato has been serving free pasta dinners to children , many of whom are poor and live in motels with their families . today , serato provides dinner seven days a week to more than 300 children at the boys & girls club in anaheim , california . richard st. denissince 2008 , richard st. denis and his organization , world access project , have provided hundreds of wheelchairs and mobility aids to people living with disabilities in rural mexico . amy stokes amy stokes is redefining family ' for south african children affected by hiv/aids and poverty . her organization , infinite family , has connected almost 500 teenage net buddies ' with nearly 300 volunteer mentors from all over the world via the internet . | she has helped thousands of poor indonesian women have a healthy pregnancy and birth |
carroll <tsp> ( cnn ) -- remember the time united airlines broke a guitar ? dave carroll does . he 's the musician who three years ago turned his misfortune into an internet sensation . his video , united breaks guitars , ' got a million views in just four days and prompted the airline to offer him compensation . but despite struggling with the airline for months , carroll turned down the money because he wanted something bigger : he wanted to reform the system . carroll is not the first angry customer to take his complaints online . rants abound on video sharing sites ; many feature nothing more than the offended party on a webcam spinning a tale of woe . that 's what made carroll 's video stand out . the canadian crooner spent seven months putting together a song and video . his real time and real talent combined to make something that people could really enjoy . if you are ranting or raving , people will listen for a second , but they wo n't want to join your cause , ' carroll explains . after months of struggling with united , that 's what carroll had -- a cause . hln 's clark howard has a cause , too . he covers all things consumer-related and to carroll 's advice , he suggests adding another element : something that makes people laugh and makes them angry at the same time . ' one atlanta couple , ken and meredith williams , recently learned first hand how this mix of outrage and humor can get the public on your side and sway a large corporation . their story starts about six months ago when the newlyweds found themselves in a rather intractable situation trying to buy their first home . we knew that the people we were dealing with were n't hateful people , ' meredith recalls , but along their 78-day odyssey they could n't help but wonder . after meeting in graduate school , the couple got married and moved to atlanta . then came time to buy their first home . the two had good jobs , steady income and they wanted to buy a modest home within their financial reach . we put in an offer on september 8th . we wanted to close -- we were told we would close , ' ken recalls . but when we came up to october 7th , and nothing was appearing to be falling place . ' sitting around their dining room table , ken and meredith rattle off all the missed deadlines and infuriating delays that tangled up their lives for weeks on end . they say paperwork would n't make it to the correct office , phone calls and e-mails would go unreturned . one of their bank contacts even quit and failed to pass along their file ; her e-mails just started bouncing ' meredith says , shaking her head at the memory . all the while the couple scrambled to meet the sellers'demands while living out of boxes . we were ready to unpack , ' meredith says . early on , when things first started going wrong , they saved e-mails . so after missing the projected closing date , with fees beginning to pile up and only radio silence from the bank , they turned their in-boxes into a weapon . i just thought we just have to do something -- there is some kind of power we can leverage ' meredith says . so while she hit the keyboard to share the story on their blog , ken picked up his guitar . two hours later , he emerged , he was like ,'i wrote a song ,' meredith giggles . what started with a song became a custom video featuring the couple and their cats , pleading with bank of america to the tune of bret , you got it going on ' from the hbo show flight of the conchords . ' the goal was never to get thousands of people to tweet , ' meredith says . that 's a good thing because the video did n't exactly go viral ( nothing close to carroll 's million views ) , but it did get a good deal of attention . local news outlets picked up the couple 's story and within 48 hours , the bank got in touch . they now had the ear of top people at the bank . with that , their hopeless situation , weeks of unreturned phone calls and volumes of paperwork came to a close . we wrote the song on day 72 and posted it on day 74 and we closed on day 79 , ' ken says . their prize , a charming brick bungalow on a quiet street , is small and neat . as the couple walk through , they sound like many new homeowners pointing out all the projects . there must have been a fire sale on molding ' says meredith , gesturing toward the oak-filled kitchen . some big things needed work too . the couple put in new wiring , duct work and plumbing . these projects are n't flashy or exciting , but the pair shows them off with pride . that construction , in part , explains what held up their loan , says terry francisco , a bank of america spokesman . the williamses applied for a 203 ( k ) loan , which allows for renovations . francisco says this type of loan can actually take some 90 days to close . realtors and mortgage brokers confirmed that 203 ( k ) loans typically take much longer to close than a standard loan . francisco did apologize for other hang-ups in the williams'case , and he said the couple 's experience prompted a tightening of procedures ' at the bank . the combination of humor and an outrageous story got the williams the attention they needed . the combination worked for carroll too . his efforts not only got him offers of compensation but even now , three years on , he travels around the world bringing his mix of music and message to places such as russia , australia and soon south africa . he also published a book about his experience and launched a website , gripevine.com , that helps people elevate and escalate their problems . looking back , both the williamses and carroll say the intent behind the video is as important to getting noticed as the message . i 'm not against companies , i 'm not trying to take down companies , ' carroll says . rather , they agree , it 's about giving companies and the people who work for them the opportunity to make things right . but even if a viral video does n't get you want you want , all three say the process affords a measure of control -- something they 'd lost in what carroll calls the customer service maze ' and meredith called the black hole of customer service . ' so it 's no surprise that all three say they would make another video if they found themselves in a similar situation . for others contemplating going this route , carroll says make sure that you are fair and you are articulate and you are creative and that your story resonates with other people . ' it also does n't hurt to be good with a guitar . | carroll advises that complaint videos be light on vitriol , heavy on facts |
carroll <tsp> ( cnn ) -- remember the time united airlines broke a guitar ? dave carroll does . he 's the musician who three years ago turned his misfortune into an internet sensation . his video , united breaks guitars , ' got a million views in just four days and prompted the airline to offer him compensation . but despite struggling with the airline for months , carroll turned down the money because he wanted something bigger : he wanted to reform the system . carroll is not the first angry customer to take his complaints online . rants abound on video sharing sites ; many feature nothing more than the offended party on a webcam spinning a tale of woe . that 's what made carroll 's video stand out . the canadian crooner spent seven months putting together a song and video . his real time and real talent combined to make something that people could really enjoy . if you are ranting or raving , people will listen for a second , but they wo n't want to join your cause , ' carroll explains . after months of struggling with united , that 's what carroll had -- a cause . hln 's clark howard has a cause , too . he covers all things consumer-related and to carroll 's advice , he suggests adding another element : something that makes people laugh and makes them angry at the same time . ' one atlanta couple , ken and meredith williams , recently learned first hand how this mix of outrage and humor can get the public on your side and sway a large corporation . their story starts about six months ago when the newlyweds found themselves in a rather intractable situation trying to buy their first home . we knew that the people we were dealing with were n't hateful people , ' meredith recalls , but along their 78-day odyssey they could n't help but wonder . after meeting in graduate school , the couple got married and moved to atlanta . then came time to buy their first home . the two had good jobs , steady income and they wanted to buy a modest home within their financial reach . we put in an offer on september 8th . we wanted to close -- we were told we would close , ' ken recalls . but when we came up to october 7th , and nothing was appearing to be falling place . ' sitting around their dining room table , ken and meredith rattle off all the missed deadlines and infuriating delays that tangled up their lives for weeks on end . they say paperwork would n't make it to the correct office , phone calls and e-mails would go unreturned . one of their bank contacts even quit and failed to pass along their file ; her e-mails just started bouncing ' meredith says , shaking her head at the memory . all the while the couple scrambled to meet the sellers'demands while living out of boxes . we were ready to unpack , ' meredith says . early on , when things first started going wrong , they saved e-mails . so after missing the projected closing date , with fees beginning to pile up and only radio silence from the bank , they turned their in-boxes into a weapon . i just thought we just have to do something -- there is some kind of power we can leverage ' meredith says . so while she hit the keyboard to share the story on their blog , ken picked up his guitar . two hours later , he emerged , he was like ,'i wrote a song ,' meredith giggles . what started with a song became a custom video featuring the couple and their cats , pleading with bank of america to the tune of bret , you got it going on ' from the hbo show flight of the conchords . ' the goal was never to get thousands of people to tweet , ' meredith says . that 's a good thing because the video did n't exactly go viral ( nothing close to carroll 's million views ) , but it did get a good deal of attention . local news outlets picked up the couple 's story and within 48 hours , the bank got in touch . they now had the ear of top people at the bank . with that , their hopeless situation , weeks of unreturned phone calls and volumes of paperwork came to a close . we wrote the song on day 72 and posted it on day 74 and we closed on day 79 , ' ken says . their prize , a charming brick bungalow on a quiet street , is small and neat . as the couple walk through , they sound like many new homeowners pointing out all the projects . there must have been a fire sale on molding ' says meredith , gesturing toward the oak-filled kitchen . some big things needed work too . the couple put in new wiring , duct work and plumbing . these projects are n't flashy or exciting , but the pair shows them off with pride . that construction , in part , explains what held up their loan , says terry francisco , a bank of america spokesman . the williamses applied for a 203 ( k ) loan , which allows for renovations . francisco says this type of loan can actually take some 90 days to close . realtors and mortgage brokers confirmed that 203 ( k ) loans typically take much longer to close than a standard loan . francisco did apologize for other hang-ups in the williams'case , and he said the couple 's experience prompted a tightening of procedures ' at the bank . the combination of humor and an outrageous story got the williams the attention they needed . the combination worked for carroll too . his efforts not only got him offers of compensation but even now , three years on , he travels around the world bringing his mix of music and message to places such as russia , australia and soon south africa . he also published a book about his experience and launched a website , gripevine.com , that helps people elevate and escalate their problems . looking back , both the williamses and carroll say the intent behind the video is as important to getting noticed as the message . i 'm not against companies , i 'm not trying to take down companies , ' carroll says . rather , they agree , it 's about giving companies and the people who work for them the opportunity to make things right . but even if a viral video does n't get you want you want , all three say the process affords a measure of control -- something they 'd lost in what carroll calls the customer service maze ' and meredith called the black hole of customer service . ' so it 's no surprise that all three say they would make another video if they found themselves in a similar situation . for others contemplating going this route , carroll says make sure that you are fair and you are articulate and you are creative and that your story resonates with other people . ' it also does n't hurt to be good with a guitar . | dave carroll 's song about an airline breaking his guitar became a web sensation |
hungary <tsp> ( cnn ) -- try to imagine the situation , ' says dezso gyarmati , captain of hungary 's 1956 olympic water polo team . a superpower destroys your country with weapons and tanks -- a country that has never asked for that power to be there . and after that revolution is crushed you have to face the representatives of that superpower . ' the hungarian revolution of 1956 became the backdrop to one of the most famous contests in olympic history , where blood spilled in the sporting arena came to symbolize the bloody struggle of a nation against a brutal oppressor , the former soviet union . the events at the melbourne games in december that year became known as the blood in the water ' match , but when hungary 's water polo team set off for australia in early november , the possibility of freedom still hung over the streets of budapest . mass protests and fighting which erupted on october 23 had died down after a ceasefire was ordered , and soviet armed forces were beginning their withdrawal . gyarmati had taken part in the initial rally , leaving the team 's training camp in the hills above budapest to join protestors on the streets . but by the time they set foot on australian soil , gyarmati and his teammates were informed of a brutal turn of events as soviet forces ruthlessly reasserted their grip on the hungarian capital . more than 2,000 protesters were killed in the fighting , hundreds more were injured and many thousands were forced to flee the country . it proved to be a bloody prelude to a bruising semifinal showdown with the soviet water polo team . gyarmati recalls a tough , but generally disciplined match which turned sour in the closing moments when soviet player valentin prokopov elbowed hungary 's star ervin zador in the face , cutting him below the eye . i told ( zador ) to get out of the pool , ' gyarmati recalled , but not where he was , but to swim across the pool to the grandstand with 8,000 people . by the time he 'd swum over , the blood had trickled down onto his chest . he looked like he ( had come out ) from the butcher . the audience exploded . ' the headline cold war violence erupts at melbourne olympics ' ran the following day in the sydney morning herald , which reported that many spectators left their seats in the stands , shouting abuse and spitting at the russians . the image of zador standing poolside , blood streaming down his torso , quickly gained a wider audience . it seized the imagination of a world shocked by the crushing of the magyar uprising , while offering some crumbs of comfort to a traumatized nation as the hungarians triumphed 4-0 . the team went on to win in the final , beating yugoslavia 2-1 to claim the nation 's fourth olympic gold in the competition . zador , who did n't play in the final , never returned to hungary , instead choosing to settle in the u.s. and become a swimming coach in california . the victory over the soviets inspired the making of a documentary freedom 's fury ' and a feature film szabadsag , szerelem ' ( children of glory ' ) both released to mark the 50th anniversary in 2006 . the documentary , co-produced by hollywood director quentin tarantino , was narrated by seven-time olympic champion mark spitz , who was coached by zador as a youngster during the 1960s . the dramatic events in melbourne form the centerpiece of a rich and proud heritage in the sport which has seen the hungarians rack up nine olympic golds , more than twice as many as any other nation . the blood in the water ' story continues to inspire and motivate hungary 's modern water polo heroes including gergely kiss , who grew up in dying years of communist rule . beating the beast , the big enemy was such a great feeling for every hungarian . it helped so much for the revolution , ' kiss said . the 34-year-old was part of the hungarian team which beat russian opposition in the final at the sydney olympics in 2000 , ending a 24-year gold medal drought . further success followed at athens in 2004 and in beijing four years later . kiss will be aiming for a record fourth straight gold at this year 's london olympics . | hungary is most successful water polo team at olympics , winning nine gold medals |
hungary <tsp> ( cnn ) -- try to imagine the situation , ' says dezso gyarmati , captain of hungary 's 1956 olympic water polo team . a superpower destroys your country with weapons and tanks -- a country that has never asked for that power to be there . and after that revolution is crushed you have to face the representatives of that superpower . ' the hungarian revolution of 1956 became the backdrop to one of the most famous contests in olympic history , where blood spilled in the sporting arena came to symbolize the bloody struggle of a nation against a brutal oppressor , the former soviet union . the events at the melbourne games in december that year became known as the blood in the water ' match , but when hungary 's water polo team set off for australia in early november , the possibility of freedom still hung over the streets of budapest . mass protests and fighting which erupted on october 23 had died down after a ceasefire was ordered , and soviet armed forces were beginning their withdrawal . gyarmati had taken part in the initial rally , leaving the team 's training camp in the hills above budapest to join protestors on the streets . but by the time they set foot on australian soil , gyarmati and his teammates were informed of a brutal turn of events as soviet forces ruthlessly reasserted their grip on the hungarian capital . more than 2,000 protesters were killed in the fighting , hundreds more were injured and many thousands were forced to flee the country . it proved to be a bloody prelude to a bruising semifinal showdown with the soviet water polo team . gyarmati recalls a tough , but generally disciplined match which turned sour in the closing moments when soviet player valentin prokopov elbowed hungary 's star ervin zador in the face , cutting him below the eye . i told ( zador ) to get out of the pool , ' gyarmati recalled , but not where he was , but to swim across the pool to the grandstand with 8,000 people . by the time he 'd swum over , the blood had trickled down onto his chest . he looked like he ( had come out ) from the butcher . the audience exploded . ' the headline cold war violence erupts at melbourne olympics ' ran the following day in the sydney morning herald , which reported that many spectators left their seats in the stands , shouting abuse and spitting at the russians . the image of zador standing poolside , blood streaming down his torso , quickly gained a wider audience . it seized the imagination of a world shocked by the crushing of the magyar uprising , while offering some crumbs of comfort to a traumatized nation as the hungarians triumphed 4-0 . the team went on to win in the final , beating yugoslavia 2-1 to claim the nation 's fourth olympic gold in the competition . zador , who did n't play in the final , never returned to hungary , instead choosing to settle in the u.s. and become a swimming coach in california . the victory over the soviets inspired the making of a documentary freedom 's fury ' and a feature film szabadsag , szerelem ' ( children of glory ' ) both released to mark the 50th anniversary in 2006 . the documentary , co-produced by hollywood director quentin tarantino , was narrated by seven-time olympic champion mark spitz , who was coached by zador as a youngster during the 1960s . the dramatic events in melbourne form the centerpiece of a rich and proud heritage in the sport which has seen the hungarians rack up nine olympic golds , more than twice as many as any other nation . the blood in the water ' story continues to inspire and motivate hungary 's modern water polo heroes including gergely kiss , who grew up in dying years of communist rule . beating the beast , the big enemy was such a great feeling for every hungarian . it helped so much for the revolution , ' kiss said . the 34-year-old was part of the hungarian team which beat russian opposition in the final at the sydney olympics in 2000 , ending a 24-year gold medal drought . further success followed at athens in 2004 and in beijing four years later . kiss will be aiming for a record fourth straight gold at this year 's london olympics . | hungary beat soviets 4-0 in semifinal at melbourne olympics in 1956 and went on to take gold |
hungary <tsp> ( cnn ) -- try to imagine the situation , ' says dezso gyarmati , captain of hungary 's 1956 olympic water polo team . a superpower destroys your country with weapons and tanks -- a country that has never asked for that power to be there . and after that revolution is crushed you have to face the representatives of that superpower . ' the hungarian revolution of 1956 became the backdrop to one of the most famous contests in olympic history , where blood spilled in the sporting arena came to symbolize the bloody struggle of a nation against a brutal oppressor , the former soviet union . the events at the melbourne games in december that year became known as the blood in the water ' match , but when hungary 's water polo team set off for australia in early november , the possibility of freedom still hung over the streets of budapest . mass protests and fighting which erupted on october 23 had died down after a ceasefire was ordered , and soviet armed forces were beginning their withdrawal . gyarmati had taken part in the initial rally , leaving the team 's training camp in the hills above budapest to join protestors on the streets . but by the time they set foot on australian soil , gyarmati and his teammates were informed of a brutal turn of events as soviet forces ruthlessly reasserted their grip on the hungarian capital . more than 2,000 protesters were killed in the fighting , hundreds more were injured and many thousands were forced to flee the country . it proved to be a bloody prelude to a bruising semifinal showdown with the soviet water polo team . gyarmati recalls a tough , but generally disciplined match which turned sour in the closing moments when soviet player valentin prokopov elbowed hungary 's star ervin zador in the face , cutting him below the eye . i told ( zador ) to get out of the pool , ' gyarmati recalled , but not where he was , but to swim across the pool to the grandstand with 8,000 people . by the time he 'd swum over , the blood had trickled down onto his chest . he looked like he ( had come out ) from the butcher . the audience exploded . ' the headline cold war violence erupts at melbourne olympics ' ran the following day in the sydney morning herald , which reported that many spectators left their seats in the stands , shouting abuse and spitting at the russians . the image of zador standing poolside , blood streaming down his torso , quickly gained a wider audience . it seized the imagination of a world shocked by the crushing of the magyar uprising , while offering some crumbs of comfort to a traumatized nation as the hungarians triumphed 4-0 . the team went on to win in the final , beating yugoslavia 2-1 to claim the nation 's fourth olympic gold in the competition . zador , who did n't play in the final , never returned to hungary , instead choosing to settle in the u.s. and become a swimming coach in california . the victory over the soviets inspired the making of a documentary freedom 's fury ' and a feature film szabadsag , szerelem ' ( children of glory ' ) both released to mark the 50th anniversary in 2006 . the documentary , co-produced by hollywood director quentin tarantino , was narrated by seven-time olympic champion mark spitz , who was coached by zador as a youngster during the 1960s . the dramatic events in melbourne form the centerpiece of a rich and proud heritage in the sport which has seen the hungarians rack up nine olympic golds , more than twice as many as any other nation . the blood in the water ' story continues to inspire and motivate hungary 's modern water polo heroes including gergely kiss , who grew up in dying years of communist rule . beating the beast , the big enemy was such a great feeling for every hungarian . it helped so much for the revolution , ' kiss said . the 34-year-old was part of the hungarian team which beat russian opposition in the final at the sydney olympics in 2000 , ending a 24-year gold medal drought . further success followed at athens in 2004 and in beijing four years later . kiss will be aiming for a record fourth straight gold at this year 's london olympics . | hungary 's water polo match with soviet union played against backdrop of revolution |
european <tsp> on friday italy held a national day of mourning . for this is not simply an accident . accidents and emergencies can not last two decades . as a field researcher who has dedicated years of work to maritime migration , and as an italian citizen , i am grateful to the italian council of ministers for taking such an unprecedented decision to make this declaration . today we honor the memory and the families of more than 100 refugees , young adults , women , and children from eritrea , retrieved off the southern italian island of lampedusa ; and of the many dozens who are still trapped at the bottom of the sea . we also honor the selfless work of the island 's residents , tourists , armed forces , medical personnel , and fishermen who have now rescued thousands on their way to europe . but i have listened uncomfortably to national and eu politicians who , as usual , have pointed their finger at smugglers , purporting that redoubling efforts to fight them will prevent further loss of life at sea . people at the helm of unseaworthy vessels are menial laborers executing the last and risky part of trips organized by transnational criminal networks . smugglers are not the reason why people are on those vessels . italian and eu institutions are asking what can be done to prevent further tragedies . to answer , they have to ask also whether they did anything to enable them in the first place , including failing to consider implications and alternatives of their specific actions and inactions . i need to raise a seemingly simple question . what brings thousands of people to trust criminals , pay them 10 times more than they would pay a comfortable seat on a ferry or airplane , and risk their lives ? the overarching answer , in its brutal obviousness , is that they may not legally get on those planes and ferries . they come from countries , such as eritrea , that methodically oppress their own citizens and will not grant passports and exit visas . they are refugees , forced to leave home without the time and resources to secure legal passage . they have survived the sahara , and returning from libya or egypt is not a feasible and rational option . they are poor . they fail to offer the financial guarantees requested by european consulates , and will not be granted a visa . quotas and legal channels for employment are inadequate both to their needs and to the needs of european economies and aging populations . they are prepared to die as they leave with hope , but do not wish to survive in despair . they fall through the immense cracks of a system that needs them for a job or might grant them asylum , but only if they first make it through miles of peril and years of exploitation . it is evident then , that the mediterranean chronicle of death can not end merely as a result of tougher penalties on smugglers , additional resources for search-and-rescue operations , and heightened military surveillance and dissuasion . prisons , radars , and helicopters are not solutions . every institution , at every level of governance , needs radical action . fishermen and shipmasters should not have to fear that rescuing people will result in criminal charges for aiding and abetting undocumented immigrants . or are they to engage in racial profiling and evaluate in hectic moments whether somebody in distress is a refugee or an undocumented economic immigrant ? should they rescue the former , but abandon the latter and perhaps face prosecution for failure to rescue ? can these decisions , and people 's life , be left to discretion , chance , and the elements ? eu intergovernmental border patrols ( frontex ) and national armed forces need to clarify , to themselves and to citizens , whether they patrol the mediterranean to deter migration , to rescue people , or to intercept and deport them to countries of origin and transit .'safe , legal channel needed' citizens need to remember that in liberal democracies it is on their behalf and in their name that laws are written and implemented . they need to demonstrate to lawmakers that they are not afraid ' of their eritrean , syrian , somali , egyptian , afghani , iraqi , ghanaian , bangladeshi and pakistani employees , fiancés , neighbors , schoolmates , and coworkers , to mention the nationalities increasingly resorting to maritime journeys . what happens with boundaries of socio-economic inclusion and integration is related to what happens at the border . national and eu policymakers need to envision a common family reunification and asylum policy , and establish more homogenous parameters for asylum adjudication . this could help curb the equally perilous journeys of hope of many afghanis across the strait of otranto , from greece to italy and then to northern europe . most urgently , national and eu policymakers need to establish accessible , safe , and legal channels for internally and internationally displaced people to apply for asylum or to be granted temporary protection . these are not problems only concerning smugglers , immigrants , and refugees . this national day of mourning is a call for the eu and its member states to start refashioning what sovereignty and humanitarianism mean in the 21st century . it is an invitation to fellow italian and european citizens , including migrants and their children , to practise democracy in its representative and participatory dimensions . and it serves as yet another reminder of north-south disparities in wealth and power , signaled by the fact that the mediterranean is a frontier in the first place . there is no single solution to the mediterranean chronicle of death . there are certainly alternatives to this state of affairs . they are more rational , and more just , than inaction and methodic negligence . | quotas inadequate both to refugees and european economies , he says |
eu <tsp> on friday italy held a national day of mourning . for this is not simply an accident . accidents and emergencies can not last two decades . as a field researcher who has dedicated years of work to maritime migration , and as an italian citizen , i am grateful to the italian council of ministers for taking such an unprecedented decision to make this declaration . today we honor the memory and the families of more than 100 refugees , young adults , women , and children from eritrea , retrieved off the southern italian island of lampedusa ; and of the many dozens who are still trapped at the bottom of the sea . we also honor the selfless work of the island 's residents , tourists , armed forces , medical personnel , and fishermen who have now rescued thousands on their way to europe . but i have listened uncomfortably to national and eu politicians who , as usual , have pointed their finger at smugglers , purporting that redoubling efforts to fight them will prevent further loss of life at sea . people at the helm of unseaworthy vessels are menial laborers executing the last and risky part of trips organized by transnational criminal networks . smugglers are not the reason why people are on those vessels . italian and eu institutions are asking what can be done to prevent further tragedies . to answer , they have to ask also whether they did anything to enable them in the first place , including failing to consider implications and alternatives of their specific actions and inactions . i need to raise a seemingly simple question . what brings thousands of people to trust criminals , pay them 10 times more than they would pay a comfortable seat on a ferry or airplane , and risk their lives ? the overarching answer , in its brutal obviousness , is that they may not legally get on those planes and ferries . they come from countries , such as eritrea , that methodically oppress their own citizens and will not grant passports and exit visas . they are refugees , forced to leave home without the time and resources to secure legal passage . they have survived the sahara , and returning from libya or egypt is not a feasible and rational option . they are poor . they fail to offer the financial guarantees requested by european consulates , and will not be granted a visa . quotas and legal channels for employment are inadequate both to their needs and to the needs of european economies and aging populations . they are prepared to die as they leave with hope , but do not wish to survive in despair . they fall through the immense cracks of a system that needs them for a job or might grant them asylum , but only if they first make it through miles of peril and years of exploitation . it is evident then , that the mediterranean chronicle of death can not end merely as a result of tougher penalties on smugglers , additional resources for search-and-rescue operations , and heightened military surveillance and dissuasion . prisons , radars , and helicopters are not solutions . every institution , at every level of governance , needs radical action . fishermen and shipmasters should not have to fear that rescuing people will result in criminal charges for aiding and abetting undocumented immigrants . or are they to engage in racial profiling and evaluate in hectic moments whether somebody in distress is a refugee or an undocumented economic immigrant ? should they rescue the former , but abandon the latter and perhaps face prosecution for failure to rescue ? can these decisions , and people 's life , be left to discretion , chance , and the elements ? eu intergovernmental border patrols ( frontex ) and national armed forces need to clarify , to themselves and to citizens , whether they patrol the mediterranean to deter migration , to rescue people , or to intercept and deport them to countries of origin and transit .'safe , legal channel needed' citizens need to remember that in liberal democracies it is on their behalf and in their name that laws are written and implemented . they need to demonstrate to lawmakers that they are not afraid ' of their eritrean , syrian , somali , egyptian , afghani , iraqi , ghanaian , bangladeshi and pakistani employees , fiancés , neighbors , schoolmates , and coworkers , to mention the nationalities increasingly resorting to maritime journeys . what happens with boundaries of socio-economic inclusion and integration is related to what happens at the border . national and eu policymakers need to envision a common family reunification and asylum policy , and establish more homogenous parameters for asylum adjudication . this could help curb the equally perilous journeys of hope of many afghanis across the strait of otranto , from greece to italy and then to northern europe . most urgently , national and eu policymakers need to establish accessible , safe , and legal channels for internally and internationally displaced people to apply for asylum or to be granted temporary protection . these are not problems only concerning smugglers , immigrants , and refugees . this national day of mourning is a call for the eu and its member states to start refashioning what sovereignty and humanitarianism mean in the 21st century . it is an invitation to fellow italian and european citizens , including migrants and their children , to practise democracy in its representative and participatory dimensions . and it serves as yet another reminder of north-south disparities in wealth and power , signaled by the fact that the mediterranean is a frontier in the first place . there is no single solution to the mediterranean chronicle of death . there are certainly alternatives to this state of affairs . they are more rational , and more just , than inaction and methodic negligence . | albahari : eu nations must establish safe , legal channels for displaced people |
nsa <tsp> months after accepting asylum in russia , fugitive u.s. intelligence leaker edward snowden on thursday asked russian president vladimir putin about moscow 's own surveillance practices . does russia intercept , store or analyze in any way the communications of millions of individuals ? ' snowden asked in english via a video link during putin 's annual question-and-answer program , which was broadcast on state television . and do you believe that simply increasing the effectiveness of intelligence or law enforcement investigations can justify placing societies , rather than their subjects , under surveillance ? ' putin responded that russia has a special service that bugs telephone conversations and internet communications to fight crimes , including terrorism , but only with court permission and only for specific citizens . ' so , the mass character is something we do not have and can not have , ' putin said in russian . on such a mass scale ... we do not allow ourselves to do this , and we will never allow this . we do not have the money or the means to do that , ' he said . putin , a former intelligence agent , noted that his questioner , a former national security agency contractor , shares that background . so , we can speak in professional language , ' he said . snowden last year disclosed details of the vast u.s. surveillance network put in place after the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks , including the government 's record keeping on billions of phone calls . anticipating legal consequences , he fled to moscow . u.s. authorities have charged him with espionage and theft of government property . last month , lt. gen. michael flynn , the head of the defense intelligence agency , told national public radio that u.s. officials must plan for the possibility that russia has access to american battle plans and other secrets . if i 'm concerned about anything , i 'm concerned about defense capabilities that he may have stolen from where he worked , and does that knowledge then get into the hands of our adversaries -- in this case , of course , russia , ' flynn said . he cited intelligence capabilities , operational capabilities , technology and weapons systems as potential subjects that snowden -- and now russia -- may have . we have to assume the worst case and then begin to make some recommendations to our leadership about how do we mitigate some of the risks that may come from what may have been compromised , ' flynn said . last october , lon snowden visited moscow , where he told reporters that his 30-year-old son told him he had had no contact with russian security or intelligence . in january , director of national intelligence james clapper told the senate intelligence committee that the snowden leaks caused serious damage to u.s. security . what snowden has stolen and exposed has gone way , way beyond his professed concerns with so-called domestic surveillance programs , ' clapper said then . as a result , we 've lost critical foreign intelligence collection sources , including some shared with us by valued partners . ' the nation 's adversaries were going to school on u.s. intelligence sources'methods and trade craft , and the insights that they are gaining are making our job much , much harder , ' he told the committee . | putin says he and the former nsa contractor can speak in a professional language ' |
gop <tsp> if you do n't get the job done at work , you wo n't get paid . but congress plays by its own rules . specifically , congress has n't passed a budget in almost four years . this is basic -- and required by law . congress seems to think it 's bigger than the law , however , which might help explain one recent poll that found it less popular than root canals , cockroaches and donald trump . that 's why an act passed in the house on wednesday deserves widespread support , as well as senate passage . it 's called no budget , no pay , ' and it means what it says . if members of congress ca n't pass a budget on time , they would n't get paid until they did . sadly , this low bar seems high . in fact , according to the washington post , congress has passed spending bills on time only four times in the past 30 years . this is your money . and our elected representatives seem to have forgotten that presenting a stable plan on how to spend the money is a basic part of their job description . instead , washington has gotten used to living from continuing resolution to continuing resolution . this ai n't the way it 's supposed to be . in fact , it is a violation of the 1974 budget control act ( pdf ) . but somehow , breaking the laws they set for themselves does n't seem to be an urgent concern to these congresscrats , despite the fact that the u.s. government spent $ 3.7 trillion last year ( pdf ) . the absence of a budget does n't just violate common sense ; there are real dollars and cents costs . without a budget , it becomes difficult for government to make long-term spending decisions that affect us all . now , house republicans have seized on this idea as part of their bid to extend the debt ceiling deadline until mid-may . to be clear , this is just kicking the can , but it 's still a responsible step in the right direction . no budget , no pay ' was originally proposed by no labels , a group of democrats , republicans and independents dedicated to the politics of problem-solving . i helped found the citizens'group in 2010 with mark mckinnon , nancy jacobson , bill galston , lisa borders , kiki mclean , david walker and many others . the proposal was the cornerstone of the make congress work ' plan released last year . the idea was quickly adopted by republican dean heller in the senate and democrat jim cooper in the house . but it met stiff resistance from other members of congress who did n't like the idea of personal accountability for institutional dysfunction . now , suddenly , after the election results of 2012 , there is renewed interest in the idea , largely because it resonates with constituents as such a common sense proposal . no budget , no pay ' is a no-brainer . the proposal is getting support from more than the gop house leadership . a large number of centrist blue dog democrats ' have announced their intention to vote for the measure , and the white house released a statement saying it would not try to oppose the measure because it would at least provide a short term solution to the debt limit . ' according to the bill , if lawmakers did n't pass a budget by april 15 , their pay would be docked and put in an escrow account until they found a way to work together on this front . not incidentally , that 's also the reason no budget , no pay ' does not violate the 27th amendment , which forbids salary increases or reductions during a current congress : their salary is not being reduced , it is being withheld until they actually do their job . time and time again in this divided , dysfunctional congress , we have seen partisan gridlock fall away only when members'self-interest is at stake . that 's why we see the flurry of activity at the end of the year , when members of congress want to get home for the holidays . docking their pay would get their attention and focus their mind . let me be clear : a long-term solution to the debt ceiling debacles still needs to be found . congress is now the greatest single impediment to american economic recovery , in large part because a bloc of 50 or so votes on the far right seems enamored with playing chicken with our country 's full faith and credit . the last time we went through this idiotic ideological exercise , america got its aaa credit rating downgraded . standard and poors stated the reason clearly : the effectiveness , stability , and predictability of american policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges . ' but the house gop vote to at least extend the debt-ceiling deadline and impose a common sense measure like no budget , no pay ' is sign of sanity at the start of the second obama term . it will not solve all our problems , but at least by imposing a degree of personal accountability on members of congress , it might encourage constructive cooperation instead of last-minute scrambles and hyperpartisan brinksmanship . if patriotic conscience ca n't compel congress to work together , maybe requiring them to have some personal skin in the game will inspire them to do their job . | avlon : house gop backs bill that would dock lawmakers'pay till budget is passed |
rudd <tsp> ( cnn ) -- passions run high at the coalface of an ashes series and the heat clearly affects those at the pinnacle of australian politics too . as his nation battles to win the third test against england , and keep the five-match series alive , australian prime minister kevin rudd has left the game 's officials in no doubt as to his disgust . with the match only a few hours old , aussie batsman usman khawaja was given out caught behind by umpire tony hill , a call he instantly reviewed . and though countless replays offered no evidence khawaja had hit the ball , the video umpire upheld the on-field decision , condemning the 26-year-old to a long trudge back to the pavilion . rudd , who ousted julia gillard in a leadership election to become prime minister for a second time in june , was so incensed he took to twitter to voice his displeasure to over 1.3 million followers . using modern technology to bemoan cricket 's new-age technology he wrote : i 've just sat down to watch the test . that was one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions i have ever seen . ' at the close of play on the first day , captain michael clarke 's unbeaten century leading his side to a commanding position at 303-3 , rudd 's message had been retweeted 2,759 times . his viewpoint was supported by one of australia 's greatest ever cricketers , shane warne , who took 708 test wickets with his leg spin bowling during a glittering career . in his role as a television commentator he labeled the decision ridiculous ' and was one of the thousands that retweeted rudd 's remarks . there was daylight between bat and ball , there was no hot spot and no noise , ' warne said . the only noise was when the bat hit his pad . you can see the bat hitting the pad , the ball goes past , no noise . there was clear evidence there as well . that is a ridiculous decision . ' umpiring decisions have caused much controversy in the previous two tests matches , both won by england , who is looking to retain the ashes for the third straight series . under the decision review system ( drs ) both sides get two reviews per innings , meaning they can refer a decision to a video umpire if they think it is wrong . the numerous camera angles available , as well as sound and hotspot technology -- which can detect even the faintest touch of ball on bat -- are designed to eliminate bad calls . the game 's governing body -- the international cricket council ( icc ) -- was forced to defend the umpiring during the first test at trent bridge in nottingham after a clutch of poor decisions , from the on-field umpires and their video counterpart . rudd is the latest in a long line of aussie prime ministers who have indulged their love of cricket . john howard , who served between 1996 and 2007 , was a regular visitor to test matches involving his country at home and abroad . he also launched a bid to become a vice-president of the icc but was blocked by the organization 's board . gillard was pictured at various cricketing events , while former premiers bob hawke and paul keating also tried to tap into their country 's love of the game . | rudd dismayed after batsman usman khawaja given out by third umpire despite review |
rudd <tsp> ( cnn ) -- passions run high at the coalface of an ashes series and the heat clearly affects those at the pinnacle of australian politics too . as his nation battles to win the third test against england , and keep the five-match series alive , australian prime minister kevin rudd has left the game 's officials in no doubt as to his disgust . with the match only a few hours old , aussie batsman usman khawaja was given out caught behind by umpire tony hill , a call he instantly reviewed . and though countless replays offered no evidence khawaja had hit the ball , the video umpire upheld the on-field decision , condemning the 26-year-old to a long trudge back to the pavilion . rudd , who ousted julia gillard in a leadership election to become prime minister for a second time in june , was so incensed he took to twitter to voice his displeasure to over 1.3 million followers . using modern technology to bemoan cricket 's new-age technology he wrote : i 've just sat down to watch the test . that was one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions i have ever seen . ' at the close of play on the first day , captain michael clarke 's unbeaten century leading his side to a commanding position at 303-3 , rudd 's message had been retweeted 2,759 times . his viewpoint was supported by one of australia 's greatest ever cricketers , shane warne , who took 708 test wickets with his leg spin bowling during a glittering career . in his role as a television commentator he labeled the decision ridiculous ' and was one of the thousands that retweeted rudd 's remarks . there was daylight between bat and ball , there was no hot spot and no noise , ' warne said . the only noise was when the bat hit his pad . you can see the bat hitting the pad , the ball goes past , no noise . there was clear evidence there as well . that is a ridiculous decision . ' umpiring decisions have caused much controversy in the previous two tests matches , both won by england , who is looking to retain the ashes for the third straight series . under the decision review system ( drs ) both sides get two reviews per innings , meaning they can refer a decision to a video umpire if they think it is wrong . the numerous camera angles available , as well as sound and hotspot technology -- which can detect even the faintest touch of ball on bat -- are designed to eliminate bad calls . the game 's governing body -- the international cricket council ( icc ) -- was forced to defend the umpiring during the first test at trent bridge in nottingham after a clutch of poor decisions , from the on-field umpires and their video counterpart . rudd is the latest in a long line of aussie prime ministers who have indulged their love of cricket . john howard , who served between 1996 and 2007 , was a regular visitor to test matches involving his country at home and abroad . he also launched a bid to become a vice-president of the icc but was blocked by the organization 's board . gillard was pictured at various cricketing events , while former premiers bob hawke and paul keating also tried to tap into their country 's love of the game . | rudd calls it one of the worst umpiring decisions i 've seen ' and is backed by shane warne |
rudd <tsp> ( cnn ) -- passions run high at the coalface of an ashes series and the heat clearly affects those at the pinnacle of australian politics too . as his nation battles to win the third test against england , and keep the five-match series alive , australian prime minister kevin rudd has left the game 's officials in no doubt as to his disgust . with the match only a few hours old , aussie batsman usman khawaja was given out caught behind by umpire tony hill , a call he instantly reviewed . and though countless replays offered no evidence khawaja had hit the ball , the video umpire upheld the on-field decision , condemning the 26-year-old to a long trudge back to the pavilion . rudd , who ousted julia gillard in a leadership election to become prime minister for a second time in june , was so incensed he took to twitter to voice his displeasure to over 1.3 million followers . using modern technology to bemoan cricket 's new-age technology he wrote : i 've just sat down to watch the test . that was one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions i have ever seen . ' at the close of play on the first day , captain michael clarke 's unbeaten century leading his side to a commanding position at 303-3 , rudd 's message had been retweeted 2,759 times . his viewpoint was supported by one of australia 's greatest ever cricketers , shane warne , who took 708 test wickets with his leg spin bowling during a glittering career . in his role as a television commentator he labeled the decision ridiculous ' and was one of the thousands that retweeted rudd 's remarks . there was daylight between bat and ball , there was no hot spot and no noise , ' warne said . the only noise was when the bat hit his pad . you can see the bat hitting the pad , the ball goes past , no noise . there was clear evidence there as well . that is a ridiculous decision . ' umpiring decisions have caused much controversy in the previous two tests matches , both won by england , who is looking to retain the ashes for the third straight series . under the decision review system ( drs ) both sides get two reviews per innings , meaning they can refer a decision to a video umpire if they think it is wrong . the numerous camera angles available , as well as sound and hotspot technology -- which can detect even the faintest touch of ball on bat -- are designed to eliminate bad calls . the game 's governing body -- the international cricket council ( icc ) -- was forced to defend the umpiring during the first test at trent bridge in nottingham after a clutch of poor decisions , from the on-field umpires and their video counterpart . rudd is the latest in a long line of aussie prime ministers who have indulged their love of cricket . john howard , who served between 1996 and 2007 , was a regular visitor to test matches involving his country at home and abroad . he also launched a bid to become a vice-president of the icc but was blocked by the organization 's board . gillard was pictured at various cricketing events , while former premiers bob hawke and paul keating also tried to tap into their country 's love of the game . | australian prime minister kevin rudd tweets criticism of umpiring decision in ashes test |
khawaja <tsp> ( cnn ) -- passions run high at the coalface of an ashes series and the heat clearly affects those at the pinnacle of australian politics too . as his nation battles to win the third test against england , and keep the five-match series alive , australian prime minister kevin rudd has left the game 's officials in no doubt as to his disgust . with the match only a few hours old , aussie batsman usman khawaja was given out caught behind by umpire tony hill , a call he instantly reviewed . and though countless replays offered no evidence khawaja had hit the ball , the video umpire upheld the on-field decision , condemning the 26-year-old to a long trudge back to the pavilion . rudd , who ousted julia gillard in a leadership election to become prime minister for a second time in june , was so incensed he took to twitter to voice his displeasure to over 1.3 million followers . using modern technology to bemoan cricket 's new-age technology he wrote : i 've just sat down to watch the test . that was one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions i have ever seen . ' at the close of play on the first day , captain michael clarke 's unbeaten century leading his side to a commanding position at 303-3 , rudd 's message had been retweeted 2,759 times . his viewpoint was supported by one of australia 's greatest ever cricketers , shane warne , who took 708 test wickets with his leg spin bowling during a glittering career . in his role as a television commentator he labeled the decision ridiculous ' and was one of the thousands that retweeted rudd 's remarks . there was daylight between bat and ball , there was no hot spot and no noise , ' warne said . the only noise was when the bat hit his pad . you can see the bat hitting the pad , the ball goes past , no noise . there was clear evidence there as well . that is a ridiculous decision . ' umpiring decisions have caused much controversy in the previous two tests matches , both won by england , who is looking to retain the ashes for the third straight series . under the decision review system ( drs ) both sides get two reviews per innings , meaning they can refer a decision to a video umpire if they think it is wrong . the numerous camera angles available , as well as sound and hotspot technology -- which can detect even the faintest touch of ball on bat -- are designed to eliminate bad calls . the game 's governing body -- the international cricket council ( icc ) -- was forced to defend the umpiring during the first test at trent bridge in nottingham after a clutch of poor decisions , from the on-field umpires and their video counterpart . rudd is the latest in a long line of aussie prime ministers who have indulged their love of cricket . john howard , who served between 1996 and 2007 , was a regular visitor to test matches involving his country at home and abroad . he also launched a bid to become a vice-president of the icc but was blocked by the organization 's board . gillard was pictured at various cricketing events , while former premiers bob hawke and paul keating also tried to tap into their country 's love of the game . | rudd dismayed after batsman usman khawaja given out by third umpire despite review |
khawaja <tsp> ( cnn ) -- passions run high at the coalface of an ashes series and the heat clearly affects those at the pinnacle of australian politics too . as his nation battles to win the third test against england , and keep the five-match series alive , australian prime minister kevin rudd has left the game 's officials in no doubt as to his disgust . with the match only a few hours old , aussie batsman usman khawaja was given out caught behind by umpire tony hill , a call he instantly reviewed . and though countless replays offered no evidence khawaja had hit the ball , the video umpire upheld the on-field decision , condemning the 26-year-old to a long trudge back to the pavilion . rudd , who ousted julia gillard in a leadership election to become prime minister for a second time in june , was so incensed he took to twitter to voice his displeasure to over 1.3 million followers . using modern technology to bemoan cricket 's new-age technology he wrote : i 've just sat down to watch the test . that was one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions i have ever seen . ' at the close of play on the first day , captain michael clarke 's unbeaten century leading his side to a commanding position at 303-3 , rudd 's message had been retweeted 2,759 times . his viewpoint was supported by one of australia 's greatest ever cricketers , shane warne , who took 708 test wickets with his leg spin bowling during a glittering career . in his role as a television commentator he labeled the decision ridiculous ' and was one of the thousands that retweeted rudd 's remarks . there was daylight between bat and ball , there was no hot spot and no noise , ' warne said . the only noise was when the bat hit his pad . you can see the bat hitting the pad , the ball goes past , no noise . there was clear evidence there as well . that is a ridiculous decision . ' umpiring decisions have caused much controversy in the previous two tests matches , both won by england , who is looking to retain the ashes for the third straight series . under the decision review system ( drs ) both sides get two reviews per innings , meaning they can refer a decision to a video umpire if they think it is wrong . the numerous camera angles available , as well as sound and hotspot technology -- which can detect even the faintest touch of ball on bat -- are designed to eliminate bad calls . the game 's governing body -- the international cricket council ( icc ) -- was forced to defend the umpiring during the first test at trent bridge in nottingham after a clutch of poor decisions , from the on-field umpires and their video counterpart . rudd is the latest in a long line of aussie prime ministers who have indulged their love of cricket . john howard , who served between 1996 and 2007 , was a regular visitor to test matches involving his country at home and abroad . he also launched a bid to become a vice-president of the icc but was blocked by the organization 's board . gillard was pictured at various cricketing events , while former premiers bob hawke and paul keating also tried to tap into their country 's love of the game . | khawaja given out caught even though replays seemed to show he had n't hit the ball |
faa <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- fueled by a close call on a runway two years ago involving a u.s. senator , general aviation pilots will soon have increased leverage when facing faa disciplinary action under a bill awaiting president barack obama 's signature . the legislation was spearheaded by sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , whose own piloting incident led to increased scrutiny by the federal aviation administration . inhofe , an experienced pilot with more than 10,000 flying hours , faced an faa investigation after landing his private plane on a closed runway , sending ground workers scrambling for safety . in the october 2010 incident , the investigators said the runway was clearly marked with a large x ' indicating it was closed . additionally , a notice warning pilots the runway was closed had been issued . such notices , called notams ( notices to airmen ) , are supposed to be checked by all pilots prior to departure . inhofe said he did n't check for faa warnings . supporters of the pilot 's bill of rights ' say the new measure passed by the house and senate gives general aviation pilots the ability to fight charges levied against them by faa officials . highlights of the bill include : -- allowing pilots to appeal national transportation safety board rulings in federal district court . previously , pilots could only appeal faa findings to an ntsb administrative law judge . -- requiring the faa to inform pilots when they 're being investigated and notify them that any response by the pilot can be used as evidence against them . -- forcing the faa to share all evidence with the pilot before any enforcement action is enacted . -- requiring the government accountability office ( gao ) to review the faa 's medical certification process . pilots have argued that current faa medical forms are easily misunderstood , resulting in those who are under investigation being accused of falsifying the documents . this bill remedies many of the most serious deficiencies in the relationship between general aviation and the faa , and ensures that pilots are , like everyone else , treated in a fair and equitable manner by the justice system , ' inhofe said after the bill passed by voice vote in the house . pilot advocacy groups lauded the news . this is a landmark bill for general aviation , and protecting ga pilots'freedom to fly , ' said lorraine howerton , aircraft owners and pilots association vice president of legislative affairs , said on the aopa 's website . inhofe told the washington post at the time , i called the [ federal aviation administration ] when i landed to tell them what had happened ' and to see if there was any problem ... since there was no accident , there appeared to be no significant problem . ' pilot rescued after u.s. jet crash in japan gao investigators : some student pilots in u.s. illegally official : 3 americans die as private jet crashes in france | it also would require the gao to review the faa 's medical certification process |
faa <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- fueled by a close call on a runway two years ago involving a u.s. senator , general aviation pilots will soon have increased leverage when facing faa disciplinary action under a bill awaiting president barack obama 's signature . the legislation was spearheaded by sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , whose own piloting incident led to increased scrutiny by the federal aviation administration . inhofe , an experienced pilot with more than 10,000 flying hours , faced an faa investigation after landing his private plane on a closed runway , sending ground workers scrambling for safety . in the october 2010 incident , the investigators said the runway was clearly marked with a large x ' indicating it was closed . additionally , a notice warning pilots the runway was closed had been issued . such notices , called notams ( notices to airmen ) , are supposed to be checked by all pilots prior to departure . inhofe said he did n't check for faa warnings . supporters of the pilot 's bill of rights ' say the new measure passed by the house and senate gives general aviation pilots the ability to fight charges levied against them by faa officials . highlights of the bill include : -- allowing pilots to appeal national transportation safety board rulings in federal district court . previously , pilots could only appeal faa findings to an ntsb administrative law judge . -- requiring the faa to inform pilots when they 're being investigated and notify them that any response by the pilot can be used as evidence against them . -- forcing the faa to share all evidence with the pilot before any enforcement action is enacted . -- requiring the government accountability office ( gao ) to review the faa 's medical certification process . pilots have argued that current faa medical forms are easily misunderstood , resulting in those who are under investigation being accused of falsifying the documents . this bill remedies many of the most serious deficiencies in the relationship between general aviation and the faa , and ensures that pilots are , like everyone else , treated in a fair and equitable manner by the justice system , ' inhofe said after the bill passed by voice vote in the house . pilot advocacy groups lauded the news . this is a landmark bill for general aviation , and protecting ga pilots'freedom to fly , ' said lorraine howerton , aircraft owners and pilots association vice president of legislative affairs , said on the aopa 's website . inhofe told the washington post at the time , i called the [ federal aviation administration ] when i landed to tell them what had happened ' and to see if there was any problem ... since there was no accident , there appeared to be no significant problem . ' pilot rescued after u.s. jet crash in japan gao investigators : some student pilots in u.s. illegally official : 3 americans die as private jet crashes in france | inhofe faced faa scrutiny after landing his private plane on a closed runway |
ernest moniz <tsp> ( cnn ) -- u.s. energy secretary ernest moniz 's planned visit to india next week has been delayed , an energy department official said wednesday . the postponement of the trip comes amid tensions between new delhi and washington over the treatment of an indian diplomat who was arrested in new york last month on charges of fraud and making false statements on a visa application for her former housekeeper . i can confirm that secretary moniz is no longer traveling to india next week , ' the energy department official said . we have been in conversation with indian counterparts about the dates , and we have agreed to hold the dialogue in the near future at a mutually convenient date . ' indian officials expressed outrage last month when news emerged that devyani khobragade , the country 's deputy consul general in new york , had been strip-searched by u.s. law enforcement officials after her arrest . they have demanded that the united states apologize and drop the charges against khobragade , whose lawyer says she is innocent and entitled to diplomatic immunity . amid the uproar over the issue in the local media last month , indian authorities expressed their displeasure by removing concrete barriers from outside the u.s. embassy and taking away american diplomats'identification cards . moniz 's postponed india trip appears to be a high-profile result of the fallout from the dispute . in another move , indian authorities ordered the u.s. embassy in new delhi to halt commercial activities at a club on its property by january 16 , an indian external affairs official said thursday . the official said the multipurpose american club in the embassy compound was being used by nondiplomats , which contravenes an article of the vienna convention . despite the pressure , u.s. officials say there are no plans to drop the case against khobragade , who is accused of paying her former housekeeper , sangeeta richard , a fraction of the amount promised in the visa application and telling richard to keep quiet about the situation . they have said khobragade is entitled to consular immunity , which is less broad than diplomatic immunity and covers only actions carried out under official duties . secretary of state john kerry expressed regret ' about the situation last month , but stopped short of saying the united states had done anything wrong . human rights activists say indian authorities'anger about khobragade being strip-searched misses the bigger issue of her alleged wrongdoing with regard to richard . they say the mistreatment of domestic workers is a widespread and often overlooked problem around the world . indian and u.s. officials have repeatedly said that they hope the situation wo n't undermine relations between the two countries in the long term . we place great emphasis on the u.s.-india energy partnership , which is a key element of the overall strategic partnership , ' the energy department official said wednesday . the talks between the two sides are aimed at exchanging views on clean and renewable energy , civilian nuclear energy , regional energy projects , and a host of other topics that are essential to the well-being and prosperity of both our peoples , ' the official said . opinion : india overreacts to diplomat 's arrest cnn ' s harmeet shah singh contributed to this report . | u.s. energy secretary ernest moniz will no longer visit india next week , an official says |
real madrid <tsp> ( cnn ) -- real madrid came from behind to beat cross-city rivals atletico 3-1 in the first leg of their copa del rey quarterfinal tie at the santiago bernabeu on thursday . real fell behind to a goal from uruguay 's diego forlan after seven minutes before defender sergio ramos headed an equalizer for the home team six minutes later . cristiano ronaldo followed up his hat-trick against villarreal on saturday with los blancos'second goal on the hour mark , before germany playmaker mesut ozil sealed the victory with real 's third one minute from time . real head coach jose mourinho was pleased his team were able to find a third goal , but warned against complacency ahead of the second leg at atletico 's vicente calderon stadium on january 20 . why were epl players snubbed in all-star selection ? it is very important to reach the second leg with the advantage , ' mourinho told the club 's official website . the third goal gives us a little peace of mind , but we still have to play another 90 minutes in the vicente calderon , where atletico are very strong . the outcome is still undecided . ' in thursday 's other tie , spanish primera liga strugglers almeria claimed a 1-0 victory at home to deportivo la coruna . the match at estadio del mediterraneo was settled by an own goal from deportivo 's norwegian defender knut olav rindaroy after 34 minutes . the second leg will be played at deportivo 's riazor stadium on january 19 . | real madrid claimed a 3-1 win over rivals atletico in the copa del rey on thursday |
vatican <tsp> rome ( cnn ) -- pope benedict 's butler has been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to an italian journalist , the vatican said saturday . paolo gabriele , 46 , was arrested wednesday for illegal possession of confidential documents , found in his apartment in vatican territory , the vatican said in a statement issued three days later . gabriele , who has worked as the papal butler since 2006 , is one of only a handful of people with access to the pontiff 's private desk . his job included handing out rosaries to dignitaries and riding in the front seat of the popemobile , ' a vehicle used for public papal appearances , as seen in many photographs showing gabriele with the pope . last month , the vatican gave cardinal julian herranz a pontifical mandate ' to uncover the source of hundreds of personal letters and confidential documents that have been released to gianluigi nuzzi , an italian journalist and author of sua santita , ' a book that translates to his holiness ' and includes the documents . nuzzi would not confirm the identity of his sources , but he told cnn that his primary source -- who he referred to as maria ' in his book -- risked life and limb ' if ever found out . the source worked inside the vatican , according to nuzzi , who refused to give other details such as the source 's gender , age and if he or she was clergy or not . nuzzi told cnn that he has not been questioned in connection with the arrest . the vatican called the publication of his book criminal ' when it was released last saturday in italian . feltrenelli and mondadori booksellers both rank the book no . 1 in sales within italy . nuzzi 's book highlights an internal power struggle within the vatican through numerous documents including faxes , personal letters and inter-vatican memos . he told cnn that he received the documents during a year of private meetings in secret locations . the documents show that the allegations of corruption and money laundering were a concern for a number of high ranking prelates , including carlo maria vigano , who is now the papal nuncio in washington , dc . vigano wrote in a series of letters to the pope that he was concerned about the spread of corruption and that his move to washington would stir speculation . holy father , my transfer at this time would provoke much disorientation and discouragement in those who have believed it was possible to clean up so many situations of corruption and abuse of power that have been rooted in the management of so many departments , ' according to his letter which was published in the book . the vatican has not denied the authenticity of the documents , but instead says the breach of privacy is a criminal act . the 108-acre city-state has its own judicial system , distinct from the italian judicial system . cnn senior vatican analyst john allen pointed out that its courts normally prosecute the likes of pickpockets , not alleged moles . ' thus , the vatican does n't have facilities to incarcerate anyone on a long-term basis and the civil and criminal penalties it typically metes out are limited , allen said saturday . he speculated that , for these and other reasons , the vatican may ask -- assuming that it determines there is enough evidence against gabriele -- that any such trial occur within the italian judicial system . the question then would become : does the italian government want to pick that ( trial ) up ? ' said allen , a senior correspondent for the national catholic reporter . in addition to being an embarrassing scandal for the vatican on its own terms , this also has the potential to become ... a diplomatic contretemps . ' for now , gabriele is being held in a special cell within the vatican city , a walled enclave within rome , according to vatican spokesman federico lombardi . lombardi said the pope was saddened and shocked ' at the arrest . the vatican said the first phase of its preliminary investigation , under chief prosecutor nicola picardi , had now ended . an investigating judge , piero antonio bonnet , is leading the next stage of the investigation , which could lead to a trial or acquittal . gabriele has appointed two lawyers of his choice to act at the vatican tribunal , and has had a chance to meet them , the vatican statement said . he enjoys all the legal guarantees provided by the criminal code and criminal procedure in force in the state of vatican city , ' it added . | a book based on the documents charts an internal power struggle within the vatican |
vatican <tsp> rome ( cnn ) -- pope benedict 's butler has been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to an italian journalist , the vatican said saturday . paolo gabriele , 46 , was arrested wednesday for illegal possession of confidential documents , found in his apartment in vatican territory , the vatican said in a statement issued three days later . gabriele , who has worked as the papal butler since 2006 , is one of only a handful of people with access to the pontiff 's private desk . his job included handing out rosaries to dignitaries and riding in the front seat of the popemobile , ' a vehicle used for public papal appearances , as seen in many photographs showing gabriele with the pope . last month , the vatican gave cardinal julian herranz a pontifical mandate ' to uncover the source of hundreds of personal letters and confidential documents that have been released to gianluigi nuzzi , an italian journalist and author of sua santita , ' a book that translates to his holiness ' and includes the documents . nuzzi would not confirm the identity of his sources , but he told cnn that his primary source -- who he referred to as maria ' in his book -- risked life and limb ' if ever found out . the source worked inside the vatican , according to nuzzi , who refused to give other details such as the source 's gender , age and if he or she was clergy or not . nuzzi told cnn that he has not been questioned in connection with the arrest . the vatican called the publication of his book criminal ' when it was released last saturday in italian . feltrenelli and mondadori booksellers both rank the book no . 1 in sales within italy . nuzzi 's book highlights an internal power struggle within the vatican through numerous documents including faxes , personal letters and inter-vatican memos . he told cnn that he received the documents during a year of private meetings in secret locations . the documents show that the allegations of corruption and money laundering were a concern for a number of high ranking prelates , including carlo maria vigano , who is now the papal nuncio in washington , dc . vigano wrote in a series of letters to the pope that he was concerned about the spread of corruption and that his move to washington would stir speculation . holy father , my transfer at this time would provoke much disorientation and discouragement in those who have believed it was possible to clean up so many situations of corruption and abuse of power that have been rooted in the management of so many departments , ' according to his letter which was published in the book . the vatican has not denied the authenticity of the documents , but instead says the breach of privacy is a criminal act . the 108-acre city-state has its own judicial system , distinct from the italian judicial system . cnn senior vatican analyst john allen pointed out that its courts normally prosecute the likes of pickpockets , not alleged moles . ' thus , the vatican does n't have facilities to incarcerate anyone on a long-term basis and the civil and criminal penalties it typically metes out are limited , allen said saturday . he speculated that , for these and other reasons , the vatican may ask -- assuming that it determines there is enough evidence against gabriele -- that any such trial occur within the italian judicial system . the question then would become : does the italian government want to pick that ( trial ) up ? ' said allen , a senior correspondent for the national catholic reporter . in addition to being an embarrassing scandal for the vatican on its own terms , this also has the potential to become ... a diplomatic contretemps . ' for now , gabriele is being held in a special cell within the vatican city , a walled enclave within rome , according to vatican spokesman federico lombardi . lombardi said the pope was saddened and shocked ' at the arrest . the vatican said the first phase of its preliminary investigation , under chief prosecutor nicola picardi , had now ended . an investigating judge , piero antonio bonnet , is leading the next stage of the investigation , which could lead to a trial or acquittal . gabriele has appointed two lawyers of his choice to act at the vatican tribunal , and has had a chance to meet them , the vatican statement said . he enjoys all the legal guarantees provided by the criminal code and criminal procedure in force in the state of vatican city , ' it added . | new : given its limited judicial system , the vatican may ask italy to handle the case |
vatican <tsp> rome ( cnn ) -- pope benedict 's butler has been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to an italian journalist , the vatican said saturday . paolo gabriele , 46 , was arrested wednesday for illegal possession of confidential documents , found in his apartment in vatican territory , the vatican said in a statement issued three days later . gabriele , who has worked as the papal butler since 2006 , is one of only a handful of people with access to the pontiff 's private desk . his job included handing out rosaries to dignitaries and riding in the front seat of the popemobile , ' a vehicle used for public papal appearances , as seen in many photographs showing gabriele with the pope . last month , the vatican gave cardinal julian herranz a pontifical mandate ' to uncover the source of hundreds of personal letters and confidential documents that have been released to gianluigi nuzzi , an italian journalist and author of sua santita , ' a book that translates to his holiness ' and includes the documents . nuzzi would not confirm the identity of his sources , but he told cnn that his primary source -- who he referred to as maria ' in his book -- risked life and limb ' if ever found out . the source worked inside the vatican , according to nuzzi , who refused to give other details such as the source 's gender , age and if he or she was clergy or not . nuzzi told cnn that he has not been questioned in connection with the arrest . the vatican called the publication of his book criminal ' when it was released last saturday in italian . feltrenelli and mondadori booksellers both rank the book no . 1 in sales within italy . nuzzi 's book highlights an internal power struggle within the vatican through numerous documents including faxes , personal letters and inter-vatican memos . he told cnn that he received the documents during a year of private meetings in secret locations . the documents show that the allegations of corruption and money laundering were a concern for a number of high ranking prelates , including carlo maria vigano , who is now the papal nuncio in washington , dc . vigano wrote in a series of letters to the pope that he was concerned about the spread of corruption and that his move to washington would stir speculation . holy father , my transfer at this time would provoke much disorientation and discouragement in those who have believed it was possible to clean up so many situations of corruption and abuse of power that have been rooted in the management of so many departments , ' according to his letter which was published in the book . the vatican has not denied the authenticity of the documents , but instead says the breach of privacy is a criminal act . the 108-acre city-state has its own judicial system , distinct from the italian judicial system . cnn senior vatican analyst john allen pointed out that its courts normally prosecute the likes of pickpockets , not alleged moles . ' thus , the vatican does n't have facilities to incarcerate anyone on a long-term basis and the civil and criminal penalties it typically metes out are limited , allen said saturday . he speculated that , for these and other reasons , the vatican may ask -- assuming that it determines there is enough evidence against gabriele -- that any such trial occur within the italian judicial system . the question then would become : does the italian government want to pick that ( trial ) up ? ' said allen , a senior correspondent for the national catholic reporter . in addition to being an embarrassing scandal for the vatican on its own terms , this also has the potential to become ... a diplomatic contretemps . ' for now , gabriele is being held in a special cell within the vatican city , a walled enclave within rome , according to vatican spokesman federico lombardi . lombardi said the pope was saddened and shocked ' at the arrest . the vatican said the first phase of its preliminary investigation , under chief prosecutor nicola picardi , had now ended . an investigating judge , piero antonio bonnet , is leading the next stage of the investigation , which could lead to a trial or acquittal . gabriele has appointed two lawyers of his choice to act at the vatican tribunal , and has had a chance to meet them , the vatican statement said . he enjoys all the legal guarantees provided by the criminal code and criminal procedure in force in the state of vatican city , ' it added . | pope benedict is saddened and shocked ' at the arrest , the vatican spokesman says |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- boston bombing suspect dzhokar tsarnaev has tweeted since the boston marathon bombings on what two friends of his tell cnn is his twitter account . his tweets included one at 1:43 a.m. wednesday that said , i 'm a stress free kind of guy . ' on monday at 8:04 p.m. -- hours after the bombings -- he tweeted a quote from rapper jay-z and a 1970s r & b song , ai n't no love in the heart of the city . ' the tweet added , stay safe people . ' shortly after midnight , on tuesday morning , he tweeted , there are people that know the truth but stay silent & there are people that speak the truth but we do n't hear them cuz they 're the minority . ' tsarnaev uses the handle j_tsar ' and does not describe himself in the profile , which reads only , salam aleikum , ' a greeting among muslims . the profile photo is the face of a lion with its mouth open , baring its fangs . he has tweeted a dozen times since the bombing . the most recent tweet is one he retweeted on wednesday from mufti ismail menk , who identifies himself as a muslim scholar . attitude can take away your beauty no matter how good looking you are or it could enhance your beauty , making you adorable , ' the tweet reads . another tweet from tsarnaev on tuesday was a quote from rapper eminem : nowadays everybody wan na talk like they got somethin to say but nothin comes out when they move their lips ; just a bunch of gibberish . ' after another twitter account posted a photo tuesday saying it showed a man who was going to propose to his girlfriend at the marathon in boston and found her dead , tsarnaev tweeted a two-word response : fake story . ' another of the suspect 's tweets , an apparent response to someone else 's tweet , reads , and they what'god hates dead people ?'or victims of tragedies ? lol those people are cooked . ' also tuesday , tsarnaev tweeted , so then i says to him , i says , relax bro my beard is not loaded . ' on friday , another twitter user retweeted that message , and added the words , but my backpack is . ' other items that he wrote , well before the boston bombings , on the social media site may offer more details pertinent to the investigation . on august 10 , 2012 , for instance , tsarnaev wrote -- in response to another user -- boston marathon is n't a good place to smoke tho . ' the context of this conservation , however , was not known . | 2 friends of suspect dzhokar tsarnaev tell cnn this is his twitter account |
supreme court <tsp> ( cnn ) -- less than three months ago , the supreme court of the united states handed down eagerly awaited rulings on same-sex marriage , voting rights and affirmative action . next month , the court will begin its new term and likely deal with controversial issues such as abortion , campaign finance reform and the separation of church and state . when the court is in the middle of a term , it is easy to focus on hard legal questions , the legal views of individual justices and the consequences of landmark decisions . now is a good time , when the court is in recess , to take a step back and look at the institution itself . a lifetime is too long first , our supreme court justices are the only judges in the world who sit on a country 's highest court and have life tenure . because the president nominates the justices and the senate confirms them , the american people do not elect the justices and can not vote them out of office . in light of the crucial role the court plays across the spectrum of social , legal and political issues , the question of how long our justices serve should be re-examined . supreme court justices often serve more than 25 years and beyond the time they are still fit to perform their duties . for example , according to renown author david garrow , both justices william o. douglas and thurgood marshall remained on the bench well after their skills had significantly diminished beyond the point of competence . the usual justification for life tenure is that the justices need to be independent of the other branches of the government to adequately perform their duties . this need for independence is real and compelling , but there are other ways to achieve that goal . other countries use fixed terms , retirement ages or a combination of the two to achieve the necessary independence . there simply is no persuasive reason to allow governmental officials who have virtually unreviewable power to hold their offices for life . few witnesses to history the second aspect of our supreme court that needs to be changed is the lack of television coverage of oral arguments and decision announcements . what a shame that during the last week of june when the court handed down and read from the bench numerous important decisions -- including the overturning of the defense of marriage act and the formula in section 5 of the voting rights act -- the american people had to hear the news indirectly from media personalities instead of the justices . similarly in 2012 , when the court held three days of oral arguments on the president 's most important piece of legislation , the affordable care act , the public should have been able to witness those arguments just like the lucky few who happened to be in the courtroom . moreover , it is close to a tragedy that future generations will have absolutely no video record of the court 's arguments or decisions in these landmark cases . it would be an invaluable learning tool if young americans today could see the oral arguments in brown v. board of education or roe v. wade . more than 30 state supreme courts allow cameras in the courtroom with great success . supreme court justices john roberts and anthony kennedy have suggested that the presence of television would lead to grandstanding by lawyers and maybe even the justices themselves , but the experiences in state courts demonstrate such concerns are greatly exaggerated . when arkansas was considering placing cameras in the courtroom , justice robert l. brown conducted a survey and found that state supreme courts have blazed a significant technological trail . ... the public 's response , according to those state supreme courts that provide those video broadcasts , border [ ed ] on the exuberant . . . [ n ] o state that currently provides video of its oral arguments cites grandstanding as a problem . ' arkansas has joined the majority of states that allow cameras in their courtrooms . there is simply no good reason for the supreme court not to do exactly the same thing . a joke of a job interview finally , we have to do something about the national farce that is our supreme court nomination process . the sad spectacle of senators asking questions drafted by their staffs and then allowing the nominees to duck them should give way to serious conversations about the nominees'views so that the american people can participate more fully in the confirmation process . as almost everyone now knows , the justices have enormous discretion to decide cases in accordance with their personal and political value systems . the differences between justices antonin scalia and ruth bader ginsburg on most constitutional questions have nothing to do with legal interpretation and everything to do with their different backgrounds , experiences and values . the senate should do a much better job requiring nominees to answer hard questions about those values and experiences before the nominees are allowed to sit on the highest court in the land . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of eric segall . | the supreme court nomination process is a farce , he adds |
washington <tsp> ( cnn ) -- robert redford says bigotry , fear of change and a determination to personally destroy president barack obama have paralyzed the u.s. government . women and young people are the answer to fixing the gridlock that has partially shut down washington , the actor told cnn on tuesday . give them the reins , ' redford said . i think they can do better than we have . ' redford , 77 , sat down with cnn 's nischelle turner to talk about his new film , all is lost , ' which he agreed could serve as an analogy to the shutdown crisis . in the movie , redford plays a lone sailor struggling to stay alive after his sailboat is crippled by a collision with a container ship . at a certain point , i think , when things really get awful , when things get really bad and all seems to be lost -- there 's no hope , there 's no possibility -- then a lot of people quit , ' redford said about his character . they say ,'what 's the point ?'and they quit . and others keep going for no other reason than that . ' opinion : men dither while women lead redford :'why are these people behaving so stupidly ?'the conversation then turned to the drama playing out in washington , where a standoff between obama and republicans in congress has forced the federal government into a partial shutdown and threatened a default on the u.s. debt . it 's so divided now with the people that are so narrow and so limited that they would take us back into the past , ' redford said . and i was trying to figure out , why are these people behaving so stupidly ? why are they behaving so horribly that it 's crippling our whole country ? and i think it has to do with fear . i think it 's a group of people that are so afraid of change , and they 're so narrow-minded that some people -- when they see change coming -- get so threatened by change , they get angry and they get terrorized , and then they get vicious . i think that 's who these people are . they 're so afraid of change that they 're behaving miserably . ' obama is a compassionate man who ca n't function ' in this political environment , redford said . it is so decrepit , it is so paralyzed , and the worst of it is it is paralyzed by intention , ' he said . there is a body of congressional people that wants to paralyze the system . i think what sits underneath it , unfortunately , is there 's probably some racism involved , which is really awful . ' obama 's opponents reject whatever he might propose because their determination was to destroy this person , ' redford said . they wanted , if it meant destroying the government , anything to keep him from succeeding . i think just the idea of giving credit to this president , giving him credit for anything , is abhorrent to them , so they 'll go against it . never mind that it 's the better good of the people , never mind that they 're supposed to be in office representing the interest of the public . they 're representing their own self-interests , which is very narrow and in some cases bigoted . ' america 's problem : we 're too dumb redford : all is not lost but , unlike his latest film title , all is not lost , redford said . he said something new ' is starting to happen that offers hope . susan collins , who is a republican , is saying :'enough of this . this is not the job i signed up for . i 've got to do something ,' said redford , referring to the u.s. senator from maine . so she 's bringing a bipartisan group together of women . i think the future should belong more to women and young people . ' women must save the country because a lot of men that were in control were behaving stupidly , ' redford said . i mean , sometimes you say :'can we actually be this dumbed down , or am i actually hearing what i 'm hearing from some of these people ? are they really , is that really happening ?'it 's sad . ' does this mean redford is already throwing his support behind hillary clinton in a 2016 white house bid ? no , i would n't single out one woman over another , ' he said . i think it 's time to give more women a chance . ' all is lost , ' which is almost a silent movie , with its sparse dialogue , hits u.s. theaters next week . sundance 2013 : redford answers conservative critics cnn 's doug ganley contributed to this report . | president obama ca n't function ' now in washington , robert redford says |
congress <tsp> ( cnn ) -- robert redford says bigotry , fear of change and a determination to personally destroy president barack obama have paralyzed the u.s. government . women and young people are the answer to fixing the gridlock that has partially shut down washington , the actor told cnn on tuesday . give them the reins , ' redford said . i think they can do better than we have . ' redford , 77 , sat down with cnn 's nischelle turner to talk about his new film , all is lost , ' which he agreed could serve as an analogy to the shutdown crisis . in the movie , redford plays a lone sailor struggling to stay alive after his sailboat is crippled by a collision with a container ship . at a certain point , i think , when things really get awful , when things get really bad and all seems to be lost -- there 's no hope , there 's no possibility -- then a lot of people quit , ' redford said about his character . they say ,'what 's the point ?'and they quit . and others keep going for no other reason than that . ' opinion : men dither while women lead redford :'why are these people behaving so stupidly ?'the conversation then turned to the drama playing out in washington , where a standoff between obama and republicans in congress has forced the federal government into a partial shutdown and threatened a default on the u.s. debt . it 's so divided now with the people that are so narrow and so limited that they would take us back into the past , ' redford said . and i was trying to figure out , why are these people behaving so stupidly ? why are they behaving so horribly that it 's crippling our whole country ? and i think it has to do with fear . i think it 's a group of people that are so afraid of change , and they 're so narrow-minded that some people -- when they see change coming -- get so threatened by change , they get angry and they get terrorized , and then they get vicious . i think that 's who these people are . they 're so afraid of change that they 're behaving miserably . ' obama is a compassionate man who ca n't function ' in this political environment , redford said . it is so decrepit , it is so paralyzed , and the worst of it is it is paralyzed by intention , ' he said . there is a body of congressional people that wants to paralyze the system . i think what sits underneath it , unfortunately , is there 's probably some racism involved , which is really awful . ' obama 's opponents reject whatever he might propose because their determination was to destroy this person , ' redford said . they wanted , if it meant destroying the government , anything to keep him from succeeding . i think just the idea of giving credit to this president , giving him credit for anything , is abhorrent to them , so they 'll go against it . never mind that it 's the better good of the people , never mind that they 're supposed to be in office representing the interest of the public . they 're representing their own self-interests , which is very narrow and in some cases bigoted . ' america 's problem : we 're too dumb redford : all is not lost but , unlike his latest film title , all is not lost , redford said . he said something new ' is starting to happen that offers hope . susan collins , who is a republican , is saying :'enough of this . this is not the job i signed up for . i 've got to do something ,' said redford , referring to the u.s. senator from maine . so she 's bringing a bipartisan group together of women . i think the future should belong more to women and young people . ' women must save the country because a lot of men that were in control were behaving stupidly , ' redford said . i mean , sometimes you say :'can we actually be this dumbed down , or am i actually hearing what i 'm hearing from some of these people ? are they really , is that really happening ?'it 's sad . ' does this mean redford is already throwing his support behind hillary clinton in a 2016 white house bid ? no , i would n't single out one woman over another , ' he said . i think it 's time to give more women a chance . ' all is lost , ' which is almost a silent movie , with its sparse dialogue , hits u.s. theaters next week . sundance 2013 : redford answers conservative critics cnn 's doug ganley contributed to this report . | the actor says some in congress are crippling our whole country ' |
india <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the indian diplomat whose arrest sparked a testy exchange between the united states and india won a dismissal of a federal indictment monday , according to court documents . devyani khobragade was arrested and strip searched by federal agents in new york city in december after federal authorities accused khobragade of lying on a visa application about how much she paid her housekeeper . she was indicted on january 9 by a federal grand jury on one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements . khobragade then filed a motion to dismiss the charges , claiming she was cloaked in diplomatic immunity at the time of her arrest , ' according to the motion . the court agreed , stating that khobragade was appointed a counselor to the permanent mission of india to the united nations , a position that cloaked her with full diplomatic immunity , ' according to court documents . she was appointed to that position on january 8 , a day before she was indicted . even if khobragade had no immunity at the time of her arrest and has none now , her acquisition of immunity during the pendency of proceedings mandates dismissal , ' u.s. district judge shira scheindlin wrote . the government may not proceed on an indictment obtained when khobragade was immune from the jurisdiction of the court , ' scheindlin continued . khobragade 's attorney , daniel arshack , said in a statement that khobragade is pleased that the rule of law has prevailed . ' we are heartened that the court agreed with our legal analysis and rejected the prosecution 's arguments by dismissing the case , ' he said . india 's external affairs spokesman , syed akbaruddin , issued a statement welcoming the ruling . james margolin , spokesman for the united states attorney 's office for the southern district of new york , did not rule out the possibility of further charges . as the court indicated in its decision , and as devyani khobragade has conceded , there is currently no bar to a new indictment against her for her alleged criminal conduct , and we intend to proceed accordingly , ' he said in a statement . khobragade , who left the united states in january , is now working for the indian ministry of external affairs in delhi . her case drew international attention , with indian officials demanding apologies from washington , and the united states announcing it would withdraw one official from its embassy in new delhi . cnn 's allison malloy in new york and harmeet singh in new delhi contributed to this report . | that search sparked outrage in india , with officials there demanding an apology |
india <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the indian diplomat whose arrest sparked a testy exchange between the united states and india won a dismissal of a federal indictment monday , according to court documents . devyani khobragade was arrested and strip searched by federal agents in new york city in december after federal authorities accused khobragade of lying on a visa application about how much she paid her housekeeper . she was indicted on january 9 by a federal grand jury on one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements . khobragade then filed a motion to dismiss the charges , claiming she was cloaked in diplomatic immunity at the time of her arrest , ' according to the motion . the court agreed , stating that khobragade was appointed a counselor to the permanent mission of india to the united nations , a position that cloaked her with full diplomatic immunity , ' according to court documents . she was appointed to that position on january 8 , a day before she was indicted . even if khobragade had no immunity at the time of her arrest and has none now , her acquisition of immunity during the pendency of proceedings mandates dismissal , ' u.s. district judge shira scheindlin wrote . the government may not proceed on an indictment obtained when khobragade was immune from the jurisdiction of the court , ' scheindlin continued . khobragade 's attorney , daniel arshack , said in a statement that khobragade is pleased that the rule of law has prevailed . ' we are heartened that the court agreed with our legal analysis and rejected the prosecution 's arguments by dismissing the case , ' he said . india 's external affairs spokesman , syed akbaruddin , issued a statement welcoming the ruling . james margolin , spokesman for the united states attorney 's office for the southern district of new york , did not rule out the possibility of further charges . as the court indicated in its decision , and as devyani khobragade has conceded , there is currently no bar to a new indictment against her for her alleged criminal conduct , and we intend to proceed accordingly , ' he said in a statement . khobragade , who left the united states in january , is now working for the indian ministry of external affairs in delhi . her case drew international attention , with indian officials demanding apologies from washington , and the united states announcing it would withdraw one official from its embassy in new delhi . cnn 's allison malloy in new york and harmeet singh in new delhi contributed to this report . | new : india welcomes the ruling |
nadal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- spain have won the davis cup for a fifth time , and the third time in four years , after rafael nadal recovered from dropping the opening set to defeat argentina 's juan martin del potro in sunday 's penultimate singles rubber in sevilla . the hosts won friday 's first two singles matches , but argentina claimed saturday 's doubles to give them a foothold in the final going into the final two matches , and del potro started like a man on a mission , crushing the world number two 6-1 in an impressive opening set . resurgent federer hungry for more major titles but in the same stadium where nadal became the youngest davis cup winner in 2004 , the world number two fought back in impressive fashion to secure a 1-6 6-4 6-1 7-6 ( 7-0 ) triumph to spark scenes of wild celebration . nadal told reporters : it was a very emotional match and i am happy for the team . it was the most amazing atmosphere i have ever played in . the crowd were crazy . and everything was perfect for us , ' he continued . it was complicated at the start of the match , but the beginning of the second set was very important and at 1-0 and 40-0 that was the turning point for me . ' spanish captain albert costa added : it was an unbelievable match . these guys are great and that 's why we were in the final . rafa tried to play deeper and harder because at the start del potro was inside the line and hitting so hard . he fought hard so that 's why we won . ' the result handed argentina an unwanted record fourth davis cup final defeat , but spain 's fifth victory still leaves them trailing the united states ( 32 ) and australia ( 28 ) in overall successes . | nadal fights back from dropping the opening set to secure the point spain needed |
nadal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- spain have won the davis cup for a fifth time , and the third time in four years , after rafael nadal recovered from dropping the opening set to defeat argentina 's juan martin del potro in sunday 's penultimate singles rubber in sevilla . the hosts won friday 's first two singles matches , but argentina claimed saturday 's doubles to give them a foothold in the final going into the final two matches , and del potro started like a man on a mission , crushing the world number two 6-1 in an impressive opening set . resurgent federer hungry for more major titles but in the same stadium where nadal became the youngest davis cup winner in 2004 , the world number two fought back in impressive fashion to secure a 1-6 6-4 6-1 7-6 ( 7-0 ) triumph to spark scenes of wild celebration . nadal told reporters : it was a very emotional match and i am happy for the team . it was the most amazing atmosphere i have ever played in . the crowd were crazy . and everything was perfect for us , ' he continued . it was complicated at the start of the match , but the beginning of the second set was very important and at 1-0 and 40-0 that was the turning point for me . ' spanish captain albert costa added : it was an unbelievable match . these guys are great and that 's why we were in the final . rafa tried to play deeper and harder because at the start del potro was inside the line and hitting so hard . he fought hard so that 's why we won . ' the result handed argentina an unwanted record fourth davis cup final defeat , but spain 's fifth victory still leaves them trailing the united states ( 32 ) and australia ( 28 ) in overall successes . | world number two rafa nadal beats juan martin del potro to win spain the davis cup |
brandon rios <tsp> ( cnn ) -- antonio margarito has apologized for mocking manny pacquiao 's parkinson 's disease-afflicted boxing trainer freddie roach in a video that has spread like wildfire across the internet . the mexican-american boxer made a surprise appearance at thursday 's press conference for the undercard bout between brandon rios -- who was also in the video -- and omri rowther in a bid to make peace ahead of saturday 's fight in arlington , texas . i want to apologize to everyone , freddie roach if he will accept my apologies , ' said margarito , who was filmed shaking his hands in mock horror when a journalist told him roach said pacquiao would win by a knockout . to everyone with that disease ... i want to tell you , never , ever in my life would i make fun of anyone like that . i just want to let you know that i 'm not the kind of person who would do anything like that , and make fun of anyone . ' rios also said sorry to the 50-year-old for his part in the viral clip , which was posted on video sharing website youtube on wednesday and showed the american boxer violently shaking his head and stammering . it was a bad video from my behalf . things got heated up in the moment . and i 'm sorry . i feel bad for saying it . nothing personal . i feel bad , ' he said . robert garcia , who trains both maragarito and rios , told reporters at the conference that he had spoken to roach and his opposite number had accepted the apology . i told him ,'freddie roach , i want to tell you that i 'm very sorry for what happened . now that i am talking to you , i feel much better ,' garcia said , adding that roach replied : i accept your apology . and best of luck this weekend . ' roach said he had been angry about the video , but was prepared to move on , the sweet science boxing site reported on thursday . i wanted to fight them at first , of course i 'm a little too old , ' he said . i was very upset at first , i had trouble sleeping , thinking what to do about it . i thought it 's best to take the high road , chalk it up to experience . they made a mistake , went too far -- but i think they should apologize to world and not just me . they went a little bit too far , tried to get under my skin but they 're attacking a group of people -- not just me has parkinson 's . they apologized , they made a mistake , i accept it , let 's get to the fight . i will not let it get to me or my fighter -- my fighter is smart and will stick to the game plan . they went a little bit too far , but we can all do that at times . i do n't think they meant any harm in it . ' pacquiao and margarito are fighting for the vacant wbc junior middleweight title at cowboys stadium , with filipino fighter seeking to claim a belt in an unprecedented eighth class . it is pacquiao 's second visit to the venue , having retained his wbo welterweight title there against nigeria 's joshua clottey in march . margarito comes into the fight with a record of 38 wins from 45 bouts , having won both the wbo and ibf welterweight titles . however , the 32-year-old was mired in controversy after he was found to have used illegal handwraps during his wba title defeat by shane mosley in january 2009 , leading to him being banned by the california state athletic commission . he returned in may to win the vacant wbc international light middleweight title from roberto garcia before being signed up by promoter bob arum , with pacquiao still unable to seal a deal for his dream clash with floyd mayweather junior . | his parkinson 's disease was lampooned by fighters antonio margarito and brandon rios |
facebook <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the virginia couple accused of crashing president obama 's first white house state dinner on tuesday are named in at least 16 different civil suits in fauquier county , sometimes as plaintiffs , sometimes as defendants . a trawl through court records on thursday revealed a more complete picture of tareq and michaele salahi , who have left an extensive paper trail in federal bankruptcy and state court filings . the couple was spotted rubbing elbows with the likes of vice president joe biden and chief of staff rahm emanuel at tuesday 's dinner , but the secret service says they were not invited . a secret service checkpoint did not follow proper procedures ' to determine if the two were on the guest list , said edwin m. donovan , a secret service special agent , in a statement . the incident represents a security breach for the white house at the obama administration 's biggest social event to date . more than 300 guests , including cabinet members , diplomats and hollywood celebrities , attended the dinner in honor of visiting indian prime minister manmohan singh . the couple did not respond to cnn requests for comment thursday . at this time the salahis will not make any formal comments regarding the rumors and media speculation surrounding the white house state dinner , ' their publicist , mahogany jones , said in a statement . their counsel , paul w. gardner esq. , states emphatically that the salahis'did not'crash'this event . we look forward to setting the record straight very soon . ' asked for comment on the salahi 's legal difficulties , jones said in an e-mail , we will begin doing press and media next week providing exclusive interviews and press junkets . if you would like to be considered in our media circuit we request that you hold your proposed published profile until then . ' a page on facebook , apparently maintained jointly by the salahis , paints them as high rollers , listing their interests as polo , wine , and diplomatic relations , among others . a separate facebook fan page dedicated to michaele that appears to be run by her says , i was honored to be invited to attend the first state dinner hosted by president obama & the first lady to honor india . ' the page in her name is full of pictures showing her at social events around washington . but the two also spend quite a bit of time in court , records show . one of the lawsuits against the salahis was filed by robb levin of fairfax , virginia , who held his wedding at the oasis winery in august 2005 . i have a judgment against them , ' he said by phone on thursday . the settlement was for $ 15,000 , plus interest from june 2008 . they have n't paid a penny . ' levin contracted with the winery to provide vendors , such as florists and catering , for the event . but , he said , he discovered the winery was adding a significant profit ' to what the vendors were charging them . vendors told me what they were charging . they were charging me two or three times as much , ' he said . when he tried to use his own vendors , he said , he was fined $ 1,000 . after he signed a contract to hold his wedding there , they were very , very , very hard to get a hold of , ' he said . i remember [ the contract ] being very short and it just said to hold the date . when i went back , i found it said they could charge my credit card at will . at the time i signed it i do n't remember all those pages being there . i do n't remember a whole 8- or 12-page document , ' levin said . there were thousands of dollars charged to my card with no explanation . ' he fought with the salahis , dealing mostly with michaele , throughout the run-up to his nuptials , he said . they wanted more money and i was n't releasing it , ' he said . they threatened me with lawyers . they threatened to cancel the wedding . ' in the end , levin said , he paid up to make sure the wedding went ahead , then sued the salahis afterward to get his money back . tareq and michaele , meanwhile , were engaged in a long court battle with his parents over the winery . court records show tareq sued his mother , corinne , and the case was dismissed . corinne sued tareq and the case went to trial . the outcome is not clear from a virginia courts web site . tareq and michaele won control of the winery in 2007 , but it has run into debt since then . oasis winery filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in february , according to u.s. bankruptcy court records in the eastern district of virginia . tareq salahi is listed as company president in the filing . creditors listed include the irs , fauquier county , the state of virginia , several banks and american express corp. , among others . the company claims about $ 335,000 in assets and $ 965,000 in liabilities . among the debts listed are more than $ 60,000 in credit card debt and an unknown ' amount in federal back taxes . debtor has not filed corporate taxes since tax year 2006 , ' the filing says . has always previously had business loss , with refund flowing to shareholders . ' also listed is a $ 65 parking ticket in montgomery county , maryland , nearly $ 3,000 in gasoline purchases to exxon-mobil and more than $ 95,000 in legal fees . according to the february filing , oasis made $ 1.7 million in 2007 but only $ 35,000 in 2008 . the filing lists two pending lawsuits against oasis , one for more than $ 300,000 for catering services ' and one judgment against the company . under repossessions , ' the filing lists a 2004 aston martin , which it estimates was worth $ 150,000 when it was repossessed in october 2008 . some $ 85,000 was still owed , according to the filing . in addition , a boat valued at $ 90,000 was repossessed in june 2008 , with $ 56,000 still owed , according to court documents . the company also had closed a checking account , $ 3,800 in the red , about a year before the filing . oasis owes $ 224,000 for rental of fedex redskins suite and related hospitality services , ' according to court documents . the chapter 7 filing , under which a debtor 's assets are sold to pay creditors , followed an apparent effort to save the winery earlier . the business had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in december 2008 , with salahi 's mother , corinne , listing herself as president . a chapter 11 bankruptcy is referred to as a reorganization ' bankruptcy , according to the federal judiciary 's web site . in addition to federal bankruptcy , tareq and michaele may now face criminal charges . the incident represents a security breach for the white house at the obama administration 's biggest social event to date . more than 300 guests , including cabinet members , diplomats and hollywood celebrities , attended the dinner . if they lied to federal agents in order to get into the white house dinner , that is a federal crime , said fran townsend , cnn national security contributor . the agents tasked with protecting the president did not follow proper procedures , ' secret service agent edwin donovan said in a statement , but said the gatecrashers went through metal detectors and other levels of security . ' the salahis are aspiring reality-tv stars who hoped to land roles in the forthcoming show , the real housewives of d.c. , ' by the bravo cable network , the washington post reported . in a statement thursday , bravo said , michaele salahi is under consideration as a cast member , as such [ series producer ] half yard productions were filming the salahis on that day . half yard was only aware that per the salahis they had been invited [ to the state dinner ] as guests . ' video of the dinner showed the couple walking past journalists into the event . the couple also appears to have posted pictures on facebook purportedly showing them gaining access to high profile events during inauguration week , according to the washington post 's reliable sources gossip column . pictures on the couple 's joint facebook account appear to show them in the first family 's glass-enclosed viewing area after a concert at the lincoln memorial , according to the post . tareq & michaele were honored to be invited to president obama 's private viewing box at the lincoln memorial , ' the facebook posting from inauguration weekend reportedly reads . naturally this picture was taken after his departure . ' other pictures purportedly show them mingling with celebrities during inauguration weekend , including talk show host oprah winfrey at the kennedy center , according to the post . cnn 's richard allen greene , shannan butler and ashley hayes contributed to this report . | couple posts facebook photos purportedly showing them at inauguration events |
enter the dragon <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- bad dubbing , angry men with extraordinary facial hair , balletic fighting and more blood than you can shake a nunchuck at : just some of the key ingredients to make a perfect kung fu flick . tony jaa may be the modern day bruce lee , and in ong-bak ' he shows off his impressive skills . whether it 's a traditional tale of ancient chinese fighting mystics , or a slickly made , modern bloodfest , kung fu has always been a rich part of cinema . we 've compiled a list of 10 of the best . do n't agree ? think we 've missed one ? share your views by using the sound off box below and we 'll publish the best . 1 . enter the dragon ( robert clouse , 1973 ) bruce lee 's last movie before his untimely death , this is him at his very best . a man on a revenge mission , lee travels to a mysterious island to fight in a deadly tournament hosted by an evil billionaire . along with being technically amazing -- the nunchucks scene is jaw-dropping -- it 's the most stylish and iconic martial arts film ever made . 2 . ong-bak ( prachya pinkaew , 2003 ) tony jaa is a modern master . he has appeared in very few major releases , but has already made a huge impact . ong-bak ' is the perfect showcase for his extraordinary skills : whether he 's fighting a roomful of people or taking part in the most exciting chase we have ever seen -- jumping through rings of barbed wire and sliding under moving cars while doing the splits -- he makes this film every bit the martial arts spectacle . 3 . wong fei hung ( once upon a time in china ) ( hark tsui , 1991 ) part chinese history , part gripping kung fu movie , this eastern epic has jet li demonstrating his talents as the eponymous hero who stands up to invading foreign forces in 19th century china . armed with a limitless arsenal of martial arts moves , li takes on masses of gun-toting , badly acting opponents . a visual delight and jet li 's best work . 4 . kill bill 1 & 2 ( quentin tarantino , 2003/2004 ) quentin tarantino is a movie geek -- specifically , a b-movie geek -- and kung fu has long held a place in his heart . kill bill , ' his tribute to the genre , ticks every box : revenge ; a powerful , all-knowing nemesis ; stylish fights , costumes and music ; and blood , lots and lots of blood . 5 . wo hu cang long ( crouching tiger , hidden dragon ) ( ang lee , 2000 ) every eye-catching detail of this touching and beautiful film works . a love story with outlaws , witches and shaolin monks is augmented by breathtaking cinematography and some fantastic performances from chow yun fat , michelle yeoh and newcomer ziyi zhang . this visual feast tugs at the heart strings better than any karate chop could . 6 . the karate kid ( john g. avildsen , 1984 ) a simple but well-executed plot sees ralph macchio 's underdog work his way up an unconventional path to take on the mean and nasty establishment . it spawned a spate of copycat films , while thousands of children signed up to after-school karate ; everyone now knows how to defend themselves by waxing on or off and that the best fighting move is obviously the crane . hiya ! 7 . ging chaat goo si ( police story ) ( jackie chan , 1985 ) jackie chan is probably china 's biggest export to hollywood , well-known for doing his own death-defying stunts . this is one of the films that got him noticed in the united states . when he fights , chan is unstoppable : he uses every prop on the set and puts himself in enormous physical danger . out and out fun . 8 . shogun assassin ( robert houston , 1980 ) referenced several times in tarantino 's kill bill ' films , this forgotten classic must have set a record for the amount of blood spilt as our hero crosses the country on a revenge mission . early on , tomisaburo wakayama says they will pay with rivers of blood ' ; he is n't wrong . violent and wonderful . 9 . siu lam juk kau ( shaolin soccer ) ( stephen chow , 2001 ) should this be in the best or worst list ? it 's definitely unique . once described as the best kung fu football film of all time , ' this is one of the more ridiculous films of the genre . a group of down-and-out martial arts experts form a five-a-side football team to take on a group of evil , drug-taking clones . it 's as simple , and as silly as that . and it 's one of our guiltiest pleasures . 10 . the matrix ( andy and larry wachowski , 1999 ) a sci-fi spin on the genre , this modern classic has all the key elements : our hero has superhuman powers ; the bad guys , led by the relentless agent smith , form part of a shady , all-powerful organization intent on oppressing humankind ; and the fight scenes are fantastically technical . against all the odds , it appears keanu really does know kung fu . .................................... do n't agree ? think we 've missed one ? read others'comments and share your views by using the sound off box below . .................................... and the mainstream films that lacked the killer punch ... street fighter ( steven e. de souza , 1994 ) jean-claude van damme has made some good films , really he has . kickboxer ' nearly made it into our top 10 . but this is , by a huge margin , his worst effort . most depressing , though , is that this was the last major outing for raul julia -- not the way he should be remembered . great game ; terrible film . the karate kid , part iii ( john g. avildsen , 1989 ) the franchise came out of part two with a little credibility intact , but this last installment -- unless you include the next karate kid ' ( which no self-respecting karate kid ' fan would ) -- managed to kill off our last shred of enthusiasm . where the original might have inspired you to take up karate , this would put you off the sport , and probably kung fu movies too . bulletproof monk ( paul hunter , 2003 ) ' i 've got a great idea , let 's take a well-respected chinese actor and pair him up with an annoying teen-film actor in a mystical kung fu movie ; it ca n't fail ! ' unsurprisingly , this film was a disaster , shoe-horning silly fight scenes into a plot that spirals from implausible to disturbingly stupid . a frightful mistake , and one of our worst-named films to boot . under siege 2 : dark territory ( geoff murphy , 1995 ) the first under siege ' was a surprisingly good film , and hollywood 's best martial arts expert acquits himself well , but this follow up is laughable . seagal still fights like the best , but has lost the ability to speak , and whispers his way through the dialogue . considering the action takes place on a train , we were amazed his co-stars could hear him . come on , steven , you were so much better when you were just a lowly , lowly cook . game of death ( robert clouse , 1978 ) through no fault of his own , this is bruce lee 's posthumous contribution to the list . this tacky movie features fight scenes shot before lee died , interspersed with material filmed using lookalikes and a cardboard cutout of the great man . the fights are impressive , but the rest of the film smacks of a cash-in -- they even use footage from lee 's actual funeral . a desperate slur on lee 's memory . e-mail to a friend | iconic kung fu star bruce lee hits the top spot with enter the dragon ' |
tuiasosopo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the man who says he was behind the manti te'o girlfriend hoax claims he was in love with the notre dame linebacker , but the athlete knew nothing about the ruse . he had no idea , ' said 22-year-old ronaiah tuiasosopo in the first segment of a two-part interview that aired thursday on dr . phil . ' the second part is scheduled to air friday . he did not know anything . ' asked if he was in love with te'o , tuiasosopo told host phil mcgraw : ' i mean , yeah ... as twisted and confusing as it may be , yeah , i cared for this person . i did all that i could to help this person become a better person , even though i was n't getting nothing out of it . of course , it 's very shameful and it 's very painful to even talk about . even now , it 's hard to talk about . but , you know , the truth of it is that that happened . i grew feelings . i grew emotions that , sooner or later , i could n't control any more . ' asked whether he is gay , he said , i would say , yeah , i am gay , but honestly , i am so confused , i 'm so lost . ' bleacher report : twitter erupts as hoaxer tells story to dr. phil in the interview , tuiasosopo said the relationship began after he started a facebook page under the name lennay kekua , the first name an elision of his mother 's and grandmother 's first names and the last name one he had heard thrown around in the neighborhood . ' he said he randomly added different people ' as facebook friends with the persona he had created . one of the people i happened to add was his cousin , ' he said , referring to te'o 's cousin . shortly after , i got a friend request , and it was from manti . ' tuiasosopo said he found out , as lennay , that the gridiron star was in a relationship . i never wanted to become a relationship wrecker or nothing like that , ' he said . but that did not stop him ; the relationship grew . they began speaking nightly , and te'o seemed to have been smitten , too , tuiasosopo said . he really had fallen in love with this , we 'll say , character . ' tuiasosopo said he and his younger sister met manti in november , the night before notre dame 's 22-13 victory over rival usc at the team 's hotel . it was really awkward at first , ' he said . i wanted to tell him everything right then and there . ' but te'o 's relatives intruded , and he decided it was n't the right time , he said . tuiasosopo said his motives were pure ; he never tried to make money off their relationship . i just wanted to help him become better , ' he said . the charade became difficult to maintain , and he tried to end it several times . there are many times where manti and lennay had broken up . but something would bring them back together , whether it was something going on in his life or lennay 's life , in this case in my life , ' tuiasosopo said . he added : i wanted to end it because after everything i had gone through i wanted to move on with my life . me , ronaiah , i had to just start living and let this go . ' finally , after learning that te'o had skyped with four women -- including two of his former girlfriends -- tuiasosopo said he essentially killed off lennay , having her die of leukemia . i was just trying to do everything to end it because i knew that , no matter what , you know , it just was n't right -- and it was never going to be . ' a love story unravels thursday 's segment is the latest revelation in what began as a story of one of the nation 's best college football players leading his team to victory hours after learning his girlfriend had died , a story dismissed as a hoax after it was revealed kekua did not exist . te'o : my emotions were real sports website deadspin broke the story this month that the girlfriend whom te'o , this year 's heisman trophy runner-up , had talked about and had claimed died in september was n't real . te'o rose to national prominence while leading notre dame 's fighting irish to an undefeated regular season . as he and his team excelled , te'o told interviewers in september and october that his grandmother and girlfriend , whom he described as a 22-year-old stanford university student , had died within hours of each other . i miss 'em , but i know that i 'll see them again one day , ' he said then . an online relationship last week , te'o told talk show host katie couric that tuiasosopo had called him the day the story broke to confess . during that interview , te'o said he doubted the voice he knew as kekua was a man 's voice . tuiasosopo has said he faked his voice to sound feminine . in the interview , mcgraw questioned his veracity and repeatedly challenged him to prove it . mcgraw said his show had contacted private contractors for the fbi and the secret service , giving them a voice mail message that tuiasosopo said he had left for te'o . they looked at everything from voice intonation to tonal qualities ' and concluded that the chance that you are the person on that voice mail is like one in 10 million , ' mcgraw said . tuiasosopo insisted he was telling the truth but said he would be uncomfortable talking in his feminine voice for the tv host . i 've never done it in front of people , ' he said . who 's who on the internet ? who knows tuiasosopo's state of mind psychotherapist robi ludwig said the behavior described by tuiasosopo to mcgraw is very possible . we see this with internet dating . sometimes people lie , ' ludwig told cnn 's erin burnett outfront . it 's a place where they can experiment and where they can impersonate the other sex . ' ludwig said it is possible that tuiasosopo actually did have a crush on manti te'o and was confused about his sexuality . ' and the reason why he impersonated this woman was to see what it would feel like to be intimate with manti te'o , to be loved by manti te'o , ' she said . who would say this if it were n't true ? i do n't get the sense that he 's a sociopath . i get the sense that he 's confused . ''catfishing'masks identities online | in the interview , tuiasosopo says he wanted to end the relationship |
tuiasosopo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the man who says he was behind the manti te'o girlfriend hoax claims he was in love with the notre dame linebacker , but the athlete knew nothing about the ruse . he had no idea , ' said 22-year-old ronaiah tuiasosopo in the first segment of a two-part interview that aired thursday on dr . phil . ' the second part is scheduled to air friday . he did not know anything . ' asked if he was in love with te'o , tuiasosopo told host phil mcgraw : ' i mean , yeah ... as twisted and confusing as it may be , yeah , i cared for this person . i did all that i could to help this person become a better person , even though i was n't getting nothing out of it . of course , it 's very shameful and it 's very painful to even talk about . even now , it 's hard to talk about . but , you know , the truth of it is that that happened . i grew feelings . i grew emotions that , sooner or later , i could n't control any more . ' asked whether he is gay , he said , i would say , yeah , i am gay , but honestly , i am so confused , i 'm so lost . ' bleacher report : twitter erupts as hoaxer tells story to dr. phil in the interview , tuiasosopo said the relationship began after he started a facebook page under the name lennay kekua , the first name an elision of his mother 's and grandmother 's first names and the last name one he had heard thrown around in the neighborhood . ' he said he randomly added different people ' as facebook friends with the persona he had created . one of the people i happened to add was his cousin , ' he said , referring to te'o 's cousin . shortly after , i got a friend request , and it was from manti . ' tuiasosopo said he found out , as lennay , that the gridiron star was in a relationship . i never wanted to become a relationship wrecker or nothing like that , ' he said . but that did not stop him ; the relationship grew . they began speaking nightly , and te'o seemed to have been smitten , too , tuiasosopo said . he really had fallen in love with this , we 'll say , character . ' tuiasosopo said he and his younger sister met manti in november , the night before notre dame 's 22-13 victory over rival usc at the team 's hotel . it was really awkward at first , ' he said . i wanted to tell him everything right then and there . ' but te'o 's relatives intruded , and he decided it was n't the right time , he said . tuiasosopo said his motives were pure ; he never tried to make money off their relationship . i just wanted to help him become better , ' he said . the charade became difficult to maintain , and he tried to end it several times . there are many times where manti and lennay had broken up . but something would bring them back together , whether it was something going on in his life or lennay 's life , in this case in my life , ' tuiasosopo said . he added : i wanted to end it because after everything i had gone through i wanted to move on with my life . me , ronaiah , i had to just start living and let this go . ' finally , after learning that te'o had skyped with four women -- including two of his former girlfriends -- tuiasosopo said he essentially killed off lennay , having her die of leukemia . i was just trying to do everything to end it because i knew that , no matter what , you know , it just was n't right -- and it was never going to be . ' a love story unravels thursday 's segment is the latest revelation in what began as a story of one of the nation 's best college football players leading his team to victory hours after learning his girlfriend had died , a story dismissed as a hoax after it was revealed kekua did not exist . te'o : my emotions were real sports website deadspin broke the story this month that the girlfriend whom te'o , this year 's heisman trophy runner-up , had talked about and had claimed died in september was n't real . te'o rose to national prominence while leading notre dame 's fighting irish to an undefeated regular season . as he and his team excelled , te'o told interviewers in september and october that his grandmother and girlfriend , whom he described as a 22-year-old stanford university student , had died within hours of each other . i miss 'em , but i know that i 'll see them again one day , ' he said then . an online relationship last week , te'o told talk show host katie couric that tuiasosopo had called him the day the story broke to confess . during that interview , te'o said he doubted the voice he knew as kekua was a man 's voice . tuiasosopo has said he faked his voice to sound feminine . in the interview , mcgraw questioned his veracity and repeatedly challenged him to prove it . mcgraw said his show had contacted private contractors for the fbi and the secret service , giving them a voice mail message that tuiasosopo said he had left for te'o . they looked at everything from voice intonation to tonal qualities ' and concluded that the chance that you are the person on that voice mail is like one in 10 million , ' mcgraw said . tuiasosopo insisted he was telling the truth but said he would be uncomfortable talking in his feminine voice for the tv host . i 've never done it in front of people , ' he said . who 's who on the internet ? who knows tuiasosopo's state of mind psychotherapist robi ludwig said the behavior described by tuiasosopo to mcgraw is very possible . we see this with internet dating . sometimes people lie , ' ludwig told cnn 's erin burnett outfront . it 's a place where they can experiment and where they can impersonate the other sex . ' ludwig said it is possible that tuiasosopo actually did have a crush on manti te'o and was confused about his sexuality . ' and the reason why he impersonated this woman was to see what it would feel like to be intimate with manti te'o , to be loved by manti te'o , ' she said . who would say this if it were n't true ? i do n't get the sense that he 's a sociopath . i get the sense that he 's confused . ''catfishing'masks identities online | tuiasosopo sat down for a two-part interview that began thursday on the dr. phil show ' |
tuiasosopo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the man who says he was behind the manti te'o girlfriend hoax claims he was in love with the notre dame linebacker , but the athlete knew nothing about the ruse . he had no idea , ' said 22-year-old ronaiah tuiasosopo in the first segment of a two-part interview that aired thursday on dr . phil . ' the second part is scheduled to air friday . he did not know anything . ' asked if he was in love with te'o , tuiasosopo told host phil mcgraw : ' i mean , yeah ... as twisted and confusing as it may be , yeah , i cared for this person . i did all that i could to help this person become a better person , even though i was n't getting nothing out of it . of course , it 's very shameful and it 's very painful to even talk about . even now , it 's hard to talk about . but , you know , the truth of it is that that happened . i grew feelings . i grew emotions that , sooner or later , i could n't control any more . ' asked whether he is gay , he said , i would say , yeah , i am gay , but honestly , i am so confused , i 'm so lost . ' bleacher report : twitter erupts as hoaxer tells story to dr. phil in the interview , tuiasosopo said the relationship began after he started a facebook page under the name lennay kekua , the first name an elision of his mother 's and grandmother 's first names and the last name one he had heard thrown around in the neighborhood . ' he said he randomly added different people ' as facebook friends with the persona he had created . one of the people i happened to add was his cousin , ' he said , referring to te'o 's cousin . shortly after , i got a friend request , and it was from manti . ' tuiasosopo said he found out , as lennay , that the gridiron star was in a relationship . i never wanted to become a relationship wrecker or nothing like that , ' he said . but that did not stop him ; the relationship grew . they began speaking nightly , and te'o seemed to have been smitten , too , tuiasosopo said . he really had fallen in love with this , we 'll say , character . ' tuiasosopo said he and his younger sister met manti in november , the night before notre dame 's 22-13 victory over rival usc at the team 's hotel . it was really awkward at first , ' he said . i wanted to tell him everything right then and there . ' but te'o 's relatives intruded , and he decided it was n't the right time , he said . tuiasosopo said his motives were pure ; he never tried to make money off their relationship . i just wanted to help him become better , ' he said . the charade became difficult to maintain , and he tried to end it several times . there are many times where manti and lennay had broken up . but something would bring them back together , whether it was something going on in his life or lennay 's life , in this case in my life , ' tuiasosopo said . he added : i wanted to end it because after everything i had gone through i wanted to move on with my life . me , ronaiah , i had to just start living and let this go . ' finally , after learning that te'o had skyped with four women -- including two of his former girlfriends -- tuiasosopo said he essentially killed off lennay , having her die of leukemia . i was just trying to do everything to end it because i knew that , no matter what , you know , it just was n't right -- and it was never going to be . ' a love story unravels thursday 's segment is the latest revelation in what began as a story of one of the nation 's best college football players leading his team to victory hours after learning his girlfriend had died , a story dismissed as a hoax after it was revealed kekua did not exist . te'o : my emotions were real sports website deadspin broke the story this month that the girlfriend whom te'o , this year 's heisman trophy runner-up , had talked about and had claimed died in september was n't real . te'o rose to national prominence while leading notre dame 's fighting irish to an undefeated regular season . as he and his team excelled , te'o told interviewers in september and october that his grandmother and girlfriend , whom he described as a 22-year-old stanford university student , had died within hours of each other . i miss 'em , but i know that i 'll see them again one day , ' he said then . an online relationship last week , te'o told talk show host katie couric that tuiasosopo had called him the day the story broke to confess . during that interview , te'o said he doubted the voice he knew as kekua was a man 's voice . tuiasosopo has said he faked his voice to sound feminine . in the interview , mcgraw questioned his veracity and repeatedly challenged him to prove it . mcgraw said his show had contacted private contractors for the fbi and the secret service , giving them a voice mail message that tuiasosopo said he had left for te'o . they looked at everything from voice intonation to tonal qualities ' and concluded that the chance that you are the person on that voice mail is like one in 10 million , ' mcgraw said . tuiasosopo insisted he was telling the truth but said he would be uncomfortable talking in his feminine voice for the tv host . i 've never done it in front of people , ' he said . who 's who on the internet ? who knows tuiasosopo's state of mind psychotherapist robi ludwig said the behavior described by tuiasosopo to mcgraw is very possible . we see this with internet dating . sometimes people lie , ' ludwig told cnn 's erin burnett outfront . it 's a place where they can experiment and where they can impersonate the other sex . ' ludwig said it is possible that tuiasosopo actually did have a crush on manti te'o and was confused about his sexuality . ' and the reason why he impersonated this woman was to see what it would feel like to be intimate with manti te'o , to be loved by manti te'o , ' she said . who would say this if it were n't true ? i do n't get the sense that he 's a sociopath . i get the sense that he 's confused . ''catfishing'masks identities online | new : it was never going to be , ' tuiasosopo says of relationship with manti te'o |
republican <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- jeb bush might not be announcing his candidacy for president in 2016 any time soon , but he is sharing his vision of the future with iowan republicans . the des moines register reports tuesday that gop iowans recently received mailers from the former floridian governor that sounded more like a campaign pitch than a donation plea for his social fundraising group , excellence in education national . in the four and a half page letter , bush proposes an economic plan that he believes are the stepping stones to make the country the most economically and socially mobile country in the world , ' once again . i am gravely concerned about the direction of our country , the lack of leadership in washington , and the economic stagnation we have suffered through for the past six years , ' he said in the beginning of his letter . kristy campbell , bush 's spokeswoman , confirmed to cnn that the letter was sent in an effort to raise awareness about the current state of the education system , which should not be interpreted as a political sign . george w. bush : i think my brother wants to be president ' gov . bush raises money for his education work throughout the year and the letter is not related to any decision about his political future , ' she said . campbell said that the governor will consider running and expects to make a decision later this year or in early 2015 . the des moines register said that iowans had told them that they had never received anything from bush or his foundation before . however , campbell said the mailers are being sent across the country , not just to iowa republicans . in several bullet points , bush lists the need for immigration reform , simplifying tax regulations , and other policies , half a page before touching upon the failing education system . ' while the mailer does ask iowans to donate for his cause , bush 's disclosure of his vision for only adds fuel to the rumor mill about whether he will run in 2016 . jeb bush back in the spotlight after son 's comments in recent days speculation about a potential bid has increased following several comments made by his family members . on sunday , both of bush 's sons hinted that their father is seriously considering running . in an interview with the new york times , jeb bush jr. said that people and donors are getting fired up ' about the idea of his father running for president . i think it 's more than likely that ... he 'll run . the family will be behind him 100 percent if he decides to do it , ' george p. bush , the governor 's youngest son , told jon karl on abc 's this week . ' | gov . jeb bush 's group is behind a mailer sent to iowa republican voters |
gop <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the way some republicans talk about the environmental protection agency , you would think it was created by a bunch of pot-smoking hippies communing at a nudist camp in northern california -- when in fact , the epa was created by one of their own , richard nixon , in 1970 . much as republicans do n't like to bring up the huge tax increases instituted by their hero , ronald reagan , they prefer to sidestep their role in the epa 's humble beginnings and blame it on democrats . they characterize the whole thing as an albatross hanging around the economy 's neck . to be fair , nixon did not ride into the white house as a conservationist , and he did veto the clean water act . but he said he did so because of the price tag of the policy , not its purpose . after the santa barbara oil spill in 1969 -- which at the time was the largest in u.s. history -- nixon agreed with the rest of thinking society that clean water and air were a good thing . and his fingerprints are all over such tree-hugging initiatives as the clean air act . sadly , if he tried any of that funny business today , his own party would probably impeach him . that 's how far down the oil well some in the republican leadership have fallen . rep. michelle bachmann said she would lock the epa 's doors and turn off its lights if she were president ( thankfully there 's no chance of that ) ; newt gingrich said he would shut down the epa and create a replacement to work with businesses to create jobs ( making it more of a lapdog than watchdog ) ; rick perry asked the president to halt all regulations , adding his epa regulations are killing jobs all across america . ' many conservatives , such as bachmann and perry , refer to the agency as a job killer ' because of the regulations , and consequent operational costs , it imposes on businesses . i find the label rather odd , considering that research shows that poor air and water quality are people killers and without people , jobs are pretty much useless . the sierra club , a 120-year-old conservation nonprofit , estimates that legislation administered by the epa prevented more than 200,000 premature deaths from air pollutants , cleaned more than 2000 polluted rivers and lakes , and was instrumental in phasing out dangerous chemicals such as ddt and pcbs along with the poisonous leaded gasoline -- one of the worse inventions of all time , according to time magazine . that does n't mean it 's an agency without controversy . the sierra club , in pushing for more progress , often criticizes the epa for its shortcomings , and the agency was accused of suppressing a report that questions global warming . still , how could anyone who has seen news coverage of the 2010 gulf of mexico spill -- the current worst oil disaster in u.s. history -- not want the federal government involved in protecting the environment ? epa critics such as ron paul suggest the states should be left to handle their own environmental issues -- an idea that could only come from people who have not had to stand in line at the dmv . once you 've dealt with that and other state offices , the last thing you would want is to let the states go solo in handling the safety of drinking water . and who did front-runner mitt romney cite to say that the epa functioned better under george w. bush than obama ? oil and gas executives . talk about a classic example of someone completely lacking in the self-awareness department . i guess for his next piece of news he 'll tell us evangelical voters believe in god . seriously , if romney is so hell-bent on stating the obvious , he should bring up the provision in bush 's 2005 energy policy act that excused natural gas companies from telling the epa which chemicals they were using to mine with , and say it was a mistake . it 's not like that would be stepping out on a limb , since it 's been well documented that some people who live near gas-drilling facilities can now turn on their faucets and light the water on fire . i 'm not making that up -- rent the documentary gasland ' and enjoy the pyrotechnic show . if you can . i found myself getting angry as i listened to homeowner after homeowner share the details of trying to live a life breathing in toxic fumes because of the unregulated drilling . think karen silkwood or erin brockovich . or better yet , think dick cheney , the driving force behind w 's energy policy . why cheney ? well , one of the companies making big profits from the natural gas drilling is his former employer , halliburton . and yet republicans like romney -- who as a governor , proposed plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions , and as a presidential candidate , backed away from such plans -- and his rivals talk openly about their disdain for the epa , while pushing for the keystone xl pipeline extension . the pros and cons of building a system that funnels crude oil into the u.s. are worth exploring . but doing so while plotting to dismantle the epa reeks of capitalism run amok . i severely doubt the epa is running as efficiently as it should , and i 'm sure there are some regulations that need to reviewed by the science community . but the republican notion that a federal policing of our natural resources is a waste of money flies in the face of common sense . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of lz granderson . | lz granderson says they 're ignoring the fact that it was created by a gop president |
moss <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- good news ( we guess ? ) for ronn moss fans : do n't go looking for a brand new ridge to take over for the old one on cbs' the bold and the beautiful . ' once moss'last episode airs on sept. 14 , b & b ' has no plans to fill the void , the sudser 's head writer told tv guide . ridge will not be dead or presumed dead , ' said bradley bell . he will just not be in the picture . i do n't want to do a presumed death because i do n't want the story that follows to be all about ridge . this will be a brooke story . ridge is a pivotal part of the show and he will be back in a matter of time ... and probably not all that much time . i will continue writing for the character . i 'm looking at this in two phases , really . there will be a period of time without ridge , which is where some new , interesting avenues for brooke will come into play . but at some point it will be necessary for ridge to return to the show . who will be playing the role at that point remains to be seen . ' ew broke the news last week that moss has decided to leave cbs soap that he 's been on since its 1987 debut . he said this on his facebook page : i want to make sure , without any doubt , that you guys all know how much i love you . your support during this time and hopefully beyond is everything . i ca n't say anything yet , but soon will explain . hang in there with me , we have a wonderful new journey ahead of us . try and not be sad , angry , disappointed .. it 's been a great run and all good things end eventually . as this door closes , others are opening . i want you all to come with me through these new doors of opportunities and experience how cool it 's going to be . have faith , be strong , know i 'm eternally yours . ' moss played fashion magnate ridge forrester -- one of the ' core four ' on bold that includes susan flannery as stephanie forrester , john mccook as eric forrester , and katherine kelly lang as brooke logan . bell also told tv guide that ronn 's circumstances are unique ' and that what happened here will not be widespread . ' ( translation : do n't look for any more unexpected departures ) . bell also said that once he does decide to fill ridge role , i might go a little younger . but we 'll be true to the age range that 's been established . i do have people in mind in terms of a recast †” some very interesting people . ' the head writer is n't giving up hope that moss may reprise the role at a later date . see full story at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | moss'last episode airs on sept. 14 |
moss <tsp> ( ew.com ) -- good news ( we guess ? ) for ronn moss fans : do n't go looking for a brand new ridge to take over for the old one on cbs' the bold and the beautiful . ' once moss'last episode airs on sept. 14 , b & b ' has no plans to fill the void , the sudser 's head writer told tv guide . ridge will not be dead or presumed dead , ' said bradley bell . he will just not be in the picture . i do n't want to do a presumed death because i do n't want the story that follows to be all about ridge . this will be a brooke story . ridge is a pivotal part of the show and he will be back in a matter of time ... and probably not all that much time . i will continue writing for the character . i 'm looking at this in two phases , really . there will be a period of time without ridge , which is where some new , interesting avenues for brooke will come into play . but at some point it will be necessary for ridge to return to the show . who will be playing the role at that point remains to be seen . ' ew broke the news last week that moss has decided to leave cbs soap that he 's been on since its 1987 debut . he said this on his facebook page : i want to make sure , without any doubt , that you guys all know how much i love you . your support during this time and hopefully beyond is everything . i ca n't say anything yet , but soon will explain . hang in there with me , we have a wonderful new journey ahead of us . try and not be sad , angry , disappointed .. it 's been a great run and all good things end eventually . as this door closes , others are opening . i want you all to come with me through these new doors of opportunities and experience how cool it 's going to be . have faith , be strong , know i 'm eternally yours . ' moss played fashion magnate ridge forrester -- one of the ' core four ' on bold that includes susan flannery as stephanie forrester , john mccook as eric forrester , and katherine kelly lang as brooke logan . bell also told tv guide that ronn 's circumstances are unique ' and that what happened here will not be widespread . ' ( translation : do n't look for any more unexpected departures ) . bell also said that once he does decide to fill ridge role , i might go a little younger . but we 'll be true to the age range that 's been established . i do have people in mind in terms of a recast †” some very interesting people . ' the head writer is n't giving up hope that moss may reprise the role at a later date . see full story at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. all rights reserved . | actor ronn moss has decided to end his 25-year run as ridge forrester on the soap |
pennsylvania turnpike <tsp> bensalem , pennsylvania ( cnn ) -- about 100 vehicles were involved in a series of wrecks on the eastbound pennsylvania turnpike just north of philadelphia on friday morning , injuring at least 30 people and causing a traffic backup for hours over parts of two counties , officials said . glare from the rising sun and ice -- left over from a storm that dropped snow and freezing rain in the philadelphia area -- might have been factors , state police trooper adam reed said . the wrecks started around 8:25 a.m . et with a 14- or 15-vehicle collision in southern bucks county , not far from new jersey state line , said bill capone , spokesman for the pennsylvania turnpike commission . about 20 more sets of wrecks stretching for miles occurred on the turnpike , said pat ponticelli , bensalem township 's deputy director of public safety . each apparently happeed as traffic slowed for crashes ahead . in a number of areas , smashed vehicles were piled into each other with their front ends pointing in different directions , aerial video from cnn affiliate wpvi showed . in one spot , at least nine vehicles appeared to be crunched in a jumbled group behind a tractor-trailer . in another , a couple of vehicles had come to rest against a jackknifed truck . thirty people were hurt , including five with serious , but non-life-threatening injuries , reed said . more than half of those injured were taken to abington memorial hospital , where they were diagnosed with minor to moderate injuries , dr. john j. kelly , the chief of staff , said . i think we really saw mostly what we would call soft-tissue injuries , bumps and scrapes type of injuries , ' he said . traffic was moving again in one affected section of the turnpike by 2 p.m. , video from cnn affiliate kyw showed . pennsylvania state police said it hoped to have the road fully open by 5 p.m. heather pasco , a driver involved in one of the crashes , told kyw that she thought she was a goner . pasco said she had stopped her car after she saw cars bouncing off of the center divider . ' although she stopped , a truck behind her did n't , she said . i looked in my rearview mirror , and there was a big ... truck right behind me , and he was trying to stop , but he was sliding and he slammed right into the back of me , which then made me slam into the car in front of me , ' she told kyw . i saw him ( in the mirror ) , and i thought i was done , ' pasco added . the entire back end of my car is gone . ' police told her that her wreck was about 3.5 miles behind the initial crash , she said . she said the road , after snow and freezing rain had fallen in the area , was n't really plowed very well . ' traffic was backed up for miles , stretching west into adjacent montgomery county . cnn 's john newsome , lena jakobsson and john fricke contributed to this report . | about 100 vehicles crash on pennsylvania turnpike north of philadelphia , official says |
philadelphia <tsp> bensalem , pennsylvania ( cnn ) -- about 100 vehicles were involved in a series of wrecks on the eastbound pennsylvania turnpike just north of philadelphia on friday morning , injuring at least 30 people and causing a traffic backup for hours over parts of two counties , officials said . glare from the rising sun and ice -- left over from a storm that dropped snow and freezing rain in the philadelphia area -- might have been factors , state police trooper adam reed said . the wrecks started around 8:25 a.m . et with a 14- or 15-vehicle collision in southern bucks county , not far from new jersey state line , said bill capone , spokesman for the pennsylvania turnpike commission . about 20 more sets of wrecks stretching for miles occurred on the turnpike , said pat ponticelli , bensalem township 's deputy director of public safety . each apparently happeed as traffic slowed for crashes ahead . in a number of areas , smashed vehicles were piled into each other with their front ends pointing in different directions , aerial video from cnn affiliate wpvi showed . in one spot , at least nine vehicles appeared to be crunched in a jumbled group behind a tractor-trailer . in another , a couple of vehicles had come to rest against a jackknifed truck . thirty people were hurt , including five with serious , but non-life-threatening injuries , reed said . more than half of those injured were taken to abington memorial hospital , where they were diagnosed with minor to moderate injuries , dr. john j. kelly , the chief of staff , said . i think we really saw mostly what we would call soft-tissue injuries , bumps and scrapes type of injuries , ' he said . traffic was moving again in one affected section of the turnpike by 2 p.m. , video from cnn affiliate kyw showed . pennsylvania state police said it hoped to have the road fully open by 5 p.m. heather pasco , a driver involved in one of the crashes , told kyw that she thought she was a goner . pasco said she had stopped her car after she saw cars bouncing off of the center divider . ' although she stopped , a truck behind her did n't , she said . i looked in my rearview mirror , and there was a big ... truck right behind me , and he was trying to stop , but he was sliding and he slammed right into the back of me , which then made me slam into the car in front of me , ' she told kyw . i saw him ( in the mirror ) , and i thought i was done , ' pasco added . the entire back end of my car is gone . ' police told her that her wreck was about 3.5 miles behind the initial crash , she said . she said the road , after snow and freezing rain had fallen in the area , was n't really plowed very well . ' traffic was backed up for miles , stretching west into adjacent montgomery county . cnn 's john newsome , lena jakobsson and john fricke contributed to this report . | about 100 vehicles crash on pennsylvania turnpike north of philadelphia , official says |
united russia <tsp> ( cnn ) -- kremlin critic and russian opposition politician alexei navalny has been convicted of misappropriating $ 500,000 worth of state-owned timber . a court freed him from detention on july 19 , pending an appeal of the court 's ruling against him . navalny has been campaigning for the moscow mayoralty -- officially registering as a candidate the day before his conviction -- and there have been allegations his trial has been politically-motivated . russian authorities insist that is not the case . latest : i 'll win moscow , ' says navalny who is alexei navalny ? navalny is a corruption fighting lawyer who famously branded the ruling united russia party -- founded by president vladimir putin -- the party of crooks and thieves . ' he has been a prominent organizer of street protests and has attacked corruption in russian government , using his blog and social media . in a 2011 article entitled russia rising : the blogger who is putin 's greatest challenger , ' time magazine 's simon shuster said before 2010 navalny had been known only to a fairly small online community . ' but in november 2010 , shuster said , navalny blew the whistle ' on what he said was a $ 4 billion embezzlement scheme at the state-run oil pipeline operator transneft -- a claim vigorously denied by the head of the company and russian president vladimir putin . in january 2011 , transneft 's boss branded the claims inaccurate , according to reuters news agency . and in september that year , state-run news agency ria novosti quoted president putin as saying no crimes had been committed by transneft . the leaked documents he presented as evidence , which he posted on his blog , caused a sensation in the russian and international press , and navalny soon became known as russia 's top crusader against corruption , ' wrote time 's shuster . opinion : putin a hypocrite on snowden , navalny in 2012 , time included navalny on its list of the world 's 100 most influential people . ' russian chess legend and opposition activist garry kasparov wrote the entry on navalny -- then 35 -- saying he was -- at the vanguard ' of data dissidents . how much of a threat does he pose to putin/kremlin ? cnn 's moscow correspondent phil black said navalny 's passion , charisma , fierce language and commitment to fighting corruption inspired many to join him in protesting on the streets . maria lipman , a political analyst at the carnegie moscow center think-tank , said during the 2011 and 2012 protests over alleged fraud in russia 's parliamentary and presidential elections navalny was by far the most popular figure . ' navalny quite bravely took on some of the very influential people in russia , ' she said . lipman said navalny was a fearless and very talented public politician who had managed to beat the system that putin built ' to keep outsiders out of the political framework . navalny presented a serious political challenge as a result of his unique personality and his amazing energy , ' she said . he was able , as a result , to build a following . ' he 's become a popular figure but he can not be described as the leader of the opposition , ' she said . he is the most prominent civic figure . ' what are the details of his case ? a court in the city of kirov on july 18 found navalny guilty of misappropriating about $ 500,000 in a lumber deal when he was an adviser to the kirov region 's governor . it sentenced him to five years in prison . was the verdict expected ? the day before his trial began in april this year , navalny told cnn 's phil black he knew he would be convicted and that it was likely he would be jailed . i 've been investigating corruption in state-run companies by government officials for the last six years . these people steal billions . i 'm making it harder for them to steal and they understand my anti-corruption work is a threat . ' asked if he believed he had any chance of winning the case he replied : of course not . they did n't fabricate this case to allow that and it 's obvious for me it 's going to be a guilty verdict . ' why would he be jailed unless he was guilty ? the court found navalny guilty but his lawyers are appealing the verdict . russian law forbids convicted criminals running for political office . talking to phil black before the trial began , navalny said : it 's true one of putin 's goals in this trial is to stop me from being involved in politics but this law only exists in putin 's system and our goal is to destroy putin 's system . ' lipman said she also believed the verdict was politically motivated . the government is using law enforcement and judiciary machines to lock up a man who is a political challenge . there is hardly any doubt that the verdict in the courtroom was not made by the judge himself , ' she said . there is every reason to suggest that the verdict announced on july 18 in kirov was a decision made somewhere very high in the kremlin executive . ' russian authorities have always insisted navalny 's prosecution is not political . but a senior investigator recently admitted his colleagues had fast tracked their work in navalny 's case because of his criticism of russia 's political system . the suspect is doing his best to draw attention to himself ; one could even say he is teasing the authorities , ' said vladimir markin , the spokesman of russia 's investigative committee , in april , according to the washington post . so interest in his past grew and the process of bringing him out in the open naturally sped up . ' president putin 's spokesman , dmitry peskov , told cnn that putin had not followed navalny 's trial . so then why has he been released ? when navalny arrived in court the day after his conviction , he found the prosecutor who had argued he should be sent to prison arguing instead for his release pending appeal , so that he could continue campaigning for the moscow mayoralty . navalny quipped that the court needed to establish the identity of the prosecutor because he may have been replaced by a double . lipman described navalny 's release as an amazing twist . ' she said that his release was unlikely to have been as a result of protest action after the verdict was announced . the protest had n't been nationwide and involved just a few thousand people , she said . it was not enough to force the authorities to retreat . also , the prosecutors'request that he be released ... was filed even before there was a big crowd in the streets . it 's really hard to believe . it could be the result of some sort of intrigue -- rivalries , tensions at the very top of the russian political elite . ' but she said any political involvement would be denied by the government . their response , invariably , is , it 's up to the court to decide , ' she said . of course they would never admit how they interfere . ' ria novosti reported that the trial judge repeatedly rejected claims over his partiality and denied several motions to have him replaced . ' will the conviction affect his bid to become mayor of moscow ? lipman said that if navalny 's conviction was upheld by a higher court , his name would be unable to appear on an electoral ballot . however , she said he could campaign in the meantime . after his release yesterday he can continue running . the idea is that now he is at large up until his lawyers send in an appeal in a higher court re-examine his case . he remains at large and his verdict is not effective , ' she said . she said there was good reason to predict ' that the high court would uphold the verdict before the end of the campaign for the september 8 election . he is still on a hook . in a theory , this higher court could make a ruling even earlier and effectively terminate his campaign . ' speaking to reporters outside court after he was released , navalny said he would return to moscow to discuss his next steps with his staff , ria novosti said . regarding my participation in the elections , i am not some kind of a kitten or a puppy to whom they first say it ca n't participate in the elections and then they say ,'let 's release him for a while so he can participate in the elections ,'' he said . once in moscow , he will decide whether to boycott the election or continue his campaign , he said , according to the news agency . we 'll discuss it with the staff and with the volunteers . for now , i will stay a candidate , i am not retreating . ' how has navalny 's conviction been received in russia ? lipman said navalny 's conviction was not likely to cost putin any support . i do n't think it will affect his standing in the eyes of the conservative majority . the status quo is suspicious of any troublemaker , ' she said . the minority of more modernized urban russians -- people who resent the government for being lawless -- people likely to sympathise with navalny -- i think they will be even angrier . the rift between them and the government will become even broader , but we are talking about a minority . ' what about the rest of the world ? the day navalny was convicted , the european union 's top diplomat , catherine ashton , called the trial a sham . and former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev issued a statement saying the case unfortunately confirms that we do not have an independent judiciary . ' rachel denber , deputy director of human rights watch 's europe and central asia division , said she was not surprised by the guilty verdict but was shocked by the five-year prison sentence . navalny 's prosecution is meant to silence a leader and messenger , ' she said . amnesty international 's europe and central asia program director , john dalhuisen , said , this was a parody of a prosecution and a parody of a trial . the case was twice closed for lack of evidence of a crime , before being reopened on the personal instruction of russia 's top investigator . ' but lipman pointed out the world had also expressed outrage over russia 's crackdown on protesters in 2011 and 2012 . i do n't think it has an effect . not on previous occasions and not this time . ' | navalny famously branded the ruling united russia party the party of crooks and thieves ' |
obama <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- president barack obama took his case for attacking syria overseas and gained some momentum in the senate , but his deputies faced another line of tough questioning from lawmakers about military involvement and russia cautioned about unilateral u.s. action and sought to influence the political process in washington . here are five things we learned from wednesday 's developments on syria : 1 )'the world set a red line' obama headed for the g-20 summit by first stopping in sweden where he directed his pitch for military action against syria to the world leaders he will soon meet in russia . the president challenged other nations to join him in upholding global treaties banning the use of chemical weapons , saying the red line he drew on that issue more than a year ago should be recognized globally , not just by him . inaction on syria , he said , becomes more dangerous not only for those people who are subjected to these horrible crimes , but to all of humanity . ' secretary of state john kerry said there are a number of countries that have indicated they would support some action against syria if they believe the allegations are true . senate panel backs strike plan 2 ) no escalation of conflict on tuesday , members of the senate foreign relations committee made it clear they wanted no ground forces to be part of any military action in syria . on wednesday , their house counterparts grilled kerry , defense secretary chuck hagel and joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey at a hearing on the potential for any u.s. military strike to escalate the syrian conflict and require additional american involvement . kerry stressed the limited nature of the proposed mission to degrade bashar al-assad 's ability to deliver chemical agents . but dempsey , on multiple occasions , had to say there were no guarantees . i can never drive the risk of escalation to zero , ' dempsey said , though adding that the limited scope of the strike and the u.s. partnerships in the region limit that risk . ' 3 ) momentum for military action the senate foreign relations committee gave obama some momentum on proposed military action in syria , but not before rewriting his plan . the panel voted 10-7 to move ahead with a punitive strike with ed markey -- kerry 's replacement in the senate from massachusetts -- not taking a position . the committee set a 60-day deadline for use of force , with an option for an additional 30 days . an amendment accepted by the panel from republican sen. john mccain of arizona and democratic sen. christopher coons of delaware added language to say the military response was intended to reverse al-assad 's battlefield momentum , a stronger objective than the one being pushed by the administration . the white house commended senators for swift action with polls showing that a majority of americans oppose a u.s. military strike . kerry told one house lawmaker that he expects obama to address the nation on military action . many members of congress have been calling on obama to make his case directly to the public . 4 ) putin weighs in , russia to lobby congress russian president vladimir putin said on wednesday in an interview that he does n't exclude ' backing a u.n. resolution for military action , though only if there is irrefutable proof syria 's government is behind the latest attack . samples taken by u.n. inspectors at that site were due at the world body 's laboratories this week and will be tested strictly according to internationally recognized standards , ' u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon said . putin also said , in the same interview with russia 's state channel 1 television and the associated press , that it would be absurd ' for al-assad 's forces to use chemical weapons when they have the upper hand over rebel fighters . the syrian government not only has denied waging chemical weapon attacks , it has accused opposition fighters -- whom it routinely refers to as terrorists ' -- of using them . a new wrinkle in the lobbying equation is russia , which said it sent an official request to meet with congressional leaders to discuss syria . a spokesman for house speaker john boehner told cnn that he would not meet with the russian delegation . what 's the evidence ? 5 ) the political calculation so far , the politics of seeking congressional approval have favored bipartisanship even though it 's far from certain whether obama 's wish for military action will be approved . the senate foreign relations committee plan was put together and approved across party lines , and in the house , the reception for obama lieutenants at a hearing on wednesday was respectful . the only sharp exchange centered around last year 's benghazi terror attack -- not syria . a white house statement on the senate committee action said america is stronger when the president and congress work together ' and promised to build on this bipartisan support ' for limited military action . this follows statements on tuesday by top leaders of the republican-dominated house in support of obama 's drive for military action . of the congressional leadership , senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is alone in not supporting obama 's call for military strikes . he says he 's still undecided . most criticism or concern from capitol hill has so far centered around the wisdom of the mission or aspects of how it would be carried out . there was , however , one pointed criticism of obama on wednesday by house foreign relations committee chairman ed royce , who said the president 's policy on syria has been adrift for two years . though , he followed up by saying there were no easy answers ' on syria . how will senate vote ? how will house vote ? ashley killough , tom cohen , john king , and lisa desjardins contributed to this report . | obama says the red line ' on syria should reflect a global commitment to deter chemical weapons |
obama <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- president barack obama took his case for attacking syria overseas and gained some momentum in the senate , but his deputies faced another line of tough questioning from lawmakers about military involvement and russia cautioned about unilateral u.s. action and sought to influence the political process in washington . here are five things we learned from wednesday 's developments on syria : 1 )'the world set a red line' obama headed for the g-20 summit by first stopping in sweden where he directed his pitch for military action against syria to the world leaders he will soon meet in russia . the president challenged other nations to join him in upholding global treaties banning the use of chemical weapons , saying the red line he drew on that issue more than a year ago should be recognized globally , not just by him . inaction on syria , he said , becomes more dangerous not only for those people who are subjected to these horrible crimes , but to all of humanity . ' secretary of state john kerry said there are a number of countries that have indicated they would support some action against syria if they believe the allegations are true . senate panel backs strike plan 2 ) no escalation of conflict on tuesday , members of the senate foreign relations committee made it clear they wanted no ground forces to be part of any military action in syria . on wednesday , their house counterparts grilled kerry , defense secretary chuck hagel and joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey at a hearing on the potential for any u.s. military strike to escalate the syrian conflict and require additional american involvement . kerry stressed the limited nature of the proposed mission to degrade bashar al-assad 's ability to deliver chemical agents . but dempsey , on multiple occasions , had to say there were no guarantees . i can never drive the risk of escalation to zero , ' dempsey said , though adding that the limited scope of the strike and the u.s. partnerships in the region limit that risk . ' 3 ) momentum for military action the senate foreign relations committee gave obama some momentum on proposed military action in syria , but not before rewriting his plan . the panel voted 10-7 to move ahead with a punitive strike with ed markey -- kerry 's replacement in the senate from massachusetts -- not taking a position . the committee set a 60-day deadline for use of force , with an option for an additional 30 days . an amendment accepted by the panel from republican sen. john mccain of arizona and democratic sen. christopher coons of delaware added language to say the military response was intended to reverse al-assad 's battlefield momentum , a stronger objective than the one being pushed by the administration . the white house commended senators for swift action with polls showing that a majority of americans oppose a u.s. military strike . kerry told one house lawmaker that he expects obama to address the nation on military action . many members of congress have been calling on obama to make his case directly to the public . 4 ) putin weighs in , russia to lobby congress russian president vladimir putin said on wednesday in an interview that he does n't exclude ' backing a u.n. resolution for military action , though only if there is irrefutable proof syria 's government is behind the latest attack . samples taken by u.n. inspectors at that site were due at the world body 's laboratories this week and will be tested strictly according to internationally recognized standards , ' u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon said . putin also said , in the same interview with russia 's state channel 1 television and the associated press , that it would be absurd ' for al-assad 's forces to use chemical weapons when they have the upper hand over rebel fighters . the syrian government not only has denied waging chemical weapon attacks , it has accused opposition fighters -- whom it routinely refers to as terrorists ' -- of using them . a new wrinkle in the lobbying equation is russia , which said it sent an official request to meet with congressional leaders to discuss syria . a spokesman for house speaker john boehner told cnn that he would not meet with the russian delegation . what 's the evidence ? 5 ) the political calculation so far , the politics of seeking congressional approval have favored bipartisanship even though it 's far from certain whether obama 's wish for military action will be approved . the senate foreign relations committee plan was put together and approved across party lines , and in the house , the reception for obama lieutenants at a hearing on wednesday was respectful . the only sharp exchange centered around last year 's benghazi terror attack -- not syria . a white house statement on the senate committee action said america is stronger when the president and congress work together ' and promised to build on this bipartisan support ' for limited military action . this follows statements on tuesday by top leaders of the republican-dominated house in support of obama 's drive for military action . of the congressional leadership , senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is alone in not supporting obama 's call for military strikes . he says he 's still undecided . most criticism or concern from capitol hill has so far centered around the wisdom of the mission or aspects of how it would be carried out . there was , however , one pointed criticism of obama on wednesday by house foreign relations committee chairman ed royce , who said the president 's policy on syria has been adrift for two years . though , he followed up by saying there were no easy answers ' on syria . how will senate vote ? how will house vote ? ashley killough , tom cohen , john king , and lisa desjardins contributed to this report . | house members grill obama deputies on risk military action will escalate syrian conflict |
obama <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- president barack obama took his case for attacking syria overseas and gained some momentum in the senate , but his deputies faced another line of tough questioning from lawmakers about military involvement and russia cautioned about unilateral u.s. action and sought to influence the political process in washington . here are five things we learned from wednesday 's developments on syria : 1 )'the world set a red line' obama headed for the g-20 summit by first stopping in sweden where he directed his pitch for military action against syria to the world leaders he will soon meet in russia . the president challenged other nations to join him in upholding global treaties banning the use of chemical weapons , saying the red line he drew on that issue more than a year ago should be recognized globally , not just by him . inaction on syria , he said , becomes more dangerous not only for those people who are subjected to these horrible crimes , but to all of humanity . ' secretary of state john kerry said there are a number of countries that have indicated they would support some action against syria if they believe the allegations are true . senate panel backs strike plan 2 ) no escalation of conflict on tuesday , members of the senate foreign relations committee made it clear they wanted no ground forces to be part of any military action in syria . on wednesday , their house counterparts grilled kerry , defense secretary chuck hagel and joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey at a hearing on the potential for any u.s. military strike to escalate the syrian conflict and require additional american involvement . kerry stressed the limited nature of the proposed mission to degrade bashar al-assad 's ability to deliver chemical agents . but dempsey , on multiple occasions , had to say there were no guarantees . i can never drive the risk of escalation to zero , ' dempsey said , though adding that the limited scope of the strike and the u.s. partnerships in the region limit that risk . ' 3 ) momentum for military action the senate foreign relations committee gave obama some momentum on proposed military action in syria , but not before rewriting his plan . the panel voted 10-7 to move ahead with a punitive strike with ed markey -- kerry 's replacement in the senate from massachusetts -- not taking a position . the committee set a 60-day deadline for use of force , with an option for an additional 30 days . an amendment accepted by the panel from republican sen. john mccain of arizona and democratic sen. christopher coons of delaware added language to say the military response was intended to reverse al-assad 's battlefield momentum , a stronger objective than the one being pushed by the administration . the white house commended senators for swift action with polls showing that a majority of americans oppose a u.s. military strike . kerry told one house lawmaker that he expects obama to address the nation on military action . many members of congress have been calling on obama to make his case directly to the public . 4 ) putin weighs in , russia to lobby congress russian president vladimir putin said on wednesday in an interview that he does n't exclude ' backing a u.n. resolution for military action , though only if there is irrefutable proof syria 's government is behind the latest attack . samples taken by u.n. inspectors at that site were due at the world body 's laboratories this week and will be tested strictly according to internationally recognized standards , ' u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon said . putin also said , in the same interview with russia 's state channel 1 television and the associated press , that it would be absurd ' for al-assad 's forces to use chemical weapons when they have the upper hand over rebel fighters . the syrian government not only has denied waging chemical weapon attacks , it has accused opposition fighters -- whom it routinely refers to as terrorists ' -- of using them . a new wrinkle in the lobbying equation is russia , which said it sent an official request to meet with congressional leaders to discuss syria . a spokesman for house speaker john boehner told cnn that he would not meet with the russian delegation . what 's the evidence ? 5 ) the political calculation so far , the politics of seeking congressional approval have favored bipartisanship even though it 's far from certain whether obama 's wish for military action will be approved . the senate foreign relations committee plan was put together and approved across party lines , and in the house , the reception for obama lieutenants at a hearing on wednesday was respectful . the only sharp exchange centered around last year 's benghazi terror attack -- not syria . a white house statement on the senate committee action said america is stronger when the president and congress work together ' and promised to build on this bipartisan support ' for limited military action . this follows statements on tuesday by top leaders of the republican-dominated house in support of obama 's drive for military action . of the congressional leadership , senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is alone in not supporting obama 's call for military strikes . he says he 's still undecided . most criticism or concern from capitol hill has so far centered around the wisdom of the mission or aspects of how it would be carried out . there was , however , one pointed criticism of obama on wednesday by house foreign relations committee chairman ed royce , who said the president 's policy on syria has been adrift for two years . though , he followed up by saying there were no easy answers ' on syria . how will senate vote ? how will house vote ? ashley killough , tom cohen , john king , and lisa desjardins contributed to this report . | senate committee gives obama momentum by rewriting and approving plan for military strike |
americans <tsp> cambridge , massachusetts ( cnn ) -- when trouble strikes in our personal lives and we are searching for a source , it usually makes sense to take a look in a familiar place -- the mirror . and so it should be in our troubled politics today . many of us are deeply angry at politicians in washington and the broken government they have created . we tend to look down upon them as jackasses and ideologues who are incapable of organizing a two-car funeral . we blame special interests for capturing them , a 24/7 media for encouraging them , and power for corrupting them . indeed , a list of reasons for broken government could -- and will -- fill a week of columns . but perhaps we give too little attention to the basic notion that our politicians are also a reflection of the public they represent . as the old saying goes , we get the president we deserve -- and usually the congress , too . in truth , our fractured politics are due in no small part to a fractured country -- one in which consensus and moderation are disappearing . with apologies to president truman : the buck stops here . those of us who are older -- born somewhere close to midcentury -- grew up in an america where there was a general consensus that the united states was a great nation , that you could be a success if you worked hard and played by the rules , that government had a positive role to play when trouble hit , and that politics must stop at the water 's edge as we united against dangerous enemies . but with vietnam , the tumult of the '60s and '70s , watergate and more , our sense of common purpose began collapsing . listen for a moment to three of the smartest observers in the country who have weighed in this week on the collapse . in this week 's new york magazine , columnist frank rich argues that by the late 1960s , the bipartisan national consensus over the central role of government -- which had held firm through the roosevelt , truman , eisenhower , kennedy and johnson administrations -- was kaput . the reagan revolution was in the wings . ' we also began to lose faith in ourselves and our values . in an interview with the financial times early this week , professor michael porter of the harvard business school chimed in with pained observations about what is happening to american competitiveness : this is shocking for the u.s . if you go back 100 years , you find that the u.s. was a huge pioneer in public education . ... the u.s. was a real pioneer in creating a national , very deep university system . ... the u.s. was a pioneer in the interstate highway system . ... we stepped to the plate in the past and made very , very bold investments in the fundamental environment for competitiveness . but right now , we ca n't seem to agree on any of these things . ' or listen to william galston , who was instrumental in helping president clinton bridge the divides in politics . in the new republic , he argues that the middle is shrinking in politics . in 1992 , he points out , gallup found that 43 % of respondents identified themselves as moderates , 37 % as conservatives , and 17 % as liberals . in 2009 , conservatives and liberals were each up 4 % and moderates were down by 7 % . similarly , a study of national election data by alan abramovitz found that in 1984 , some 41 % identified themselves at the midpoint of an ideological scale versus 10 % who placed themselves at liberal or conservative extremes . by 2005 , the number who identified themselves at the center had dropped to only 28 % , while the number at the endpoints had risen to 23 % . we continue to hear that even so , independents have the whip hand in electoral politics and we tend to assume that they are middling in their views , open to argument , and rather homogeneous . but even these assumptions seem doubtful . frank rich , for example , highlights a recent pew survey that suggests that nearly half of independents are actually democrats ( 21 % ) or republicans ( 26 % ) who just shy away from the label , while another 20 % are more populist , skeptical democrats ( doubting dems ' ) , 16 % are disaffected ' voters with a highly negative view of government , and 17 % are disengaged ' altogether . not exactly a portrait of moderate unity . surely there are many sources of the fractures in today 's electorate , just as there are many social scientists more qualified to take a crack at explaining them . but one potential contributing factor comes from a fascinating piece in national affairs by marc dunkelman , who fears the winnowing out of so-called middle-tier relationships ' for the american citizen . these relationships have long been , as dunkelman puts it , at the root of american community life , ' and encompass such different-minded acquaintances as bridge partners , brothers in the elks club , fellow members of the pta . ' but these connections have withered in recent years , even as we stay close to those like-minded folks who inhabit our inner circles of friends and family , and are connected on an unprecedented scale by technology and social media to those farther away . without these vibrant , heterogeneous middle-tier ' relationships , dunkelman argues , it may simply be much harder to build the sense of public trust and unity that allows people to stand up to big challenges together . the good news is that , as with any self-inflicted wound , the power is in our hands to change course . and indeed there is a growing sense in the country that people are finally getting tired of this particularly rancid level of divisiveness . there is a generation rising -- singled out in a recent time magazine cover story as the next greatest generation ' -- that , led by its young military veterans , is eager to put aside partisan squabbles to get things done . the bipartisan group no labels recently convened a conference call with starbucks ceo howard schultz that they reported drew more than 100,000 participants . and even in washington itself , lamar alexander , a senior republican senator , recently quit his leadership post so he could devote more time to forging consensus and working across the aisle . so there is cause for hope . in the meantime , it is up to us to continue to hold those in the halls of power accountable for results and not just party orthodoxy , and to expose ourselves to people outside our handpicked inner sanctums , ideas and opinions outside our own ideologies , and even news sources different from our favorites ( unless you 're a regular cnn viewer , of course ) . politics in this country has always been rough-and-tumble , and so it should be . but as no less a patriot than former secretary bob gates reminded us last thursday while accepting the liberty medal at the national constitution center , the warning given a long time ago by benjamin franklin still applies :'either we hang together or we will surely all hang separately . ' that advice likewise applies as much to our representatives in government as it does to those to whom the founders truly entrusted the reins of power -- us . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors . | authors : americans bear responsibility for broken government |
islamic republic <tsp> ( cnn ) -- imagine a woman dying under a rain of stones while buried in the ground to the top of her breasts . imagine faceless figures throwing stones at her . imagine her last thoughts , wishes and dreams . imagine her hoping to magically survive this brutal punishment . imagine her children watching her bleed and moan as people throw stones with ignorance and cruelty . imagine this nightmare taking place under the present-day laws of a country . imagine a country where lawyers , journalists , human rights and women 's rights advocates who courageously speak out against unjust laws often face grave consequences such as detention or exile . sakineh mohammadi ashtiani , a 43-year-old woman , had been sentenced to be stoned -- although after an international outcry , iran has issued a statement saying she will not be punished in that way . over the past 31 years , many have suffered such inhumane punishment in iran . with the establishment of the islamic republic in 1979 , islamic fundamentalism took over the laws of the country . consequently , women and the right to their bodies became the focus of the islamic laws in iran . in other words , fundamentalist rulers of iran have claimed as their own , the inherent right of a woman to her body . the islamic penal code of iran specifies stoning as the punishment for a married woman or man found guilty of adultery . and legislators set ruthless conditions for carrying out the stoning , including that the pebbles used should be big enough to kill the victim , but not so large that they kill him/her too quickly . as a lawyer and women 's rights advocate who practiced law in the islamic republic for 22 years , i have worked on numerous stoning cases . once during my career i took a risk and personally approached a young cleric who was the judge of one of my stoning cases and asked , do n't you think this cruel and inhumane law of stoning should be changed ? ' the young judge looked at me with compassion and pity and said , sister , do n't you utter this statement somewhere else ! stoning is a verdict set by god . the earthly human can not change a verdict set by god . ' i never understood how the merciful god who is said to have created the humankind would treat its creatures with such a degree of malice . in a situation where people are enslaved by ruthless laws , human rights and women 's rights advocates began to ask for help from the international community . each time someone is sentenced to stoning , human rights and women 's rights advocates coordinate efforts to remind the world of the unjust laws in iran . they remind the world that a form of corporal punishment as severe as stoning is the denial of the international covenant on civil and political rights , or iccpr , to which iran is a signatory . in fact , article 6 ( 2 ) of iccpr explicitly states that the death sentence is to be imposed only for the most serious crimes . not only does iran not abide by this article , it continues to issue stoning orders as a sign of obstinacy against the people of iran -- who never witnessed a single case of stoning in modern times before the islamic revolution of 1979 -- and the international community . in spite of the efforts of human rights and women 's rights advocates to raise awareness about the systematic and comprehensive violations of human rights in iran , stoning remains a legitimate punishment for adultery in the islamic penal code . one of the critical challenges that further facilitates the violations of human rights in iran is that the international community is mainly focused on the nation 's nuclear program rather than the human rights situation . the world owes to the sakinehs of iran a reconsideration of its priorities in regard to the islamic republic . the time has come for the international community to seriously hold it accountable for the unacceptable violations of human rights against its citizens . people and organizations in the united states and other nations should make it their explicit goal to work toward spreading the word about what goes on in iran , condemning it in international forums and supporting those iranians who , inside or abroad , try to speak out against these violations . what we hope to see is that the human rights situation becomes a top priority of u.s. diplomatic work towards eventual negotiations with iran . for as long as the world neglects the human rights situation in iran , more women and men will have to face their horrifying destiny , as determined by unjust laws , all alone . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the co-authors . | they say islamic republic leaders defend practice as a divine verdict |
u.s . <tsp> ( cnn ) -- when peggielene bartels went to bed on a summer night in 2008 , she was an ordinary administrative assistant living in a modest one-bedroom condo just outside washington d.c . but a few hours later , when a persistent ringing phone woke her up in the dead of the august night , the 55-year-old found out she was much more than simply a secretary . at the other end of the line was bartels 's cousin , from otuam , a small fishing village on the coast of ghana . excited and humble , he congratulated her on being the new king of otuam . i said ,'listen , it 's 4 o'clock in the morning in the u.s. , i am very tired , let me sleep ,'' remembers bartels . i thought he was trying to really play games with me . ' but this was no time for games . the previous king of otuam , who was bartels 's uncle , had just died . the village elders , who remembered bartels from the times she 'd visited with her mother , had decided to anoint her as their new ruler . watch video : king peggy shows off her crowns after the initial shock , bartels decided to accept the kingship . over the course of a few days , she went from being plain old peggielene bartels , who had worked for nearly three decades at the ghanaian embassy in the united states , to becoming king peggy -- the first female king of otuam , reigning over approximately 7,000 people . it never ever occurred to me [ that i 'd be otuam 's king ] , ' says bartels , who 's been living in the united states since her early 20s . i realized that on this earth , we all have a calling . we have to be ready to accept it because helping my people has really helped me a lot to know that i can really touch their lives , ' she adds . i would have really regretted it if i had n't really accept this calling . ' although she still works at the ghanaian embassy , bartels uses all her holiday every year to spend a month in otuam . king is the traditional title of otuam 's ruler , and bartels says she 's happy to be called a king , rather than queen , because it means she can achieve more . most of the time , a king is the one who has all the executive power to do things , while the queen is mostly in charge of the children 's affairs and reporting to the king , ' she says . so i really love this . ' read more : the lady king of otuam king peggy was born in takoradi , southern ghana , in 1953 . she studied in england before moving to the united states , where she became an american citizen in 1997 . but after inheriting the throne , bartels has been living two very different lives in two different continents . in washington , her secretarial duties include typing letters , answering phone calls and booking appointments . in her little apartment her life is far removed from the luxuries of her royal roots . when i am in the united states i do everything by myself , ' she explains . i do my own laundry , i do my own cooking , i do my own driving and i do my own bed when i wake up in the morning . ' read more : secretary is still the top job for women but back in ghana , she stands out as a gold crown-wearing , scepter-holding king who lives in a refurbished palace . otuam residents usually address her as nana ' -- an honorary title given to royalty but also to women with grandchildren -- and bow when they see her . when i am back home they see me as their king and they want to pamper me , ' she says . they have to cook for me , they have to carry me around and they have to protect me from people . they want to do everything for me which i usually refuse ... sometimes i say to them'please , do n't bow .'i just want them to be free and comfortable so that way we can really address issues . ' in pictures : africa 's power women but beyond the bows , the royal attire and certain luxuries that come with her title , being a king in an impoverished place like otuam is all about dealing with the pressing needs of the community and improving the lives of the people , says bartels . to be a king in an african village or some places like this , it 's not like european queens where everything is on a silver platter for them , ' she says . i have to really work hard to help my people . i have to give myself to people to better their lives . ' in the last few years , she 's helped poor families pay school fees for their children and brought computers to classrooms . with the help of other americans she 's also provided otuam with its first ambulance , as well as access to clean , running water . her next priority , she says , is to bring state-of-the-art toilets to otuam . and even when she 's not in ghana , her royal duties do not stop ; she wakes up at 1am every morning to call otuam and be informed about what 's happening in the community . i talk to my regent , i talk to my elders , ' bartels says . if there is something that i want to know , they tell me . if there is something that i want them to do , i tell them . ' last year , king peggy 's real-life fairy tale was documented in a book written by her and author eleanor herman . and now she says her amazing life journey from secretary to king will be told in a film , after hollywood star will smith bought the rights to the book . next year , god willing , we are going to have a movie out there , ' says king peggy . queen latifah is going to play me and i 'm so happy to at least let the whole world know that a secretary can become a king and lead wisely and help the people . ' | for more than 30 years , peggielene bartels has worked as a secretary in the u.s . |
saudi arabia <tsp> ( cnn ) it was a very telling mini-scandal , the faux-fury over michelle obama 's short visit to saudi arabia . first there was the phony claim that saudi television had blurred the first lady 's image in its transmission of the obamas'condolence call on the kingdom . then came the kerfuffle over her outfit . was she insensitive in not wearing a headscarf ? should she had worn black ? then , finally , we heard the questions about whether she committed an etiquette no-no when she shook hands with the new saudi monarch , king salman . none of these accusations and claims amount to much on their own . but there is a reason , a very good reason , why social media turned its attention sharply toward michelle obama in saudi arabia . the presence of an american first lady on saudi territory embodies the intense unease that surrounds u.s. and western relations with the saudi kingdom . saudi arabians can be the most hospitable people in the world , and they are friends of the united states . but all is not well with the relationship . the spectacle of american and european leaders lavishly praising and courting the saudi royals is a most unsettling one . u.s.-saudi relations present a profound moral dilemma for america . they constitute a classic example of the tough choices a nation faces when its ideals clash with its interests . the united states wants to have good relations with saudi arabia , not only because it has a lot of oil , but because it is one of the most powerful countries in the middle east and the two countries share many strategic goals . the u.s. needs saudi arabia -- and saudi arabia needs the u.s. at the same time , many of saudi arabia 's practices stand in direct violation of america 's -- and the world 's -- most cherished values . values or interests : that is the question . let 's now put an end to the discussion about michelle obama . she did absolutely nothing wrong . in fact , the claim that her attire and performance created a firestorm in saudi arabia is plainly false . by some counts , there were some 1,500 tweets with the arabic hashtag # ميشيل_أوباما_سفور , which means roughly # michelle_obama_unveiled . that is hardly a twitterstorm , considering that saudi arabia has more than 5 million twitter users . second , the first lady followed protocol . saudi law does not require foreign visitors to wear a hijab , the muslim headscarf . this was no protocol breach , and it was also not an unusually courageous move on her part . countless prominent women have appeared in public meeting saudi royals without wearing headscarves . we 've seen hillary clinton , laura bush , angela merkel , among others , visit the kingdom in western attire . finally , that handshake : the king would not have shaken hands with michelle obama if he had not wanted to do so . in fact , we saw an endless parade of dignitaries shake the president 's hand and walk right past the first lady , bluntly , rudely , ignoring her . that is a breach of etiquette . but it was not committed by the first lady or by king salman . so it looks like this is the scandal that was n't . a non-tempest , if you will . but there was a teapot . the story made headlines because people in the united states and in the west feel a scandal in the relationship , because much of what goes on in saudi arabia is an affront not just to western principles but to human rights conventions endorsed by most of the world . and some of the most egregious violations of those values are perpetrated against saudi women . for decades saudi women have protested the indefensible rule that bans them from driving , making saudi arabia the only country in the world with such a ban . a saudi woman is required to have a male relative as a guardian ' who must approve her travel and other key decisions in her life . saudi women are required to wear the abaya , a head-to-toe cover , and many wear a niqab , which covers the face . the fact that they dress differently is not in itself a rights violation , but the fact that they have no choice in the matter is . saudi women , who are intelligent , strong , competent , mature , capable of making decision for themselves as well as any saudi man , are treated in many cases as if they were children . but it 's not just women whose rights , as defined by international standards , are violated . there is no freedom of religion in the kingdom , where everyone by law must be a muslim and the public practice of other religions is forbidden . and freedom of expression is severely restricted . blogger raif badawi , who sought to promote a discussion about social and religious issues on his website , was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting islam , ' and showing disobedience . he suffered the first 50 lashes a few weeks ago , and the international outcry , combined with the toll it took on his health , led the government to put the rest of the sentence on hold . then there are the public beheadings after questionable legal proceedings . already 16 people have been beheaded this year . there were 87 such punishments last year . so what is the united states to do ? cooperation with saudi arabia is crucial in restoring stability to the middle east , in fighting isis and other terrorist groups , in keeping oil prices low to pressure iran and russia , and in a number of other high-priority items on the world 's agenda . the answer is a frustrating balance of realism and idealism . the answer requires acknowledging -- in private and in public , as hillary clinton has done -- that we find some of their practices unacceptable , along with an open and unapologetic defense of the principles of equality and basic freedoms . the united states can not sever relations with riyadh , and the truth is that it can not force the saudis to change , but keeping quiet on the matter is an unseemly capitulation . a condolence call was not the time for public criticism , and michelle obama 's presence in riyadh was a meaningful sign that the united states believes women belong in the public sphere . the scandal was a sign of the frustration people feel with this ethical dilemma . | frida ghitis : michelle obama 's not wearing headscarf in saudi arabia is a faux-scandal |
white house <tsp> ( cnn ) -- house speaker john boehner 's threatened lawsuit against president obama has elicited scorn from the right and blistering attacks from the left . so why is boehner pursuing it ? perhaps because he thinks he just might win in the end . as political stunts go , boehner 's is too transparent for my tastes . and i say this as a guy who has perpetrated some serious stunt work in my political career . boehner 's not a bad guy . one gets the sense he 'd rather be sharing marlboros and merlot with obama than taking him to court . but he is a sino : speaker in name only . the tea party is driving the gop train these days , which explains the frequent train wrecks . so , perhaps to appease the tea party bosses , boehner has decided to sue the president . but appeasement never works . highly influential conservative blogger and pundit erick erickson calls the boehner lawsuit taxpayer-funded political theater ' and notes that some of boehner 's complaints about obama are political , not legal or constitutional . opinion : boehner , do your job instead then there 's the small problem of hypocrisy . as the progressive group americans united for change notes in this clever ad , boehner has long opposed citizens'rights to sue corporations over , say , defective products or gender discrimination in the workplace . he rails against frivolous lawsuits ' -- until he decides to file one . a second way boehner is being hypocritical is his support for robust executive authority when george w. bush was exercising it . bush issued far more executive orders than obama , going so far as to use his executive authority to authorize waterboarding , which sen. john mccain flatly describes as torture and a violation of the geneva conventions . ' so , to be clear : dubya uses his executive authority more often -- including to turn americans into torturers -- and boehner goes along . but obama uses his executive authority to give businesses more flexibility in complying with obamacare or to extend family leave to gay couples , and boehner literally wants to make a federal case of it . one more sure sign that this is a political puppet show : it is not at all clear which executive actions boehner 's lawsuit would focus on , because he has not identified them , telling reporters , when i make that decision , i 'll let you know . ' boehner : why we must now sue the president now , here 's the depressing part : boehner 's sue first , ask questions later strategy just might work . not because the suit has merit but because the supreme court has several activist republican justices . they recently rewrote the first amendment to declare that corporations have souls and thus have freedom of religion . soon , i expect them to grant sainthood to koch industries . obviously , i ca n't get into boehner 's head . it is entirely possible that there is no grand strategy here . perhaps his lawsuit is just one strand of a handful of spaghetti he 's throwing against the wall just to get through the day and survive the latest tea party onslaught . and yet , there is a chance this one strand will stick . on the other hand , progressives would do well to assume there is a method to boehner 's madness . the court 's right wing plays a long game . perhaps realizing that shifting demographics and a divided gop will make it difficult to put a republican back in the white house , they may seize on boehner 's lawsuit and use it to further crimp the power of the chief executive . unable to marshal the votes to get their legislative agenda through the senate and unable to earn the votes to recapture the white house , it may be that the republicans'strategy for the foreseeable future is to ignore their losses at the ballot box and leave the heavy lifting to the one place where five republican votes can cancel out tens of millions of americans'votes : the supreme court . castellanos : obama has n't hit rock bottom yet | he says if gop ca n't move agenda or regain white house , maybe court will do heavy lifting |
supreme court <tsp> ( cnn ) -- house speaker john boehner 's threatened lawsuit against president obama has elicited scorn from the right and blistering attacks from the left . so why is boehner pursuing it ? perhaps because he thinks he just might win in the end . as political stunts go , boehner 's is too transparent for my tastes . and i say this as a guy who has perpetrated some serious stunt work in my political career . boehner 's not a bad guy . one gets the sense he 'd rather be sharing marlboros and merlot with obama than taking him to court . but he is a sino : speaker in name only . the tea party is driving the gop train these days , which explains the frequent train wrecks . so , perhaps to appease the tea party bosses , boehner has decided to sue the president . but appeasement never works . highly influential conservative blogger and pundit erick erickson calls the boehner lawsuit taxpayer-funded political theater ' and notes that some of boehner 's complaints about obama are political , not legal or constitutional . opinion : boehner , do your job instead then there 's the small problem of hypocrisy . as the progressive group americans united for change notes in this clever ad , boehner has long opposed citizens'rights to sue corporations over , say , defective products or gender discrimination in the workplace . he rails against frivolous lawsuits ' -- until he decides to file one . a second way boehner is being hypocritical is his support for robust executive authority when george w. bush was exercising it . bush issued far more executive orders than obama , going so far as to use his executive authority to authorize waterboarding , which sen. john mccain flatly describes as torture and a violation of the geneva conventions . ' so , to be clear : dubya uses his executive authority more often -- including to turn americans into torturers -- and boehner goes along . but obama uses his executive authority to give businesses more flexibility in complying with obamacare or to extend family leave to gay couples , and boehner literally wants to make a federal case of it . one more sure sign that this is a political puppet show : it is not at all clear which executive actions boehner 's lawsuit would focus on , because he has not identified them , telling reporters , when i make that decision , i 'll let you know . ' boehner : why we must now sue the president now , here 's the depressing part : boehner 's sue first , ask questions later strategy just might work . not because the suit has merit but because the supreme court has several activist republican justices . they recently rewrote the first amendment to declare that corporations have souls and thus have freedom of religion . soon , i expect them to grant sainthood to koch industries . obviously , i ca n't get into boehner 's head . it is entirely possible that there is no grand strategy here . perhaps his lawsuit is just one strand of a handful of spaghetti he 's throwing against the wall just to get through the day and survive the latest tea party onslaught . and yet , there is a chance this one strand will stick . on the other hand , progressives would do well to assume there is a method to boehner 's madness . the court 's right wing plays a long game . perhaps realizing that shifting demographics and a divided gop will make it difficult to put a republican back in the white house , they may seize on boehner 's lawsuit and use it to further crimp the power of the chief executive . unable to marshal the votes to get their legislative agenda through the senate and unable to earn the votes to recapture the white house , it may be that the republicans'strategy for the foreseeable future is to ignore their losses at the ballot box and leave the heavy lifting to the one place where five republican votes can cancel out tens of millions of americans'votes : the supreme court . castellanos : obama has n't hit rock bottom yet | begala : sue first , ask questions later stunt might find support from supreme court 's right wing |
emirates airlines <tsp> ( cnn ) -- facetime with sheikh ahmed bin saeed al-maktoum sheikh ahmed bin saeed al-maktoum , chairman of emirates airlines talks strategy and adresses rumours about the airline . sheikh ahmed bin saeed al-maktoum , chairman of emirates airlines is at the center of dubai 's aviation industry . as the world witnesses an unprecedented economic downturn , emirates has embarked on a $ 4 billion expansion plan . mme speaks to sheikh ahmed to find out about his strategy , and address rumors about the airline itself . in focus -- risky business northern iraq holds great potential , which is largely underdeveloped and the country is thirsting for investors . but , there are risks , with the potential for conflict on three fronts . there are other risks too , according to herish mohammed , head of the board of investment of the kurdish controlled region -- an ancient banking system , lack of insurance policies and corruption . but as one american entrepreneur put it -- it 's not just about the money , it 's about the adventure . watch the show this week at the times ( gmt ) below : friday : 0915 , 1945 saturday : 0645 sunday : 0815 | sheikh ahmed bin saeed al-maktoum , chairman of emirates airlines |
oostuizen <tsp> ( cnn ) -- louis oosthuizen delivered a masterful third-round display to take control of the deutsche bank championship in norton , massachusetts on sunday to put the south african on the cusp of his first win in the u.s . the south african shot a super 63 as he reeled off nine birdies , including a tournament record of seven in a row from the fourth , to move to 19 under par . that birdie blitz enabled the 2010 british open champion to move three shots clear of world number one mcilroy , who hit 67 , with tiger woods ( 68 ) tied for third with fellow american dustin johnson ( 65 ) . probably the start anyone would dream of on that front nine , ' said oosthuizen , who once shot a round of 57 at a course near his birthplace of mossel bay , south africa . i made everything , so you get those days where you just look at a putt and you hole it . ' belgian rookie colsaerts wins ryder cup wildcard one of those nine birdies included a 42-footer on the eighth as the 2012 masters runner-up secured a tournament-record 29 on the front nine at tpc boston . i 've put myself in great spots this year , had a good chance at houston , had a good chance at augusta , a few other tournaments , wgc earlier , ' added oosthuizen , referring to how close he has come to winning in the u.s. ' i 'm just going to keep on doing what i 'm doing . the more i 'm in the position on the back nine on sunday , or in this case on a monday , then it 's going to happen sooner or later . oostuizen 's playing partner mcilroy , who had led by one stroke at the start of sunday , had nothing but praise for the south african 's round . he 's very explosive , and he did n't really put a foot wrong , ' said mcilroy . | oostuizen delivers tournament-record 29 on the front nine |
iowa gop <tsp> iowa city , iowa ( cnn ) -- katherine valde is ready when a fellow student says no thanks ' to early voting because of the thrill of casting a ballot on election day . things come up , you can have an exam , ' says valde , the president of the university of iowa democrats . you can wait until election day and not know where your precinct is . a lot of students have to go to elementary schools around town , and they do n't have cars , they do n't really know where it is . ' truth is , valde knows younger voters like herself are less reliable when it comes to turning out in the crunch , and with early voting , it just gives us 40 more chances to catch people . ' valde led by example thursday , waiting in line for more than an hour to cast her ballot on the first day of in-person early voting in iowa . the line at the iowa city public library was dominated by obama voters , as was a des moines polling place cnn visited as the doors opened thursday . valde says the obama campaign and state democratic party have urged her to keep checking her list and pushing students to vote now . if you vote early , it frees up campaign resources to talk to people who might be undecided , ' she told us as she waited patiently to vote . iowa is one of 35 states plus the district of columbia that allow some form of early in-person voting . of the nine presidential battlegrounds cnn now rates as tossups , only new hampshire and virginia do not have large-scale early voting . in voting , the early bird skips the line in iowa four years ago , early voting accounted for 36 % of the ballots cast for president . in johnson county , home of the university of iowa , it was 55 % , the highest of iowa 's 99 counties , and county auditor tom slockett says demand for early ballots so far is up significantly from 2008 . key states voting early and democrats have a big early edge . in johnson county , requests for mail-in ballots as of monday were running more than 12-1 in favor of democrats . statewide , as of close of business wednesday , the iowa secretary of state 's office said democrats had a nearly 5-1 edge in making requests for absentee ballots . republicans here do n't dispute the early democratic advantage in ballot requests . but they promise to narrow the edge somewhat ; the gop 's first mailing nudging republicans to consider mail-in voting was sent just this week . iowa republicans also suggest too much can be made of the early numbers , making the case that those voting before the presidential debates are hardcore partisans who were almost certain to vote eventually anyway . if you look at who is early-voting right now , absentee ballots , 80 % , almost 90 % , are'four of four'voters , meaning they voted in the last four elections , ' veteran iowa gop strategist steve grubbs told cnn . so it 's a difference of strategy . you put your money into the last three weeks or you put your money into early voting . the republican party will put a little more into the last three weeks , and the democrats a little more into the first initial blast of early voting . ' grubbs said one effort in which democrats were smart to focus so much early voting attention was younger voters . four years ago there was a lot of enthusiasm among younger voters and everybody knows that has lessened , ' grubbs said . they have got to figure out the strategy to increase their early voting . ' polls : obama leads in new hampshire , tight race in nevada , north carolina on the flip side , he said republican mitt romney runs stronger among the state 's elderly voters , who are among the most reliable to cast ballots . more broadly , grubbs conceded a modest obama edge in iowa at the moment and said there is nervous talk among some republicans that romney could hurt gop candidates in competitive congressional and other races . in his view , such talk is premature . clearly if a ( presidential ) candidate loses by more than five , it starts to affect down-ballot and that 's a big issue for republicans , ' grubbs said . the way i look at it , we are starting the fourth quarter . we have a strong quarterback . and anyone who knows football knows the fourth quarter is where most of the action happens . so october will be big ; and if romney has a good start to the month , we will be fine . ' iowa republicans also say , despite the democratic edge in early voting so far , that the gop is breaking records in terms of its grassroots organizing . at a linn county phone bank in cedar rapids , volunteer karen zmoos ( pronounced smoose ) is credited with making the millionth voter call in iowa this cycle . she is pleasantly working the phones again this week , and adding this question when a voter indicates support for the romney-ryan ticket : excellent . would you be interested in voting early this election ? ' zmoos says iowa 's unpredictable winters make her a fan of early and absentee voting , and she shrugs off the early democratic edge in absentee ballot requests as temporary . you know we are working hard here , ' zmoos said during a quick break from working the phones . we are rolling up our sleeves and putting our boots on , and we are going at it . we still have time . ' what questions would you like to ask the candidates ? share with us on cnn ireport | iowa gop concedes dems'early voting efforts but claims records in grassroots organizing |
dutchman <tsp> ( cnn ) -- english champions manchester united agreed a deal to sign highly-rated young goalkeeper david de gea from atletico madrid on wednesday . the 20-year-old , who helped spain 's under-21 team to win the european championship title last weekend , passed a medical at old trafford on monday and will join on a five-year contract . he follows england winger ashley young and under-21 defender phil jones in moving to the uefa champions league finalists in post-season transfers . de gea , who had long been linked with united as a replacement for the retired edwin van der sar , is likely to miss the start of the club 's pre-season tour of the u.s. as he has been given an immediate vacation by boss alex ferguson . the manager said that i should enjoy the holiday i 've been afforded now , but of course i 'm more excited about getting started in training and meeting my future teammates , ' de gea told the club 's television channel . edwin has been the best goalkeeper in the world while here at united . i hope to emulate him and spend a great number of years here . hopefully i will equal or even surpass the performance and contribution he made to the club . ' villas-boas eyes immediate success at chelsea de gea is the second new goalkeeper brought in by ferguson , with denmark international anders lindegaard signing in the january transfer window . their arrival casts some doubt on the united future of poland international tomasz kuszczak , who was dutchman van der sar 's understudy . i am young but i 'm coming here on the back of two full seasons in la liga in spain so i think i 've got enough experience to contribute to such a big club , ' de gea said . when a club the size of manchester united comes in for you , it obviously makes you very happy . i saw their interest as an extra motivation to work even harder to show off my ability . ' spain 's reign continues as under-21s win european crown de gea 's international teammate thiago alcantara , who scored spain 's second goal in the final against switzerland , has signed a new two-year contract with european champions barcelona . the 20-year-old is now tied to the spanish league winners until mid-2015 . spanish club racing santander have appointed hector cuper as coach to replace marcelino garcia toral , who left to join sevilla last month . the 55-year-old argentine has previously coached valencia , guiding the la liga club to champions league finals in 2001 and 2001 , and italy 's inter milan . united 's premier league rivals sunderland have signed england under-21 international striker connor wickham from second division club ipswich for $ 12.8 million in a deal that could potentially be worth $ 19 million . wickham , 18 , has agreed a four-year contract after being linked with moves to bigger clubs such as liverpool , arsenal and tottenham . french champions lille have signed defender david rozehnal after the czech republic international impressed on loan from german side hamburg last season . nigerian goalkeeper vincent enyeama has also joined on a three-year deal from israeli club hapoel tel aviv . lille had already brought in strikers dimitri payet and ronny rodelin plus defender marko basa since winning a domestic double . ivory coast international center-back abdoulaye meite has joined promoted french club dijon on a three-year contract after leaving english side west brom . on a busy day for french clubs , toulouse signed turkey international striker umut bulut on a three-year deal from turkish club trabzonspor , while sochaux loaned defender steven mouyokolo from england 's wolverhampton . italian club fiorentina announced on wednesday that brazilian defender romulo caldeira will join once the 24-year-old has passed a medical , while serbia under-21 defender matija nastasic is also expected to sign . | de gea is expected to replace united 's retired dutchman edwin van der sar |
taliban <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a united states soldier captured by the taliban says in a video posted on the internet he is scared i wo n't be able to go home . ' pfc . bowe bergdahl shown here in a video made by his captors , members of the taliban . the soldier was identified sunday by the pentagon as pfc . bowe r. bergdahl , 23 , of ketchum , idaho . he was captured june 30 from paktika province in southeastern afghanistan . the taliban has threatened to kill bergdahl if foreign troops continue targeting civilians in the name of search operations in ghazni and paktika province , taliban commander mulvi sangeen said by telephone friday after being contacted by cnn at an undisclosed location . nato-led forces in afghanistan and the u.s. military have repeatedly denied targeting civilians . in the 28-minute video , bergdahl becomes emotional when he speaks of his family -- his parents , siblings , nieces and nephew -- and the girlfriend he hopes to marry . i have a very , very good family that i love back home in america , and i miss them every day that i 'm gone , ' he says . i miss them and i 'm afraid i might never see them again and that i 'll never be able to tell them i love them again . i 'll never be able to hug them . ' he adds that he is scared . i 'm scared i wo n't be able to go home . it is very unnerving to be a prisoner . ' however , he says his captors are treating him like a guest . ' it was not clear whether some or all of bergdahl 's remarks were scripted by his captors . watch excerpt from the video » the last few minutes of the video show him eating a meal . in a statement released sunday through the idaho national guard , bergdahl 's family said , we hope and pray for our son 's safe return to his comrades and then to our family , and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members , our friends and others across the nation . thank you , and please continue to keep bowe in your thoughts and prayers . ' asked by his captors if he had any message for americans , the soldier says , to my fellow americans who have loved ones over here , who know what it 's like to miss them , you have the power to make our government bring them home . please , please bring us home so we can be back where we belong and not over here . ' the taliban earlier claimed responsibility for bergdahl 's kidnapping , the military said . last week , the u.s. military distributed pamphlets in eastern afghanistan in an effort to locate him . as you can see , the american soldier is in good shape and good health , and he is being treated well based on the guidelines of the islamic emirate of afghanistan regarding war prisoners , ' said a statement on islamist web sites accompanying the video . any decision regarding the american soldier will be the specialty of the high order of the islamic emirate of afghanistan , may god protect him . ' the u.s. military said it believed bergdahl may have been moved to various locations . in the video , bergdahl 's captor makes reference to his being moved from paktika to khandahar . he acknowledges it , saying the move was accomplished very easily . ' the claim could not be independently verified . asked the date by his captor , bergdahl says it is july 14 . two versions of the pamphlets were distributed in afghanistan , written in the pashto language . they were made available to cnn by u.s . forces afghanistan . one shows the image of an american soldier shaking hands in a group of kids with the message , one of our american guests is missing . return the guest to his home . call us at ' -- and lists a phone number . the other shows a u.s. soldier kicking down a door , and then an outstretched hand with the superimposed image of a soldier , his head and arms drooping , and the words , if you do not release the u.s. soldier then ... you will be hunted , ' the pamphlet says . days after bergdahl went missing , a senior u.s. military official said bergdahl and the afghan soldiers were captured by low-level militants and then quickly sold ' to the clan and network led by warlord siraj haqqani -- believed to be deeply involved in the action . the haqqani clan operates on both sides of the afghan-pakistani border and is well known to the u.s. military . bergdahl apparently left his small outpost on his own on june 30 with no apparent means of defending himself , the official said . taliban commander mulvi sangeen said he visited a military post in the yousaf khel district in the paktika province , got drunk , and was ambushed while returning to his car . sangeen said the soldier was taken to a safe place . cnn could not independently verify sangeen 's claims . a source with the u.s. military denied the claim that bergdahl was drunk . the taliban are known for lying and what they are claiming ( is ) not true , ' the source said . in the video , bergdahl says he was captured as he was lagging behind a patrol . ketchum mayor randy hall told cnn sunday , right now , the news is still breaking through town , and as the mayor , i can say this is a community situation . ' but , he said , i trust the leadership of this country , the wisdom of the people who are serving and the decisions that led up to the situation . ' bergdahl is not a national guardsman , according to the idaho national guard statement , but the organization said it was coordinating with the department of defense to provide public affairs duties and other assistance to the bergdahl family . the family has requested privacy , the statement said . cnn 's barbara starr and journalist janullah hashimzada contributed to this report . | he was taken by members of the taliban , the military says |
taliban <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a united states soldier captured by the taliban says in a video posted on the internet he is scared i wo n't be able to go home . ' pfc . bowe bergdahl shown here in a video made by his captors , members of the taliban . the soldier was identified sunday by the pentagon as pfc . bowe r. bergdahl , 23 , of ketchum , idaho . he was captured june 30 from paktika province in southeastern afghanistan . the taliban has threatened to kill bergdahl if foreign troops continue targeting civilians in the name of search operations in ghazni and paktika province , taliban commander mulvi sangeen said by telephone friday after being contacted by cnn at an undisclosed location . nato-led forces in afghanistan and the u.s. military have repeatedly denied targeting civilians . in the 28-minute video , bergdahl becomes emotional when he speaks of his family -- his parents , siblings , nieces and nephew -- and the girlfriend he hopes to marry . i have a very , very good family that i love back home in america , and i miss them every day that i 'm gone , ' he says . i miss them and i 'm afraid i might never see them again and that i 'll never be able to tell them i love them again . i 'll never be able to hug them . ' he adds that he is scared . i 'm scared i wo n't be able to go home . it is very unnerving to be a prisoner . ' however , he says his captors are treating him like a guest . ' it was not clear whether some or all of bergdahl 's remarks were scripted by his captors . watch excerpt from the video » the last few minutes of the video show him eating a meal . in a statement released sunday through the idaho national guard , bergdahl 's family said , we hope and pray for our son 's safe return to his comrades and then to our family , and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members , our friends and others across the nation . thank you , and please continue to keep bowe in your thoughts and prayers . ' asked by his captors if he had any message for americans , the soldier says , to my fellow americans who have loved ones over here , who know what it 's like to miss them , you have the power to make our government bring them home . please , please bring us home so we can be back where we belong and not over here . ' the taliban earlier claimed responsibility for bergdahl 's kidnapping , the military said . last week , the u.s. military distributed pamphlets in eastern afghanistan in an effort to locate him . as you can see , the american soldier is in good shape and good health , and he is being treated well based on the guidelines of the islamic emirate of afghanistan regarding war prisoners , ' said a statement on islamist web sites accompanying the video . any decision regarding the american soldier will be the specialty of the high order of the islamic emirate of afghanistan , may god protect him . ' the u.s. military said it believed bergdahl may have been moved to various locations . in the video , bergdahl 's captor makes reference to his being moved from paktika to khandahar . he acknowledges it , saying the move was accomplished very easily . ' the claim could not be independently verified . asked the date by his captor , bergdahl says it is july 14 . two versions of the pamphlets were distributed in afghanistan , written in the pashto language . they were made available to cnn by u.s . forces afghanistan . one shows the image of an american soldier shaking hands in a group of kids with the message , one of our american guests is missing . return the guest to his home . call us at ' -- and lists a phone number . the other shows a u.s. soldier kicking down a door , and then an outstretched hand with the superimposed image of a soldier , his head and arms drooping , and the words , if you do not release the u.s. soldier then ... you will be hunted , ' the pamphlet says . days after bergdahl went missing , a senior u.s. military official said bergdahl and the afghan soldiers were captured by low-level militants and then quickly sold ' to the clan and network led by warlord siraj haqqani -- believed to be deeply involved in the action . the haqqani clan operates on both sides of the afghan-pakistani border and is well known to the u.s. military . bergdahl apparently left his small outpost on his own on june 30 with no apparent means of defending himself , the official said . taliban commander mulvi sangeen said he visited a military post in the yousaf khel district in the paktika province , got drunk , and was ambushed while returning to his car . sangeen said the soldier was taken to a safe place . cnn could not independently verify sangeen 's claims . a source with the u.s. military denied the claim that bergdahl was drunk . the taliban are known for lying and what they are claiming ( is ) not true , ' the source said . in the video , bergdahl says he was captured as he was lagging behind a patrol . ketchum mayor randy hall told cnn sunday , right now , the news is still breaking through town , and as the mayor , i can say this is a community situation . ' but , he said , i trust the leadership of this country , the wisdom of the people who are serving and the decisions that led up to the situation . ' bergdahl is not a national guardsman , according to the idaho national guard statement , but the organization said it was coordinating with the department of defense to provide public affairs duties and other assistance to the bergdahl family . the family has requested privacy , the statement said . cnn 's barbara starr and journalist janullah hashimzada contributed to this report . | taliban commander : taliban will kill him if foreign troops keep targeting civilians |
pearlman <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- he called the widow of roger maris a few days ago , a surprisingly bold move that surely resulted in one of the most awkward phone conversations this side of bobby kennedy-george wallace . mark mcgwire apparently felt it was the right thing to do . and , indeed , he was correct . pat maris deserved to hear the words i juiced ' straight from the artificially enhanced horse 's mouth ; deserved to know why she and her family had unwittingly served as his official cardboard props some 12 years ago ; why her late husband 's single-season home run mark ( arguably the most hallowed standard in all of american sports ) had been tattered by a man boasting all the integrity of a times square pickpocket . think back , if you will , to september 8 , 1998 , when mcgwire hit his record-breaking 62nd homer of the season at busch stadium , then immediately walked toward the stands to embrace the maris children . later , with tears streaming down his cheeks , mcgwire told the media how , earlier that day , he had held the bat roger maris used when he set the old mark . i touched it with my heart , ' he said . when i did that , i knew tonight was going to be the night . i can say my bat will lie next to his , and i 'm damn proud of it . ' by all accounts , back then pat maris thought the large humanoid erasing her late husband from the record books to be an honorable fellow , one worthy of holding such a distinguished mark . and now ? i think she was shocked when i called , ' mcgwire said yesterday in his interview with bob costas on the mlb network . she was disappointed and she has every right to be . ' in case you have n't received the official memo , protocol dictates this as the time when we 're supposed to forgive , forget and move forward . yes , mark mcgwire used steroids and human growth hormone . yes , it was against the law . yes , they are termed performance-enhancing drugs for a reason . but in the world of major league baseball , where the phrase manning up ' is traditionally applied to an athlete playing through pain or putting on a particularly clutch display , a new , steroid-era definition has been established : manning up ( verb ) : when someone is caught cheating and , following a lengthy period of silence and/or denial , has no choice but to vaguely express remorse/regret or suffer unofficial banishment and a lifetime of holiday inn banquet room autograph shows for $ 15 a pop alongside erin moran and the robot girl from small wonder . the fawning sports media will immediately compliment his courage and welcome him back with open arms . so , like jason giambi and andy pettitte and alex rodriguez before him , mark mcgwire finally manned up . ' twelve years after shattering maris'record , five years after his embarrassing , i'm-not-here-to-discuss-the-past congressional testimony , the deflated paul bunyan of baseball told us that he used ped , and that he was very , very wrong . well , very wrong . well , pretty wrong . well , sorta wrong . well , uh , not really wrong at all . between the tears and sniffles and awkward pauses , mcgwire apologized for , ahem , nothing . costas asked whether he thought he would have hit 70 home runs without steroids . absolutely , ' mcgwire said . i was given this gift by the man upstairs . ' costas asked whether the steroids made him stronger . the only reason i took steroids was for my health purposes , ' mcgwire said . i did not take steroids to get any gain for any strength purposes . ' costas asked which drugs he had used . the names , ' mcgwire said , i do n't remember . ' heck , costas tossed the ultimate underhand softball question , just to help a guy out -- did mcgwire feel as if he was cheating ? as i look back now as far as my health and my injuries , trying to help my injuries to help me feel normal , i can see why people would say that , ' he said . as far as the god-given talent and hand-eye coordination and the genetics i was given , i do n't see it . ' and there lies the reason i have trouble forgiving and forgetting : mark mcgwire does n't see it . by using ped , he did n't merely take maris'record . no , mcgwire made millions in endorsements that should have gone elsewhere . he was selected to all-star games that should have featured other players . he won sports illustrated 's sportsman of the year as other candidates were overlooked . he convinced a nation of baseball fans that they were witnessing history -- real , honest-to-goodness history -- when , in fact , it was all a wwe-styled illusion . pat maris received her phone call . will you be getting yours ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of jeff pearlman . | pearlman : mcgwire still does n't see what he did |
pearlman <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- he called the widow of roger maris a few days ago , a surprisingly bold move that surely resulted in one of the most awkward phone conversations this side of bobby kennedy-george wallace . mark mcgwire apparently felt it was the right thing to do . and , indeed , he was correct . pat maris deserved to hear the words i juiced ' straight from the artificially enhanced horse 's mouth ; deserved to know why she and her family had unwittingly served as his official cardboard props some 12 years ago ; why her late husband 's single-season home run mark ( arguably the most hallowed standard in all of american sports ) had been tattered by a man boasting all the integrity of a times square pickpocket . think back , if you will , to september 8 , 1998 , when mcgwire hit his record-breaking 62nd homer of the season at busch stadium , then immediately walked toward the stands to embrace the maris children . later , with tears streaming down his cheeks , mcgwire told the media how , earlier that day , he had held the bat roger maris used when he set the old mark . i touched it with my heart , ' he said . when i did that , i knew tonight was going to be the night . i can say my bat will lie next to his , and i 'm damn proud of it . ' by all accounts , back then pat maris thought the large humanoid erasing her late husband from the record books to be an honorable fellow , one worthy of holding such a distinguished mark . and now ? i think she was shocked when i called , ' mcgwire said yesterday in his interview with bob costas on the mlb network . she was disappointed and she has every right to be . ' in case you have n't received the official memo , protocol dictates this as the time when we 're supposed to forgive , forget and move forward . yes , mark mcgwire used steroids and human growth hormone . yes , it was against the law . yes , they are termed performance-enhancing drugs for a reason . but in the world of major league baseball , where the phrase manning up ' is traditionally applied to an athlete playing through pain or putting on a particularly clutch display , a new , steroid-era definition has been established : manning up ( verb ) : when someone is caught cheating and , following a lengthy period of silence and/or denial , has no choice but to vaguely express remorse/regret or suffer unofficial banishment and a lifetime of holiday inn banquet room autograph shows for $ 15 a pop alongside erin moran and the robot girl from small wonder . the fawning sports media will immediately compliment his courage and welcome him back with open arms . so , like jason giambi and andy pettitte and alex rodriguez before him , mark mcgwire finally manned up . ' twelve years after shattering maris'record , five years after his embarrassing , i'm-not-here-to-discuss-the-past congressional testimony , the deflated paul bunyan of baseball told us that he used ped , and that he was very , very wrong . well , very wrong . well , pretty wrong . well , sorta wrong . well , uh , not really wrong at all . between the tears and sniffles and awkward pauses , mcgwire apologized for , ahem , nothing . costas asked whether he thought he would have hit 70 home runs without steroids . absolutely , ' mcgwire said . i was given this gift by the man upstairs . ' costas asked whether the steroids made him stronger . the only reason i took steroids was for my health purposes , ' mcgwire said . i did not take steroids to get any gain for any strength purposes . ' costas asked which drugs he had used . the names , ' mcgwire said , i do n't remember . ' heck , costas tossed the ultimate underhand softball question , just to help a guy out -- did mcgwire feel as if he was cheating ? as i look back now as far as my health and my injuries , trying to help my injuries to help me feel normal , i can see why people would say that , ' he said . as far as the god-given talent and hand-eye coordination and the genetics i was given , i do n't see it . ' and there lies the reason i have trouble forgiving and forgetting : mark mcgwire does n't see it . by using ped , he did n't merely take maris'record . no , mcgwire made millions in endorsements that should have gone elsewhere . he was selected to all-star games that should have featured other players . he won sports illustrated 's sportsman of the year as other candidates were overlooked . he convinced a nation of baseball fans that they were witnessing history -- real , honest-to-goodness history -- when , in fact , it was all a wwe-styled illusion . pat maris received her phone call . will you be getting yours ? the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of jeff pearlman . | jeff pearlman says mark mcgwire owed ( and delivered ) apology to roger maris'wife , pat |
abiah jones <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the state of new jersey is imposing harsher restrictions on ferris wheel safety after an 11-year-old rider fell to her death earlier this month . officials are mandating riders be at least 54 inches to ride without supervision , according to a letter from michael triplett of the new jersey carnival and amusement ride safety unit . triplett also strongly recommended ' that each car have at least two riders , and added that if a manufacturer has a more strict requirement , that requirement should be followed . the changes coincide with the release of a preliminary report into the death of abiah jones of pleasantville , new jersey , who fell at morey 's piers mariner 's landing pier , in wildwood , on june 3 . jones , who met a 54-inch height requirement , was on a school trip when she fell from one of the park 's main attractions , called the great wheel . after receiving first aid at the scene , she was taken to cape regional medical center , where she was pronounced dead . how the girl fell is still undetermined , and officials have no eyewitnesses , according to a report by the state of new jersey . surveillance footage showed her during the fall but did not show her leaving the gondola , the report said . it determined she entered the ride as a single rider and sustained significant head trauma as well as cuts on her arms and shoulders , ' hitting several objects on her way to the ground . the findings also concluded operators had no knowledge of any problems , the ride had no mechanical defects , and no other problems had been reported in its 25-year history . the fact that abiah jones was alone in the gondola , without any nearby passengers , may have led her to take a risk that she would have been convinced not to take if there were other riders in the gondola , ' the state investigator concluded . at 156 feet , the ride is one of the tallest wheels on the east coast , morey piers spokeswoman lindsey young told cnn . | abiah jones , 11 , fell to her death at a wildwood amusement park on june 3 |
democratic <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- ralph nader floated the idea this week that a primary challenge to president obama will help the president and the country . he is flat-out wrong . his views are based on a faulty premise and a myth . we will start with the faulty premise and get to the myth later . remember back to 2000 , when nader himself ran as a third-party candidate ? he 's not proposing that here -- at least not yet -- but it 's important to remember what happens when nader gets involved in challenging a democrat . in 2000 , he siphoned enough votes from al gore in florida to swing the election to president bush . it gave us eight years of bush-cheney politics and policies . if nader were being honest with himself , he 'd look to 2000 as an example of what the consequences can be for the country and progressive causes when progressives do n't stick together . a primary challenge could further divide the party and possibly dampen democratic enthusiasm . these races could erode our ability to reach swing voters , who are crucial to electoral viability , by forcing candidates to draw a sharper contrast on issues than necessary to win an election . on most issues , nader agrees with the democrats more than the republicans . by running as an independent and drawing votes in florida that might otherwise have gone to gore , nader helped usher in eight of the worst years our country has ever seen . bush ignored or trampled on nader 's major concerns . look at the record : bush took president clinton 's budget surplus and squandered it . he used part of the surplus to offset the costs of his tax cuts for the wealthiest americans . he used the rest to begin funding an elective war in iraq . bush policies allowed predatory lenders to dupe families seeking mortgages for homes . wall street bankers got the green light to play by their own rules . bush created the bubble that burst and continues to rain on us . bush policies cost millions of americans their jobs . middle class workers watched as their wages stagnated . they looked on helplessly as corporate executives reaped obese compensation . obama took over an economy that was shedding 750,000 jobs every month . he came into office with the nation in two wars and with crumbling bridges and superhighways , a health insurance system financially crippling middle class families , plus multiple other domestic maladies . we will be dealing with the repercussions of bush 's eight years for generations . and nader thinks a primary challenge is a good idea ? the question is for whom ? primary challenges against moderates or centrist candidates work both ways . does nader suppose the primary challenges in november that wiped out veteran moderate republican legislators and left the national gop where it is today -- with energized extreme right-wing purists almost in control -- was good ? does he really want to be the democratic party 's equivalent of a tea party purist ? nader knows there is another progressive activist : cornel west , who also seeks to stir a primary challenge against obama . west has honest but debatable differences with president obama . he rightly should challenge every politician to wage a battle against poverty and injustice in the united states . i see no reason for west to go beyond his rhetorical challenge to the president to address these issues and hold every elected official more accountable to the middle class and working poor . here 's the myth ' : nader 's and west 's advocacy of primary challenges is based on the premise that obama neither speaks to nor fights for progressive ideals . they 're wrong . look at what obama has done , with pit bull opposition fighting him inch by inch . obama repeatedly called for a tax system in which all people pay their fair share , including the wealthiest americans . the steep deficit cut obama proposed this week mandates even-handed taxing and closes the tax loopholes that ceos use to slide by with paying taxes at lower rates than their own secretaries do . our country witnessed the end of do n't ask , do n't tell ' this week . that finally allows brave men and women to serve openly and proudly in our armed forces , regardless of their sexual orientation . in less than 30 months , the president signed health insurance reform that expanded everyone 's access to quality , affordable health care . he outlawed the use of those so-called pre-existing conditions that forced many americans to go without health insurance or pay exorbitant premiums . he signed the fair pay act to end workplace discrimination and to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work . he appointed two highly qualified women , sonia sotomayor and elena kagan , to the supreme court . for the first time in our history , there are three female justices . the question facing progressives is not whether obama should have a primary challenger . rather , it is : do they want to return to the disastrous economic and social policies advocated by the tea party and the republican presidential candidates today ? as gore 's former campaign manager , no one knows more than i do what the consequences are of efforts like nader 's . if he and west care about the progressive causes they purport to hold dear , they wo n't , still once again , risk putting another republican -- and perhaps another swashbuckling governor from texas -- in the white house . america can not afford to go backward . it 's time progressives unite for change we all believe in . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | donna brazile says nader should beware creating democratic disunity |
brazile <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- ralph nader floated the idea this week that a primary challenge to president obama will help the president and the country . he is flat-out wrong . his views are based on a faulty premise and a myth . we will start with the faulty premise and get to the myth later . remember back to 2000 , when nader himself ran as a third-party candidate ? he 's not proposing that here -- at least not yet -- but it 's important to remember what happens when nader gets involved in challenging a democrat . in 2000 , he siphoned enough votes from al gore in florida to swing the election to president bush . it gave us eight years of bush-cheney politics and policies . if nader were being honest with himself , he 'd look to 2000 as an example of what the consequences can be for the country and progressive causes when progressives do n't stick together . a primary challenge could further divide the party and possibly dampen democratic enthusiasm . these races could erode our ability to reach swing voters , who are crucial to electoral viability , by forcing candidates to draw a sharper contrast on issues than necessary to win an election . on most issues , nader agrees with the democrats more than the republicans . by running as an independent and drawing votes in florida that might otherwise have gone to gore , nader helped usher in eight of the worst years our country has ever seen . bush ignored or trampled on nader 's major concerns . look at the record : bush took president clinton 's budget surplus and squandered it . he used part of the surplus to offset the costs of his tax cuts for the wealthiest americans . he used the rest to begin funding an elective war in iraq . bush policies allowed predatory lenders to dupe families seeking mortgages for homes . wall street bankers got the green light to play by their own rules . bush created the bubble that burst and continues to rain on us . bush policies cost millions of americans their jobs . middle class workers watched as their wages stagnated . they looked on helplessly as corporate executives reaped obese compensation . obama took over an economy that was shedding 750,000 jobs every month . he came into office with the nation in two wars and with crumbling bridges and superhighways , a health insurance system financially crippling middle class families , plus multiple other domestic maladies . we will be dealing with the repercussions of bush 's eight years for generations . and nader thinks a primary challenge is a good idea ? the question is for whom ? primary challenges against moderates or centrist candidates work both ways . does nader suppose the primary challenges in november that wiped out veteran moderate republican legislators and left the national gop where it is today -- with energized extreme right-wing purists almost in control -- was good ? does he really want to be the democratic party 's equivalent of a tea party purist ? nader knows there is another progressive activist : cornel west , who also seeks to stir a primary challenge against obama . west has honest but debatable differences with president obama . he rightly should challenge every politician to wage a battle against poverty and injustice in the united states . i see no reason for west to go beyond his rhetorical challenge to the president to address these issues and hold every elected official more accountable to the middle class and working poor . here 's the myth ' : nader 's and west 's advocacy of primary challenges is based on the premise that obama neither speaks to nor fights for progressive ideals . they 're wrong . look at what obama has done , with pit bull opposition fighting him inch by inch . obama repeatedly called for a tax system in which all people pay their fair share , including the wealthiest americans . the steep deficit cut obama proposed this week mandates even-handed taxing and closes the tax loopholes that ceos use to slide by with paying taxes at lower rates than their own secretaries do . our country witnessed the end of do n't ask , do n't tell ' this week . that finally allows brave men and women to serve openly and proudly in our armed forces , regardless of their sexual orientation . in less than 30 months , the president signed health insurance reform that expanded everyone 's access to quality , affordable health care . he outlawed the use of those so-called pre-existing conditions that forced many americans to go without health insurance or pay exorbitant premiums . he signed the fair pay act to end workplace discrimination and to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work . he appointed two highly qualified women , sonia sotomayor and elena kagan , to the supreme court . for the first time in our history , there are three female justices . the question facing progressives is not whether obama should have a primary challenger . rather , it is : do they want to return to the disastrous economic and social policies advocated by the tea party and the republican presidential candidates today ? as gore 's former campaign manager , no one knows more than i do what the consequences are of efforts like nader 's . if he and west care about the progressive causes they purport to hold dear , they wo n't , still once again , risk putting another republican -- and perhaps another swashbuckling governor from texas -- in the white house . america can not afford to go backward . it 's time progressives unite for change we all believe in . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | brazile : progressives should unite to prevent gop victory in 2012 |
brazile <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- ralph nader floated the idea this week that a primary challenge to president obama will help the president and the country . he is flat-out wrong . his views are based on a faulty premise and a myth . we will start with the faulty premise and get to the myth later . remember back to 2000 , when nader himself ran as a third-party candidate ? he 's not proposing that here -- at least not yet -- but it 's important to remember what happens when nader gets involved in challenging a democrat . in 2000 , he siphoned enough votes from al gore in florida to swing the election to president bush . it gave us eight years of bush-cheney politics and policies . if nader were being honest with himself , he 'd look to 2000 as an example of what the consequences can be for the country and progressive causes when progressives do n't stick together . a primary challenge could further divide the party and possibly dampen democratic enthusiasm . these races could erode our ability to reach swing voters , who are crucial to electoral viability , by forcing candidates to draw a sharper contrast on issues than necessary to win an election . on most issues , nader agrees with the democrats more than the republicans . by running as an independent and drawing votes in florida that might otherwise have gone to gore , nader helped usher in eight of the worst years our country has ever seen . bush ignored or trampled on nader 's major concerns . look at the record : bush took president clinton 's budget surplus and squandered it . he used part of the surplus to offset the costs of his tax cuts for the wealthiest americans . he used the rest to begin funding an elective war in iraq . bush policies allowed predatory lenders to dupe families seeking mortgages for homes . wall street bankers got the green light to play by their own rules . bush created the bubble that burst and continues to rain on us . bush policies cost millions of americans their jobs . middle class workers watched as their wages stagnated . they looked on helplessly as corporate executives reaped obese compensation . obama took over an economy that was shedding 750,000 jobs every month . he came into office with the nation in two wars and with crumbling bridges and superhighways , a health insurance system financially crippling middle class families , plus multiple other domestic maladies . we will be dealing with the repercussions of bush 's eight years for generations . and nader thinks a primary challenge is a good idea ? the question is for whom ? primary challenges against moderates or centrist candidates work both ways . does nader suppose the primary challenges in november that wiped out veteran moderate republican legislators and left the national gop where it is today -- with energized extreme right-wing purists almost in control -- was good ? does he really want to be the democratic party 's equivalent of a tea party purist ? nader knows there is another progressive activist : cornel west , who also seeks to stir a primary challenge against obama . west has honest but debatable differences with president obama . he rightly should challenge every politician to wage a battle against poverty and injustice in the united states . i see no reason for west to go beyond his rhetorical challenge to the president to address these issues and hold every elected official more accountable to the middle class and working poor . here 's the myth ' : nader 's and west 's advocacy of primary challenges is based on the premise that obama neither speaks to nor fights for progressive ideals . they 're wrong . look at what obama has done , with pit bull opposition fighting him inch by inch . obama repeatedly called for a tax system in which all people pay their fair share , including the wealthiest americans . the steep deficit cut obama proposed this week mandates even-handed taxing and closes the tax loopholes that ceos use to slide by with paying taxes at lower rates than their own secretaries do . our country witnessed the end of do n't ask , do n't tell ' this week . that finally allows brave men and women to serve openly and proudly in our armed forces , regardless of their sexual orientation . in less than 30 months , the president signed health insurance reform that expanded everyone 's access to quality , affordable health care . he outlawed the use of those so-called pre-existing conditions that forced many americans to go without health insurance or pay exorbitant premiums . he signed the fair pay act to end workplace discrimination and to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work . he appointed two highly qualified women , sonia sotomayor and elena kagan , to the supreme court . for the first time in our history , there are three female justices . the question facing progressives is not whether obama should have a primary challenger . rather , it is : do they want to return to the disastrous economic and social policies advocated by the tea party and the republican presidential candidates today ? as gore 's former campaign manager , no one knows more than i do what the consequences are of efforts like nader 's . if he and west care about the progressive causes they purport to hold dear , they wo n't , still once again , risk putting another republican -- and perhaps another swashbuckling governor from texas -- in the white house . america can not afford to go backward . it 's time progressives unite for change we all believe in . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of donna brazile . | donna brazile says nader should beware creating democratic disunity |
hu <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- chinese president hu jintao wrapped up his u.s. visit friday with a trip to chicago , the hometown of his counterpart , u.s. president barack obama . he visited a chinese-owned auto parts firm , a chinese wind energy company and the confucius institute -- a chinese language and cultural education center housed at walter payton college preparatory high school . hu wrapped up his three-day visit to the u.s. capital thursday , telling an audience of american business leaders that beijing is seeking closer ties and greater trust with the united states on a range of issues . he sought to assuage concerns about china 's rising economic and military power , declaring that his country will never seek hegemony or pursue an expansionist policy . ' the chinese leader was unapologetic , however , about beijing 's position on the politically sensitive status of tibet and taiwan , calling it a matter of chinese territorial integrity and a core interest . ' we are building a socialist country under the rule of law , ' he asserted . he said relations between washington and beijing need to be governed by a belief in equality ' and mutual respect . ' hu made his remarks at a luncheon hosted by the national committee on u.s.-china relations , the u.s.-china business council and other organizations . earlier thursday , hu traveled to capitol hill , where congressional leaders used the occasion to raise strong concerns about beijing 's commitment to human rights and economic issues such as the protection of intellectual property . he met with senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , and house speaker john boehner , r-ohio , among others . neither man attended wednesday night 's white house state dinner in honor of the chinese leader . earlier in the week , reid called hu a dictator , ' a word that was later recanted by both the senator and his spokesman . boehner said that concerns about tensions on the korean peninsula also were raised during thursday 's talks . we had a good meeting , ' boehner said . i would hope that the dialogue on all of these subjects would continue . ' disagreements over human rights -- including china 's treatment of imprisoned nobel peace prize laureate liu xiaobo -- were raised very strongly , ' according to rep. howard berman of california , the top democrat on the house foreign affairs committee . i would not indicate there was great engagement ... other than a general recognition by the president of china that they have a ways to go , ' berman told reporters . on wednesday , hu met with obama behind closed doors at the white house as top officials from both countries worked to address issues tied to the global economic crisis , international security , the environment and human rights . obama administration officials used the president 's meeting with hu to highlight economic progress between the two countries , announcing beijing 's approval of $ 45 billion in new contracts for u.s. companies to export goods to china . the contracts will support an estimated 235,000 american jobs , according to the white house . the two leaders acknowledged continuing differences on human rights but pledged to keep working on the matter in a frank and candid way , ' according to obama . human rights remains a touchy subject in china , as censors in the asian nation made clear during hu 's visit by blacking out cnn 's news broadcast each time the topic of human rights was mentioned . even when hu spoke about human rights , it was blacked out . footage of anti-china protesters near the white house was similarly blacked out . obama has nevertheless hailed hu 's visit as a chance to lay a foundation for the next 30 years of sino-american relations . hu declared the relationship between the two powers to be one of strategic significance and global influence . ' during a news conference with reporters wednesday , obama said he had received a promise from hu to establish a more level playing field ' for u.s. trade . china 's currency , obama said , remains undervalued -- a key factor in america 's trade imbalance with beijing . hu conceded that key differences remain over economic policy , but he promised that beijing would continue making attempts to resolve those differences . cnn 's alan silverleib , ben rooney , tom cohen and aaron smith contributed to this report . | hu jintao told business leaders china is not pursuing an expansionist policy |
hu <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- chinese president hu jintao wrapped up his u.s. visit friday with a trip to chicago , the hometown of his counterpart , u.s. president barack obama . he visited a chinese-owned auto parts firm , a chinese wind energy company and the confucius institute -- a chinese language and cultural education center housed at walter payton college preparatory high school . hu wrapped up his three-day visit to the u.s. capital thursday , telling an audience of american business leaders that beijing is seeking closer ties and greater trust with the united states on a range of issues . he sought to assuage concerns about china 's rising economic and military power , declaring that his country will never seek hegemony or pursue an expansionist policy . ' the chinese leader was unapologetic , however , about beijing 's position on the politically sensitive status of tibet and taiwan , calling it a matter of chinese territorial integrity and a core interest . ' we are building a socialist country under the rule of law , ' he asserted . he said relations between washington and beijing need to be governed by a belief in equality ' and mutual respect . ' hu made his remarks at a luncheon hosted by the national committee on u.s.-china relations , the u.s.-china business council and other organizations . earlier thursday , hu traveled to capitol hill , where congressional leaders used the occasion to raise strong concerns about beijing 's commitment to human rights and economic issues such as the protection of intellectual property . he met with senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , and house speaker john boehner , r-ohio , among others . neither man attended wednesday night 's white house state dinner in honor of the chinese leader . earlier in the week , reid called hu a dictator , ' a word that was later recanted by both the senator and his spokesman . boehner said that concerns about tensions on the korean peninsula also were raised during thursday 's talks . we had a good meeting , ' boehner said . i would hope that the dialogue on all of these subjects would continue . ' disagreements over human rights -- including china 's treatment of imprisoned nobel peace prize laureate liu xiaobo -- were raised very strongly , ' according to rep. howard berman of california , the top democrat on the house foreign affairs committee . i would not indicate there was great engagement ... other than a general recognition by the president of china that they have a ways to go , ' berman told reporters . on wednesday , hu met with obama behind closed doors at the white house as top officials from both countries worked to address issues tied to the global economic crisis , international security , the environment and human rights . obama administration officials used the president 's meeting with hu to highlight economic progress between the two countries , announcing beijing 's approval of $ 45 billion in new contracts for u.s. companies to export goods to china . the contracts will support an estimated 235,000 american jobs , according to the white house . the two leaders acknowledged continuing differences on human rights but pledged to keep working on the matter in a frank and candid way , ' according to obama . human rights remains a touchy subject in china , as censors in the asian nation made clear during hu 's visit by blacking out cnn 's news broadcast each time the topic of human rights was mentioned . even when hu spoke about human rights , it was blacked out . footage of anti-china protesters near the white house was similarly blacked out . obama has nevertheless hailed hu 's visit as a chance to lay a foundation for the next 30 years of sino-american relations . hu declared the relationship between the two powers to be one of strategic significance and global influence . ' during a news conference with reporters wednesday , obama said he had received a promise from hu to establish a more level playing field ' for u.s. trade . china 's currency , obama said , remains undervalued -- a key factor in america 's trade imbalance with beijing . hu conceded that key differences remain over economic policy , but he promised that beijing would continue making attempts to resolve those differences . cnn 's alan silverleib , ben rooney , tom cohen and aaron smith contributed to this report . | congressional leaders discussed human rights and economic issues with hu |
hu <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- chinese president hu jintao wrapped up his u.s. visit friday with a trip to chicago , the hometown of his counterpart , u.s. president barack obama . he visited a chinese-owned auto parts firm , a chinese wind energy company and the confucius institute -- a chinese language and cultural education center housed at walter payton college preparatory high school . hu wrapped up his three-day visit to the u.s. capital thursday , telling an audience of american business leaders that beijing is seeking closer ties and greater trust with the united states on a range of issues . he sought to assuage concerns about china 's rising economic and military power , declaring that his country will never seek hegemony or pursue an expansionist policy . ' the chinese leader was unapologetic , however , about beijing 's position on the politically sensitive status of tibet and taiwan , calling it a matter of chinese territorial integrity and a core interest . ' we are building a socialist country under the rule of law , ' he asserted . he said relations between washington and beijing need to be governed by a belief in equality ' and mutual respect . ' hu made his remarks at a luncheon hosted by the national committee on u.s.-china relations , the u.s.-china business council and other organizations . earlier thursday , hu traveled to capitol hill , where congressional leaders used the occasion to raise strong concerns about beijing 's commitment to human rights and economic issues such as the protection of intellectual property . he met with senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , and house speaker john boehner , r-ohio , among others . neither man attended wednesday night 's white house state dinner in honor of the chinese leader . earlier in the week , reid called hu a dictator , ' a word that was later recanted by both the senator and his spokesman . boehner said that concerns about tensions on the korean peninsula also were raised during thursday 's talks . we had a good meeting , ' boehner said . i would hope that the dialogue on all of these subjects would continue . ' disagreements over human rights -- including china 's treatment of imprisoned nobel peace prize laureate liu xiaobo -- were raised very strongly , ' according to rep. howard berman of california , the top democrat on the house foreign affairs committee . i would not indicate there was great engagement ... other than a general recognition by the president of china that they have a ways to go , ' berman told reporters . on wednesday , hu met with obama behind closed doors at the white house as top officials from both countries worked to address issues tied to the global economic crisis , international security , the environment and human rights . obama administration officials used the president 's meeting with hu to highlight economic progress between the two countries , announcing beijing 's approval of $ 45 billion in new contracts for u.s. companies to export goods to china . the contracts will support an estimated 235,000 american jobs , according to the white house . the two leaders acknowledged continuing differences on human rights but pledged to keep working on the matter in a frank and candid way , ' according to obama . human rights remains a touchy subject in china , as censors in the asian nation made clear during hu 's visit by blacking out cnn 's news broadcast each time the topic of human rights was mentioned . even when hu spoke about human rights , it was blacked out . footage of anti-china protesters near the white house was similarly blacked out . obama has nevertheless hailed hu 's visit as a chance to lay a foundation for the next 30 years of sino-american relations . hu declared the relationship between the two powers to be one of strategic significance and global influence . ' during a news conference with reporters wednesday , obama said he had received a promise from hu to establish a more level playing field ' for u.s. trade . china 's currency , obama said , remains undervalued -- a key factor in america 's trade imbalance with beijing . hu conceded that key differences remain over economic policy , but he promised that beijing would continue making attempts to resolve those differences . cnn 's alan silverleib , ben rooney , tom cohen and aaron smith contributed to this report . | the session followed hu 's meeting wednesday with president obama |
juan jose pimentel <tsp> the father of a man accused of plotting terror attacks in new york says the charges against his son do n't add up . it is an accusation that does not seem very true , because my son was never involved in any terrorist acts , ' father juan jose pimentel , 51 , told cnn en español tuesday . my son is not capable of something like that . ' pimentel , who lives in the dominican republic , said his son -- 27-year-old jose pimentel -- had been depressed for the past two years , ever since he and his wife separated . juan jose pimentel spoke to cnn en español by phone and also in his hometown of la vega . he had his son and she took his son and he was depressed because of this . but he has been a happy and normal boy and never had any problem with terrorism , ' juan jose pimentel said . authorities described jose pimentel as a lone wolf ' who was inspired by al qaeda propaganda to plot attacks against police officers , patrol cars and troops returning from military service abroad . juan jose pimentel said his son converted to islam five years ago , but never appeared to be an extremist . he followed this religion but he was never a fanatic . he led a normal life , including coming to this country , ' juan jose pimentel said . he did n't change . he continued to be a normal person . ' authorities arraigned jose pimentel sunday night in a new york court on state charges of possession of a bomb for terrorism , conspiracy as a crime of terrorism , soliciting support for a terrorist act , being a felon in possession of a weapon and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and arson , according to a criminal complaint . he allegedly told police he was an hour away from completing his first bomb when he was arrested , according to the complaint . pimentel 's behavior morphed from simply talking about such acts to actions -- namely , bomb making , ' new york police commissioner raymond kelly told reporters . kelly said jose pimentel was a follower of anwar al-awlaki , the radical u.s.-born cleric who rose to become a top figure in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula before a u.s. drone strike killed him this year in yemen . in august , the suspect allegedly decided to carry out the bomb plot , kelly said . he jacked up his speed ' after al-awlaki died on september 30 , according to the police commissioner . jose pimentel , also known as muhammad yusuf , according to the criminal complaint , had a very active and very public online profile , ' prosecutors said . they cited the website trueislam1 . jose pimentel 's attorney , joseph zablocki , said monday that the case against his client is nowhere near as strong as authorities say . as they admit , he has a very public online profile , and that flies in the face of everything that they 've said , ' zablocki said at the hearing . this is not the way you go about committing terrorist attacks . ' | juan jose pimentel says his son was n't involved in terrorism |
muslim <tsp> the father of a man accused of plotting terror attacks in new york says the charges against his son do n't add up . it is an accusation that does not seem very true , because my son was never involved in any terrorist acts , ' father juan jose pimentel , 51 , told cnn en español tuesday . my son is not capable of something like that . ' pimentel , who lives in the dominican republic , said his son -- 27-year-old jose pimentel -- had been depressed for the past two years , ever since he and his wife separated . juan jose pimentel spoke to cnn en español by phone and also in his hometown of la vega . he had his son and she took his son and he was depressed because of this . but he has been a happy and normal boy and never had any problem with terrorism , ' juan jose pimentel said . authorities described jose pimentel as a lone wolf ' who was inspired by al qaeda propaganda to plot attacks against police officers , patrol cars and troops returning from military service abroad . juan jose pimentel said his son converted to islam five years ago , but never appeared to be an extremist . he followed this religion but he was never a fanatic . he led a normal life , including coming to this country , ' juan jose pimentel said . he did n't change . he continued to be a normal person . ' authorities arraigned jose pimentel sunday night in a new york court on state charges of possession of a bomb for terrorism , conspiracy as a crime of terrorism , soliciting support for a terrorist act , being a felon in possession of a weapon and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and arson , according to a criminal complaint . he allegedly told police he was an hour away from completing his first bomb when he was arrested , according to the complaint . pimentel 's behavior morphed from simply talking about such acts to actions -- namely , bomb making , ' new york police commissioner raymond kelly told reporters . kelly said jose pimentel was a follower of anwar al-awlaki , the radical u.s.-born cleric who rose to become a top figure in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula before a u.s. drone strike killed him this year in yemen . in august , the suspect allegedly decided to carry out the bomb plot , kelly said . he jacked up his speed ' after al-awlaki died on september 30 , according to the police commissioner . jose pimentel , also known as muhammad yusuf , according to the criminal complaint , had a very active and very public online profile , ' prosecutors said . they cited the website trueislam1 . jose pimentel 's attorney , joseph zablocki , said monday that the case against his client is nowhere near as strong as authorities say . as they admit , he has a very public online profile , and that flies in the face of everything that they 've said , ' zablocki said at the hearing . this is not the way you go about committing terrorist attacks . ' | he was never a fanatic , ' the father says , describing his son 's muslim faith |
roland garros <tsp> ( cnn ) -- while li na was battling to keep her french open title defense alive on saturday , the scene of last year 's triumph was being recreated in her native china . such has been the impact of asia 's first grand slam singles champion in her homeland that tennis chiefs are seeking to bring a bit of roland garros to beijing . a clay court and two giant screens have been set up in one of the city 's major shopping malls for an interactive experience that will last until the tournament ends on june 10 . i 'm very pleased that a country like china follows our prestigious tournament , ' french tennis federation president jean gachassin said in a statement . for us , it 's an extraordinary opportunity to promote clay-court tennis . i 'd like to heartily thank the chinese tennis federation for welcoming us on their home soil for this fabulous event . ' courting a country with a population of 1.3 billion makes sense for any sport serious about global growth , and the exhibition has been backed by major sponsors such as longines , lacoste and peugeot . li has become a marketer 's dream in the past 12 months , securing lucrative endorsement deals which have made her the second highest-paid athlete in the world behind fellow tennis star maria sharapova . her hopes of being around for next weekend 's women 's final remained alive after she came from behind to beat young american christina mchale on saturday . the 30-year-old rebounded from a first-set debacle in which she made 24 unforced errors to triumph 3-6 6-2 6-1 and earn a last-16 clash with kazakh qualifier yaroslava shvedova . the world no . 7 had a surprisingly tough match against an opponent 10 years her junior and 29 places lower in the rankings , one who lost in the first round in paris last year and in 2010 . tennis is best of three sets , so even if i lose the first set , i still have a chance , ' said li , who is the only chinese player left in the tournament after peng shuai lost to sharapova on saturday . in the first set i was just following what she was doing . i felt like she was the champion on the court . but i changed a little bit at the beginning of the second set to play my way , and i 'm happy i was able to do that today . ' li beat francesca schiavone in last year 's final , but the 2010 french open champion will not feature in the second week of this tournament after suffering a 3-6 6-3 8-6 defeat by uzbekistan-born american varvara lepchenko . the 63rd-ranked lepchenko 's reward for beating the italian is a daunting clash with fourth-seeded czech petra kvitova , who battled to a 6-2 4-6 6-1 win against russia 's world no . 109 nina bratchikova . second-ranked sharapova cruised into the fourth round as she crushed 28th seed peng 6-2 6-1 to set up a clash with czech klara zakopalova , who defeated anastasia pavlyuchenkova . the 25-year-old sharapova was a semifinalist here last year and in 2007 , but the russian may finally win the only grand slam title to elude her if she can keep up the form that has seen her drop just five games in three matches so far . however , fellow former world no . 1 caroline wozniacki must continue her agonizing wait for a first major title . the dane , now ranked ninth , saved four match-points before losing 1-6 7-6 ( 7-3 ) 6-3 against estonian 23rd seed kaia kanepi . kanepi blew 5-1 leads in the last two sets , but held her nerve to earn a last-16 clash with 21-year-old dutch player arantxa rus . last year rus beat former world no . 1 kim clijsters before losing in round three , and she has gone one step further after eliminating german 25th seed julia gorges 7-6 ( 7-5 ) 2-6 6-2 in a match that ended as darkness fell . | she is joined in the last 16 at roland garros by world no . 2 maria sharapova |
congress <tsp> sao paulo ( cnn ) -- brazil¹s congress postponed a vote on tuesday on a controversial forest code , which has pitted farmers and ranchers against environmentalists . according to state-run agencia brasil , the vote was rescheduled for next tuesday so the government can try to secure support for the current text . lawmakers are still sharply divided , with the rural lobby in congress demanding more protection for farmers who have cleared land and environmentalists accusing the government of repealing landmark laws . over the past decade , brazil has cracked down on clear-cutting , especially in the biodiverse amazon rain forest , reducing the rate of deforestation by 80 % . environmentalists are concerned that some of those gains could be threatened if the new legislation is passed . the bill eases limits on deforestation and extends an amnesty to some developers who cut down trees illegally in the past . still , it is more eco-friendly than an earlier version of the bill that was supported by the rural lobby in brazil¹s congress . the amazon rain forest covers a huge area , roughly half as large as the united states , with about 60 % of it in brazil . it is estimated that nearly a fifth of the brazilian forest has been lost since 1970 . initially cleared by loggers , much of it was turned into pastures and farmlands as brazil went from being a food importer to a global agricultural powerhouse . | brazil¹s congress postpones vote on controversial forest code for a week |
congress <tsp> sao paulo ( cnn ) -- brazil¹s congress postponed a vote on tuesday on a controversial forest code , which has pitted farmers and ranchers against environmentalists . according to state-run agencia brasil , the vote was rescheduled for next tuesday so the government can try to secure support for the current text . lawmakers are still sharply divided , with the rural lobby in congress demanding more protection for farmers who have cleared land and environmentalists accusing the government of repealing landmark laws . over the past decade , brazil has cracked down on clear-cutting , especially in the biodiverse amazon rain forest , reducing the rate of deforestation by 80 % . environmentalists are concerned that some of those gains could be threatened if the new legislation is passed . the bill eases limits on deforestation and extends an amnesty to some developers who cut down trees illegally in the past . still , it is more eco-friendly than an earlier version of the bill that was supported by the rural lobby in brazil¹s congress . the amazon rain forest covers a huge area , roughly half as large as the united states , with about 60 % of it in brazil . it is estimated that nearly a fifth of the brazilian forest has been lost since 1970 . initially cleared by loggers , much of it was turned into pastures and farmlands as brazil went from being a food importer to a global agricultural powerhouse . | rural lobby in brazil 's congress is demanding more protection for farmers |
buckweed <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- no charges will be brought against a 10-year-old boy accused of accidentally starting an october wildfire that scorched more than 38,000 acres north of los angeles , california , prosecutors announced tuesday . firefighters battle the buckweed fire october 22 , 2007 . there is no evidence of intent on the part of the minor , ' the los angeles county district attorney 's office said in a written statement issued tuesday afternoon . the district attorney 's office is referring the matter to the department of children and family services for evaluation of the minor 's situation to determine if other intervention is necessary . ' the boy had faced possible charges in juvenile court after admitting to sheriff 's deputies that he had started the buckweed fire by playing with matches , investigators said . the blaze eventually destroyed 21 homes and 42 other structures . the fire started october 21 in the agua dulce community north of los angeles . it was one of nearly two dozen wind-whipped wildfires that swept across southern california in late october , forcing hundreds of thousands of people from homes near los angeles , san diego and san bernardino and leaving 14 people dead . e-mail to a friend | the buckweed fire started october 21 north of los angeles |
los angeles <tsp> los angeles , california ( cnn ) -- no charges will be brought against a 10-year-old boy accused of accidentally starting an october wildfire that scorched more than 38,000 acres north of los angeles , california , prosecutors announced tuesday . firefighters battle the buckweed fire october 22 , 2007 . there is no evidence of intent on the part of the minor , ' the los angeles county district attorney 's office said in a written statement issued tuesday afternoon . the district attorney 's office is referring the matter to the department of children and family services for evaluation of the minor 's situation to determine if other intervention is necessary . ' the boy had faced possible charges in juvenile court after admitting to sheriff 's deputies that he had started the buckweed fire by playing with matches , investigators said . the blaze eventually destroyed 21 homes and 42 other structures . the fire started october 21 in the agua dulce community north of los angeles . it was one of nearly two dozen wind-whipped wildfires that swept across southern california in late october , forcing hundreds of thousands of people from homes near los angeles , san diego and san bernardino and leaving 14 people dead . e-mail to a friend | the buckweed fire started october 21 north of los angeles |
daryl impey <tsp> ( cnn ) -- slovakian peter sagan made up for a series of near misses to claim his first stage win on this year 's tour de france in albi friday . he burst clear after 205.5km from montepellier to win easily from germany 's john degenkolb ( argos shimano ) and italian daniele bennati ( saxo-tinkoff ) . south african daryl impey held on to the race leader 's yellow jersey after claiming it the previous day from orica-greenedge teammate simon gerrans of australia . sagan , who has already taken a stranglehold on the green points jersey he won for the first time in last year 's tour , has been denied victory on four previous stages , but made no mistake this time after superb work from his cannondale team . they pushed on after the second of the day 's climb which left other star sprinters such as mark cavendish of britain and germany 's andre greipel , winner of stage six , trailing . they came home in an 84-strong group nearly 15 minutes down , leaving sagan to pay his compliments to his helpers . this was a show of how strong we are as a team , ' he told the official tour de france website . even if it 's not an ideal stage for me , i 'll keep on trying . we did a lot of work on the second climb and we dropped the sprinters and the team started to believe that we could do well . ' impey , the first south african to don the yellow jersey , admitted it had been tough to hold on to it . there was a moment on the second climb that the pressure was on , but we handled it pretty well , ' he said . but i was happy to see the top of that climb , that 's for sure . ' sagan now has a lead of over 100 points in the battle for green , but saturday will see the race for yellow hot up as the peloton hit the pyrenees for the first time in the eighth stage over 195km from castres to ax 3 domaines . impey is expected to cede the jersey as race favorites such as chris froome and alberto contador make their bid for overall domination in the mountains . | south african daryl impey retains yellow jersey |
christie <tsp> president barack obama on monday reminisced of better times with new jersey gov . chris christie , his onetime hug-buddy turned republican antagonist as the governor has turned his focus to an expected presidential bid . the governor greeted obama on the tarmac as he emerged from air force one for a visit to the state to speak to troops at new jersey 's joint base mcguire-dix-lakehurst . there , obama recounted to the press his visit to the jersey shore with christie last year to survey the hurricane sandy recovery efforts there . christie and i went down to asbury park , spent some time on the boardwalk . we played a little frog bog . chris'kids taught me how to hit the hammer to get those little frogs into the buckets , ' obama recalled . he admitted : it was hard . ' and then christie beat me at football toss , which really aggravated me , ' obama said , remembering that christie bragged ' about his win afterwards . which is okay , but i will get a rematch at some point , ' obama promised . christie has previously complimented obama and drew criticism from republicans after he was photographed in a sideways embrace with the president when he visited the state to survey the damage done by hurricane sandy in 2012 . the warm relationship between the two has been called a bromance ' in the media . the governor is considered one of a handful of likely republican presidential contenders , and routinely polls in the top four or five in the potential gop field . and in recent years , christie has become more critical of obama . in september , christie charged the president had underestimated what had been taking place in syria ' and saying he was disturbed ' by how the president had handled the growing threat from the islamic state in iraq and syria ( isis ) . on monday , however , obama touted the u.s. offensive against isis , declaring it has blunted their momentum and put them on the defensive . ' related : obama says u.s.'hammering'isis in speech to troops | the two are now less friendly , with christie moving towards a likely presidential run |
christie <tsp> president barack obama on monday reminisced of better times with new jersey gov . chris christie , his onetime hug-buddy turned republican antagonist as the governor has turned his focus to an expected presidential bid . the governor greeted obama on the tarmac as he emerged from air force one for a visit to the state to speak to troops at new jersey 's joint base mcguire-dix-lakehurst . there , obama recounted to the press his visit to the jersey shore with christie last year to survey the hurricane sandy recovery efforts there . christie and i went down to asbury park , spent some time on the boardwalk . we played a little frog bog . chris'kids taught me how to hit the hammer to get those little frogs into the buckets , ' obama recalled . he admitted : it was hard . ' and then christie beat me at football toss , which really aggravated me , ' obama said , remembering that christie bragged ' about his win afterwards . which is okay , but i will get a rematch at some point , ' obama promised . christie has previously complimented obama and drew criticism from republicans after he was photographed in a sideways embrace with the president when he visited the state to survey the damage done by hurricane sandy in 2012 . the warm relationship between the two has been called a bromance ' in the media . the governor is considered one of a handful of likely republican presidential contenders , and routinely polls in the top four or five in the potential gop field . and in recent years , christie has become more critical of obama . in september , christie charged the president had underestimated what had been taking place in syria ' and saying he was disturbed ' by how the president had handled the growing threat from the islamic state in iraq and syria ( isis ) . on monday , however , obama touted the u.s. offensive against isis , declaring it has blunted their momentum and put them on the defensive . ' related : obama says u.s.'hammering'isis in speech to troops | president barack obama and new jersey gov . chris christie once had a warm relationship |
new jersey <tsp> president barack obama on monday reminisced of better times with new jersey gov . chris christie , his onetime hug-buddy turned republican antagonist as the governor has turned his focus to an expected presidential bid . the governor greeted obama on the tarmac as he emerged from air force one for a visit to the state to speak to troops at new jersey 's joint base mcguire-dix-lakehurst . there , obama recounted to the press his visit to the jersey shore with christie last year to survey the hurricane sandy recovery efforts there . christie and i went down to asbury park , spent some time on the boardwalk . we played a little frog bog . chris'kids taught me how to hit the hammer to get those little frogs into the buckets , ' obama recalled . he admitted : it was hard . ' and then christie beat me at football toss , which really aggravated me , ' obama said , remembering that christie bragged ' about his win afterwards . which is okay , but i will get a rematch at some point , ' obama promised . christie has previously complimented obama and drew criticism from republicans after he was photographed in a sideways embrace with the president when he visited the state to survey the damage done by hurricane sandy in 2012 . the warm relationship between the two has been called a bromance ' in the media . the governor is considered one of a handful of likely republican presidential contenders , and routinely polls in the top four or five in the potential gop field . and in recent years , christie has become more critical of obama . in september , christie charged the president had underestimated what had been taking place in syria ' and saying he was disturbed ' by how the president had handled the growing threat from the islamic state in iraq and syria ( isis ) . on monday , however , obama touted the u.s. offensive against isis , declaring it has blunted their momentum and put them on the defensive . ' related : obama says u.s.'hammering'isis in speech to troops | president barack obama and new jersey gov . chris christie once had a warm relationship |
obama <tsp> president barack obama on monday reminisced of better times with new jersey gov . chris christie , his onetime hug-buddy turned republican antagonist as the governor has turned his focus to an expected presidential bid . the governor greeted obama on the tarmac as he emerged from air force one for a visit to the state to speak to troops at new jersey 's joint base mcguire-dix-lakehurst . there , obama recounted to the press his visit to the jersey shore with christie last year to survey the hurricane sandy recovery efforts there . christie and i went down to asbury park , spent some time on the boardwalk . we played a little frog bog . chris'kids taught me how to hit the hammer to get those little frogs into the buckets , ' obama recalled . he admitted : it was hard . ' and then christie beat me at football toss , which really aggravated me , ' obama said , remembering that christie bragged ' about his win afterwards . which is okay , but i will get a rematch at some point , ' obama promised . christie has previously complimented obama and drew criticism from republicans after he was photographed in a sideways embrace with the president when he visited the state to survey the damage done by hurricane sandy in 2012 . the warm relationship between the two has been called a bromance ' in the media . the governor is considered one of a handful of likely republican presidential contenders , and routinely polls in the top four or five in the potential gop field . and in recent years , christie has become more critical of obama . in september , christie charged the president had underestimated what had been taking place in syria ' and saying he was disturbed ' by how the president had handled the growing threat from the islamic state in iraq and syria ( isis ) . on monday , however , obama touted the u.s. offensive against isis , declaring it has blunted their momentum and put them on the defensive . ' related : obama says u.s.'hammering'isis in speech to troops | president barack obama and new jersey gov . chris christie once had a warm relationship |
obama <tsp> president barack obama on monday reminisced of better times with new jersey gov . chris christie , his onetime hug-buddy turned republican antagonist as the governor has turned his focus to an expected presidential bid . the governor greeted obama on the tarmac as he emerged from air force one for a visit to the state to speak to troops at new jersey 's joint base mcguire-dix-lakehurst . there , obama recounted to the press his visit to the jersey shore with christie last year to survey the hurricane sandy recovery efforts there . christie and i went down to asbury park , spent some time on the boardwalk . we played a little frog bog . chris'kids taught me how to hit the hammer to get those little frogs into the buckets , ' obama recalled . he admitted : it was hard . ' and then christie beat me at football toss , which really aggravated me , ' obama said , remembering that christie bragged ' about his win afterwards . which is okay , but i will get a rematch at some point , ' obama promised . christie has previously complimented obama and drew criticism from republicans after he was photographed in a sideways embrace with the president when he visited the state to survey the damage done by hurricane sandy in 2012 . the warm relationship between the two has been called a bromance ' in the media . the governor is considered one of a handful of likely republican presidential contenders , and routinely polls in the top four or five in the potential gop field . and in recent years , christie has become more critical of obama . in september , christie charged the president had underestimated what had been taking place in syria ' and saying he was disturbed ' by how the president had handled the growing threat from the islamic state in iraq and syria ( isis ) . on monday , however , obama touted the u.s. offensive against isis , declaring it has blunted their momentum and put them on the defensive . ' related : obama says u.s.'hammering'isis in speech to troops | obama recounted their time playing games on the boardwalk |
mexican <tsp> ( cnn ) -- twelve suspected members of the zetas drug gang and a member of mexico 's navy were killed in a shootout on an island in a lake that straddles the u.s.-mexico border , authorities said monday . the mexican navy said the shootout occurred sunday on falcon lake , located between texas and the mexican state of tamaulipas , after troops patrolling the area spotted a camping area on an island . the suspected drug traffickers used the island for storing marijuana to be transported by boat to the united states , the navy said in a statement . after the shootout , the navy said it seized guns , ammunition and bullet-proof vests from the island . falcon lake drew the attention of law enforcement authorities on both side of the border last september after an american man on a personal watercraft was reportedly ambushed by attackers and shot in the head . 2010 :'he took a bullet for me ,'falcon lake victim 's wife says tiffany hartley told police that she and her husband were riding water scooters on the lake on september 30 when they were attacked . her husband 's body has not been found , and the case has remained unsolved . it did n't happen in the united states , ' said zapata county , texas , sheriff sigifredo gonzalez . suspects in falcon lake killing identified and mexican authorities , he told cnn last month , have somewhat of a zero solvency rate , and a zero conviction rate . ' so unfortunately , this case may remain open forever , even though the information and the evidence may be there , ' according to gonzalez . | falcon lake is between texas and the mexican state of tamaulipas |
balotelli <tsp> ( cnn ) -- fireworks going off inside his own house , a car crash in his first week at manchester city , throwing a dart at a youth team player and that iconic image of a t-shirt adorned with the words , why always me ? ' the english premier league will miss the crazy antics of mario balotelli . the 22-year-old has returned to italy after signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with ac milan following an action-packed spell with a club he last season helped end a 44-year wait for the league title .'sink or swim for'super mario'? he has struggled to regain the form that took italy to the final of euro 2012 , where he was the tournament 's joint top scorer with three goals . i did n't start the season very well with city so i am coming to milan to revive myself and to do well , ' said the italy striker , who has completed a return to serie a in a deal said to be worth around $ 30 million . i have wanted to play for milan for a long time , but i was with other teams . when this chance came along i grabbed it . i hope milan can become a big club again . ' balotelli was welcomed to the san siro on thursday 's transfer deadline day as milan 's website reported his arrival with the banners yes always you ! ' and one of us . ' it published a roundup of italian newspaper headlines , one of which read : mamma and papa wanted him home ' -- a reference to balotelli 's foster parents silvia and francesco , who adopted him from his ghanaian immigrant family at the age of three . balotelli went to manchester from milan 's city rival internazionale for $ 37.8 million in 2010 , one of several big-money deals funded by the english club 's abu dhabi owners . he helped city win the fa cup that season , its first trophy since 1976 , but his time there was dogged by controversy ever since he crashed his car while en-route to the training ground just days after his arrival . balotelli tussles with manager mancini earlier this month , photographs emerged of him having a training ground bust-up ' with manager roberto mancini . balotelli endured a love-hate relationship with mancini , with whom he had previously worked at inter milan and who has acted as a father figure for the player . balotelli said he spoke at length with the 48-year-old before farewelling his city teammates at a meal on tuesday . it was a very emotional for me , ' he told city 's website . i spoke with roberto before i went to speak to the players . we spoke for some time about lots of things . he was sad , and i was too . but it was a good conversation . balotelli settles dispute with man city ' i love roberto , he has been very important for my career , and i will always thank him for having trust and faith in me . being at city was an important part of my life and career . i needed to grow up like a player and as a person and it has been a very good experience for me . ' balotelli 's first premier league goals in november 2010 were overshadowed by a red card , the first of four he would go on to receive during his city career . balotelli continued to catch attention both on and off the pitch , none more so than in october 2011 after a firework was set off in the bathroom of his home . time to get tough on racism in football emergency services were called to deal with that incident which occurred the day before he scored twice in city 's 6-1 win at rival manchester united and revealed that infamous t-shirt -- and days later he was bizarrely named as the public face of a fireworks safety campaign . he broke a 48-hour curfew to visit a curry restaurant in december 2011 before a game against chelsea , which was quickly followed by a training-ground bust-up with teammate micah richards . trouble continued to follow balotelli around and he was given a four-match ban in january 2012 after appearing to stamp on the head of tottenham 's scott parker during a premier league game . he gatecrashed an inter milan press conference in march 2012 when the club was preparing to unveil new manager andrea stramaccioni , which was followed with another red card in the game at arsenal . balotelli scored just 20 premier league goals in two years , and his only assist in 54 top-flight appearances famously led to sergio aguero 's title-winning strike on the final day of last season . | mario balotelli joins ac milan after leaving manchester city |
balotelli <tsp> ( cnn ) -- fireworks going off inside his own house , a car crash in his first week at manchester city , throwing a dart at a youth team player and that iconic image of a t-shirt adorned with the words , why always me ? ' the english premier league will miss the crazy antics of mario balotelli . the 22-year-old has returned to italy after signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with ac milan following an action-packed spell with a club he last season helped end a 44-year wait for the league title .'sink or swim for'super mario'? he has struggled to regain the form that took italy to the final of euro 2012 , where he was the tournament 's joint top scorer with three goals . i did n't start the season very well with city so i am coming to milan to revive myself and to do well , ' said the italy striker , who has completed a return to serie a in a deal said to be worth around $ 30 million . i have wanted to play for milan for a long time , but i was with other teams . when this chance came along i grabbed it . i hope milan can become a big club again . ' balotelli was welcomed to the san siro on thursday 's transfer deadline day as milan 's website reported his arrival with the banners yes always you ! ' and one of us . ' it published a roundup of italian newspaper headlines , one of which read : mamma and papa wanted him home ' -- a reference to balotelli 's foster parents silvia and francesco , who adopted him from his ghanaian immigrant family at the age of three . balotelli went to manchester from milan 's city rival internazionale for $ 37.8 million in 2010 , one of several big-money deals funded by the english club 's abu dhabi owners . he helped city win the fa cup that season , its first trophy since 1976 , but his time there was dogged by controversy ever since he crashed his car while en-route to the training ground just days after his arrival . balotelli tussles with manager mancini earlier this month , photographs emerged of him having a training ground bust-up ' with manager roberto mancini . balotelli endured a love-hate relationship with mancini , with whom he had previously worked at inter milan and who has acted as a father figure for the player . balotelli said he spoke at length with the 48-year-old before farewelling his city teammates at a meal on tuesday . it was a very emotional for me , ' he told city 's website . i spoke with roberto before i went to speak to the players . we spoke for some time about lots of things . he was sad , and i was too . but it was a good conversation . balotelli settles dispute with man city ' i love roberto , he has been very important for my career , and i will always thank him for having trust and faith in me . being at city was an important part of my life and career . i needed to grow up like a player and as a person and it has been a very good experience for me . ' balotelli 's first premier league goals in november 2010 were overshadowed by a red card , the first of four he would go on to receive during his city career . balotelli continued to catch attention both on and off the pitch , none more so than in october 2011 after a firework was set off in the bathroom of his home . time to get tough on racism in football emergency services were called to deal with that incident which occurred the day before he scored twice in city 's 6-1 win at rival manchester united and revealed that infamous t-shirt -- and days later he was bizarrely named as the public face of a fireworks safety campaign . he broke a 48-hour curfew to visit a curry restaurant in december 2011 before a game against chelsea , which was quickly followed by a training-ground bust-up with teammate micah richards . trouble continued to follow balotelli around and he was given a four-match ban in january 2012 after appearing to stamp on the head of tottenham 's scott parker during a premier league game . he gatecrashed an inter milan press conference in march 2012 when the club was preparing to unveil new manager andrea stramaccioni , which was followed with another red card in the game at arsenal . balotelli scored just 20 premier league goals in two years , and his only assist in 54 top-flight appearances famously led to sergio aguero 's title-winning strike on the final day of last season . | balotelli describes his city career as a very good experience ' |
sandra avila beltran <tsp> ( cnn ) -- they call her the queen of the pacific . sandra avila beltran 's name stands out on the list of accused leaders of mexico 's male-dominated drug trade . the 52-year-old 's life is the subject of a best-selling book and a popular ballad . and she made headlines two years ago when mexican authorities said they were investigating a tip that she had received botox treatments in prison . this week avila -- one of the most well-known women accused of ties with mexico 's drug trade -- pleaded guilty in a florida court to a charge connected to a cocaine trafficking case . she faces up to 15 years in u.s. prison after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact , according to an agreement filed in federal court this week . a sentencing hearing in the case is scheduled for july 25 . it is a fair resolution in light of the actual circumstances . ... she is happy with the results and hopes to be able to reunite with her family soon , ' attorney stephen ralls told mexico 's state-run notimex news agency . avila was first arrested in mexico city on september 28 , 2007 , smiling before cameras as authorities trumpeted her detention . mexico 's case against her drew widespread attention as it made its way through the nation 's courts . in 2011 , authorities in mexico city said they were investigating a tip that prison medical personnel had allowed a doctor to give avila a botox injection , an accusation that avila denied , according to notimex . authorities extradited her last year to the united states , where she was accused of conspiring to smuggle cocaine along with juan diego espinosa ramirez , a colombian national who was also known as the tiger . ' avila denied the charges . and despite the high-profile accusations against her , authorities have not convicted avila of any drug-trafficking crimes . a mexican judge convicted her on money laundering charges but ruled that mexican prosecutors had n't provided enough evidence to convict her of drug trafficking . and u.s. prosecutors dropped the cocaine trafficking conspiracy charge against her as part of this week 's plea deal . a document signed by avila as part of the plea agreement in u.s. federal court says she provided financial assistance for travel , lodging and other expenses ' to espinosa from 2002 to 2004 with the intention of preventing or hindering his arrest for his drug trafficking crimes . ' prosecutors have said avila was once a key drug trafficking link between colombia and mexico . and a 2008 u.s. congressional research service report described her as a senior member of the sinaloa cartel who was instrumental ' in building ties with colombian traffickers . a popular ballad about her sung by the band los tigres del norte , titled the queen of queens , ' describes her 2007 arrest alongside espinosa . the more beautiful the rose , ' one line in the song says , the sharper the thorns . ' a u.s. judge sentenced espinosa to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a cocaine distribution conspiracy charge in 2009 . in an interview with anderson cooper that aired on 60 minutes ' and cnn that year , avila denied the charges against her and blamed mexico 's government for allowing drug trafficking to flourish . in mexico there 's a lot of corruption , a lot . large shipments of drugs can come into the mexican ports or airports without the authorities knowing about it . it 's obvious and logical , ' she said . the government has to be involved in everything that is corrupt . ' cnn 's rafael romo and michelle hall contributed to this report . | sandra avila beltran pleads guilty to being an accessory after the fact |
petro poroshenko <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the hotel doorman who greeted me on arrival in kiev this week , the rain storms that have hit the ukrainian capital served as a metaphor for a different sort of turbulence . all of this will pass on the 25th ' he said , referring to sunday 's presidential election . for someone who knows that even restoring some of the basic functions of government is going to be a challenge , the idea that a new president will be able to change the weather was a form of black humor . barring a major upset , the task of banishing the storm clouds and restoring normality after the tumultuous events of the last seven months will fall to petro poroshenko , the veteran insider who won national approval by becoming the only oligarch to support the maidan protest movement that overthrew viktor yanukovych earlier this year . with opinion poll leads of 30 % or more over his nearest rival , the only real question seems to be whether he can get the majority needed win on the first ballot , something that has n't been achieved since ukraine became independent in 1991 . the thing that might just make this possible is the prevailing mood of weariness among voters and the realization that the main beneficiaries of continued uncertainty would be vladimir putin and those working to break the country apart . most recoil in horror at the thought of a divisive and bruising second round . there is even speculation that the runner up might concede for the sake of national unity should poroshenko fall short of a straight win on sunday . this is thought likely if second place goes to serhiy tihipko , the former yanukovych ally expected to do well in the south and east . very few imagine the other main contender , yulia tymoshenko , making a similar sacrifice . if and when poroshenko emerges as president , winning the election is going to seem like the easy part compared to an in-tray of daunting and near impossible challenges . the first will be to put together a parliamentary majority capable of supporting his reform vision . this has become essential with parliament 's powers once again increased under the restored 2004 constitution . poroshenko 's preference would be to keep arseny yatsenyuk as prime minister , not least because of the credibility he has established with the imf and western governments , while broadening the government to include former party of the regions people from the east . but , as leader of yatsenyuk 's batkivshchyna party , tymoshenko may have other ideas if she calculates that opposition would suit her personal interests better . it may take a painful split within the democratic bloc followed by a major realignment and new parliamentary elections in the autumn before poroshenko gets the government he wants . another major challenge will be to find a way of reaching out to the east . prospects of holding a successful election in the donbass region have improved following the intervention of the powerful locally-based oligarch rinat akhmetov , but suspicions of the government in kiev and those who brought down yanukovych run deep , even among those with no time for the violence of the pro-russian separatists . poroshenko 's plans to visit the region in an early gesture of reconciliation will help , as will his willingness compromise on russian language status . but the real test will be devising a new constitutional settlement that gives the regions the autonomy they want without increasing the risk of fragmentation . proposals are being worked on to balance decentralization with programs designed to promote greater social integration between the regions . none of the efforts to promote greater national cohesion will get very far unless poroshenko can find a way to turn around an economy projected to shrink by 5 % this year . with tax rises , wages freezes , spending cuts and large hikes in energy prices on the way under the economic reform program agreed with the imf , the new president 's honeymoon period wo n't extend very far into the autumn unless he can convince ukrainians that the foundations of recovery are being built . signing the economic provisions of the eu association agreement will be an early priority in order to increase trade and strengthen business confidence . but at least some of the important cards are held by russia . greater flexibility on the gas price and ukraine 's outstanding gas bill would help to ease the country 's weak financial position . normalizing the situation in the east is vital to bring back investors frightened off by the threat of civil war . that is why coming to some kind of understanding with russia will be another urgent priority for president poroshenko . his team is confident that with a strong mandate he will be a negotiating partner vladimir putin ca n't ignore and that an agreement can be hammered out within two or three months . the terms of such a deal remain the most sensitive topic in ukrainian politics , so details are hard to come by . but they are likely to cover things like russian access to ukraine 's military-industrial facilities , new gas transit arrangements , the status of crimea and perhaps an agreement that ukraine will remain non-aligned . with most ukrainians still opposed to nato membership and the alliance unwilling to admit a divided country , pragmatists argue that this would mean nothing more than facing up to reality . perhaps the greatest challenge for the new president lies in meeting the expectations for change raised by the maidan . the mood among the protesters certainly seems to have darkened during the course of the election campaign with many dismissing it as a reversion to politics as usual . they complain about the return of oligarchic influence and expect the dilution of anti-corruption reforms to trigger a new wave of street protests later in the year . to avert popular disillusionment poroshenko needs to change the relationship between private wealth and public power . this is what his advisers seem to have in mind when they talk about the new rules of the game ; ' reducing the political influence of oligarchs , insisting that they pay their taxes and ending the culture of favoritism in public procurement . whether he can go far enough to satisfy the maidan movement , while securing the cooperation of ukraine 's power elite in meeting the other difficult challenges he has to face is the question that will probably define his presidency . perhaps changing the weather would be easier after all . read more : ukraine favors europe read more : prince slammed over hitler jibe watch more :'chocolate king'leads in polls watch more : memories of maidan | ukraine 's new president looks likely to be petro poroshenko , who supported the maidan protest movement |
inhofe <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- as democrats continue to splinter over president obama 's proposed health care reform plan , republicans are taking the opportunity to home in on a key argument : a good bill deserves more time and deliberation . sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , says his party may have enough votes to stall democratic health care reform . rep. nathan deal , r-georgia , said friday that obama 's rush to put a bill together is totally irresponsible . ' most of us believe that the decision as to major reform of how americans get their health care in this country deserves at least as much time and deliberation as it would take to select a puppy to live in the white house , ' he said . it took the president six months to decide how long and which puppy he was going to have . ... to expect congress to do something on major health care reform in six days is totally irresponsible . ' sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , speaking on conservative hugh hewitt 's radio show recently , was asked about whether his party had enough votes to block health care from going forward . his answer : i think so . i really do . ' if he is unsuccessful , which i anticipate and will predict he is , on getting a vote prior to the august recess , then i would say there 's no way in the world they 're going to get this done this year , ' he added . obama 's fight to get health care reform through congress hit a major snag this week -- facing opposition from republicans and fiscally conservative blue dog ' democrats worried over the costs -- estimated to be around $ 1 trillion . on thursday , senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , announced that the senate would not take up a vote before august recess -- a deadline that obama had originally wanted . watch a gop senator lash out at obama 's plan » rep. joe barton , r-texas responded to democratic criticism that the gop has failed to present a viable plan . when the democrats say we do n't have a plan ... where 's their plan ? if they ca n't get a bill out of committee , where 's their plan ? ' he said . rep. roy blunt , r-missouri , said it 's hard to combat the democrats'proposed legislation when it changes by 100 pages every time you walk into the room . ' the gop 's fight is also getting political , namely looking ahead to the upcoming midterm election . i just hope the president keeps talking about it , keeps trying to rush it through . we can stall it . and that 's going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election , ' inhofe said . last week , sen. jim demint , r-south carolina , was quoted as telling the group conservatives for patients'rights , which opposes obama 's health care plan , that if we 're able to stop obama on this , it will be his waterloo . it will break him . ' obama debunked demint 's claim during a live prime time news conference wednesday night at the white house . i 've heard that one republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise , it 's better politics to'go for the kill .'another republican senator said that defeating health reform is about'breaking'me , ' he said . let me be clear : this is n't about me , ' obama said , noting that he and every member of congress -- including those trying to scuttle health care reform legislation -- have great health insurance . ' obama 's chief-of-staff , rahm emanuel , took a swipe at the gop 's political maneuvering . at least they 're honest about their motivation , ' emanuel told national public radio friday . their view about health care is about defeating president obama . politically , i actually appreciate what they said . ' | inhofe says stalling health care reform could be good for gop in 2010 |
inhofe <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- as democrats continue to splinter over president obama 's proposed health care reform plan , republicans are taking the opportunity to home in on a key argument : a good bill deserves more time and deliberation . sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , says his party may have enough votes to stall democratic health care reform . rep. nathan deal , r-georgia , said friday that obama 's rush to put a bill together is totally irresponsible . ' most of us believe that the decision as to major reform of how americans get their health care in this country deserves at least as much time and deliberation as it would take to select a puppy to live in the white house , ' he said . it took the president six months to decide how long and which puppy he was going to have . ... to expect congress to do something on major health care reform in six days is totally irresponsible . ' sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , speaking on conservative hugh hewitt 's radio show recently , was asked about whether his party had enough votes to block health care from going forward . his answer : i think so . i really do . ' if he is unsuccessful , which i anticipate and will predict he is , on getting a vote prior to the august recess , then i would say there 's no way in the world they 're going to get this done this year , ' he added . obama 's fight to get health care reform through congress hit a major snag this week -- facing opposition from republicans and fiscally conservative blue dog ' democrats worried over the costs -- estimated to be around $ 1 trillion . on thursday , senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , announced that the senate would not take up a vote before august recess -- a deadline that obama had originally wanted . watch a gop senator lash out at obama 's plan » rep. joe barton , r-texas responded to democratic criticism that the gop has failed to present a viable plan . when the democrats say we do n't have a plan ... where 's their plan ? if they ca n't get a bill out of committee , where 's their plan ? ' he said . rep. roy blunt , r-missouri , said it 's hard to combat the democrats'proposed legislation when it changes by 100 pages every time you walk into the room . ' the gop 's fight is also getting political , namely looking ahead to the upcoming midterm election . i just hope the president keeps talking about it , keeps trying to rush it through . we can stall it . and that 's going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election , ' inhofe said . last week , sen. jim demint , r-south carolina , was quoted as telling the group conservatives for patients'rights , which opposes obama 's health care plan , that if we 're able to stop obama on this , it will be his waterloo . it will break him . ' obama debunked demint 's claim during a live prime time news conference wednesday night at the white house . i 've heard that one republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise , it 's better politics to'go for the kill .'another republican senator said that defeating health reform is about'breaking'me , ' he said . let me be clear : this is n't about me , ' obama said , noting that he and every member of congress -- including those trying to scuttle health care reform legislation -- have great health insurance . ' obama 's chief-of-staff , rahm emanuel , took a swipe at the gop 's political maneuvering . at least they 're honest about their motivation , ' emanuel told national public radio friday . their view about health care is about defeating president obama . politically , i actually appreciate what they said . ' | sen. inhofe , r-oklahoma , says it 's unlikely the president will get a bill this year |
gop <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- as democrats continue to splinter over president obama 's proposed health care reform plan , republicans are taking the opportunity to home in on a key argument : a good bill deserves more time and deliberation . sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , says his party may have enough votes to stall democratic health care reform . rep. nathan deal , r-georgia , said friday that obama 's rush to put a bill together is totally irresponsible . ' most of us believe that the decision as to major reform of how americans get their health care in this country deserves at least as much time and deliberation as it would take to select a puppy to live in the white house , ' he said . it took the president six months to decide how long and which puppy he was going to have . ... to expect congress to do something on major health care reform in six days is totally irresponsible . ' sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , speaking on conservative hugh hewitt 's radio show recently , was asked about whether his party had enough votes to block health care from going forward . his answer : i think so . i really do . ' if he is unsuccessful , which i anticipate and will predict he is , on getting a vote prior to the august recess , then i would say there 's no way in the world they 're going to get this done this year , ' he added . obama 's fight to get health care reform through congress hit a major snag this week -- facing opposition from republicans and fiscally conservative blue dog ' democrats worried over the costs -- estimated to be around $ 1 trillion . on thursday , senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , announced that the senate would not take up a vote before august recess -- a deadline that obama had originally wanted . watch a gop senator lash out at obama 's plan » rep. joe barton , r-texas responded to democratic criticism that the gop has failed to present a viable plan . when the democrats say we do n't have a plan ... where 's their plan ? if they ca n't get a bill out of committee , where 's their plan ? ' he said . rep. roy blunt , r-missouri , said it 's hard to combat the democrats'proposed legislation when it changes by 100 pages every time you walk into the room . ' the gop 's fight is also getting political , namely looking ahead to the upcoming midterm election . i just hope the president keeps talking about it , keeps trying to rush it through . we can stall it . and that 's going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election , ' inhofe said . last week , sen. jim demint , r-south carolina , was quoted as telling the group conservatives for patients'rights , which opposes obama 's health care plan , that if we 're able to stop obama on this , it will be his waterloo . it will break him . ' obama debunked demint 's claim during a live prime time news conference wednesday night at the white house . i 've heard that one republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise , it 's better politics to'go for the kill .'another republican senator said that defeating health reform is about'breaking'me , ' he said . let me be clear : this is n't about me , ' obama said , noting that he and every member of congress -- including those trying to scuttle health care reform legislation -- have great health insurance . ' obama 's chief-of-staff , rahm emanuel , took a swipe at the gop 's political maneuvering . at least they 're honest about their motivation , ' emanuel told national public radio friday . their view about health care is about defeating president obama . politically , i actually appreciate what they said . ' | inhofe says stalling health care reform could be good for gop in 2010 |
gop <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- as democrats continue to splinter over president obama 's proposed health care reform plan , republicans are taking the opportunity to home in on a key argument : a good bill deserves more time and deliberation . sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , says his party may have enough votes to stall democratic health care reform . rep. nathan deal , r-georgia , said friday that obama 's rush to put a bill together is totally irresponsible . ' most of us believe that the decision as to major reform of how americans get their health care in this country deserves at least as much time and deliberation as it would take to select a puppy to live in the white house , ' he said . it took the president six months to decide how long and which puppy he was going to have . ... to expect congress to do something on major health care reform in six days is totally irresponsible . ' sen. james inhofe , r-oklahoma , speaking on conservative hugh hewitt 's radio show recently , was asked about whether his party had enough votes to block health care from going forward . his answer : i think so . i really do . ' if he is unsuccessful , which i anticipate and will predict he is , on getting a vote prior to the august recess , then i would say there 's no way in the world they 're going to get this done this year , ' he added . obama 's fight to get health care reform through congress hit a major snag this week -- facing opposition from republicans and fiscally conservative blue dog ' democrats worried over the costs -- estimated to be around $ 1 trillion . on thursday , senate majority leader harry reid , d-nevada , announced that the senate would not take up a vote before august recess -- a deadline that obama had originally wanted . watch a gop senator lash out at obama 's plan » rep. joe barton , r-texas responded to democratic criticism that the gop has failed to present a viable plan . when the democrats say we do n't have a plan ... where 's their plan ? if they ca n't get a bill out of committee , where 's their plan ? ' he said . rep. roy blunt , r-missouri , said it 's hard to combat the democrats'proposed legislation when it changes by 100 pages every time you walk into the room . ' the gop 's fight is also getting political , namely looking ahead to the upcoming midterm election . i just hope the president keeps talking about it , keeps trying to rush it through . we can stall it . and that 's going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election , ' inhofe said . last week , sen. jim demint , r-south carolina , was quoted as telling the group conservatives for patients'rights , which opposes obama 's health care plan , that if we 're able to stop obama on this , it will be his waterloo . it will break him . ' obama debunked demint 's claim during a live prime time news conference wednesday night at the white house . i 've heard that one republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise , it 's better politics to'go for the kill .'another republican senator said that defeating health reform is about'breaking'me , ' he said . let me be clear : this is n't about me , ' obama said , noting that he and every member of congress -- including those trying to scuttle health care reform legislation -- have great health insurance . ' obama 's chief-of-staff , rahm emanuel , took a swipe at the gop 's political maneuvering . at least they 're honest about their motivation , ' emanuel told national public radio friday . their view about health care is about defeating president obama . politically , i actually appreciate what they said . ' | gop rep. deal : obama spent more time picking a dog than health care plan |
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